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If you are lacking upper body strength then you may be surprised to find pole dancing to be a great solution to build strength in 2024.
When you see people lifting themselves up the pole, doing aerial tricks you didn’t know was possible, you’ll immediately assume how incredible their upper body muscles must be.
You’re now second-guessing yourself because you know that you lack the required upper body strength to perform similar feats.
This is a normal reaction since the proof is glaringly obvious.
However, do not forget that there are many women who can’t even do push-ups or pull-ups and yet, they’re very good at the pole.
This means you still have a chance to dance on the pole and we’re here to help you achieve it.
It’s logical to assume that you’ll have a harder time pulling yourself up on the pole when you’re overweight.
Skinny girls have it easy because they only weigh a little.
It may be hard to believe but this line of reasoning isn’t necessarily true.
This is what we’ll prove to you next.
Lifting Yourself Up
The ability of a person to push or pull themselves up depends on the capacity of their muscles to carry their whole body load.
This capacity depends on the distribution of muscle mass throughout the body.
You’ll notice that shorter women with a bigger build are better in carrying their weight compared to tall, skinny ones.
The reason behind this is that on shorter people, muscles are compacted on a tighter region.
This means the muscles need to exert force only on a short distance to contract its whole length and execute the exercise.
On the other hand, taller people have lengthier limbs and their muscle mass is spread wider along their limbs.
This means the muscles have to exert extra effort to contract its whole length and allow you to pull or push yourself up.
I’ve seen peers of mine who are over 75 lbs.
‘ most of them overweight ‘ and yet they were able to hold on to the pole in an inverted position.
On the contrary, the thinner girls who look fit and will have no problem lifting their skinny bodies up had trouble doing so.
They weren’t even able to hold themselves up on the pole for more than 5 seconds.
Is this an absolute proof that skinny women will have more trouble clinging to the dance pole compared to others?
Of course not!
Again, your ability to perform on the pole is relative to your strength, muscle built, and training.
Majority of the women that goes to my pole dancing classes are moms who are out of shape.
Most of them have no time to go to the gym and exercise.
And because they rarely train their muscles to handle their body weight, most of them cannot pull their bodies up the dance pole.
All hope is not lost, whatever your body type is.
Our bodies easily adapt to these types of challenges.
Practice on the pole every day and after 8 weeks, you’ll notice a drastic increase in your overall strength.
Tips to Improve Your Performance on the Dance Pole
1) Exercise.
Perform pull-ups at least 3 times a week to improve your upper body strength.
Doing pole dancing tricks will become a breeze once you can lift yourself up there for prolonged periods.
While training your arms, learn more about floor work like half-turns, pirouettes, and backslides.
2) Use grip aids.
Don’t be afraid to use grip aids.
Some of us may have sweaty palms while some may have sensitive skin.
Grip aids can help improve your grip on the pole if your palms sweat too much.
However, remember that these are just aids, so you shouldn’t depend on them too much.
You still have to strengthen your upper body to improve your grip on the pole.
3) Be patient.
Muscle development takes some time to complete.
Don’t expect to develop strong grip in an instant, a day or two after working out.
Give your body time to adjust.
When your hands are ready, you’ll be surprised how strong you’ve become since you started weeks ago.
4) Clean the dance pole.
Make sure you regularly clean the pole to remove dirt, oil, and sweat sticking to it.
Don’t use any cleaner not recommended for pole use to avoid damaging it.
5) Avoid using lotions as much as possible.
Also, avoid using any type of hand or body lotion before you jump onto the pole.
These items can produce excessive lubrication, causing you to slip while performing on the pole.
If you really need to use lotion because you have dry or sensitive skin, use something like aloe vera gel.
Apply it to your body 10 minutes before you start your pole dancing exercise.
6) Stay healthy.
Nutrition is important if you want to maintain a healthy and fit body.
Daily exercise won’t help you get fit unless you partner it with having a balanced diet.
Eat food rich in protein and dump all that contains unhealthy substances like carbohydrates and sugar.
Dessert, bread, rice, and pasta should rarely be part of your diet.
Click here to read the stripper body diet
7) Perseverance.
Don’t give up just because you can’t life yourself up on the pole for more than 3 seconds.
Trust the process and learn each step one at a time.
You’ll eventually get to a level of performance you want to achieve in due time.
If you want to know more about strengthening exercises commonly used for pole fitness, try the Home Pole Fitness Training Course.
It contains hours of video clips that will teach you how to level up your pole dancing skills from beginner to expert in a matter of 8 weeks.