Pole Fitness: progress and challenge

Hard to believe, but I started writing this post over a year ago and just kept updating it over time. It finally feels like I've reached the desired result and can show the real progress and struggle I went through to achieve it. I remember the first time I saw it done in real life, by a girl too, and my beginner pole dancer's brain just exploded.  Honestly, I thought it will never happen, back than I couldn't even do an invert without jumping into it. 4 years from then, and my Iron X is still not perfect. Very first attempts. The shape is miles away from a proper Iron X The fact that I got it at least in a slacky imperfect form is due to my being obsessive about the move. Happens sometimes. Once it felt like I've got a chance to perform it one day, I couldn't stop thinking about Iron X and focused on spending at least several minutes every class purely on Iron X training.. Unortunately, Iron X is one of those moves that you can't solely focus on,...

Something extraordinary happened just about a week ago, after more than a year of struggle,  I suddenly got my Deadlift. It is really hard to believe :) Just as usual I halfheartedly tried it without any hope for success, just as a part of my training where I did 2 - 3 attempts during every practice session. And "Holy  Shit! What just happened?!" I did it! I would like to say something inspiring about me consistently practicing, conditioning, doing complimentary training and stuff, but that's not quite true. It just happened. There was no getting closer day by day, or even clumsily making it happen for the first time. Deadlift turned from non-existent to quite a decent looking in just that one session. I never tried an aerial version before, as obviously thought it would be harder than doing it from the ground, but decided to give it a go anyway, cause why not? And it worked marvelously! To be honest I thought I was just deceiving myself, doing something wr...

Butterfly deserves a separate post. It is pretty, easy and fun. Butterfly is such a pretty shape. It doesn't require any extreme flexibility or strength, but looks absolutely stunning It was my very first 'advanced' move, or so I thought at the beginning of my pole journey. It's funny how my perception of a 'cool move' changed with time and experience,  but I still consider Butterfly  beautiful and worth putting in a routine. Just for a change I had no particular struggle with the Butterfly,  apart from a minor body positioning issue. And that was back when I had to cheekily jump into my Invert (yes, we all did that). Facing the pole, while holding a perfect shape seemed to confuse me a little. My body tended to turn either to one side or another. I could still easily hold the move, but the shape was a bit crooked and imperfect. Not sure exactly how I overcame the issue,  just lots of practice,  I guess. And I did practice it a lot, alongside wi...

Regardless of a pole dance level we all have that special move on the horizon we're desperately trying to achieve. Knee hold has been my Nemesis move for ages. Finally got it last year Pole Goals make me try harder every time a come to studio to practice. Achieving them helps tracking my progress and generally makes me feel good for a time. Here is a list of moves I tried to get at different stages of my pole journey. Beginners (poling for less than a year): 1) Butterfly  2) Gemini - Scorpio transition  3) Superman  (what a surprise) Intermediate (2 years into pole): 1) Shoulder Mount  2) Aeysha  3) Jade Advanced (not even sure I'm 100% on this level after almost 3 years of doing pole): 1) Iron X (total nemesis move) 2) Russian Split 3) Iguana Air Walk (or whatever it's called) Expert (hoping to be here one day): 1) Fongi 2) Deadlift (if I do it, I'll die happy) 3) Spatchcock 4) Bird of Paradise 5) Starfish...

Russian Split is one of the prettiest pole splits, at least in my opinion. One can say I mastered it all right, but the truth is that a lot of issues still remain. The move was a constant struggle from start to finish. 1) Fear Kind of similar to what I felt while learning a full Layback. The gaping abyss of nothingness below, feeling of falling into it breaking my neck along the way. Literally that bad. I knew my body was strong enough to keep myself in a required position, but my brain said "nope, you'll fall and die a slow and painful death". The solution was as usual to push through the fear, first through spotting, then using a crash mat to build up my confidence. Took me about two months to get past that stage, but I did it. First attempts. Good side split, but bad side Cupid, so had to start over from a different side later on 2) Bad Side This issue haunts me non-stop. My left split is no good even on the floor, and it pains me even more in my...

Not really a pole fitness progress post, but rather something that's constantly bothering me. Pointy toes, or more likely their absence. You watch somebody doing a fantastic, difficult combo or a pretty spin, thinking how awesome it looks... and then you see them, slack flexed feet (sad face). I usually completely lose interest after I notice those naughty feet more than once, or hate myself for not looking after mine. The thing is, no matter how great the move is, if you don't keep an eye on your toes, the whole look is ruined. It's also good to remember that most of the judges at the comps have some sort of gymnastics or ballet background, and they do notice those things. But even if you're not competing, paying attention to what your feet are doing is important. It is easy to get carried away during your practice session and completely forget about your toes, while focusing on a new difficult trick. However, pointy toes is a great part of a successful move. ...