The Best Of Pole Fitness – May 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 first edition of my favourite pole fitness, health and nutrition articles I read this month!
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Pole Fitness
#1) Flexibility Tips From Sarah Scott & Charlotte Robertson
First up is this month is this amazing interview focusing on flexibility tips from Pole Journey.
In the interview Dominique Stagg uncovers the flexibility backgrounds of Sarah Scott and Charlotte Robertson.
They also reveal their top 5 flexibility tips and their favourite stretches along with the 3 items they couldn't live without for flexibility training!
#2) Why Plus Sized Polers Are Bad Ass!
In this post on Pole Geek Jillian Wilschke goes over the pros of being a plus size poler.
I see a lot of heavier ladies struggling when they first start out with pole fitness so it's great to see an article with a positive twist on things.
So, if you've been feeling down about your weight and/or lack of strength recently you should definitely give this one a read.
#3) 10 Rules To Live By When You Take Up Pole Fitness
Next up is Aerial Amy's post, The 10 Commandments Of A Pole Student.
It's an older post, but it contains a forever relevant reminder of certain things we should all be respectful of in pole classes everywhere.
If you stick to these guidelines you'll be a very happy poler with a very happy instructor!
#4) Learn From The Mistakes Of Others
This United Pole Artists post written by Bexiita Ackland from Revved Up Pole shares 10 things you ought to know from the moment you start pole dancing.
Everything covered in this article was spot on for me and I'm sure many others who are now a few years or more into their pole journey.
So if you don't want to end up with one arm bigger than the other, you'll want to read what she has to say!
#5) How To Nail A Pole Move
In this post on Pole Freaks, Holly Munson shares her observations around how technique can affect your attempts at tricks on the pole.
She contemplates how some moves can look incredibly like a picture or video you've seen but something just isn't quite right.
There's usually some trick in the technique you haven't yet been told about that's making life difficult for you.
Take a look at the post to find out Holly's top tip for achieving 'The Violater' along with what she believes is the key to mastering good techniques!
#6) How To Choose The Right Teacher For You
This great article by Pippi Parnasse on the Bad Kitty blog teaches us a thing or two about selecting a pole instructor.
She covers a lot of great points including why the best performers don't always necessarily make the best teachers!
Pole classes can be a huge investment so you should take this advice and run with it to ensure you make the best choice.
#7) We Love Progress Photos
In this post on Kiki's Pole Blog she shared 3 reasons we should all be taking progress pictures.
Sometimes when you're working on one thing after another you can come so far and never realise just how much you've improved.
Update: Kiki's blog seems to have closed down but you can still check out her post in the web archives here to find out what progress pictures can do for you!
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) How Do You React To The Success Of Others?
With the all the skill levels of pole fitness we have bundled into our communities on social media, it's hard not to compare yourself.
This post by Steve at Nerd Fitness shows us the two main reactions to someone else's progress: "At least I don’t look like that. Good for me!" and "Why can’t I look like that person? I suck."
He goes on to explain why comparisons lead to the dark side and why you should just focus on being better today than you were yesterday.
#9) Why You Should Stop Forcing Your Stretch & Start Relaxing
In this short article by Beth over at Sublimely Fit she says "Don't Make The Pose Happen, Let The Pose Happen"
She explains how relaxing into a stretch affects your muscles and how to allow yourself to get into a much deeper stretch without forcing it.
She also reveals exactly which type of poses benefit from releasing into them instead of holding your muscles tight.
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!
#10) Six Packs For Mums - How To Get Rid Of Your Baby Weight
This article on achieving your fitness goals by Mike Zimmerman at Born Fitness takes a closer look at what it is we really want to achieve.
Is it really weight loss you want, or would you like to lose a couple of inches and tone up?
Here he shares his friend's experience of shaping up post pregnancy, how sometimes you have to eat more to workout and why not losing any weight isn't a sign of failure!
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:
#11) The Main Course
Discover veggie freshness, with filling power foods quinoa + chicken and the warm spicyness of curry all mixed together in this tasty recipe from Pinch Of Yum.
I've always been a lover of curry, and with it being one of the hardest foods to find in Costa Rica I make my own a lot!
This awesome recipe by Lindsay provides us with not only step by step instructions but also all the nutritional information you need.
So if you're tracking what you eat in an app like My Fitness Pal this recipe makes life super easy!
#12) A Healthy Tasty Treat
How often do you hear someone describe something healthy and start drooling?
For me it takes something a little special to make that happen, but these homemade peanut butter protein rice krispie treats hit the nail right on the head!
So if you're after something delicious but guilt-free for dessert why not try this for a healthy snack filled with protein to help your muscle regeneration.
This recipe also comes with all the nutritional information for your fitness tracker.
Just try not to eat the whole thing at once!
#13) Something Different To Wash It Down
I don't want to over do it with the protein, but I couldn't resist sharing this tasty recipe for a high protein (non-alcoholic) Piña Colada.
It's not hard to spice up your protein shakes into something more interesting than the same old flavour of powdery substance.
As you'll see with this simple recipe, it's as easy as throwing a bunch of ingredients into the blender with your protein powder and voilà! You have a tasty high protein cocktail!
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.
