Gym & Pole

KateA started this discussion · 12/7/2015

Hi everyone, love seeing everyone's posts even if I don't post often myself! I have a question for you incredible polers, I've recently upgraded my poling membership to include full gym membership ... mainly because I get another poling class a week in there too ... however I making an effort to use the gym too, I love spin & try to do one class a week, and have been doing cardio + weights 2 times a week, where I am struggling - how on earth do you build 3 pole sessions, 2 gym sessions, 1 spin class into one week whilst having the right amount of rest in between each workout? !?!?! Am I just trying to do too much? What do your workout weeks look like please as I'm struggling to get my head around it! In other news I FINALLY got my butterfly & outside leg hang - wooooo hooooooooooo! Thank you muchly in advance 😊

10 replies

Stacia0330 · 12/8/2015
When you say cardio and weights, how often have you been doing this and how intensely? The only reason I ask is bumping up too much too fast could burn you out or injure you.
KateA · 12/8/2015
Hey Stacia, thank you for replying - nothing too intense to start with, as I've been down the injury route before - 20 or 30 mins cardio plus light weights, in the machines which support you as opposed to free standing, I'm just wanting to get in the swing of things atm then build up, hence the weekly routine question - i've just noticed that I need to strengthen my legs more to achieve new pole moves so wanting to make use of the essentially free gym membership seems a good way to do that 😊
Girl On A Pole · 12/8/2015
Well, I'm juggling pole, pole conditioning and a progressive weights programme. So I pole tues, Thursday and Sunday, I pole condition Wednesday and weight lift on the other days. The plan is to increase pole conditioning. I also want to start flexi classes But it's fitting it all in.
Veena · 12/8/2015
Try adding the lifting to the pole dance days! Unless you are a fitness competitor or if pole and fitness is a full time job that requires you to be in great shape, you need to make sure to REST and don't stress to much about missing a pole or lifting session. Living the life of a professional athlete who has to train tons isn't the healthiest option, despite what is portrayed in the media. Rest is equally important to training!! Eating really well if you train a lot is also key!
Stacia0330 · 12/8/2015
I think you have to prioritize what you value as well, in terms of fitness goals. Do you want to be a better poler? More flexibility? More brute strength? Lose weight? It would be cool if we could do all the things at the same time, but for most regular people have to decide which they want and go for it. Doing All The Things (or trying to) will probably get you injured or at the very least overtrained. There's another thread where we were talking about workouts and pole. Like Veena said, maybe adding more weights to your pole days would be a good way to start out. Flexibility can be added at the end of your workout to get that good stretch in.
KateA · 12/8/2015
Thank you SO much! I seriously had not thought about doing weights before a pole workout as I thought I would be too knackered! That helps enormously 😊 I eat seriously well & as a Remedial massage therapist stress the importance of rest days too my clients, hence my confusion around bringing in weights to my pole workouts, as apparently they will help me move forward in my pole goals so all good indeed, wow! Light bulb moment 😊😊😊 re goals mine is simply core strength, heart health, and toning - pole is the only workout I've found to keep me remotely motivated more than a few weeks (be 2 years in January!) So anything that helps me safely achieve the next pole move is a winner, so not looking to set the world on fire just to improve as I go along, so all good indeed! Yeay! A workout weekly plan is forming! (Veena, btw 30 days yo flexy? Soooooo good! Ty 😊 )
missyjac · 12/9/2015
This is a good thread, thank you Kate for starting :) It is indeed good to balance out pole with weights/gym/cardio work (I find that just doing pole alone made my butt sag lol - is it just me?) What Stacia said is right - prioritize what you value in terms of fitnesss goals. I guess for all pole dancers it would be to have strength & flexibility. I might be wrong but what I'm doing currently would be a short HIIT session of legs and ab session before a pole play/class (it helps to warm me up!). On other days I'd work on arms/shoulder/back @ the gym for conditioning followed by a nice stretch. Perhaps fix the days you choose to do your workouts at the gym/home/pole and allow a rest+cheat day! Most days, I can't help but jump on the pole for a quick spin and resist doing crazy tricks haha. Always listen to your body!
Veena · 12/9/2015
Yes, when I use to lift weights I would generally lift first then pole. I found that I felt "lighter" after lifting so power/strength moves seemed easier!
KateA · 12/11/2015
Thank you everyone 😊 Looking forward to trying this next week! 😊
KittySkittles · 12/13/2015
Great thread!