Ah, having a life. I remember when I used to have that! Both my computer (I'm a gamer, so not having a computer is MORE crushing to me than not being able to pole) and my car have died on me, so I have NOTHING to do but train for pole right now. And work when I can. But that's not fun and there's no way I'm ever going to be cut-throat about making money and I've accepted that. ANYWAY.
A lot of the girls here have touched base with you and not being so down about yourself. I want to answer the initial question: HOW does one fit pole in their day? What do you do when you don't have a lot of money or time to invest in pole, but still want to do it, be good at it, and ultimately feel good about doing it?
Here are some tips of things I used to do to get pole training in:
1.) Stretch while you watch TV. If you have a tv show you watch with your family, it's a great time to get in some stretching. For me, stretching is reaallllyyyyy reallllyyy boring. It takes forever. I count 30s and it's actually only been like, 7. There's a clock mounted into our cable box, so when I start a pose I hold it for one scene. When that scene is over, I look at the clock, note what time it was when I started/ended so I can estimate the time of that pose, and do that pose on the other side for the same amount of time. You can also just watch tv and glance at the clock every couple of seconds, but I have ADD and I have to take small breaks (scene changes) to remind myself I'm doing two things at once. You can also lift weights, or if you have a coffee table infront of your tv, do wrist mobility exercises. I like doing those as well, because I can watch a show and do as many reps and sets as possible without ever seriously noticing (you DO feel the burn after about half an hour, won't lie.)
2.) Make a checklist. I get super excited when I get to cross things off of a checklist. I'm also kinda arts and crafts, so when I make a checklist I go into photoshop and make a mofo checklist (#swag). Anyway, my suggestion is to NOT just write down with a pen and ugly yellow legal pad a list of things you want to do. That paper is not motivational. It reminds you of work, and sadness...well, it does for me LOL. It's also something easily lost. Sit down when you have about half an hour to an hour, and photoshop yourself a pretty background to print a checklist onto. Something that will stand out to you. If you don't know your way around photoshop, you can just use a pretty or inspiring photo you found, and paste it into paint and just write the list there with the text tool. If you want to be more eco friendly and not waste paper, you could also buy a whiteboard and decorate it with some pole dance charms, old worn out shoes, and of course, glitter. This also helps with motivation. If you're struggling with pole-ups that day, skip it and go to pole sit-ups, and come back later.
3.) MAKE FRANDS! Okay, so this might be a little hard for those of you on the east coast or if you are a maple neighbor of the north, being that it's winter. But when winter is over, or if it isn't cold enough to be forced to stay inside where you are, go walk your dogs! If you have a dog park, meet someone who is also walking their dog, and make a fitness friend. This is also easier if you have a gym membership, but I don't have one and I've mad fitness friends this way. Having someone to work out with seriously boosts your desire to work out. They don't need to pole dance, but that is a serious plus and you can always convert them later (it's every pole dancer's master plan anyway :] ) As you and other's have pointed out, you can even have fitness jams with people here on SV.
4.) Free stuff? Check nearby community centers to see if they are offering any free sample classes. The Rec center here is constantly offering awesome asian fusion cardio (juijitsu, tai-bo, etc) and things like zumba, and sometimes they're free or half off! Even if you're pinching pennies, if a class is less than $10 I'm likely to try it out. This mixes up your regular conditioning/cardio schedule and also is a great way to STEP 3 MAKE FRANDS. I mean, why do some women start pole dancing? Because they were bored with their regular workout. If you have a friend who teaches a fitness class of any sort, check in and see if you can get in for free or half off. Even if you hate it. I have a friend who teaches zumba and I had to drag myself into one of her classes. I did not have fun, but I did get a workout :> Check out dance classes, too!
5.) Keep a log book. I use Fitocracy. Someone said something about My Fitness Pal but I've never tried it. I like Fitocracy because there's a pole dance community (although it's pretty dead) and it's almost like going to studio veena where you can be like, YEAAHHH, I WORKED OUT TODAY! And complete strangers get excited and support you because they know how hard it is, too. It's definitely not nearly as supportive as SV, but that's pretty hard to do. I find that I use it more because it's like social networking, instead of a sad little notebook where only I can track my progress. But if you're more of a private person, a notebook works well too. I feel like this is different from posting flexy pics progress and videos because you can see your tolerance increase workout to workout. This week, 60s plank. Next week? 120s plank. My body still looks the same to me right now, but apparently it's preforming better and seeing that is a huge motivation boost!
6.) Rewards. It seems pretty self explanatory, but rewards can get pretty complicated! When I nail a new move I've been trying to get for months, (Roxy, I'm looking at you) it opens up a world of new things I haven't been able to do before, but that in and of itself is a reward! I would love to live in a world where every workout made me feel like the very first time I got a shoulder mount, or an invert, or what I like to call, "the new move high". Unfortunately, we all have blah workouts. Sometimes it feels like the blah workouts are more frequent than the breakthrough workouts, but it's important to remind yourself that you're awesome and you gave yourself the kick in the ass to actually work out. A lot of people DON'T. So make a list of things you would be okay (and you can use ugly paper for this if you want LOL) with treating yourself with for completing a workout. For instance, I can't just eat ONE candy bar...so rewarding myself with a candy bar isn't something that I can do. But what I would instead do is take out a dollar for every ten minutes that I worked out, and put it into a pole jar. No, you don't get to count breaks :( You can make up your own little rewards...I'm all about food and money, so it's hard for me to get in a reward mindset for anything else :P Get your spouse to help you. Example: I love making smoothies, but there is no such thing as a clean friendly blender. I normally just rinse and throw in the dishwasher, but I feel bad for taking up so much space. So if I had a boyfriend, I would ask him to help me reach my fitness goals, by asking him to clean the blender IF I worked out. And then I would trade him a favor, like opening beer and bringing it to him during a game or something.
7.) Try poleing first. I too would go to work, or be stuck in a class, or at an airport, and see a pole and think "MY GOD, WHEN I GET HOME, I MUST POLE!" This was a thought that magically vanished as soon as I lugged my tired ass through the door, ate some ice cream, and immediate sat down for my vice of choice (for me it was the computer.) I don't really have any tips for that one. If you are already home, and you have this thought, don't stop and say, "when I'm done with laundry." Drop whatever you are doing and go pole. Freestyle for 20m. Choreograph a routine if you aren't feeling super amazing flow sauce that day. Work on perfecting a move you're really good at, or try learning a new one if you feel uber amazing. The goal is to get you to feel good about poleing. When you think, "I have to pole, I really want to pole today" it's because you're trying to catch up with that feeling of feeling...well, AMAZING. Having FUN. So have FUN. Don't try to reward yourself with pole as it is an activity; you might get down on yourself for not having as much energy because you kept pushing it back all day. That's just how I work, though, and everyone is different.
8.) Make an inspiration folder. This could be a physical folder, or a favorites folder in your internet browser or just a file folder on your computer. I like the physical folder because more glitter is better and I'm a visual learner, but that's just me. Take the time to collect things that inspire you to pole, and find a quote that you like. Or several. I have a few printed pictures of pole idols with inspiring things they've said tagged under them. If you have a pole space (I don't) you could hang them up. If not, and you are planning on making a weekly schedule and keeping to it, look at this before you work out. Maybe you could tie this into #7 and do it on your way home, while you fill up gas, etc to get you to actually do it when you walk in the door? Also, actual inspirational phrases (having a brain fart on the real term) might help you. There was a common saying at every studio I've ever been to; "If it hurts, you're know you're doing it right." While I don't like repeating phrases, this might be helpful to others. If you feel the burn in your workout, you know you're doing it right. You can pick other non-pole related quotes. Apparently they're called "exercise mantras". Here's a list of some if you want to look through a few. I like the one about hours in the week and how many are being asked for, it really puts things in perspective and it's not something I've heard six thousand and eight times. http://www.pbfingers.com/2011/01/19/exercise-mantras/
ALSO; set aside some space in your closet for workout clothes. I feel more inclined to work out if I dress out in spandex and hooker heels, polefit bras, leg warmers. Do your makeup ultra sultry if it helps! I personally feel like it helps me to have cute pole clothes. Even if I'm not recording that day, dressing for the part really helps motivate me to work out. "I've gone through all this trouble to get ready, there's no way I can quit before I start" is the mindset I get.
And then the usual "(re) decorate your pole space". I'm broke, so that's not always an option...but you can move furniture around, and clean up your area....I pole in the garage, so I have a lot of work to do before I could consider my pole area acceptable.
9.) Sneak in mini-workouts for conditioning outside of home. Do you have to go to the store? Work in an office? My zumba teaching friend recommended jogging ** through the store or briskly walking when doing mundane errands like grocery shopping. And, it makes sense. You warm up your muscles while jogging through the store. When you get in line, you can do preacher walks or lunges or whatever standing exercise you want. On the way back to the car, find a stop sign or pole of choice and bust out a flag or two. For the office, you can always buy a balance ball and replace your office chair, then sneak in an ab workout during lunch. Run up and down the stairs for warm up.
**My zumba pal also informed me that most people run and speed walk incorrectly. I personally didn't know you could "run wrong" but most people do, and I was definitely guilty of that. You shouldn't hear your feet pounding when you run. That's where the joint pressure comes from. And don't flex your toes when you speed walk to avoid shin splints.
I wish there was a number ten because I hate odd numbers, but those are all of the suggestions I have. I hope this helps. :3
