The games being played between Pole 2 Pole Cup USA’s John Meredith and Poleates Studio owner Caterina Genaro got pretty crazy, the drama ended with many people affected by the disputes between them. Instead of telling you the nitty gritty parts of this event and the days leading up to it, we’ll talk about the major issues, and we will use the Pole 2 Pole Cup USA as an example of why we need to make certain changes and why we need to make them now. We will examine a few key points before we take a look at the event itself. Then, we will look at ways to avoid from something like this happening again. Lastly, we will get into the how the competitors conducted themselves, as they were getting caught up in the middle of this contention. How did it all come to this? Who dropped the ball?

Roughly 4 weeks before the competition, which was held on April 7, 2012, the venue was changed from the Thousand Oaks Civic Center in Thousand Oaks, California to Poleates studio in Thousand Oaks, to the Avec Night Club in Huntington Beach, California. These two cities are 76 miles apart. Competitors were unaware of the venue change. There are many accusations flying around and a lot of finger pointing as to why this happened. After asking the sources themselves of why this happened, why the venue change, why was no one notified, it is still unclear who is to blame for this. We all watched as a battle unfolded right before our very eyes on Facebook, for all the competitors to see, and that is when things became mucky. Until speaking with the competitors individually, I did not get a sense of how much this affected them and their frame of mind going into this competition. They seemed to feel hurt by it all, angered and frustrated and tried to ignore all of the posts and comments on Facebook that swirled around them.

Before you know it, John Meredith arrives at Poleates Studio with two police officers looking for property that belonged to him. Some shirts, medals for the competitors and 25 Pounds worth of postage. Not long after that, he was reported to the INS for being in the states on a Tourist Visa, not a Work Visa. Whether or not action has been taken against him is uncertain. Considering he was doing a fair amount of work out here and, in people’s eyes, was collecting U.S. Dollars, some people thought that this was the way to handle it. What would you have done? Is this how these things should be handled? Some would argue yes, that something like this needs to be handled by the authorities. Some might say no, that perhaps it could have been dealt with internally, within the walls of our community. But honestly, there is no organization within our community that handles these types of things, is there? The answer is no, there is not one organization that deals with the rules and regulations to follow regarding event organizers and company owners and how they should ethically conduct themselves. That poses the question, what do we do about this?

The solutions are simple yet complicated. Most sports have organizations that govern rules and regulations of the actual activity itself and the events that are put together. You must be approved by these federations or leagues in order to participate or create an event for someone else to participate in. This is relevant to major competitions, especially to ones that are traveling from one country to the next. I will give you examples of other sports that have these federations; Baseball, Table Tennis, Swimming, and Ice Skating. That is just to name a few. Now, looking deeper into the world of ice skating, I notice that they have several committees dedicated to particular areas of their sport, including an ethics committee that consists of twenty four people. http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?type=leadership&id=843 In pole dancing, we don’t even have one. Granted, ice skating has been around a lot longer and they have had time in developing these committees. But, perhaps we can use ice skating as an example of what to do next.

So, simple right, let’s start a Board of Committees. So who is going to start it? Who is going to pick up their phone, or turn on their computer and get the right people together to begin making these types of decisions? I am challenging all of you right now, to do something. Write to your favorite pole dance organization, write to your pole dance federation in your country and tell them that you want to see these changes, and offer your assistance. I know that there are many of you dedicated Pole’r Bears out there that want to see pole dancing rise above it all and be recognized as a legitimate sport, and you as a legitimate athlete. This is your moment to make a difference. If you are the leader of an organization, I implore you, call your fellow organizations and federations, shake hands and come together. This is the only way to make the necessary changes.

Right now, it seems as if anyone can make an announcement on Facebook “Yeah, we’re hosting a pole dance competition in your city! Work your ass off to compete, spend your money on costumes, travel, food, trainers, and private pole lessons. We might have gift bags for you, we might not. There is no prize money and we can’t guarantee that the poles will be as tall as we promised or the circumference we promised, but that shouldn’t matter.” It shouldn’t be this way at all, but we see it happen all the time. What keeps this industry alive and growing is the dedication of many pole dancers. With that dedication, I hope comes the desire to help make changes so we can move on and prevent any of these things from happening in the future.

With this Pole 2 Pole Cup USA, with what was given to them, the sponsors, mainly Platinum Stages, did the best that they could do. Technically, it is not the sponsors responsibility to take on an event that is not theirs. They should be sponsors, not organizers. I commend Platinum Stages for stepping up and basically taking over, in order to provide the competitors a place to pole dance, and to do what they came all they way to California to do. The venue, Avec Night Club, was beautiful, the stage looked very nice and Erica Verner from Platinum Stages got raving reviews from the competitors about how helpful she was back stage. There were a couple of glitches throughout the show, but nothing so terrible that it couldn’t be overlooked. Without the help and support of Platinum Stages, who knows what would have happened.

The competitors themselves were gorgeous, amazing and so much fun to watch, that for about 3 hours, I forgot about all the other nonsense surrounding this event, as Keith Scheinberg from Platinum Stages called it, “The most controversial competition in the country”. Ashley Popoli, winner of the Amateur Division didn’t look amateur to me. She had original tricks, kept her steamy eyes on the judges the entire time and set the bar for the amateurs. Rhiannan Nichole was so awesome that she even kept both feet pointed while climbing the pole. Gretta Pontarelli from Pole Kraze studio received a standing ovation. This woman is 61 years old, with a body made of steal and heart of gold. Her passion could be felt throughout the entire room as if she just opened up a bag and handed it to all of us. She didn’t place, but hers was by far the most moving performance of the night. It wasn’t what she did, it was how she did it, and the feeling she gave to all of us watching.

These women worked their butts off to be there, they traveled, they put up with all the craziness that came with it and reminded me of why I love pole dancing so much. Everyone that was there was there in support of their fellow pole dancers, and that was what made the event worth being at.

The federations out there, the associations that exist for pole dancing, I don’t want to call you out, but we are beginning to look at you and ask what will you do to construct rules, regulations and guidelines for others to follow? Understandably, there are many things on all of our plates right now, with pole dancing growing as fast as it is. But, that is even more of a reason to formulate a plan so we don’t have opportunists taking advantage of an industry in it’s infancy. We must protect ourselves and all of the time and effort that we put forth. This is no longer about the Pole 2 Pole Cup USA, this is about what we need to do now. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. It’s in our hands now, who is going to catch the ball first?

Strength training isn’t just important, it’s imperative! Strength training is absolutely the most important kind of exercise for any and all individuals to participate it. Building muscle through resistance training helps to burn fat, regulate blood sugar, and control cholesterol levels. Muscle also helps to improve your posture and strengthen bones. And if you do any type of physical activity, from running 5ks to burlesque dancing, to playing with your kids, to pole dancing, improved muscular strength will improve your ability to complete those tasks.

What Type of Exercises Should I Do?

In general the kinds of exercises that are best for most individuals are multi-joint, multi-muscle exercises. It is important to cross-train, meaning MIX IT UP! Cross training refers to a training routine that involves several different forms of exercise. Cross training is a beneficial training method
for maintaining a high level of overall fitness. For example, you may use Kettlebell training, Pole Dancing and Flexibility classes each week to improve your overall aerobic capacity, build overall muscle strength and reduce the chance of an overuse injury. Cross training limits the stress that occurs on a specific muscle group because different activities use muscles in slightly different ways.

Benefits of Cross Training

* Reduces exercise boredom
* Allows you to be flexible about you training needs and plans ( if
you can’t make the Pole Dancing class, you can go to a Barre class)
* Produces a higher level of all around conditioning
* Conditions the entire body, not just specific muscle groups
* Reduces the risk of injury
* Work some muscles while others rest and recover
* Can continue to train while injured
* Improves your skill, agility and balance

You can easily tailor cross-training to your needs and interests; mix and match you classes and change your routine on a regular basis.

How Much Weight Should I Be Lifting for Maximal Benefit?

If you are new to strength training, it is probably best to err on the side of caution. Most first timers should do exercises with little weight, and focus on learning and perfecting their form for each exercise. Since proper form is about the best way to maximize strength gains while minimizing injury risk, it needs to the priority, regardless of your skill level. (I often see very big, strong guys at the gym using improper form to lift, risking injury) Once proper technique has been mastered, begin increasing the weight a little bit at a time, continuing to maintain proper form.

How Many Sets and Reps Should I Be Doing?

Personally, I think the biggest general key is not letting your muscles get used to one distinct pattern. Switch up the amount of resistance you are using, as well as your set/rep combination. Your goal is to confuse your muscles and encourage them to grow. High intensity, interval training, such as ChickFit, is a phenomenal way to confuse your muscles.

Diana Boyle owner of Embody Pole Fitness, in Corona, CA. Finding inspiration from the amazing people around her continues an ongoing series of articles exploring the empowerment of modern women. Amateur writer, part time IT professional, three quarter time pole dancing diva and full time mom she give her thoughts (in no particular order) about what is great about being a woman today…

Why? Well. Because I’m hearing more and more stories about shoulder injuries. People are feeling chronic pain in their shoulders, resting them, coming back to pole, and getting frustrated when the pain reappears. And this drives me absolutely crazy. It’s like walking out into the rain without an umbrella and always wondering why you eventually get wet. Are you doing anything to address the rain, or just giving yourself time to dry off before getting wet again?

Shoulder injuries are super common in pole dancing—nearly all the spins we do, and many of the static holds and tricks, require you to suspend your weight from the pole with your arms. If you have a responsible teacher, they have taught you how to engage through your shoulder to prevent harm to your shoulder joint. But a lot of people don’t really understand why that is so important.

The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint… like your hip. The round top of your arm bone (the ball) fits into a shallow dish-like depression created by the bones of your shoulder (the socket), and is held together with four small and short muscles and tendons that are called the “rotator cuff”. Over the top of the whole thing, is the shoulder muscle (deltoid) which connects your collarbone and shoulder bone (blade) to the upper arm. The ball-and-socket setup allows for a huge range of motion—I mean, think about what other joints in the body allow for movement in every plane of motion! You can swing your arm around like a monkey if you want to. But the downside is that with that huge range of motion comes very little stability. Because the joint has to be free to move a lot, it means that there aren’t a lot of controls on the joint that keep it within a safe range of motion. That’s where those four little muscles—and the big old deltoid– come into play.

If you’re learning about this rotator cuff stuff for the first time, take a look at this video. It is a great 3D illustration. I’ll be right here waiting while you watch it.

So, now that you can see how the shoulder joint works, think about this: When you hang off your arm in a spin, you are hanging the entire weight of your body off the tendons and relaxed muscles of your rotator cuff. They aren’t that big, right? That sounds pretty bad, right? Like maybe you could tear something. Or rip something. Or at the very least, stretch some tendons beyond their comfort zone.

On the other hand, if you engage the very big, lovely deltoid, and the little itty bitty muscles of the rotator cuff (pulling your shoulder down and away from your ear, and sliding your shoulder blade down and into the center of your back), you are using the strength of those contracted muscles to hold you up.
If you don’t have the strength in the shoulder muscles to engage properly, you WILL hurt yourself. Maybe not now, maybe not 6 months from now, but all the accumulated damage you are doing to your shoulder will catch up with you. THAT is why beginners should NOT do one-handed spins until they have built up serious strength and are able to maintain good form. And that damage is the reason that many of us have shoulder problems and pain. I was never taught how to engage my shoulder in a spin, and my right shoulder actually clicks when I make a big circle with my arm. It sucks.

Pole dancing creates imbalances in our bodies. We are constantly having to pull up, pull in, contract towards the pole. So all of the muscles that are used for opposing actions suffer: I have very strong biceps to lift my body up, but my triceps are very weak. Or my inner thighs are very strong because I have to squeeze my legs around the pole, but my outer thighs are weak and I can’t generate nearly as much force at opening my legs (insert dirty joke here). There are a lot of muscles that get neglected, for the simple reason that they’re difficult to work in exercises using our apparatus of choice. The muscles of the rotator cuff in particular are often ignored and very difficult to strengthen in traditional pole strengthening moves.

If you have chronic shoulder pain, re-evaluate what you are doing and how you are doing it. You can’t just “rest” it and think that the problem will go away. You need to address the root of the problem and take steps to eliminate it.

For some suggestions on how to strengthen your shoulder, take a look at this video below. http://youtu.be/hm7xqu-pOEc

Doing these exercises in my weekly Pilates privates have made my shoulder SO much stronger and more stable, and completely eliminated all the discomfort and pain that I was feeling in my shoulders.

Aerial Amy is a Manhattan-based pole instructor. To learn more about her,
please visit http://aerialamy.com and find links to
her daily, pole-based blog and other projects!