Beginner pole dancing – everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

Are you curious about pole dancing? Think you may be catching the pole bug? Perhaps you’ve seen it advertised on your local gym, watched some videos on YouTube or have seen Alesia Vazmitsel on Britain’s Got Talent. You’re itching to have a go – but where do you begin?

Well firstly, welcome to my world! I’ve been pole dancing for almost 9 years now, and I’m still totally addicted to the sport (see how I call it a sport? More on that later). As well as being great fun, pole dancing is an addiction that helps me lose weight, feel great and confident, and gives me some awesome party tricks up my sleeve too. What’s not to love?

Anyone can pole dance

• Myth: Pole dancing just for strippers
• Fact: Pole dancing is huge

It’s been many years since pole dancing was confined to ‘gentlemen’s’ clubs. Pole dancing is a fast-growing sport that has featured in major magazines and news publications – many more people now pole dance for fitness and fun than have ever performed in strip clubs.

In fact, last year thousands of people signed a petition for pole dancing to be part of the Olympics. Professional ballerinas are taking it up to help with their core strength and training, male break dancers are integrating poles into dance competitions and kids are being encouraged to scale the pole to help reduce obesity.

Step by step (or should that be grip by grip?) pole dancing has carved its own credible niche. It’s fun, challenging and unique – so grab your pole and join the revolution!

Pole dancing is a great workout

• Myth: You don’t work up much of a sweat pole dancing
• Fact: Pole dancing can be as demanding as martial arts, kick boxing and break-dancing

Pole dancing can be a high impact sport – it’s a full body workout which helps build your core strength. If you’re worried about any pre-existing medical conditions, you think you might be pregnant or it’s just a while since you’ve given your body a real work-out make sure you consult your doctor. If they ask you what kind of exercise you’re taking up and you’re feeling a bit sheepish just tell them it’s something else.

Also, take it easy in your first session, your body will need to get used to pole dancing so set yourself some achievable goals with your teacher and you’ll enjoy the experience a whole lot more.

You can learn pole anywhere

• Myth: It’s really hard to find somewhere to learn to pole dance.
• Fact: You can learn to pole dance pretty much anywhere.

For the beginner pole dancer, the choice of pole dancing in the UK alone is now tremendous. With over 300 pole schools in the UK and the US, and growing numbers in Europe and worldwide, you are positively spoilt for choice in where to go. A couple of great places to find your local schools can be found here or here. If you’re really keen you can opt for private lessons. It’s pricier but you’ll benefit from one-to-one teaching and as a result should progress more quickly than if you were in a group lesson.

If there isn’t a school near you, you could always consider investing in your own pole and some DVDs. It’s not the same as having lessons or an instructor. Learning in a class means someone is watching you and can make observations that you can’t see so do try and find a class.

There’s a great choice out there and we even sell our own pole dancing DVDs, but try and buy as many as you can. I’d recommend starting a collection of pole dancing DVDs to any keen poler. It means you can practice with references whenever you like. Just make sure you start with the ones aimed at beginners and take it from there.

Pole practice makes pole perfect

• Myth: If you can’t swing upside down from the pole on day one, it’s not for you.
• Fact: Like all sports – with pole, practise makes perfect.

No professional poler I know has leapt straight on to the pole and swung round it just like that. Like any athlete, they will have been training for years in their discipline. No pole dancer can move to the more complex moves until they’ve mastered the basics. Pole is just as much as about finding the grace in you – finding your ‘strut’. Watch in awe as Alesia Vazmitsel or your instructor demos what you can work towards, feel inspired, and then enjoy yourself as your skills develop over the classes.

I won’t lie to you – if you’re already fit and flexible then you’ll pick up moves and progress much more quickly, but the huge variety of moves means that pole dancing really is something that almost anyone can get into and enjoy right from the start.

Wear what you like

• Myth: All pole dancers wear thongs and nipple tassels
• Fact: Wear whatever you like but more body contact with the pole = better pole dancing

Clothing in pole dancing is probably the most talked about subject among my newbie students. Say ‘pole dancing’ and most people still think of scantily clad, beautiful women, writhing around a pole with very little on. However, the new world of pole dancing for fun and fitness couldn’t be further from this rather scary image.

I encourage my new students to wear shorts and t-shirts for their first sessions. Pole works best when the body is allowed to have as much contact with the pole as possible. Skin creates friction and lets you stick to the pole. You’ll see advanced polers wearing shortie shorts and little crop tops. You can start off in tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt if that makes you feel comfortable. Trust me though in time you’ll be making such great progress that you’ll want to shed them in favour of less clothing – but only to give you better grip on the pole.

Buying a pole

• Myth: Home poles are a real nightmare to buy and put up and can even be dangerous.
• Fact: If you want a pole, you can get a pole.

A few years ago shops with poles were hard to find, and the poles they sold had to be permanently attached with special ceiling fittings. But today if you get the right pole you’ll be fine. Modern poles like the X-Pole use pressure to keep them firmly fixed in place and are fine if your pole space needs to double up as your lounge or if you’re renting.

With a bit of practice you can get one up and down in minutes and they leave almost no marks on your ceiling even after months of use. X-Poles are the most popular poles on the market, but other major pole manufacturers you should take a look at include Platinum Stages, Alistage and RPole.

So now you’re armed with the facts and I’ve debunked a few myths too. What’s stopping you?

Life is challenging, it can throw things into our path that we are least expecting, and sometimes it can be tough and stressful. The more things that we set ourselves the challenge to do, and the more things we achieve, the easier life becomes!

I took up pole dancing back when it was a completely taboo subject – and I had to fight for my rights to exercise on the pole. Now, we face a completely different world, and pole has become much more widely accepted. Say to yourself, “Why not be brave and take a chance at doing something that I find a little scary!”

Take the opportunity to be spontaneous, and you might just find you have an awesome time and take something a little spiritual away from it. What’s more you could end up with a flat tummy too!

Coming up: getting into ‘pole position’ finding a good school or instructor. Subscribe now get updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Looking for more?

• Shorts, Shoes and Whips – What (Not) to Wear on a Pole →
• 5 Ways to Beat Sweaty Hand Syndrome →
• Learn Pole Dancing: The Basic Invert →
• Find out about the Pole Exercise DVD →
• Subscribe to Pole Exercise today! →