Shoulder Mount

Difficulty: Advanced

Category: Invert

Type: On the Pole

Points of Contact: 3

Pre-requisite Moves:

• Basic Invert
• Cup Grip

The Shoulder Mount is an important step in your pole dancing journey that unlocks a new set of movements and allows you to start putting your own spin on different entrances to inverted moves. While an excellent achievement, the shoulder mount requires a lot of core strength and muscle stability in the cup grip position, and should not be rushed into.

Move Steps

1. Standing a step or two in front of the pole, lean back so that your trapezius muscle (located between the shoulder and neck) is against the pole.
2. Bring both hands up close to your head in cup grip.
3. Curl your elbows in and tighten your core, bringing the hips up towards the ceiling, into a straddle.
4. From here, you can either lift your legs onto the pole, or move back down to the floor in a controlled manner.

Safety Tips

• When getting into cup grip, make sure your hands are close to your head. If they are too high, it can put strain on the elbows and will make the move much more difficult.
• Be sure to engage your shoulders so you do not hang loosely from the joints. Keep every part of your body engaged and strong throughout the move, including the core, hips, and glutes.

Common Mistakes

• I Can’t Get My Hips Up: If you are struggling to bring your hips up during the invert, you may benefit from core strength exercises. It may also help to lead with the hips, pushing the hips first towards the ceiling, rather than the legs.
• I’m Struggling to Lift My Body: If you’re advanced enough to start with shoulder mounts and core strength or upper body strength isn’t an issue, then you may find it beneficial to keep the hips forward in your starting position. In other words, don’t arch the back when you’re leaning against the pole. Keep the hips forward and you’ll have less distance to go to bring them up into your straddle.
• My Cup Grip Doesn’t Feel Strong: If you aren’t comfortable in your cup grip, grip exercises can help. Pulling your whole body weight up with the cup grip can feel awkward at first. Make sure you are fairly close to your head, with the bottom hand at eye level, or just above eye level. It should feel like you are trying to pull the pole down towards the floor with your hands.