[PoleDreamer]

Thank you LolaSlaytor! That’s so helpful! I’m going to have to try that! 😀

[PoleDreamer]

Thanks so much!

[PoleDreamer]

Thank you 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

Hi, Sorry I didn’t think to clarify! Whoops! I actually have them ripping off my hands. I used to leave them alone, but this issue is getting worse lately :-/

[PoleDreamer]

I am just hoping to file them down a bit. I’ve been poling for years, but lately they’ve become more painful when they rip off on spins, etc. I know a few other polers who file theirs down so they don’t totally rip off with healthy skin attached (sigh). Thanks for the input, though 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

I love my rolfer, and she has discovered and treated issues with my body that my fellow therapists couldn’t find or figure out.
It’s definitely worth a try if you’re thinking about it. I felt a little better even after my first evaluation appt.

[PoleDreamer]

It looks like your hips are too close to the pole when you are placing your knees around the pole, so that you aren’t gripping in the correct place. You want the pole to be in the fatty part of the knee (slightly above the level of the knee, but not where you have to squeeze with your thighs). I’ve had students having the same issue and that was the only reason. I would start with setting the knee position with your knees flexed and *then* standing up from that. If you point your front ankle more, you will get a better lock too–the back of your ankle should hook around the pole. Hope this makes sense?

[PoleDreamer]

One more thing I can add is that you really should be pulling down with that top arm, enough that you feel your shoulderblade pulling down behind your back. This will take a lot of the stress off your bottom hand/wrist. It’s tough to do at first, but I would encourage you to work on it–it makes a huge difference (and also helps with strength for future tricks and spins) 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

From a regular invert, try pulling up on the pole a little with your arms so that your torso is in a bit of an ab crunch position before trying to hook your outside leg. That seems to help students get the right hook. I hope I’m explaining this clearly? 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

What I’ve noticed with a lot of polers that lose a trick, is that they have lost just one little part of the technique that made all of the difference when they first learned it. Like how high your hands are holding, etc. Maybe ask someone or revisit the trick as if you are learning it for the first time? You’d be surprised how much of the detail people forget after they’ve had a trick for awhile. 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

I'd like to also add my rolfing experience. It's completely changed my life! As a therapist, I expected other therapists to help me with my pain/tightness issues. However it wasn't until I finally went to a rolfer that my whole posture, flexibility, and even strength changed dramatically. Rolfers seem to have an incredible insight into body issues, that typical medicine doesn't have. Not to knock my fellow therapists, but I'd highly recommend seeing a rolfer for just about any issue you are dealing with. You'd be amazed at the change in your body! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[PoleDreamer]

I'm still having this issue too. Very frustrating. I can't view any of the videos anymore. It's exhausting having to put in my username and password for every link I click on with this site. 🙁

[PoleDreamer]

I know it takes amazing strength, but I'm getting kind of sick with the Iron X. I've seen it a lot lately in competitions and general dancing videos. Impressive, but I don't think it looks pretty or flows well in a dance (the best professionals that dance with that move still seem to do it more to showcase their crazy strength rather than using it to flow and tell  a story). But I'm sure if I could do that move I'd be doing it in every single dance–ha! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[PoleDreamer]

To protect your back I'd strongly recommend not kicking with full force. Rather, do gentle kicks and keep increasing the height as your muscles warm up and loosen up. Also, I'd strongly recommend learning to pull in your abs (to engage the transverse abdominis) to protect your low back. Think along the lines of sucking in your stomach like you're trying to look thin in a bikini, *without* holding your breath. It takes a lot of practice, but it can become second nature the more you work on it. Bonus is that your abs will be a lot stronger as a result.

[PoleDreamer]

Ballistic stretches are those in which you bounce in them–back in the day we used to have to do these in gym class 😉

They are now considered an unsafe way to stretch. Static stretching or controlled dynamic stretching seem to be the preferred way to become more flexible (and remember to hold a stretch at least 30-60 seconds for it to be effective).

Hope that helps

[PoleDreamer]

I never used grip aids in my past 2 years of poling, except when I was practicing at length at home and was extremely sweaty. Like a few of you have said, I also believe it has helped me to develop better technique and strength by not relying on it. But of course I've also flown off the pole in a dramatic reverse grab spin on occasion 😉

Now that I am learning ayesha, allegra, etc I'm finding the need to occasionally apply grip. A muggy pole room seems to defeat me without it. 🙁

I can definitely say that not using grip in most situations has helped for it to be more effective when I do need it (ie. doing a showcase where I am not warmed up sufficiently).

[PoleDreamer]

I don't want to scare you, but the numbness would be a bigger concern to me. I wonder if it is something spinal rather than just a peripheral nerve. If it were me, I'd definitely have it checked out by a doctor asap. (and not just a chiro)

I hope it ends up being nothing.

Please let us know how things go 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

Yes! Every single time I have to re-log in, and sometimes it won't let me view the video at all. I even downloaded Chrome and Firefox to see if they would fix the problem and still  I'm having the same issues no matter what browser I use.

I thought I was the only one having this issue!   🙂

[PoleDreamer]

That's exactly how I feel, Lana Lee! I have an incredibly short torso, but big ol hips and chest. So frustrating!

But a girl can dream of the day when rompers will fit her short torso'd body…….. 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

I would love a wider selection of rompers.  I'm petite and also like the others would like more support for a larger bust 🙂 It's hard to find a combo that covers a big butt and bigger boobs, but isn't made for a super tall person.

Thanks for asking for input! I'm really excited about your new clothing line!

[PoleDreamer]

As a therapist, I'd definitely recommend using the bands–you can work just about every muscle with them (as long as you have the option to anchor them to something for particular exercises).

[PoleDreamer]

For those that own the fly gym and permanently installed it, where did you find the correct size eye bolts? My husband and I went to every hardware store and did online searches, and couldn't find anything following the flygym's exact specs.

Thanks!! 🙂

[PoleDreamer]

Verticali–Is the spin you are describing the same one in this tutorial by emotioncatcher?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gYGxnhp2PE

 

 

[PoleDreamer]

I was actually planning on starting a separate thread on this–I wanted to caution any future buyers against Lil Mynx for their 45mm poles. I had no problems with the 50, but just recently bought one of their 45 spin mode poles. I was very disappointed that they use the same mount as the 50 mm, and this mount only has a small contact point for the 45. My husband worked construction, and we are anal about how we installed it (and I regularly measured and leveled it to make sure it was safe). Well, a few weeks ago I noticed the mount looked funny at the ceiling–it actually ate into the drywall and became loose (as another poster mentioned). It was about to fall, and I had no idea that it had become dangerous. I contacted Lil Mynx, expecting to at least hear a concerned response. Instead, the company just mentioned 3 reasons why it would supposedly fail, and all 3 were user error (which I can guarantee is not the case in this situation). I'm pretty insulted, and very disappointed that this is their response. After all this, I can promise I will never buy a Lil Mynx again! Buyer beware.

[PoleDreamer]

Does anyone know how it hooks up? Do you need to get a special ceiling mount or is it included? It looks like fun!