polergirl
Forum Replies Created
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Not only learning how to do the moves, but where specifically to start them to get the correct angle for the audience.
Oh Sweet Baby Jesus lyin' in your crib, this one!!!
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It may also help to think of engaging your calf muscle more than trying to use your foot/toe muscles to point. Try this: engage your calf muscle but keep your toes semi-relaxed. Foot still looks pointed, right? Granted, it's not a full point, but it'll make for a good start until your feet get used to it.
Also, as MCG says, make sure you warm those muscles up when you're warming up everything else. That will make a huge difference too. 🙂
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Welcome back, sweets! I was just thinking of you the other day and hoping things were well. Sometimes a little time away is just the ticket for making you realize you miss something, n'est-ce pas? 🙂
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Karol teaches this in her floor workshop and using her tips was the only thing that allowed me to do this without feeling like I was going to break my neck. I don’t want to give away her goodies but maybe she’ll see this thread and chime in. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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Read this! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
http://www.studioveena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5291
We all learn at different paces… and some tricks come more easily than others… but everyone has their "thing," KWIM? You will find at some point that one of your fellow students will say "hey, you–can you tell me how you do XYZ because when you do it, it looks fantastic, and I can’t seem to get it." That same student will do something beautifully when others struggle with it.
It took me forEVER to do certain things, but stuff like the CAR and butterfly came totally naturally to me. Why? I have no clue, lol. But that’s just the way it seems to happen.
Keep your chin up–and try not to compare yourself to other polers! I know it’s hard. I used to do it. Then I realized what I referred to above. They struggled with things I didn’t. I struggled with things they didn’t.
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I remember thinking I would *never* stop cringing when watching video of myself dancing. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif
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Yay, I love these! Keep them coming! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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YOU ROCK. Thanks for the tip!
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Have they had a lot of pre-inversion training? I.E., leg positioning from floor, getting feel of locked in position (again from floor), pull-ups on pole, exit strategies, etc.? If so then they’re probably conditioned enough to do a reasonable amount of work with feet over head, whether that’s handstands or actual inversions. I’d do limited invert work plus some dance/transitional moves for each class. They’ll feel like they’re learning something and won’t get overly tired or frustrated.
IMO, learning three moves per class isn’t too much if they use differing muscle groups and aren’t super complex.
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What Amy said about going from CKR to CAR — it can be a very sticky wicket, so make sure you’ve got both moves down COLD!
For me with CAR it’s about engaging my inner thigh muscles, turning my knees slightly inward, and clenching my glutes to create a "platform" so I don’t hit my tailbone. When I do CAR this way I can point my toes and the ankle lock isn’t as important.
What Kobajo said about finding the sweet spot is totally right, too. I found it by doing elbow stands, getting myself into CAR position, and doing sit-ups into a pole sit. Good strength conditioning, plus I got very secure with the grip of the move. I knew if I could get up from it, I could certainly get down into it!
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I did lots of songs of nothing but floorwork/wallwork in order to become super comfortable with it, so it started to be second nature. Eventually it does get more natural feeling, I swear it does!!
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Chemgoddess has a great exercise. Do it!! I found that doing reverse shoulder mounts was also helpful–as many and as slowly and controlled as possible. I can’t tell you how many I did. Now I do them because I like them and I think they look awesome and bad-ass, but at one point they were mostly a strengthening move for me. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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Oh my, those are LOVELY!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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If I do not get the proper positioning for this hold then it hurts like the dickens because it is just my thigh that is holding me. If I get the positioning, as in using my side also, then I don’t have issues with this hold. I can nail the outside leg hang each and every time, it is the inside leg hang that I have issues with.
Haha, for me it’s the exact opposite. I could do the inside leg hang all day long. Outside gives me palpitations. But yes to your comment about the positioning…I want leg + a little side holding me, and then it’s pretty comfy, as comfy as anything on pole can be, anyway, lol.
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I’ll echo what the other ladies said, and add this: part of climbing and sticking is figuring out where your own body’s best points of contact are. As you continue to do this and play around with leg positioning, you’ll eventually find a magic spot that allows you to engage the right muscles and get the right amount of skin on the pole.
