[MilienElayne]

I knew there was something else SM I was supposed to be working on! Thanks for the reminder, ladies https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif Currently working on that SM flag type thing, what is the name for that? Can get the position and hold my body in it by lowering it slowly, but I keep ‘wilting’ instead of holding it out flat when I get there…lol. That’s a good one to work on to help with SM strength and control https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif Flip onto pole might actually be easier.

[MilienElayne]

Twisted Ballerina and Pretzel – I have the flexibility but still can’t pull my leg up enough, need pointers!

On-pole splits (maybe a splits stretching vid? or do you already have one?) with ways to get in and out (specifically out…lol)

Rubber variations – there’s got to be a way to stretch/contort every move further and I’d love to know how!

CAR to TG Aysha

There’s always more, but that’s as many as I can remember https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[MilienElayne]

Barefoot banned? Say what?

[MilienElayne]

Great songs! I too am looking forward to seeing something of it https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[MilienElayne]

I’m 5’10" and don’t have much room at home on my x pole either https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif . I do mine at home from lower down. I can SM V from a stand, but as soon as I go to pencil/super invert or do anything leggy, my feet try to punch through my ceiling… There’s no chance I can wear heels and SM at home from a stand, I have black scuff marks on my ceiling from the attempt… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif . You can crouch, or slide down like you’re doing the limbo (I like that one), or those body waves down the pole til you’re low enough, or you can do it from sitting on the floor like Roxy suggested.

[MilienElayne]

7" Pleasers for spin class and naked for static/aerial… Don’t know why, I just prefer spin in heels. I have real trouble standing tall and pointing my toes in heels though. Shouldn’t it be the opposite? If I’m not walking ‘sexy’ around or to and from a pole (not holding on or anything) I can’t balance in heels… really weird.

[MilienElayne]

How did it go/is it going? Which songs did you/are you using?

[MilienElayne]

Awesome point! Atmosphere.

What about a studio can cause you to not enjoy classes?

I will still enjoy classes themselves as long as it’s with an instructor I know and like, I have made friends in class and the receptionist is welcoming, but as to general vibe and wanting to be loyal to one studio and aspiring to compete and work for them one day… I am put off by underlying bitchiness and politics… Someone might be an awesome actress and businesswoman, her smile could make any stranger fall in love with her and she can be very successful, but eventually I will be able to tell, when her mask slips and her actions speak, if she’s full of crap and just not a nice person. Nothing misses the grape vine.

[MilienElayne]

What I am currently looking for and have been totally impressed and excited to find: tall, thin, solid brass poles with the option to spin or remain static. Instructors who are seasoned public performers and/or can prove decent pole exposure and pole related social networking but are (or flawlessly seem to be) also friendly, honest and real. Mirrors floor to ceiling (or as close as possible). Nowhere seems to have these though: changing room with lockers and showers (polers work up a sweat and some have to travel a long way home), adequate stretching/warmup/hanging out space for before and after classes (I have long hyperextended legs: sometimes I need like 2m sq just for me) – this can also double as seating/standing area for performances/showcases/open nights/functions. I hate feeling rushed and/or unwelcome – I like time, space and freedom to stretch out and to have a relaxed and even extended chat with my pole girls after or between classes. Receptionists should be the most friendly, helpful, welcoming people you can muster… For example, chatting with a genuinely smiling receptionist before leaving the studio can instantly make up for any failed move, a not-chirpy-as-usual instructor, a broken high-heel, sore muscles…etc. and help you leave feeling pole-happy! This is all just my opinion and personal preference.

[MilienElayne]

Happy Birthday! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[MilienElayne]

50’s through 70’s is right up my alley! Not sure if they fit with your theme, but here’s the favorites from my oldies playlist:

Mustang Sally – The Commitments
Take Me to the River – The Commitments
My Girl – The Temptations
Do Wah Diddy Diddy – Manfred Mann
I Only Have Eyes for You – The Flamingos
Bad Moon Rising – Creedence
Twentieth Century Fox – Escape Club
Baby I Need Your Loving – Was (Not Was)
In the Still of the Night – Debbie Gibson
More Today Than Yesterday – Spiral Starecase
You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
Too Much Monkey Business – Elvis
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra
Good Lovin’ – The Rascals
(They Long to Be) Close to You – The Carpenters
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – Carole King
Beautiful – Carole King
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison

Enjoy https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[MilienElayne]

By all means practice combos! Make them as long and tricky as you can. Building stamina is very useful. Practice all the ‘precursor’ moves for the more advanced ones. Butterfly, for example, you can do in split grip and then practice taking the weight off the hooked leg by straightening it gradually (keeping the leg still on the pole and not leaning it out into a full Extended Butterfly until you are confident with your grip). This also leads up to stuff like straight edge and aysha. if you have strong ‘precursors’ and have used the contact points and set up positions before, it’s not too much of a stretch to move on. Watch lots of vids of the advanced moves you want to try, that helps me.

Strengthening – for all of these suggestions, engage the core and be careful of your back:

Aerial and/or from floor lifted choppers (as Charley suggested). Go into a pole pull up, legs straight and keep them locked out and then flip over into chopper. Pretty sure I do it in all of my later vids. Fold it out and do it again, see how many in a row you can get. Also try a chopper, fold it out, still aerial, then swing legs to the other side and chopper, fold it out then switch sides again etc.

Lifted SM (same as chopper – legs straight all the way up and no kicking). Shoulder Mount is GOLD for building core strength, and when it gets easy there are heaps of variations and moves to do with and add on to it and you can do it slower and slower. You can do a SM hold without flipping it up just pulling the legs up into a chopper position or you could do some SM fan leg kicks in both directions and on both hand grip/shoulder sides if you’re not ready to flip it over to get used to the hold and to build abs for it. SM dismount is also great to build up strength.

Spider climb (chopper, gemini, pull up, aerial chopper and gemini on weak side, aerial chopper and gemini good side, repeat over and over) is wicked for core strength and it’s fun to see how many reps you can get.

Pole pull ups with leg lifts and poses – pull up and tuck legs to chest and straighten legs (toes to floor) repeatedly. Later, lift straightened legs held together as high as you can, lower and repeat. When this is easy take them to either side and back to centre. Try holding chopper/helicopter/fan legs in a pole pull up. Do all of these repeatedly and aerially maybe going into a sit to rest.

When things get easy, just slow them down, hold them longer and make lengthen your lines to make it harder https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

My aerial pole moves look strong, but on the floor I can barely do a full pushup and situps still burn… (maybe I’m just lazy?) so… I wouldn’t be too worried about trying those aerial moves, but you’re good for being safe https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[MilienElayne]

You could try a knee hold variation (I have it in my latest vid) to help train that knee pit and practice getting the hips turned out, and try all the different versions of ‘star’ or cupid to see which hand grips and leg placements make you feel more secure, then you can feel more confident to put more weight on the legs?

[MilienElayne]

With that one, remember to keep your hips square and try to keep your butt on the ground. It doesn’t matter how close you can pull the leg to your head each time, just that there’s a stretch. Breathe in, then when you breathe out, pull the leg a little closer. Being WARM is my biggest splits stretching tip.

[MilienElayne]

My Dad called me all excited the other day and told me to turn on my tv and switch the channel so I could see what was on AGT. ‘Yeah, that’s the Pure Pole Angels, Dad!’. ‘But they’re on mainstream TV!’ Lol. I just thought: ‘about time’ and giggled SO much at the judges faces. I pole at home, my friends pole, I take pole classes and I’m part of pole communities online, I often forget that pole isn’t mainstream because it is for me! Mum and Dad are also super excited about Pole potentially being in the Olympics. I just find myself accepting it like OF COURSE pole should be recognised as a ‘real’ sport. Am I too pole exposed or something? Anyway, that was a wicked performance! LOVE that they all told everyone what their full-time jobs are and made their costumes and makeup more fit than glitz so as not to alienate the un-pole-aware audience.

[MilienElayne]

I love Bobbi’s, they’re my idols. I love their emphasis on showmanship and clean lines – it doesn’t matter how ‘advanced’ your tricks are as long as they’re confident, neat, and you have presence. Now… to take my own words and put them into action…hmmm… lol.

[MilienElayne]

I couldn’t take her workshops when she was here because she injured her rotator cuff and couldn’t teach! I was totally depressed! She has to come again though, right? I hope so!

[MilienElayne]

I change my mind about what moves I ‘like’ and ‘dislike’ every week. There are general reasons to like or dislike a move (the overall shape, the connotations, the necessary entry/exit, overuse etc) and there are specific reasons (personal lines, usage context, natural ability etc). I can like the same move for some reasons and in certain situations and not like it for others. I will also learn and execute moves that I ‘dislike’ often. I also know that I ‘like’ and use some moves against my own ‘better judgement’ sometimes. You wouldn’t neglect to work a muscle set in yoga because the move to do so looks yuk to you in the mirror. You wouldn’t refuse to dance en pointe in a ballet just because your toes get sore. You wouldn’t skip studying a large section of your textbook you know is going to be on the exam because you don’t agree with the theory. Eventually I want every single pole move to be in my bag of tricks and even if I never end up using it, it always makes my day to get a new trick and I am so proud I post pictures and videos even though it might look a bit meh on me or it’s one my Mum wouldn’t be keen on. You are proud of getting an assignment done and getting a good grade on it even if you think the essay question was unimportant and your response was drivel. All pole moves rock!

[MilienElayne]

I would LOVE to be able to, but it’s like I physically can’t because my butt isn’t butt, it’s just leg connected to my torso https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif I have been doing loads of squats and lunges in classes, but I just lost the tiny bit of booty fat I had and my glutes are not getting any plumper! If I do ‘booty pop’ I look like a dog displaying lordosis behaviour. I lean over to stretch my hammies or do a ‘sexy move’ and get told to keep my back flat, but it IS! My butt just isn’t there and you’re seeing that last spinal curve with the tailbone dip! It’s depressing… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif

[MilienElayne]

I saw them, love the hair and thought sultry jazz era! Also immediately went and ordered some of the hotpants because they’re HOT! Nothing I have found yet fits my legs, butt and hips properly at the same time, but we’ll see!

[MilienElayne]

To be honest I really haven’t tried to do spins with them on. I kind of neglected my spins when I had beginner death grip and had no momentum and then when had slippery grip of death I only did spins when I absolutely had to in classes… I was also told when I got them at the studio that they’re not good for static spins, so I didn’t try. I might have to give it a whirl. Funny thing is that static spins are great to warm my grip up, to help increase grip strength and get my hands used to not sweating on the pole a hell of a lot quicker… so no wonder I was having problems and turned to gloves in the first place. I’m also a bit afraid I’ll rip them: I avoid Jamilla to Butterfly, Hero and one handed tuck spin with gloves because those moves have split my gloves before. I put all my weight on the bottom hand, and that hand can try to slide and twist at the same time as I am death-gripping. There have been much harder polers and much heavier girls doing much crazier stuff who’ve never split their gloves, so I guess I am just a glove ripping evil genius or something.

[MilienElayne]

Mine hurts sometimes in the CKR and CAR too! Depends how I get into it and I think it does have to do with butt cheek squeezage and also the degree of back arching going on? I mainly have problems when I lay them straight back from a plain sit or plank and especially when I do them as sit-ups after that: *crunch*. For some entrances I don’t have this problem: If I do a wrist sit then lock my legs (always lay a wrist seat right back so your thighs are parallel with the pole and knees turned to the ceiling before opening the legs or you won’t be in a position to do this properly, plus I hate seeing an unsteady wrist sit!), or a wrap/drama queen to no hands layback (start learning that one slowly with hands and lock the ankles hard) or a pole pull-up into a straight leg sit then go into one no hands. I think this is because these entries position me differently, make me squeeze more and I arch my back more? That might just be me, though. Maybe play with different entries?

[MilienElayne]

I never wear other gloves, so I didn’t notice they were short in the wrist. Could it be so they don’t chaffe and so they allow for better range of movement? I have the second gen Australian ones now and the logo isn’t as butt-ugly, it has cursive writing, but the tab is still big and glaring and I do always have to cut those huge tags off.

[MilienElayne]

I think the realness of pole might be part of the problem?

[MilienElayne]

I am with you all!

As to the pole at home, I reckon it makes it worse for me. My SO is fine with me going to classes (5 a week!), but when I’m home it’s like my poling is in-his-face betrayal. He’s so pole-jealous sometimes it’s not even remotely funny. He doesn’t care if I’m watching a DVD or I’m on my laptop (not looking up pole things), but if I am on pole or editing vids or looking up pole stuff I’m cheating on him in my mind or something (he doesn’t say that, but he acts like it with the boohoo you don’t want me anymore). He doesn’t care if I’m out with friends, at work or at classes, but if I am in the house I’m supposed to be ready to drop everything to sit and eat chips and watch a DVD whenever he wants to? Housework is ok for me to do, sitting on my butt is ok for me to do: I used to bead in every spare moment and that was fine…. but as soon as my music goes on and the furniture gets moved back I feel like I’m on borrowed time.

I pole for like 2 hours a day at home max, and he’s on WoW or doing something else on his computer for half a day/night sometimes (uni student, lots of term breaks, no job, doesn’t sleep when and as much as he should). It doesn’t even compare!

I’m mean and rude if I object (strongly) to being interrupted, but he’s allowed to bite my head off if I interrupt a raid to ask him to come out to have dinner? I only pole when he’s already busy, I think I’m justified to ask for two hours alone!

If he hears me in high heels he asks where the horse is and comes out to annoy me like heel noises on the floor triples the ‘you’re not thinking about me, you never spend time with me, all you do is pole, you love your pole more than me’ mood.

I’m a nanny, I spend all day with babies… I spend the rest of the time crushed by stinky people on public transport and in class with 10 other girls (they’re all amazing and lovely, but they’re people nonetheless)… Having a little time alone at home should be a guilt-free given, right? Urm… nooo… apparently, women aren’t allowed to feel that way?