Injuries and Rest Days

Unfortunately, making progress can also come with it's setbacks.

After finally nailing a Spatchcock up the pole a few weeks ago I put a bit too much pressure on my hamstring and it's since been pretty angry at me. I spent the rest of that day hardly able to sit down and struggling to get out of bed, which was a pretty good indicator that I'd pushed myself too far.

So I let it rest for about a week and a half. Then just warming up at my gym, I threw it out again doing a one-handed spin into a sort of straddle, which I love to do. I couldn't even Shoulder Mount into a V that day because it was so raw and painful. Luckily, I had one of the trainers take a look at it and he was pretty confident it was nothing nasty; just the result of pushing a bit too hard and not giving it quite enough time to rest.

I don't rest very well. Especially when I've got video entry for a competition coming up in March that I desperately need to practice for. But at the end of the day, if I keep pushing it I'll only make myself worse and then I won't be able to compete at all.

Not being able to do something you love is the pits. It sucks. But not being able to do something you love for a little bit is a lot better than, say, not being able to do it for years because you pushed through an injury and broke yourself.

So my legs have been totally out of commission. So instead, I've been working on my arms and my back. I got one of the trainers at my gym to give me a bunch of exercises I could do to shake up my workout regime a bit (which mostly consisted of being bad at pull ups and hating everything and lat pull downs on arm day) and I've been happy seeing some progress in those while my legs recover.

It's also been pretty tough for me because I'm usually pretty bendy, when it comes to my good front split at least. For a while there, I could barely touch my toes when my legs were straight because my hamstring didn't want me flexing at all. It would be so easy to get totally discouraged there and not do anything at all and I'm so glad I didn't.

I guess the moral here is resting, no matter how much you don't want to do it, is so important. Resting when you have an injury, even if it's not a very severe one, is even more important, and when you're all fixed up you can go at it twice as hard and nail all those things that are so important to you. And when it comes to being strong, there's always something else to work on while your injured parts focus on healing.

So don't give up!

Progress, Progress, Progress...

I think it's so easy to forget how far you've come, especially in pole dancing when there's always something new to learn. You barely have a chance to celebrate getting that new, big move when your brain latches onto something else that you want to be able to do.

Like me, for example. I get down in the dumps pretty often because I still can't deadlift a Twisted Grip Handspring, and I'm still not as close to a perfect Rainbow Marchenko as I'd like to be. 2014 has barely even started and I'm already cracking the whip, trying to nail those pole goals that have been haunting me for months.

It's easy to forget that nearly three years ago I almost chickened out of going to my first pole dancing class because the thought of anybody seeing me in a vest top and shorts made me want to throw up. I was convinced that I'd walk into the studio and everyone would just look at me and go, "Ugh...what are you doing here? Why would you even think you can do this? Get out!"

I had absolutely zero upper body strength. I left that class barely able to move my arms because I'd worked so hard and I spent the next two days shuffling around like a zombie, but I was happier than I'd been in years. I'd gone to that class and I'd had a blast; I'd done spins and even tried to climb when I'd avoided physical activity since high school. That alone was a huge achievement for me.

My first ever pole class...

And about a month later

Last year in April I competed in the Midlands Pole Championships and I won the Intermediate category. If someone had told me two years ago that not only would I have started taking pole dance classes, but that I would get up and perform in front of people in a competition I would have laughed them out of the room. If there's anything I would never, ever do in a hundred million years, that would be it.

I've done two charity shows for my pole school, too. Me, who had panic attacks at the thought of public speaking even just in front of my group of friends, hung upside-down and spun around for three minutes in front of a room full of people. And I absolutely loved every minute of it.

Fast-forward to now, January 2014.

I've been working on my splits for over a year now, trying to improve my flexibility for future pole competitions and routines. On my good side front split, I have an oversplit of 10 inches. My bad side front split and my middle split are both so close to finally hitting the floor. After tearing a ligament in my leg last year I never thought I'd be able to achieve middle splits, but here I am.

I'm working on a routine for the Midlands Pole Chanpionships again this year and I'll be applying for the Advanced category. Later this year I'm also hoping to take the qualifications to be a pole dancing instructor, because it's something I love and something I'm so passionate about. I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

So really, looking back over all this makes it feel kind of silly to worry and stress about what I can't do yet. I've come this far in two and a half years; I've done things that I never in a billion years thought I'd be able to do. I'm not the most confident person in the world now, but if you'd known me before you'd know just how much I've changed.

And two years isn't even a long time. I only started strength training, weight lifting and eating proper, healthy meals last year. Before that I managed to function during pole classes on little more than toast or a sandwich. I don't even know how. But here I am. It's crazy to think that I've come this far.

There's always going to be someone you look up to and think "God, I wish I could do that." One day you will. Even if you've only ever done a front spin, that's one more move than you've ever done and you should be so freaking proud of that. One day you'll look back when you're tired and frustrated because you can't get that new move and you'll realize just how much you've done.

I guess what I'm trying to do isn't brag, I'm trying to say that it's easy to feel stressed and disappointed because there's so many things in pole that you haven't achieved yet and easy to forget all of the things you've already done. I should know, I do it all the time.

So don't count yourself out, because you're an awesome possum and you're going to kick that pole butt =)