Of beginning Intermediate 3 and Going back to Basics

Before I start this entry proper…, it’s been exactly 1 year since I’ve started pole!!! And this blog is also 1 year old now haha.. Doesn’t feel like a whole year though! How time flies

So, the new term has started. And for the first time in my pole journey, I’m taking up the promo. Which means, I can take any class and every class that my current level permits me to.Which means, I’ll be at the studio ALOT more often, so hopefully it also means I can get fitter and stronger this term!

Intermediate 3.

Sounds a lil daunting, and boy is it tough. Hahaha, went for my first class of inter 3 on Wednesday and felt so down in class for the first time. Even though I was mentally prepared for setbacks, I was still taken aback when I got stuck with the right leg hang and the Violator. I couldn’t get the right leg hang with my heels on, my pinkie just wouldn’t touch the pole. And I slided off the violator in a spin climb which was rather scary. Didn’t dare to even try it from a double spin climb during the routine after that.

Felt so down, and then decided to stay for beginner’s pole and slaps class with one of my fave instructor to cheer myself up. Best decision ever. Revisited basic knee spins and did it entirely on my left side (ABOUT TIME!), body waves, jump ups, pole walk, head rolls, chest rolls, and head flicks. Then I realised how much I have neglected these beginners moves cause there were still a hell lot more room for improvement for all these moves and I thought to myself that it’s SO important to go back to basics sometimes! Like what instructor T said today, there’s always something you can brush up on even if you think you are already doing it well. How true.

And I actually had tonnes of fun during the beginner’s class. Made me remember how it was like when I was a beginner. Encouraged the girls who are pole virgins (hehe) to relax and have fun! So I am actually gonna sit in beginners class as and when I can from now on, try to do everything on my left side to balance the muscles out and build up my stamina.

The same went for techniques class, brushed up on MANY moves which I thought I was okay at, but in actual fact it’s not, especially the lines. Went for my first tech 2 class, felt a lil intimidated cause I was the only first time inter 3 student there and got sweaty palms (!!!), something that rarely happens to me. Lol. So glad that instructor T was there to guide me into new tricks safely and slowly! Learnt the half star trick, worked on a variation of pull up Vs, cleaned up the floating Kate Moss move/back stag/spiral, and improved a lil on my right leg hang and violator yay!!! Tech class…… SO VERY IMPORTANT. I am gonna attend tech class religiously from now on. Even when I attended tech 1 on monday, I learnt so many things from it, so again, revisiting basics is a must!

Honestly, I would have attended tech class (and many others) more often if I could afford it, but pole in my opinion is a rather expensive hobby, plus my job pays peanuts and I suck at saving. But I’m gonna try my hardest to put aside the money in order to pay for more promos so that I can improve better!

Starting my first pole grooves class in 6 hours time (it’s 5am my side and I’m having insomnia ), kind of excited but a lil afraid I can’t catch up with the class cause I’m slow like that. But hey, song’s AMERICAN WOMAN and I CAN’T WAIT TO DANCE TO IT!

Oh, and last week’s performance week went okay. screwed up the last performance I had but oh well, I’ll make up for it when the routine comes back on again hehe. It’s seriously my favourite routine out of the ones I have learnt so far!

Some pics from performance week

 

So some stuff that I wanna keep practicing and make sure it’s done properly after today’s class:

Floating Kate moss and not one that has all my weight transferred to my left leg

a clean and smooth transition for kate moss into spiral

arching my back and leaning my head to the side more during back stag

frogging my legs nicely in pull up Vs

straight legs pole sit

1 swift movement into left leg hang

pinkie toes to touch the pole for right leg hang, opening chest to the side during the trick

okay, no more brain juice. hahaha, gonna try and sleep then enjoy pole grooves later yay!!

Next post is gonna be on, common misconceptions on pole dancing, and the blog hop topic

Happy poling lovelies xxx

 

Are we human, or are we dancers?

In my case, am I a dancer, or am I a trickster?

Been meaning to blog about this topic for the longest time but well you know how sluggish I’ve gotten over the past couple of months… *cues sheepish smile* hehe

Anyway, I have written an entry many months ago about how I envy alot of girls in the studio who can dance and move so well like Chwenny and OhMissFolly, and  there I am .. moving like a complete robot compared to them hehe. That hasn’t changed much, BUT there has certainly been some improvements in the way I dance now compared to say 6 months ago. Up until last term, I found myself thinking and worrying about every single move and what’s to come next during the entire routine, resulting in what I personally call a stressful dance haha. Plus it doesn’t help that I couldn’t differentiate my chest rolls from body rolls or hip rolls, so they all look the same even though the routine calls for different types of rolls at different parts of the song lol.

These days, at certain parts of a routine’s song, I find myself at times immersed in the music and just moving with the flow, feeling it .. not worrying too much about what moves should come next. To the point I forget my moves completely at times lol. It’s somewhat a good thing, no? Haha. And I have somewhat gotten a lil of the chest rolls, although it deffo still requires much tuning, but hey, at least it doesn’t look the same as my hip rolls anymore yay! lol, still working on all the other rolls and waves though.

So, sadly I’m not a dancer for sure. I’m far far far far far from it still. Find it fun though, cos now, I find myself more relaxed while dancing and I enjoy it like 10x more than before.

Now for the tricks part, I haven’t really encountered major issues getting the tricks I have been taught so far (this, however will definitely change next term hehe), and I really have to thank my lucky stars for that. The only trick that I still can’t do is the wrist sit stag, can’t seem to arch my back enough to get into that position correctly for some reason. I like, ok scrap that, I love learning new tricks a lil more than learning the dance routine and love it more when I nail the tricks haha.

So yes, I’m definitely a trickster right at this point but who knows? Maybe after a couple more years, the dance cells I wish I had in me might appear suddenly, and then I might be able to term myself a “somewhat dancer”? hehe.

Anyway, it’s week 7 of the term and performance week is next week! 2 months is over just like that. Scary. I have to admit tho that my pull up Vs are not as strong as last term’s, and it still isn’t after many practices. I’m ok with it though, because it’s still slightly better as compared to the start of the term. Looking forward to perform on Monday, then possibly Wednesday and Saturday! And, I decided to give inter 3 a shot this time round, and passed the assessment I am mentally prepared for the setbacks I’m gonna face because I do know that the jump will be a big one. Hope it’ll be fun!

Till the next entry, hopefully not too long from now.. Have a good week my lovelies xxx

I am back. Sorta.

Like Angela from Ascending Slowly, I too have slowed down on blogging about my pole progress. It’s strange because I was so into it at one point of time. Even pole updates, I seem to have slowed down with pole blogs and vids recently.

Right now is somehow like a rough patch for my pole progress. Ever since the long break during December, I have not practiced much at home, stopped my core workout.. stopped just about everything in my routine. And what resulted from it?

Weak core strength, weak arm strength (arm muscles really went away quite abit), bulging tummy from all the eating .

And what happens when I get back into the studio with the above mentioned?

Weak pull up Vs… weak everything and breathlessness just 20 minutes into class. I’m not kidding, cos everything I was comfortable and confident with last term has deteriorated. Greatly.

I struggled with lessons, and this is the first time I feel so demoralised about my pole progress. I repeated intermediate 2 with the intentions to polish up the moves I’ve learnt and was confident with during the first time, yet now, I feel like I’m learning the moves all over again.

So I told myself yesterday, that if by the end of the term I’m still in the same state, I am going to do another term of inter 2. There is no way I can possibly survive in inter 3 if I can’t do a decent pull up v. I do not want to proceed to the next level without being totally safe and comfortable with the current tricks I am learning. There’s no point if I look like a complete mess and I am in no rush.

It’s going to be an intensive self practice at home and at the studio for the next few weeks. Gonna rebuild my core strength with my plank and sit ups routine too.

Hopefully, I get my act together and improve over the next few weeks. Wish me luck. Ok, end of sudden rant.

Xmas post ;)

It’s way past midnight this side of the world, so Merry Christmas everyone!

Yes Im still alive, I have been mega busy n sick (again, urgh) but all is well now thankfully. Didn’t even have much time to update myself with fellow pole blogs. December pole plans have NOT been very successful sadly, but I’m gonna try to stick to it with the remaining days till the new term starts.

Squeezed in a short practice at home earlier on, so glad I did cos I really needed it, felt really good to be back on the pole!

Will blog another post on the blog hop topic real soon.

Lotsa love to all u lovelies, Merry Christmas!

From Zero to Somewhat Hero

Its 3am, insomnia has found me so thought I would blog what has been on my mind for some time.

Sometimes I still can’t quite believe that I have been learning pole for a good 9 months.

I’ve been someone who always had problems sustaining interest in a sport or hobby so you know to me, being fascinated n still passionate abt pole after 9 months is a big achievement. And pole has deffo changed me quite abit during this period of time.

How so? Read on.

1) Arm strength
9 months ago, I had zilch interest in sports, had flabby arms and very little arm strength so to speak. 3 months into pole at end of beginners, I slowly noticed that I was gradually gaining muscles on my arms and my arms were a lil more toned.

I’ll admit that from time to time I wld secretly flex my arms to feel my newly gained biceps and *gasp* triceps (!!!) hahaha. 9 months into it, still a lil flabby and I still secretly flex and feel happy about my after-pole toned arms lol.

2) I don’t fear heels anymore! = Confidence
I’ve always had a love hate relationship with heels. I LOVE them, but I hate wearing them cause I fear walking in them. Used to think 2″ and 3″ heels were really high for me, and I even had trouble walking in them.

The first time I stepped into the studio for the trial class, the pretty rocket high heels were what made my jaws dropped. And I thought, “oh Hell no, no way I can possibly do this!”

But, lookie, after 9 months of strutting around the studio in my 5″ and 6″ heels (which of cos i struggled greatly with at first) I am a hell lot more confident in those sky high sexy pleaser heels now, and I can’t do without them in class! Never say never right. Hoping to break the record and buy my first pair of 7″ next year hehe

3) Of overcoming fears
As much as I was a daredevil for jumping off bridges and planes in the past, letting my hands off the pole and sliding down upside down is a different story.

It brought out lots of fear in me, but it has also made me realize I CAN overcome it. The feeling and sense of achievement one gets after successfully inverting or being upside down with both hands off the pole is, may I say, pretty fucking amazing.

Nothing is impossible with lots and lots of practice!

4) I can bring some sexyback… just a little
Before pole, I hardly associated myself with the word sexy/hot and I’m not even kidding when I say I have never EVER thought myself to be. Not that I am now, BUT I now know that I can be.

I need to emphasize that Pole is NOT just about being sexy, you firstly need lots of strength and determination to get urself up that pole.

Pole has brought out a side of me I never knew I could have, and it is to me, life changing.

Because now i look at myself differently, I am more confident and I feel good about myself now when I am out or just in the studio with my heels on. You don’t have to wear very little, or nothing to feel or look sexy, its really all from within. After pole, my outlook of my personal self has become so positive it feels amazing.

5) I feel like an athlete for the first time

With the injuries and muscle gains, hell yea I feel like a real athlete for the first time haha. I’m fitter than before, and the injuries have taught me how to nurse/protect my body better and the importance of stretching/proper warm ups and cool downs.

Pole has done me some really good changes, what about you?

Lots of love to all, have a rocking good weekend! xx

Pole Plans for December

Over here at Bobbi’s in Singapore, classes in December are planned for a 4 weeks term, thus I decided to skip that and save up for the full 8 weeks term starting in January 2013 (yes, pole classes are expensive and sadly I need to save up for them ) and also because I wanna do beginner slaps again (in dire NEED to improve my floorwork). By doing so, I’m facing the risks of … Being lazy during the last 4 weeks when left on my own.

Anyway, I’ll be taking things slow and repeat Inter 2 again. So, here’s my plans for self practice:

1) Invite pole buds to my place so that we motivate each other to practice despite not having classes. This hasn’t been happening ever since the bestie stopped pole lessons, and ever since int 2 started. So MissMinz, pls come over to practice ok!

2) Practice for at least an hour twice or thrice a week on my own, rewarding myself with a good meal after

3) Get people in the house to motivate and remind me to get on the pole

4) Stick a post-it on my pole saying “PLAY WITH ME “

5) Lay nicely all my beautiful pole heels around the pole. Because every time I look at my heels, it makes me wanna wear them n motivates me to practice hahaha

6) Basically, just push myself to practice from time  time. I know, it’s all up to me.

Yes, that is my plan.

Oh, performance week is next week… omg 7 weeks just went by like that. This time round, I am still a lil confused over the last part of the routine, and it has 2 pull up Vs (1 into ankle grab, centre split and stag, and the other into a left leg hang)… I always end up with zero strength for the last invert and end up looking like crap haha so hopefully I don’t screw it up when I perform next week!

Gonna end here and Keep poling y’all! Lots of love. xx

Another injury to the list and declaring war with snacks

You guys know about the elbow injury that I went through twice right, and thankfully it has recovered now.

I recently injured (correct me if I’m wrong) my right hamstring. It’s the back of my thigh, and the entire area is just really tight and painful when I apply pressure while stretching. That really really sucks.

The thing is, I have no clue how I injured it. The pain just occurred during class last week while warming up and it affected my entire lesson. I couldn’t stretch properly let alone do my right leg kicks and splits. It hurts like hell when I do the open Jamilla where I have to lift my right leg high up and back. And I thought that if I rest for an entire week, it would go away. It didn’t. On Monday, the pain was still there when I did warm ups. Same thing happened and it hurts when I press on it, like a stiff shoulder kind of pain. So yes, I might have pulled my hamstring really bad and I don’t know how long it’ll take to recover.

I have to put my stretching routine on hold and basically can’t do anything related to lifting or stretching my right leg too much.

Any one of you suffered a pulled hamstring before? Do share how long you took to recover and it would be great if you have tips on how to let it recover faster.

I have been really stressed lately with so much going on, my mum has been rather sick these past 2 weeks, lost so much weight and I hope she recovers real soon. When I am stressed, I snack. ALOT. Like, eating Nutella straight from the jar kind of snacking, or finish a pint of B&Js in a day sort of snacking. It’s HORRIBLE. and it shows! I gained weight and feel lethargic all the time.

Plus my whole fitness regime was put on hold for the past 2 weeks, it’s just horrible. My pull up V (plank) and stamina has weakened, and I struggled to keep up in class let alone pull myself up into a decent Chopper (invert V) or Gemini (left leg hang) on Monday, even my instructor, V commented after class that my arms seem to have lost its strength.

That’s why yesterday, I decided to put a stop to all these and declared that I’m gonna stay away from ice cream/snacks/candies/chocolates/sweet and soft drinks for a month all the way till Xmas. Of cos, I will still try to stick with that after Xmas day but we will see how that goes. So gimme ur support for this 1 month challenge and hopefully I don’t cave in. haha. and yea hoping for my injury to miraculously go away!

Have a great week my fellow polers. Love to all. xx

One of those nights…

Something feels different and I can’t explain what it is exactly. 

It feels as if priorities have changed. 

It feels as if there is no need to talk or be in touch. 

Today, I just wanna blast my favourite rock songs and be on the pole for a very long time.

Good news vs Bad news

I just ended my weekly inter 2 class, and am so hungry I cld eat up a cow now. Lol.

Anyway, I wanna share some good news first

1) My floor work(which I utterly and completely suck at hehe) in this term’s routine has improved! Miraculously! Just watched the video a pole mate took of me and I didn’t cringe as much this time so yay!!!

2) I’m 85% there with my right leg split hooray! Hehe I’ve been practicing splits with the bunch of kiddos before their gym classes and my efforts are paying off! Surprised myself a few days ago when I found myself splitting a lil more than normal. Still needa work on the left leg and centre split, patience is key!

3) My Jamilla is FINALLY getting a lil better, without my elbow hurting and the pain has gone away after I rested it for a couple of weeks hehe. So if any of u is facing such an injury, REST is very important for recovery.

4) I can now lift myself into the invert V without kicking into it I’m gonna make a conscious effort to remind myself to continue lifting myself into the invert V from now on.

Now for the bad news.

1) Somehow, I am losing my grip strength! I’ve been slipping off the pole especially when I get into the right leg hook transiting into the Sunwheel (I finally got the name right hehe). And at times when I get into my spin climb. It’s defo not because I don’t apply enough Dry hands, I prolly need to start on some grip strength exercise. Let me know if you guys know of any ok?

2) I have not been making enough effort to point my feet and after viewing my video for the routine, I cringed in horror that my feet were not pointed and so ungraceful! So yes, gotta keep a mental note every time from now on.

Ahh end of random rant. Lol. Just needed to get it off my chest

Ending the post with pole bud Minz and I after class today, great lesson overall

Have a greeeeaaaaat weekend lovelies! xx

I can haz new pole clothes ;)

So I suddenly had the mood to reorganize my wardrobe today, something that I ought to have done ages ago hehe. And I did. Spent the whole afternoon packing the pile of clothes that resembled Mount Everest.

Cleared some space and finally designated a drawer for all my pole clothes. Tadah! Now I can find my pole clothes easily if I’m gonna be rushing for class yay!

Then, I found some old clothes that I know I can’t fit into anymore. And what did I do with it?

I cut them up and made new pole tops! Hahaha, I snipped them into 2 and created a new look for it.

The first tee from Supre is one of my favourites. I bought it in New Zealand, but I’ve put on some weight since 4 years ago and it’s so tight now I can’t squeeze into them anymore lol. So I decided to crop n shred it here’s the before and after.

And then the second piece is a tank that I forgot existed until I finished packing the big pile of clothes. Hehe. It is also too tight for me so here is the before and after, I really like how it looks now.

I cut up another tee which I love so much as well, not for pole but yeah I love how the collar looks now. Before, it was a normal tight collared tee.

So yeah, I can haz new pole clothes without spending money hehehe! I wanna learn more complicated shredding and ripping techniques, gonna find some time to watch the YouTube tutorials one day.

Weekend’s over, hope the new week will be kind to me. Been coughing my lungs out for close to 3 weeks now, and the 1 week old flu hasn’t gone away.

And oh a very big thanks to everyone who has followed me on facebook, appreciate it loads, I’ll keep updating there.

Have a great week everyone! xxx