Being a bigger girl, I thought I’d be a fish out of water at pole dancing. No way can I lift this body off the ground and hold myself on a pole the size of my ARM. First day trying out pole I could only lift myself onto it and hold myself up, and don’t even talk about the knee pain – I was like, “Oh, no, I am way to geriatric for this.” But, the ladies convinced me to join them and here I am, almost one year later having the most fun! What I found was that you succeed much more than you fail. Every day you show up is winning! I appreciate that it doesn’t have to be a fast paced journey – I have been in intermediate for almost a year now, and while I was often questioning myself in the beginning watching everyone surpass me to level Advanced 1, I decided to focus on myself and work a little harder on things I am awful at or hate (yes, that means asking to work on Pretty Sit Climb in class, haha). I highly recommend you ladies do not compare yourself to others – you’re doing AMAZING.
Even as an ‘OG’ newbie I still have so much room to grow, and see it in myself every week; from desensitizing my inner thighs (HUGE change) to not having to have Chrissy clean my pole anymore after any kind of climb (I always felt so bad). The 11 months I have had at Aerial Dance Studio has changed my life for the better. I may be more regularly bruised than normal, but I can also climb myself up a pole taller than my 6’2” husband stands, and I bet you I could do it faster than him too – *muscles* (We’re competitive so that means a lot ). I find myself going for runs now so I can try to lose weight – a personal preference, you absolutely can be ANY size to succeed at pole. I made the decision, which I listen myself better than my doctor telling me to incorporate cardio after a year of shame. I try to incorporate yoga for flexibility and target weight lifting for more muscles. It’s been a long journey but I love the results! So don’t be discouraged if you think you’re too out of shape or big for being a pole dancer. Work on that flexibility, work on that cardio, and work on that strength, but go ahead and eat that pizza! You got this 🙂