Being a beginner in any new setting is daunting in itself, let alone being a beginner at a pole fitness class where some skin exposure is necessary for grip, so turning up to a class and having to show off your legs can be very ‘scary’. I know its easy for people to say ‘don’t be nervous’ but it is certainly not that easy! Especially when you don’t know what to expect. Well let me explain…
I have two options for beginners:
One option is to join a beginner/intermediate class that is already established and has space (I only have a maximum of 8 per class). This is not to everybody’s taste especially if someone is extra nervous, purely because the regular’s to that class have some experience and a beginner may feel slightly behind even though this isn’t the way it is portrayed as all moves will be altered to suit the individual 😊
Second option is to join a beginners only course. These run every few months before filtering people into my other classes if they wish to stay on. This is slightly more appealing for most as there will be 7 other people in the same position as you, and you learn from scratch as a group!
Either option shouldn’t feel scary. Life is all about enjoying yourself! All of my regular students are wonderfully motivating, friendly and happy. I pride myself in making all classes fun, relaxed and open!
What to expect in your sessions…
Your first pole session will be very slowly built up and well managed. You will start off being warmed up for 15-20 minutes by a Pole Flex instructor. The warm up consists of some dynamic stretches, mobility exercises – all aiming to raise the heartrate and warm up all of your muscles! Then once this warm up is complete, you will move to the pole for some warm up conditioning. This is very important also as pole can be strenuous. You will be guided through all moves safely.
Once both sets of warm ups are done, you will then be shown the session’s moves such as spins and tricks. These are broken down into small details for you and taught in a way you will understand. Classes are all about having fun so please don’t stress if you find it hard… everybody is different with how quickly they learn.
After the first couple weeks, you may then start to need your legs out. If you have already been attending in shorts then great, if not, maybe start to wear them under your leggings/tracksuit bottoms to then use when needed. Your skin is required to help with grip against the pole. It is not possible to do pole without skin grip. You will start to learn the basics of climbing the pole correctly and safely. This can be painful initially but will slowly start to become easier and less painful. This is where the lovely bruises start to arrive! 😉
Each session is meant to be lots of fun and also challenging in its own way. I can guarantee you will have a great time and feel relaxed after the first 5/10 minutes. You will succeed, you just need faith! 😊