[grayeyes]

I have a stainless steel 45 mm also and it is slicker than snot. I have not found a way to dirty it up, and I have tried many of the suggestions on here. I’ve steam cleaned it. I’ve cleaned it with alcohol, vinegar and Windex. I’ve tried shaving cream for grip and have tried multiple grip aids. Unfortunately it became exponentially more slippery once winter rolled around and the humidity in my house dropped. I have tried running a room humidifier. The only thing that really helps me is that it gets very slightly better once I am warmed up and the pole is warmer but still not enough that I can grip with thighs or kneepit. The only way I can grip with thighs or kneepit is liberal use of iTac2. I don’t have a problem with hand grip–just the rest of my body. I am considering having a whole house humidifier installed at some point.

[grayeyes]

Good luck with that interview Moonlitmare! I know getting into vet school is very competitive–you can do it!

[grayeyes]

I’m an RN with three part-time jobs, one in the hospital, one in an outpatient surgery center and one as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). I don’t love being a nurse and spend many hours trying to figure out a better career option. I also have a bachelor’s degree in business that I’ve never used and my paramedic license. If I could do it all over again I be a veterinarian. I ponder the idea of being a personal trainer but I’m not sure my aging knees agree.

[grayeyes]

I think getting some solid info/recommendation from your doctor or physical therapist treating you for your leg would hold more weight with your colleagues.

[grayeyes]

Here’s a link to a sample pack of grip aids that I purchased because, like you, I didn’t want to spend a fortune to find out which ones worked for me.

http://www.everythingpoledancing.com/product/gripsample

I’m pretty new to poling but so far I prefer Itac2 and Mighty Grip. I have a stainless steel Lil Mynx pole that VERY slippery especially now in the winter. I use Itac on my legs and just a bit of Mighty Grip on my hands. I do not have sweaty hands so I can’t recommend anything for that.

[grayeyes]

Groupon! Buying Groupons gets me to do all sorts of things. I bought a Groupon to a local aerial studio for a two-hour workshop where we got to play on silks, lyra, corde lisse and pole. I really enjoyed the silks so I took one more class and promptly bought my own silks. I kept wanting to go back and try a pole class and several months later I finally did. In my first class we did some little knee spin and I was completely hooked. Bought a pole for home a few months after that. I now prefer the pole to silks but I plan to continue both.

[grayeyes]

That video made me smile. I thought the same thing when I heard they were delaying the standard–girls CAN do pullups. Sounds like they need better training!

[grayeyes]

10-foot pole. I could go to 12 if I put it way up in the highest part of the vaulted ceiling but I wasn’t willing to pay for that length of pole and the vault isn’t centered in the room so it wouldn’t be ideal. The 10-foot height is pretty good for me (I’m 5’7″–I can climb a few times and I think I’ve only hit my heel on the ceiling once. I do wish my pole was more centered in my room (it’s in my bedroom) but it would require moving the furniture even more than I already did and my husband wasn’t thrilled about the amount I moved it already. I do fantasize about a big open loft style home with a really high ceiling.

[grayeyes]

Polergirl I just watched some Eva Bembo videos–she moves her body like liquid. Amazing.

[grayeyes]

Anastasia Sokolova on Ukraine’s Got Talent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2yhc4m4FpA

And Amy Guion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yFBVFf7QFE&list=FLtDe6CI426cWW6rrKsuIKxw

[grayeyes]

Oh Saphyre, what a loser that ex is. I love how he started out by saying, “indulge me.” I would say you are indulging him by allowing him to be your friend on FB. He is obviously a small-minded, chauvinistic ass. He made himself like look such a tool by posting that. I absolutely love your FB friend’s response, and I laughed out loud at Poledanceromance’s response on here!

If I had the lovely pictures you have I would have probably put them up on a billboard in my neighborhood. 🙂

[grayeyes]

I’ve had a credit card linked to my ebay account for years without any problem. I do not link my checking account to PayPal as they would like me to do. I think the credit card is safer than linking my personal bank accounts.

[grayeyes]

I’ll be curious to see the responses you get to this question. I recently held a girls weekend at my house. I told the girls to bring their short shorts and high heels if for no other reason than a sexy photo op to send to their man. Only two gals played on the pole–one was really good and it was her first time! The others watched and there was a lot of laughing but I couldn’t get the rest of them on it (or near it for that matter) for anything! I’m sure it depends on the crowd. At some point I’m going to have my coworkers over and several of them have already gone to the pole studio with me so I suspect I’ll have to peel them off the pole. I think it could be really fun–wish my girlfriends had been a little more adventurous.

[grayeyes]

Oh dear, Anya, I better get my butt in gear. You’ve inspired me to aim higher!

[grayeyes]

@anya123 Do you do almost 80 pushups in a row?!?! The most I can do in a row is 30 and then I nearly die. I hate pushups–they don’t seem to get any easier and it pisses me off how easy they look when guys do them!

[grayeyes]

I don’t have a set schedule rather I do what I can when I can. On average I would say I pole about 1.5 hrs twice a week (at home) and maybe every other week I take a one-hour class at the studio. I lift weights about once a week but do lower body strength training at least twice a week because it’s physical therapy for my knee. I really hate cardio and probably only average once a week. Flexibility and yoga type stuff I throw in every now and then maybe every other week.

[grayeyes]

I don’t know enough about poles to comment on the defect but my studio has brass Pole Danzer poles and I like them. They have much better grip than my stainless steel pole at home.

[grayeyes]

Dang! Hopefully you didn’t suffer any other injuries. I wouldn’t mind going to silicone myself but I’m not switching ’em out until something happens that makes it a necessity. Good luck to you.

[grayeyes]

Oh bummer! How did it happen? Every time I get a mammogram I think that will be the end of mine.

[grayeyes]

Great thread. When I started pole I was into it strictly from an acrobatic aspect and I actually thought heels looked weird on pole dancers. To me it seemed like most of the routine was in the air so why would the dancer wear shoes? In my mind it was almost seemed like a trapeze artist wearing shoes. Then I bought Veena’s lessons and went through some of the beginning lessons like sexy walks and how to do a sexy squat. I put on some of my dress heels and was like, hey, wait a minute, that looks pretty sexy. I bought some clear plastic Pleasers on Amazon for $35 and I am 100% hooked on them. If you had told me a month ago I would be addicted to these silly shoes I would not have believed you. Now that’s one of the best parts of poling. I practice with and without them but mostly with. I’m like a little girl with her mom’s heels on–love them. I would wear them to McDonald’s with shorts if I didn’t think I would get propositioned for being a working girl. Interestingly, I have only once seen anyone wear heels in my studio–not sure why. As others have said, I find the heels empowering. I feel like the sexiest woman alive in those heels.

[grayeyes]

Thanks for the descriptions Koidragon–I couldn’t figure out what an angel curl was! 🙂

[grayeyes]

At any given time I do some yoga, weight training, cardio like running or DVD workouts, rock climbing (rarely) and the occasional obstacle course race–virtually any kind of activity. I think they all help each other and I think variety is very good for overall fitness. What I don’t do as much as I should is flexibility training. I very occasionally do Felix Cane’s flexibility DVD but it’s hard to expect results when it’s only once every few weeks!

[grayeyes]

I would love to take co-ed classes. Of course if someone is there to be a peeping tom I would expect the instructor to ask that person to leave. I can imagine that many women would not be comfortable with it so I think having some classes that are women-only is probably a good idea and perhaps necessary from a business perspective. I think 9 out of 10 classes I would probably choose co-ed if it’s available. Guys are always good for the mix–at least in my opinion. I have taken one class with a guy who does some Chinese pole and was also working on partnering tricks with one of the other girls in class–made me do a double take at first but then didn’t bother me a bit.

[grayeyes]

I also feel your pain. I have a stainless steel Lil Mynx. When I bought it my pole instructor at the studio immediately told me to try to buy something else when I can afford it–I was a bit disappointed with that. I knew stainless would be more slippery than others and, like you, I thought I would eventually have a stronger grip and working on other poles would be that much easier. I don’t want to buy a different pole–I bought the Lil Mynx for several reasons and I love it (other than the slipperiness). I did okay in the summer but winter (in the Midwest) has been a challenge. My instructor told me it was going to get worse and naive as I was I wondered why because I keep the house plenty warm. Humidity! I cannot stay on to save my life. I’ve steamed it, used vinegar, used alcohol, etc.–no help. It’s a bit better warmed up but not enough. I have to use grip aid at least on my knees and thighs and sometimes hands. I have run the humidifier in my room for hours prior to working on the pole and it’s not enough. I’m considering a whole house humidifier. The studio I go to has brass Pole Danzer poles and I’ve never used grip aid there and don’t need it.

I mostly use Itac2 and some Mighty Grip. I tried a bit today with no success but I didn’t think to add Mighty Grip to it so I’ll try that next. Gorilla Gold did nothing for me. Liquid Grip didn’t help either and Dry Hands was okay but not really my issue (thighs and knees are my issue). I’m new to this so I don’t have tons of experience but I keep going back to Itac if I really want to get something done. I also realize grip aids will be different for everybody because all of our bodies and the conditions of our environments are different. I bought sample sizes and went from there. Good luck–I feel your frustration.

[grayeyes]

Love it!