We DO NOT teach anyone under the age of 16 years. Participants between the age of 16 and 18 years must have consent from a parent or guardian.

What To Wear

• Comfortable shorts. Lycra style shorts are recommended.
• T-shirt or vest top that can be tucked in when going upside down.
• It is necessary to wear shorts to make the most of your Pole Dance class. Exposing skin on the legs (and arms) allows you to grip on to the pole, rather than slipping off! If you feel shy about wearing shorts you can wear tracksuit trousers at first!
• Protective shoes or boots. Sports shoes or ‘dancer’ shoes depending on your preference.
• Bring your own hand towel. Although poles will be thoroughly cleaned before your class with disinfectant, you will find it useful to regularly dry your hands and dry the pole to prevent slipping.
• During warm up and cool down wear comfortable trousers that you can move freely in. Wear sports shoes (tekkies) or go barefoot for warm up/cool down.

What not to wear

• No oils or lotions on the skin prior to Pole Dance class. This will make you slip off the pole!
• Think about your jewellery. Rings, watches, bracelets and earrings could get damaged or even damage you when you are on the pole! Please be prepared and leave your valuables at home.

Food and water

• Drink plenty of water! More than 60% of your body weight is water. Water is vital to so many of your bodily functions. Even if you become mildly dehydrated -1%, which could be represented by 0.75-1.0Litres of water can create a reduction in muscle performance and start to show symptoms of dehydration. Symptoms of dehydration include dizziness, headaches, loss of concentration and irritability!
• Do not eat any later than two hours prior to your class. This can help for some people who experience motion sickness! Making sure your stomach is not full could lessen the chances of feeling motion sick whilst spinning around the pole. However, you do not want to be starving hungry and experience low blood sugar whilst trying to exercise, so think of eating energy enriched foods at least two hours before class. The best fuel for muscles are carbohydrates - either simple sugars (such as naturally occurring sugars in fruits and juices) or complex carbohydrates (the starches in whole grain products, rice, cereal, oatmeal and other plant foods). These carbohydrates provide not only energy but also important vitamins and minerals.
• After your Pole dance class you should refuel your body. A simple post-exercise refueler is fruit juice -a rich source of not only fluids and carbohydrates but also potassium and vitamins. After exercise you need to replace the glycogen that you burned off.

Bruising and friction burns

While you are perfecting new moves on the pole there is a risk that you will get bruises and/or friction burns. Some people bruise more easily than others.

Tips to prevent bruising and friction burns

• Concentrate on using your strength to control moves more effectively.
• Wear shoes or boots to protect your feet and legs (sports shoes, dance shoes, leather or PVC boots).
• For friction burns you may find wearing sweat-bands on your wrists will help. The wrist is a common pole burn site, as a result of spinning around the pole.
• Improve your diet: Supercharge your immune system by consuming Vitamin C enriched foods. Vitamin C is a substance that can boost your energy levels as well as boost your body’s ability to heal minor injuries a little faster. Fruits containing citric acid like oranges and lemons are good sources of Vitamin C, as well as savoury root vegetables like sweet potato. Another Vitamin that can help you overcome easy bruising is Vitamin A. Vitamin A, is used by the body to fend off cellular damage and to make sure it can deal with trauma. One of the best and safest ways of getting Vitamin A into your system is through food (you could risk Vitamin A toxicity by taking Vitamin A supplements). Find Vitamin A in; apricots, carrots, pumpkin and collard greens (loose leafed green veggies - eg: cabbage, broccoli).

Tips to minimize bruising

• Reduce the size of the bruise and relieve pain by icing the effected area immediately. Apply ice for 10 minutes.
• Raise injured area above the level of your heart. This helps prevent blood collecting at the bruise.
• Wrap the bruise with a dressing and an elastic bandage to put pressure on the injured area. This is to reduce blood flow to the injury.
• Do not expose the bruised area to heat sources, such as, hot showers. Heat can increase blood flow, which can increase bruising.
• Put a cream containing Vitamin K on the injured area. Vitamin K helps the body absorb blood. If the blood in the injured area is absorbed by the body, there will be less bruising.
• Increase your in take of Vitamin C. Consult a pharmacist for advice about how much Vitamin C you can take. Consume Vitamin C enriched foods, like oranges, lemons and believe it or not bean sprouts!

Muscle soreness

We are probably all familiar with the uncomfortable sensation of muscle soreness in the days following a tough workout. In the fitness industry muscle soreness is also referred to as ‘delayed onset muscle soreness’ (DOMS). Muscle soreness is a normal response to unusual exertion and is part of an adaptation process that leads to greater stamina and strength as the muscles recover and build. (So muscle soreness can be good!).

Tips to reduce muscle soreness

• Always warm up properly before exercise to prepare the body and help prevent injury. A warm up generally consists of a gradual increase in intensity in physical activity (pulse raiser), a joint mobility exercise, stretching and a sport related activity.
• Always cool down after exercise. Cool down consists of easy exercise that will allow the body to gradually transition from an exertional state to a resting or near resting state. Cool down is important in realigning muscle fibres and to re-establish your normal range of movement.
• After exercise take a soak in a warm bath. Dissolve a cup of Epsom salts and soak until your skin wrinkles. Top up with warm water if necessary. For some people this helps a great deal.
• Alternatively, following exercise, sit in a bath filled with ice water for 5 minutes - or take a very cold shower. This can be really tough to start, but you’ll feel great the next day and no sore muscles at all.
• Perform some easy low-impact aerobic exercise to increase blood flow. This has been known to help get rid of muscle soreness.
• Gentle massage to the affected muscles can alleviate muscle soreness and reducing swelling.
• Try using an anti-inflammatory medication - something like aspirin or ibuprofen, which will reduce the soreness temporarily, though this doesn’t actually have any healing effects.
• Yoga has proven to help some people in reducing muscle stiffness and pain.
• Round each Pole Dance class or workout off with light cardio. This will get the blood and lymphatic system flowing and will help eliminate waste products that have built up during your workout.
• If your muscle pain persists longer than about 7 days or increases despite these measures, consult with your doctor.

The above page is general advice and The Pole Studio accepts no liablity resulting from any advice taken from this page. If you have any particular concerns please consult your doctor as soon as possible.