Oh Yes I Did!
Last week for the first time in my three years at Aerial Dance I finally brought a man with me to the studio! I had tried on several occasions in the past to get friends of mine to try a co-ed class at Aerial Dance, but all of them turned up their noses saying it was not for men! To that I say, “BOLOGNA!” Student Russ at Aerial Dance has been shattering that stereotype for the last couple years attending co-ed classes with his lovely girlfriend student Diane! He started out just taking the co-ed fit classes and now has branched out into pole! Their performance at the Christmas Show was stupendous! A real inspiration for the men in our lives!
Their performance at the Christmas Show is what sparked interest in the aerial arts for my boyfriend. For the last couple of months Steve (my boyfriend) has been very supportive of me and my love of pole. It wasn’t until after the Christmas Show, seeing Russ and Diane, that he showed any real interest in taking classes with me. Finally after hearing him say, I would really like to give pole a try, I invited him to Co-ed Pole Strong. I was really excited for this opportunity and to share this experience with him. It was a personal first for me as I had never taken a Co-ed Pole Strong class!
Co-ed Pole Strong
Before our class, I got Steve registered on the Aerial Dance website. We created him an account, so he could manage his own classes. To my surprise he even downloaded the Aerial Dance App!!!!! I signed up for the class right away and got in. Steve on the other hand signed up the day after and was put on a waiting list…… The waiting list and I have a love hate relationship. I love the option of being added to a class, but hate waiting! Steve quickly found that out too. He was constantly sending my updates on his class status.
Finally, the day of our class he was off the wait list and added to the class! I was over the moon with excitement! He was really coming with me! Before our co-ed class, I signed up to take Vertical Barre, which is one of my favorite conditioning classes! It is a fun mix of cardio and strength. As Vertical Barre was coming to an end, Steve arrived at the studio. Upon his arrival the ladies I was working out with said, “Oh…. there is a man in the studio.” I couldn’t help but laugh, because it is on rare occasion that we hear a man’s voice in the studio! Usually if there are men at the studio they are working on fixing or setting something up. After class, I greeted Steve with a hug, in which he whispered into my ear that he was nervous for class. This made me smile, and I told him not to worry it would be fun!
Warm Up
In true Aerial Fashion we warmed up for Co-ed Pole Strong by lunging back and forth across the studio, squats, crab/bear crawl, and then ended the warm up with inch worms (of course you can toss a push up in at the bottom). As I finished up my last inch worm, I turned to look at Steve. His face was already red and he had started sweating a little. He looked at me and said, “That was more cardio than I ever do while working out.” My reply to him was, “Oh Hunny, that was just the warm up.” 🙂
From the warm up, we worked on pole pumps, closed grip tucks, shoulder mount prep work, twisted overhead tucks, cupid curls, pull ups, and planks. Instructor Niki was amazing at adapting each move to meet Steve’s ability level. Steve was struggling with the pole spinning for some of the moves, so Niki helped him by making his pole static! Not only did Instructor Niki help Steve by adapting moves, but she did for me too and everyone on else in the class! In the Co-ed Pole Strong Class, we had beginners to extreme! It truly is a go at your own level class! By the end of class both Steve and I were covered in sweat! I will never forget the moment Steve looked at me and said,”I got that pole needed a lot of strength, but now I REALLY GET IT!” Why yes, ladies we are rock stars!
Days After Class
The days after class Steve began to realize just how sore his muscles really were. He told me that Cupid Curls are not his favorite, because they made his core hurt so much. I know that we can all relate to that! I was super proud of Steve’s effort and how seriously he treated the workout! He wasn’t there just to say that he has been there and done that. He really wants to grow in the Aerial Arts with me. I am happy to report that he will be returning to the studio in the near future to take more classes! It was a blast, and I hope that if you have a man in your life you can get him to come along! It is well worth it!
Until Next Time,
Janelle