[Veena]

Ok knowing all of this here’s what I suggest.

Take a full week off from any strength work using the scapula, shoulders and upper back. So REST. During this time of rest, do self massage (daily) and see a sports massage therapist if you can too once that week. Also during this week of rest try using some heat before massage. As you know trigger point work can be helpful in improving old adhesions from injury, and injury can be anything from over use, to a sudden OUCH when training.

Anyway, take a full week off, heat and self massage everyday. If you have a foam roller I would do a full body roll every day because everything is essentially connected so even rolling the feet can produce relief somewhere else on the body.

After a week: get back into things slowly…..
Make sure you’re working BOTH sides of the body equally.
Do stretches for the upper back after any pole or workout session.
Make sure to focus on keeping the top of the shoulders away from the ears whenever poling or lifting.
Strengthening the surrounding muscle groups will help too.
Avoid pulling the scapula tightly in before lifting always start in neutral.
If you don’t already do internal and external shoulder rotations before or after any pole session (don’t let the rhomboids take over or the tops of the shoulders sneak up)

There are lessons for the foam roller and everything I’ve mentioned if you haven’t found them already 🙂

I have one more though too…sometimes we get so focused and the continuous massage, stretch and so on can just aggravate an injury too. So sometimes total REST without fussing with the injury is helpful. Just don’t touch it. lol Like picking at a scab, leave it a lone and see what happens.

Feel better soon and let us know how it goes!!!

[Veena]

Ah, the first comment should say ABDUCTORS!! Sorry for the typo’s!

[Veena]

oh, and for the front leg you’ll want to strengthen the Adductors, inner thigh

[Veena]

You’ll need to strengthen the Adductor muscles and glutes! There are lots of lessons here that will focus on these muscle groups. 🙂

[Veena]

First thing….. throw the scale out the window lol. As mentioned when you begin training you’ll gain muscle mass so it will add up. Keep up with the strength work, but to increase weight loss you’ll want to make sure you’re getting a good session of cardio every day. Also try and walk or take the stair whenever possible, sitting for long period of time is not good! Anything that isn’t flexibility training that’s in the routine and combo section will work as cardio. 🙂

[Veena]

HI! Are you also working on hollow while doing elbow or forearm work? Starting with those can be helpful when it comes time to work on handstands. There are a few lessons here that might help you too! This routine is about 25 mins long and will help with all the “stands” https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/557fb444-6e60-4c80-ab79-67ca0a9aa0eb

Keep going with the drills and focus on correct alignment when inverting and such too, so don’t let the bum stick out. Focusing on contracting the abdominals while in handstand can help to correct an arched back.

You might want to add some more core work too. This would be good, Elbows and Hands Planks https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/55f9dab1-afa0-409b-a8f7-6e770a9aa0eb Focus on keeping the spine neutral and not letting the low back arch, these are good too The Hover https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/55fdc692-ab30-4597-928a-78e00a9aa0eb Because you have a tendency to arch you’ll want to focus on REALLY tucking the butt under in plank.

The first variation in this lesson will help too https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/55eb1e24-6e50-44ae-9f06-75f00a9aa0eb

[Veena]

Hi! Did someone give you a diagnosis of rhomboid knots? Or is it just that you feel tight after pole training? Do you mean you have tight, ball like spots? Have you been working with a professional for this issue, as in getting a sports massage or working with someone? Usually when something is chronic like this you would want to rest, massage and stretch, you could be dealing with a previous injury that never heal well.

All the tools you have would be helpful but I can’t give you any more suggestions until I know what is going on. 🙂

[Veena]

I agree, 6 is minimum…I REALLY don’t like teaching or dancing in studios with close poles. I have long legs and I don’t want to feel like I’m going to hit anything.

[Veena]

Thank you for sharing this!!

[Veena]

Happy Birthday!!! I hope you had a great day and with you many more flexy years!

[Veena]

She means I have routines in the lessons here! 😊

[Veena]

Did you take the 3 screws out of the top half of the base part too? Not just the screws on the bottom half for the spin mode?

[Veena]

Hi, congrats, that’s very exciting!!

First, I will say most Dr.’s have no idea what we do in pole dance and we can’t treat it like just another exercise IF we’re dealing with more advanced pole work. I’ve been a certified personal trainer for almost 15 yrs now and have trained with weights through all 4 of my pregnancies and I also pole danced through my 4th. I can tell you pole is NOT like other workouts. So you can’t say, “just keep training how you were”! I never suggest STARTING pole if you are pregnant, you can continue, but within reason. Now is not the time to learn new things that put you outside of you’re abilities. However, poling is still very possible if you understand what is safe and what is not.

I DON’T suggest doing inverts after first trimester, whether on the floor or on the pole (I didn’t invert in my 2nd trimester) inverted positions are sometimes used to help breech babies turn, and you don’t want a baby who isn’t breech to turn! Inverts change our blood flow and this will affect the baby and could make you light headed too. If you suffer from abdominal separation (diastase recti) the stress of inverting will cause more separation of the abdominals…not what you want! There are other ways to train the abdominals while expecting.

You can still MAINTAIN flexibility while pregnant but trying to gain isn’t the best idea because of the hormone relaxin, this becomes more of an issue later in pregnancy but depending on the woman can affect them more or less. This hormone can cause you to over stretch. Avoid deep back bends and don’t lay on the back for extended periods of time after the 2nd trimester, this can slow blood supply to the baby because the uterus can compress a major blood vessel (vena cava).

I would not work on moves that require heavy low back extension, pressure on the knees (like the Remi sit) or anything that you are not 100% comfortable with, don’t do drops!!! Don’t over heat, drink water and breathe! You’ll find more info on pregnancy in my Veena method, I would suggest taking a peek. 🙂 https://www.studioveena.com/methods/letter

So anyway….. Staying active is super important and yes, you can still workout and pole but a reasonable trainer would never suggest clients train to the point of profusely sweating or focus on gaining strength or flexibility, it’s just not the time for that. It is your body, but you’re not the only one using it right now! 🙂

[Veena]

I good instructor knows when to push and when to let you stay in your comfort zone, but only for a bit! Not knowing what this instructors curriculum looks like I can’t really say what’s to fast or not.

If your inverts and climbs are strong and you have a good understanding of the caterpillar there’s nothing wrong with working towards butterflies and ayesha. The concern would be if you are not yet controlled in your inverts and struggle with caterpillar. These moves grow into the more advanced pole work like Ex butterfly and Ayesha Moving on to more advanced work that requires strength before you’re ready can lead to injury because the body can’t handle the load yet. However, you don’t have to have every move perfected before trying new things, but control is key.

Also note that overuse injuries happen over time and so make sure you’re not over training. 🙂

[Veena]

HI! That feeling is familiar to me for sure! I see you get up early but are home at a pretty reasonable time. The crash could just be from not eating enough in the am and then when you get home to eat the blood sugar levels go crazy and you crash!

I also have a very high metabolism and had my thyroid check, because I was feeling so run down somedays. Everything thing checked out ok, I know I deal with depression and I’m getting better about pulling myself out of it. To avoid a funk, I stay off my social media, if you have to check your phone do it standing, don’t sit and look at FB or whatever. Avoid interacting online with people or things that make you feel frustrated and sad. Follow positive people! I focus on doing something that makes me feel I’ve accomplished something, somedays that might mean cleaning the house or creating new lessons.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money to eat well, avoid buying stuff in packages or the frozen section, they’re expensive and usually full of weird stuff, even if they “claim” is healthy! You can make snacks to bring with and things like chopping up veggies and keeping them in the fridge for snacks is nice because they go a long way. I also found that I need to eat more at meals and keep snacks a bit smaller. When I use to graze all day I was much thinner, eating more at meals helps me maintain, even when I have to walk the dogs up or huge hill and workout and make lessons!