Participation in any fitness regimen should improve your physical appearance, your musculature, your General Health, and also your potential longevity. Pole dance for fitness is a sport that is based upon the equipment and the moves developed by dancers in strip clubs and acrobats in circus’. In recent years it has become much more than just an adult entertainment, pole dance for fitness has exploded onto the scene of alternative fitness! There are many women who participate in this sport who neither intended nor desire to work in the sex industry. That this sport emerged from such humble beginnings does not detract from the sport itself. Exotic dancers are highly skilled, and for the most part, consummate professionals who work in a physically demanding job which requires that they stay in physical shape. Most dancers manage to remain in shape without the need for a gym membership or any expensive exercise equipment.
Pole dancing will get you firmed, toned, and seeing results much faster than a traditional weight or resistance workout program or many other traditional workouts. In weight training a person will begin with lower weights and as their strength and musculature improve they increase the amount of weight that they are lifting and also the number of repetitions that they do in order to continue to see increases and improvement to their muscles. For women however, most are not looking for the muscle-bound, “no neck” look that a lot of the weight lifting fitness enthusiasts both male and female, tend to get. One of the most inviting things about pole for fitness, is that though one will see quite a lot of fit strong bodies among pole dancers, those who are very seriously into the sport tend to develop lithe, willowy, toned, and flexible physiques that are more “cut” and toned and less massively built. This is because from the start pole dancers throw their body weight up, down, and around, holding with ankles, backs of knees, and often even one handed. The weight that they are throwing around is further unbalanced by momentum, torque, and spin which tends to work the muscles completely and throughout their range of motion to develop the condition of the muscles or limbs as a whole, rather than concentrating on lifting dumb weight in a specific way to affect certain muscles and muscle groups. Pole dancing is also a great cardio workout, so it benefits your weight management goals and also helps to keep the heart and lungs healthy.
The following is a list of the 10 major general benefits to participating in this fun, and empowering activity. There are a host of other reasons also but for the purpose of this article the top ten are better. If you begin a program of pole dancing for fitness believe me, you will quickly see the benefits to your body, mind, and spirit.
The benefits of pole dancing for fitness:
- Improves physical strength in both your core, and all of the skeletal muscle throughout your body.
- Can build firmed and toned muscle in a fairly short period of time. It does not take long before you begin to see results. The best part is that this firming and toning of the muscles focuses quite well on those “problem areas” for women.
- Improved balance and agility as well as increasing flexibility, balance, and core strength..
- Pole dance is a physically challenging activity which will use each and every muscle and muscle group in your body, and will intensively target specific muscles throughout their range of motion which builds to properly proportioned lean muscle that will allow you to bear your weight supported on the pole for longer and longer periods of time.
- There are a wealth of tricks, spins, and holds to learn, and master.
- All of the tricks, spins, and holds are versatile and can be adapted to fit any person, regardless of height or body type.
- There are moves and tricks for any fitness level and level of ability and as your strength and skill develop so will the range of tricks and elaborations that can be added to your repertoire.
- You may learn at your own pace, in numerous different venues, styles, and methodologies. Students are encouraged and empowered to innovate. To encourage students to try new moves, new tricks, new holds or adaptations, elaborations and optical illusions is the objective of most teachers, as well as being the goal for most students. Every time that you learn a new trick or a new variation on a trick or hold it spurs you to master the move and polish it and then find a new one or change it. This will keep the workout from ever getting boring.
- Choreography is completely open to the interpretation and abilities of the individual, which keeps the activity fresh and spontaneous. Thus boredom does not normally occur in this exercise medium. One may tire of certain moves or routines but boredom from lack of innovation should not occur unless you choose to grow stagnant with both choreography and learning and adapting tricks.
- There’s absolutely no need for special shoes, clothing, or specific “forms” that must be followed in order to pole dance. Many dancers will perform their tricks from different starting points or pole mounting positions, holds, or combinations. So there is no wrong way to do pole tricks, as long as your body conforms to the shape or body position that is called for in each trick you are fine. Proficiency and ever increasing strength and stamina will improve all of your moves and tricks over time.
The most important thing to remember about pole dancing is to loosen up and have fun! Whether you want to pole dance to improve the look and shape of your body or to get your body back into shape is not important. It is also not important to many pole dance for fitness practitioners whether they are seen pole dancing by men or not and most are not interested in the least to seek a job in the local gentlemen’s clubs.. Another of the intriguing things about pole dance for fitness which attracts so many women is the numerous ways and various places that this sport can be pursued. There are a wealth of videos on video sharing websites such as youtube.com that show that women have installed poles in their entryways, in front of their tv in the living room or den, in the corners of bed rooms, dining rooms, and even in their kitchens. A few ladies who have posted videos on youtube.com have installed their pole either in their garage or in a storage locker, probably due to a lack of space or not wanting to constantly uninstall and reinstall their pole when company comes over. I have installed my pole outside because I live in such a small house and because I didn’t want to damage the tile in the house I live in. I have seen poles mounted on tile floors, carpeting, Pergo, hardwood floors, concrete, stages, plywood, tile, and any other type of floor covering commonly found in the home.
As with any sport or strenuous physical activity it is recommended that you do either receive formal training from enrolling in a class at a local studio or you can enroll in e-classes online. You can even learn in one on one sessions with another dancer. It is important when you start, that you allow someone to guide you through the basics of pole dancing so you may learn the tricks of creating momentum to spin up or down the pole in various positions, using your body weight as a counterbalance and the pole as your fulcrum. After you have learned the basics it is then completely up to you how you want to continue to learn. There are numerous methods, venues, and places that you may get instruction for pole fitness. You can use videos, books (there is even a Pole Dancing for Dummies book on the activity, students can take classes online, or they can go to the nearest pole dancing studio. As I mentioned before though, once you get the first few basic moves and grips down you are ready to begin looking for moves that you would like to learn on YouTube or some other video sharing network site. You tube even has a section called expert village in which several dancers and instructors take one trick or move and break it down to show viewers how a certain move is done.
In the end you will find yourself loving the way that pole dancing strengthens and shapes your body. If you are trying to lose weight, or you are aiming for better muscle tone and body conditioning this one piece of fitness equipment may be the solution that you are looking for. There is no need to purchase any other equipment, and if you install a removable pole at home, once you have learned routines you can surprise your boyfriend or significant other one night when they come home from work. Challenge yourself. Chose a new trick to master each week or set endurance challenges for yourself where you hang stationary in the back leg hook or front “V” position for as long as you can. There are numerous ways to keep the activity new and fresh so that you don’t grow bored with your fitness regimen. As your confidence and sense of innate femininity grow, your body will melt away the layers of fat in all of the zones and places that women normally refer to as “problem areas. Your new toned, fit, and strong appearance will amaze your friends, your significant other, but most importantly it will impress you!
