I was persuaded to accompany a young friend (allegedly for moral support) to a pole dancing taster class recently. So I read the preparation instructions carefully (shorts, vest top, bare foot, no jewellery, water, hand towel) and set off for the Nuffield Centre in Twickenham on a cold, wet and windy Tuesday evening.
Apart from the fact that I was the oldest, heaviest and probably least fit amongst the 20 or so girls in the studio I felt quite comfortable. After about 10 minutes of gentle stretch and warm-up exercises our lithe and happy leader organised us into groups of three or four around a pole and we were off.
First, we just had to just hold onto the pole and walk around it. Easy enough. And we giggled a fair bit.
Then we were shown a sort of step and sweep move. The instructor looked very graceful as she swing around the pole. We laughed during our attempts but also spoke encouraging words to each other as we improved. After a few attempts we built confidence and sort of swung around and it began to look more natural.
Then she showed us how to finish this move by adjusting our grip on the pole and bending backwards. Again, a little practice and we started to get into the swing of things. Literally. The instructor walked around the groups and provided advice and encouragement.
Then we attempted a basic fireman. Not so easy. This requires a sort of swinging motion while grasping that rather slippery pole with your knees. Of course, lacking confidence we used our inner thighs. Red inner thighs all round. My young companion managed to dislodge our pole at this stage and it was quickly put back into the right place. No harm done and everything normal.
The final move we were shown was a windmill. This required gripping the pole in a different way – and higher – and stretching out our legs in an arc. Again, looks easy when you watch but somewhat tricky when you give it a go. More giggles amongst our group as we each tried the move but we got there in the end.
Before we knew it, our hour was up so after a few cool-down exercises we were on our way.
Was it effective at exercise? Well, I didn’t feel anything in my core (which is what pole dancing is meant to be really good at) but I felt a comfortable ache in my upper arms and across my shoulders suggesting that something had been worked out.
So. If you are looking for a really fun and relatively easy way to work out when those New Year’s Resolutions come around, consider pole dancing.
Taster classes are arranged periodically by the organisers and cost £10 – and you can then choose to sign up for the beginner or intermediate courses afterwards. Once you achieve a certain level of competence you can return to a pay-as-you-go basis.
We were in Twickenham but there are Pole Studios in other London locations such as: Balham. Croydon, Kingston, Staines, Uxbridge and Wimbledon For a full list see: http://thepolestudio.co.uk/index.html
