Short answer: no. Let me explain why.
Pole dancing is really just skill training. It shouldn’t be the only form of exercise you do because we always want to prevent injuries!
Now, of course, there are dancers who only pole dance and don’t do any other form of exercise and they seem to be okay. But there’s still a couple of things to consider with that:
- Just because someone seems okay, doesn’t mean they are. Plenty of people are walking around with injuries and disabilites we don’t know about! Never judge a book by its cover.
- It depends what style of pole dancing they’re doing. Are they a low flow enthusiast? Are they performing advanced aerial tricks?
I would argue that regardless of what style of pole you’re doing, doing other forms of exercise will be safer and beneficial, but it’s even more imperative if you’re doing tricks on the pole.
Consistency and Injury Prevention
Let’s be honest, how many of us are always responsible and train both sides when pole dancing? I know I don’t! We know we should but sometimes we just wanna train the side that actually executes the moves we want! Haha.
I’m not saying I neglect my opposite side, but I don’t train it every session. Doing this for an extended period of time can be very dangerous! It can cause an imbalance in our muscles and lead to injuries. This is where having a consistent workout plan (outside of pole) can be very helpful.
When we’re doing full-body workouts off the pole, we are actively engaging all of our muscles on each side. We’re making sure each side gets the proper reps! This allows our bodies to at least be balanced and prepared to take on our weight once we’re ready to get in the air.
This is a win-win because:
- When we workout, it makes us that much stronger and prepared to lift our body weight up. It makes pole training much easier and even helps improve with transitions. Working out alone can cut your pole training sessions in half because you’ll execute your desired moves much faster.
- Because both sides are being properly warmed up and strengthened, it makes training your “bad side” less of a hassle. Those days when we are responsible and train the other side, it’s not nearly as difficult as it could be.
Types of Workouts to Cross Train With
There’s really so much you can do outside of pole dancing to add to your workout plan. You can do classic full-body workouts, or start doing yoga, martial arts, weight lifting, calisthenics, etc. Don’t limit yourself! Try new things out and see what works best for you.
I personally do home workouts because I have everything I need: weights, a bench, bands, etc. And being able to blast your own music while working out in the sun is such a blessing that I never take for granted!
There are so many resources online for you to work out in the comfort of your own home, but you can always reach out to a personal trainer if you aren’t sure where to get started!
My Personal Story
When I first found pole, it was all I would do! Which was fine for the time being, because I was still a beginner and wasn’t doing anything too intermediate. I mostly stayed on the ground and worked on finding my flow. As I transitioned to learning aerial moves, I was so excited and put all my focus on that.
One day, I learned how to transition from an inside leg hang (or flatline) to brass monkey. I was so excited but was struggling with it most of the class. I started to get the hang of it at the very end of class and stayed in the studio because there was open studio immediately after the class ended.
I kept working on the transition and I finally got it! And once I achieved the transition, I kept doing it over and over all open studio, trying to make it as smooth as I could at the time.
At the end of open studio, I ended up slightly hurting my wrist. It wasn’t anything major, but it was enough discomfort to make me take a few days off the pole in order to let it fully heal. And ever since that day, my wrist is still very sensitive and can be easily irritated, causing me to have to take breaks from pole. It has been over a year now since that incident!
Looking back, there were a few things I did wrong that could have prevented this:
- Not training for 2 hours straight, especially as a beginner pole student.
- Not ensuring proper hand grip for the transition. My instructor taught me correctly, but there were so many steps that it was easy for me to forget some of the steps, especially in open studio when she wasn’t there to correct me.
- Not prepping my body for that level of intensity by having a solid and consistent workout plan outside of pole dancing.
Not everyone will have my experience, but it’s not uncommon. Don’t assume that you will be okay! As we learn our body’s language, sometimes we end up pushing it too far because we didn’t see the proper warning signs.
Love Your Body Right
We love our bodies and want it to be in the best condition possible so that we can keep doing awesome things with it. Be sure to always check in with your body and learn how your body speaks to you so that you can prevent as many potential injuries as possible.
Take the time to properly prep your body for strenuous movement, even when you don’t want to. It’s better to take the extra time to strengthen and warm up your body than to potentially lose time training because of an injury that puts you out for an extended period of time.
Your body is the only thing you have with you until you die. Treat it well and let it know that you’re here to protect it! Our bodies naturally protect us from the inside. It is our job to protect it on the outside! It’s only fair.
Never rush your warm-ups and never rush your workouts! If you remain present, you have all the time in the world.
Happy dancing!
