Pretty much every time we get on the pole we’ll spend a moment or two, if not more, thinking about our grip. Are we too slippery for spins or will we get stuck upside down on the pole? No matter what happens, we’re often unhappy with our current grip.

I’ve got to a point now where I can do most of my spins without worrying about sliding. My inverts tend to be a little different. Somedays I have such trouble gripping on and slide instantly, and others I stick so much I can go from new move to new move and still be hanging on without even trying.

Across different classes you meet a lot of different people with varying degrees of grip. A lot of people get nervous the first time they come to class and often sweat and get clammy hands, making it even harder to spin. And then there’s the other end of the scale where you can hear their hands sticking to the pole as they spin.

‘What Can I Do To Improve My Grip?’

This is an inevitable question from most beginners. Although grip aids are an obvious solution, I try everything else first!

I tell everyone that moisturiser is the devil when it comes to pole. Some even find that razors with moisturiser in them make them slide when inverting too. We wipe the poles as often as needed – some even cleaning between every single spin! (Which I think is probably overkill!) We clean the poles with vodka and some ladies find that a little dab of vodka on their hands helps improve their grip instantly.

So.. Then We Turn To Grip Aids

When I first starting pole dancing I used to be anti the idea of grip aids. I thought that it was a way of cheating. If I couldn’t get the move by myself then there was no point.

Then I took part in a competition where everyone was putting on copious amounts of different varieties of grip aids and some even wearing gloves. I thought again that it seemed like they were cheating in some way. That said, it was my choice not to use grips. They weren’t breaking any rules – it was simply my opinion and choice not to use them.

As time wore on, the more I poled the more off-days I had. For some reason the pole in my house is a lot more slippery than any of my poles in class or in any class I’ve been in. I clean it with all of the same products and do not use moisturiser. It gets very frustrating. The most annoying time is when I have put away an hour or two to pole at home and I slide so much that I can’t practice any of the moves that I’ve been dying to work on.

Time To Give It A Go

The first grip product I used in a class was back when I was a student – I instantly stuck to the pole! It was great to be able to actually do the move that I was trying to nail without slipping. The bad point was that my skin was sticking to the pole like glue and I felt almost like I needed to peel it off… But I was looking for more grip!

Since that first day, I’ve been a lot more willing to give grips a go. I no longer see it as cheating, but more as a way to get to where I need to be. If I can nail a move with grip, then all I have to do is use less grip each time until I can do it all by myself. Somedays my body naturally sticks to the pole that I can just go straight into those moves!

I’ve now been trying to experiment with different types of grip aids and almost have a different one for each type of move I am trying. I tend to pole for as long as I can with out any aids and only when I simply can’t grip myself any longer I tend to go for grip. I do not use grip in class as students often follow my example and I don’t want them to start relying on it. That said, if they bring anything with them and want to use it, I won’t stop them. Generally the girls with the grip stick to the same poles as one another so they won’t affect the other students.

What Grips Are On Your List?

At the moment, I have at least 8 different grip products in my pole bag, probably more!

I am currently compiling a list of grip products to review to see which comes out on top!

There’s so much to choose from, so how do you know what to go for?

What grip products would you like to see on my list? 🙂