A few stretching tweaks that can get you past a flexibility plateau

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

Hey guys,

I’m hoping to get some pics up soon (especially since I got an awesome new bluetooth clicker thing that enables my iPhone to snap photos from across the room, holla!), but basically, I’ve started taking flexibility classes at B&P that have been GAME CHANGING.

I know, I know, I was all “lol I can stretch at home, why would I pay for this” too, but trust me: the prompts that you will receive from a good teacher in these classes are everything. Here’s a few key, simple things I’ve learned so far that have my flexibility game on serious fleek.

(Accompanied by pictures I stole from the internet for explanation purposes)

upper back bend
Photo: popsugar.com

1. In back bends: think of opening your chest, NOT about crunching your back

Not only did this make back bendy stuff feel so much safer and more comfortable, focusing on opening my chest and getting it up and over my back activated all the muscles in my upper back–which are what make that nice, rounded, SAFE (have I said safe enough yet?) shape in a backbend instead of that “hinged at the lower back” look.

2. In hamstring stretches: pop your booty out and arch your back

hamstring
Photo: http://shannonmiller.com/

This creates that nice burn of opposition, making the stretch so much deeper and more effective, while keeping it totally in your control.

3. In lunge stretches: think 360

lunge side bend a
Photos: https://elsieyogakula.wordpress.com

lunge side bend b

lunge back bend arms down
Photo: http://www.twofitmoms.com

It’s easy to just cycle between lunges and hamstring stretches, but if you’re struggling with splits, hitting those hip flexors from new angles may be just the thing to get you into deeper territory.

A few things to try:

-Back bends in a deep lunge stretch (just make sure you’re squared off to get the most out of it). And try arm circles: sweep into them with one arm at a time, up and over, front to back, side to side.

-Pushing the inside of the front knee away in a deep lunge stretch (so that your knee opens and the weight shifts to the outer edge of your front foot). Turn away from the front leg for a little added opposition.

-In a bent over hamstring stretch (one leg straight in front, the other kneeling): turn the front leg out from the hip (so that the pinky toe is closest to the ground), and turn your body to face it, planting hands on the outside of your extended leg as you lower your torso to meet it. (You can allow your kneeling leg to pivet into a “knees together” position). You should feel a deep stretch in the inner thigh.

Do you guys have any flexy tricks up your sleeves? I’ve honestly made so much progress in my back in a few months that I think I’m going to attempt a crescent again! (For the first time since failing at it and swearing off it forever 2 years ago).

And huge shoutout to Emily Sanderson at B&P who teaches flex and is fabulous. Just saying.

XOXO

Mansplaining at the gym.

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

Saw this and choked on my tea: http://www.xojane.com/issues/gym-mansplaining

Not much I can say any better than Pia did (she really sets the scene for the rage well haha), but something similar completely happened to me a couple of months ago and actually caused me to stop stretching at the gym for a few weeks.

can you... not?
can you… not?

I was on my back using a towel to pull one of my feet for a hamstring stretch. I like to use a towel because it gets a lot of grip over a sock, and if you position it right in the arch of your foot, you can pull both sides of the towel help rotate your leg in and out of a turn-out from the hip (something I’m always working on!).

So I’m on my back, don’t-talk-to-me-earbuds firmly in place, crotch fully exposed to the world because yeah, I’m trying to pull my leg to my face, it happens, and I see this dude.

He does pretty much what Pia described: this obnoxious arm wave like he needs to tell me the building is on fire.

I drop the towel, sit up, and take an earbud out of my ear. “You should use a yoga strap for that,” he says.

Um.

um.

Like Pia, I also had a waaaaaaah moment and checked his shirt thinking he must have been a trainer. Nope. Just an entitled white dude who felt the need to insert himself into my day.

I think I just kind of choked out a “no thank you” (because, why is this person invading my space to insert their opinion on my stretching technique?) and he shrugged and walked away.

This is the face of "WHY ARE YOU DOING DIS"
Pia and I have similar “WHY ARE YOU DOING DIS” faces.

But my fear of stretching in publicremains.

Someone tell me: WHY IS THIS A THING?

It’s bros like this that scare me out of doing anything on the pull up bar, even though I really want to.

Have you guys ever had an experience like this? How did you handle it?\

Are men just being helpful? Trying to flirt? What’s going on here, for real?

So I tried yoga again and it still sucks.

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

Warning: UNPOPULAR OPINION AHEAD.

I know you guys love your yoga. That’s okay. But yoga is kind of like pumpkin spice lattes: everybody loves yoga.

So I feel no guilt in proclaiming my hatred for it. Like Starbucks and Lululemon, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, so my little opinion is free to exist in the blogosphere without doing much harm.

Here’s what happened (because you know there had to be extenuating circumstances for me to take a yoga class without there being a gun to my head): there was a gun held to my head.

JKKKKKKKK.

What happened was, I rode the subway an hour and a half (this was a Sunday, the R train was a nightmare) to the ballet class at my gym that I have taken every week for months, and when I walked up to the studio with my little bun and ballet slippers and water bottle, no one was there. THE CLASS WAS CANCELLED.

*shock, horror, general mayhem*

But even worse, this is not a one time thing. Ballet is just off the schedule. Forever. The class description isn’t even in the brochure anymore.

I. Was. Pissed.

I was also determined to not just get back on the subway to complete a 3 hour round trip on my motherfucking day off for nothing. So I checked the schedule for another class I could take.

The only option: yoga.

Fucking yoga.

And the class was an hour and a half.

So I mentally weighed some pros and cons of the situation.

Pro: this might be good for my back (which has been spasming like a motherfucker to the point where I had to stay home from work on Friday after a simple attempt at shaving my legs threw it out again).

Con: I hate yoga.

Pro: I was planning on stretching/flexibility work anyway…

Con: I fucking hate yoga.

Pro: It’s an hour and a half long class, which would nicely justify schlepping all the way out to Chelsea Piers.

Con: An hour and a half is a long time to be doing yoga, which I fucking hate.

Long story short, I decided to go for it. Some of it was okay–it hurt my back very badly during, but left me feeling much better on the way home–but most of it was annoying and just plain not for me.

Here were my pet peeves.

1. I got in trouble for pointing my toes

Like, okay, I get this. We’re supposed to relax, etc. But I can’t be in a shoulder stand for several minutes just looking at floppy ankles. Isn’t the whole point of this checking in with your body and being mindful of all of its parts? I tried flexing and turning out too, and the yogi called me out for that, too. RARRR. I’M BORED, AT LEAST LET ME WORK ON MY TOE AND TURNOUT GAME.

2. The breathing stuff made me a little sick

The expanding your abdomen stuff? Yeah, did not feel good. Especially when, as a belly dancer, I’ve been trained to use my chest and abdomen separately: breathing fills my chest but does not move it, or my belly, until I actively pop them. This has all been wired in my brain for eight years, so, it was both mentally AND physically very uncomfortable for me (it felt kind of gross and made me a little sick to my stomach).

3. The Ohming

This might have more to do with the fact that my instructor was an old white guy who sounded EXACTLY like the Catholic priest at my childhood church when he sang “amen.” Like, he sang it the same key and everything. Personal association, my bad.

4. The lying on the ground for an indeterminate amount of time

This is partly because I had to pee for the last 45 minutes of class, but ending like this was torturous. Okay, it was MOSTLY because I had to pee. Just as we were crossing the finish line (5:55, SO CLOSE), the silent meditation started. We were just lying there, forced to have our eyes closed, and I lost all concept of time. I could only think about how badly I had to pee. There was no indication of how long the lying in silence would last (maybe this class would run over 10 minutes, OH GOD), so I began to freak out that it was going to go on forever, and I would either have to pee myself or be the girl that got up in the middle of a silent meditation and yelled “I have to go to the bathroom!!” as she ran out.

And then I could never go to my gym ever again.

5. It’s so goddamn serious

I fell out of a couple of poses and cracked a smile, and every time, the instructor glared at me. What even is this? Also, people definitely audibly farted a few times and it was just so awkward to sit in perfect silence while it happened. Cannot take the solemnity, sorry.

Anyway, for all of my complaining I probably WILL go back, because I think it helped my back a little, and also because there was a hot guy in my class. I’m only human, people.

So how do you guys feel about yoga? Has anybody ever tried yoga pole? Because my friends just told me about it and I have a feeling it would be a vast improvement on this Hatha ish.

OH PS: new favorite pole jam. Kid Ink and Tinashe? Yes please.

Side TOTALLY matters when it comes to splits.

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

So I was at the gym the other night, doing what I always do when I’m “working out”: 60% actually working out, 40% checking out a cute guy.

Now, you guys, this guy is INTO me. I can tell, because every time I pass him I’m all, “Hey,” and he’s all, “…” (he doesn’t say anything because he already passed me).

SURE SIGN HE’S INTO ME, right?

So I did what I always do when I’m trying to get a guy to look at me in the gym: SPLITS.

Okay now, I’m not really sure what sort of message I’m trying to send by doing splits. But they’re definitely attention-getting. I suppose they say something along the lines of, “HEY, IF WE HAD INTERCOURSE IT WOULD LOOK CRAAAAZY.”

Maybe not the classiest message, but, it gets people to look at you! Which is half the battle in this crazy world of smartphones in the gym.

So anyway, I was working my left side. It was a little sticky, but finally I got it going. Looking gooooood.

Like THIS (not the flattest or most squared off I’ve gotten, but not bad considering I was stiff from class!):

Image
Close, three-quarters of a cigar!

Except that the guy was not looking. So, after spending like 15 minutes in that horribly uncomfortable position, I begrudgingly switched to my right side. Because got to at least pretend to keep it even, right?

Of course, this is when he comes in to stretch as well. And I’m all, LOL just kidding not flexible at all.

Damn it legs, you had ONE JOB.

For reference, this is what my right side split looks like. Yes, that’s me squealing in pain.

Image
My Body: “OW OW OW NOOOOOOOOOPE”

SO SEXY.

(Just kidding, not sexy at all).

If you were wondering how my seduction attempt played out, the guy did like, one downward facing dog and left. I know, so in love with me, right?!

So seriously, what is up with the split unevenness?

From studying the picture I’m going to go ahead and say my right ham is tight. And also, my left quad is tight.

So basically: left ham and right quad good. Right quad and left ham: shitty. For no apparent reason. Can someone explain this to me?

But let’s get technical, fill me in: how do you guys get into splits, and how do you um… warm into them? (I made that expression up, sorry).

I’ve been working on sliding into it from both legs equally (as opposed to straightening my front leg and pushing back from there, because that’s bad, right?). Hence, the socks for slidin’ around.

I was also trying TGWHR’s trick to push AGAINST the floor as hard as you can for several seconds between sets of pushing into the split and it really works! No BS! I’m also a fan of grabbing the back foot while lunging (pre splits or in between) to stretch out a sticky quad, which really helped. To be honest, this is sort of the best my right side split has ever looked, pitiful as that is, and I think it’s because of the extra quad work.

What’s your good side?

Also, center splits–we all agree, no fucking way, right?

Here’s my best attempt:

Image
The best part of this picture is that I could not be wearing shorts and NO ONE WOULD KNOW.

If someone pushes on my back I’m almost belly to floor, though! Progress!

So where are you guys with splits? Got a good side? Piiiiics if you have them please.

Happy twirls (and splits, and resting with ice packs on your hams),

Cathy

I’m aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive (as in, no, I didn’t die (!!))

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

Quick, enjoy this clip of 1980’s Xanadu while I come up with some stuff to tell you about!

I hope that was sufficiently weird for everyone.

So. HAI!!! I MISSED YOU GUYS!!!

You know how sometimes you go through periods of talking about stuff and not really doing it, and then you go periods of doing stuff and not really talking about it?

I have been doing the latter, and you guys would be SO proud of me. I feel like an actual… dancer. This is sort of what my schedule has been like (post day-job, naturally): 

Mondays: 2 hours belly dance (class and a Fireblossom’s rehearsal)

Tuesday: Night job… with a little stretching and Fireblossom’s routine running as soon as my shift is up (I work in a gym with small dance studio area)

Wednesday: 3 hours Bellyqueen rehearsal (for the upcoming Silk Roads show), followed by an hour of pole class

Thursday: Night class! I’m learning Digital Marketing, you guys! No dancing 😦

Friday: 3 hours Bellyqueen rehearsal, an hour of pole class

Saturday: Flexibility class, pole class, Fireblossoms routine drilling with K

Sunday: Pole class, hoop class, hula hoop class (this is my work study day so I hang out at the studio for several glorious hours and sneak into classes, muhahahaha)

…And then I wake up very sore on Monday and do it all over again. Oh and I’ve been RUNNING. Wat?!!! I truly have no idea what’s gotten into me lately. I just feel very in my body and out of my head lately. It’s cool.

Anyway, here’s some stuff I learned about constantly exercising:

1. Stretching after is MANDATORY

I’m not really a huge fan of stretching before a workout unless it’s part of an official warm up. But after, when I’m all warm, and I know I’m gonna be stiff for the next very full day of stuff tomorrow? You bet your ass I’m stretching. Also, not stretching when you’re all warm and don’t have to be anywhere? Wasted flexibility-building opportunity.

2. Eating is TOTALLY mandatory

I started noticing that two hours into Bellyqueen’s 3 hour rehearsals is impromptu dancer lunch time… and I was the only one not eating while everybody else was busting out sandwiches and fruit salads n’shit. These girls dance for a living, so I think it’s safe to take their cue on making time to fuel up.

3. You really have to listen to your body

I have so much physical stuff going on that I really can’t afford to get injured right now. I’m learning to take my ego out of it and walk away from a pole move if I can feel I’m not getting it and it’s straining the wrong places. You can always try again tomorrow, it’s not that serious. And it’s certainly not worth having an arm or a leg out of commission for a week.

So what has everybody else been up to?! Any new developments? I’m working on my extended butterfly, flying choppers (yes, the ones that gave me a car crash bruise last year), some spin combos, and my archnemesis, aerial choppers (I think I finally have it on my left side, it’s just… very slow). I’m also trying to trap/shoulder-mount out of inverts instead of sliding to help build those core muscles up and get more control. So far so good!

Anyway, FILL ME IN–what’s new?

XOXO,

Cathy

Today’s pain is tomorrow’s strength (aka GET THEE TO THE STUDIO)

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

So, a very wise person once told me to keep working through shitty times. “The pain will pass and all that will be left is awesomeness,” she said. (Lookin’ at you Tee!!!!)

Damn it all if she wasn’t right.

Look, it’s really hard to keep going with a goal that’s vague, and big, and distant when you feel crappy.

The good news is, you don’t have to be Jenyne Butterfly right now–right now, you just need to work on your leg hangs and knee holds for an hour, stretch out, and make something to eat with plenty of protein. 

(That’s the pep talk I give myself every time I just wanted to skip practice and watch Netflix  with a big bowl of I Wanna Die. (I mean not literally, but you get the idea)).

Each day for the past couple of awful, awful weeks, I found a different reason to do the same dang thing: get my buns in the studio.

I needed to be social: WENT TO THE STUDIO. I felt like crying: WENT TO THE STUDIO. I didn’t really have the energy to work out but maybe I could at least stretch…: WENT TO THE STUDIO. I felt fat: WENT TO THE STUDIO. I felt fit: WENT TO THE STUDIO IN SOMETHING TIGHT. You get the idea.

I’m still not Jen Butterfly. But a funny thing happened–while I was using pole just to get through a rough life patch, the consistency paid off in a lot of tiny ways.

You have to look closely, but, take these two pictures, for instance.

Just fyi, I reversed this photo for an easier comparison!
Just fyi, I reversed this photo for an easier comparison!

The first is from last summer, the second is from a couple of days ago. 

Mind you, I’ve only been consistently stretching (the way every poler is supposed to, hello, slacker) for a couple of weeks.

But the difference in hip flexibility is there. Again, it’s subtle, but damn, there’s a difference! And I wasn’t even trying that hard!

I’m also noticing in a lot of pictures that my extensions look GOOD. This is a small thing, compared to how much more impressive it is to be learning new tricks–but regularly stretching and working on fundamentals has gotten me better form, which makes all the old boring stuff look newly awesome.

And, I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I was recently watching a documentary about ballerinas, and, as I am prone to doing, started dancing around my house while brushing my teeth. It was at this point that I discovered I can lift my leg straight out at hip level, sweep it around, and arc it behind me in one grand, controlled motion. LIKE A F***ING BALLERINA.

WHEN DID I BECOME CAPABLE OF DOING THIS?

I tried it on the other side and was successful again. (?!!!???)

Then I tried grabbing an ankle and lifting my foot behind me to head level like a figure skater, which was less pretty, but POSSIBLE. Again, other side, also successful.

So my question is: when did all these changes happen?

My question is not, however: how did these changes happen.

Because I already know: I WENT TO THE STUDIO. Lather, rinse, repeat.

So, what changes have you noticed in your body since you started pole? Any abilities you start to lose if you slack off?

I recently found that when I sit indian style, my knees fall flat to the side without my pushing down on them with elbows. Weird, and cool.

Anyway, tell me. And happy hump day!

HT,
Cathy

This is why I’m fat.

Posted on by Cathy Vandewater

Here’s a quick, three-part summary of the last month: the first part stuck was spent entirely indoors (Sandy), the second part lazing about on the futon with a cold, the third part, cooking then (of course) consuming cheesecake and pie.

Here’s the thing with pole: you get spoiled. You can eat what you want and not worry about it, because your body genuinely needs and will use the food. But then things happen, like your studio closes for the holidays, and it’s totally too cold in your apartment to put on shorts, and your fitness game slips.

Now I don’t like eating much junk food, per se… you won’t catch me with white bread, spray can cheese, bologna, or doughnuts very often. (Actually, now that I typed that out it all sounds delicious together. WHATS HAPPENING).

But I will eat with abandon, until I am full. I don’t worry about calories and fat, so long as I’m getting enough good stuff into my body. Sweet potato french fries? Vitamin A! Guacomole? Healthy fat! Whole grain tortilla chips with flax seeds? Fiber! As long as a food is mostly “real,” with some sort of nutritionally redemptive qualities, I’ll put it in my face. Seriously. And in all honestly, this tends to work just fine for me.

But… then I stopped exercising. I was rehearsing a belly dance routine with my NEW DANCE PARTNER (okay it’s actually an old friend but WE HAVE JOINED FORCES! CAPITAL LETTERS!!!1!!!!) when I noticed my undulation was looking extra… undulationy.

Kinda like this:

Anyway, we have a show coming up (OMG YOU GUYZ, BELLYDANCE SHOW!!!!! More dets soon, I promise), and I had the startling realization that I can NOT be dancing around in a half shirt like this.

So here are the new lifestyle rules, until I look more like my normal self:

First things first: no more alcohol.

Wait wait wait, I’m not an alchy, hear me out! I’m talking wine and beer. I’ve been doing a lot of holiday socializing and that means a hideous combination of chips, the aforementioned guac, and the better half of a six pack.

Want to get fat? Slow down your metabolism with alcohol and THEN pig out without exercising! Super efficient. I’ve tested this method and been extremely successful.

Another really awful thing I’m doing: too much hookah. This doesn’t really make you fat… but it does make you wheezy and lethargic, which is not terribly conducive to exercise.

I’ve been spending way more time in the belly dance community, so to speak, and thusly, spending most of the three hours watching dancing and eating hummus with a pipe in my mouth. THREE HOURS. Imagine chain smoking that long. I’m suddenly panicked that I have emphysema.

Anyway, I’ve been over my cold for at least 2 weeks so there’s no reason I should be this tired and still coughing. I’m blaming the several hours worth of hookah with friends, several times a week. For like, 2 months.

(I know, bad. Really, really bad).

Anyway, my final solution (too German?) is: pole dance, duh!!!!

I’m committing to at least an hour, 3 times a week. Practice, classes, whatever. And on off days, conditioning and/or stretching. Just some kind of activity to remind me to stop being a fat fatty who is getting kind of fat.

I was watching a video I took of some practice dances just a month ago and I can’t believe how different my ass already looks. How can things change so much in one month?! I guess this is a symptom of the late twenties settling in. Ew.

Anyway, tips for me?  Please? Pole usually kicks my butt pretty efficiently, but if you’ve got any workout or diet secrets you swear by, please share!!

Classes this week: Thursday and Saturday! Check the schmedule.

Happy Twirls!

Cathy