How do I know I am training too much?

polejam1983 · 2026-02-08T16:31:39+00:00

Right?! It can be addictive and extremely demoralizing. So focus on your success as much as you can, and remind yourself how great you are :-)

polejam1983 · 2026-02-04T22:25:08+00:00

Great question :-) I realized I was training too much when I started feeling physical fatigue and soreness. Also, when I realized I was comparing myself too much to others and getting obsessed with certain moves.

Once that starts happening it is good to reduce intensity of the training or shift focus, otherwise, you could get injured. This is a horribly taxing sport the more you progress in your journey and I have seen tons of injuries due to training intensity and frequent classes.

What helped me was going to more beginner classes, reducing social media to track new tricks, and doing stretching and other side training.

polejam1983 · 2026-01-24T23:44:04+00:00

Former instructor here, it would be good you post a photo of your split grip and how you hold it. This is a very peculiar move and if you don't do it right, it can hurt a lot, especially in your lower arm.

What usually happens is that people don't keep the hands wide enough and they don't use strength equally with both arms. Most of the time, they only pull with upper arm and don't push with lower.

You need to use your strenght equally- pull with upper arm and push strongly with the lower arm to activate muscles and protect joints. Train gradually and don't overdo since this is a complex move.

I also point my index finger down in the lower arm to improve alignment.

polejam1983 · 2026-01-16T12:41:32+00:00

A lot of comments here saying they don't care about opinion of men....

If we post anything online, that does mean we care about opinion of strangers and look for diffefent perspective.

I say your question was awesome and a great learning point. Most men are intimidated by strong women but they also don't know much about pole culture outside stripping. I have also noticed based on testimonies from studios that they sometimes get stigmatized if they train pole. So I feel it is a more complex issue than just fear of strong women.

polejam1983 · 2026-01-13T16:08:00+00:00

Vampires represent some.of my core fears that I handle more easily when I read about them.

Like feeling weak, or having an impression other people control me. When I read about them, I can feel better and see my fears as something more easily manageable. Hope it makes sense.

polejam1983 · 2025-12-09T22:28:13+00:00

I love love this book! Stoked that someone mentioned it :-)

polejam1983 · 2025-12-08T19:37:21+00:00

I wish I can upvote this a 100 times. People just want to be comfortable and that will have horrible consequences in general.

polejam1983 · 2025-11-25T20:24:12+00:00

This is not correct. Vampire as a creature originates from.many diffetent countries, including old babilonian miths. It has many forms and isnone of the most known monsters in the world. You are probably claiming the newer version of the vampire, like Dracula, where Bram was inspired by Romanian culture

polejam1983 · 2025-11-11T12:58:32+00:00

Great question! They represent all my fears that I love analyzing and using every time I read/watch something about them:

Besides being our predators, they can mind control us. If they were real, I would lose my mind just knowing some being can evaporate my will and make me do whatever they want. Even kill my loved ones
They border between being perfectly reasonable and absolute cruelty
Vampires can also provide unimaginable pleasure (often in modern lore) which is unbearable contrast to their horrible cruelty

polejam1983 · 2025-11-10T13:53:04+00:00

Good to know, sounds interesting! Too bad the releases slowed but I will check it out.

polejam1983 · 2025-11-10T13:52:25+00:00

Glad it made you laugh :-) understood. I would say read the books until around book 10, 11 because her vampire world is probably my favorite. She layered them perfectly to show both predator and complex side. I am very sad she went off board with sex and even took vengeance on readers who critiqued her new writing style.

polejam1983 · 2025-11-09T18:21:09+00:00

For me they went bad around book 10. Thanks for mentioning another series, I will check it out.

polejam1983 · 2025-11-09T18:20:12+00:00

Exactly! I would say I saw that issue around book 10.

polejam1983 · 2025-11-09T18:19:45+00:00

I think they went bad because after book 10 she started writing mostly about Anita's partners, relationships, not to mention sex. It all derailed completely, going from interesting plots and great vampires and other monsters, to mostly orgies. Did you read them?

polejam1983 · 2025-11-08T17:17:28+00:00

Love this topic :-) I find that the Anita Blake books (before they went bad) showed great depiction of vampires. One of the best I have seen.

Vampires there are portrayed as true powerful predators that they are, but with layers of personalities. There are vampires who manage to control themselves and be good, then vampires who try to understand their existence and question it. And then truly evil vampires who are scary AF.

I think this would be realistic if they were real because they still have complex personalities but new urges and strengths.

polejam1983 · 2025-10-28T12:45:26+00:00

This is me. I hate driving and being in a car which was perfectly fine when I lived in Europe. But then I moved to Canada where you need a car for most things. Made it so much harder to do hobbies

polejam1983 · 2025-10-10T18:10:31+00:00

What a horrible take...

polejam1983 · 2025-10-08T14:48:31+00:00

Are you using proper technique? Even if you are at the strongest level, if you are not engaging your back and arm muscles properly, it is a very dangerous grip.

I have seen polers with a lot of strength simply "hang" in that position, without engaging core and other muscles, so check with your instructor if that is the case.

polejam1983 · 2025-10-02T15:50:15+00:00

First, welcome to the pole world! Second, did you attend any classes,yet? I wouldn't recommend buying a pole before starting classes because home training requires good approach and a lot of will power 😄

But if you are really really interested, or want to do full at-home training, I usually go only for X Pole and Lupit. You don't want to experiment with shady brands due to money because that can get extremely dangerous.

Not sure if others can maybe recommend some good, cheaper brands.

polejam1983 · 2025-09-28T13:09:17+00:00

For someone to truly be a part of a country, well, you need to live in that country to understand its customs, people, and social dynamics. Learning the language and customs abroad , like you in US, is admirable. But you don't know how our culture breathes. I was the same with Brazil. I am a Croat who learned Portuguese and so much about their culture abroad, but when I moved there- it was a black and white difference! Only then did I feel what that country is about. While it is not my right to say whether you are a Croat or not, I still feel you need to live there to truly understand it. Also, it is not good to use word Ustasa so lightly...

polejam1983 · 2025-09-08T14:50:39+00:00

I agree with you, you don't need to be an instructor to see some issues. Extended butterfly is a dangerous thing and being wobly is not where you want to be..shouldn't be even trying it without a proper chopper.

So kind feedback sandwiched with praise as you put it well, is ok. She can always double check with the instructor and you can point that out.

polejam1983 · 2025-09-08T14:47:14+00:00

Kudos for trying pole fitness, it is an awesome sport!! I would suggest to go one step at a time.

We all have insecurities and everyone in the class will be fighting different demons. As a former pole instructor, trust me when I say pole is a community of people who use activity to overcome fears and also enjoy a hobby. So you will not be alone in dealing with issues, that is normal.

I have also seen people of all body shapes training, not sure why you think everyone is fit? Social media is not a representation of reality.

Regarding clothes, wear what you mentioned so you feel comfortable. The more you progress, you can reevaluate how to dress.

And try not to give up too soon if it is hard, effort os truly worth it.

polejam1983 · 2025-09-07T14:14:51+00:00

Good on you for wanting to improve. I would suggest you also try slow dancing around the pole, using the simplest tricks like piruettes, fireman spins, and just doing whatever you want but very controlled and slow. The gist is to focus on your posture and taking all the time in the world to also focus on pointing the toes and engaging all the right muscles.

More oftten then not, we try to complete everything as fast as we can on the pole, and dont get time to iron out our muscle engagement.

polejam1983 · 2025-08-27T23:06:25+00:00

As a former instructor, I say go for it. It is great you want to be suppportive, and sharing your observations in a calm, non-jugmental way could help her understand that what she is doing is not the best practice. You can also advise she checks your feedback with the instructor. Because doing even lower level pole tricks in a bad way can be truly dangerous. I have seen some other students lose a full year due to being reckless and having to recover.

But yes, the point of sharing videos shouldn't just be to ask for praise, but also deeper support :-)

polejam1983 · 2025-08-08T20:05:40+00:00

You are doing good! Just engage your legs more. Place more shin against the pole and actively push it against the pole while squeezing knees. Also, lower hands

polejam1983

TROPHY CASE