The Very Best Of Pole Dance & Fitness – June 2017
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.
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.
It's been a busy month behind the scenes on the blog this month as I released four brand new free Splits Flexibility videos!
I have now closed registration for those so if you missed out on them you can sign up here to be the first to know if they become available again.
So with all the splits madness over, the blog will be back to its regular posting schedule!
Without further ado, here is the fourteenth post in my series of favourite pole fitness, health and nutrition articles I read this month!
(This page contains affiliate links – my full disclosure statement is available {here})
Pole Dancing & Fitness
First, let's check out the top pole dancing & fitness articles I read online this month...
#1) How To Protect Your Shoulders For Pole
As a pole dancer you'll probably already know how much of an impact our shoulders take in every session.
If you don't, then you should know that shoulder injury is one of the most common injuries in pole dance.
That's why at the number one spot today we have Neo over at The Pole PT, with some brilliant drills to improve your shoulder health and performance for pole.
#2) How To Use Resistance Bands To Compliment Your Training
Following on with the resistance band theme, this month Holly gave us some excellent examples of how to use resistance bands to train for pole.
In her article on Pole Freaks you'll find helpful information on when to use resistance bands along with video demos of how you can use resistance bands to train four of the toughest strength moves in pole dancing.
#3) Why Don't You Want To Warm Up?
This important article at United Pole Artists goes over why warming up is a crucial part of injury prevention when you pole dance.
The most common culprits of skipping warm up are home polers, so if you find yourself rushing or complaining that your pole is too cold in winter, this could be you!
In the post you'll also find 8 effective warm up exercises if you're not sure what to do 🙂
#4) Calling All Vegan & Vegetarian Pole Dancers
If you've been following my monthly roundups you'll have seen in the healthy eating section that I've been largely trying to remove meat from my diet.
Things have been going really well actually, and I was excited to read a dedicated article over on Pole With Peach this month to help you carry your animal love over into pole dancing!
Inside you'll find a review of Pleaser's Vegan Shoes and how they compare to the usual models.
Aspire 609 Vegan Friendly Pleaser
Sky 308 Clear Vegan Friendly Pleaser
#5) What To Do If You Mess Up Your Competition Routine
If you're thinking of competing and worry about messing up on the night, this one's for you!
Or if you've recently done a competition, and come away kicking yourself that it wasn't right.
There is so much pressure on just that one performance when you compete, and this post over at Australian Pole Dancer's Magazine reveals how to deal with a routine gone wrong.
It happens to everyone at some point in time, so the biggest take away from this is not to let it get you down!
#6) How Pole Dancers Can Learn From Yogis
I recently found this gem over on the Pole Convention blog, about how we as pole dancers can learn from the practises in yoga.
The article by Liz Kinnmark reveals 5 lessons we can integrate into our pole training to make for a happier and healthier training space with less injury!
Other Fitness Tips I Read This Month
In this section I'll be sharing tips from fitness blogs around the web that can be useful in your pole training too!
#7) Nutrition Do's & Don'ts
This month I really enjoyed this information packed article by Brian Ward over on the Kick Ass Home Gym site.
The article title suggests the eating plans are for cross-fit only, but it contains a tonne of useful advice about how to eat to achieve different results in your training!
Whether that's to lose weight or maximise performance, it comes loaded with the top do's and don'ts of nutrition.
You'll also find some handy example diet plans for three of the most popular diets for fitness.
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!
If you're looking for like minded pole dancing mums you should visit the Pole Mamas Facebook group, there's no better place to connect with mums who pole for guidance!
#8) Wondering If You Can Continue To Pole When Pregnant?
In this article by Ermalinda over on the Bad Kitty blog we visit the pregnancy experiences of three pole mamas.
It's important to remember that everyone's body and pregnancy is different, but the article includes some great tips from these pole dancing mums!
The Healthy Food Corner
Each month I 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 I pick 2 - 3 recipes, buy all the ingredients for around 8 portions in bulk, and then spend a day cooking!
Then, to mix things up I'm always on the look out for quick and easy healthy recipes so I don't get bored of eating my prep meals.
So every month I'll share my favourite recipe from the month with you right here!
This month I really stepped up the healthy meal prep -
So the main course this time felt like a bit of a treat in comparison!
#9) The Main Course
This month's main course is a delicious veggie tapas dish, Caprese style Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms!
The great thing about tapas is you can have as much or as little as you want, so whether you're mixing things up or filling up on the same dish for a main meal these are great!
I now enjoy these with a nice vegan 'free-from' Mozarella alternative from Tesco for an almost identical meal experience.
These also go great with the stuffed peppers I enjoyed last month if you decide to go all out on the real tapas experience 🙂
#10) A Healthy Tasty Treat
I'm struggling to keep the desert options healthy I'll be honest, many of the things I find these days that are labelled 'healthy' come with a load of butter and sugar, and this one is no exception.
So, with that in mind, if we can't go completely healthy we should at least try to keep things high protein to help our muscle recovery post workout right?
I certainly can't think of anything tastier to snack on after a hard pole session than these Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars.
They're super easy to make as well, no baking required!
#11) Something Different To Wash It Down
This month's healthy beverage is a workout recovery drink made from sweet potatoes!
Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think 🙂
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?
