That pole move youāve been daydreaming aboutā¦ do you just keep trying it every now and again, not getting it and reverting right back to dreaming about it?
Yeah, yeahā¦ I do it too! *Cough* Janeiro *cough*.
Those pole move daydreams are all part and parcel of our passionate, ambitious nature as pole dancers and, hey, the visualisation of movement can actually be a helpful part of the process.
But what if I told you there’s a more productive way we can convert those dream moves to reality?!
Enter stage left: sport science!
Thereās one key principle of strength and conditioning in particular that can help us progress more logically on the pole. Itās called āprogressive overloadā!
In this post, Iāll explain the concept of progressive overload and how you can apply it to pole dance to create your own pole progressions and start shimmying your way towards that dreamy pole move.
Rather watch than read? I got you! Iāve summarised the key points of this post in the quick video recap below. Keep reading for all the details, including 10 (yes, 10!) different ways you can create progressions for pole moves!
What is progressive overload?
In the gym, the concept of progressive overload is pretty simple to understand and apply.
You wouldnāt walk into a gym for the first time, throw allll the weight plates you can find on a barbell and start squatting like a beast. Youād probably start with just the empty bar. Then each week, if you stayed consistent and made sure you got the right recovery between your sessions, youād gradually build your strength and be able to lift heavier and heavier weights over time, slowly increasing the number of weight plates on your bar until beast mode is eventually achieved.
Whatās happening in this process is that weāre āoverloadingā our body gradually. Weāre choosing weights that are challenging (but not TOO challenging) for us to lift. Our body responds to that challenge by making physical and neural adaptations so next time we go into the gym it can more easily handle the demand of that movement.
In other words, our muscles, tendons and ligaments are all slowly getting stronger and working more efficiently to cope with the load.
Once weāre strong enough to handle the initial challenge, we can then move past it and increase that challenge (i.e. increase the weight)ā¦ and the cycle of challenge-adaptation continues.
That process is gradual and takes time. If we try to jump ahead before our body has time to make the adaptations needed to rise to the challenge (in other words if we do something TOO challenging for our body), we either wouldnāt be able to make the lift and/or risk overloading our body too much, introducing potential for injury.
You see where Iām going with this, right? Jumping on the pole and trying to get into an Ayesha without taking any logical steps to prepare your body for it is the pole equivalent of strutting into the squat rack for the first time ever and trying to immediately squat 2 x your own bodyweight.
Just like we do in the gym, we can apply the same principle of progressive overload to the movements we do ON the pole, too!
Progressive overload in pole
With just our bodyweight to play with, progressions in pole arenāt quite as simple as gradually adding weight to a bar, but we just need to get a little more creative! As pole dancers, it just so happens that ācreativeā is one of our special powers!
Instead of adding weight plates over time, we can play with other variables to create logical steps that will allow our body to slowly make the physical and neural adaptations we need to achieve the shapes and movements weāre working on.
Whenever I have a client working towards a specific trick, weāll figure out ways to take a few steps back so we can create these more manageable, progressive steps to start moving productively towards that trick.
Below are the 10 variables that I usually play around with to create those step-by-step pole progressions.
10 ways to create progressions for pole moves
While skimming this list, please keep that dreamy pole move in mind! Can you use one or more of these variables to dial it back so you can start moving forwards with it in a more realistic, logical way?
Keep in mind, sometimes the variables overlap a little – and some of them can be combined together to create even MORE steps!
Time to plan those progressions!
#1 Can you do the movement (or part of it) with full support of the floor?
These variables are listed in no particular order, but using the support of the floor is actually a really good starting point for many pole tricks! It will allow you to practice a trick, or at least some part of the grip point, without putting your entire bodyweight into it.
The video example below is taken from my Inside Leg Hang Workout.
#2 Can you use assistance from a spotter, pull up bands or stability ball?
Yup, having someone spot you through a move totally counts as a progression! Youāre essentially performing the movement, but with a little help and guidance while you get used to the movement and build strength in it. *Thank you to our awesome pole instructors for supporting us and coping with the stray limbs flying while weāre learning whatās what upside down!*
Similarly, pull up bands can be useful to give you some assistance through a sticking point. They work well for lifts, like handspring deadlift, for example.
Oooft checkout this old video from the archives! š
A stability ball is another great tool you can use to work through movements with a little extra support – like inverting on a ball to help you work through the ātip backā in the invert, or using it to work on shoulder mounts, like in the example below (taken from my blog post Progressing from Invert to Shoulder Mount Tips).
#3 Can you increase and then gradually reduce the number of contact points?
Gradually removing contact points totally counts as progressive overload, too!
More contact points = more support and less load!
#4 Can you reduce the complexity?
Reducing the number of āmoving partsā in a trick by isolating and working on just one element of it is a great way to break it down into more manageable steps.
#5 Can you change your body position to make it easier?
We can adjust our body position to increase or decrease leverage and make a move more challenging / less challenging.
This oneās particularly useful for flag-type movements.
Gradually increasing the lever in a flag move: both legs tucked (short lever), one leg tucked (longer lever), both legs straight (heavier lever).
But it also works in lifts, too! If youāre working on a handstand deadlift, or a straight leg invert, for example, but doing it with both legs straight is a big fat ānopeā, then you can reduce the load by bending both legs, then progressing to one leg bent to help you build strength to do it with both legs straight.
#6 Can you decrease the range of movement?
This one applies to the many, many lifts and inversions we do on the pole.
If the full lift feels impossible, we can reduce the distance to make it easier. For example, in a handstand deadlift, lifting from a box/bench, then gradually reducing the height of the box/bench until eventually you can lift from yoga blocks ā and eventually the floor. Magical.
You can combine it with #5 too! In the video below, I’m demo-ing a handstand lift off a bench with one leg bent.
Pssst: Video is taken from my Pole Handstand Deadlift workbook which contains all my handstand deadlift progressions!
#7 Can you reduce the flexibility demand?
Rather than heading straight into the final position of a trick, can you start without extending fully into the end of your range of motion and gradually work further and further into your own end-range of flexibility? This will also help you to gradually increase the load and demand on your body as it adapts to the movement.
For example, keeping the front leg bent in a jade split instead of straightening it, then progressing to straightening it and then gradually increasing the leg extension and split angle over time.
#8 Can you adjust the entry points?
Our ultimate goal is to move in and out of a pole trick with ease, from different entries and exits, but when weāre working on the end point of a trick, we can sometimes make life harder for ourselves by adding extra load before/after the trick itself.
Finding an āeasierā entry point like getting into a trick from the floor without an invert can reduce how fatigued you are when you go into the trick, reducing intensity and potentially reducing the fear element by allowing you to practice a trick closer to the ground, where you can work on the skill and strength aspects safely and more confidently.
For example, you might be able to drop down into a brass monkey position from a seat, rather than performing a shoulder mount to get into it!
#9 Can you āreverseā the movement?
For tricks that involve lifting our bodyweight through the air, like shoulder mounts, inverts and handstand deadlifts, working on the ānegativeā of the movement can be useful.
Usually, the lowering part is much easier for us to handle, even though it involves the same key muscle groups. Getting up into the top position of the movement (usually with support or with a controlled leg sweep) then working on controlling the lower can be a useful progression to help build strength for the lift!
#10 Can you adjust tempo / timing?
Just like we do in the gym, we can also play with timing, reps, sets and rest times in our āon the poleā conditioning exercises to help create that gradual overload we need to get stronger and progress!
This variable can be particularly useful if you hit a plateau, in combination with other variables.
For exampleā¦ youāre working on your half flag and can now do it with both legs tucked (check you, ya baddie!), but doing it with one leg tucked and one straight is still a āhell naā ā in that case, you could keep doing the version with both legs tucked but increase the time youāre holding the tuck to build the additional challenge you need to progress to the next stage.
Not only does this apply to gradually increasing timed holds in static pole moves, but also slowing down lifts/inverts and/or slowing down lowering out of movements to increase time under tension.
Wait! This is important, too: do you need to work on individual strength/flexibility elements AWAY from the pole?
Although we’re talking āon the poleā progressions today, I have to mention āoff the poleā training because itās SUCH a key part of creating progressions when programming training.
Replicating a movement we need to achieve ON the pole in a de-loaded position completely away from the pole is a crucial start point for most pole tricks, particularly those that involve some degree of flexibility. Okay, okay… thatās basically ALL pole moves!
For example, if Bird of Paradise is on your wish list, itās best to start working on the flexibility to get into the position without the pole before adding the complication of doing it on the pole.
It sounds obvious, but in our rush towards greatness itās so easy to skip steps, and it can have such a huge impact on our long term success.
Even in something less obvious than BoP, there might be elements that we need to work on away from the pole to allow us to access the full position ON the pole. For example, the amount of hip rotation needed for a leg hang!
Knowing what exercises you’re gonna need requires an understanding of two things:
- The different elements of the trick you want to achieve; and
- Your own movement strengths and limitations!
Your trusty coach or pole instructor will be able to help you figure this part out, but if you want your own homework on that (of course you do, top marks Padawan!), my book Strength and Conditioning for Pole is the perfect place to start!
Time to create your steps!
Once you’ve figured out some different ways to ‘regress’ that elusive pole trick, as well as any off the pole training needed to compliment that, it’s time to get to work!
Put your progressions into a sensible order, start at the easiest point and work your way through them!
Remember that with pole progressions, things don’t usually work quite as linearly as they do in the gym. Some progressions will feel more productive for you than others, so don’t be afraid to play around with different progrsesions and combinations to find the ones that best suit where you’re at and the areas you need to work on most!
Take your time, stay patient and consistent! Trust the process – the magic will come!
If you enjoyed this post and want a little extra help figuring out your own strengths and weaknesses to create a training plan for pole, my book, Strength and Conditioning for Pole is the one! Available now in paperback or digital download!
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