Runemist34
Forum Replies Created
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Hey 33Katenik- Yes, the way the Veena pole attaches to the ceiling is the same as all Lil mynx poles. I rent, and haven’t had any troubles with my pole when moving around. Easy to repair the hole in the ceiling and move on!
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Some people can appear very open-minded, and push a lot of great boundaries in our society, but often many of those people will have “blind spots,” such as their children, where suddenly they start to make jokes and slip into that unfortunate stigma that society perpetuates. If she is politically active, that can also have a lot of pressure on her to “fit in,” as do many other social groups.
You may get some very nasty comments and messages because of your comment to it, but… keep your eyes on how it made YOU feel, because in the end, it was for you that you made the comment. -
Hey there!
Have you tried looking for a pole on Craigslist, or Kijiji, in your area? Are there perhaps some studios you could look into, to try their poles and see what kind of finish, size, and type you prefer?
Also, a note of caution: The three big pole companies we stand by here are Lil Mynx, Platinum Stages, and X pole. Anything else would have to be thoroughly tested- there are also a couple of pole companies that are specific to their area. I heard of one in Australia (I can’t remember the name at the moment).
Anything else, especially ones that are from Peek-a-boo, or Carmen Electra, are not considered safe for pole dancing. Please be wary! -
If you’re looking for “normal clothes,” such as ones you’d wear out to a job or to dinner, instead of stuff you’d dance in, I think it depends very much on your preferred style. I like a lot of dress pants, tank-tops, and suit jackets. I have very plain, minimalist taste when it comes to clothes! And, for fitting larger arms, big legs, a round butt… you gotta find the right brand for you! It can be tough, and it may take some searching, but you’ll find something. Stretch really goes a long way! I haven’t been working my arms as much as I could, and I still have issues finding shirts that I don’t feel like I’m going to “she-hulk” out of. They do exist though!
Yes, more muscles (especially on women) can limit the way you dress. I may never wear knee-high boots again because of my calves from running, but I love my calves, so that’s okay!Personally, I don’t think you necessarily need to “flatter” those parts of your body- they do the job just fine! But, showing them off is totally fun. Find what you love to wear, and then make it work for you!
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Hey there!
Yes, both of my poles (a stainless non-rotator, and the Veena pole) have clanged when I put sideways force on them. I’ve pretty much just forgotten it happens!
As for powder coating, I would go with the Lil Mynx word on this one- if they say it won’t work and you’ll have melted parts, likely it won’t work, and you’ll have melted parts.
However, it’s possible you could either trade or sell your stainless and put the money toward a powder coated one.
I found my stainless very slippery, so I don’t blame you for the temptation 😉 -
Taking breaks from pole dancing (or any other regular exercise!) is one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever done, and it’s not over for me yet!
I used to take extended “breaks” from pole dancing due to lack of confidence and motivation, and while that was sort of intellectually frustrating, I didn’t suffer too badly. I never progressed far from a few spins and one or two holds, so I never saw that much loss, either.
However, recently, I’ve had injuries in my knee, my bicep, and now my wrist, and they’ve all been very frustrating! I had just started to really work on tougher moves, and though my injuries weren’t pole-caused, they were aggravated by my dancing. So, it was break time.I have to say, taking a break from dancing because of your health is also a great thing. You are listening to your body, and understanding that something has gone wrong and must be fixed. This is really difficult, and really important! So, make sure you give yourself the praise you deserve for being sensitive to your own needs.
I find (especially recently) that I tend to get depressed when taking breaks, because my brain craves the endorphins I am no longer getting through exercise. I tend to feel weak, useless, and very sad. I sit on the couch and do nothing all day, and just think about how much I would rather be doing ANYTHING else! This is very much not recommended!
Best advice I can give is, as long as your health professionals agree, keep moving within your comfort level. So, go for walks, or take up some gentle yoga if you can. Go for swims at the pool, or a bike ride once a week. Keep moving! You’ll still feel good, and still be working your body a little bit, keeping yourself feeling healthy, and feeling like you aren’t totally going to flop over.As for losing strength, you’d be surprised at how quickly it all comes back. Your skills, especially the ones you no longer think about “training” but just use during a dancing segment, will be easily recalled. Your strength, though initially lacking, will return fairly quickly- As long as you don’t push yourself too hard! I’m going to say that again: When you get back, don’t push yourself too hard! You don’t want to get re-injured because you were impatient to get back to where you used to be. Take yourself at the state where you are when you get back, and try not to dwell on the past, of what was or could have been. These are recipes for frustration and possible injury!
Your first workout when you come back will probably suck. I know mine always did! You’ll maybe sweat a lot and feel sore, and sluggish, like you’ve got a lot less strength and energy… but your energy will come back for your next workout! The body (and mind) will fight you for that first workout, but afterward, it gets easier.Best of luck! Heal quickly, and remember that your journey is your own 🙂
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I agree with Cazzzz- I haven’t really seen any kind of difference when it comes to elbow stand or forearm stand. The Headstand, yeah, your head touches the ground, but the other two generally do not have the head on the ground.
It would be great to know for sure if there really is a difference! -
Hey!
I could see that being very frustrating… perhaps even moreso compared to most poles, which spin very easily!
What kind of pole do you have? And, since installing it, have you ever tried it on spin mode? There could possibly be something wrong with how it’s installed- I know some poles are very picky about their installation for spin mode! -
Hey Oleas4981!
Flexibility, like strength, is not something you achieve and then keep forever, it must be maintained! Even a while off, like two months, can seriously stunt your ability to achieve the splits.
Also, if you push it too hard, you may see some gains, and then see some losses. This is what happened to me when I damaged my hamstrings.
Be patient with yourself! Rushing will only bring harm! -
Wow, that looks great!!
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Haha, thank you 😉 I think Veena knows more than I do about most of these things. She’ll pop in when she can, I’m sure!
I would say that it’s not necessarily the bicep that is unable to draw in, as there are quite a few muscles that attach in and through the elbow as well! Many of the forearm muscles, too, can affect your elbows. Having too tight a grip, and working on static, would put a lot of strain on those! And I know for me, the brief times I’ve worked on the Reverse grab, those muscles sure did have to work hard!
I would say, ease off a bit from those till the pain dies down and you feel better, and as long as other spins and other moves don’t aggravate the problem, keep working on those! Pole dancing requires a lot of grip strength, I’m sure you know, so this one may just be taxing one particular forearm muscle in you than the others, and it’s not quite ready. So, ease off, and then carefully ease back in! Try it once only, when you’re better and no longer in pain, when you do your pole workouts. Be sure to give yourself rest days, and as you gain strength, you can eventually bring it up to twice each time you dance, and upward from there.Though, once Veena has given her advice, I’d definitely take hers!
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Hey there!
Reverse grab spins can put a lot of strain on the joints, and even if you don’t hyperextend your elbows, I think that this is a challenge that many people face.
This is why conditioning the muscles and making very sure that you’re strong enough to do the spins is key, as well as easing into them and being sure that you don’t over-do how many times you practice them.
I would say that, if you’re getting that kind of pain in your elbows, you may have muscles that aren’t strong enough to take the kind of pressure, and you should lay off them and work on conditioning in those areas for a while. It can be frustrating… but not nearly as frustrating as an injury that takes months to heal, and keeps you off the pole! -
Hey there!
I think a lot of people have this issue… but, when there’s a class scheduled, we go because we’ve made the commitment. When it’s at home, it’s much easier to make excuses not to keep the commitment!
Food and proper sleep are definitely big ones for me- if I haven’t eaten enough, I’ll feel really tired, and not really want to move or do anything. If I haven’t slept enough, I’ll get anxiety really bad, and just not have anything to give.
However, I also find that movement and getting into my body helps me relax, and slough off the pressures and stresses of a day of work. It helps my joints and my back, and it helps me feel more like “me,” and feel strong and good!
So, focusing on the things that pole dancing gives you in the moment, and how good it feels to do, the benefits of practicing after work, can be major motivators for me. It’s similar to running in that way, also. -
@Nats01- I stopped using the bicep as much as possible! I refrained from house chores like vacuuming, and any sort of lifting with that arm. I declined doing certain jobs at work that required a lot of bicep lifting (heavy buckets and such, I didn’t like having to tell them “no” but I couldn’t live with the pain anymore). I stopped picking up my bag with that arm, too. I put ice on it when it hurt, and made sure to extend the arm as much as possible to lengthen the muscle.
Now, as I am not in pain anymore, I am carefully reconditioning it during daily tasks, switching hands when I vacuum the house so that the right is not seeing too much action, and lifting things with either the left, or evenly with both if it’s too heavy for one arm.
I also completely stopped pole dancing for a while, because it was doing me harm with my bicep.I’m going to be slowly getting back to dancing, one day a week, and very carefully. 😉
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I also forgot to add some things!
For tips in practicing at home, remember that you have limits, even when the move you’re working on feels easy. Try to limit yourself to doing a move 5 times at most when it’s new to you, and eventually when this becomes easier, slowly increase up to ten- and I mean, SLOWLY. If it takes two months to reach 10 per pole session of one move from the time you start working on it, I would say that it sounds good!
Also, choose a few different moves that work different muscles. You don’t want to do too many shoulder-oriented moves and stress your muscles, so try some others that deal with core work and legs as well, such as things like floorwork, and some gentle dancing moves. These moves are also lots of fun, and benefit from practice just as much as tricks and spins!I like to warm up with my pole by doing some light free-dancing for about 10-15 minutes. This helps both me, and my pole warm up to create grip and reduce the strain my muscles may take!
After that, I’ll work on more strength moves, beginning with the moves that I’ve been working on a while that feel a little easier, and moving up to very difficult moves.
Then I’ll work on strength training, which often involves body-weight exercises like planks and push ups, pole oriented ones like side-hold crunches, and use of free weights.
At the end I’ll stretch and allow myself to cool down, making very sure not to push my muscles to the point of pain when doing flexibility training (been there, done that, and I injured both my hamstrings, lost a LOT of flexibility!), but also to take my time.Taking your time and getting into the dance, the expression, and the sensuality (if you’re into that!) of Pole dancing is one of the biggest joys I’ve found. After 7 years of pole dancing and being more-or-less completely grounded that entire time, I can honestly say that you don’t need big tricks to have fun! I AM working harder now that I am no longer injured, as I would like to see myself grow stronger… but I’m not in any rush, and you need not be, either!
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I understand the monetary constraint against getting lessons for a year here, so I just want to say that using Youtube… is dangerous.
What other people will put up as “beginner,” may not actually be a beginner move. You must remember that many of the people putting up pole dancing tutorials have been dancing for a very long time, and may also have had a lot of dancing or fitness background that gives them a leg up. Felix Cane was doing rediculous inversions after 6 months of pole dancing… but she also had an entire lifetime of dancing behind her!
Inverts are not beginner moves. Many spins are NOT beginner moves!Even without subscribing to the lessons here, you will still be able to see how they are set up and organized, so you can get an idea of progression. Veena has excellent progression in her lessons, and is great at knowing how people gain strength and how not to get injured. If you take a look, her lessons do not include spins at the beginner stage. Spins can put serious strain on the shoulders, side-body, and weight-bearing arm without appropriate engagement, and strength in many of the smaller stabilizing muscles.
So, please be very careful about what people say is “beginner work” on Youtube! I’ve even seen things like the Superman be labelled as “Beginner,” and it most definitely is NOT.
Generally speaking, inversions like the Basic invert are done safely at about six months. Obviously, there are people who progress quicker, and those who do it slower (I started work on basic inverts after about five years). Just remember that practicing them can result in serious injury if you aren’t ready for them, and it may take you off the pole for months.
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It is also possible that it may be other tendons that attach through the shoulder. My bicep had tendinitis and I was told it was rotator cuff for a long time… so, be careful about that! We use our biceps a lot, so it’s important to know which it is.
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Dustbunny, I think it really depends on what part of Canada we’re talking!
Living in BC, the temperatures (at least, southern BC) are fairly mild, so we don’t get so many cracks in the road or the earth expanding or contracting. An outdoor pole wouldn’t be that bad here, though the rain may pose a bit of an issue… when we eventually get it! Fingers crossed!
However, out East is a different story. I don’t know about Ontario or further, but I know that in the praries like Manitoba, things move around a lot because they get some pretty extreme temperature differences! Anywhere between 40C and -40C and that’s not including windchill. They’re basically re-paving their roads every year, because they become such a destroyed mess from the snow and ice, and from the earth moving in the temperature changes.
I would also be cautious of things like extreme heat in the summer, where the pole may be exposed to the sun all day, and turn out being too hot to touch. Or, in the cold, I doubt that it would warm up easily or well if there’s snow on the ground or a major wind going on. And then, of course, rain making things slippery!
There’s lots to think about for a permanent outdoor pole. 😉 -
… I’m not sure what happened there, but it seems a big chunk of my reply got cut off. I’ll try it again from where I left off…
…so those stabilizers have had to work HARD! I really noticed the difference, though, when putting on my Ellie heels and having a walk around.
So, that would be my suggestion- not to start running, because running sucks and I don’t know why anyone does it, but to start conditioning your ankle stabilizers! There are a few smaller muscles in there that make a seriously big difference, and I’m positive you can find some good exercises for them.
Also, just practice! Hold the pole, and just walk around, work on a slow toe-drag, maybe change direction a few times. Give yourself a bit of time to get used to being in them.
I’ve also been known to just wander around the house in a pair of heels I want to get used to (though normal heels, not the big ones!), do chores, just hang out in them. It helps to do normal things in them because you’ll get used to how they feel and work! And, since you’re at home, you have walls and couches and counters to hang on to if you need to, and no one is going to see you walking around like a newborn deer.Best of luck!
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Hey there!
Yes, big heels are scary at first! They are practically like wearing gorgeous stilts, and it does take some time to get used to them.
I found that running really helped me because I was working on my ankle stabilizer muscles a lot- I trail run, so the ground is uneven, rocky, slippery and sometimes it’s icy (or, just all water- yay >_ -
Hey there!
I just want to give some perspective on chronic pain, as well.
You said you’re “feeling old,” and I completely understand. I’m not yet 30, but because I’ve been through a lot of chronic pain (my knees since I was 14, in fact), I know that dealing with this can really make you feel… well, old!
So, given that you’re in a lot of pain, yes, you’re going to feel like you need to slow down, that you’re maybe useless or unable. Having a knee injury is really difficult, because it hinders a lot of movement!
So, the best thing I can recommend is taking into account your own self-care. Yes, regular and sometimes vigorous exercise can feel great, and help keep you feeling great! But, unfortunately when it comes to injury, this may not be the best self-care for you in the way that it has been.
Treat yourself to leisurely walks, go out to dinner. Read books you like, and have a bath. Take care of yourself! Sometimes when we’re in pain it can feel like everything sucks, that nothing will ever get better… that, perhaps, we can no longer feel as strong or as happy as we used to. But, it’s not true! Having hobbies that don’t necessarily require you to move around so much can be just as rewarding.
I’m not suggesting you take up knitting, though 😉 Find something you love! Pick up an electric guitar and an amp, and get some lessons. Bake super lots of tasty things! Draw 🙂
There are lots of things out there that can help you feel accomplished without putting strain on your body, and can help keep your spirits up while you deal with these issues.This can be an excellent time of exploration and growth. Change doesn’t always have to be bad 🙂
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You’re welcome! Remember that it’s a practice, not a destination 😉 Even a hope practice takes time to get used to and cultivate 🙂
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Hey GlitterSteph!
Switching from a studio environment to a home environment can be very difficult, and there are definitely ways to make the transition easier!
The first way is creating your own “class,” by yourself. So, come up with a couple of moves you want to work on for that week, schedule some time, tell people you can’t hang out with them because “You have a class” at that time. Find a great warm up that you love (you could use Veena’s!) and challenge yourself. Keep the routine, stick with your promise to yourself!
Other ways of feeling that Mojo is to find out what home poling can give you that studio classes cannot. For me, this means self-expression and vulnerability. I may not be very good at freestyle dancing, but I do enjoy it, and I only really feel comfortable doing it ALONE! For some other people, it could be pushing themselves a bit harder (not so hard as to hurt yourself, of course!), because not everyone wants to push hard enough to get themselves sweaty, gross, red-faced and whatnot, when in the presence of other people. So, try to find what you love to do on your own! It can be very freeing.As for feeling like you’re not “on the same level” as those polers on Instagram… it sounds to me like you’re comparing yourself to other people. At this new studio, it sounds like you’ve switched from using your previous studio’s standard of classification (where you felt proud) to this new one, and it’s not doing you any favours. Comparing yourself to other people, or using other people’s standard of what “good” is, will hold you back probably the most, in my experience.
You are fantastic, and I love your profile picture! You’ve obviously done a lot of work, and you’re definitely at a great and exciting level to be at. Find what YOU love about your dance, and what you’re proud of! No one else knows how hard you worked for what you have, but you! -
Hey there!
So, I have bicep tendinitis- I’m pretty sure lifting my school bag for university many times a day aggravated it. I know the pain you’re talking about!
It REALLY sounds like you need to rest that arm, get some ice on it, and perhaps see a doctor.
If you overwork the muscles, you run the risk of damaging or tearing something. For me, it tends to be tendons, but for others I’ve heard of major muscle tears and even worse.
The pain you’re talking about after shoulder-mounting so many times is a huge warning sign to STOP and to rest! Your body has limits and is not a machine! Pushing too hard, too often, or very repeatedly can seriously damage you.
My suggestion would be rest (as in, no more shoulder mounts, and very, very little use of that bicep at all for some time, weeks at least), put some ice on it each night where the pain is, and possibly see a doctor to make sure there isn’t more permanent or difficult-to-treat injury. -
Hey there!
You could potentially, with Doctor’s blessing, lift some light weights and do some work with resistance bands. Conditioning your smaller, stabilizing muscles is very important, and once you get back to dancing and your workouts, having them being strong will definitely help you return to strength without injury. You can also work the larger muscles this way as well- it’s quite versatile.
I would recommend being very careful, though, and taking your time!
