Want to take a pole fitness class and don’t quite know what to look?  This article should help you get a spinning start!

First and foremost, make sure the instructors are all AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) certified. Secondly, seek a safe practice environment, with plenty of privacy. Also, make sure that poles are securely fastened to the ceiling and floor, without a lot of movement to them. Note, however, that the taller the poles are there will be some movement. As well, the beginner student should start on a static pole versus a spinning pole. Gripping a spinning pole while trying to do a pole spin or trick is more difficult and can cause injury if not done correctly. Also, learning on a static pole requires more effort, which is where the “exercise” part comes in and should be done first. Perfecting ones technique, balance, and strength is best done on a static pole before moving on to a spinning pole.
Classes should be broken up into several groups, starting from a basic class, for new students. Then advanced levels, where spins, pirouettes, and transitional dance moves are combined; to put together a routine. Intermediate level and beyond is for those who have built up the knowledge, practice and strength required to do more of the aerial tricks portion of the pole.

All classes should start with a minimum of a 5 to 10 minute warm up, which includes stretching, conditioning and a cool down portion at the end of class to bring the heart rate back down to normal.  A potential instructor should also explain what and what not to wear in a pole class. Shorts are the best way to go along with a comfortable gym top or light t-shirt. Pole dancing requires a lot of physicality, so wearing the type of clothing that allows the skin to breathe is important. As well, not wearing any lotion or oils on the body, especially the legs and arms is crucial. In order to do the spins and tricks safely on the pole the skin needs to make contact with the pole on various parts of the body. Lotion can cause you to lose your grip on the pole. Often times when you are a beginner the adrenaline and nervousness can cause your hands to sweat so the combination of lotion and sweat, can all lead to unnecessary slipping, tripping or even falling which can lead to injuries. Because there is a lot of gripping with the legs, the same rules apply.

Whether to wear the high heel platform shoes or not is also a constant debate among experts because of the potential injuries that can happen. Lots of women enjoy wearing the platform heels and shoes make it easier to perform a variety of moves. Not only that but they build calve muscles and make the legs look nice long and lean. Every type of dance and sport has certain shoes that are designed to enhance performance. If taught how to dance correctly in the shoes by the instructor, injuries can be cut down to a minimum. However, it should always be the student’s decision whether they want to wear the heels. All pole moves can be preformed in bare fee, mainly on the tip toes. All inversion moves should first be done in bare feet until the move is perfected because the shoes add extra weight to the body.

“The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie.”

Source: Examiner

An effort of changing style of pole dancing as an experiment. Not sure if it works but it’s infulanced by elena gibson.

Pole Dancing Swan Lake – Click here for more free videos

POLE dancing is the unlikely new way to keep fit in Honiton.

And women in their 50s are proving to be just as agile as their teenage classmates.

So popular are the sessions that instructor Kirsty Mills is poised to open a class for men.

Kirsty, 19, who suffers from a life-limiting illness, admits when she attended her first lesson she did it “for a laugh”.

She was then a student at Exeter College, studying the performing arts and art management.

“I had no perception of what pole dancing pole was,” she said.

“I never knew I’d be going upside down and doing crazy moves.

“Like any cardiovascular exercise, I knew it would be good for me – because I have cystic fibrosis.
(more…)

Women are abandoning the gym in their droves to take up pole dancing. And leading the way in Calderdale is Kim Beech who has just opened her own removable pole dance studio

When the Eurythmics sang Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves they could have been talking about pole dancing.
Because pole dancing has successfully shimmied out of its sleazy image of the past and into the mainstream pole fitness world.
In the past, it has been largely confined to the world of lap dancing bars and night clubs. Shaking off that image has taken some time but it’s got there, thanks in no small part to the likes of 28-year-old Kim Beech, of Sowerby Bridge. (more…)

Nikki Craven grabs a metal pole dancing pole, and to the tune of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” lifts herself up on it, flips her legs over her head, does a twirl and slides down, hands first, onto the light-up tile floor.

Her students, on a Saturday afternoon at Inferno in downtown Greensboro, break into applause.

The News & Record of Greensboro reported that the 26-year-old Craven is a pole exercise instructor. She is not, however, a stripper. And though she has had some students who were exotic dancers, most are just women wanting to spice things up in their relationships or looking for a unique way to get into shape.

“Some people, when I tell them I teach pole dancing, they instantly shut down,” Craven said. “They hear the words ‘pole dancing’ and then they just associate it with something unseemly. But this is more about getting women to come out of their shells, to be confident in their bodies.”

The classes are part of a growing national trend that’s drawing a wide variety of people. Craven’s students range in age from 18 to early 50s and include college students, a pastor’s wife and even a former body builder, Jody Luman.

(more…)

Layton » It’s like gymnastics, said pole fitness competitor Becca Butcher.

But instead of a balancing beam or parallel bars, there’s a pole.

And it was that last feature that stirred a slight controversy over whether Saturday’s Pole Fetish 2009 competition should be canceled.

Davis County owns the Davis Conference Center, where the event was held, and several weeks ago, county commissioners were concerned the performances might be closer to “adult entertainment.”

But the private contractor that manages and books events at the center met with Pole Fetish 2009 promoters and the event continued.

“They felt comfortable in allowing it to go forward,”

Nichole Smith competing in Pole Fetish 2009 Saturday at the Davis Convention Center. The competition was billed as Utah’s first pole fitness competition. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

said Commissioner Bret Millburn. “Hopefully, it is what it is.”

And that’s an amazing way to tone your body, said Butcher, a mother of two who has also studied martial arts for about 20 years.

“Hopefully, tonight will break a lot of misconceptions,” she said .

Her family is very religious, she said, and her father, mother, brother and sister-in-law came to the event because they support her and “see it for what it is.”

Ogden’s Adult Dance & Fitness, along with Studio Soiree in Salt Lake City, sponsored the event — the first of its kind in Utah, said Meagan Burroughs, owner of the Ogden studio. She hopes pole fitness will become an Olympic sport.

Burroughs teaches pole fitness along with ballroom, hip-hop and other dancing.

“They always come back,” she said of people who take the pole aerobics workout. “I’ve never had someone go into a program and think they were stripping.”

And there were a few ground rules for Pole Fetish 2009:

“We don’t want any catcalling. We don’t want any tips,” the night’s hostess, Debra White, told the audience. “Let’s keep this clean and have fun.”

Performers were required to keep on the same clothes from start to finish, as well as wear something that covered breasts and buttocks. Most performers wore shorts and sports bras. Footwear varied from nothing to ballet slippers and even plastic platforms.

West Jordan resident Susan Hintze had associated poles with more exotic activities, but changed her perspective after taking pole fitness classes. She came to Pole Fetish 2009 to cheer on her instructor.

“I’ve gained such a respect for the beauty of movement and self-expression.”

The secret behind Britney Spears’ fit body has been revealed –

pole dancing.

The 27-year-old star has installed an eight-foot metal pole in her 1,100 pound-a-night penthouse suite at London’s posh Dorchester hotel, when her Circus world tour begins its UK leg.

“Britney has a huge fan base in the UK and really wants her shows here to be a hit,” the Mirror quoted a source as saying.

“Pole-dancing is an excellent cardio and fat-burning workout, and Britney has had private classes in her studio gym in LA.

“She wants to keep up her exercise regime on tour. Luckily, the hotel was happy to accommodate her needs.

“She can swing around her pole while watching TV or listening to music. Climbing up it requires real core strength. It really is hard work.

“In addition, she’ll have a treadmill and stepper brought to her suite, as well as a sit-up machine. By the time Britney takes to the stage, her six-pack of old will be back!” the source added.

Source: The times of India

Pole Dancing – You definitive guide

Pole dancing burns calories, tones body muscles, increases flexibility, improves fitness and can help tone your whole body. If you want to take up pole dancing then head to a class or keep training at home with a portable pole dancing kit and the pole aerobics workout DVD included for the basic moves:

The Walk Around: Stand tall with your shoulders back. Hook your arm around the pole and tip toe slowly and sexily around the pole.

The Body Ripple: Holding the pole with one hand, move your shoulders into it. Stick your bum out and ripple inwards until your stomach is on the pole. Then pull out your shoulders, bringing your pelvis towards pole. Repeat several times so the movement flows. (more…)