It’s been a loooong month and I really haven’t had the time to blog. Wanted to take part in the September Blog Hop on Beauty, Body & Wellness but didn’t have the time to pen anything down. So here’s a really quick update.
My next pole competition is in THREE DAYS. Am I prepared? I’m not sure. I’ve been spending the past 4-5 weeks training hard at the studio at night. Thank God my routine is now on auto-pilot mode and it runs through my head before I go to sleep, when I wake up, when I’m driving, and even when I’m taking a shower. It’s pretty scary.
I had a bit of a breakdown some time back because I got depressed about my sweaty palms. Pole dancer woes, sigh. For some reason during this period, no amount of grip aid could help me stay on the pole for more than 2 moves. And I do mean I applied copious amounts. The warm atmosphere played a huge part in that but the central air con at the building where the studio is goes off at a certain time so I can’t do anything about it. Argh. This is especially irritating because I actually went for a surgery in 2007 for sweaty palms, and they bloody came back in full force when I started pole 2.5 years ago. Double argh. Anyway, on good days at the studio, I can do the entire routine with minimal problems, and you wouldn’t believe my relief!
Other than those few short horrible days of feeling depressed, I’ve also injured myself quite a bit from training. I injured my shin, right kneecap, strained my back muscles… *face palm* I don’t know, I’m feeling a little like an old woman with a thousand ailments right now!
On days where I am not able to stick to the pole because it’s too warm, I ended up training my strength, core and flexibility. I told myself not to just sit there, whine and cry when I can’t pole that day. At least get off my ass and DO something! Pictures ahead! Twisty Grip Lift, Backbend, Tetris, Centre Split.
Decided to challenge myself…against time! Because Instagram has a 15-second video limit, here’s me trying to fit as many ways to ascend the pole as possible in 15 seconds! Took me about 5 tries I think! Wearing Michelle Shimmy’s pole top and shorts too!
Michelle’s 15s Pole Ascension Challenge
In other news, I turned 26 last week and couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. I think I’m really lucky to have been blessed with loving family and friends.
I really have to thank my loved ones around me for continuously encouraging me to press on and not give up. I’ve been told not to be so hard on myself too. My only worry is that my palms will not be cooperative on Saturday. DO YOU HEAR ME PALMS, BE NICE!!!
HELLO POLE DANCERS OF THE WORLD! How does everyone cope with sweaty palms on the pole? I use ALOT of grip aids but they’re not exactly very helpful all the time… Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! 🙂
Have a great week ahead everyone! 🙂
heartnpole 
I have sweaty palms too! I’ve tried all sorts of creams but they never last for long. And sometimes they cause rashes too. Tried pole gloves once but they didn’t look very nice! Stuck on the pole like spiderman with those though (:
Anyway good luck for the performance!! Rooting for you (:
Hello! I feel you! But I’ve never had rashes, which product did you use and got those? I currently use about 4-5 products and only Dry Hands seems to be my best option, but still not perfect. And I know what you mean about the gloves. It didn’t work well for me though because I started sweating INSIDE the gloves. 😦 SUPER SAD. Anyway, thank you! I’ll do my best on Saturday. See you! 🙂
remember………….SMILE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ jia you jia you from syd!!!
Hahahahaha OKAY! I’ll try not to look so fierce! 🙂 Thank you!
How did you get your back so super bendy?! Looking forward to watching you on Sat. Gd Luck!
Still not as bendy as I want it to be! 😦 I have been trying to touch my toes to my head while lying on the floor for quite a few months now, (kinda forcing it sometimes so actually not very advisable, lol) so maybe that helped? I like standing against the pole and reaching my arms upward and just pushing against it only bending my back (legs still straight against pole) so I get a nice stretch. You should try that, it feels super nice haha. And I think doing the pigeon pose also helped cos it opened up my shoulders and chest! 🙂
Thank you!! See you on Saturday! I turned out my leg for jade after your advice and it helped!!! 🙂
I don’t think I ever realized whether or not my palms are “over sweaty” or not. All I know is I have to wipe down the pole after every two moves too! I always wondered how pole dancers could dance to an entire song on one pole and never have to wipe it. I thought perhaps, I just didn’t have the strength + endurance. I’m sure that plays into it but I also think I may have some issues with sweat too.
Same here, I have to keep a cloth close by at all times! 😦 Alot of my friends tell me they have the same problem as well, but I’m not sure whether it’s because we live in a super hot and sunny country so it’s summer all year round and it’s just generally warm where we are. When I was in Sydney and it was winter, I felt like I didn’t perspire as much because it was cold, so my palms were not as sweaty. I guess it could be a lot of factors combined (atmosphere, mood, overall body wellness, etc) and you do bring up an interesting point about strength and endurance! Laura Ashton commented (in the PDBA group) that it’s possible to improve grip strength with a hand exerciser. Maybe we can try that! 🙂
Hey, babe!
Good luck for Sat! Was supposed to go watch w/ Chwenny but I have to work that night 😦
Anyway, I have very sweaty palms too and have tried Dry Hands, ITAC, Tite Grip, Rosin and Resin. I find that rosin works best for me most of the time; you may wanna give that a shot. but maybe after your competition just in case? Best part is you just use a bit before you go on the pole. Not so best part is that there will be alot of residue on your hands after each session.
Alternatively, I know some girls use climbing chalk!
Thank you Debs! It’s alright, you can come for other Groove events in future! 🙂 There are usually 2 events a year!
Actually this is the first time I’ve heard of rosin! After I wrote this blog post and fellow pole dancers mentioned it too, that is. Where do you get those? I happened to walk into a multi-sports shop earlier just now and they didn’t seem to have any of that, or any grip aids for that matter. -_-
For the competition I’m just gonna apply what I always use before performances and competitions – loads and loads of ITAC, Dry Hands, Tite Grip and Mighty Grip. Hope all that stuff can help me sustain throughout my 4.15 minutes routine. Hahaha! 😀
hey babe..
congrats on winning! i have sweaty palms too! and it doesnt help that i’m so weak..
I saw on Cleo’s instagram that she uses shaving cream, hair spray, a lil dry hands, and a lil itac… Not sure how she mixed it all up, but she said she’ll do a video on her website.. Don’t think the video is up yet. but from the instagram video, it looks really sticky!
Hello! Thank you sooooo much! 🙂
Hmm, maybe I should try Cleo’s mix cos I have all the ‘ingredients’ haha! Now I’m waiting for my Dirty Girl POLEtice to arrive from the US. Apparently it’s like magic and it’s all-natural! 🙂 I’ll write a review when I get it!
Sweaty palms? Forget about it. Small thing. They will never get in the way of a strong heart.
Quiet the mind, and the body can do amazing things.
I’m on permanent medication now cause of my thyroid, but I just learnt back all my Bboying sets and gained back my original weight in 2 months.
It’s the little things that make us more passionate and disciplined, yet they don’t have to be a bother. Sides, there’s no fun without any challenges. We’ll be stagnant.
You got first place and that’s amazedballs awesome 😉
Thanks for the kind words Alden! So nice to have you drop by my blog!!
I hope you’re feeling much much better, and soon you’ll be the rocking bboy that you used to be! Don’t give up! 🙂