The corona virus, known as COVID-19, is affecting us on a global scale. Quarantines and lockdowns are in effect, the CDC is racing to develop a vaccine, pole competitions are being canceled or postponed, and many people are being asked to work remotely.
This is a tough time for pole dancers, as training schedules get shifted around, pole studios and clubs close, and resources we might have normally are not as available.
So…
What do we do about it?
How to Train at Home (With or Without a Pole)
If you’re one of the many pole dancers who train at a studio and don’t have a pole at home, this is certainly a frustrating time. Poles may be out of stock or you may not have the funds to spare on a pole right away.
If you have a pole at home, you are still going to be able to train, but you might not be used to training at home, especially with other people around.
Below, we’ve compiled several options for pole dancers who are stuck at home, whether you have a pole or not.
If you’re looking to purchase a pole, you might be interested in PolePedia’s Home Poling Handbook. This handbook covers a variety of pole room décor ideas, installation FAQs, the differences between pole diameters, finishes, and brands, as well as tips on spotting fakes when purchasing used poles.
Pole Dancing at Home with a Pole
- Online Tutorials (free and paid)
There are several pole stars who offer paid workshops online and classes through their own personal websites and Patreon accounts. Search for your favorite workshop leader and you may be surprised to learn that they are offering online workshops in response to the situation.
- Contact Your Instructors
Many instructors and workshop leaders are moving to online-only meetings and private lessons to accommodate the quarantine regulations and growing public concerns.
If you normally train at a studio, contact your favorite instructor and ask them to do private lessons online. There are several programs like Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp, and Zoom that will allow you to video chat. Many of these apps even allow multiple people to join the call, allowing you to pole with your typical classmates as well.
Not only will you be getting one-on-one training, but your instructor will be able to continue teaching, supporting them through the quarantine and raising their ability to continue teaching after the quarantines and closures are done.
- Set Your Own Schedule
Dancing at home is an excellent opportunity to work on personal routines and style. Competitions and showcases may be postponed for the time being, but many of them will come back afterwards with new event dates.
Set your own schedule just like you would if you were traveling to a class. Set aside a day and time, complete with warm up, pole practice, and cool down time slots. Treat it like a normal class. Need a reminder? Set an alarm!
Pole Dancing at Home without a Pole
Getting pole dance training in at home without a pole is a challenge.
What in the world do you even do?
This frustration is understood by any pole dancer who has been injured and has had to take time off from pole. Home pole or not, if you can’t pole because of an injury, you start feeling stir crazy, wondering what you can do and where you could accommodate it.
Being stuck at home without a pole will drive the same sort of feelings to the surface, but not to worry; there are alternative exercises!
- Strength and Flexibility Training
This is an excellent time to use items you have around the house to structure a strength training routine or get your stretching time in. If you’re not sure what to do, there are plenty of pole dance tutorials, strength training videos, and flexibility and yoga routines online that you can use as reference.
Any cross-training you do will ultimately help you in pole dancing when you get to train on the pole again. Get some cardio in with a jump rope, or start working on your yoga pose form.
- Floorwork
Use the space you have to start working on those great floorwork moves you’ve always wanted to ace. Hardwood is recommended, but it can still be done on carpet; just make sure to wear pants and long-sleeved shirts to avoid carpet burn!
If you have heels, only practice heelwork on hardwood or tile surfaces, as your stability is greatly reduced on carpet.
- Chairwork
Chairwork is an excellent way to stay moving while you train at home, and it can be done with a basic, everyday folding chair. There’s no requirement for fancy expensive equipment, and many instructors who are experienced in chairwork can easily teach it online, in addition to many of the videos freely available on YouTube.
Additional Tips to Stay Motivated
If you have tried pole dancing at home before, then you know it can be tough to stay motivated. The journey can feel like a solo one, and it’s not fun to be forced to figure everything out on your own.
Luckily, there are several ways you can keep your motivation up – in the world of pole, you don’t have to figure everything out for yourself – there are plenty of resources available to help you along the way.
Find Your Pole Partner: A New Group for Accountability
Have you ever been a penpal for someone, where you would write someone far away and talk about the difference between the two places?
There is a new private Facebook group for pole dancers who want to find their pole version of this called Pole Partners.
In this brand new group, pole dancers can find their accountability partner for training at home.
An accountability partner is a person who helps you keep a commitment. In turn, you would also help them keep their commitments.
In this group, your pole accountability partner is someone who helps you stay on top of training at home, inspires you with their progress, and celebrates your victories. We are all working together to help ensure we all keep training at home – whether that’s flexibility training, strength conditioning, or active time on the pole or floor.
Participate in Instagram Challenges
Pole challenges on Instagram are still alive and well. An excellent way to keep up your motivation when training at home is to put a creative spin on the challenges that are running currently, or previous challenges that you enjoyed.
If you don’t have a pole at home, challenge yourself to create an entry that uses just the floor, a chair, or free-dance it out!
As an example, the PolePedia #PDFairytale challenge recently began, and since many of our previous participants create their entries while they are at the studio, we’ve announced that we are allowing entries off the pole as well.
You could get really creative and turn your flexibility or strength training routines into an entry if you wanted to!
Movement is good for the body and the soul. Just because you don’t have a pole doesn’t mean you can’t move. In fact, for many pole dancers, this is an excellent opportunity to grow and become more confident in their ability to move and dance without a pole!
How You Can Support the Pole Community’s Economy
One of the major threats that we are facing with this pandemic beyond the virus itself is damage to the economy across the globe. As pole dancers, it’s important that we continue to trade during this hard financial time to keep our beloved community together.
Many small pole merchants are members of our community and are everyday pole dancers like yourself.
Maybe they sell workshops, or perhaps it is grip, or kneepads, or Patreon memberships.
No matter what they sell, they need support through these times if they’re going to continue supporting us as a community with their products. If you’re not in need of any new gear right away, you can purchase gift cards.
Non-financial support includes spreading the word about your favorite merchants or websites on social media, becoming an accountability partner for another pole dancer, and engaging with new content by commenting and sharing. This is also valuable support that we need as small businesses in the pole community.
Below are several ways you can support the pole community financially:
- Purchase products and gift cards from small pole companies.
- Purchase online workshops and private lessons from pole instructors.
- Support your favorite showgirl or stripper online. Many use Patreon for monthly subscriptions.
- Contact your pole instructor for online lessons.
If you run a pole business, we want to hear from you!
