Pole Fitness

I'm always looking for new fun and challenging things to try out in fitness. It gets so boring doing the same things over and over and it's good to keep your body and mind guessing. I've always been in awe of gymnasts and people who can do crazy moves on gymnastics rings. I remember at Bodypower Expo one year being transfixed with the gymnastics guys (and girls) who could leap around the floor or spin around the rings and bars so effortlessly, and yet their bodies were lean, lithe and dancer like. Not bulky with big protruding muscles like you'd think you'd need for those kind of moves.

Scrolling through a random search on Instagram one day I stumbled across a girl on doing pole fitness and it looked amazing. I followed a couple more and just loved the athleticism of it, not to mention it looked really cool and sexy.

I decided to give a class a go thinking, yeah I can hold my body weight quite easily, how hard could it be? Madonna pulled it off not so long ago and she's a good bit older than me. I began to imagine myself as Natalie Portman in Closer.

The class I tried was pole fitness at Studio 202 in Aberdeen. As I waited at the front door another girl came up and asked if I was waiting. I noticed what sounded like a French accent and she had a european cool dismissive air about her. Luckily when it looked like the place wasn't open at all, she rang to ask and we discovered you actually had to go in a back door right round the back of the building down a little alley. We hurried round and for a moment I felt like I was going to a party from my teenage years. A few girls hung at the door smoking fags and giggling. We went in and it felt like I'd entered the bedroom of a teenage girls sleep over. There were about half a dozen young girls in underwear and t-shirts and some were wearing what can only be described as the highest stripper heels I've ever seen.

Some other girls, clearly newbies gathered at the door. You could tell they were new as they sported vests and shorts and kept their little socklets on. I joined them and changed into my own shorts and vest..

The room itself was like a dance studio, mirrored on one side with a high ceiling and five or six poles reaching right up. The instructor was a young sweet girl with an American accents who took us through a few basic moves.

We were asigned a pole in twos or threes and she'd show us a move and we were then given time to try it out.

I was matched up with cool French girl who revealed a matching pole outfit of crop top and pants and was something of an expert, although she said she'd only been doing it two months! She was a gorgeous size nothing, all long legs and pointy toes... she looked like a ballet dancer when she moved and could do every move with elegance and grace.

I however, felt like a chunky lump in comparison and when it came to the pole I just couldn't translate the moves into practice. When they were being explained I could clearly visualise it and understand how it would feel, but actually doing it was an entirely different thing. As soon as I touched the pole I forgot which hand was meant to be where, forgot my left from my right and basically had to fling myself around it, grasping on for dear life. How they manage to point toes and keep legs straight to "make it look pretty" I have no idea.

And it HURTS. Basically wherever the pole touches - if you're holding yourself against it and moving at the same time, you get friction burns. This could be your hands, between your thighs, armpits, all places you use to hold yourself. The instructor mentioned a few times about practising to desensitize the area and when I asked later she said it really is sore to begin with but somehow your body gets used to it and later down the line it doesn't hurt.

It's also really hard to hold your weight on a pole compared to say a pull up bar. You're using a whole load of different muscles especially in your hands and forearms, that you generally don't use a lot. So bruising, burns and aching muscles are all normal for the first few weeks.

The class was a lot of fun and I'm so glad I went. I'd imagine you could feel a bit awkward but it wasn't like that at all and although I sucked, I didn't actually feel that self conscious. The instructor was lovely and very sweet, and assured me I didn't look like a sack of tatties (I did) and she was great at spending a few minutes with me each time showing me exactly what to do. I think I'd have to commit every week for a month or two to see any kind of progression and the downside is it's not something you can practice in your own time, unless you have happen to have access to a pole. It's also kind of pricey at £10 a class although I think block bookings are cheaper.

For me I didn't emerge from it as a sexy Natalie Portman - I was more Celeste Barber (see above right pic, look her up) And I was sore for days after in places I've never been sore before. Great fun though and I would definitely recommend Studio 202.