You may have been wondering why all was rather quiet over at Chrome Chronicles throughout the summer. Well fear not, I had indeed been doing some serious work for the blog, however it wasn’t been the usual level of work, which previously consisted of sitting firmly on my arse, necking coffee and olives and churning out some sort of rant about how difficult I’m finding pole most days. Over the summer, I had been busting said aforementioned arse and working up a serious sweat trying out the latest pole dance and fitness membership site Lush Motion.
Founded by Tatjana van Onna, Lush Motion is an easy to navigate membership site which at 20 euros per month (or 195 Euros annually), grants the user access to a substantial library of videos to improve both their pole dance skills and overall fitness. The cost of the membership is in my opinion very reasonable as there is such a wide variety of video content for the user, with Lush Motion covering everything from flexibility, strength and cardio, pole tricks, floorwork, dance and choreography and even handstands! The length of the videos are great too, as they range from 17-45 minutes, which is perfect for those of us with hectic schedules. As mentioned earlier there are also plenty of videos within each category to chose from. For example, the category Exotic Technique (the issue in regard to the naming of this category will be addressed shortly) not only has seven different dance routines to follow but also six separate warm up sequences too. The videos are easy to follow with clear instructions given and both progressions and regressions depending on your level. There are a few occasions where the instructors mic cuts out which can throw you off, but they’re few and far between and only last for a few seconds when they occur.
However, when you’re attempting any of the heels choreo videos please make sure you have enough space to comfortably dance and bust out floorwork. Do not do what this wally right here did and not test out the space beforehand, end up booting the sofa bed, chest of drawers and pole and eventually have to give up trying to do anything floorwork related in a space that wasn’t big enough to swing a cat.
Speaking about Lush Motion’s heels and dance content, I understand that the term “Exotic” is originally a colonial term and is not accurate anymore for describing pole dance when wearing heels. Gemma Rose describes this in far better detail in this useful infographic. I have addressed this issue with Lush’s team and have suggested the “Exotic Technique” category be re-named to a more suitable title.
Lush Motion’s pole combos videos accurately match the description they have been given in regard to their level. The beginner combo video didn’t consist of a single invert (which are categorically not a beginner level move) and began with climbing tutorials, which I think we can all agree is a solid foundation to have before mastering those tricky, up the pole combos. The Static Fantastic combo video, which was classed as moderate (intermediate) and focused on basic invert and leg hang combos, so stayed within the intermediate lane nicely. The more challenging combos were obviously more difficult, but having leveled classes match their description is essential. The pole combo videos are very clear, easy to follow and allow time for practice in them too. Plus the beauty of the tutorials being online is you can always pause them for additional practice time too if needed.
Now onto the funny bit, my attempt at the hours of content within Lush. Due to some pretty hefty lifestyle changes within recent years, the amount of free time I have to train has vastly dwindled. Therefore, I had to get creative and think outside the box in regard to how I was going to schedule in some time to train. And by getting creative I mean doing the unthinkable for someone like me who is categorically not a morning person and train before work! I have never, ever enjoyed early starts,so getting up an extra 30-40 minutes before I needed to for exercise was a fucking alien concept for me. However, in the spirit of trying to prove myself wrong, I pledged to get up and do some of Lush’s full body work outs and warm ups (which are both long and energetic enough to class as work outs on their own to be honest) on the days I didn’t have pole class.
Well people it finally happened, after years of avoiding getting up unnecessarily early at all costs, Lush’s workouts have finally morphed me into some sort of morning person. After managing to turf myself out of bed and do a video ranging between 20-30 minutes in length, (yes I am starting small, I’m easing myself into this whole morning exercise routine malarkey after all) I found I would spend the rest of the day more energised and in a better mood than had I not done any exercises at all, so that was a massive win! For those of you who are far more into working out than me fear not, as there are plenty of more intense and longer (ooh err!) training videos on Lush for you to do that are more substantial than 20 minutes long. For example, Upper Body Boxfit with Kelly and Heat your body with Tatjana damn near nearly killed me off – if you want an arse kicking work out which will have you sweating like a motherfucker then look no further. However, if you’re just starting out (or re-starting like I am) your fitness journey, then shorter but just as effective videos such as Core on fire andPole technique warm up (both with Tatjana) will have you very warm and sufficiently exercised, but are more achievable for those of us who aren’t at athlete level.
Will I be keeping up my early morning exercise routine? Surprisingly for all involved it’s a big, fat yes! I loved feeling more pumped, positive and generally in a better mood throughout the day as a result of training first thing, so thank you Lush for introducing this new method of exercising into my life, which I’m weirdly enjoying. I went away on a hiking holiday during the middle of September and I have to say I believe upping my exercise game to include morning session helped my stamina on some of the more tougher mountains.
Overall if you can afford the 20 euros per month or 195 euros annually then I would recommend signing up to Lush. For those of you who are more advanced pole dancers and come from a sporting background you will love the many videos Lush has that will get your working up a sweat and sending your training to the next level. Alternatively, if you’re in my camp and just want to try something out that will increase your fitness at a pace that suits you, there are plenty of videos for us too. But don’t just take my word for it, give Lush’s free trial class a go and find out for yourself!
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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