[chipandchar]

Thank you all so much. I really didnt think my quads were that weak, but I suppose squatting improperly in an awkward position can cause all sorts of things to go wrong! And thanks veena for suggesting what muscle it may be. I have really never had a knee injury before, so this feels really weird to me! Where its bothered me, I let it interfere with my strengthening workouts and my running. I thought time off would help it heal, but apparently, I need to cautiously work on it. As I said it has caused some stiffness. I can’t believe how quickly flexibility is lost. I’ve been taking hot showers prior to stretching and doing some dancing. Even yoga kinda freaks me out right now. I’m afraid ill snap something! I’m gonna go investigate what veena said about that muscle. And I may try some low impact strengthening exercises as well. Thanks for the suggestions!

[chipandchar]

Thank you!

[chipandchar]

Preach it! haha No but seriously, I have some experiece in this area and like you, it floored me that other people defended this person with the excuse "that's just the way they are" because I took that to mean that what they were doing was being dismissed by others, and I felt like they didn't care that someone was treating me badly. This made me not want to let it go because I wanted to stand up for myself. But the thing is, at the same time I KNEW spending time thinking about it was harmful to me and I really didn't want to be a bitter person. So in my opinion, I say, tell that person what you need to say constructively. Whatever you need to say. And after that, let it go. I am a strong believer in     choosing how I feel at all times. I don't like being at the effect of everything that's going on around me, and that's the problem here. You can't just always be at a "reactive" stand point. This is where acceptance comes in. There really isn't anything you can do. The only person you can control is yourself. So if you feel like you need to stand up for yourself and set some boundaries….that's perfectly fine in my opinion. And like I said, after that CHOOSE your thoughts. Don't allow yourself to stay upset, because that harms you. And that is why we need to let things go. Not because the other person gets away with it, but for yourself. Also, remember this…everyone is pretty much living in their own little world…so don't take everything too personal. They don't have the same mindset as you, the same experiences, etc. Maybe they just really are that stupid. haha Or maybe they lack empathy because their life has been different than yours. Whatever makes them "just the way they are" like it or not, you're going to have to accept it. But I believe 100% in standing up for one's self as well. So do that, and move on. But don't let it mess with your head. 

[chipandchar]

I know it isn't funny, but this kind of made me giggle because he seems almost jealous! I don't have kids, but I'm 27 years old, and the way I look at it is…it IS clearly a hobby but its a hobby that keeps me fit and healthy and I believe it's good for the soul as well. If I had children, I would see this as a huge plus. You are of no benefit to anyone else anyway if you are always miserable with no passion and poor health. Sometimes it kind of annoys me if my boyfriend acts like the pole hobby is silly, but I try to keep it in perspective. I try not to take it personal or spend too much time thinking about it. However in your case, it seems like there may be a deeper issue, that he feels neglected. You don't have to take every little thing he says to heart, but I would consider his feelings even if he may not be going about communicating the right way. He's not going to say "darling I need attention!" Ha it sounds like he is trying to make you feel guilty about it so you will stop. I would just call him out and say something like "you don't need to worry that any hobby would ever come before our family…this is just who I am and it's how I take care of myself so that I can be a better mother and wife…if you want to (insert family activity here), we should do that." But you shouldn't have to give up what you love over something silly. In my experience, men respect women who "have a life" more than women who follow them around like puppies! Haha so don't let that make you unhappy.  But I would try to see his point of view also and see it for what it is, but not let it get me down. Guys have feelings too! They just don't want to look vulnerable, so they act out. and you probably had no intention of doing anything wrong! But yeah, I think he is just jealous and acting out. Good luck! 🙂 

[chipandchar]

Me-

1. I like my body type/ shape overall.

2. I love my hair.

3. I love my abs! 

 

Pole-wise

 

1. I have very good posture and grace. 

2. I love my optimism…I swear a good attitude can help you master a move so much easier than if you feel defeated.

3 I am ridiculously strong and focused. 

[chipandchar]

I like this thread. I pole at home every day.
I have no studios locally.

I always promise myself I’ll work out at least 10 minutes to get up and going, but then I’m dancing at least an hour usually.

I do a quick warm up. Pole climbs and spins. Work on my left side since I primarily use my right. Then I get into inverts (before I wear myself out because it’s safer). I stretch between moves. Like I’ll stop and just randomly stretch while my muscles are warm. Then after I’m done on the pole I do tons of stretches. Then, probably 3 days a week, I will do squats, bridges, lunges, and planks, sometimes weights after that. Then stretch some more. Lol

I also try to incorporate the Ballet Beautiful workout from Mary Helen bowers whenever I can.

I’m always really active. If its summer I’ll swim (a lot) and jump on the trampoline or if it’s spring, I’ll run or go walking. Or biking. I guess that’s a lot. Haha but just whatever I can get in, every bit counts toward my overall fitness.

Yoga moves are also fun to do between practicing pole moves.

[chipandchar]

It’s kinda funny. I got my moves wayyyy out of order. I could do a shoulder mount but not an advanced plank (and barely a regular one)… I guess ideally you should get moves in order and gradually build up, but it just didn’t work that way for me. Just accepting where I was at that moment was the best thing I could do. But I do find that if I’m stuck, mastering my left side moves (I’m normally right handed) somehow helped along with extra strength training. Because when you doubt your strength level, challenging moves seem more daunting, and you can half-try to do inverts and moves that normally challenge you. You literally have to put your all into them. Very controlled and focused. Figure out WHY you aren’t nailing these moves. Do you lose focus? Confused about technique? Fear? Lack of strength? Then go from there. I swear a good attitude and strength works wonders for me when I’m dancing. When I’m annoyed and frustrated or tired, and it becomes a hassle, I might as well stop. I never get it. When I’m happy and energetic, I master moves that would normally take weeks. It’s crazy. Just stay optimistic, you’ll get it.

[chipandchar]

Also if you can't get a pole right now…do what I did…I went to the nearest play ground…haha and had a nice go on that pole! haha (When there wasn't other ppl there…it's usually pretty deserted here lol)

[chipandchar]

Um, yeah. I'd say you are definitely going too fast! I can't imagine doing that many new tricks in one week, every week. My hands were sore and blistered (literally my blisters ripped open from spinning so much) in the first week. Even if you have the skill and the strength conditioning to do it, you're body..in my opinion..isn't ready. And by body, I mean, your skin isn't tough enough..and you have lots of little muscles you aren't used to using. Like your fingers and hand muscles…I don't care how fit you are, nobody's hands or wrists are usually that strong starting out. You don't see ppl at the gym doing wrist exercises.haha (Well, unless they play on a pole like us!) And I was COVERED in brusises. My family thought my bf was abusing me. haha Those didn't stop until my skin toughened up from mastering the moves. Ya know? It's just too painful starting out. I remember the pole sit nearly killed my inner thighs. If I were you, if there wasn't another pole studio nearby…i'd just take notes on technique during class..and do what i felt comfortable doing and then come home and work at it at my own pace. At least talk to your instructor.

[chipandchar]

Epilator…I looked into that no-no gadget they're always advertizing, and the reviews on it, people said it worked somewhat, but not enough for the price of it, and that the rooms smells like burn when you're finished. haha So, let me know if you find a good hair removal gadget. That would be awesome.

Latisse freaks me out. I'm afraid I'll go blind. haha Not really into prescription stuff. I'm an organics kinda girl. Doesn't it cause permanent darkening of your eye color in some people or something like that? I'm so jealous of pretty blue eyes. My eyes are already dark, so that wouldn't be an issue for me, but if I had light colored eyes, I'd stay far far away from it. haha

Clarisonic. I love my clarisonic mia. I just got the mia, because the brush head is the same size as on the full size clarisonic, and it's smaller so it's handier. I'm so lazy when it comes to washing my face. I used to just rinse it and wipe it clean with a warm washcloth…because I was younger then and all I knew was that cleansers did more damage than good. Now I use organic, chemical free face soap and my clarisonic and it takes literally a minute to wash my face before bed and all I gotta do is stand there and hold the thing to my skin. Easy!

I looked into the olay cleanser (after I bought my clarisonic) to compare the two.. and I am glad I got the clarisonic. I know it's pricey, but it's something I use every day and the quality is better by far. The olay one just didn't look comparible to me in quality. And I mean, it's your skin, your body's largest organ! haha Thats worth investing in, right? I know the clarisonic has been compared to  a lot of other skin cleaning gadgets, but it doesn't just vibrate…the bristles move and pulsate differently to clean better. I'd go with clarisonic all the way… It's awesome. Plus it feels good on my skin. I just run up to my bf and i'm like ' rub my face…it's so soft! Like silk, honey! ' haha

[chipandchar]

favorite is injur heal herbal balm/oil from mountainroseherbs.com (Contains: Organic Arnica Flowers, St. John's Wort flowers, organic Calendula flowers, organic Olive oil, Beeswax, organic Lavender essential oil, and Vitamin E oil )

least favorite is some kind i got in a green little tin from burts bees. it smells horrible and does nothing for me.

[chipandchar]

Already did this 🙂 I have the peta app. I send emails to all of them!

[chipandchar]

I'm officially a fan.

Lulu…be proud of yourself, girl! You did amazing! I love how you shocked everyone with the layback and drop split. You showed them! I loved it. AND I love your hair and the blue/green color of your outfit together. It reminded me of Ariel the little mermaid. haha

oh and btw, I was reading some of those comments on youtube from the…ah hem.."haters"…and i just wanted to tell you not to believe anything they say…people are going to try to break you down, just like anything else that is different…do NOT let them. You have a beautiful spirit and your personality (especially being in front of all those ppl) made you shine. Never lose that. 🙂

[chipandchar]

My future child…

 

Hmm…I would probably let my kid do it, since it isn't sexy or inappropriate. Might be a good lesson for her to choose to do something for her happiness and health without worrying about what other people think or say. As for the pervs, the pervs are going to fantasize about little girls anyway…as long as she isn't inappropriate, I think it's their problem, not hers. I mean, you basically wear a bathing suit in gymnastics and you wear a short skirt while doing flips and kicks in cheerleading. What's the difference?

[chipandchar]

I don't know why I keep hitting enter! I'm not done! haha I was going to suggest deficiencies such as iron B12, C, or K, or folic acid . I have an iron deficiency and I bruise terribly.

[chipandchar]

Sorry…I know you said besides arnica but I was thinking if you'd tried the cream, maybe the oil would penetrate better. Or maybe you have some kind of deficiency?

[chipandchar]

Arnica cream or oil. 🙂

[chipandchar]

*fatigue. Sorry.

[chipandchar]

When I first got my shoulder mount I was so excited that I did it half a million times and then I felt like my upper back was going to die. Maybe you should just space it out a little and just do it a couple of times a day to condition yourself. As Veena said, you aren't used to placing that much pressure on that part of your body so it will take some time to get used to. Also, use extra care to avoid placing pressure on your bones. You may already be doing that, but it is easy to place the pole on the wrong spot and then it hits your bones and hurts, so make sure you aren't doing that! 🙂

[chipandchar]

Scorpio never really hurt me that much, thankfully. But one thing I have learned is, use your entire body to help you grip, not just one little spot. As i was reading the comments, I was just thinking about how much it helped me to really get a "feel" for the pole by curving my body around it and stretching out my limbs to distribute the weight nicely. It felt soooo not secure for the longest time, even though I had that move down. What really helped was to engage my whole body and let go of technique and just get a feel for it. I dont know about other people, but i use the curve above my hip bone and my side, just under the arm pit and the fold of my inner thighs to help support me. I have had moves where I was just thinking, "okay..this is the point of contact. This is what i'm supposed to do…place my hand here, knee here…blah blah blah" and now I know that all of that in addition to molding yourself around it in a way that feels comfortable to you is key. At least in my case it was! If I didn't do that, I felt like I was just torturing my points of contacts…haha…which I still use obviously, but I give those poc's a little help with the rest of my body now! 🙂

[chipandchar]

I know this is an old post…but I really like sun warrior protein powder. Its the best I have found…and plant protein is best. I drink vitamineral green powder in purified water daily. It contains spirulina which is super healthy and nutritious for you:) also… if you like beans such as lentils…. you can find a lot of protein with not a lot of calories there. Plus they digest easier than animal protein from meat… helps you get some “good carbs” too to regulate blood sugar! Good luck 🙂

[chipandchar]

Um…ok…nevermind. Haha i just got my shouldermount!!! I feel so silly because its actually easy 😀 i was just using the wrong grip. I was using…i think the chinese grip?? Yep..not my style! But i still need advice on twisted grip girls!!

[chipandchar]

That has to be so frustrating… I'm sorry! The best thing to do (in my own opinion) is to relax. I'm sure that's easier said than done… but to me, I pole for MYSELF…not my boyfriend…not to compete with other girls…but I do it because it makes me feel good. I would definitely listen to my instructor and be open to what she says, but she is only there to guide you…not force feed you a new move. You will get moves in your own time. Just don't look at it as something that stresses you out. You are in control of the pace you learn. Don't let anyone tell you you "should" be progressed this much…but you are stuck right here. Dance for yourself. I looked terrible the first time I tried to do anything on the pole! haha I'm sure my bf had a good laugh inside, bless his heart! But I don't dance for him. I dance for me. So I forgave myself and kept going. Now I'm quite pleased with my ability. Have fun…but try to focus on what you are doing and sorta have tunnel vision…it helps me to envision what I'm doing. Even if there's a mirror… I ask myself, am I feeling this? Why not?  You have to keep your eye on the big picture and on yourself…not everything that's going on beside you.

[chipandchar]

Thank you so much for responding! I wasn't sure if it was better to kind of extend the right leg (like the pic in the white shirt) or to close it a little…sometimes it's easier to hook it more for me! But I think it looks much prettier extended. I didn't really think about the shirt though. You may have a point there. I usually just roll up my tee shirt so that it doesn't rub my back when I'm doing certain spins. I will try a sports bra. I mean, I use those too, but I just hadn't really paid attention because I wasn't focused on the underarm/back grip. I'll try that! I am open to suggestions for sure!

[chipandchar]

I hear xen tan is amazing and it smells vanilla-ish…rather than that disgusting self-tanner scent most have! Color is bronze, not orangy as well.