I have had many questions from girls buy their first pole dancing pole for home and start their pole workout but get discouraged to the point of giving up. Don’t worry, it’s worth the journey and completely normal to feel a moment of discouragement, especially in the beginning.  There plenty of reasons why you should start a pole dancing workout at home.

Many times people start pole dancing for exercise with high hopes but when they get started, they find it’s a bit more challenging and a tiny bit less glamorous than anticipated. Many women find it very difficult to hold their own body weight on the pole and doing one pull-up on the pole is nearly impossible for many in the beginning.

At first glance, women will think she is too heavy and that’s the reason she can’t hold her own body weight on the pole and I am here to tell you that is has NOTHING to do with your weight or pant size.

Your ability to do a pull-up in your pole dancing workout at home or your ability to hold your own body weight on the pole while pole dancing for exercise is entirely relative to your muscular strength to lift your individual body weight.

I have seen girls who weigh upwards of 200 lbs have the immediate strength to invert.

I have also seen MANY skinny girls (who go to gyms) struggle to hold their own body weight on the pole.

Aside from physical strength, your ability to grip the pole plays a HUGE role in your ability to execute the pole dancing moves. Getting a better grip on the pole is a very critical component that many beginners struggle with.

When you get faced with these common challenges it is very important that you don’t let your ego beat you up about being too heavy or too fat to pole dance.

Pole dancing for exercise is a journey and a challenge. It can potentially get you in the best shape of your life in ways that a gym workout never could, but you have to stick with it and grant your body the time to develop the strength in your hands and upper body to perform the pole moves.

RELAX.

Here are a few critical pointers to remember when you feel like giving up or when you feel like you just don’t have the strength to learn pole dancing at home:

1:) Don’t give up and just let some of your discouragement go as if it would a natural phase of learning pole, just like puberty, it sucks but it will pass with time.

2:) Try different grip aids and don’t be afraid to combine them. People have different skin types and sweat differently, find your unique blend. BUT remember, grip aid is a tool and can never replace the strength you need in your hands to grip.

3:) Give yourself time to develop strength in your hands. Muscles need time to grow so keep trying by gripping with BOTH hands on the pole at all times. Just trying once or twice a day will make a HUGE difference in a few short weeks.

4:) Be sure your pole is squeaky clean and don’t use ANY body lotions, don’t even use it within 24 hours of doing pole. Oils from the lotions are absorbed into the skin and will seep back out after you start to sweat. Simply washing the lotion off your skin before you pole fitness dance is not enough.

5:) Do pole dance upper body strengthening exercises like pole “pull-ups” three times a week to develop strength. Once you get stronger, the life of pole dancing will be easier and more fun! In the meantime, you can enjoy learning floorwork, and grounded turns like pirouettes, half-turns, backslides, and plies. All things you need to learn anyway in the long run but they don’t require a lot of your upper body strength to perform.

6:) Lastly but most importantly, don’t skimp on the nutrition. Muscle needs nutrition to repair and build. Approximately 80% of your success to gain muscles, drop weight and be fit is in your diet, not your exercise regimen. Learn to eat healthier, get quality lean protein, and ditch junk carbs like sugar, bread, pasta, and desserts. (I know that’s hard this time of year).

Believe in yourself and keep going in whatever exercise program you choose. You deserve better health and a happier life. Enjoying your workout is an important part of making it happen.