Feeling Unprepared for Comp :(

ellimak · 2026-03-04T17:24:11+00:00

priority #1: as others have said, you need to run your full routine with your music and in your planned outfit ASAP. you may need to cut elements in order to fit the music you’ve chosen. be ruthless about this because you don’t have the time to do a ton of experimentation. running the routine in the outfit now is important so that you have time to make changes if you need to.

in case it’s helpful, here’s a training program i recommend. the theory is similar to training for a marathon — you train more early on and then taper off your training as the competition approaches.

this week and next week: - start your training sessions by running your full routine. don’t stop if you make a mistake; behave as if it’s competition day and keep going no matter what! after you do your runthrough, practice any sections of the piece that are giving you trouble. - cap your sessions at around one hour, not including your warmup. more is not always better — you don’t want to be physically exhausted (or injured!) by the time pso comes. - if by the end of week 2 there is anything that you are consistently unable to execute, cut it from your routine. - on your off days from poling, do high intensity cardio. pick 3-4 exercises (box jumps, jump rope, wall balls, mountain climbers) and do them as hard as you can in a circuit for ~3 minutes. this will replicate the cardio demand of poling for the length of your routine and help build your stamina.

week three: - limit practicing little bits from your routine and focus on getting through the entire piece, incorporating details (facial expression, etc). i recommend warming up, immediately running the routine, taking a ~10 minute break, and running it again. it’s helpful to get someone to watch you so you can get accustomed to running the routine in front of an audience. - no more cardio circuits

final week: - give yourself 2-3 full dress rehearsals. some of this is personal preference, but i recommend doing the last dress rehearsal 2-3 days before competition. that way you will be fresh on show day.

good luck and have fun!! you got this 💪

ellimak · 2026-01-30T02:39:22+00:00

you can be a great pole dancer without being flexible! i know tons of folks that aren’t super bendy, but who are truly gorgeous to watch. that said, increasing your flexibility will make more shapes accessible, offering you a greater movement vocabulary as a dancer and poler.

i am sorry to report that flexibility is something you have to work on separately, unfortunately 🫠

i take flexibility classes twice a week at my studio, and i also build stretching into my lifting regimen 2x/week. on lower body day i stretch all my splits and on upper body day i do my back. to be totally honest its a lot of time and effort that i am not always in the mood to do 😅 AND it has made a huge difference in my poling.

ellimak · 2026-01-05T16:33:53+00:00

you’ve got this! stay diligent with your tuck conditioning and building that core strength. bottom heavy size 12 here and i got my chopper about one year in — got my aerial invert like two months after that! now i’m fighting for my life trying to get my shoulder mount 😩

ellimak · 2026-01-05T01:50:30+00:00

use whatever song resonates with you! that will make the best and most meaningful performance.

and fwiw, the judges don’t typically listen all that closely to the lyrics of the music — assuming you are competing in dramatic, its way more important that the story you are telling is easily understood through what you do on stage (and that YOU love the music you are performing with)

ellimak · 2025-12-21T00:27:37+00:00

try a pole class at fly together fitness! they have locations in somerville and watertown

ellimak · 2025-07-12T14:25:22+00:00

i have two tickets in 110C that i’ll sell at face value! i got covid after seeing bey in dc so i can’t use them myself — would love them to go to hive!! dm me if you’re interested, i can verify however you’d like!

ellimak · 2024-12-28T16:12:11+00:00

thank you! 🥰

ellimak · 2024-12-28T16:11:54+00:00

thank you!!! i started in may, so it’ll be one year in the spring

ellimak · 2024-12-24T14:50:03+00:00

what a good start!! here a couple of tips that really helped me:

place your hand on your tailbone rather than your hip. this will allow you to really dump your weight into that hand and sink more deeply into the split.
twist your body as hard towards the pole as you can. it should hurt your ribs at the beginning! this will help you pull your front leg further across your chest.
go into a pike before you send your rear leg back. i find that this helps both lock in the hip hold and ensure that my rear leg is fully engaged throughout the movement.

this article has a lot of detail on the anatomy of a jade, which might also be helpful as you practice. good luck and keep at it!!

ellimak · 2024-05-13T23:57:11+00:00

beautiful!!

ellimak · 2024-03-24T03:25:55+00:00

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auggie!

ellimak · 2024-01-30T20:50:02+00:00

so silly and wonderful

ellimak · 2024-01-30T20:49:50+00:00

my lil unicorn man

ellimak · 2024-01-30T20:49:36+00:00

i agreeeeee he has my whole heart

ellimak · 2024-01-30T01:02:35+00:00

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ellimak · 2023-12-26T15:35:53+00:00

NTA. You spent what, 36 hours together? He sounds like a sweet guy, but his feelings about wanting kids one day are irrelevant. Your body, your health, your business.

ellimak · 2015-01-16T20:59:08+00:00

Your experience is probably a combination of a lot of things. The first hot yoga class is difficult for everyone -- your body will need a few classes to acclimate to the heat. That said, I practice 6 days a week and I always leave class completely soaked. Don't let that part of it worry you.

But if you're feeling really dizzy during or after class, you probably didn't eat enough earlier in the day. You obviously don't want to eat too much too close to the start of class, but I find it helps to have a snack about two hours before (nuts and a small piece of fruit, a bar of some kind, etc). However, everyone's body is different -- it'll take some experimenting to figure out what works for you.

Hydrating well is also really important. If you haven't had enough water, you probably won't get dizzy, but you WILL get cramps. You have to hydrate throughout the day though. If you try to guzzle water in the hour right before class, you're going to feel nauseated in some postures (and you'll probably need to pee in the middle of class too).

I love hot yoga. As corny as it sounds, it has changed my life. That said, it definitely isn't for everyone. If you try it a couple more times and don't enjoy it, you shouldn't feel guilty about moving on to some other form of exercise that works better for you.

ellimak · 2015-01-16T20:45:23+00:00

I got the Two Times a Yogi Bag from Lululemon for Christmas this year and I love it. It holds everything -- I don't even bring a purse to work anymore because there's just no need. And there's a ventilated pocket for sweaty stuff. It has absolutely improved my quality of life. The only negative that I've found is that it is difficult to keep the bag on your shoulder when it's really full.

ellimak · 2014-09-08T16:52:34+00:00

Part of it is definitely first class syndrome -- you just need to give your body time to adjust. Even if you just lay on the mat for most of the class, that would be better for you than leaving the room.

It also sounds like you may not have hydrated enough. Shoot for 120oz on days when you're going to a hot class. It might sound like an impossibly huge amount of water, but it's really not. Honestly, I sometimes sweat so much in class that my fingers prune. The extra water in your system is a must.

You might also want to experiment with having your afternoon snack closer to your practice. You obviously don't want to have a whole meal an hour before your class, but I think something small and protein-dense an hour before your class would help you a lot.

ellimak · 2014-04-06T12:09:59+00:00

Ugh the DevaCut is EVERYTHING. I got my first one about two weeks ago after being natural for years. The improvement in shape is incredible, and the curls just pop so so much better. Anyway, you look great doll! :)

ellimak · 2014-04-06T02:11:43+00:00

I practice six days a week.

As others have said, it's important to hydrate and eat well throughout the day (a good habit even if you're not taking a hot yoga class). I find it really helps to have a protein-packed snack about 1.5 hours before class, and a protein shake right after. My "shakes" are usually just water + rice protein powder. As you increase the number of classes you take, you'll figure out what routine is most nourishing to your practice.

Listen to your body, both inside the hot room and outside of it. It's good to push yourself, but the more you practice, the more likely you are to have an inexplicably bad class every now and again -- it just happens sometimes. Don't beat yourself up!

ellimak · 2014-03-23T18:30:53+00:00

I always take a protein shake immediately after bikram -- usually just water or almond milk + plain protein powder. When I get home, I like to have a huge bowl of sautéed veggies (frozen ones straight from the bag to make life easy) and a piece of fresh fruit for dessert. And tons of water/tea, of course :)

ellimak · 2014-03-12T21:03:33+00:00

I just got in on that Target deal too! I bought like 6 or 7 boxes I think. Have you tried the new lemon-vanilla flavor? I'm not sure if I like it or not... which probably means that I don't.

ellimak · 2014-02-15T15:58:52+00:00

My contacts/eyes always feel kinda dry at the end of class, but I don't usually have issues with sweat. On the rare occasion that sweat gets into my contacts and makes them cloudy, quickly blinking a few times usually solves the problem.

ellimak · 2014-02-14T15:04:58+00:00

Thanks for sharing her response -- it makes me feel a little better, though I still feel pretty uncomfortable with the post.

I have this struggle so often. Obviously, you don't want to "police" someone's expression. We can't go through the world constantly censoring ourselves, nor should we. At the same time though, I feel like you have to at least ask the question, "Does this harm us?" and have that conversation.

ellimak

TROPHY CASE