The Best Of Pole, Fitness & Healthy Eating - September 2016

The Best Of Pole Fitness – September 2016

I read a lot every month, from pole to general fitness, healthy eating and nutritional information.

I come across things around the web from time to time that I think you guys will be able to take helpful advice and information from.

So, whenever I see something I think you'll benefit from, I save it right into my Evernote. Once a month I'll put together a roundup of my favourites for you to enjoy.

So without further ado, here is the fifth post in my series of favourite pole fitness, health and nutrition articles I read this month!

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Pole Fitness

#1) Do You Struggle To Walk In Heels?

First up this month is Mel from Mel Nutter with The Ultimate Guide To Walking In Heels!

It's so exciting to buy your first pair of Pleaser shoes for pole, but what about when they're finally delivered to your door and you're ready to try them on?

Then comes the sudden realisation that you haven't got a clue how to stand up in them, you put them on and have a little wobble around and wonder how on earth anyone ever expects you to be able to dance in these things!

My go to tip would be to practise wearing your heels at home to get used to them. Put some music on, do the cleaning in them and strut your stuff with the hoover.

If you're struggling to walk in your Pleasers, Mel is here to save the day with six helpful strategies to conquer walking in heels!

#2) Conquer New Moves With Mind Over Matter

Back again this month is Holly from Pole Freaks bringing a little mind over matter to the table.

Often when we try a new move we will experience a fleeting moment where we think 'Uh oh! Why did I think I could do this?!'

Holly calls it The 'Oh Crap' Pole Moment 🙂

Whether you just watched your instructor demo a move and thought 'Sure I can do that easy' or you're learning a new drop. It's often in that split moment where you are in the hands of gravity and realisation kicks in.

Whatever the scenario, we will all have that fleeting realisation at times that we're doing something a little bit crazy, and these thoughts are enough to stop us in our tracks.

They can literally de-rail a performance or hold you back from smoothly and confidently landing a move. That's why you definitely need to read Holly's post about how to face fear head on.

#3) Discover A Guide To Protein & Pole Dance

Every fitness activity requires protein for muscle recovery and there's a whole lot of protein info for weight lifters, body builders and other workouts, but what about us pole dancers?

We need protein just as much as the next athlete, but there's very little information out there that really focuses on protein and pole.

That's why I was excited to read this new post from Neo over at The Pole PT this month.

In her article she reveals exactly how much protein you need for your specific goals and body weight, along with which foods to eat to get that high protein intake.

Protein Shake Ingredients

Just be mindful when using protein supplements, not all of them are good for you, in fact some contain some very undesirable ingredients, so do your homework on ingredients.

If in doubt, I like to make my own smoothies and add a Protein Isolate Powder.

#4) Worried You're Not Good Enough?

Bexiita is back this month with another inspirational blog entry over at United Pole Artists.

In this article she reveals the universal worry in our industry about 'not being good enough', from beginners all the way through to the pros!

The post goes over some key changes in your progression that can leave you feeling defeated and why it's OK to be imperfect.

Everyone has their strengths and your journey will more than likely involve sudden 'growth spurts' followed by dull plateaus.

That is simply the nature of the sport, so be assured you are doing brilliantly!

Enjoy yourself and if you're struggling with move for a long time try something else, there are so many moves out there now that there's just no reason to hang about stuck on one.

#5) Epic Fails VS Learning Curves

Ever felt scared to get back on the pole after a slip or fall? Something knocked your confidence?

Well it's time to get back on the horse because Peach Lee Ray is here to save the day with her article that will help you to recover from the top three pole 'fails'.

In this post she reflects on the importance of identifying a major learning curve from a mistake we've made rather than just labelling it a fail.

It's important in the road to overcoming the mental block that follows after experiencing a 'fail'.

She reveals how to recover from a fall, memory loss mid-performance and continuously banging your head against the proverbial brick wall that is your 'nemesis move'.

#6) Learn How To Tell Your Story Through Movement

Do you have trouble switching between floorwork and pole? In this article by Irmingard she reveals how common it is to see the two things clash.

When it comes to performance it's become increasingly important to come up with creative new stories to tell through coreography, and it's hard to find something new and exciting each time.

One of the hardest things to overcome is the switch from storytelling through movement off the pole to taking it to the air. Many people will nail the emotion in their floorwork but switch to 'robotic trick mode' as Irmingard calls it on the pole.

In this article she reveals helpful tips and hints from her story telling workshops to help you connect meaning to your movement.

You'll learn everything from simplifying movements to exploring tricks you know like the back of your hand and what to do with moves you can't pull off 'in character'.

#7) How To Tackle Pole Competition Training

Recently I've been contemplating taking part in a competition. It's a little difficult given my location but it's something I'd like to work towards and commit to, even if I have to take an extra flight home to take part.

That's why I really enjoyed stumbling across this post by Tiffany over at the Push and Pole blog that highlights the seven stages of pole competition training.

She goes over the different stages you'll go through, from committing to a competition right up to performance time!

You'll find a little explanation of each step with advice on how to get through and she also includes handy notes to prepare you for how you may feel at each individual point.

Other Fitness Tips

In this section I'll be sharing tips from fitness blogs around the web that can be useful in your pole training too!

#8) Training Your Brain To Love Your Body

You might not think many pole dancers would need advice on this, but you'd be surprised how many times I hear that people haven't posted progress on social media because they don't feel good enough.

Then there's those of you who I know for sure still haven't tried your first pole class yet because you're absolutely convinced that you're too big or not strong enough among other reasons.

While that's not an issue to others in the class, it can often sit in the back of your mind. That's why I wanted to share this great article by Jessi Kneeland that goes over how society has trained our brains to hate our bodies.

She goes over how we are trained to look for flaws and imperfections, what we see when we look in the mirror and eight helpful tips to help you learn to love your body.

Tip number four is to 'Do impressive stuff' - insert pole dancing here. 😉

Don't compare yourself to other people

For those of you already doing impressive stuff on the pole and still feeling body conscious you'll want to see tip number six; 'Stop comparing yourself to other people'

#9) Exercises To Relieve Shoulder Pain

If you have a stationary job where you find yourself sat at a desk all day you may find yourself with shoulder pain.

As pole dancers we know only too well the struggles of pulling shoulder muscles and the necessity to keep them strong and flexible.

So how exactly does your desk job hinder this process?

Well, in this article Jill from Yoga Dork writes about how sitting at a desk weakened her partners external rotators and made his internal rotators super tight.

She also reveals five exercises the doctor prescribed to be done every five minutes you are sat at the keyboard.

It's also important to note (as with most muscle discomfort and injury) that movement was the prescription here - not medicine.

Remember that painkillers and such remedies are often a sure fire way to aggravate your issue further and hinder recovery, they only treat the symptoms rather than the root cause of your pain.

#10) Foods To Fuel Your Pole Passion

Following on from the post I mentioned earlier around protein for pole, this short and sweet article by Todd at Mind Body Green takes the hardwork out of choosing healthy food.

If you're looking for a low fat high protein diet you'll want to include these seven foods that personal trainers love.

I'm not big on fish though so I often replace the Salmon with Tuna, but the basic structure of the diet is there.

I Just started a really strict change of eating habits in my quest for defined abs and these have got to be some of the top foods you need to do the same.

Tips For Mums

Although I’m not a mum myself, I forever see people looking for advice on pole and exercise during and after pregnancy.

Since I have neither the qualifications nor experience to advise on pregnancy in any way, I'll do my best to share any helpful articles I find on the subject every month here in the roundup!

#11) I'm Pregnant, Can I Continue Training?

If you've discovered you're expecting and are wondering how to approach your pole training, this post by Ermelinda over on the Bad Kitty blog is just for you!

The article gives you five unique experiences from pole dancers throughout their pregnancy, each one revealing their own personal story, how they got on, when they needed to stop and when it was OK to carry on poling.

It's important to identify how your experiences compares to others before going ahead, are you new to pole? Do you already have exceptional skills?

The Healthy Food Corner

In my house we do a lot of food prep, I'm forever looking for healthy meals I can cook in bulk.

Apart from saving a bunch of time this also allows me to worry less about diet and what I'm going to eat in the moment of choosing a meal.

Once a month my partner and I pick 2 - 3 recipes each, buy all the ingredients for around 8 portions in bulk, and then spend a day each cooking!

So, every month I'll share my favourite recipe from the month with you right here:

#12) The Main Course

This month's main course is something I was totally obsessed over for quite a while, especially when it was being served in our local organic restaurant.

The Vegan Brown Rice Salad Bowl is quick and easy to make and you can pick and choose which ingredients you like to put in it easily.

Personally some of my favourite ingredients are nuts, beetroot & avocado.

Super healthy and super tasty! Nom!

#13) A Healthy Tasty Treat

I've mentioned Energy Balls before but this recipe from Pinch Of Yum for Energy Bites is slightly different and it's one of my favourite snacks.

They really are delicious, we had them at a pole party recently as healthy energy boosting treats and the girls absolutely loved them!

Don't take my word for it, whip up a batch!

#14) Something Different To Wash It Down

My favourite healthy drink this month was this Strawberry Spinach Green Smoothie.

Incase you skip straight through to the ingredients don't forget these tips; the smoothie's natural sweetness comes from using a ripe banana and baby spinach is sweeter than mature spinach.

If you want to make this a nice post workout protein smoothie just add a scoop of plain Protein Isolate to the mix!

If you've read any great pole fitness articles you think deserve a spot in the top 10 next month feel free to share them with me here or comment below! Did you find these articles helpful?

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