It's been a while

So, it has been a while since I posted. I was sick for a week...then I worked it on the pole for another week while I recovered...But this past week I have had breakthroughs!!!!

On Saturday I went to pole class and was excited because one of the newer teachers was teaching. She is AMAZING!!! She took us through the moves and taught us some new stuff and I was TOTALLY ROCKING IT!!!!! I couldn't believe how well I was doing!!! I was working the pole like I never have before!!! I did the fireman move on both sides and the cowgirl on the left. I was a CHAMPION!!!! My other major discovery on Saturday was that I could do a front mount on the pole. That is HUGE!!! I wasn't able to do any kind of mount on the pole before...this means that I am getting stronger!!! YAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!

So this week has been great with classes and I can't wait until next week! Bring it on! I am getting stronger and slimmer each day!

Time to Ramp it Up!

So this weekend (Starting Friday Morning) they have been ramping up the cardio at the studio during pole class. I took a class Friday morning and it seriously had me sweating and breathing hard the whole time!!! It truly felt like such an amazing work out!!!

On Friday morning I was also measured and weighed after class. I lost 1 inch in my waist and about half a pound...not too shabby considering my horrible eating habits!!

I still have a lot of work to do on my upper body strength. I think party of my problem is the fact that I am just so darn heavy that my weak little arms have trouble lifting my big but off the ground!!! lol I am, however, becoming better at some of the pole tricks. I think a lot of it is mental. If I psych myself out then I don't complete the moves, but if I just go for it I can do most of what is taught to me. I really need to just stop worrying so much about falling...It's really not that far to the ground.

On Saturday morning I took a body bar class that is often referred to as "Boot Camp." It was NO JOKE!!!! My legs felt like jello afterwords!!! I cannot believe that some women have the energy to take that class and then do pole afterwards!

I can't wait to see what this coming week holds for me! I am so excited to keep going to class. I love how it makes me feel and I love that I don't dread doing it!

Week 2.5

So I am on week two and half in my pole fitness challenge...I think I need to turn it up a notch. I feel like I am getting a workout when I go but I know that I am not losing any weight...perhaps I should start paying more attention to what I eat...cause yea...I am probably sabotaging myself :(

Pole class is getting to be more and more fun now though. Instead of dreading going to the gym I get excited to put on my short shorts and go dance around for an hour and a half. I find that to be much more desirable that running for 30 minutes on the treadmill next to some random guy who hasn't washed his gym clothes for weeks...ewwwwww.

Tonight I went to a basic class to brush up on some of my basic skills. It's amazing how important the fundamentals are. Tonight I had some instruction on pirouettes on the poll. I finally learned why my hands were never in the right place!!!! Funny how something so small can make such a big difference!!!

As much as I love pole class I have to say that the women in class are pretty awesome too. I never feel like I am an outsider. I am excited that the studio is adding more classes other than pole. As much as I love pole I think that I need some more cardio too!

It's been a rough day....

Today was a difficult day...going back to work after a four day weekend is always difficult. On top of that I had two interviews for two different jobs today on top of completing all of my regular duties! So yeah...just a bit of stress.

Finally at 5:30 my work day ended and I rushed home to change and headed to my pole class. It was like walking into my own sanctuary where I could be the sexy curvy woman that I am and leave all the troubles of my day behind. When I am in that dark room with the velvet curtains no one can bother me, no one judges me I get to feel good just doing what I do.

That being said, tonights class was a challenge for me. We are actually learning choreography now which is interesting and difficult at the same time. I am adding more moves to my repertoire and feeling more and more comfortable with my free dance time. It feels great!

Also, tonight after pole I took a stretching class for the first time. When I think of a stretching class I think of something slow and relaxed...this class was definitely not what I thought it would be. We started with a warm up and then proceeded to get into stretching postures and hold them for up to 60 seconds. This may sound easy but it is EXTREMELY challenging. My body feels very stretched and very sore now.

I will be taking a couple of days off because I have other obligations this week so hopefully my body will have time to relax and heal from all the sore muscles and bruises and then on Friday I start all over again!!!!

I cannot wait!

No Pain No Gain

So today was day three of pole classes. When I went to class my arms were so sore I could hardly lift myself on the pole. I had no upper body strength whatsoever.

The one great thing though is that I am feeling more confident in my free dance time. I am able to move around the room from pole to pole and work the wall and actually feel good about my movements. Today for the first time I wasn't worried about people looking at me. I just embraced the sensuality of my movements and worked it. It felt absolutely amazing!!! I cannot wait for class tomorrow!

A Pole New Me

A few weeks ago a friend sent me a link to a local pole dancing studio because they were having a fitness contest. The title of the contest is "A Pole New You". As I read through the e-mail I realized the real reason she sent it...it was a gentle nudge to tell me I really needed to make a change. The studio was offering a free three month scholarship to three individuals who needed to lose over 100lbs...sadly I fit into this category.

I wrote an e-mail to them and told my sad story from a hottie college co-ed to a chubby chick in her 30's with the skinny girl inside dying to get and and the fat girl on the outside keeping the skinny chick in by gorging herself on all kinds of food.

I received an e-mail the other day informing me that I had won! I was super excited to get the process started and I went to my first class yesterday. Let me tell you how it went.

I arrive at the studio for the cattle call portion (it really isn't that bad I am just being dramatic). Part of the program requires you to get weighed and measured and photographed so that they can track your progress. After that was done I entered the inner sanctum of the pole studio. The studio had 8 poles and dark velvet curtains to block out any would be lookie-loos. I was greeted by several of the other students which, made me feel welcome and made the whole situation a bit less intimidating. The class started with the owner of the studio checking us in and getting feedback on scheduling. The owner just exuded confidence and sensuality. After the housekeeping was done we started class.

Class started with a warm-up and a series of stretches that were not like the normal work out class. Every movement was supposed to be fluid and ooze sex. I have to admit I was a little bit intimidated at first. Many of the women in the class had been doing this for a long time and I felt like a rank amateur. However, I quickly got over the feeling of intimidation because each woman was so nice and friendly. I almost felt like I had joined a secret sorority of women who just wanted to feel good about themselves and what they were doing.

After stretching we did a couple of songs "free form" basically you could trick on the poles, use chairs, the wall or the floor to move about in a sensual way. At first I felt awkward but soon realized that no one was watching me specifically. Each woman was in her own world moving slowly and sensually at their own pace.

After free time our instructor taught us a trick on the pole. I had no idea how hard it would be to do pole tricks. The instructor made it look incredibly easy but when I tried it was very challenging.

At the end of the class we did a quick ab and buns workout and then we were on our way. I have never felt so sore in my life!!!

I can't wait to see what this challenge brings...In fact, I am all geared up to go to class again this morning...although, I don't know how well I will do because I am sore and bruised like crazy!