pole poses

Hey guys!

My friend Irene came over this weekend and we had a pole play date!

She was working on her butterfly, which motivated me to challenge myself too and attempt an extended butterfly. And also, with Irene there, I had someone to spot me/take me to the hospital if I busted my ass, so that was an extra incentive. (Spoiler alert: I did indeed bust my ass, and it’s on video. See below).

Here’s where my butterfly was at last I checked

…not the most squared thing in the world, which came back to haunt me in extended.

(I have a feeling my shoulders should be the same height for this to be correct.)

So I tried and failed a few different ways, and I’d love to get some poler feedback on technique here. (drop it below!)

On my first few failed attempts, I did my usual butterfly (top leg on the pole from ankle to knee pit, upper body turned out for opposition), but when I straightened my leg and slipped out to my ankle I lost the tension and… well… yeah.

Then I tried an (ugly) version where I hooked my knee first, which WORKED. I think it’s because the hook forced me into a straighter, more squared butterfly where my weight ended up directly overhead (instead of at an angle). With my weight pulling straight back when I stretched out into the extended version, my ankle locked in with the tension on my Achilles, which felt great, and shockingly, SECURE. (Before I was feeling the pull more on the side of my ankle, which felt (and obviously was) much less safe).

So I guess now I need to go back to the drawing board on my plain o’le butterfly and learn how to square it off WITHOUT the knee hook (because it really is ugly).

Aside from that we also working on cupids, and some cute Dirdy Birdy transitions that Irene brought clips of (and a notebook of moves with instructions because the girl is on her game. Seriously, I felt like such a slacker).

Don’t you hate when something that looks simple and easy takes more strength than going upside down?

(That thwacking sound is me hitting my knee, ps).

Irene of course did this beautifully, with much more an arch in the upturned, planky position. Which leads me to believe that hoopers have WAY more shoulder flexibility than the rest of us, and I should get on that.

Here’s DB working the trick: (or click this link to start at 2:03 in case the embed doesn’t take you there!)

What are you guys working on?! Any exciting new bruises?

Happy spring :D!

OMG you guys, I had a pole play date!

Turns out, my friend Irene who’s an aerialist (she’s been on 8 apparatuses and counting) and a poler lives somewhat nearby to me! (though honestly, nothing is truly nearby Bay Ridge).

Since she has a photoshoot coming up, she wanted to come by and practice poses. So we had a POLE PLAY DATE (PPD).

I snapped a few pics so she could see which moves were photographing well, but honestly, the slaying-ness is undeniable and I just had to post, poor photo-quality be damned! (I shot these with my iPhone from where I was lazily stretching on the floor)

Check this out, and feel ungraceful by comparison:

She can also flag, so she also taught me how, kind of!

I shocked myself by getting a variation of it on my first try–my legs wanted to go into a stag position and I was feeling it, so I stuck with it. I can also do it with one leg straight, but, it looks less dancery.

The trick is to support your rib cage with your lower arm. You have to create a shelf with your tricep/elbow area to rest your upper body on. Then just hang on tight with the top arm (locking the pole in your armpit) and push away with the bottom one, and amaze yourself by being able to lift your legs. It’s really not as hard as it looks, shockingly).

Ugh, I miss my normal sized ponytail. — Ugh, I miss my normal-sized ponytail.

NB: I sent this picture to my dad, who thought it was a spin (because how else would I hold myself up unless momentum was helping, THANKS FOR HAVING FAITH IN ME DAD).

I wanted my dad to think I was a boss, so I shot this video of the trick while working on the freestyle I promised you guys (no, I didn’t forget!). It’s over on Facebook because I didn’t wanted to get muted/in trouble on YouTube or Vimeo.

Oh, speaking of freestyling… I shot like 7 or 8 full song videos from the other night. I just hated all of them.

Why? I’m very disappointed in myself with the lack of variety. I think this is a clear sign that I need to be taking classes at a new studio and expanding my repetoire of moves, because the ones I have are TIRED.

Anyway, I did do like a 10 second or so sequence to a Sam Smith song that I ended up liking, so I’ll include that below.

A word on Sam Smith: I saw the “I’m Not the Only One” video a few weeks back and was absolutely gutted by it. While I was dancing to it, I didn’t really have a word in mind–instead, I was trying to capture that push and pull of a bad relationship: it’s making you miserable, but you need the moments of happiness more than ever because you’re so unhappy. The cure is the poison, etc. (If you know me, you know I have a lot of experience with this.)

If you haven’t already, go watch the video, if only for Chris Messina (moment of silence for the bad boy hotness he has going on here.)

And finally, here’s a clip of me remembering that I hate men:

I actually shot a few takes to this song, but the others are on my iPad after my phone ran out of space. So maybe I’ll find something I like to post later. (Though chances are I will hate literally all of those videos too).

What’s new with you guys? Staying motivated or feeling anti-exercise right now with all the fitness hype in the air?

XOXOXO