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Muscle and Joint Injury Prevention for Pole

Being injured on both a muscular and a joint level is one of the most common types of injury from pole. In pole dance, the focus is on the musculoskeletal system. The muscle movement patterns necessary to accomplish gymnastics-based moves comes from the muscles, ligament and tendons working together. So not surprisingly some of the most common injuries in pole are in this system. There are a few things to consider when training for pole to help prevent injuries to the muscle

Three Total Body Pole Moves for Strength

Strength is obviously a key component in making a break through in pole, however teaching the body the mechanics and how to engage muscles in a proper order also contribute to moving off a plateau. The point of the selected moves in this article are for total body engagement and working on feeling connected to the entire body, or employing complete muscle groups during pole. The goal is to not only connect to the dominant muscles, such as the upper back, but to start uniting

Reducing Pain in Aerial Hoop

Aerial hoop like nearly all cirque apparatus has a bite, a painful bite that can leave bruises, soreness, pinched skin and tight muscles. For many new students in the hoop, the pain is intolerable and some students may choose not to come back. Retaining students and cutting down the pain are great goals for aerial hoop classes. Here is a collection of quick ways to reduce pain in the hoop. Proper Dynamic Warm-up A dynamic warm-up targets all major muscle groups and prepares t

Thrower's Ten for Aerialists and Polers

There are now three posts about the Thrower's Ten on this blog, but I promised I would write a post on the actual Thrower's Ten PT moves that I use for injury prevention in aerial arts and pole. The Thrower's Ten is a series of physical therapy rehab moves that strengthen and stretch the shoulder girdle. The moves were developed to rehab athletes coming from throwing sports like baseball or racquet sports like tennis. For pole and aerial arts we can use this series to help st

Incorporating Core Moves into Dance Flow

As an instructor for pole, I am always looking for fresh ways to incorporate core work into class. Obviously, students want core work and need core work, but being creative and making core moves part of a routine or choreo helps keep class exciting. Traditionally, the way of teaching exercise class was to insert core work at the end of class, but when core is treated like an after thought, it becomes an after thought. For pole, the core work is crucial for progression and st

Three Exercises to Correct Upper Back Imbalances

Here is the follow-up post for Upper Back Imbalances for Polers and Aerialists. Basically we are going to look at some corrective exercises that can help work the underdeveloped muscles in the upper and middle back, i.e., the rhomboids and lower traps. As discussed in the first post, these muscle groups and the smaller shoulder girdle muscles tend to be underdeveloped while the lats and pecs tend to get overdeveloped. The upper traps may or may not get over developed as well.

Thrower's Ten Part 3

The Thrower's Ten is a PT exercise series commonly used to strengthen and stretch the shoulder girdle. This set of movement is often used with athletes of throwing sports, but it can work great for aerialists and pole dancers to aid in injury prevention. I use many of the exercises from the Thrower's Ten in my weekly workout routine. However some of the exercises are more effective then others, for pole and aerial. I promise to put out a post that takes the best of the Throwe

Thrower's Ten Part 2

Continuing our journey down the path of strength, flexibility and health for shoulders in the world of aerial arts and pole, here is part two of our series on the Thrower's Ten. Check Out Part 1 The Thrower's Ten is a series of Physical Therapy Exercises that were designed to help with shoulder girdle strength and movement. As Polers and aerialists the entire series is a excellent set of additional exercises to train with outside of the studio. However, if you are training a

Tight Hip Flexors Part 3 (Myofascial Release)

This little discussion on tight dominant hip flexors has ended up becoming five posts. It's a very complicated issue as the hip flexors are major players in the body and in aerial arts. Take at look at the two previous posts. Tight Hip Flexors Part 1 Tight Hip Flexors Part 2 (Stretching) Also Auxillary Stretches for Hip Flexors We have dicussed how the hip flexors work and why they work. Flexion, my friends! So you can lift up into a perfect straddle back inverison or chopper

The Thrower's Ten Part One

We wanted to take a few posts and explore the Thrower’s Ten, a series of PT strengthening and stretching exercises that focus on the shoulder girdle. For aerialists, strength and balance in the shoulder is crucial not only for performing movement but for long-term health of the shoulder. The rotator cuff and shoulder musculature, in general, are an area that has a high risk of injury when performing aerial arts and pole. What is the Thrower’s Ten? The Thrower’s Ten in a 10-pa

Scapular Retraction in Aerial Arts

You hear it all the time in a studio, an instructor telling a student to engage the upper back. This is great, it can help prevent injury and let a student use more muscle groups to achieve moves, however many students have no idea what this means. Scapular retraction is the term for pulling the shoulder blades inward, like you are holding an orange between the blades. This engagement activates the rhomboid and trapezius muscle groups, which helps support the body in inversio

Time Effective Stretches for the Front Splits

Let’s keep it simple when it comes to the splits. I see it it all the time where people hop into their splits without stretching. Stretching the involved muscles in a splits first is going get you more bang for your buck then hopping in cold. Even if you have your splits, you still need to stretch and why not stretch smarter instead of harder. Getting your splits or even if you have your splits still means you need to stretch. The most effective time to stretch your splits is

Four Shoulder Strengthening Band Exercises for Aerialists

Some of the most common injuries in aerial arts and pole happen in the shoulders. The shoulder girdle in composed of lots of muscles that do amazing things like help us invert. These muscles can easily be neglected and can also become underdeveloped compared to larger back muscles like the lats and pecs. I have selected a set of exercises that come from physical therapy and can be used to strengthen the shoulder area. As I have said my workouts tend to be a combination of wei

I am the writer at Totally Stoked Fitness. I am a licensed clinical mental health therapist and certified personal trainer. I wrote for Bad Kitty USA and I am a partner with 123Poling.com

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