The Best Of Pole Fitness – October 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 sixth 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})
Celebrations!
October is my favourite month, I'm a big fan of Halloween so I hope you're enjoying the temporary Halloween theme across the blog!
This month also marks one year since I posted my first article on the blog, so before we delve into the usual top pole posts, I wanted to share with you my top 5 most popular posts from the past year to celebrate!
#1) 17 Reasons To Start Pole Dancing For Fitness
In at the number one spot is my first ever post and by far most shared article on the blog!
Shared no less than 2,320 times on Facebook, I think you guys really loved using this one to persuade your none poler friends to join our cult!
#2) 15 Essential Apps For Pole Dancers
Coming a close second is a fairly recent article that was also featured as a guest post over at the Wink Dancewear Blog!
This article reveals 15 of the best apps you could have in your arsenal as a pole dancer. Combined they will help you to save time, track your goals and fast track your progress in dance, strength and flexibility!
#3) The 7 Deadly Sins Of A Pole Fitness Student
Third is my article focusing on the 7 most common things people do when pole dancing that result in injuries.
This post shows you why warming up is so important, why less is more when choosing a pole outfit and what to do if you reach a plateau.
You also learn my top tips on how you can stay safe on your pole and avoid falling, both at home and in the studio!
#4) How To Improve Grip Strength & Choose Grip Aids
Next up is another recent article about improving your grip strength. It goes over some of the reasons you should try improving your natural grip strength and why it can be problematic to become too reliant on a grip aid.
Some of the top lessons learned in this article are; Why your grip aid could be failing you, how new moves affect grip, how various grip aids work and the best cross training activities to improve your grip for pole.
You also learn all the ins and outs of grip aid to make sure that you can find the right one for you!
#5) 22 Easy Ways To Stay Motivated To Pole At Home
Last but not least, is my motivational post to help jumpstart your pole sessions and breath life back into your pole mojo!
It covers 22 awesome tactics to kickstart your pole workout, my personal strategies I use to stay motivated, how to avoid plateaus and how to stop yourself feeling tired so fast at home.
You'll also discover what to do if you don’t have time for your pole session and how you can overcome this without spoiling your workout schedule.
This Month's 7 Top Pole Fitness Blog Posts
Thanks for celebrating a year of Love Pole Kisses with me! Without further ado, let's get back to the top pole fitness posts I read online this month...
#1) How To See The Changes You've Made
In the top spot this month is Holly at Pole Freaks with some advice on tracking your progress!
She talks about how sometimes we don't feel all that comfortable taking before pictures, but it's super important for seeing how far you've come in the future.
She also reminds us to actually take the after photos, because strangely enough those are the ones you often forget about as you forget to track your goals.
#2) How Weight Lifting Is Different For Pole Dancers
Next up is Neo over at The Pole PT this month teaching us all about lifting weights for pole.
You'll learn a little bit of the physiology behind building muscle strength and how to safely work up to heavier weight lifting.
Not only that but she goes over how weight training for pole differs from regular weight training, especially if you need to recover quickly for pole!
#3) No Fitness Background? No Problem!
As a beginner pole dancer you may well watch the pros and feel a little deflated. You're having a great time learning new moves but there's a sinking feeling when you see just how good our pole stars are.
It may seem like you're never going to be THAT good, but that's exactly where you're wrong!
In this post over on Cleos Rock 'n' Pole you'll find 8 amazing pole dancers who had zero fitness background before pole.
Editor's Note; This article no longer exists and is not available in web archives for reference.
Each one reveals what their biggest challenges were as someone with no dance, gymnastic or fitness background and their best advice for other polers in the same situation.
#4) How To Fight The Green Eyed Competition Monster Within
This article by Pole Geek Jillian over at Pole Sport Organization is all about keeping the peace with your competitors when it comes to competition time!
Editor's Note; This article and the author's original website no longer exist and are not available in web archives for reference.
I wanted to share this with you all, because although we all share in the love of everything pole dancing, we're also super competitive!
The article teaches you which type of personalities should probably avoid competitions, how to use your jealousy for good, how to avoid a moody meltdown on your closest friends and how to deal with less than ideal competition results.
#5) Have You Outgrown Your Home Studio?
There's no better feeling than walking into that familiar space, away from the outside world in your happy place with your pole family.
It can be difficult to imagine ever leaving this, saying goodbye to friends and moving outside your comfort zones, but in this post by Sophie Murphy on the International Pole Convention blog you'll learn why sometimes we have to move on.
Whether you're moving location, changing working hours or have simply outgrown your home studio's experience, Sophie's post reveals how good it can be to embrace change and explore new places.
#6) How To Use Knowledge Of Your Hormones To Maximise Your Performance
Last but not least is this cool article by Dana Michelle Gillespie on Pole World News (apologies to men reading, these specific tips are for ladies only!).
She teaches you all about the four different stages of your hormonal cycle, how they affect your energy and how you can use them to your advantage.
You'll learn how your life can skyrocket in all areas - not just pole dancing - when you effectively plan around the strengths and weaknesses of each phase.
She even created this cool app that you can download for free to easily navigate the strengths of your cycle!
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 Benefits Does Creatine Have For Women?
If you're cross training for pole in a gym environment you may have had the subject of creatine come up in conversation.
If not, it may be a supplement you've not considered at all. Those of us hungry for quicker muscle gains tend to be drawn to protein supplements for muscle recovery, but what effects does creatine have for women, and when should you be taking it?
You'll learn all that and more in this article by Cassandra Forsythe over at Girls Gone Strong as she teaches you what creatine is and where it comes from, how it works and what the benefits are, using evidence from real life case studies.
#8) How Do You Prep For Photoshoots?
Some people prep for photoshoots in the same way that an MMA fighter might shed water weight and tighten up their diet for weigh in.
That's often because they want to look more lean and cut, shed some belly fat or bloating and generally get the best results from a photoshoot opportunity.
In this post by Neghar Fonooni you'll learn why prepping in this way for a photoshoot just isn't necessary, and why we should embrace ourselves and all of our imperfections.
That's not to say that you shouldn't prep in this way if you want to. If you find it hard to prep for a photoshoot, remember that you don't need to because you are perfect just the way you are!
#9) How You Can Benefit By Loving Your Body Fat
Continuing on the trend of feeling empowered and confident in the skin you're in, this post by Jessi Kneeland reveals her interesting theory on why we need body fat.
It's not backed up by science, but reading it really resonated with my belief that a healthy and happy mindset affects your health and body positively.
She writes about how stress levels affect our ability to lose body fat, meaning that if you're stressed about gaining weight then you're in a bit of a catch 22!
You and your body are on the same team, and it's probably just trying to help out. So take Jessi's advice and trust your body, don't waste your energy fighting it.
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!
This month's featured image is also brought to you by four hot and spooky mamas from Pole Mamas Facebook group, there's no better place to connect with mums who pole for guidance!
#10) Real Pole Dance & Pregnancy Experiences
This month's tips on pole dancing and pregnancy come in the form of Andi Cherry Ariseanu's personal story on the Point Out Pole Wear blog.
She starts the article by giving some advice around making the decision to pole dance while pregnant and how her first pregnancy was different to her second.
Then the post takes you through her experience from the very early stages, through the second and third trimester, maternity and after baby arrived!
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
This month I'm loving this recipe from Born Fitness for a tasty tomato and basil hummus. (Typing this really annoyed me because I like to spell it houmous! Apprently that's a less common spelling, thoughts?! haha)
Hummus is a super healthy food because chickpeas are high in protein and rich in fibre which is great for your digestion!
It also has the added benefits of being completely vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, low fat and suitable for those on a Paleo diet! Winner winner... chickpea dinner!
#12) A Healthy Tasty Treat
This weeks tasty treat is a fun way to serve your fruit at dinner.
These tasty fun fruity skewers are another all vegan, all gluten and dairy free treat that's full of natural sugars and fibres.
You can either use the fruit in the recipe or get creative and put your personal favourites together!
#14) Something Different To Wash It Down
Halloween is the time of year when the cold really starts to set in, so for our healthy drink this week I wanted to share the cold buster smoothie!
You don't need to have a cold to make yourself this smoothie, but if you do it definitely won't hurt to try.
It's jam packed with plenty of ingredients to boost your immune system, like fruit, kefir and kale.
It's also easy to turn into a post workout recovery drink, just by adding a scoop of protein powder!
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?
Happy Halloween Polers!
