This is the transcript of our Episode 1: What To Expect From Your First Pole Class from Pole On The Call that aired Thursday, January 6, 2022.
You can watch this episode on YouTube, or listen to it on Spotify, Apple Music, or your favorite podcast service.
Hi everyone welcome to Pole on the Call. My name is Cris Rivers.
And i'm Mændy Mac.
And today is our first episode so excited and the topic is what to expect at your first pole class.
Yes a lot of people have asked this question and it's a very important question because the hardest thing is taking that first step so let's get into it so what do you expect for your very first full class.
So let's say you like browse the internet you found a studio near you and you want to take a class but there's like a million different names, you've never taken a dance class before, you don't know you're right arm from your left arm, but you want to give it a try. Usually there'll be a class called intro to pole that would be probably like the first place you would start.
With that being said, if you do find a pole studio for you that you want to try, don't go just by that first experience we'll go a little bit more into that but don't let that first class, if you didn't like it, for whatever reason stop you, but definitely try that intro to pole.
Another popular question amongst newbies is what the heck do I wear to this class? You may see everyone wearing like bikinis and everything maybe you're not ready to wear that to class, don't let that deter you from coming to class. You want to feel comfortable. So like right now i'm wearing leggings i've got you know my armpits exposed because you'll need them in pole um you can wear like a tank top you can wear a sports bra you wear shorts if that feels comfortable for you but mostly you want to go for comfort and the teacher is going to be able to work with you know whatever you're wearing so don't let that be something to deter you from coming to class.
Yes and that brings me into a very important thing um feel free to wear whatever you want like Mændy said you can show your underarms um i guess we should answer this by saying that the reason why we wear less clothes is for friction the more skin you have the better you can stick to the pole which is what we want. So on your first class you don't really need this because you're not going to be high the air but you might want to start shedding little by little as you continue and further your practice.
What to expect for the flow of the class? The flow of the class will be your warm-up which will be average about 10 to 20 minutes that all depends on what you'll be covering in class because that warm up will do conditioning and body mechanics and warming up your body to do those specific projects for that class. And then after your warm up you'll go through you know maybe some of the bigger tricks. Usually starting in our studio we start off on static first most of our class will be on static pole and we'll do dynamic tricks. We'll do spins on static, we'll be up the pole, down the pole, around the pole, but yeah. And then after that we'll do some you know spin pole if that's a part of your class and yeah it depends on what the class structure is and then ending the class with a freestyle which is always fun enjoy. That freestyle because you'll learn so much sometimes by yourself just putting the things together. And then of course your cool down you want to bring down your body temperature and your heart rate from that workout so cool down is important and it will help your muscles prevent injury and things like that. Yeah so that's pretty much the flow of a pole class
Intro to Pole class um let's get into more of what to expect so now we've told you a few things that to expect from your whole class, your very first full class and i want you to erase all of that because really you should go to your very first full class with an open mind and just be open to whatever is gonna happen. Because like at first you might be like really really awkward in class and everything might look terrible or like feel terrible and that's kind of normal too. So like you know as long as you're having fun is the most important. Get your work done but yeah losing the expectations of like you know flipping around upside down. Just like seeing how your body feels with this vertical stainless steel apparatus.
Yes the first step is always the hardest of just going to your class so like Mændy said we gave you all those what to expect what to wear um the flow of the class different things like that but also throw that out don't expect nothing just come in with an open mind and have fun. Which is so great that you talk about that because a lot of people they come in and they're so scared and i'm just like don't be scared. It's such a beautiful experience you're gonna have so much fun right
And even for me like my first class like i came in i thought i was gonna be so good. I was not!
Same here! Like i was like yes i got this i'm the only man but I have muscles I think I could do it no. Having muscles does that mean you will stay on that pole. Let me tell you so it is a humbling experience.
Yes the hardest part is taking the first one but with that being said I always tell my students if it's their first class all of us instructors have different methods of teaching it might not work for your learning style and that is okay. Do not let that deter you what I would advise try another class with a different instructor. They might have a different teaching style they might offer you something that really helps you, so don't let that one class stop you from not doing it.
There yes I totally agree with that everyone's got their own style and you know not everyone is friends with everyone so…
That's the reason why you know you should have just like one experience with one whole full instructor and be like yes I hate pole, like you'll probably have a better experience with someone who's more like you.
Yeah exactly. So this part of the episode we talked about what to expect for your first pole class which is pretty much nothing, don't go in with any expectations — just go in with open mind and have fun.
So now we're going to take this chance to answer some questions from you beautiful people out there who came on our instagram and asked some good questions.
So this first question is how would you explain the diversity in pole community — it was one of those lines. So i'll start this one off. Unfortunately in the world we live in not every place, every location is as accepting and diverse as it should be. One of my favorite quotes from Mændy Mac here is pole is for everyone, but not everyone is for pole. All studios should be open and accepting. Even in my certification we didn't care, they told us you don't care the age the size the shape the color sexual orientation sexual gender like ish that's not the focus and that's how it should be. Pole is so diverse and that is why I love it because I have seen 60 and 70 year old women do incredible [ __ ] that I could never dream of doing. I have seen people who outweigh me by a hundred pounds (i'm a big boy) invert with better lines than I could ever hope for. So the diversity in pole is "come as you are, pole is for everyone." If you do go to a studio that is not open and accepting, that it's probably not a studio I want to be a part of, and you don't want to be a part of. I don't know if there's anything you want to add to that?
Yeah I mean know unfortunately there are the studios that you're not going to feel comfortable in, or you don't feel welcome in, but if you have the want in your heart for pole then that means that you need to to open that space for people and make everyone feel safe and um you know continue the legacy of you know whole having all sorts of different styles and creations and inspirations from everyone.
So yeah I love that she said that like I didn't even think about that if it's not working for you go make it work for you open your own thing. Get certified, it's not very hard now you can do it online and you can change people's lives.
Yeah I hear that like all the time like everyone will be like oh my gosh like if pole wasn't here!?
That's almost for me too like if I wasn't here I don't know what I would be doing. So changing people's lives yes!
So I hope we answered that question on diversity that is tough because pole is truly for everyone but sadly not everywhere is as open and accepting so I hope this advice helps you.
I hear about that too but there was one time someone was in the parking lot, a girl and she was like "I'm from Georgia." She's like "I'm waiting for my friend here but I saw your pole studio…" She's like "There's nothing like this down from where I am. Can i just come in and like walk around and look around?" And I was like OF COURSE. And you know maybe you should open a studio down there and you know spread the love.
You can take the online courses and just you know! Pole is for everyone so please don't let ignorance and diversity stop you from pole. Please please please show the world your beauty your dancing your creativity no matter who what where you're from.
Thank you for that question. We're gonna go on to our next one. Okay so the next question you have all asked us was what does my fitness level have to be to start pole?
Usually out in the wild when i'm trying to convince people to come in here they'll just look at me and they'll be like I don't have upper body strength… which like neither did I when I first came into this whole thing, but you don't need to have any sort of fitness background. You don't need coordination. You don't need dance background. You don't need to have lifted weights. You can literally come into the studio from the couch, and like granted it might take you a little bit longer to do things, but you're still going to get total benefits of everything and you're going to have so much fun. So yeah you don't need to be any sort of fitness level. I've seen like people who have no dance background or anything become the most creative beautiful dancers and just like makes me so happy.
Along those lines too, even if you have the strength it doesn't mean you're gonna be able to do it. Because I came in thinking uh I'm like yeah I can do push-ups, I can do pull-ups pulls easy… it does not work that way. So if definitely does range, like you can be no strength at all, to like strong as an ox doing other things, that does not mean you won't have to come and put the work in.
Um another thing I will say: with any fitness program you enter, if you have diabetes, heart disease, or high cholesterol, talk to your physician of course. That is most important. There is no required fitness level, but of course you want to be safe.
And it does actually bring me up to something because someone actually messaged me when we got this question I can't remember, lord forgive me if you're watching this i will put you in the podcast notes, I promise, I believe it was Terry a 60 year old, who messaged me of her pole journey and how she had diabetes. And she consulted her physician and he warned her that certain things you might not be able to do, like don't stay upside down too long because it might affect your sugar levels, things like that. Um and she's 60 and she's still poling and she did not let diabetes stop her. She went to her physician, she got checked out, she learned what she needed to do, and from what I saw on her instagram page, she is like incredible!
That's awesome!
So you really don't need any fitness level come as you are, as small as you are, as skinny as you are, as big as you are, as weak as you are, as strong as you are, as blue as you are — just come!
Yes! Yeah I think that's another thing too, like many people will ask what the weight limit of the poles is. There's no weight limit of these poles. They're not going anywhere and everyone's going to be fine on these poles. Yes, for a stage pool where it's not connected to the ceiling there is a weight limit, but for studio poles, they're going to be just fine for everyone.
So yeah yeah please, on the other hand though, let's say you do come from the couch straight into the studio, and you really love pole, and you're like having a good time, don't overdo it!
This is kind of a slippery slope because you'll be feeling real real good, and then like the next day you'll be like wow. Yes like can't lift anything.
Like me today.
So you have to take it as any new fitness thing. If it's new to you, you have to ease into it, listen to your body. Yeah yes yes pay attention to feeding your body. Yes protein and stuff like that, and water water water water. Yes so many pole dancers do not drink water and it is crucial. Yes um but anything else on that fitness level?
You will see your fitness a little increase! Yes even after like one or two classes. Like it's such a joy I have students who have continued and they tell me I only come once a week, and the changes I have gotten are incredible. So imagine if you up it!
Yeah that's a good. Again pole is a journey too. You'll see your body changing the more you like you stay with it, and your body will just you know be like what the heck is this! And you'll notice it in your clothes first — don't go by the scale, go by how your clothes fit.
Yeah yeah that's another thing. Like when I first started pole I was 170 pounds and i'm 160 now. I didn't lose any more weight.
When I started pole I was 240, now I'm 185 and it's muscle. Based on yes muscle.
Yeah I went from like a size xl to a small so like the scale is not going to give you really good feedback.
Thank you for that fitness level question because it is very important. Because for a lot of people, it deters them from coming in because they're like "I have no fitness skills."
So what — it doesn't matter, you're definitely learning here! Yes you definitely do. I don't like the gym this pole is the gym.
So thank you for that question. We're going to go into the next question.
Our next question that we're going to go into, that was asked on our instagram is: Will I fall and what do I do if I fall in my first or my first couple pole classes?
Well for your first couple of classes, the likeliness of you falling is pretty low. You probably won't be, you know, taking your two feet off the floor for more than one second, so you won't be flipping upside down. However you know, if you do feel uncomfortable — sometimes like even like the front hook, back hook spins feel a little bit um scary, or you don't want to bust your knees, don't fall um in just a spin because you don't trust your arms yet. You can definitely use a crash mat or something underneath you for even as a beginner. And I like to do that in my beginner classes like i'll just right away be like "let's put a mat underneath" and then you know you won't feel uh you know so self-conscious as you're like I can't do a full spin because I feel like i'm gonna smash my knees into the floor.
Yeah don't worry about it. Don't worry and if you do stumble, it's not gonna hurt that bad. Just get back up. We all stumble — I have. And the higher you go, the scarier the fall, and I've had some pretty bad falls.
But don't worry about that your first class! If you do stumble just get back up. It shouldn't hurt — I won't promise you that because I have no idea what that teacher's teaching, you know.
Pole, you know, it's a dangerous sport. You know, the more often you do it, the more chances you have of injuring yourself from falling. If you're always going to be scared of that maybe you can take pole and overcome your fears. Or if, you know, it's just too much for you then put a crash mat under you every single instance. There's nobody gonna be like crash, and if you're at home with a home pole and you don't have a crash mat, couch cushions, bed pillows, air mattress, definitely something underneath you. Because I have fallen off these poles and I have been okay, but I have fallen and broken home poles, and I have cracked a rib, broken a toe, and dislocated shoulders. So really if you don't have a crash mat and you're not in a studio, use something!
Yeah even if you fall from like, you know, five or six inches, like you could really hurt yourself. You can get a concussion. Especially being alone.
Yes but you won't be alone on your first class though. Instructors will be around you. These are our stories because we've been doing it longer. You should not have to worry about that. It is important to know yeah, and that's why we talk about it, but your first pole class, your second pole class, even your third pole class — let me stop. Because some people say in intro for like three months, so they're fine, which is definitely okay. But if you're in that intro class, you should not worry about falling from heights.
That was an awesome question, thank you for asking that. t
That pretty much concludes our first episode for today! Yes we survived it was [ __ ] awesome. We were nervous but we made it!
Um there were more questions on our instagram, um we are going to answer those, I promise you! I have them written down in my little notebook here, but they're not for this topic that we're talking about today. They're a little more advanced, so we'll spend more time on that definitely.
There were some, we do want to go into a little bit real quick hand grips. Hand grips. Do you want to go quickly into that real quick?
Yeah yeah for your first class like you might find like oh my gosh I'm slipping down this pole. How do you guys deal with this? My hands are sweaty, My arms are sweaty. Yes um you can use hand grip. And sometimes the studio will have some hand grips you can try on, sometimes you can try whatever the teacher is using. I have a few that I use for my own body and they change for every season, every sort of situation that's going on in the studio. I have different ones that go behind my knees, different ones for my armpit, you know… my arms.
We actually do have an upcoming episode which will pretty much be devoted to hand grips and sticking to the poles, so stay tuned. For that we'll be going into the beeswax, the dry hands, all the way.
For your first class, yeah if you were slipping, know that there's hope for you! It's fine. Yes!
And another question we didn't want to touch small-ly on but we will talk about in the future, is what happens if certain body parts slip out. Like a nipple, a lip [ __ ] or things like that or for guys, a penis or ball. It happens.
You should not have to worry about that in your first pole class, because your first pole class, you should kind of be covered up to get your work done. But as you further your practice, it happens. Just put it back and go on with your day.
Yeah I have had slippage during performances, just slip it back in and go on with your day. It just happens unfortunately with the pole.
All right we'll talk more about it. Yeah and usually you know usually people don't even notice, and you're to be the only one that has noticed. Um you know depending on how embarrassed you feel about it, you can go off to the bathroom and come back out yeah but it's just something that happens. Like you're doing the titanic, you're like butt is squeezing the pole like you lost your bottoms, like they're gone.
But you got the trick and like that's really all that matters. In the studio no one's gonna be annoyed, you know, that you've fallen out of your outfit. Yes and if they are, probably the instructor should pull them aside privately and say that's not allowed, because it happens. No one should ever feel a certain way because something. Yeah these are just bodies.
Yeah we will talk more about that. But we are going to conclude this episode on what to expect for your first pole class! I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I packed a lot of information but it's good information and it'll keep 30 minutes and hopefully make you inspired to try your first pole class if you haven't already. Or you can you know share this with a friend um and hopefully they'll come and take pole class with you, and let us know how you liked all of our our answers to your questions, and um give us some comments and hit up our instagram.
For any questions you would like us to talk about in future episodes um or email us that will all be down in the bottom our instagram handle our email our website and we also have some freebies for you we have a free beginner ebook with quite a few pages of beginner spins, moves on static pole, and on spin pole. There will also be a paid version coming out later in January but sign up for that free version. The link will be on the bottom. And we also have a free e-course which goes hand-in-hand with that free ebook it's pretty much seven days of emails where you'll get a video or two with a little workout a little cold trick and then go on with your day
And personally I would love to get emails every day regarding pole like yes and you can be like i'm gonna do this today!
And both of those will be beginner products for our paid products which you will see in the upcoming we will have courses and even bigger ebooks for intermediate and advanced polers. Stay tuned for those, but these are just for beginners — or even if you want to touch base on the beginning because sometimes when we advance we [ __ ] forget them right. So check out those free links at the bottom you can also check out resources we have on our website which will also be on the bottom.
Thank you for watching this episode my name is Cris Rivers. And I'm Mændy Mac. And we are from Pole on the Call Podcast and we are signing off!