Pole Dancing 101

[CHIQUITITA]

Ok now that I got your attention.....



All I have to say is that swinging around a pole is definately a challenging workout to say the least!!!!! Today was my first day of class and only hours after twirling up a storm I'm much more sore than bench pressing my max...... plus I got pole burn! Despite the burning blisters.... I'm hooked and will definately continue to incorporate learning new moves for a fun and challenging change up to my workout and cardio routines. Today was soo much fun... I really did'nt want class to end.

Ladies if you ever thought of or dared to dream of swinging around a pole... Do it!!! I cant re-iterate how much fun it is, not to mention the great cardio, strength and endurance training you can build upon! It's definately a serious work-out... Not to mention.... sexy! It definately helps improve your mindset and attitude. Anyway, just think about this... have you ever seen a chunky stripper? I never have.

[CHIQUITITA]

'Whole New Respect for Strippers': The Pole Dancing Workout
From Fergie to Britney, a New Craze in Physical Fitness is Sweeping the Country
By VICKI MABREY and ROXANNA SHERWOOD


In his "Never Scared" comedy routine, comedian Chris Rock is very clear about his parental responsibility to his daughter.

"My only job in life is to keep her off the pole," Rock cracks. "I mean, they don't grade fathers but if your daughter's a stripper, you (bleep) up."

If Rock is right, there must be a lot of men who have failed the father test, because if you look at an exercise class these days, you'll see plenty of women on poles. Poles have come out of the strip club and into the gym.

At Crunch and other fitness clubs around the country, on any night of the week, you'll find psychologists, corporate executives, professors -- women from all walks of life -- hanging upside down from moveable, expandable steel poles. And it's all about getting a good workout.

Ina, a young twenty-something who's been dancing all her life said, "I'm taking it because it's a great upper body workout and it's sexy. No one is here judging you."

'The Best Core Workout I've Ever Had'

April, who's working on her second master's degree in psychology, says, "It builds upper body strength, which a lot of women need, it builds self confidence, and it gets you in touch with your sexuality."

Kelly, a Web site director who's also been studying dance since childhood, calls it "the best core workout I've ever had." Even better than Pilates, she adds.

Women who are tired of the same old machines and classes, who are looking for something new and different, seem eager to try the pole.

"Some women just do not like monotonous exercise," says Johnna, a mother and pole dancing instructor from New Jersey.

"Being on a treadmill or an elliptical trainer -- they want to be away from the weights. They want to dance, laugh, and have a good time, so we create an atmosphere in our class for all women, all shapes and sizes. They can come in just let their hair down, laugh. Walk across the floor. We do repetitive movements and the more sensual movements so that the ladies feel a burn and it's fun," she said.

Just Another Form of Dance

Johnna, who's studied tap, jazz, and ballet since age three, says this as just another form of dance. She was looking for a way to build income yet still have time for family.

She took pole dancing training and started a business, Exotic Dance Workshops. In addition to teaching classes, complete with props such as heels and feather boas, she and many others around the country are holding private parties in homes for birthday soirees, bachelorette parties, or for ladies who just don't want an evening of the usual cosmetics or housewares sales pitch.

"They tell me that they lose sense of who they really are and they don't feel sexy anymore because they wear their hair in a ponytail and just throw on the first the thing in the closet," Johnna says.

"So when they come in the class they hold their heads high, their hand on their hip. They may be walking around the pole or walking across the floor in a pair of heels looking at themselves in the mirror smiling. It's tremendous what it does for self-esteem."

Just a Naughty Pleasure?
Pole dancing is just the latest exercise craze to sweep the country -- maybe even the world. The singer Fergie reportedly has a pole set up in her house.

In between tabloid appearances, Britney Spears has shot a new music video, featuring a pole dance. Even the Chinese, long known for their acrobatics, took it to a new level with a National Pole Dancing Competition.

Learning all the moves, with names such as The Snake and The Fireman, is difficult, often producing bruises and frustration during the first few classes.

Kyra Johannesen, who implemented Crunch's pole dancing program and trained many of the club's instructors, says it's a fun but difficult full-body workout.

"Shoulders, biceps, triceps, all of your abs, your butt, your legs, every part has to be flexible so I do a lot of flexibility stuff, crunches, pull ups, so all that work of getting upside down and using one arm and body placement, you're using every part of your body to do that."

Many of the women admit it's a bit of a naughty pleasure, while giving props to those who pioneered it.

Says Michelle, a program director and art history professor working out on the pole at Crunch, "I have a whole new respect for strippers."

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

[Garra]

Originally Posted by CHIQUITITA

Ok now that I got your attention.....



All I have to say is that swinging around a pole is definately a challenging workout to say the least!!!!! Today was my first day of class and only hours after twirling up a storm I'm much more sore than bench pressing my max...... plus I got pole burn! Despite the burning blisters.... I'm hooked and will definately continue to incorporate learning new moves for a fun and challenging change up to my workout and cardio routines. Today was soo much fun... I really did'nt want class to end.

Ladies if you ever thought of or dared to dream of swinging around a pole... Do it!!! I cant re-iterate how much fun it is, not to mention the great cardio, strength and endurance training you can build upon! It's definately a serious work-out... Not to mention.... sexy! It definately helps improve your mindset and attitude. Anyway, just think about this... have you ever seen a chunky stripper? I never have.

id pay loads of money watch you at one of those classes chiqa....just for scientific purposes of course

[willy222]

ive seen a chunky stripper... was sexy
what do you wear during the classes?

[CHIQUITITA]

Ok... so day after day 1 of P.D. class.... My whole comple upper body was S.o.r.e to the max! My whole inner right arm was riddled with little bruises starting under my armpit down to my elbow.... I already have battle wounds!!!! : I did'nt realize I had been soo agressive with the pole last night.

Originally Posted by Garra

id pay loads of money watch you at one of those classes chiqa....just for scientific purposes of course

You doing a study on comedy relief G?!?!?!

Originally Posted by willy222

what do you wear during the classes?

Regular gym attire is appropriate for the class.... with stilleto heels or thigh high boots of your choice. Or you can simply do it barefoot.

[Garra]

Originally Posted by CHIQUITITA

Ok... so day after day 1 of P.D. class.... My whole comple upper body was S.o.r.e to the max! My whole inner right arm was riddled with little bruises starting under my armpit down to my elbow.... I already have battle wounds!!!! : I did'nt realize I had been soo agressive with the pole last night.


You doing a study on comedy relief G?!?!?!


Regular gym attire is appropriate for the class.... with stilleto heels or thigh high boots of your choice. Or you can simply do it barefoot.

good reposne chiqa....well perhaps ill pop around in three months time when u have mastered the art....

by then u would be the perfect specimen for my analysis

[paramuscle]

This thread gives me wood





~PM

[babybull34]

It is a great workout.... How do you think I paid for college....

[Rat]

Um..... BabyBull... being that your male and all...

Oh, I just don't even want to go there.......

[FlirtfromHell]

Originally Posted by babybull34

It is a great workout.... How do you think I paid for college....

Now, that's something I'd pay loads of money to watch.


Chiq, I know another girl who started this class also, she almost gave up cause it was so challenging.. she's doing very well now. Keep us posted how you do. Maybe someday I'll have to give it a try.