Runemist34
Forum Replies Created
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This sounds like an issue with jumping or throwing too much weight into it.
There are a lot of troubleshooting tips for inverting:
-Bring your hands lower, like around face level, as this will make it easier (trust me, it does)
-You may swing your leg, but NEVER jump, even if it’s a tiny bit. Never.
-Be sure to pinch the pole between your side and your inside (or pole-side) arm, to give you better grip
-Inverting will take time! Be patient, and if it hurts, back off and see what you can do otherwise
-Be sure that your hips are in front of the pole before commencing the actual invert part. As I said, leg swinging is okay, so you MAY wish to swing from a slightly less-than-in-front-of-the-pole position (sorry, it’s late, I’m not very wordy right now! haha)As for exercises, I would recommend two: First, lots of core strength. Don’t just focus on abs, but the whole core. Transverse abdominus, back muscles, obliques, the lot. They will ALL help you in this endeavour. Really good one for this is Veena’s free 30 Day Ab Workout. Seriously.
Second, is sort of… leg lifts? You lay on your back, with your back flat on the ground, and lift your legs straight up, so that they point toward the ceiling (your body would be making an L shape). Then, push your feet up toward the ceiling, without using your hands. Your hips will lift, and at first, you may only be able to do just a bit of a pop. Try to work slowly, controlled, and with time you’ll find that you can lift higher, for longer. This will give you the strength and control for the second part of your invert, so that you can push your legs up while also hanging from your arms.As I said, if it hurts, back off the move. This goes for pretty much any move; having some pain from gripping the pole is perhaps acceptable (depending on what kind, and how much stamina you have in the way of pain), but muscle pain is NOT good. You need to take it SLOW.
And, good luck 🙂 It’s a big milestone!
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I’m pretty happy with the SV pole… I think my issue is more that I’d like to have my dream HOUSE, so I can have a much taller pole to dance on!
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So, just wanted to say: I had a 50mm SS lil mynx, and I found the coupling in the ceiling that came from my old one to be different than my new Veena pole, so I used the new one. It may have just been because my old SS was like, 5 years old though, and things may have changed since then.
Also, I find the smaller diameter much nicer now that I’ve gotten used to it, and I love the powder coating. I liked the SS, but I never really felt very stable on it. The powder coat is amazing! -
I’ve been poling for almost 6 years (off and on) and only last summer have I gotten the chance to even try spinny pole! It’s been quite the change for me. Lots of fun, but super difficult! I find that it takes a lot more strength and control than static… but it may just be that I’m getting soft again 😉
I think that spinning pole control takes a lot of practice. Veena’s lessons are pretty awesome, too, because she gives you pointers on things you may not think about… like how one may swing one’s leg into a spin and SERIOUSLY SHOULDN’T (cough >_>)
Anyways, if you have access to a spinning pole, why not make it part of your home practice? You can always take your studio lessons, and see what you can make of them at home with spinning mode. 🙂 -
Hmmm, there are a lot of reasons why one may not stick to one’s pole.
So… Are you warm? As in, have you warmed up for about 20 minutes of mostly-cardio exercise, gotten the blood flowing, moving around, etc?
Is your pole warm? Have you used it while you were warming up, so that the metal is warm and more grippy, allowing you to stick to it?
How’s the temperature in your room?
Are you majorly sweaty between your legs?
What kind of pole is it? TG, Stainless, Powder coated, chrome? Some of these may be more difficult for some people to stick to!
Do you have the grip between your thighs right? I know a pole sit looks pretty easy, but sometimes… You gotta play with your grip!
And, finally… are you using just your skin on the pole? (I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but… much like asking “Is it plugged in?” sort of a necessary thing!)Any or all of these can be a huge factor in thigh grip with pole dancing. I know that I stick to things fairly easily with my hands, because of the different skin and the fact that my hands are usually the warmest part of my body, but… thighs are a different matter!
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Umm… it’s REALLY difficult for me to tell what you’re asking, but… are you saying that you hover your heels off the ground while flexing and pointing your toes? Because it just sounds like you might have your heels a little too close to the ground. I mean, your heel is going to move when you flex and point your feet! So, perhaps lifting a little higher?
I have the DVD, but… I’m having a super hard time figuring out what you’re talking about :/ -
I’ve seen this before! I kept thinking she was spinning pretty fast… but some people like it! I would also bet she worked her way into being comfortable with that sort of thing 😉 She’s really good, though!
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Veena is correct- both stretching and conditioning is needed for preventing tendinitis! I am prone to it, and basically what you’re looking at is that the muscles are either too weak, or not being used at all in whatever you are doing. This is why we get it from too much computer- without the right hand and elbow positioning, we put a lot of the movement and strain on our tendons. They’re not meant for repetitive, or any kind of “load bearing” work, that’s what our muscles are for! Every time I ask my doctor about how to prevent it, he/she said to do strengthening exercises to make sure the muscles are taking the weight of what I’m doing (in that, they are strong enough to do so and not shunting the weight to the tendon).
If you’re feeling really sore, and doing those motions hurt, you HAVE to take time away from them. Allowing the inflammation to go down and for the tendon to be repaired is crucial. After that, you work on strengthening.
Veena has some awesome lessons on forearm and elbow conditioning, which should help (they’re the same ones my boyfriend got from a physiotherapist for his wrists). -
Hey!
Generally I don’t care what time of the month it is, but I know of a few reasons for why people would want to take that time off:
First, yoga philosophy states that going upside down during that time can screw things up, and this has become semi-cultural in the West, in that a lot of people who don’t know where this rumour started, or aren’t into yoga, still hold to this belief. However, as far as I’m aware, medical science hasn’t found anything wrong with being upside down (it’s totally up to the person, though!)
Secondly, you are a lot more sensitive to pain when you are close to that time of the month. Honestly, if you’re booking piercings, tattoos, or anything else you believe will be painful, I would say aim for mid-cycle. For pole, some people just find themselves more sensitive and can deal with it, and others find themselves really hurting. It all depends on you!
Lastly, is the other physical factors. I know that my cycle is really tough on the system- I get lethargic, and my core works so hard on that task that it doesn’t want to do anything else. I get hot easily and for a long time, I’m whiny and undermotivated, and… I just don’t want to do things. Rock climbing is hard, poling is hard, getting off the couch is hard. Sometimes, I have cramps so bad I can’t move (not when I’m on the pill, though, thank goodness!), and sometimes… none of this stuff happens and it’s awesome!🙂
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Trusting my body more. For most of my life my body was an inconvenient, needy way of getting my brain around… but, after starting to dance and getting more and more into it, I started to discover that it can do, and be, so much more than that. I am far stronger, and far more physically capable than I ever thought!
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I think most kinds of yoga should help with flexibility! That’s sort of part of the point? lol, I think so, anyways!
Personally, I liked the meditative type of yoga, it was… relaxing 😉 -
I agree with Kasanya- sounds like a meditative yoga class.
Traditionally, Yoga was always done this way. Slowly, meditative, don’t talk to anyone else, focus inward, balance your energy, go for alignment. The teacher talking is meant to be something you can tune out other than for instruction, something you don’t feel particularly emotional toward, so you can focus inward on your body moving, and clearing your mind.
There are many other types of yoga, with many other philosophies.
Mostly it’s an “american” thing to have classes like Power Yoga or the like.
However, the physical benefits of yoga are what draw people to it, and often the variations of yoga are meant to play up those physical benefits (as far as I’m aware) or blend those benefits with other things (such as strength training), or to downplay the mental/spiritual focus. -
I don’t have any suggestions, unfortunately, but I’ll definitely be watching this thread for ideas 😉
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FORtheLOVEofTHEpole- I do? Oo;
Thanks everyone, I had wondered. Language is silly sometimes.
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I also love Sailor Moon 🙂 I have all 500 episodes in japanese with English subs. I… “borrowed” them? lol
Apparently there’s going to be a reboot of Sailor Moon out… they keep pushing the date back, though. I have a lot of younger friends who are super excited, so I get my information from them! -
Oh man! I can’t imagine how painful that must be… is this normal for these sorts of procedures? Sounds pretty scary to me!
However, it sounds like you’re sort of stuck stationary for now… and that does suck, but there are ways of keeping yourself occupied!
I would definitely recommend picking up a book. Any book, even if it’s “a guilty pleasure,” because… well, they’re fun! I love my cheesy romance books!
Otherwise, you can always spend some time planning what you would like to work on when you’re well again. Things like challenging yourself to creating choreography, or dissecting various videos of dancers you love to find out how you can incorporate some of their moves… or even just hunting down music you would love to dance to!
I hope your recovery is quick, easy, and smooth! -
Hey Godsgrace!
For most, if not all, of the people here, pole dancing is a passion, art form, and a form of exercise! Not a whole lot of us got into this thinking to please our partners, though some of us do like to do the occasionally show-off dance for them.
I would say… see if you can find a studio nearby, and try out some pole dancing lessons! You’ll learn some basics, and find different ways to add in your dancing background. And, if you feel you want to continue, you can dish out the money for a pole, or you can keep going to the studio. As you progress, you can keep dancing for your husband, too! Some of the simplest, most sexy moves require a deceptive amount of strength! -
RockNAngel- Pole finishes are definitely preferred based on things like skin type, climate, and things like that. It’s really difficult to tell who is going to like what best until they really try them, in whatever context they’re intending to use the pole in. Even time of year can really have a huge effect… as most of us can attest, during the winter, as the poles are less prone to becoming properly warm.
I’m not quite sure what you mean about the pole getting “too hot,” though! That’s really concerning. Mine warms up, as they all do and should, but too hot? Mine gets very grippy, especially during the summer, and especially when it’s humid (which it usually is, here), and that’s why I find it overly grippy for certain things 😉 -
Unfortunately, the best thing to do is… practice! Your muscles will get stronger as you do it more, so you won’t have to kick or swing into it. And, you’ll find all of the little quirks and issues you have through doing it over and over, so you can smooth the motion out.
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I’m sort of the opposite to RockNAngel- I used to have a Stainless steel, for about five years. Never really made friends with the grip, but it always seemed to warm up quickly!
However, I purchased an SV pole, which is powder coated, and I LOVE the grip! It’s great for me, especially when it’s all warmed up. I have, however, found it occasionally too grippy, and rubbed my thighs red with it (ouch!)
Are you able to try a few different types of poles? Maybe there are studios around that you could test? -
I found that doing two-handed spins, and working up to doing all of your easy spins one-handed, until you can do your hard spins one-handed.
Having amazing lats, shoulders, and grip is all very important. You have to be able to keep your shoulder blades (or, scapula) in the right position, and engage everything all down your back and side, in order to do spins like DB is doing in that video.
If you hang, you’re more likely to slip, and to wrench your arm right out of joint. -
Wow, thank you all for your awesome replies! AliPali, I totally agree with you- that eye contact would be pretty difficult to maintain… but I think it comes with practice and confidence. One of my favourite burlesque dancers (Michelle L’Amour) said “Sex is in the eyes, not the mouth” and I rather agree with her! She has the best eye contact, she’s totally not ashamed, and she’s dancing for audiences of thousands!
I’ll have to practice all this stuff with my camera 😉 -
Poling at home, especially when you’re used to the environment of a studio, takes some getting used to. Humans tend to compartmentalize, especially places: We have our bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms. They’ve got specific uses, and they’re optimized for those uses. Dance studios are similar, in that they are optimized with the best lighting, sound, floor, and atmosphere that we can make, so that when we got there, we associate dancing and working out with being there.
However, if you have your pole (and thus your intended workout) in your bedroom, or living room, or even a spare room that may have been re-purposed for your pole, you may have a difficult time “getting comfortable” with it. You’re changing the nature of the room, and the way you label that room, and it can take some time.
That being said, if you have it in a spare room, you can do your best to optimize the space, and you’ll likely get more comfortable with it in a shorter amount of time.
If it’s in a multi-purposed room, such as your bedroom, see if you can find some “rituals” to do before getting into your dancing. For me, it’s things like cleaning up the massive amount of laundry on the floor 😛 And, also setting up my music. I hope to get my big stereo into the closet one day, so that I can have some really awesome bass!Just give it time 🙂
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I agree with Chem: I’ll learn any move thrown at me, but I may not perform it. I actually have a few moves in my repertoire that I don’t use, because I find them too… “blatantly stripper-ish,” if you catch my meaning. I’m not the “pole hump” kind of girl.
But, any move can teach you something new, can improve your strength or your understanding of your movements, and can potentially improve all the other moves you do use! That’s my philosophy 😉 -
I know that Alethea Austin took over 2 years to get her splits; she says that in her DVD. Most people take a very long time.
I’ve worked on them off and on for a long time, and not made brilliant progress. However, my muscles always seem to “remember” how to get to the last point I’d been at fairly quickly.
My only recommendation is to take it slow, remember to take rest days (yes, even from flexibility training), and don’t push yourself to the point of pain. Ever.
