Pole Dance Primer. The OM GYM!

Posted by WorldDance Fitness on March 10, 2009

Pole Dance Primer. The OM GYM!
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Inversion...ahhh!

By Aruna

 

Anyone who’s ever tried shimmying up a pole or hanging upside down on one knows it ain’t easy. If you’ve never tried but want to—let me warn you. It takes inner thighs like vice grips and triceps, biceps, lats & abs of steel. Of course, dancing on the pole makes you strong. But we all need extra help building the strength and confidence to get to that point.

 

I use an OM GYM to build extra strength in abs, back and arms—both for my own training and in all the pole classes I teach. This aerial yoga, fitness and inversion prop is easy to use, portable and comes in bright colors. (Check out www.omgym.com). It’s an attractive unobtrusive piece of equipment that sets up and comes down very quickly and stores in a backpack. (You can hang the ropes from eye-hooks, around ceiling beams, or even around a horizontal tree branch.)

 

My 2 favorite moves for pole strength:

 

  1. Using just the handles (not the chair/sling) of the OM GYM, sit back into hips to make body L-shaped. Using lats and keeping shoulders down, pull chest up toward ceiling (keeping back slightly arched).

 

  1. Again, using handles only, pull knees to chest and attempt to invert to vertical pencil. For more fun take legs horizontal over head. When you come back to your feet (THIS IS IMPORTANT!) – bend elbows. Don’t come down with straight arms. Lower legs slowly.

 

Inverting on the OM GYM is also a delicious reward for your muscles after all your hard pole work!


7 comments

    • Posted by VillaSavvy on March 11, 2009
    • Ooo ... this looks like fun! A home gymnastics-esque exercise. And it really works?

    • Posted by Amanda on March 11, 2009
    • Wow that sounds like hard work! I'm impressed - I've watched pole dancing and it obviously requires a ton of strength, but I guess I never thought about how people got to being ON the pole. Wow!

    • Posted by WorldDance Fitness on March 11, 2009
    • Yes, it works. Building lat strength (back muscle) is important so you don't hurt your shoulders when you climb. And you've got to have strong abs just to invert. The Pencil does the trick. There are lots more exercises to do on the OM GYM (see their website: www.omgym.com). As for pole dvd's I recommend Jamilla Demille's. This former Ms. Pole Dance Australia has 5 dvd's and her teaching is clear and precise. Love her!

    • Posted by VeritasEtHumanitas on March 11, 2009
    • Are pole dance classes only for women, or are there classes for guys too?

    • Posted by WorldDance Fitness on March 11, 2009
    • Our best pole dancer at our studio is a guy! His name is Michael and he likes to teach men in his Pole Medicine class. He got very buffed and lean from 3 months of solid training!

    • Posted by Katie on April 16, 2009
    • I've never heard of this before, but it's pretty cool. I can see how this would be really thrilling and a great work out. Who invested this crazy/awesome thing?

    • Posted by WorldDance Fitness on May 05, 2009
    • We are starting classes in Yoga Sling Fitness at our studio, WorldDance Fitness, 40 Greenfield Ave. San Anselmo, CA 94960. 415-457-8787. worlddancefitness.com

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