We all know the feeling when the pole you’re all geared up and ready to go… but the pole is not.
It can be quite tricky and a little uncomfortable if the pole is too cold to use. Here are a few of my tricks to help get the pole ready for action!
Cleaning
I use the pole in a studio and often the pole is covered in grip aides and chalk from the previous class. I always wipe the pole down with blue roll (cleaning roll) which I find cleans it and warms it up a little.
The Warm Up
When I first go to use the pole I stretch and warm up (usually I run) but even if my body’s warm, as soon as I touch the pole I feel chilly. I start off with some basic spins to get me going – nothing that involves touching the pole with anything other than my hands. I usually go for an outside step, chair spin, dolphin spin, carousel spin, boomerang etc. I do them a few times on both sides. This gets me warmed up as well as the pole.
Stretching
I stretch after I’ve warmed up and one of the best moves to do is a Headstand with Bow and Arrow legs. With this move you can hook one leg over the pole while you stretch the other and then swap. If you do this a few times with your socks on, you keep warm and the pole starts to warm up too.
The Rest Of The Pole
While the initial spins can warm up the areas that are touched by your hands, the rest of the pole can still be pretty chilly. I usually warm up wearing my jogging bottoms on top of my pole shorts. When I come to do the next set of spins where my legs make contact on the pole I keep my trousers on.
Make sure that you are strong enough to be able to do these spins with trousers on as you will need more grip without having skin contact on your legs. I like to do the fireman spin, stripper spin, crouch spin etc.
Higher Up The Pole
If you are practising more advanced moves you will probably need to climb the pole and place your legs higher up if you are inverting. This is when it can get a little cold.
At this point I take my joggers off but keep my shorts and socks on. You have to make sure that you are strong enough to climb without using too much grip on your feet. I usually climb the pole still with my socks on – which can be a little tough. From there you can quickly go into a pole stand or sit as this part of the pole should be warmer. The height at which your hands can now reach are the last part of the pole that should need warming up. You can hold onto the pole with just your arms to practise moves like the Air Walk. You should be close enough to the ground so that you can jump off the pole. Alternatively slide down the pole using your socks to warm it up a little more.
Time For Your Workout
Trying to warm up the pole can only go so far. Obviously there are going to be parts that are still cold. For here the best thing to do is just to start your workout. You should be quite warm are all of these initial spins and the pole should be more bearable to touch!
How Do You Warm Up The Pole?
These are just the ways that I warm up the pole and they fit in with the way I workout. Have you come across any tips to share?
What timely advice, just in time for winter!
I found a great way to warm up your pole is to wrap it in a heated blanket! Buy yourself a heated blanket from K-Mart or similar which you can plug into a power point to warm it up (it’s sort of like an electric blanket but fluffy). Wrap it around the pole a few times and secure it in place with a belt or strap. Turn it on ten minutes before you need to use your pole and voila! Your pole will be toasty warm 🙂
I haven’t tried this with a normal electric blanket, but it would probably work the same. Hope this helps! It’s definitely made my winter poling a lot more enjoyable.