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READ FIRST: Learn to Pole Dance at Home Part 1: Buying Your First Pole
Part Two: Starting Your Journey...
We are back with part two of the "learn to pole dance at home" series and today we are going to learn how to train by ourselves safely and effectively. Learning at home can be challenging and you will likely have to go much slower than you would in a studio but for individuals who have no local studio, or who feel more comfortable at home, it is possible to reach a high level as a pole dancer.
As a home poler your goal shouldn't just be to chase tricks. You'll get the most out of your training if you are happy to go slow, work on refining your skills, connecting with yourself as a dancer and becoming a real pole dancer who can do more than one trick at a time.
To be frank if you don't enjoy the journey and are only focused on the end goal then you don't actually enjoy pole at all. Be realistic about what you can achieve and be proud of yourself even if you don't look like the pros, because you're not supposed to, they're doing this as a full time job! You're here to enjoy yourself, not compete with others.
What to wear
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Take a look on pole junkie for some outfit ideas if you want something cuter or more suited to pol but a basic sports bra and shorts is going to work just fine! You don't need to spend lots of money to be a pole dancer.
Also don't fall into the trap of feeling that you need to buy expensive pole knee pads - soft volleyball knee pads are cheaper and rarely any different. Although you can get knee pads that are grippy, from pole specific brands, which are super handy if you want to do pole and floorwork at the same time. You don't really need this as a beginner though.
Grip Aids
New students to pole can be resistant to using grip aids but some students really need and benefit from them. In fact I think most students do until they start to build grip strength. "Dry Hands" is a good grip to start with until you know what else might be helpful.
There is a whole guide on grip aids that will tell you what you need for different problems - read it here.
Guided learning
You will get the most out of your training if you use a guided resource. Trying to learn through random youtube or social media videos will hold you back. These tutorials often offer no context as to what to learn in what order and what you need to be able to do first. They can also be hugely unrealistic in terms of levelling. I have seen advanced skills labelled beginner on multiple occasions (which draws huge concern for those instructors students eek).
You will progress without guidance, if you are determined, but it is likely you'll spend a lot more time failing, which increases your injury risk, and will lead to you getting frustrated. A lot of people end up quitting when learning pole at home because they feel like they can't get anywhere by themselves and don't want to invest in their learning. A good instructor is a shortcut.
There are a number of platforms and systems out there but Practical Pole is specifically designed to take students from their very class, and accompany them through years of training, no matter their starting point. There is a 6 week course to get you started and then you have access to nearly 700 tutorials and classes that cover everything you'll need to learn if you want good foundations and to keep progressing!
But if you're looking at different options here is what you need in a platform:
Progressive - Everything is laid out and taught in a sensible order of progression, that gradually increases the difficulty, and takes you on a journey. Rather than being random in nature.
Thorough breakdowns - Your instructor will not be there with you to correct your mistakes so they need to be utilising lots of different techniques and ways of breaking skills down to help you understand.
Adaptable - They should provide alternatives and different options for different students where appropriate. Whether you're: plus size, have an injury, are hypermobile, are neurodivergent or you have some other difference... instructors who think about these things in their tutorials will make a world of difference.
Responsive - They are available to give you feedback and take requests just like an instructor would do in class.
Technique - They provide videos on technique and how the body actually works and wants to move, rather than just your basic "left hand here, right hand there" tutorials.
Wide range of content - They don't just teach tricks and sequences but have introductory tutorials for heels, sexy pole, different styles of pole, floor work, routines, stretching and strength training and a variety of other workshops and classes that may help you on your journey.
Practical Pole covers all of these bases and more, by the way ;)
Many online platforms are designed specifically to supplement studio classes. Tutorials will not necessarily be laid out in a progressive way and be random, they may only provide tutorials of a specific style and you may feel completely out of your depth.
But in time, as you build your foundations, you will likely want to subscribe to multiple platforms. A pole dancer learning solely at home needs a studio-like platform, like Practical Pole, as well as supplementary platforms if they really want to be a well rounded pole dancer. Some are more strength and conditioning based (like the Pole Destroyers) or more dance based (like Dance with Kitty), they may focus on edgework (like Emily Laura) or may be entirely flexibility based (like Dani Winks). What platforms you choose to use will be guided by your goals and you may find that trying a few and cycling through different ones gives you the best experience.
Training structure
It can be hard for some people to motivate themselves to train at home so treat it like you would a studio class and carve out a specific time each week to train that is non-negotiable. You'll also get the most from your training by structuring your sessions like a studio class would.
There are many different ways you could structure your training but I find a little of everything keeps things exciting and also means you don't get left behind on any of the different areas. An hour is a good amount of time if you're taking breaks or less time if you're not. What is absolutely non-negotiable is that you should be warming up and cooling down every single time you use your pole.
An hours training plan example:
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How you structure your session will vary depending on your goals, what you're feeling that day or how much time you have. I don't generally put my flexibility training in with my pole training BUT you will be super warm after training which can be a benefit to flexibility training so you might like to do it after.
1. Start with a warm up - 5 to 10 minutes
Starting with a decent warm up will not only help to prevent injury but make your training more effective. I often see home polers complaining online that they can do everything in studio but struggle at home. This can be due to using a new pole (they seem to take a while to wear in), lack of confidence, or due to not warming up as well at home.
A good warm up will get blood and oxygen flowing to your muscles and helps to lubricate your joints. Both things that will help you to feel stronger, more flexible and reduce injury risk. Warm skin also tends to grip better on the pole for most people. There are warm ups on Practical Pole so all you have to do is follow along.
2. Strength Training - 10-15 minutes
Doing strength training after your warm up can help you to get even warmer before you start doing challenging skills. This may be a specific set of exercises or one of the recordings on Practical Pole. Pole uses almost every single part of the body in a myriad of ways, so any kind of strength training will likely help, but particularly focusing on long arm hangs, short arm holds, pull ups, pushing skills and core strength will get you the best results.
Doing specific strength training will get you stronger, quicker, than just doing tricks. Just doing tricks can lead to imbalances and an increased injury risk. You'll progress faster, further down the line, by taking some time to do the boring bits earlier on. Some people may find that doing strength training at the end of their session suits them better. It's just figuring out what works for you.
3. Recap Skills - 5 -15 minutes
4. Pick 1 or 2 New Moves/Sequences - 10-20 minutes
You don't need to try to do too much, particularly if you're a beginner.. Really focusing on drilling just a couple of tricks or sequences a week is fine to begin with. If you're more advanced then spending time building on what you've been learning in class, if you attend one, can be helpful. It can be fun to try to find new ways in and out of tricks or try to put them together in ways you might not have before. You could also use this time to work on choreography, heels or low flow.
5. Freestyle - 5 minutes
Freestyling is an area that scares a lot of pole dancers but it's actually where we can really let loose, connect with ourselves and get far more confident in our skills. Repetition is a big part of improving in pole. Whilst you are still focusing on each step you can't really start to refine anything. If you want to look good you gotta drill your basics!
I often get asked how I look so good doing simple movements but the truth is that I have done these movements probably millions of times each after 14 years of doing pole. Repetition is not boring - it is gold.
6. Cool Down Stretch - 5-10 minutes
It is important to finish with a cool down and in my opinion a stretch is the best way to do this. You could either focus on the muscle groups you have used or do a general all body stretch. A cool down stretch requires you to hold each stretch for a minimum of 15 seconds. Bringing the body slowly down from intense
There are cool down stretches on Practical Pole that you can follow along with.
Training frequency
In the beginning students, with no prior fitness background, will find an hour a week is plenty. You may feel incredibly passionate right now but it is easy to over do it. Overuse injuries such as tendinitis are not uncommon in beginner pole dancers who do too much too soon.
If you are someone who already exercises a lot you may be able to do more but be careful as pole often works muscles few people train and you will likely already be adding to an exercise schedule.
You have to remember that pole requires us to hold our body weight to some degree from the very first day. We don't go into the gym and instantly lift the equivalent of our own body weight: we slowly increase how much we lift. It's important we approach pole in the same way.
You will likely experience DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) for the first few months of doing pole but I promise it gets better! You can prevent the worst of it by training sensibly, gradually increasing difficulty and taking warm baths and doing gentle movement. You will find that more intense sessions will always cause some level of DOMS and that's normal.
Safety
We touched on safety in part one but lets just talk about a few points. Firstly: there is no one with you to keep you safe. It is your responsibility. Always listen to your body, go slow and if in doubt don't do it! Although pole is generally safe it is an extreme sport. There have been cases of paralysis due to falls primarily in individuals training at home. It is rare but have some respect for the discipline.
Use a crash mat - Please for the love of god budget for a crash mat. You won't necessarily need it much at beginners, if you're following a sensible programme, but you will need one as you advance. Buy the biggest thickest mat you can afford as soon as you can. Foam4Sports are great but options will depend on where you live.
Use knee pads - If your knees touch the floor ideally wear knee pads. You only get one set of knees and knee joints simply won't toughen up in the same way as other parts of the body. Repeated kneeling over many years can damage the cartilage and cause inflammation amongst other potential injuries. It's so important to look after yourself.
Listen to your body - Don't know if your grip is holding you? Unsure if you're doing it right? Something doesn't feel good or hurts? Take a step back, leave it for that day and seek advice.
Go half as slow as you think - You should be able to do a small group of movements inside out before moving on. You also want to avoid rushing through movements as this is usually where things go wrong. Take your time to understand each grip point or movement.
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Documenting your journey
How will you know if you've progressed if you haven't got evidence of where you started? I recommend recording what you're learning. It doesn't need to be posted publicly (you could make a folder on your phone or a private ig account) but it really will help you to see how far you've come and also allow you to analyse and improve on what you're doing.
I wish I had more videos from when I started! Don't be like me.
Finally - have respect for our fore-mothers...
Pole comes from strippers. There is absolutely no debate about that and you can read about the history of pole here. If you are whorephobic find another hobby.
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