Timeline

I hope, by sharing my timeline, that others on a similar journey can see how slow and difficult the journey is. Be patient with your bodies! Watch here for updates.

• Summer 2014

  While living temporarily in the mid-west, my love for pole dance grew and I was dying to try it. I had to wait until I was visiting New England again to do it. But I did. And those 3 lessons were my official start of my pole journey. It, unfortunately, took way too long to get back to it.

• August 6, 2021 (what I’m calling my start)

  I setup my Amazon pressure-mounted pole and started my pole fitness journey for real.

• October 8, 2021 (8 weeks)

  Struggled with slow progress on pole and with weight loss. Lots and lots and lots of fails.

• October 23, 2021 (11 weeks)

  Finally made 2 climbs. Started being able to hold moves longer than half a second. Feeling strong in conditioning exercises on and off pole. Finally feeling strong and enjoying pole!

• October 27, 2021 (12 weeks)

  Shoulder injury. I researched the injury and recovery on my own and was determined to handle it myself.

• November 3, 2021 (13 weeks)

  I finally was able to climb to the top of the pole at the studio! Ceilings are 12′ high. So ecstatic! Got Jasmine as well. (Didn’t realize I was making my injury worse.)

• November 19, 2021 (15 weeks)

  Mastered getting into a climb from a spin. Struggling with bracket grip still. Pole sits are starting to hurt less finally. Getting the hang of the angled hips.

• November 21, 2021 (15 weeks)

  Hubby and I went to watch the Pole Sport Organization competition in Boston and it was SUCH an amazing learning experience. It actually gave me a lot of confidence in my own progress.

• December 1, 2021 (17 weeks)

  Mastered Genie. Woot!

• December 9, 2021 (18 weeks)

  Shoulder was really bothering me. (clicking, popping, aching) Went to see a doc. It was definitely injured. So sad and disappointed in myself. Mine was, thankfully, a minor injury, but I received estimates of 2 months recovery time if I was very good about treatment.

• January 18, 2022 (24 weeks)

  Officially my first day back at pole. (After shoulder recovery AND contracting Covid) I started with 10 minutes of Pilates, then attempted a few pole crunches. Followed by a lot of foam rolling.

• February 6, 2022 (26 weeks)

  My first day back at class in the studio and it felt great! So happy to discover I held onto about 80% of my strength, grip, and tricks. I feel stronger in the sense that I know my body better, know the warning signs of injury, and know where I’m supposed to feel my muscles working better than ever before. Today we worked on some simple dip turns, pole sit spin transitions and stargazer. I was able to let go with my hand in stargazer only once and for just a couple of seconds.

  I’ve only lost about 15 pounds from the beginning of pole work in August but I’m focusing on that success and holding steady with my plan.

• February 12, 2022 (27 weeks)

  First time learning:

  Side climb (I managed to get one lift but couldn’t do a second)

  Superman (HOLY OUCH!!!)