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.

Difficulty: Advanced

The Half Flag is an eye-catching pose. It’s a very graceful move when performed properly, while at the same time showing demonstrating impressive strength and core control.

About the Half Flag

You’ve probably seen advanced pole dancers pivoting into a Half Flag at the top of a pole and holding it with impressive control. Start at the bottom! Once you feel confident performing the pose, then move it up the pole to wow the crowds (or your cat :). It’s also an easier pose to get into from the floor than when hanging onto a pole.

There are a number of different Half Flag poses, and they don’t all have straight legs. It’s more important to focus at first on turning your hips and keeping your body horizontal and flat. (So if your left arm is hooked and your right arm is down the pole, you need to turn your hips left, and vice versa.)

You can try attitude legs (bent legs and pointed toes) as Libby does in the video. This shifts your body weight inwards and is much less strenuous to hold — and it looks really pretty too!

The Half Flag isn’t that difficult technically, but it does require a lot of strength and confidence to master. After you’ve perfected the pole grip, work on raising your legs in a tucked position to get safely in and out of the move. Then try holding that tucked position for longer and, when you’re comfortable with that, move on to the attitude legs pose. Finally work towards the straight Half Flag as your core strength — and overall strength — allows.

In detail

1. Stand next to the pole and wrap your inside arm around the pole, gripping the pole in your armpit and locking your arm on the pole.
2. Point your other arm straight down the pole, with your wrist facing up and your elbow bent and resting on your stomach.
3. Leaning forward and, engaging your core muscles, slowly lift your legs off the floor. Tilt your hips away from the floor so your body becomes horizontal.
4. As you get more confident with the move, lift your legs higher and twist your hips so they’re flat to the pole, keeping your feet together to create the perfect Half Flag pose.

In action

Top tips

• Try the move with the pole on both sides to work out which side feels more comfortable for you. Some people can do both, but almost everyone has a favourite side.
• If you cannot lift your legs at all, try lowering your initial arm grip so your body is already in a flatter position, then raise your legs into a tucked position to check your arms will support you.
• Breasts and nylon tops will cause problems with the Half Flag. Take care of your boobs by making sure you grip the pole with your armpit and don’t squash any delicate breast tissue. Make sure your clothing around your armpit is nylon free (or, better yet, wear a strappy top for extra skin contact).
• Another great variation on the Half Flag you can try is bending your legs together and then running in the air — an impressive display of your core strength.

Find this move and 65 others on Pole Exercise DVD 1.

Difficulty: Intermediate

There’s no doubt about it: inverting on a pole for the first time can be scary.

Perhaps you’ve been pole dancing for a few weeks, building up your move repertoire and now you really want to try some of those amazing inverted poses.

But there’s just one problem…

I’m scared of falling on my head!

First, let’s talk about why inverting is not actually that difficult. I’m sure you’re already comfortable holding yourself on the pole with your legs in the Icon Pose or when sitting on the pole, and once you’ve inverted you’ll be gripping the pole in much the same way.

There’s a lot of grip on offer, and the Basic Invert leaves your body wrapped around the pole so it’s a pretty secure pose too. In fact, if it weren’t for you being upside down, this move would almost be too boring to discuss.

Preparing to invert

Usually the worry about inverting is a much bigger obstacle to success than actual ability, so take some precautions to make yourself feel better. Get a friend or partner to spot for you: have her stand close to the pole and press her hands against your back once you’ve inverted to help you hold the position.

Steal the sofa’s cushions and put them around your pole, or think about investing in a specially designed pole mat.

Your pelvis should be leading the move, not your feet. Stand next to the pole and tilt your body back while letting your arms straighten to get a feel for the movement required for the Basic Invert.

One of most useful training moves can do is the High Kick, as you’ll pass through almost exactly the same motions when you do a full Basic Invert. Practice the move a few times in a row and try to get your feet higher off the ground each time. Make sure the kick is explosive and remember not to cartwheel your legs.

I know it can be tempting to take a run up to get into this move, but please try not to. You’ll get little extra lift over kicking up from a single step back, and there’s a danger that you’ll have less control if you fling yourself at the pole.

Taking a step back is OK if you need a bit of extra power, but eventually you should be able to do a dead-lift invert with no kick at all.

In detail

1. Place your dominant (stronger) hand high on the pole and your other hand just below. Stand with the pole on your dominant side.
2. Step forward with your inside leg and kick up with the opposite leg (if you’re right handed, this is your left leg) and hook your ankle around the pole above your head.
3. Bring up your other leg and cross the ankle over the one already on the pole. Push your hips up, straighten your legs as much as you can and extend your head backwards.

In action

Top tips

• Allow your upper body to drop backwards and your arms to extend as you lift your legs up. It’s much harder to invert if you keep your body upright and close to the pole.
• Once you’ve got into the move, extend your legs up the pole, push your hips up and drop your head back so you can see the floor. (I know I’m not looking down in the pictures!) This makes it easier for your arms to hold your weight and stop you sliding down the pole.
• If you do begin to slide down the pole, allow yourself to descend slowly until you come to rest on your upper back. Resist the temptation to flip out of the move by dropping your legs as this can hurt your back.
• Make sure you don’t bang your hips when inverting. Ladies’ hips tend to be more prominent and whacking them against a pole is very painful. Start with your hips in front of the pole if you’re not kicking into the move; otherwise remember to allow a little room to clear them as you swing up.

Find this move and 65 others on Pole Exercise DVD 1.

Difficulty: Intermediate

About the eye opener

The eye opener takes your pole workout to a more intermediate level of difficulty. Lucy and her fellow instructors are big fans of this trick! Balance and technique are very important to perfecting the move and achieving a strong pose.

In detail

1. Start by sitting on the pole.
2. Lean back while holding your arms straight, then straighten both legs and cross your ankles while squeezing your thighs on the pole.
3. Place your dominant hand under your bottom, but don’t turn the hand upside down – make sure you grip with the standard grip. Try to feel your thumb resting on your coccyx bone (the bone in the middle of your body) to make sure you’re centred on the pole.
4. Gently pulse your legs to check your balance, then open your legs wide into a full straddle and the eye opener pose.

In action

Top tips

• Remember the hand grip! Your bottom hand should not be twisted with the wrist facing upwards, as this is a weaker position.
• Keep the top arm straight. If it starts to bend, your weight will shift from your bottom arm to your top arm and make the move very difficult.
• Keep your legs as high as possible. If they start to drop towards the ground, you’ll slide down the pole.
• Don’t worry if you spin slowly round the pole. You’ll be able to stop this happening as your technique improves.

Find this move and 65 others on the Pole Exercise DVD.

Eye opener full video

As promised, we’ve also put this move on YouTube. If the embedded video is a little small, click through to watch it in glorious HD.

Difficulty: Beginner

About the seated spinner

The seated spinner is a simple but beautiful spin that Libby (in the video clip) has always performed with style and poise. The spin helps to develop your arm strength, and works out your core muscles too as you move round the pole.

Difficulty: Intermediate

About the gemini

The gemini is a dramatic pose and stretch that’s relatively easy to perform as you keep your body against the pole throughout the move. If you’ve mastered the Basic Invert, there are just a couple of extra steps to get into the gemini.

In detail

1. Place your dominant hand high on the pole and the other just below.
   
2. Kick into a basic invert.
   
3. If you inverted on the left side of the pole (as Libby does in the pictures), your left leg should now be hooked at the ankle to give you support. Shift your legs to the left so that your right leg is now crossed over the pole above your hands. (If your left leg is dominant, perform the move in mirror image.)
   
4. Your dominant leg is now wrapped around the pole to stop you sliding, so you should be able to release your left hand. Bend your free leg down at a 90° angle. Depending on your flexibility, you may be able to grab your foot with your free hand to increase the stretch.
   

In action

Top tips

• Take your time transitioning from the basic invert into the crossed leg grip. It’s important to keep tension in your legs so you maintain a firm grip on the pole.
• If you want to increase the stretch of your free leg, gently pull it towards you.
• Once you feel comfortable with the basic move, you can try the No-Handed Gemini. Starting from the standard hold, slowly remove your other hand from the pole. Make sure you keep your hand close to the pole at first so that, if do you start to slide, you can grab the pole quickly to regain control.

Find this move and 65 others on the Pole Exercise DVD.

Difficulty: Intermediate

About the icon splits

The icon splits is a fantastic pose and stretch. You don’t need to be able to do the full splits to do this move. No matter how flexible you are, this move will help to increase it! It will also help build your arm strength and grip on the pole.

In detail

1. Place your dominant hand high on the pole and the other just below. Now place your dominant foot against the pole, with the knee and foot on opposite sides of the pole – this is your anchor foot and must push really hard against the pole.
   
2. Make sure you gain enough momentum with your free leg to kick up and place it diagonally across the pole.
   
3. When you’re ready, lift / jump up and, as you do so, kick forward and up with your other leg.
   
4. Hook your ankle across the pole. Now take your non-dominant hand off the pole and hook it round your foot so your ankle is now between your hand grip.
   

In action

Top tips

• Make sure you push your anchor foot hard into the pole. If this foot begins to slip, the move becomes very difficult.
• For those with less flexibility, letting your upper body lean back as you kick up will help you get into position.
• Once you’ve got into the split position, allow your bottom foot to relax slightly while still keeping a firm grip on the pole. This allows your splits to increase, using your body weight to stretch your legs.

Find this move and 65 others on the Pole Exercise DVD.

Difficulty: Beginner

About the fireman

The fireman is a great first exercise to learn. (In fact I felt I had to start with the fireman as it just feels wrong for me to start teaching with anything else!) The fireman is a simple but elegant spin with the thighs gripping the pole.

In detail

1. Place dominant hand high on the pole and other just below.
   
2. Jump onto the pole so that your thighs now grip the pole. Squeeze!
   
3. That’s the basic move; now we just need to add the spin. Begin to walk around the pole and, when you’re ready, place both hands on the pole, jump into the squat and spin!
   

In action

Top tips

• The more you squeeze your legs, the slower you will spin
• Start gently at first, slowly building speed (and confidence) with each spin
• Keep a strong grip and focus on getting the squat on the pole straight away

Find this move and 65 others on the Pole Exercise DVD.