One such activity that works every part of the body while also being beneficial to the soul and mind is pole dancing.
Before starting this sport like a professional dancer, you must learn many things as how to build strength for pole dancing? how long does it takes to build strength?…
Many people are afraid of building huge, manly muscles, which makes them choose to run for a mile when they think about strength training.
Combining strength training into every pole dancing session you perform is crucial if you want to get better with the pole.
Does this activity require any specific training to build strength? Let’s scroll down this article to learn some exercises for strength and flexibility.
Why Should You Build Strength For Pole Dancing?
Pole dancing requires a lot of strength training. Most beginners find pole dancing difficult because they believe they lack the necessary strength.
Frequent fractures, bruising, and poling injuries are a few side effects of weak muscles and bones.
Untrained dancers, however, have the potential to irreversibly harm specific body parts if given the wrong direction and guidance.
Hanging, climbing, and other physical activities on the pole may become challenging if your muscles are weak.
Pole dancers frequently engage in conditioning workouts to maintain their strength and fitness as they advance and master new techniques.
Depending on the person, the amount of force needed varies.
It is crucial to develop the stamina for the techniques you are performing when your pole skills advance and you begin to invert to avoid injury.
Pole dancers are remarkable athletes who can make demanding, physically taxing maneuvers appear simple and attractive.
Pole dancing requires strength because you need to hold moves and learn to make them look effortless.
Additionally, sufficient flexibility and strength can help achieve particular pole motion goals while making them even more attractive.
When you gain some progress in pole dancing, your fitness level is better. You must exercise your muscle groups to keep working with your movements if you want to keep improving.
Don’t worry. We’ll go through some workouts that will not make exercises feel too tedious or strenuous.
What Strength Do You Need To Pole Dance?
Pole dancing is an excellent method to build strength that involves more than just pole dancing and offers many benefits.
When you perform pole dancing, you should pay more attention to the following muscle groups:
Arms And Shoulders
Although it has advantages for other sections of your body, pole dancing is essentially an upper-body exercise.
Most pole dancing movements demand you to move on a pole by using the strength in your shoulders and arms.
Most pole dancing instructors will advise you to start immediately strengthening your arms and shoulders if you join a class.
Core Muscles
Additionally, the core muscle groups are crucial to pole dancing, especially while doing inverted, also called upside-down techniques.
It’s particularly true when the move’s exit or changeover calls for inverting the technique’s inversion.
That’s because the gravity forces work as resistance when you perform these reverse movements.
For this reason, before you start pole dancing, you must work on and build core muscles.
Back Muscles
Strengthening the back muscles before becoming a professional pole dancer would be best. Having a strong back might also assist in encouraging good posture.
Leg Muscles
Pole dancing focuses on the upper body, legs, and core. Lower body power is necessary to keep your body on the pole during pole workout maneuvers.
It would be best if you thus strengthened the muscles in your legs as well.
Thigh Muscles
You may not think about thigh muscles when practicing a pole dancing session. However, the hamstring, squads, and glutes muscles in your thighs are essential.
Your thighs should get a good workout from pole dancing’s repetitive striking movements. Your thighs must be robust to prevent injury.
Read more: Knee Pain From Pole Dancing: Things You Should Know!
How To Build Strength For Pole Dancing?
If you love this activity, you don’t need to have a specific body type to start pole dancing. You may want to integrate strength training exercises into your pole dancing practice.
Here is a method to use your pole to shape your body correctly!
Build Upper Body Strength
These easy resistance training routines make building and developing upper body strength a breeze for pole dancing.
Method 1: With the pole
Get yourself familiar with Pole squats. This exercise assists in shaping and toning the glutes as well as the upper body.
Start lifting and lowering your weight while crossing your lower legs over the pole with your arms firmly in place.
Otherwise, stand on one leg, hook the other leg’s knee to your pole, and hit several side crunches. This exercise will build back muscles and postures.
Method 2: Off the pole
If you build strength at home without a pole, let’s consider the following effective workouts for upper body parts.
Push-ups
Put yourself in a plank-like stance and press your body weight against the surface.
You may personalize and adjust push-ups depending on your preference and comfort level.
Various push-up variations, such as plank positions or single-handed styles, are available to practice.
These exercises will build and improve your shoulders, arms, chest, and back muscles. If you want to try this workout, you can watch this video to get some guides:
Pull-ups
You can select basic pull-ups with a horizontal or vertical bar. You only need to grab the bar, raise your lower weight, and release it down.
While pulling up, ensure you don’t leave your feet touching the surface. These workouts will develop arm, chest, and back muscles.
Bent Over Rows
Legs shoulder-width apart, back bent, knees straight. Maintaining that stance, lift a dumbbell or barbell.
Beginners should perform 4 to 6 rounds in a combination of three sets while developing strength.
You will strengthen and improve muscle groups, including Latissimus Dorsi and Trapezius.
Build Core Strength
You can practice with or without your pole, like building upper body strength.
Method 1: With the pole
First, you may want to try Pole crunches. Pull the legs up and down while holding the pole firmly and bending your torso slightly.
Another solution is practicing Fan Kicks. Your legs raise and rotate clockwise and counterclockwise as soon as you grab the pole.
Method 2: Without the pole
You can consider these exercises if you don’t go to a pole dancing class or have a pole at home.
Plank
If you want to increase arm strength for pole dancing, you may try planks.
Your body should be towards the floor as you lay down. Put your arms into the L shape.
Lift the body out of the lying-down posture while distributing some weight onto your toes and forearms.
Make sure your posture is tight, and your torso is straight. When performing a plank, always keep your back straight.
The plank position will focus on developing muscles in the calves, back, forearms, and abdomen.
Basic Bridge
Your arms should be next to the hips while you lay on the back. When you fold the lower legs, your lower body should be close to the lower buttock or gluteus Maximus.
Ensure your arms are facing toward the surface and lift your buttocks and lower back up.
V-Sits
Lie down on your back. Try to get your arms as close to your lower legs as possible without hunching your back and shoulders.
Keep your body in this boat-like position before returning to relaxation. This exercise is good for the core and glutes.
How Often Do You Build Strength For Pole Dancing?
If you’re a novice, you can decide to do strength training every other day for around an hour while gradually increasing the days or hours.
It is advisable to consult a professional instructor for guidance before commencing the training to obtain the best start possible for your skills.
Don’t rush yourself! Anybody can make a pole dancing motion, regardless of their fitness level.
Depending on the maneuver, a pole dancer may need to exert varying strength levels.
A beginner requires less strength for fundamental techniques than intermediate or expert dancers.
You can achieve fitness goals quickly by putting your body’s parts and muscles through strenuous strength conditioning and pole dancing routines.
How To Improve Grip Strength For Pole Dancing?
If you want to build and develop muscles on your pole, you should take extra steps to improve your grip strength. Let’s take a look at these tips!
Get Grippers
You may strengthen your crushing grasp by squeezing several grippers or a stress ball.
If you need to exercise more rigorously, you can get several gripper pieces with various resistances.
Use Rubber Band
The main goal of this method is to strengthen the fingers. Your fingertips include tendons and muscles that can enhance your grip. Use a rubber band to wrap around your fingers’ ends.
Hang From Bars
This tip is the most beneficial for pole dancers. It can strengthen all hand, forearm, and wrist muscles since you hold a bar like how you grasp the pole.
It’s simple to practice this exercise. Grab a bar and hang from it with your body weight. Try to grab it for an extended period.
Curl
If you visit a gym, you can find some dumbbells. Use them to do curls. You only need to take a dumbbell and hold it in your palm upward.
Next, curl this dumbbell in the direction of your same arm. You can maximize the benefits of your wrist motion while performing curls and moving them slowly and smoothly.
What Exercises Will Help With Pole Dancing?
If you want the exercise to improve your pole dancing skill, let’s consider the following recommendations for each body part!
Cardio
Without the pole
- Plank rotations
- Burpees
- Running on high knees
- Circles with uplifted arms
- Box jumps
With the pole
- Avoid jumping into inverts.
- Pull yourself up and practice using your muscle groups to invert.
- Learn to reverse with your legs entirely straight.
- When you feel confident doing it on a motionless pole, try doing it on a rotating one.
Upper Body
Without the pole
- Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- Mountain climbers
- Tricep dips
- Bicep curls
- Pull down on the side
With the pole
- Standing-up pull-ups on the pole
- Knee-level pull-ups on the pole
- Pull-ups from a seat
- Pole climbs
Abdominals
- Sit-ups (normal, side sit-ups, crunches, V-sits)
- Russian twists
- Planks
The Rest Of The Body
Without the pole
- Squats (normal, jump, sumo, single leg, side, pulse, split)
- Lunges (normal, jump, side)
- Donkey kicks
- Frog jumps
- Wall sits
- Glute bridges
With the pole
- Join pole dancing classes
- Practice sessions to strengthen the muscles.
FAQs
Is Pole Dancing Cardio Or Strength?
The short answer is both! Pole dancing works out the entire body.
You can also enhance the strength needed for this activity. Also, it acts as a cardiovascular exercise.
How Long Does It Take To Build Strength Pole Dancing?
You may experience 4 to 6 weeks of exercising and training to build and develop strength.
While practicing, remember to follow the coach’s instructions to get the best results.
Do You Need Upper Body Strength To Pole Dance?
The short answer is yes! This activity mainly focuses on upper body strength, while you may need muscles from the lower parts.
When performing this sport, you will mainly use your shoulders and arms strength to move on a pole.
Will Pole Dancing Strengthen Your Glutes And Hamstrings?
Yes! It is a body workout, so every movement benefits almost all muscle groups, including the glutes and hamstrings.
How To Strengthen Your Wrists For Pole Dancing?
If you want to strengthen your wrists for dancing on the pole, you can follow helpful tips, as shown below:
- Use a rubber band
- Get grippers
- Curl
- Hang from the bar
Final Thoughts
Developing strength and stability with your bones and muscles is crucial since you do many swinging movements on the pole.
That’s why we have recommended all practical methods to build strength for this activity.
Whether you have a pole or not, you will find suitable exercise to work on. The key is practice makes perfect!
Moreover, follow the instructions of your instructor to perform the movements correctly and avoid potential injuries.
Hopefully, this post will be helpful for you. Thanks for reading!
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