There’s no denying the fact that right now we are tit deep in the whole home exercise culture fandango. The gyms are shut (lol like I ever went to one anyway) and most importantly, our beloved sanctuaries that are pole studios have been closed since 23rd March. It’s safe to say there is a motherfucking hole in our souls right about now.
However fear not, as where there is a will there is a way and for those of you who feel like it (if you don’t it is categorically not an issue as you are under no obligation to be productive during a global fucking pandemic), as previously mentioned there are all manner of online exercise classes to help us pole dancers meet our pole goals, or at least give them a damn good go. Be they strengthening, stretching, or even actual online pole classes if you are one of the lucky ones who has a home pole.
If you have read any of my previous posts since the old lockdown began, you’ll see that I have embarked on a training quest to up my strength and flexibility game, so that on the joyous day when our pole studios finally open again, I can strut back in with comfortable splits in all directions, an aerial shoulder mount and a retained, sturdy as hell Ayesha. Well, that’s the dream anyway. Naturally, as part of this training quest, I have partook in a fair few classes and learned quite a bit about my training methods and what work best. In this process, I have discovered two key pieces of advice that have helped my home training adventure improve tenfold. Naturally, I thought they were important enough to blog about, so here they are…
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Do not overload yourself!
Bloody hell I made this mistake two weeks go. From Sunday 12th to Thursday 16th April, this overly ambitious dickhead had booked on to attend seven online classes. Fucking seven. This schedule of doom consisted of a back and shoulders flexibility class on Sunday, exotic choreo and body pump classes on Monday, front splits training on Tuesday, front splits again on Wednesday morning and upper body stretching on Wednesday evening and finally a middle splits stretching class on Thursday evening. No wonder I was knackered and demotivated by the time Wednesday arrived! I’m not ashamed to admit that I failed in my tasks of trying to attend every class and had to bail on both body pump and Wednesday’s upper body stretching. The final scores were mad cunt training schedule 7- Eilish 5, and the very obvious moral of the story here is clearly not to overload yourself when training and creating to a ridiculous regime that just isn’t feasible for you.
Now, in addition to quick stretches (10-15 mins max) after my runs four times a week, I am just committing to three, deep stretch classes per week at times that work best for my schedule. I’m fortunate enough to work from home from 8:30-4pm Monday-Friday, so daytime classes are a no go- but for now I have capacity to get my flexy on at least three evenings per week – and it feels great knowing that I can complete a slightly smaller regime instead of failing at a huge one. So yeah, stick to schedule that suits you and know you will be able to complete instead of going at it like a mad fucker at first. Your body will thank you for it.
Do times and session lengths that work for you
This bitch right here is not a morning person. I like at least 7.5 hours sleep every night and despite being in full time employment for the past seven years, I still find getting out of bed an absolute struggle. I’ve been this way as long as I can remember and unless it involves getting money or going on holiday, getting out of bed is not my thing. Therefore, as much as the class was fantastic and an invaluable experience none the less, getting up at 8am to stretch with Felix Cane was a one off. An inspiring and awesome one off, but still a one off. For me personally, by the time the evening has arrived I am (usually) pleasantly fed and caffeinated enough to function and am much more in the mood to do some training. Overall, I find I am much more inclined to train if I am fed, watered and ready to settle into my free time in the evening than I am trying to squeeze in a slot before work.
One last thing, I sure as shit cannot commit to training for hours at a time. I struggle to get motivated if I know I’m going to be doing a class that’s like 90 minutes plus or some shit, basically the shorter the class is, the easier it is for me to convince myself I can commit to it. 30 minutes to an hour is the perfect length of time for me! If you can commit to and prefer training for hours at a time then fair fucking play, but that ain’t for me!
So those are two of the main lessons I have learned over the past month to help make the most of training at home. If you have any cracking tips you’ve discovered for making the most out of home training, drop them in the comments!
Disclosure: The link above is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn commission if you click through and make a purchase.
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