The Very Best Of Pole Dance & Fitness - March 2017

The Very Best Of Pole Dance & Fitness – March 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.

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 eleventh post in my series of favourite pole fitness, health and nutrition articles I read this month!

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Pole Dancing & Fitness

First, let's check out the top pole dancing & fitness articles I read online this month...

#1) How To Wow Your Competition Judges

First up this month is a topic that has been on my mind recently. I've been putting together my first competition routine and I know there's a lot of you out there considering competing.

While competition isn't for everyone, I thought you might find these pole competition tips from judge Robyn Edwards over at Unique Aerialists really helpful.

If you're not looking to compete, this advice can still help you to really clean up the routines you create at home!

#2) Why Are Pole Classes So Expensive?

The second topic at the forefront of my mind this month was the cost of pole classes.

There was a rather large debate on social media recently about how much pole classes should cost and whether they are too expensive.

This article at United Pole Artists explains the excellent value for money you really get from your pole classes.

It's not just a case of filling up a room with people like you would for yoga for example.

So if you've been wondering why pole classes cost so much, or even questioning their value, you should have a read of this article!

#3) A Guide To Budgeting For Pole Dance Classes

Following on with that same topic, if pole classes seem a little out of your price range this article from Push & Pole is for you.

It's full of money saving tips to help you budget for pole class.

How to budget for pole classes

Pole classes aren't cheap, classes have to be small and you can't just fill a room up like you can with yoga, zumba or pilates.

So if you don't want to start learning pole fitness at home to save yourself some money in the long run, these tips will help you to make it a more affordable hobby!

#4) Why Is There So Much Injury In The Pole Community?

With competitive pole dancing being a new sport that has accelerated and evolved so quickly to include new feats of strength and flexibility, there are a number of reasons why injury is common in the industry.

In this article Liz over at Bendy Beast reveals three reasons why injuries are so common and the steps we can take to avoid it.

Have you suffered an injury from pole recently?

If you have you can also take a look at my article on what to do in the event of an injury. It has some helpful tips on how to avoid hurting yourself too!

#5) Spring Is Here

With spring arriving and summer just around the corner you might be thinking about getting a little spring cleaning done.

Nina over at the Bad Kitty blog has some great tips for spring cleaning your pole life, from refreshing your pole space to rethinking your goals for the year ahead!

You'll find some great ideas to refresh your pole life and get re-motivated!

#6) Preparing Your Body For Pole Dance

A lot of people who don't have access to a pole at home wonder what they can do to improve their performance in class.

Often the focus is on stretching or other exercises you can do without a pole, but sometimes you just have to keep it simple!

That's why I'm loving these body positive pole hacks from Holly over at Pole Freaks this month!

There are so many easy ways to improve your performance on the pole, and this goes for those of you that do have a pole at home as well!

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) What Is The Best Source Of Protein?

Pole training is very strenuous on our muscles as a fitness activity and it's important we don't wear ourselves out.

One of the main things you need for muscle recovery and repair is rest, so make sure you're getting enough of it.

The other key to muscle growth is protein.

You need to make sure you are getting enough protein for your fitness goals, whether you're aiming for fat loss, building muscle, staying full for longer or just staying healthy.

This helpful article by Adam over at Born Fitness reveals different protein sources in order of which are the richest in protein to help you decide which is the best for your goals.

#8) Do You Know How To Listen To Your Body?

In pole we hear the phrase 'Listen to your body' thrown around a lot, whether it's for stretching technique or to avoid or recover from injuries.

This brilliant guide by Jessi Kneeland opens by helping you to understand exactly what it means to listen to your body.

How to listen to your body

She then goes on to reveal nine amazing benefits both mental and physical that you'll take away when you really tune in to your body's needs.

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!

#9) Six Tips For Post Natal Pole Dancers

This month's tips for mum's are written by Abby in her guest post over at Pole With Peach.

She reveals how pregnancy affected her pole dancing both before and after baby's arrival, from baby blues to getting back on the pole.

She wraps up the article with six helpful points for you to remember in your journey as a mother and pole dancer and reminds us of the importance of self-love!

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!

#10) The Main Course

I've been feeling a little blue since leaving the sunny climates of Costa Rica and returning to the cold British weather.

With summer coming just around the corner and the weather warming up a little this month's top healthy recipe for me was a taste of home.

I actually didn't follow this exact Ceviche recipe, but you can use it if you need more step by step instructions than mine.

In the tropics of Costa Rica I would usually use parrot fish for this dish but in England I just substituted that with cod. Any white fish you prefer should be fine.

best ceviche recipe

Here are the ingredients I use for mine;

  • Fillet of white fish
  • 6-7 Limes
  • Half an onion
  • Half a red bell pepper
  • Approximately 1 TBSP of salt
  • A few sprigs of cilantro (coriander)

To prepare all you need to do is dice the fish and very finely chop all of your other ingredients, pop them all in a bowl or tupperware tub.

Squeeze in the juice from all the limes until the juice is just covering your ingredients and then add the salt.

Give it all a stir to mix it up and leave for around 40 minutes to allow the lime juice and salt to cure the fish, and then it's ready to eat!

I like mine served with tortilla chips to scoop up the ceviche like a dip 🙂

#11) A Healthy Tasty Treat

This month's healthy tasty treat is another one to celebrate the return of the sunny weather!

Kiwi ice pops are a great way to get in some fruit and enjoy a cooling ice lolly in the sun.

To make it healthier you can leave out the syrup, I personally don't see much need for it but you can always add it if you have a super sweet tooth!

It's as simple as blending up the fruit and popping it in the freezer. Easy!

#12) Something Different To Wash It Down

Here we have a healthy chocolate shake recipe. That's right, healthy and chocolate, my favourite combination!

The good news is that this shake is both vegan and gluten free!

Instead of using ice cream this shake gets all of it's creamy texture from avocados, which are actually a superfood rich in protein with a bunch of other health benefits too!

It also uses non-dairy chocolate chips but if you're not avoiding dairy you can use any, it's entirely up to you.

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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