Iām back in the room! Masters in Sports Performance Analysisā¦ completed it, mate! āļø
Fresh off the back of all that academic learning, Iām absolutely busting with new ideas to put into practice in my coaching and resources. But first: itās time to get back on track with the basics!
Right now, Iām hustlinā to get my own pole skills back on track after neglecting them over the last couple of years (damn, the inside leg grip skin burn is real), and getting my ācontentā game rolling again!
So today (for once!) Iām not talking about crosstraining but about āon the poleā training and skill progressions. In particular, the absolute magic that is creating small, manageable steps that can be layered to help us achieve those big, lofty tricks on our pole wish lists!
Got Pole Skillz?
Iāve heard a lot of talk on the āgram lately about ātrickflationā and how weāre so desensitised to seeing all these incredible tricks from super high level pole dancers that itās warped our tiny minds.
Once lauded, jaw dropping tricks of the past are now often seen as āfoundationā moves, or even classed as ābeginnerā level. But thereās no getting around the fact that what we do on the pole, even the so called ābasicsāā¦ this shiz is harrrrd! And for all the mesmerizingly stunning perfection that we see online and on stage, real life hasnāt changed all that much.
Yes, the trailblazers of the pole dance world are pushing the boundaries. The collective creativity of this little pole bubble we live in is constantly eclipsing itself! But that doesnāt change the fact that most people would not be able to walk into their first ever pole class and bust out a Superman right off the bat.
At beginner and intermediate level, especially outside of competitive pole dance, the vast majority of pole dancers are just out here working on, aiming for and celebrating the hell out of those ābasicsā. The āgram may no longer be impressed by your outside to inside leg hang switch, but damn right your pole buddy whoās seen you grafting on it for the last 5 weeks, and your pole coach who knows the work youāve put into it are gonna be cheering like you just did a 360 Fonji on stage with Snoop Dogg.
And, sure, weāre getting more efficient at teaching and using approaches from other fields like strength and conditioning to help students progress faster than ever, but the reality is pole is a skill and, like all skills, it takes time to learn and build to those higher levels. Thereās no short-cut to that.
While Iām busy clawing back my previous skill level, itās made me acutely aware that we really do take a lot of our ābasicā skills for granted and we shouldnāt ā we are literal magic!
Allegra: layering the building blocks
So… let’s talk about skill building! A step-by-step approach that builds gradually over time ticks the boxes for both skill acquisition itself (i.e. the cognitive process of learning and developing motor skills) *and* the more physical side of things (i.e. building the necessary strength and flexibility to perform a skill).
Deconstructing individual skills into small chunklets that can be progressively layered over time, allows us to build confidence, understanding, *and* gradually make all the physical adaptations needed to acheive the end goal = it’s the perfect approach for pole!
Although my speciality is crosstraining, I’ve been getting a lot of skill workout requests lately from my clients and my analytical brain just loves the process of breaking down tricks into smaller steps. I thought I’d share an example using the Allegra.
Hereās a quick video demo:
Yes, it was an afternoon well spent sticking googley eyes on my hands and feet for that skit.
Thereās more than one way to crack an egg. No doubt, there are other progressions and other ways of progressively working towards your Allegra, but this is an approach that makes sense to me. It feels manageable, and each progression along the way is a beautiful move in of itself. So it feels like lots of little goals to achieve and celebrate on the way to the end point. Weāre pole dancers, of course weāre gonna make it pretty on the way!
Allegra Progression 1: A good, solid, comfortable Flatline
My first progression is a Flatline. Of course, getting to that Flatline has its own progressions, too! But this is our start point for this particular series of progressions, so you need to be super comfortable with your Flatline first before moving on toā¦
Allegra Progression 2: Bending the knee over the arm in the Flatline
Iām sure this move probably has an actual name, but here we are. Check out the video above to see how I’m getting into this, but basically I’m holding the pole with that inside hand and bending the leg over that arm. Note that at this point, the pole is in the āsquishyā bit between the pelvis and ribs. *At no point is the pole squishing into the ribs!*. Once this feels comfortable, you can move on toā¦
Allegra Progression 3: Arching the back
This is the most important step IMO! Itās this back arch that will help make room for the pole when you start to rotate your back towards the pole. Without the back extension, thatās usually when people feel the pole is making contact with their ribs in the Allegra. It shouldnāt! I find that it makes more sense to get the back arch FIRST, before you start to add the rotation!
Allegra Progression 4: The rotation
Just to be clear: the pole is *still* NOT squishing against my ribs! The main place Iām feeling the grip point is in that top leg! Iām keeping the back arch from progression 3 and adding the rotation onto that.
If you find this step tricky, you might need to work on your mobility ‘off the pole’. In particular, hip adduction (inner thigh flexibility) and spinal rotation as well as that back and hip extension!
Pssst… I have a crosstraining app for that! Not only does it include ‘off the pole’ trick-specific workouts, but now features ‘on the pole’ skill workouts, too – complete with skill-specific warm ups and, of course, gradual progressions like the ones you’re seeing in this post!
Allegra Progression 5: Extending the leg
Hello there, open Allegra! Tip: if youāre getting Progression 4 but extending the leg is your sticking point, again, it could be a flexibility thing! In addition to the flexibility demands already mentioned, straightening the leg adds an additional challenge for the hamstrings and inner thigh muscles of that top leg ā and itās strength in our quads that is creating the leg extension.
Allegra Progression 6: Connecting the foot and hand!
Et Voila!
Anatomically, connecting the hand and foot adds in some shoulder extension as well as additional flexibility demand for the hip flexors and adductors on that bottom leg, plus active strength in the glutes to bring the leg into extension. Good mobility in hip rotation will give you more scope to play around with the shape. Again, working on your mobility ‘off the pole’ will be your friend, here!
If youāre *super* flexi then once youāve connected the foot and hand, you can extend further into the Allegra, straightening the bottom leg more to get those *chefās kiss* lines.
Full Allegra workouts
I know crosstraining is my whole thang, but fun fact: my crosstraining app now has loads of trick-specific āon the poleā skill and conditioning workouts, too! Yay!
Think skill-specific warm ups, mobility and engagement drills and progressive layering. š
āOnā and āoffā the pole Allegra workouts have just been added this month! Come get after it with us, weāre building our own little nerdy training community! Click here to find out more!
(Written by a human: Neola Wilby Msc, Strength and Conditioning Coach)
