[spinnygirl]

I stopped strength training.  Whoa, that's interesting.  I was doing P90X at the same time but with my intense poling and stretching, I was practically working out half the day and I am morphing into the hulk.  Its been about…a month since I stopped P90X. 

Darn it, I guess I have to alternate now between poling and P90X.

But I do have some good news, I finally inverted!!!  Yay!!!  I took Veena's advice and don't kick into it, just lift myself up smoothly.  Well, not THAT smoothly but it'll get there.

 

Thanks for the advice!

[spinnygirl]

Yeah…I'm noticing a little crack in the drywall too.  I have it centered on the beam too (husband is an architect so finding the beam with a no-brainer).  Maybe the ceiling is a little uneven or something.  Also, the pergo on the second story popped up a little and spread some of the paneling apart.  Oh well, still worth it to have a pole in the house! 

[spinnygirl]

And for major sex appeal, Benny Benassi – Satisfaction

[spinnygirl]

Haha, I'm compiling my list of songs today and here are some of my faves:

1. Ginuwine-My Pony

2. NERD-She Wants to Move

3. Joe Cocker-You Can Leave Your Hat On

[spinnygirl]

I got the 50mm pole because I had read its the competition standard but now I'm starting to think I should have gone with the 45mm. 

[spinnygirl]

I just tried my polesit and my thighs are gripping but the skin isn't sticking to the pole.  I was doing it just fine all week but now I'm sliding down.  Is the skin on my thighs too dry?  I don't know what's going on.

[spinnygirl]

I know what you mean about information overload!!!  I spent a solid week reading about all the kinds of exercises to do but once you find a good routine, you will get used to it quickly.  Fifteen minutes in the morning as soon as you get out of bed will help and then try to fit in another stretching session before bed or if you're watching tv, you can sit in the splits.

What motivates me is Felix Cane and watching all the other pros! 

[spinnygirl]

P90X is a workout series, its supposed to get your butt into amazing shape in ninety days.  Of course, I don't follow it exactly and I do the videos in whatever order I like.  Its extremely intense so don't worry if you can't do it right away.  It took me about a month before I could do the yoga X dvd without a problem.

I've been trying not to overdo the exercising so I just do the yoga and stretch dvd's from the P90X series, they're about an hour and half long but they stretch just about every muscle you have in your body and when you finish, you feel amazing.  The stretch is pretty easy but the yoga is killer.

@katpole- I'm in love with those pole platforms!  I have them on order since my size is out, I want the 5.75 inch platforms!

[spinnygirl]

I'm not a mom but if my own mom had pole danced I would have loved it!  People will always criticize and some of my own twenty-something buddies are very conservative and will chuckle at my poledancing as if its some dirty little secret that can't be mentioned in normal conversation.

I think that as long as poledancing is treated as an art and as a sport, its a positive attribute to any family home.  Hang up some posters of the top polers and make sure the rest of the exercise equipment is near the pole.  Emphasize the athleticism, flexibility and grace required to become a great poler.  Maybe avoid some of the racy elements until people are comfortable (so your daughter is instead doing something acrobatic vs. the booty pop at the playground, lol).

My family has always been big on sports and staying in shape.  We're always finding new things to do that test out our physical abilities.  Poling is right up there with windsurfing, horsebackriding and yoga.  Maybe you could try out a gymnastics class with your daughter and do some yoga together to emphasize how similar the two forms of training really are.

[spinnygirl]

I'm into my second month of stretching/splits training and I found that there a few great threads on here under the strength and training section. 

There are some great links to webpages that show specific stretches that will help you with attain the splits.

https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/The_official_splits_progress_thread_2009-11-29_011908 

https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/Splits_in_6_weeks_2010-03-19_013304 

From personal experience, I haven't done the splits since I did martial arts as a kid and back then I could easily oversplit!  I've had to ease into it and I am on month two of stretching pretty much every day.  I spend anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour stretching and I also do the P90X Stretch X and Yoga X series, they've helped me jumpstart my flexibility.

The most important thing is to keep at it every day, try to push yourself a little further when you feel like you're not making progress and don't give up!  By the end of the first month I felt like I wasn't progressing and started getting discouraged and then when I danced around my pole after getting warmed up, I was suddenly MUCH closer than ever to the splits.

[spinnygirl]

mommabear-

thanks for the video link!  love it!

[spinnygirl]

I'm definitely trying this-thanks for sharing!

[spinnygirl]

cutiepie-

My x-pole has been up for two weeks now.  I let it lay in the box for a solid week before I finally felt confident enough to assemble it. 

The first thing I did was set it to spinny mode and I almost threw up and was dizzy and nauseous for two days.  So avoid fast spins right away!  Its tempting but I learned my lesson, lol.

Since I scared myself off the pole for the first two days, I watched the beginner lessons for a couple of hours and I tried to visualize the moves.

Once I finally got on the pole, it was SO much fun!  I closed the curtains and blinds, blared some music and it was such a blast that I never even tried the basic moves.  Now I'm working on technique and focusing on good form but I'm also freestyling half the time and just enjoying myself.

I understand the hesitation since everyone on the forum looks so sexy/fit/acrobatic with their advanced moves.  Its a ton of fun and once you start dancing and goofing off, it doesn't even feel like a workout until you're barely breathing and your hands are sweaty.

Congrats on your new pole and enjoy yourself!  I love dressing up and dancing to my favorite songs.

[spinnygirl]

chem-goddess-

 

If you ever find the spinning video, would you send me a link? 

I'm only just getting started but I REALLY like the intense spins.

[spinnygirl]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I think I just became very impatient!  Usually I learn very quickly when it comes to sports and exercise and so its frustrating to feel so…newbie-ish.

I really pushed myself yesterday and felt all kinds of new muscle development.

So my conclusion is: continue (patiently) building up strength and push myself to be less scared (like Sarah).

Thanks again everyone!