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Pole Update 2

If I'm going to be writing a bunch of these, I might as well start numbering them.

Tonight was my last class of Pole 3. Next week I'll be on to Pole 5(!). I worked myself super hard, and I can feel it in every inch of my body. I'm making visible progress every week, which is really encouraging. I was super sick last Monday, so I was pretty awful at Pole 3; but by Thursday night's Strength and Conditioning class I was back to 80% and giving it my best. That night I was able to lift myself on the pole with just my arms 3 times; which doesn't sound impressive, but when I first started the class, I couldn't even lift myself once.

Tonight was the night that I finally got the inverted V. And more than once, though after a few times my arms were too tired to keep going. I was able to hold it solidly for a few seconds and come down with control. I also tried doing it in reverse from bat; and although I couldn't get it at first, Kate was able to give me some pointers and after that, I was able to get it. Coming down in reverse, my legs are straight; but going up, they bend at the knee. I'll work on that.

As a test, I also tried pulling my knees up to my chest in the invert prep and holding it. To my surprise, my arms just sort of clicked and I felt like I could hold the post forever. No more shaking!

Regarding shoulder mounts, I can now do circular scissor kicks almost gracefully (relatively speaking). When I first tried them on the first day of Pole 3 I was literally falling down the pole and couldn't even get my legs to go from side to side. I thought it was literally impossible. I was 100% sure that I was never going to be able to do it, that it was only for people in Level 8. But by week 4, I was already sticking on the pole and doing a mediocre kick. Now I can do them pretty easily, but they will still need working on.

My scissor kicks feel pretty much the same as the last few weeks: sometimes I can get my toes to touch the pole, and sometimes they fall just short. I felt like they just kind of stopped there and I didn't know how to get them to go up and over onto the pole. I asked Kate and she knew exactly where I was at. I couldn't get my feet up and over because I hadn't be taught the next step, which is to get your butt into the air. So she taught us the next conditioning move, which is to kick up into the shoulder mount, bring both legs together to the top, push your butt up, and hold it there like a pencil pose. Again, I thought surely, I couldn't do this. But lo and behold, on the first try I was able to get my feet up, as well as my butt, and keep both in the air for 1-2 seconds! My butt and legs were kind of bent (not in a perfect pencil), but they were up there! That tired me out again, so I was only able to get it one or two more times that night. As I said, I was really pushing myself.

One of the other cool things about tonight's class was how awesome and empowering all the other girls were with each other. I've become pretty close (again, comparatively speaking) with some of the advanced girls and today we were all helping each other our, sharing moves, sharing ideas and help. We were laughing a lot, messing around, and going 'ouch ouch ouch!' a lot as we tried new things or watched others do moves. The sweet, advanced girl next to me (Michelle) also struggles with brass monkey and hangbacks, so we were able to do that together, which is fantastic. She said she hasn't signed up for any other classes yet, so I'll be sad if I don't see her again. I'll have to find her on Facebook.

One of the moves I tried out and got today was Mercury.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d4/50/f0/d450f07b52b3059296e5444741dd057e--aesthetics-addiction.jpg

I thought it was going to be super easy, but it turned out to be incredibly painful. It took us a while to figure out how to do it (inside arm AND leg), and when I finally did, holy hell did it hurt! I could only hold it for a few seconds before I dropped to the floor. The other gals tried it, too, but they struggled with it, as well. I think everyone got it in the end, but when I tried to do it with my left arm, I just couldn't. That arm is so weak.

On my way home I felt strong, actually strong. Like I was in someone else's body. I was, and still is, a very weird feeling. I legitimately don't think I've ever felt this strong in my entire life. I suddenly feel like I might actually become one of the girls in the pictures above, and that is a foreign feeling. I'm not the athletic type, but what I actually am, or if I become one?

The only thing that's bothersome about it is that my body doesn't reflect the way it feels. I feel both healthy and strong, but my body looks neither. It's not the shape I want it to be. I have to trust that it will start to look better the better I become at this.

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