How to plan your Open Pole time to improve your skills and style
As the summer approaches, the typical summer question arises: ”What am I going to do when the classes are over to keep pole dancing?!
Well, at North Pole Studio we have an answer for you: come to the open pole time! You can keep working out in your favorite environment, improve your skills, and have fun!
Not sure how to plan your own open pole time? Here it is our little guide about how to make the best out of your time!
Warm-up properly
Summer and hot weather are false friends, in this case. Despite the higher temperatures, one thing that you don’t want to neglect is the warm-up.
The warm-up can come in many different sauces: do you like the one you do in class? Go for it. Memory problems? There is plenty of material on the net but, also, most important, consider that you want to have all your muscles warm and ready. In doubt about how to start? Feel free to talk with us at the reception.
Are you planning to go for serious flexibility training? Remember to add some active flexibility exercises to properly engage your legs and/or your back.
And since you probably have more time for your warm-up than in class, give some love to your pole dancer’s shoulders. Shoulders prehab is fundamental for a healthy body 🙂
Our tip is to dedicate about 15 minutes to the warm-up for an hour session and up to 30-45 minutes for longer sessions.
Conditioning and warming up the pole
Start from conditioning exercises: inverts, shoulder-mounts, handspring rotations, etc. the choice is up to you and your level. 🙂 Conditioning exercises are a great way to activate the muscles needed for more advanced tricks and shapes.
Static flows or experimenting with floorwork can also be an optimal way to slowly introduce your body to the practice.
The Core of your practice
Whether you came to the studio with a clear idea of what to practice on or you forced yourself to get a workout done, this is the central part of your workout!
If you have your inspiration and ideas, it is the right time to make them real! Was it that class exercise or combo you wanted to work on? Or have you found a good song that made your mind fly? Now that your body is ready for it, it is time to go all in.
No idea? In the technological time we live in, ideas can be just found everywhere. 🙂
Instagram and YouTube videos are one precious source of inspiration, and many of the North Pole Studio instructors post regularly about the workout made during the classes.
And if you are like the majority of us, you probably have tons of filmed material on your phone about older practices, exercises, and combos. It is often a good idea to work on older and forgotten tricks or combos. You can be amazed by your muscles’ memory and by your improvements!
Still hesitant on what to do? Feel your mood and find a song you like, improvising can give you some inspiration indeed.
If you are North Pole Studio, very often you are not alone: sharing ideas with other people and training together can also be more fun!
Finally yet importantly, do not forget to give some time to improvisation. This will help you to develop your style and movements. There are several little games to start practicing your impro if that is not easy for you. One of the best known is the floor is lava, where you can never stay on the floor with both your feet.
Alternatively, you can forbid yourself to use a movement that you always do, or vice-versa, including several tricks that you worked on, during your practice, and combine them differently.
Our tip is to try to work on different things, not just focusing on one single combo or exercise. The variety will avoid overloading some muscles in your body, which can lead to injuries.
Before finishing…
Now it is almost time to go, but don’t forget to cool down.
Through cooling down, your body can slowly transit to a relaxed state. After a harsh workout, give some love to your pecs and shoulders, and don’t forget your calves, hamstrings, and neck!
Some random final tips
Film yourself: this will allow you to see your improvements and your weakness, so that next time you know what to work on!
Freestyling is hard, and if you use to film yourself then you will always notice the things you don’t like… Try to focus on the good moves and build from there. It is normal to feel awkward when freestyling, even for pro as Anna-Maija – you can read what she said about impro here. Everyone felt that way when they started!
Bring a friend along: training with a friend is more fun. It also helps us to find the motivation to show up. Last but not least, helping each other is an important part of what our community stands for (despite Covid-19 whose force us to be further apart).
We hope that this short guide can be of help to start or improve your practice.
This is a very special summer for many of us, so the studio will be open the whole summer. Many of our instructors are planning to have classes, so give them some love and let them know if you are interested!
P.S. Get ready for two awesome challenges coming in the next few weeks. More details to come!