be one with the pole

Back in February I found this website http://www.groupon.com/. The way it works is that they offer one deal a day and if enough people sign up for it, you get the deal. One particular day, they had a groupon for an intro to pole dancing class at http://www.nypoledancing.com/. You get two intro classes for $24. It was like getting one for free. Technically the website said you didn't need the intro class, and you probably only need it once...but I figure, what the hell, it sounds like fun. I emailed/texted/called a few people hoping that I'd have enough so if we went, it would be private. My sisters & some female cousins were in. With under an hour left, we purchased tickets. Then we went back and forth about 15 times trying to find a date...and then rescheduling. I was beginning to get worried that we wouldn't use it before it expired in July...so I just decided to pick a day, and send around an email informing my group that I would be there, and I hoped they would be too.

Unfortunately just my two sisters made it. We didn't really know what to wear. Last night when i was in Macy's I saw this really skanky black tank top with tiny sequence..that was sheer. I bought it for $8.50 but didn't end up wearing it for my first time. I ended up with regular black shorts, a black tank top and then a green shirt. I brought black lace up heels. When I picked up my sisters, one had jeans and a tee shirt, the other had yoga pants and tank top, both wearing sneakers.

So we get to the studio and I just laugh that we are going to try pole dancing. There were six of us and the instructor. The three other ladies were skinny and wearing small clothing and had really cute huge heels. The instructor was 43 and wearing a sports bra and panties. I honestly couldn't stop looking at her ass. Anyway, first we do warm ups on a yoga mat. Basic stretching, and then some pretty impossible moves for me. Once we are all warmed up, its time to put on our heels (if we had them) and learn the pole. My one sister decided she wasn't even going to try - and just ended up sitting and watching.

We learn small parts of the routine and then start piecing it together. I was very proud of myself for remembering what was to be done. The technique however, I was not good with. I truly now believe that some women just have the sexy gene, and others do not. My family does not have it. Thank goodness we were in the back row. So I am looking around, and the other ladies are GOOD. Really good. There is a huge difference in talent. I later learn that one of them has taken about 8 classes....but still, I think even if I took 8 classes, I might not be that good - who knows. So we learn to walk around the pole, swing our hips, be 'sexy' by feeling our bodies. Then we learn how to slide down the pole. At first I thought she was kidding. this is an intro class. I was so worried that I would just plop to the floor to fast and hurt my ass. But I tried it, and wow, I was actually pretty good at that part! I was shocked at the control you can have sliding down a pole on your back with one leg out. So we learn a bit more and then we learn a spin. That was a bit harder and I seemed to spin to fast and definitely not sexy. The small little girl in front of me had amazing control, it looked beautiful when she did it. Then we learned a lift. Forget that, I could NOT get up. Three factors went into this. 1) I had put lotion on that day - I was wearing shorts after all. 2) I was sweating like you couldn't believe, and the pole gets slippery. 3) I have NO arm strength. I had hope when I saw my little sister did it with no problem. I understood how to do it, but couldn't. The instructor came over to help but told me that my legs were too slippery. Oh well. And then we did the full routine on the left and the right side a few times.

I have to say that it was a lot of fun. You really need to just relax and go with it and not over think how horrible you look. It was probably one of the best workouts I've had, which doesn't say a lot since I don't exercise. However, my skinny super talented instructor was sweating a LOT too, which made me feel better since it shouldn't have been too challenging for her. At the end I felt, proud of myself for doing it; it was a bit of a rush (if you look at the video on the website, a lot of what they say for 'climb and spin' is what we learned today).

If you haven't tried pole dancing yet...I say give it a shot. At least once. You will have a new respect for the ladies that do this, and you will get a great workout....and MAYBE you will be secure enough to do it for your man at home.

I'm not ready to buy myself a pole, but I will tell you that I will definitely take the intro class again - and maybe another time, if I decide to try the climb & spin class (since I am not too talented, I might not get that far). To make it to the inversion class you need to learn X number of climbs & spins before they let you take it. Now I just need to go shopping and get some of those cute dance shorts.