For a while now I’ve been telling anyone who will listen about my new pole studio 🙂 And by that I mean that I have a spare room in my new house where I have put my pole up.

I spend so much time there that I thought it was about time to let everyone else in as well…

There are a few things that I keep in my pole room to make sure that my workouts are the most efficient and productive that they can be.

The Most Important Things

The main (and most obvious) thing that I have in my pole room is of course my pole! I have it set to static mode but very occasionally have it on spinning when I’m feeling brave. I’m lucky enough to be able to have almost the perfect amount of room around the pole when I swing, although I do sometimes have to angle myself to make sure I don’t kick anything. I also keep my pole tools close by so I can change the static or spinning mode and tighten the pole when necessary.

I love music so much and find it hard to do any kind of workout without music, that I have to have my speakers on loud. I prefer my iPod to the radio as I tend to lose momentum as soon as the radio comes on. In this way I can can the mood of the music as to what I’m feeling.

My phone with its camera is one of the most important things I use. I film new moves that I learn to give me more inspiration and to show me how far I’ve come. I’ve filmed one or two complete workouts before but now I tend to film something every time I workout. It’s much easier to track my progress this way.

I also like to keep a yoga mat and a yoga ball in there. I use my mat to help me with my stretches and to save my knees from the floor in other stretches – the pole does enough damage to my body without adding stretching injuries too! I like to stretch my back on the yoga ball as well as doing sit ups and working on my balance. I don’t always have time to use both of these but simply having them in sight means that I’m always reminded that I need to do my stretches.

My Bag Of Tricks

I use pole wipes constantly to keep my pole clean and ready for action. My trick is to use the wipe once when it is wet and then keep it when it is dry as I have found that this really helps to give me great grip on the pole.

I like to keep my pole saviours around me and by this I mean the little things that can help me grip more. I vary rarely use grip aides although I find that having them with me means that I have the option if I need them. The one I use the most is Liquid Grip for practising hard static moves. I’ve also got every grip aid I’ve ever tried including Mighty Grip and pole gloves – both tack and non-tack gloves.

My other little item is shaving gel which I use on those days when I have no grip at all… for no apparent reason. All you have to do is put a small amount on your thighs – or where needed and off you go. Grip ahoy!

To Keep Me Going

Whenever I pole I keep a notebook and pen with me so that I can write down new moves I want to try or ones to work on in the following session. I also can track my own progress on the pole almost like a pole diary. It’s nice sometimes to go back and read from the days when I struggled with the pole sit and always had thigh long bruises.

I have my PDC Syllabus to hand for those days when I can’t think of what move to try next. It great fun to flick through the book and pick a move at random… sometimes you’ll get a nice easy one, other times you best get ready for those bruises.

I also keep my pole DVDs handy for when I need a little more inspiration or break down of moves. When I do feel like something completely new I’ll take my laptop in with me so that I can watch a DVD or have a look on YouTube for inspiration or break downs. I now tend to use YouTube more as there are so many great new moves available at the click of a button. And besides, I’ve worn my DVDs down!

And Then There’s The Clothes

I take a few different items of clothing in with me. Although I have my standard pole hot pants and sports bra, I also find that I heat up and cool down so quickly that I seem to change clothes for every pole move… I go through normal outfits this many times so maybe that’s just me.

I pole in bare feet as I like to try many different moves over the course of a workout and find that heels get in the way when I’m learning new moves.

Just One More Thing…

I do have a little sofa-bed in there too. The fact that it is a sofa-bed is simply because it is meant to be a spare room, so I can only imagine a few guests have had a cheeky swing on the pole. I don’t tend to sit down during my workouts but the idea is to have friends over who I can show my moves to and teach them a few pole tricks. I love to share the Pole Fever 🙂