Friday, November 6, 2009

Pole Dancing....Best Workout EVER!!!

Yes, it's official that pole dancing, once thought to be the career choice of whores and sluts only, is the best total workout I have ever done. Period. My sister recently purchased a pole last week and received it over the weekend. Since she lives right across the hall from me, of course I had to be in on this. Plus the both of us wanted to do this since we've been watching it on youtube for about a year now. I also once thought that pole dancing was automatically something slutty, but my perception changed as soon as I started watching these ladies perform. It's really amazing and their strength makes it look easy, but I assure you it is not!

So anyway, my sister and I have been practicing on the pole for maybe a week now and we already see improvement on our ability to do a few moves and have better control. The only thing about pole dancing is the process of breaking your body in on the pole. I kinda mean that literally too. Like it takes some getting used to in a way that is different from getting used to a new exercise regimen. Your skin becomes sore and achy until it toughens from the friction of gripping the pole with your hands, arms, and legs. However all of that is just a small obstacle for me with this thing. I am overweight and have had a bum knee since I was a normal weight teen. You know how it is ladies, you get married and maybe you're a SAHM or wife, and if you're not careful the weight can pile on before you realize. I have finally found an exercise that doesn't punish my joints for simply trying to help my fat ass lose weight.

If you're like me you hate conventional exercise. I just can never stay motivated. I start out strong but then I always re-injure my knee and it's all over from there. Moreso than becoming uninspired I become injured which completely stops my progress. So the pole dancing is going a-okay for now. I'm sore in muscles I didn't know could be worked! It's good normal muscle soreness, and the best thing is I look forward to it daily.

If you think you might be interested in pole dance you should give it a try. No matter how big you are you can eventually learn to do pole tricks and it's fun working up to various goals. I hate conventional exercise, but strength training in between pole dances is a must for those of us who haven't been athletically active for a while. So that means you won't be getting away from crunches, push ups, and leg lifts. Try some chin ups also if you can, because upper body strength is key to even the simplest of pole moves.

So to wrap it up, anybody who is interested should try it. If you don't want to spend the money yet to buy your own pole, check to see if there is a pole dance studio somewhere in your city. If you live in a large city chances are there is one or two in your downtown area. Many of them offer a free session for walk ins and first time people just so you can try it. If you have money to spare and for whatever reason do not feel comfortable with trying that in front of people you can buy your own. The best and most convenient pole in my opinion is the X-pole. It runs you about $300 + shipping. It's the most convenient because it is one of few poles that do not screw into anything, is in pieces as opposed to a single pole, and can be easily installed and removed. This is best if you rent and maybe you can't drill holes everywhere. It's very sturdy (I should be getting paid for this ad I'm putting in for X-pole). If installed correctly it will not fall down or wobble around even if you are very overweight.

You need three things to successfully pole dance:

1) Strength. It will be built so long as you attempt pole dancing. It is of utmost importance for even simple moves to be done fluidly.

2) Patience. It seems simple at first but once you get up there you realize it's harder than it looks. You may not get even a simple spin the first few times but keep at it. Eventually you will get it but until then, don't be discouraged.

3) Confidence. This is more important than the other two. Simply because if you have no confidence you will NEVER succeed in this. The first trust to gain is with the pole. Once you trust that it will not fall and will support your weight no matter how you pull and swing on it, it gets easier. The next thing is to trust yourself and the fact that you can support your weight and do the moves. If you can think it in your mind about a move most likely you will succeed at it. You must be fearless to try the basic thing like simply taking your feet off the floor.

With that I leave you with a few videos for your enjoyment.