Everyone Needs a Lil' Pole in Their Life
The other weekend I went on a bachelorette party! There were plenty of drinks and dancing! The best part was that there were poles on the bus!!!!!!! I was pumped, ready to bust out some moves before drinking some cocktails. It’s like the saying never drink and drive,,, well you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know the same applies to pole. Never drink and pole, in no way shape or form could it end well. Anyways, We had just got on the bus and I was ready to attempt a move or two. I assessed what I was wearing and knew that anything that required leg grip was out of the question as I had jeans on. No big deal, I know plenty of other moves. The light bulb went on in my head, I could do an embrace! Only belly and elbow grip required or so I thought…… Note to self….. Always assess how greasy the bus poles truly are before attempting a pose. I wrapped myself in a hug around the pole and lifted my feet up off the ground. Joke was on me as I descended to the floor. The pole was so slick it was like someone had sprayed it with WD-40. Thankful I did not drop like a sack of bricks and slowly slid down. After a good chuckle it was time to rethink what pose or move I could do. There wasn’t much space on the bus and I am pretty tall, so spins and Choppers were really out of the questions as I would have kicked some most likely in the head. After some careful thought, I decided that I could do a Fireman pose. My first attempt was not successful. My hands just slid right down the pole again. I wracked my brain for a grip modification that would have a stronger push and pull force to maintain the pose. When the light bulb clicked again, I came up with bracket grip. Sure enough, I was able to slip off my heels, squeeze like heck with my feet with a bracket grip, and VOILA Bracket Fireman pose! The only down fall was that I did not have my cell with me at the time to take a picture and I didn’t think to ask someone else to quick snap a picture. 🙁 The ladies were pretty impressed with my Fireman. They began to questions where it was that I take classes, I of course replied with Aerial Dance LLC in Appleton. I also informed them that a new term was about to begin in August. Hopefully we will have some lovely new faces to add to our beginner classes. 🙂 A couple of the ladies asked if I would do the fireman again to show some of the girls who were sitting at the front of the bus. I was more than pleased to do so. While on the pole, one of the ladies said, ” Janelle, I would like to you meet SO and SO. She is a mom of one of the student’s in your class this year.” My jaw dropped. I hopped down off the pole not sure what she might say. I shook her hand and said, “Surprise! I take Aerial Fitness classes!” She smiled and was polite, but I could see that hint of judgement in her eyes. As I explained what Aerial Dance is and how it empowers women to be a better/best version of themselves. I also explained that Aerial Dance is a place where women can express themselves through dance and build new friendships. By the time I was done talking with her, I could already tell how her opinion was shifting. She told me that there was another parent on the bus and she would love to introduce me to as her daughter was going to be in my class as well. I couldn’t believe my ears! Two parents TWO!!!! On one bachelorette party. My pole secret was out of the closet, well at least for those two parents. I am sure that word will spread like wild fire and I am not ashamed. I am proud of my accomplishments thus far in my pole career. All I can do is to continue to educate people about Pole and the benefits of taking pole! As I leave you today I want you to remember this……
No Shame in Muscles
While killing time on Facebook, I came across an article that talked about our US gymnasts being body shamed. Whaaaa?! Yes, these tough, flipping (literally) women, who engage in amazing feats of strength, grace, and flexibility, were being shamed on the internet over how they look in THIS picture: Women are generally shamed by society for being too curvy. These women are being shamed because they are too muscle-y! What the heck! First, there is beauty in EVERY body type. Second, these women are skilled champions, and I have a lot of respect for that muscle! It made me think… I’m not sure if anyone has told you yet…. but pole will change your body. It’s all positive and all for strength! Y our core becomes stronger, your shoulder engagement and strength will come easily, and you’ll be able to lift yourself into moves you never thought were possible before (but they are!). I always had larger arms and shoulders before, but they are especially obvious now. I now joke that I have a second pare of ta-tas, but on my back, since my shoulder muscles have beefed up over the last four-ish years. My dear grandmother says that, if she buys me shirts, she makes sure to buy a size bigger because she has said that I have “shoulders like a football player.” Here’s the best one though, and it happened to me a couple days ago: I walked into the bar & grill I sometimes work at to pick up my check. I was wearing one of my favorite tanks. The bartender and patron were joking about having an arm-wrestling match. As I sat down to wait to grab the bartender’s attention, the patron looked at me and then said, “I don’t know if you (the bartender) could beat me at an arm-wrestling match, but SHE (me) could!” I responded with a smile and, “Why thank you, these are my pole fitness muscles,” and I did a little strong-man pose. 😛 Here’s my point: embrace your body and the awesome changes it goes through. I know, that’s easier said than done! I promise you, it is so much easier to rock beefy arms and shoulders instead of covering them up. So what if you start to look like Ali Raisman (pictured above far right) or you can beat a full-grown man in an arm-wrestling match? That’s awesome! Hey, even if neither of these things happen, you still need to embrace your body. There are all different body types out there, no one better than the other. Your body is amazing, believe me. Plus, women’s bodies are make miracles and go through some pretty tough stuff–so you have even more reason to love what you’ve got! Now go out there and be awesome! 😀
Back to School!
Back to school…….. Those three little words are a joyous sound for parents who are ready for their kiddos to go back to school! I know you love them dearly, but you need a break too. For a teacher on the other hand, those three little words bring joy as well as some anxiety. It is that time of year again where we need to have our classrooms ready and welcoming for our new students. We also have many hours of professional development to put in before school starts. As many of you know I am a teacher, and the one thing that drives me crazy to hear is, “You’re a teacher, you get your summers off.” Well yes, technically this may be true, but teachers are just as busy in the summer preparing for school than they are during the school year. This summer I taught five weeks of summer school, took a seven week grad class that was like working a full time job, got a new job in a new school district, had to complete 2 weeks of professional development, plus move my classroom. I am not writing this blog to complain, but to shed a little bit of light on the life of a teacher. I know your thinking blah, blah, blah everyone is busy with work and life! This is exactly my point! Don’t let work be an excuse to miss your workout! I was pretty proud of myself that I was able to maintain a workout schedule of three to four workouts a week. In the last month and half my routine got a little lax. Well non-existent really. I was busy with my grad class, preparing my classroom, and sitting through professional development. I started to feel sluggish, eat terrible, and my sleep schedule was off. I had let myself make excuses to not exercise. I’ll exercise tomorrow or I’ll eat a little better tomorrow. Guess what? Tomorrow always came and went, I didn’t keep myself accountable. I was down to exercising once a week if that. Last week, I told myself I needed to get back into my routine and continue to make healthier eating choices. With the school year coming up it would be so easy to slip back into my lazy ways. To make sure I stuck with it I went to my pole class last Monday (where I learned my new favorite spin!!!), I attended a small group training session on Wednesday, and finally Fabric Fun on Thursday with a 3 mile walk with my dog later that afternoon. Slowly but surely I will get my routine back! Remember everyone falls of the wagon once and a while, but it is your choice to get back on! YOU CAN DO IT! Okay so back to my new favorite spin! This is what I am most excited about from last week! I learned how to do the Pegasus spin and nailed it!!!! Check it out! For just learning this spin I am super proud of how nice it looks. I still need to work on the transition from Dainty Climb to Pegasus. After I successfully completed the spin on both sides, I started to play around with different combos to go with Pegasus. My instructor suggested that I take Pegasus into a Remi Sit. I thought to myself, I’ll do one better. I will Dainty Climb – Pegasus – Remi Sit – Remi Layback! Here is what it looked like. Again, I was new to Pegasus, so it is not perfect! TA DA!!!!! Pretty sweet isn’t it! I am going to continue to work on this! Stay tuned for my next adventure with pole!!!! Have a great week! I’m off to work in my classroom! Janelle
Stupid Cupid, Stop Pickin' on Me!
If you are not familiar with pole you probably think that I am talking about the little demigod flying around in a diaper shooting arrows of love in people’s butts. Fortunately, I am not talking about a flying man in diaper. The Cupid I am speaking of is an intermediate pole pose. This pose requires a knee pit grip and a slightly flatter foot grip. Cupid has been my nemesis for the last 2 and a half years. It seemed that every time I would try to successfully execute this pose my foot would spew an enormous amount of sweat. My sweaty foot problem (I know eww gross) caused my foot to slip right off the pole. Another problem I faced was core, hip. and glute strength to push and hold myself away from the pole. I have tried this pose over and over again. I have failed more times than I can count. It was very discouraging to fail, but I wouldn’t let myself give up. Each time I failed, I thought, ” I am learning all the various ways on how not to do a Cupid.” Yes there were days where I refused to even practice Cupid, these days were mostly bad pole days. I know everyone has had at least one bad pole day. If you haven’t had a bad pole day, please, please share your secret with me!!!!! Last week, I walked into class, looked at the board and saw that Cupid was on the docket for the day. I gave a heavy sigh, it was one of those days, where everything I touched hit the ground and was an overall crummy day. We warmed up and class got going. The instructor was calling out spins and combos, as well as, what was listed on the board. I had avoided Cupid all class, until another student asked me to remind her how to do Cupid. I thought to myself, “Great, here we go! Another failed attempt.” (See there is that negative voice I am trying to work on) I had doubted myself before I even tried. Well, I put my big girl pants on and began to side climb up the pole. On my last climb, I lifted my top leg a little higher trying to ensure that I would lock in my knee grip to support my Cupid. I slid my lower foot down the pole and pushed my hips out. To my disbelief! My foot did not slip and my knee pit grip was locked in. I was blown away! Could it be possible? Could I take my hands off the pole? I let one hand go and didn’t fall, then I left the other hand go……. There I was….. ME….. in a cupid!!!!! I of course had to say, “Look, look, look!” because I did not know how long I was going to be able to hold the pose. I wanted proof that other people saw me and that I truly was able to accomplish this move. After I came down from the pole I was ecstatic and glowing. Then that little negative voice crept back. What if that was fluke? What if I can’t do it again? I pushed that negative voice aside and repeated Cupid several more times throughout class and on both sides. Don’t let the picture fool you! Both of my hands are off the pole. I was also really proud of myself that I remembered to point my toes. Pole is hard and takes practice with perseverance! DON’T GIVE UP!
Introducing FITNESS Membership!
Do you want to take Aerial, Flexibility & Conditioning classes but not Pole? Are you a Pole Member who wants to take a few Aerial, Flexibility & Conditioning classes but doesn’t want the commitment of Aerial Membership? We’re excited to announce FITNESS MEMBERSHIP! This new style of membership allows you take take a specific number of Aerial, Flexibility & Conditioning classes at a reduced rate every month by being enrolled in an auto-pay. There is no required contract length, you can cancel your membership at any time with 7 days notice prior to the next payment date. We’ve also included an Intro To Aerial Class )a $35 value) in these memberships to get your started on your Hoop & Silks journey! There are two price and number of class options: Fitness 4 – includes 4 classes for $58 per month ($14.50 per class) Fitness 8 – includes 8 classes for $88 per month ($11 per class) What can you take with a Fitness Membership? Any of our Aerial, Flexibility & Conditioning classes! That’s more than 12 different class types every week!
Register for Fall Pole!
Registration for fall Pole Courses is now open! The next 8-week Pole Course will begin the week of September 11th and run through November 5th. Early Bird registration discount ends August 27th! The schedule of classes is below. Register early to secure one of the limited open spots.
Faith, Fire, and Focus
Are you one of those people who just absolutely hates exercising? I was one those people for long time. Exercising was hard and I found it boring. I never had the time, with working as full time teacher and student. Not only did I have to complete my own homework, but I still had to grade papers from my students. I made excuses left and right until I hit my rock bottom. I had gained 30 lbs and was very unhappy with myself. When I started at Aerial Dance I strictly took pole classes and I absolutely love my pole classes! Recently I have been venturing out into the other fitness classes Aerial Dance has to offer. I have taken Vertical Barre, Pole Flow, Fabric Fit, Fabric Fun, and Aerial Conditioning. Each class has something different to offer. I would really like to try Bendy Babe! I have not had the opportunity to take one yet :(. For those of you who are new to Aerial Dance I have included a like to the page that describes each class. Here is the link https://aerialdancepoleexercise.com/classes/flexibility-conditioning-classes/ You will hear the instructors say time and time again that if you want to see more progress in your poling you need to take conditioning classes. In the last month that I have been taking more conditioning classes I have found that my upper body strength is growing even more than before! YAY for me! I never had muscle definition in my arms before, but now I am starting to see them! The question I have for you is how do you go about finding your fitness? I can’t answer this questions for you, but these three steps helped me find mine. Focus Focus is setting goals and working towards them. As you begin an exercise journey you need to set goals. I am not talking about “get skinny in a week goals.” I am talking about setting obtainable goals. My first goal was to find a way to exercise that fit my life style and that I would stick with. Previous to Aerial Dance I worked at the YMCA in childcare. I had a free membership FREE, but guess what? I never went to exercise. As soon I was done with work my first thought was to get home. After leaving the YMCA to become a full time teacher in the Wisconsin Public School System. I absolutely regretted not taking advantage of the free membership. After trying yoga, cycling, Zumba, and even at home exercising. I found that I couldn’t to stay with any of these forms of exercise. This is when I finally put my insecurities aside of what people would think about attending Aerial Dance. I had found my place to accomplish my goal! My goals now are to increase my strength and focus on practicing various pole poses, spins, and inverts. The great thing about my goals is that they are continuous. I am not beating myself up over not getting a move on the first try or feeling defeated because I do not have Superwoman strength. I have seen so many changes in my body composition and mind set after beginning to exercise. I continue to use my focus to push myself further. What will be your focus? Fire This is not like the fire you sit around on a beautiful summer night. This fire is finding motivation to reach your goals. This can be extremely difficult. We all have those days where we don’t want to roll out of bed. In order to meet your goals you have to be intrinsically motivated. No one is going to keep you accountable but yourself. Of course there will be people to cheer you on along that way and this will help motivate you some and pick you up on days when you fire is burning small. When you are lacking motivation, I find that best way to re-motivate myself is to think about the progress I have made and the goals I have met! I like to do this by taking pictures of my progress not matter how small. Faith Lastly you need to have faith in yourself that you can and will accomplish your goals! Each small goal that you meet is a stepping stone towards your big picture goals. As I started my journey I did not have very much faith in myself. I had a lot of negative self-talk going on and it was not helping my focus. Taking time for myself, reflecting, meditating, and speaking with my fitness instructors helps me restore my faith in myself. This helped restore my fire and my focus to meet my goals. The picture below is a evidence the my Faith, Fire, and Focus are keeping me on track to meeting my goals. At the beginning of my journey, my goal was not to lose weight. My goals were to find myself again, but this time I wanted to find a better version of myself, I wanted to become healthy, build strength, and minimize negative self-talk. I am very proud of my journey thus far, but I know I am still in the beginning and have a long road ahead. There will be bumps and I am ready to overcome them. Remember that you need to keep your FAITH, your FIRE, your FOCUS and you will accomplish your goals!
