Technique – Page 3 – Mel Nutter as Baudelaire

CategoryTechnique

Flip it and Reverse It

Bouncing off an article I wrote last week about flipping tricks upside down, I was so excited to hear about Natasha Wang’s training tip!

“take a combo you’ve been practicing and reverse it”

For ease of explanation let’s refer to a simpler combo.

Usual Combo	In Reverse
straddle	inside leg hang
outside leg hang	push to butterfly
butterfly	outside leg hang
sweep to inside leg hang	straddle

Already just from word choice (sweep to as opposed to push to) it can been seen that the technique components and flow are different. Working with gravity and the spin or working against it, challenge your strength and possible contact points.

Just like trying things on your goofy side, certain combos are going to feel completely whack when reversed!

Similarly, some transitions in reverse are going to look smoother than others, but in terms of creative choreography this would be a great way to spice up a routine and surprise a pole familiar audience.

I gave it shot this week during my home practice.

Forwards…

and in reverse ….

Tag me in your videos on Instagram and Facebook! I’d love to see what you come up with!

Upside Down, upside down!

April 9, 2016 / mel

Mr squiggle

United Pole Artists recently released an article recently about learning pole tricks from the floor. I am a huge supporter of this kind of training especially as a home poler who doesn’t always have a spotter. By working out the contact points and body position of a trick from the floor you can focus on technique without the risk of falling. Floor based straddles and shoulder mounts are also great conditioning exercises!

A conversation online about the pole trick Crescent Moon got me thinking about extending on this idea.

Crescent Moon

The Crescent Moon comes from a layback, and requires some pretty amazing shoulder and back flex to reach around under yourself, forming an upside down Nike tick shape. Sadly, I have seen girls fall while attempting this trick as when you push through your arms and shoulders to arch you back, you can lose grip in your thighs and tumble off the pole in a crumpled mess 🙁

Sharing ideas about how to train this move as part of the online discussion thread, I was surprised that I was the only one who suggested trying it from the floor – and upsidedown!

flipped Consider the Crescent Moon shape and now flip it. Mine is not so bendy but you will get the idea. It’s much like a cobra pose in yoga, up the pole this is known as a Dove. But could you make the same shape on the floor? Legs along the floor and arms up and over your head back to the pole?

It’s also interesting to think about tricks as upside down version of other tricks.

A Ballerina is very similar to a inside leg hang.

A Russian lay back and a Seahorse have similar leg positions.

A Superman and a bottom hand plank.

Even a figure skater and a brass monkey.

See them for yourself, lock your screen rotation and scroll through your Instagram feed upside down!

I challenge you! Enhance your pole training and challenge your brain as you consider what other moves might be possible inverted, or right way up. Tag me in your posts on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. I’d love to see what you come up with!

*For those not privy to the Mr Squiggle reference, this charming puppet was the character in a kid’s TV programme aired in Australia from 1959 – 1999. The man controlling the marionette was leaning over a shelf off screen, which meant all of his drawings were “upside down upside down” now a loved catch phrase along with the line from the grump blackboard – “Hur-ry up!”. Essential viewing.

A Story about Stretching

March 26, 2016 / mel

For anyone involved in the pole dance community, you would have had a thousand involved conversations about flexibility and stretching. Studios everywhere offer conditioning classes to compliment your dance practice, and most people’s pole goal list is dotted with dreams for flat splits and bendy backs. After a few months of dancing you may have also amassed a stash of foam rollers, thera bands, and spiky balls to support you on your journey to flexiness!

Coming from a yoga background, I already felt I understood the benefits of increased mobility. But it wasn’t until I started pole that I really focused on stretching and learning about muscle groups and how I could work towards my flexibility goals.

StudioVeena was my first inroad into dedicated stretching in 2013. She still offers tutorials for front and middle splits and back flex and encourages foam rolling as part of a warm up to increase blood flow and support muscles relaxation. The tutorials are between 20-30min, the perfect length to fit into my schedule. After riding home from work, I was already well warmed up and could foam roll and then stretch before dinner. Doing this nearly everyday, I was making amazing gains on my front splits.

I also purchased Delavier’s Stretching Anatomy book, which offered 130 stretching exercises covering the entire body. The diagrams and clear details about how each stretch targeted different muscles really helped me articulate to myself how each stretch was benefiting my body. I could also begin to see how different stretches related to different pole moves, discerning how a strong and stable Butterfly pole pose would require strength and mobility in my back muscles, chest, shoulder, hips and glutes.

It was around 2014 that I started to learn about the difference between dynamic stretching and static stretching. My yoga classes and the StudioVeena series at the time were using static stretches. Cleo had just released her Rockin’ Legs N Abs DVD and I was excited to spice things up.

As well as a being a high intensity warm up and cardio challenge, Cleo worked through exercises for dynamic flex with lots of high front kicks, side kicks and back kicks. The women on the DVD are incredibly flexible and strong and inspirational in their range of motion. It was a great full body workout, but I have found that I don’t use it as much as I had hoped.

Sometimes dynamic stretching gets a back rap, the concern that if you bounce through a stretch or kick your up into a split without the proper strength to hold it there, you risk injury.

Personally, I am very careful with dynamic stretching. It’s important to remember that pole, like yoga, is a body work practice, and you need to listen to your body. After tearing both hamstrings, my physio advised that to reduce the chance of re-injury, I should take it slow with my tendons. If you have grown up with dance and ballet, your muscles and tendons may respond differently. I’m a massive advocate for “it’s never too late to start” but please remember that if your body is older and you don’t have a background in physical activity, diving in to the Rockin’ Legs N Abs video may be too dynamic for your body to handle.

It’s been a long road to recovery after my hamstring injuries. Physically it has taken nearly two years for my hamstrings to feel like stretching again. Emotionally it has also taken nearly two years to work through the fear that I might tear them again too. Attending a flexibility class or even just stretching at home used to bring up a lot of anxiety about damaging my body and I would get flash backs from the moment of injury. Thankfully, time away from stretching my splits allowed me to focus on other goals – back flex, strength tricks and dance flow have been the main focus on my dance practice for the last 2 years.

I still dream about the splits, and my feet touching my head in a back bend! Recently, a friend told me about the Easy Flexibility series and after doing one video with her I bought a split stretching series. I was pleased to find the videos offering a balance between static and dynamic stretches and stemming from an awareness of anatomy that made sense to me. It is also refreshing to be able to complete a video and not be sore the next day. I have been able to get back into a routine of stretching everyday which is great to make progress towards my flexibility goals but also supports range of motion and general well being.

Last month, Indi Pole Wear also released a stretching guide for pole dancers
outlining a sequence of 22 stretches for back and hip mobility. The stretches are familiar (cobra pose, pigeon etc) but also show how you can use a chair or pole to correct form or increase the stretch. The authors also comment on how important your breathing is to promote a relaxed stretch. I’d recommend the sequence to anyone starting out on their stretching journey but like all tutorials that can be used without the spot of a trained instructor, be aware off what your body is telling you in each exercise and take it slow.

Stretching can be a wonderful practice to do on your own, even meditative and insightful as you engage with the process and movements of your own body. But when pushing yourself to get flexier, if you don’t have a teacher to correct your form or remind you to breath, you do run the risk of injury.

There will be a summary of this story in the Cross Training Series, including tutorials of my favourite stretches, as I genuinely believe stretching is beneficial for your pole practice. But I hope that this story inspires you start or return to stretching, either in a class at your studio or at home with one of the methods I have used. If you have a great stretching practice I’d love to hear about it too! Please comment below or get in touch with me through Instagram or Facebook.

Safe stretching!

Cross Training For Aerial – Part 4: Stall Bars

March 18, 2016 / mel

For both strength and flexibility training, sometimes your best choice is to try a new apparatus!

You might have stall bars in your studio, local gym, or maybe in an outdoor playground, and they can be a great asset to your pole training – just ask Oona.

I have been using the stall bars during my warm up and for added conditioning, supporting my strength and flexibility training as well as alignment. My work on the bars has also supported building strength and coordination on my goofy side, the horizontal format allowing me to focus on technique before taking those skills to the pole.

Here are just three ways I’ve been building my stall bar workout:

**Flexibility**

I have many posts about how yoga has helped with my back bends, but the stall bars open up new opportunities for opening my chest and shoulders.
Drop backs can be scary and without a spotter or the right technique you risk crunching through your lower back or hurting your wrists as you land. The stall bars can support you as you walk your way down to the floor, or back up. It’s often gentler on the wrists to hold on to the rails and you can move slowly, allowing you to focus on alignment and technique.

**Speaking of Technique**

The theory behind pole moves talks a lot about push vs pull, stacking joints, muscle engagement, and breath. When you’re upside-down, however, it’s hard to remember which leg is your left and right let alone think about all those things!
Lots of work on the stall bars can happen with your feet on floor, or at least just off it, inviting you to work on engaging muscle groups and consider alignment before you go upside-down. This kind of training will build muscle memory and strength to reduce the risk of injury or poor technique in more advanced moves.

**Strength**

Let’s face it, crunches are boring! If you’re a pole dancer, you probably find lots of other exercise boring, which is one of the reasons you started dancing in the first place! But, what if there was a way to make strength training fun again?
Hanging leg lifts are a great ab workout and will incorporate many more muscle groups than sit ups on the floor. Try them with bent knees, straight legs, to the side, air walking. Your straight leg straddles will thank you!

For more advanced stall bar tricks, please check out the experts – Oona and Nadia make their workout look just like kids on a jungle gym! What could be more fun than that?

Train Both Sides

February 2, 2016 / mel

Last year I made a conscious effort to train both sides. I even went back to basics in the studio, joining a lower class to work on inside and outside leg hangs and simple combos.

And I can finally say, that it’s starting to pay off!

If you’re an advanced pole dancer you will know that many combos at higher levels require you to interchange with both sides. To land on your good side split, you might need to start on a goofy side leg hang. Or to make sure your strong arm is in the right place in your ayesha, you will need to hook your goofy leg at the beginning of the sequence.

Essentially, you should have no good and bad side for the fundamental moves. Super human pole dancers seem to be able to do everything on both sides, but let’s stick to the basics for now.

The list of moves I was working through for both sides is as follows:

floor spins (chair spin, angel, back grab, front hook etc) – left hand high, right hand high
climbs – left leg in front, right leg in front
straddle – both sides
layback – left leg on top, right leg on top
hangback – cross knee release and cross ankle release
hello boys / wrist seat – left hand high, right hand high
inside leg hang – both sides
outside leg hang – both sides
cupid – both sides
pike – both sides
butterfly – both sides
shoulder mount – both sides
brass monkey – both sides

I’d also like to add that training both sides for these fundamental moves also helps you remember the contact points and important components of their technique. Sometimes we have learned a move so long ago we’ve filed it in muscle memory and are less aware off what our bodies are doing to hold on. Relearning the basics was also a great mental exercise in discovering what my body was actually doing in each pose.

I’d like to add jade split, ayesha variations and allegra on both sides this year. Especially after seeing the fruits of my labour for the list above in the last few months.

Surprisingly my shoulder mount on both sides was easier than an outside leg hang and cupid. Even my goofy brass monkey seemed to stick more often! It’s taken a long time to feel secure hanging by my goofy leg. But then today .… break through!

Cupid on both sides, so secure, no hands! Success!

So please persist! It hurts, there are bruises, but you will get there! It will help your body feel more balanced and it will make advanced combos so much less scary when you are asked to land in a goofy leg hang!

Bodywork

August 28, 2015 / mel

Having always been involved in some form of physical activity, be it now pole, yoga, or athletics and hockey back when I was younger, I have gained a fairly thorough but basic knowledge of anatomy.

I know that the hamstrings are the large muscles at the back of my thigh. I know that I have calves, quads, three types of glutes, hip flexors, psoas, etc. etc.

In more recent times I have learned about fascia, the tissue that is almost like a second skin surrounding the muscles, tendons, and joints. Fascia can be released through massage and foam rolling, which is an amazing way to begin stretching or soothe muscles after a performance!

I know that protein helps you build muscles, and severe DOMS can keep you away from another workout for days!

But it wasn’t until I tore both hamstrings (a misadventure from 2013), and started doing my own research into flexibility and how the muscles, tendons, and joints function collectively, that I began to understand how my body works. And, perhaps more importantly, how my body needs to work together.

Take this exercise from StudioVeena (one of my favourite forums for all things pole related!).

Veena explains:

“This exercise may not look like much but it’s important and helpful, in understanding the scapula and how to properly engage during training for pole or aerial work. If you are new to this exercise the movement may be very small, the more you practice the better control you’ll have. Avoid raising the shoulders up the ears, keep them down and trapezius relaxed.”

After you Google where your scapula and trapezius are, please take heed of another avoidance warning.

Avoid flaring the ribs, articulating the motion from the shoulders and not from the chest and back.

It took me about 5 re-tapes to finally get a consistent shot of me doing the exercise properly. I was transfixed! Why did my version not look like Veena’s? And after unpacking the motion, turns out it was rib flare. Caused by what? By not activating through my abdominal muscles.

This was a revelation to me that my shoulders were connected to my abs! It makes sense now, of course I need to stabilise my torso as I articulate my shoulders back and forth. I need to keep balanced! But my body also seems to have the bad habit of flaring my ribs and arching through the lower back, keeping me balanced, but compensating for each other’s bias.

And this is the crux! I could articulate my shoulders further backwards if I allow the movement to continue through my chest and abdominals. This movement when viewed from the side would create a curve, starting at the top of my back, coming forward over my sternum, continuing across flared ribs, and exiting my body as it arches through the lower back.

But a more stable movement, and one that will actually support shoulder strength and mobility, is one that isolates the movement to the area of the shoulders and upper back. For now, it may look less impressive. But for the longevity of my body (particularly my lower back!) it’s a step in the right direction.

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