POLE
This last weekend I took my first pole workshop with a traveling instructor. Even though I didn't find it overly helpful (or worth the money), I still consider it a milestone in my pole fitness journey. The instructor was Brynn Route, and we did a series of unconnected floor choreography sequences. I didn't find it very helpful because it wasn't applicable to anything else, and I really wanted to learn some actual pole tricks. If I'm paying $90 for a session, I want to get something out of it that I wouldn't from a regular class (or YouTube).
One of the other girls, Jill, was struggling just as much as I was with a lot of the moves in the workshop (Brynn was super nice, but she only showed each complicated sequence twice without a breakdown before having us do it), which was fantastic in camaraderie. At the end of the workshop she turned to me and said, "you're so strong," which just made my life. I told her I didn't really know how to respond because no one's ever said that to me before, but I appreciated it because I've been working really hard to get stronger. Honestly, I always thought she was much stronger than me, so I was so surprised to hear her say that. It made me so happy!
I'm also taking a Pole 2 / Lap 2 class because I wanted to focus on expanding my lap repertoire. Unfortunately, the only had a hybrid class, and the lap part of it is very minimal. In general, it's a rather disappointing class, though the teacher is nice. I just don't feel like I'm really getting what I wanted out of it. There's nothing related to lap that I didn't already know, and in general it's just an incredibly slow moving class. I don't even feel like I'm getting a good workout.
However, at the end of yesterday's P2/L2 class the instructor did a flag. I figured if she was doing it, it was okay for me to practice it, too; so I gave it a shot and actually got it! Solidly! It was the first time it clicked and I couldn't believe I was doing it. One of the girls in the class squealed out in excitement as I was getting down and said it was she loved my 'side plank'(!). I just stared at her for a second because I couldn't believe I had done it and that this girl I thought was in an upper level, better than me, was impressed by something I had done.
We'll see how my learning style/abilities fit with this new form of exercise, because it's very different than my pole sessions. It took me a while to figure out how I best learned in pole, so I think I'll need some time to figure myself out in karate, as well. I'm going back to being a beginner in something, after getting used to being intermediate/advanced for so long (that's so weird to say).
I think the biggest challenge for me going forward in this sport is going to be memorizing the choreographed sequences (something I've always struggled with) and being consciously aggressively in my movements. I'm not aggressive and don't like to be. I can throw a pretty mean kick, but anything else is not very appealing to me.
That all said, before class yesterday I made sure to allot myself 20 minutes of stretching so that I wouldn't run into the same program as last time, where I pulled a muscle in my leg really badly. I learned fast that they don't really do stretching at this place and it will be up to me to do it beforehand.
Well, I must have done a really good job stretching because when I went into the middle splits during class I was barely an inch from the ground. It's the furthest I've ever made it in the middle splits, and I felt very proud of myself. One other girl was pretty close to the ground, as well, but the rest were really far away. I was also able to bend so far down while standing up that I could tuck my hands under myself backwards. The trick will be getting this to be more consistent without having to stretch for 20 minutes first...
This last weekend I took my first pole workshop with a traveling instructor. Even though I didn't find it overly helpful (or worth the money), I still consider it a milestone in my pole fitness journey. The instructor was Brynn Route, and we did a series of unconnected floor choreography sequences. I didn't find it very helpful because it wasn't applicable to anything else, and I really wanted to learn some actual pole tricks. If I'm paying $90 for a session, I want to get something out of it that I wouldn't from a regular class (or YouTube).
One of the other girls, Jill, was struggling just as much as I was with a lot of the moves in the workshop (Brynn was super nice, but she only showed each complicated sequence twice without a breakdown before having us do it), which was fantastic in camaraderie. At the end of the workshop she turned to me and said, "you're so strong," which just made my life. I told her I didn't really know how to respond because no one's ever said that to me before, but I appreciated it because I've been working really hard to get stronger. Honestly, I always thought she was much stronger than me, so I was so surprised to hear her say that. It made me so happy!
I'm also taking a Pole 2 / Lap 2 class because I wanted to focus on expanding my lap repertoire. Unfortunately, the only had a hybrid class, and the lap part of it is very minimal. In general, it's a rather disappointing class, though the teacher is nice. I just don't feel like I'm really getting what I wanted out of it. There's nothing related to lap that I didn't already know, and in general it's just an incredibly slow moving class. I don't even feel like I'm getting a good workout.
However, at the end of yesterday's P2/L2 class the instructor did a flag. I figured if she was doing it, it was okay for me to practice it, too; so I gave it a shot and actually got it! Solidly! It was the first time it clicked and I couldn't believe I was doing it. One of the girls in the class squealed out in excitement as I was getting down and said it was she loved my 'side plank'(!). I just stared at her for a second because I couldn't believe I had done it and that this girl I thought was in an upper level, better than me, was impressed by something I had done.
KARATE
So I officially enrolled in an Okinawan karate program in Lannon, WI, which is near Menomonee Falls. Taking a martial arts class has been on my bucket list for a few years now, but I wasn't sure which was the best one for me. I'm still not entirely 100% certain this is it (karate would have been my last guess), but I'm really interested in weapons training and this studio focuses a lot on it. What really drew me, though, was the owner and the other students who go there. I really dig his do-what's-best-for-you, no pressure philosophy, and the students were all super welcoming. I also really like his wife, who seems to be there a lot and is super kind and helpful.
I think the biggest challenge for me going forward in this sport is going to be memorizing the choreographed sequences (something I've always struggled with) and being consciously aggressively in my movements. I'm not aggressive and don't like to be. I can throw a pretty mean kick, but anything else is not very appealing to me.
That all said, before class yesterday I made sure to allot myself 20 minutes of stretching so that I wouldn't run into the same program as last time, where I pulled a muscle in my leg really badly. I learned fast that they don't really do stretching at this place and it will be up to me to do it beforehand.
Well, I must have done a really good job stretching because when I went into the middle splits during class I was barely an inch from the ground. It's the furthest I've ever made it in the middle splits, and I felt very proud of myself. One other girl was pretty close to the ground, as well, but the rest were really far away. I was also able to bend so far down while standing up that I could tuck my hands under myself backwards. The trick will be getting this to be more consistent without having to stretch for 20 minutes first...
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