Tag: Butterfly

The (Not So) Secret Diary Of A Pole and Aerial Hoop Beginner – Week Ten

Posted on by Joey

Week Ten – Pole

I’m in double digits for weeks attended, I can’t believe how far I have come on this journey already and how rewarding it has been!

I’d also like to preface this post by saying this was without a doubt one of my best sessions so far, really felt like I achieved something and made progress, but more on that in a bit.

Hannah walked us through our usual warm up, before we moved on to climbs.

If you’ve read any of this blog series before, you’ll know I’ve never made it past two climbs on the pole and certainly not to the top of the pole. Well, this was my week (admittedly it was on one of the shorter poles in the studio), but I got to the top and hung out for a while quite comfortably, even giving the truss a tap for good measure (I know this is a no-no in most situations, but I couldn’t resist).

The next item on the agenda was Martini Sit. This looks deceptively easy (especially with Hannah pulling it off so nonchalantly), but I was in a for a rude awakening when it came to try it myself. The amount of butt/leg needed to really hang off the pole is the key here (not to self; buy shorter shorts!).

We then tried out a Step Around in to Back Hook. This didn’t prove too troublesome and I like to think my feet are nicely pointed while doing it (Hannah, any thoughts?).

I really nailed the next move; Inverted Crucifix! I got a good distance off the floor in my inversion and the hold on the pole was super solid, I was not moving anywhere unless I wanted to, which felt amazing. Coming down and the standing the ‘right way up’ again afterwards messed with my sense of balance a bit, but I reckon I’ll get used to it.

Finally, before we moved on to some stretching to end the class, I had another go at Butterfly. After the success of my Inverted Crucifix, this came a lot more naturally, still a little shaky, but I pulled it off none the less.

Week Ten – Aerial Hoop

Ellie started us out on our usual warm up and we moved to our usual conditioning.

We then started Single Leg Hang conditioning, which proved a bit painful after all the Martini Sits from pole previously, so I wasn’t able to hold it as long as I normally can or make any “pretty shapes.”

After this, Ellie talked us through a Side Seat Transition. I had visions of losing my grip and falling on to a most undesirable area on the bottom of the hoop, but thankfully my grip was great this week, so nothing to worry about.

Once we had this down, we moved onto a little combo consisting of Splits Away, the Side Seat Transition, into an Invert before finishing on a Front Balance. This was my first time really trying the Front Balance, so I was a little intimidated (flashbacks of the pain from Back Balance sprang to the front of my mind), but it turned out fine in the end.

After that, we worked on our under-bar shapes; Pencil, Split, Stag and Mexican.

Finally a little Gazelle practice to round out the session before some stretching and that was my hour up.

I realise I’ve been a bit lax with photos and videos lately, for anybody that’s missing them, I promise to remember to get more going forwards.

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The (Not So) Secret Diary Of A Pole and Aerial Hoop Beginner – Week Nine

Posted on by Joey

Week Nine – Pole

Apologies for the belated post, it’s been an incredibly busy week at X-POLE HQ.

Anyway, after the usual warm up with Hannah (I must get it all written down and detail it for you guys one day) and some conditioning, we got on the poles and started the main portion of the session.

We started with Fan Kick in to Pole Sit. If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ll know that my Fan Kick isn’t the greatest: plenty of effort put in, but it looks a bit “limp!” Anyway, throwing caution to the wind, I really decided to go for it on the first attempt. It didn’t turn out too bad until my ankle connected soundly with the pole while sweeping round to get to the Pole Sit (another bruise to add to the collection)!

But after a few more tries it was more or less there, so I can’t complain too much and after the initial shock of the ankle smash into the pole, there was little to no pain (even now).

Then we moved onto Statue into Fan Kick, into Pole Sit. This was obviously a little more challenging than the previous moves, I think I’m 75% there with getting it nailed. Statue didn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would by the way!

After this, Butterfly with a Crucifix Exit into Flatline Scorpio. This proved a little too much for me and I didn’t even get close to finishing it in this week’s session.

Finally, we added spins to the end of the combo: Step Around, Fan Kick, Chair and Figure Four Spins; I’m happy with all of these, except the Figure Four, which doesn’t flow as smoothly as I’d like, but it’s in my head now, so I can visualise it more easily.

I have to admit, this was the most intense pole session I have done so far at the Aerial Attic, but it was also one of the most enjoyable; I was totally shot after this lesson, but also had a great feeling that I’d worked hard.

Week Nine – Aerial Hoop

Ellie started us out on our usual warm up and we had another go at completing the Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar abs workout challenge from MadFit. The rest of the group seemed to nail it, but I think I ran out of steam around the 2:45 mark (it’s harder than it looks).

Again, if you fancy trying it, check out the below video:

 

We did our usual conditioning (Ellie went fairly easy on us this week in my opinion) and then started on Spinning Inverts. This proved more challenging than it looked for me, I think leading with one foot and then leaning into the spin was a bit hard for me to comprehend at first, but I got there eventually (with a lot more swinging than spinning I must admit).

Then once we were up, we added Side Hang Variations. These really tested my flexibility and I think I pulled something in my back, as it’s been aching a little since the lesson.

After this, we added Pull Up to Peter Pan, which was easy in principle, but making it look smooth and controlled is the key.

Then Man in The Moon was added to the routine, into Amazon, to Cradle, then on to the top bar for Secretary and finally, adding a move of our own choosing to finish off the routine.

Admittedly, I did pretty much everything bar the Cradle, and only once (very messily), before I had to take a break, as it had been a long week already it was only Wednesday night!).

On par with Monday’s Pole session, this was the most challenging session of hoop I have done so far, but it felt great to string a lot of things we have worked on in the previous nine weeks together into something fully formed. It was amazing to watch everyone else in the session too, they all performed beautifully and I was totally in awe of their stamina to get it all done and run through their routines three, maybe even four times before the end of our hour, big kudos to everyone involved!

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The (Not So) Secret Diary Of A Pole and Aerial Hoop Beginner – Week Eight

Posted on by Joey

Week Eight – Pole

After the usual warm up session with Hannah, we went back to our flow sequence from the previous week, consisting of Step Around, Back Step and Step Around Pirouette.

All of it flowed pretty nicely for me on both sides except that damn Step Around Pirouette! I really must get to working on it at home, as it’s starting to annoy me that something that looks so simple is causing me so much grief!

We did add a Figure Four Spin to the end of the sequence too. Thankfully, this only took one or two tries to get for me, so it balanced out the frustration I was feeling from the Step Around Pirouette.

Not sure how many readers this next passage will apply to but none the less, here goes. Beard Oil is nobody’s friend when it comes to pole, even though I’d thoroughly washed my hands before class to get rid of any residue, my hands were still a bit slippery. My tip; stick to beard balm once in the morning for conditioning and hold on a pole day, unless you don’t mind arriving to class looking like an unkempt badger!

Back to the pole stuff! After the flow sequence, we revisited our inverts. This time, attempting a Butterfly. Getting up is fairly smooth for me now, I think my next aim is to really control the lift.

Anyway, I digress. On the first attempt at Butterfly, I was probably a bit too low on the pole, so it didn’t really go as planned. Second time around, my core wasn’t properly engaged and my back wasn’t particularly straight, by this point it was time to start the final stretch of the session so no more chances for another try, but I know what I need to do next session to get it right.

Week Eight – Aerial Hoop

Ellie started us out on our usual warm up, but hinted we’d be trying something a bit different towards the end.

The something a bit different turned out to be an abs and core workout choreographed to a song. While this was incredibly fun, after two minutes or so I was done in!

If you fancy trying it, check out the below video:

After this, we started on Back Balance to Birds Nest. I did pick up a lovely bruise on the top of my foot from the Birds Nest!

Ellie then showed us Secretary on the top of the hoop. After the Poisson from last weeks session, I felt pretty confident about this move from the start. The locking of your legs around the strop really makes you feel secure in place!

We did try Flying Secretary too, but as with Pole, we were close to the end of our session so I didn’t get to nail it this time around, may be next week.

I’ve just created a twitter account too, follow me here.

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