StrangeFox
Forum Replies Created
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More combos! Long combos with a variety of moves and transitions. Maybe some combos with moves and transitions we don’t usually see together. 🙂
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Excited to give this one a go! This is the type of program I have been looking for. 🙂
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This sounds amazing! I’m really looking forward for the beginner level because I really need to brush up on my fundamentals and would love feedback. I’m so stoked about having flex training incorporated into this, too!
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Gorgeous!!! I am following this because I have the same question… lol! I think for me my active hip extension is quite poor so I’ve been working my booty in the hopes I can soon access some of my sweet, sweet passive hip flex gains on the pole!
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Update on this in case anyone comes across the same issue: my friend removed all of the little screws from the base of the pole and then screwed them back in. That seemed to fix the issue!
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Thank you! She has tried tightening all of the screws at the base of the pole and still no luck… 🙁 It’s so bizarre!
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Sorry to hear about your injury but I’m glad to hear you’re recovering and you know what you have to do! I’m with you on bad side training – I hate it and have little time or patience for it while I’m learning new things. I think many of us feel this way even though we know we should always train both sides.
A really great bit of advice I got from the “The Pole PT” by Neola Wilby was that you don’t have to actually do every trick on your bad side, so long as you make sure you’re conditioning/strengthening the same muscles targeted by the trick on your “bad side.”
That said, it’s definitely good to make sure you can do most tricks on your bad side. Some combos will end on your bad side, and sometimes your bad side is your more flexible or stronger side for a trick.
What works for everyone is going to be different, but what I find works for me is to take it slow. I’m working on building a solid foundation on my bad side before I move onto more complicated tricks. And I make sure I don’t spend an entire session working on my bad side. Just giving a trick a couple of tries before switching to conditioning helps me gain strength without getting me discouraged or sucking the fun out of my training session. I also keep a journal and take pics/videos so I can track my progress.
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Definitely spin pole!!
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I am for sure interested! I actually despise training ayesha and I think the reason is I lack strength/stability in my shoulders. I think this would help with some of my other nemesis moves, too.
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This one is so tricky and strength intensive! It is currently my nemesis move. I’ve heard it called “matrix” and “float,” or “handspring stall.” It is definitely possible to do it in true and cup grip – I actually prefer to stay away from twisty grip when I train this move because it is tough on the joints and easy to overdo it.
Take my advice with a grain of salt because I have been training this one for over a year and I still cannot do it. 🙂 I believe you want your lower hand even lower than you think it has to go. And you’re aiming to lift your chest up towards the ceiling instead of to the side. I’ve heard the position and engagement of the lower arm described to me as being similar to a side plank.
I have the same problem you describe of turning in towards the pole when I take my feet off of the ground and I’ve had a couple of instructors tell me it is a strength/stability issue, however, if you have cup grip ayesha you are LOADS stronger than I am! LOL! Another common issue in this one is shoulder mobility so you may have better luck playing around with positioning in cup grip since it’s easier to open/lift the chest with your shoulder in that position. Good luck and keep us updated!
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Congrats on your career change! I did a bit of a career change myself and this timing is definitely rough. I feel ya on that!! Best of luck to you, and if I get some extra cash before 06/17 I’ll check out the knee pads! Mine have almost no padding left now… lol!
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I see Bee’s Knees on IG and I LOVE the way Sara Bee interacts with the community. Sadly, due to the pandemic I don’t have much spare cash to spend on fun things like knee pads. I was already a bit strapped before due to some other personal circumstances, so it’s looking like I’ll have to stick with my beat up volleyball knee pads for the foreseeable future… 🙁 Once things pick up I’m going to look into Bees Knees and Queen. Thanks everyone!
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Every morning I go for a run on my elliptical and do a nice full body stretch. I’ve been poling quite a bit and because the days all blend together I have to be careful I don’t forget rest days – lol! I’ve been doing some conditioning and working on my handstands, too. I’m loving the extra time!
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We’re in lock down/quarantine for the forseeable future and despite all the madness going on in the world I’m finding it so relaxing. It’s a great time for me to “recharge my batteries.” I’ve been stretching my entire body a little every night, going on runs on my elliptical, and I’m pleasantly surprised that pole moves that are usually painful are no problem now. I’ve done a bit of allegra and jallegra practice this week – trying to get both flat! I’ve done a lot of spin pole and with all of this extra time I’m looking to plan a few choreos and work on my dancing skills.
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I’ve been keeping good on my promise to myself to stretch my back and shoulders more often. Friday was a weird day and we cancelled our pole class. I didn’t get to go to my other Friday class because I was talking to a family member who was a bit worried about the pandemic.
I’ve been going for runs on my elliptical, stretching, and dancing – lots of low flow and spin. 🙂 We’re all being advised to practice social distancing as much as possible where I am, and there seems to be a global TP panic (of all things). I’m just now realizing that social distancing is actually my normal.
The awesome ladies at my pole studio have created group chats and Skypes to keep everyone’s spirits up and motivate each other. Although the panic buying and selfishness is getting to me, it’s nice to see some compassion rising out of the ashes. For example – FREE VEENA LESSONS! (Thank you, Veena and Webby!)
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This week has been rough on me (preparing to leave my job and start a new one) and I’ve had very little time for myself. BUT I have still gotten to stretch my whole body every day. It hasn’t been the deep, flex training I crave, but at least it’s something. I even got to pole train a couple of the days, although I only got to spend a bit of time trick training. Tonight I’m stretching my upper back and shoulders and dancing. I NEED it. On the plus side, the slow days have helped me heal up a nagging minor injury to my elbow, so that’s good!
I’ve also been feeling bummed out and burned out, so I think the distance from pole was good for me. My inclination at these times is to train more, but sometimes a little break is what I really need.
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I’ve never done the sandpapering, but I would be concerned it would ruin your pole or shorten its lifespan (maybe make it more likely to rust…?) X-Pole swears up and down there’s no coating on their poles, but myself and many others have experienced new pole slippery-ness! It is frustrating but it wears off fairly quickly. Veena has a video on here for steam cleaning poles that might be helpful to remove the coating. 😊
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I’ve been doing light exercise only (short, light elliptical training, gentle stretching) this week. It is what my body is telling me it needs at the moment and as of today I’m feeling restless and jittery. I have pole and stretching tomorrow, and I’m soooo ready to get back to it! This rest week is killing me but I had a lot of work things to attend to and a few of my joints were hyper-extending (OUCH!) during stretching and exercise, which is usually a signal for me to slow down for a bit.
This week has been stressful and I haven’t had any of my usual outlets to help me cope so it has been rough, but it’s almost over. I’m feeling a lot of guilt over taking this time, even though I knew I needed it both for my physical recovery and to take care of work. It’s only a few days – not even a full week – and already I’m worried I’ve regressed like crazy. I know that’s silly and I’ll be better off for having taken the break but I can’t help feeling bad…lol!
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Wednesday was Pike and straddle flexibility work, and a 5K run on the elliptical (it’s snowy out here!). Thursday was pole conditioning and some very light maintenance stretching. Friday was my pole class and a heavy flex training day – I go to an amazing class that does full body stretching: all of the splits and back bends! I actually achieved my most comfortable front split ever on my good side. Tomorrow I’m going to an hour long kickboxing workout, which I’m super pumped about.
I started a new flexibility program recently, which is kicking my butt (but shockingly yielding results), so next week I might be all about recovery and focusing on some stuff I have to get done for work. Next week I’ve got a few things going on that are causing me a great deal of anxiety, so it’s not the best time for a recovery week. It’s gonna be rough. 🙁
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Last Friday was pole class and flexibility training (full body). Saturday was a rest day. Sunday was cardio, hip flexibility and back/shoulder flexibility. Monday was cardio and pike and straddle flexibility. I was not feeling myself on Monday and had trouble getting to sleep so I did a few jades for fun – I’m getting close to flat, which felt pretty good because I’ve been struggling lately with not seeing much flexibility progress. Even if a jade split is a cheat split it still made me feel good.
I’m off to freestyle, perhaps do some more cardio, and stretch my back and hip flexors!
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Thanks for posting the video, Veena! Love that combo. Hope you’re feeling better soon!
The last couple of days I did cardio on my elliptical (it’s too icy to run outside), worked on jade and floor jade, machine gun and over the shoulder split. I also worked on splits and back bands.
Tonight it’s back to cardio and working on splits. I’m going to have to squeeze that in after cooking, though. I’m trying to eat healthier to help with my training. 🙂
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Such a great idea! Veena – I’m curious what shoulder mount side stall and gemini flip are, now!
Pretty Pixie – so sorry to hear about your tragedy. It’s hard to feel motivated when you’re in that depressed state of mind. Sending you good vibes! I’m glad to see you’re getting back at it. You will have your callouses back in no time.
Today I warmed up on my elliptical for 30 mins and did some back stretching/strengthening…which I desperately need. The run felt AMAZING. The back stretching… actually pretty awesome and productive for a change. I feel really motivated, which is great because I’ve been feeling very lazy/depressed/demotivated, especially when it comes to my flexibility. I feel like I’m always training flexibility and my flexibility just…really sucks! (Ps. I know this isn’t true, it’s just me being impatient and petulant). Today I bounced back and was excited about my plan to improve, especially after learning I’ve been doing a few exercises wrong, hence the discouraging lack of improvement in a few areas.
Tonight I am still full of energy so I plan to do one of the flow routines on here and a few more stretches before bed.
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I have roughly the same size hands as a child. They don’t even sell leather gloves in my size in most shops. I bought a 40mm as my first pole and I loved having the thinner diameter pole to try moves on. Although I didn’t notice much of a difference between 40mm and 45mm, it was nice when I was learning to feel a little more secure on a thinner pole.
That said, I now prefer a 45mm diameter pole. I find with the 40mm, I tend to over grip (if that makes sense) and this puts a lot of pressure on my joints. Also, I’m built kinda stocky so I found using a 45mm pole was more comfortable for me when I had to do moves that depended on alignment (ayesha, cartwheel mount) – it’s just easier on my joints. As you continue on your pole journey, your preference may change. 🙂
Check with the studio what diameter the poles are (they could be 50mm, 45mm, 40mm…) to get a better idea of what each diameter might feel like. Also, as Veena suggested, try out some grip aids! Another member on here had luck with Carpe Lotion for sweaty hands, but you might find dry hands works well. You may also find you do better on a brass or powder coated pole as opposed to chrome. Keep us posted on what you decide to buy!
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Thank you! I’m going to go look for that and let you know how it goes. 🙂
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I love this – thanks for offering, Veena!
I think sharing your pole training workouts would definitely help. I’m having issues getting the most out of my home trick training sessions. I’m also struggling to try and put together combos and choreo so maybe tips on that would be helpful, too. 🙂
