[abcollins1]

Yes, strength training that gets your heart rate up and can keep it there, is considered as cardio. Circuit training is really useful for this 🙂

cardio in and of itself really isnt necessary at all, and no one said cardio had to be running. Any activity that gets you moving and gets your heart rate up is cardio!

[abcollins1]

I too have a LM rotator pole, which i am so glad i went with it! I am pretty sure i also have a video up of me doing some things after only a few weeks.

however, i will say that i first learned pole from a stripper round about 10 years ago. I learned nothing of proper form, or safety issues and i was doing tricks i should not have been doing at all. I had no strength and ended up falling out of inverts quite a lot. Im suprised and lucky that i ended up with only bruises.

Also, when i picked it back up in October, i had all ready been building strength for years so I had a good base to start with. My grip has always been an issue for me, evn in the weights, so i have been doing lots and lots of spins. I have a few tricks i work on, like the others said to do. I would still classify me as an "advanced beginner". I can do pretty much all of veenas beginner things, and a couple of the intermediate things, but thats about it. so thats what my practices consist of, all of the tricks/spins i can do, and then a few i am working on, then dancing around having fun, throw some floorwork in there, and stretching and i got about an hour or 2 workout. I do this about 2 x's a week.

Now i also take silks and hammocks class, weight lift 4 days a week, plus teach spin and muscle pump classes every week. so there are lots of other things you can do to help you learn pole, but all of them take time. And if you give up easily, then you will never accomplish anything.

Maybe look into a way to structure your work out, perhaps like this: Warmup – strength – spin/tricks – dance (fun) – stretch and cool down. Just a suggestion but it may help you feel more like a "poler" and be less boring if you have a plan.

[abcollins1]

First, you need to realize that 2 weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things. For some one starting out, its going to take a long time to build strength, muscle, and endurance and pole requires all three. Top it off with the fact that you must eat for strength and muscle as well, you do need adequate protein and overall calories. You also need rest, cause that is where the real magic happens.

All this isnt going to be pulled together in 2 weeks or maybe even 2 months.

I dont say this to discourage, but more to have you see that you are normal.

Work on the things that you can, the conditioning, the stretching, what spins you can. You can even take this time to try a dance class and work on dance moves and "flow"

I have been working on building muscle and strength for more than 3 years now, its a slow process and im still not to the point i want to be. Its a long hard road, some days are not fun, some days really are work. But nothing comes free. you either put the time into the beginning building a solid foundation to work with, or you say this isnt fun and you give up.

The beautiful and pretty part comes because that girl has done it 100xs and perfected it. It only looks easy because they put the work into making it seem effortless. A lot of people underestimate the strength, time and work that goes into poling or building strength/muscle.

[abcollins1]

No, most "diets" are the same concept repackaged to get people to buy into a "quick fix" and make tons of money. All diets are eat less, move more… they just change one thing to make is sound "new" and "different". From The Zone, Atkins, South Beach, weight watchers, jenny craig, keto, paleo, curves, HCG, blood type. low fat no fat, low carb no carb….. the message is the same Eat less, move more….

The difference is that they spread misinformation, people latch on to this as "it worked for me so thats how it works, you must only eat clean, no carbs, no fat, take a pill, only eat the foods they tell you"

They all work to a point because the basic concept is "eat less move more" except they dont teach you how to eat healthy for life. They dont teach you how to make meal plans (as someone else said they were struggling with), they dont teach portions they dont teach calorie control or awarness.

It takes work to lose weight, the underlyiing concept is simple, but yes you have to track foods, be aware of what you are eating, think about how to cook it and what you can make. It is work to be healthy and to lose weight…. there are no quick fixes that these diets promise and that is why people will gain weight after they stop doing the diet. They eat more and move less….. it didnt become a lifestyle, it became something they did or were on.

So really there is no "opposing approaches" it is all eat less move more, just different ways of making money for the "inventors: of the latest movement.

 

 

[abcollins1]

You must understand, taining an untrained and overweight individual and getting them to lose weight is quite easy. Its not that complicated. You get in a calorie deficit, you move your body, and then you lose weight.

If you are not losing weight, then you are no longer in a cal deficit.

Eating clean doesnt mean you will automatically lose weight. You can gain weight eating clean as well, if you are eating more than you expand. Also, eating clean is a marketing ploy. There is no real definition of what eating clean means. Ask 10 different people and everyone of them will give you a different answer. While i agree that for health we should limit processed foods, eat lots of fruits and veggies, get good cources of proteins and fats in, its not the reason you lose weight.

If it were, then how did people los weight before clean eating came around?? why can people lose weight eating only potatoes or junk foods?? Because they are under their calories.

I dont think there are tons of opposing sciences out there for weight loss. The body only works a certain way, and barring any abnormal medical issue, the body will continue to only work a certain way. Metabolism is metabolism no matter what animal you are looking at (human or otherwise) the body only breaks down proteins, fats and carbs, and transforms it into ATP, the body only makes certain hormones and applies them in certain ways.

While everyone is different in their structure and genetic makeup, their muscle shape and attachments, no ones body is different in the way we break down foods and use it to fuel the body. We are not all that special or all that different from any other animal on the planet in that regards.

[abcollins1]

You wont build muscle on 1600 cals a day, it just wont happen.

When you diet, your body downregulates your metabolism in response to the lowered energy coming in, or it engages in a little recycling, which is how people can lose lean mass as well as fat. Your body literally slows down your metabolism to a point and stops any unneccesary bodily process (building muscle). Eating too little cals or incorrect macros, can cause the body to break down muscle tissue.  So other than those who are just beginning in their workouts (aka newbie gains) your body is not designed to build muscle while it is not getting sufficent calories to do so.

 Many people incorporate a  'refeed' each week to negate the downregulation and re-set hormones such as leptin (which controls hunger), T3 and others so that we can continue to burn fat.(often times called a cheat meal or sometimes a free meal)

 Lyle McDonald has a lot of information on these processes in his books and on his site- 'A guide to flexible dieting' is a good one if you're interested. He backs his reasoning with real science, very informative and great reading to understand the processes of the body.

If you are dieting, then you dont "eat back" the calories that you burned through exercise. This takes your 20% deficit and makes it more like a 5% deficit. You should be eating the same amount of calories each day, no matter the workout. The workout doesnt make you lose fat, it helps expend calories to make the deficit bigger. You lose weight by being in the correct calorie deficit, not from working out. That 20% and TDEE should take into consideration how much work you are doing each day, so there is no need to eat extra cals or to eat back the calories.

[abcollins1]

I have many issues with MFP, the first being that it likes to set every single person who wants to lose weight on a 1200 calorie diet. It did this to me and to a friend of mine who at 5'8 and 300 pounds, definitely should not have ben on the same eating plan..

Second, it tells people to "eat back" the calories they burn from exercise, this is very evident on their forums as well.

Third, a lot of the info for the foods is just plain wrong. With people putting their own info in, there is a lot of room for errors. Some people just put what is on the label, some people are measuring incorrectly, some people just put in crazy numbers. It can be a crap shoot of if the numbers are actually correct.

I have found the most accurate way of tracking is to weigh everything using a digital scale and use good ole pen and paper.

If you have plateaued for 6 months, then its time to look at what is not working, cause thats not a plateau, thats a complete stopping point. From their you look at the way you have been tracking foods, and if you are using MFP, your count may be off. Go back weigh and measure everything, dont rely on MFP and see what you get, Chances are its not what you think. I see this ALL the time!

From there, if your cals are higher than you thought, then try dropping 100 – 200 cals and see if that gets the weight dropping, if not then bring cals up for a couple of weeks, take a deload week on training, and then start dropping cals again.

Again, if you are in the right calorie deficit, then you should be losing. If you are not losing, then you are not in a deficit and you first look at your diet.

[abcollins1]

If you are not losing weight, then go back to the diet? What is your calorie level? Are you weighing and tracking all you eat?

You can still gain and maintain weight eating "healthy foods".

Also I find many online programs like Myfitnesspal, to be very inaccurate for tracking calories, lables can be wrong and people can make mistakes.

Walking is very under-rated, Its a great way to exercise so dont let that discorage you, though it generally only burns about 95 cals per mile, so take that into consideration when thinking of how much cals out you have.

At 213, if your calorie level is correct, then you should be losing fine.

[abcollins1]

Haha, i guess i should have done more research. I never realized they coated the pole, i put mine up and started using it right away! didnt think it would be an issue, and doesnt seem to have affected anything…

[abcollins1]

High reps with low weights do not 'shape' or "tone" the muscle. It does work on muscle endurance however, which can be a good thing to add into the mix. If it did build muscle in any way, i would be huge, i teach muscle pump classes every week. But unfortunately high reps dont build anything but endurance.

A person new to weight lifting may experience a small anount of muslce gain, simply because they are new and the body is adapting to the new work, but they will not build any significant amount of muscle.

And for a normal person, that is not using some form of drugs, adding mass is a very slow process and it will not interfere with flexibility training.

I think if you look at people who combine strength and flexibility you can see that being pretty muscular does not mean you have to lose flexibility. People like Tanji Johnson and Adele Garcia on the ladies end, are pretty muscular for women yet are still very flexible, you can you tube their routines. Then on the guys side, you can check out Steve Atlas, who does a ton of body weight work, carries a very decent amount of mass, yet is one of the most flexible men i have every met.

Again, it really depends were your goals and focus lie. Most "bulky" gym dudes dont see the benefits of being flexible so dont put any focus there, The only drawback i can see is that lifting takes a lot of time and flexibility training takes a lot of time, both in practice and in the work. As with anything, splitting your focus in 2 directions is going to mean you are not optimaly doing both. So your flexi work may suffer if you are looking to add major mass, and your mass training may suffer if you are really trying to work on flexi. Its a fine line to walk beteween the 2.

[abcollins1]

The others are right, money is not made by doing cool tricks. And men generally dont care about the cool tricks, your hubby is right, they are there to see boobs and bootie. Men are the ones who go and spend the most money, and all they want is a place to watch the ladies and live a fantasy for a while.

That being said i learned how to invert, CAR, and spin from a stripper (with out any kind of mat or strength training on my part. I shudder now about it 10 yrs later, lol). And she was the only one at the club out of 10 girls who did ANY pole work and most of it would be basic to us veeners!

I have been to many strip clubs over the years and really have not seen much "real" pole work. Strip clubs are about the money, the girls will do what gets the money in terms of dancing and pole work.

I will say that i had a sort of opposite situation occur at one club. I was in the stall and 2 of the strippers came in and where complaining about how "cheap" the men were and how they were going to go home if they werent making money. I was with a HUGE group of guys and a couple of gals that night. They looked pretty shocked when i walked out, they thought they were alone. I didnt say anything to them (it was awkward) but i also never mentioned it to the group either. I know they were just venting, and im not getting in the way of anyones money.

[abcollins1]

The simple act of lifting weights/strength training will not cause one to be inflexible. Most people equate being inflexible with muscle mass, because usually those who focus on gaining muscle ONLY will usually not focus on stretching or maintaining any flexibility.

My husband is such a case, he NEVER worked on flexibilty but lifted a ton of weights, he is very strong and carries a good bit of mass, but he is so tight! I have been "forcing" (read as bugging and not taking no as an answer) him to do yoga and Felix Cane's stretching DVD wih me, and he is improving his flexibilty bit by bit. We both lift, but i have been working on flexibilty for a long time, so I am way more flexi than him.

I am like veena, i usually stretch after lifting, and with the muscles being warmed up and fatigued, i get great stretches in. But it is something you need to specifically train for, and many people neglect.

[abcollins1]

I was having this trouble too, but couldnt tell if it was an issue with windows 8 or the site. right now its more like windows hate! This program is so much trouble!

Thanks for fixing it!

[abcollins1]

When you find something new you love, its normal to want to share. However, those that arent into it or dont understand it usually dont want to hear about it. The same thing happens with other people in other hobbies/passions.

The trick of it is just to not let it be an issue where you talk about it non stop and that is the only thing you are capable of talking about. With people who dont get it, then just dont talk about it or make it a big issue. Save the pole talk for the people who are in the know.

It happened to me when i started lifting weights and living a healthier lifestyle. I got a lot of comments on it from family and friends, but now years down the road, they have just accepted it as me. Its what I do and who I am. Added poling into the mix and everyone is like, oh ya know its just her fitness thing, shes into all that… and they go on. Wouldnt say ive lost any friends over it, but i also dont talk about it much, only as it comes up in conversation. I dont really talk about my goals or plans for what i want my body to look like or my plans for competing again. Someone may ask and i will answer, but i just dont really talk about it cause outside of the fitness world, no one understands or cares.

Took and aerial silks class yesterday, put up a post on FB about it and got some positive remarks. The rest just think i am crazy and into anything fitness so they arent worried 🙂

I would say dont forsake your friends just because they havent found the same passion as you. Now if they are negative or rude, then you have an issue, but try and be supportive of their habits too. Dont just expect every one to love and do what you do, just as you wont love and do what others do. I have a friend who is into running half and full marathons, i hate running that much but we have never clashed over the issue, and she has never hated on my love of anything else. I dont think you have to hide it, but just dont let it be an issue.

[abcollins1]

This is all basiclly about one topic that has been popular lately, and that is programming. Everything begins with the goal, why are you training  and what are you training for. Of course most people here will say "pole" but thats not quite it. You need to know what the overall goal of the progran is: strength, mass, endurance, all three, or something else entirely???

The type of training is going to follow whatever your goal is, and this will also determine sets, reps, rest, and exercise choice. But everything in the program needs to have a reason. You dont throw in sets, reps or exercises arbitrarily.

Another point that i am seeing talked around but not named is progression. Whatever program you have should have progression built in. And that means that if you have say 2 sets of 10 reps, you not only have a reason for choosing that, but have a plan on how to change that when that is too easy, adding weight is good, but then you need to look at why you are adding weight and does that fit in with the goal or do you need to change something else.

There is a lot that goes into building an exercise program, wether its strength training or cardio or whatever. Not all exercises need to go to faliure, not all exercises benefit from higher weights. Personally I work out and design programs with a variety of sets and reps for a variety of reasons.

rests periods are going to affect a lot of things as well, shorter rests will help make a session more intense by shortening recovery time, longer rests can help "dissolve" lactic acid build up in the muscle and give more recovery, usually seen when moving the higher weights. However there is no "set" time limit for rests, it may vary individually. Again, though its going to depend on the goal of the program.

As always, if you cant do it with good form, you need to drop the weight regradless of anything else.

I think veenas lessons here are very good in that she shows and explains the begginer, intermediate and advanced postitions in many things and the site has a natural progression into it.