Nerdy Girl's Guide to Pole Class

Looking nerdy on the pole. 

I finally tried a pole class! It was fun. I like learning tricks. The teacher was super nice.

My friend from work and I went. We were the only two in the class. The instructor started the class by telling us all about the poles (brands, heights, widths. Didn't mean anything to me. Not sure I plans to have a pole in my house. Just wanted to try the class.) And she cleaned the poles. (Apparently this is important.)

We moved on to sassy walking around the pole (I felt very self conscious) and getting used to grabbing the pole. She called the different positions by the poles by their positions around the clock: 12 o'clock was the mirror (the audience), 3 o'clock was right of the pole, 6 o'clock directly behind it, and 9 o'clock to the left of the pole.

I think one of the first tricks we learned was called opening a book (something like that). It ended up being my favorite. You stand at 9 o'clock almost in position for a jumping jack (holding the pole with your right hand) and use your momentum to to swing across the pole and to the opposite position on the other side of the pole. I liked doing this one super fast. (I wanna go fast!)

We worked on pirouette with your hand above you on the pole. It took me a few tries to figure out how to switch your hand on those. The teacher came over and man handled me into position. It worked. I needed a few extra tries on this one. But story of my life. I always feel like I need more practice.

We worked up to sassy walking and swing around the pole. (Finally!) I totally jumped onto the pole and swung around super fast. I actually had trouble stopping. And no, you're not supposed to jump, so it took me a few more tries to get up without jumping. I couldn't figure out how to stop spinning. I mean obviously you can just jump off. I couldn't figure out how to exit gracefully. I need 20 more minutes to work on that.

We put those elements together, walking around the pole, opening a book, half pirouette and swinging. And then we switched poles. One was a little wider than the other.

Then we worked on another sequence from the beginner's routine. So if you take the 9-weeks class, you'll learn it.

There was crawling, booty-popping squats holding the pole, a move called the princess.

We ended class climbing the pole. Note: This is not like climbing a rope. (You should have seen the instructor's face when I muscled up to the top of the pole). I love climbing things, but that's not sexy, is it?

Was I good at it? ::laughs::The teacher's eyes did bug out on occasion. I think that says it all. She said I had power. No coordination and I can't remember a routine.

What to wear: short shorts (the shorter the better), and a tank. Don't put on lotion that day if you can help it. The workout is barefoot.

Would I go again? Yes. I'd like to try a more fitness based pole class. I'd like to learn tricks more than a routine. I'd love to try another instructor too. This instructor was a dancer (and I just don't dance). She was soo nice and enthusiastic. But my lack of coordination might not be fun for her. My friend and I debated on taking the 9-week series. I ended up bruising the back of my knee so I couldn't pop in the next week. Then I had a bad experience with Canopy and decided against the session. I'd go again, maybe drop in after the next 9-week session is through or see if another studio offers it.

I like the athleticism of it and would love to learn some cool tricks. We'll see if this is next summer's obsession.