Bird of Paradise Progressions!

The Bird of Paradise mish continues…

In case you missed it, this week on the blog we’ve been Bird of Paradise-ing all over the place.

If you didn’t catch our Bird of Paradise Biomechanics vid – whatcha waiting for?! You can go check that out here >>> Bird of Paradise Biomechanics! 

…and while we’re on the subject of #BirdofParadise, I wanna talk a little more about conditioning and progressions!

Starting off the pole

If you’re currently living a Bird of Paradise-less existence and wanna be strutting your tail feathers in this move one day, it’s a good place to start… off the pole.

Why? Because working towards actively achieving the ‘shape’ required in a deloaded, ‘off the pole’ position, before gradually adding the strength and skill demands of gripping the pole (and the complications and additional forces that come with spinning upside down!) is always a smart call.

Here’s Pole PT Advanced Instructor, Colleen Jolly, demo-ing some off the pole flexibility checks for this move.

I’m hoping that, looking at the biomechanical demands of the Bird of Paradise – and seeing these real-life flexibility demos from Colleen will help you to consider your own strengths and weaknesses in these elements.

With that knowledge, you can start to explore and identify the areas YOU need to focus on so you can select the right progressions for your own unique strength and skill level.

You can check out our ‘No Pole Bird of Paradise Workout‘ for some off the pole exercise ideas!

In this post, I just wanted to share a couple of ‘on the pole’ Bird of Paradise progression ideas, too!

Remember, the progressions YOU need may look very different to this, depending on your strength, flexibility and skill starting point!

On the Pole Bird of Paradise Progression #1

On the Pole Bird of Paradise Progression #2

Why are progressions like this important?

I’m glad you asked! The answer is: PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD!

Using progressions like those demonstrated above is the key to creating gradual, progressive overload for your bird of paradise so you can get there logically, safely and feeling strong and confident! Instead of heading straight for the end move before your body is ready and ending up frustrated, or worse… injured.

Smart progressions allow you to work on elements of strength ✓ and skill ✓ for your bird of paradise, without fully loading the position. Yay progressive overload!

PS – if you want to know more about progressive overload and why it’s important for pole dancers, you can read alllll about it here! >>> Gotta Chair Before you can Pheonix – Progressive overload in pole dance!