The Diary of a Pole Addict: Health & Fitness Blog, Vegetarian Recipes & Pole Dance!

It's Your New Thursday Pole Blog. Pretzels, Skaters & Being Thankful

27/11/2014

Gooood evening all. As you're probably well aware, today is Thursday. Thursday. This picture sort of sums up my Thursday....

When that came up on my Facebook feed it just perfectly described how I'd felt this morning. I'm surprised I managed to put coffee in my cup and not drink the raw eggs I was scrambling in the microwave! Still, Thursday IS technically my favourite day. Even if it did end with a fire bell and a staff meeting (boo....!).

So, anyway, this week has gone surprisingly quickly. After Monday's events the days just flew by - Tuesday I felt SO stiff from my "unfortunate incident" in the gym on Monday paired with the grading and pole on Sunday but when pole time came round I was READY. Oh yes.

Tom and I had been given some progress sheets, to check where we were in terms of moves and what we'd learnt. Going through most of the level 1-2 syllabus we've covered all of them. 3 started seeing some interesting names for things we thought were called something else, but again, it was pretty much stuff we've seen/been working on.

Tom made the mistake of asking what a "hero" was (yeah thanks for that buddy :p) and so there was a lot of rather interesting maneuvering trying to work out how on EARTH to do that (on Tom's part. I just watched....), when my turn came round Karen had wandered off (thankfully) so I gave it a go, found it wasn't much to my taste and went back to something that HAD caught my eye.

A couple of weeks ago Karen was talking about something called a "pretzel". Seeing the name on the level 4 syllabus reminded me - it had sounded like something I'd like to try. So, after asking Karen to show me, I set to work.

The first time was of course interesting. Karen was trying to pass me my foot from over the TOP of the other one and giggling about how it was NEVER going to reach (it really wasn't). Second go I went up into my gemini (I've just found a picture of one of my first gemini's.....wowee. It's SO much easier now!!) and then hung there, upside down like some overgrown sticky bat whilst Karen decided which way round I should grab my feet. It was worked out but by then I'd started slipping and there was no going back. I ended up thudding to the ground from about a foot away, onto my shoulder, hitting the ground with an "ooofff". Karen and Tom looked at me, decided I wasn't hurt and then pointed and laughed. Hmmph.

Now, third time lucky. I looked like some sort of demented spider, trying to pull out that back leg and get into position properly. All I got from Tom was "well, that's not an attractive move", thanks....again ;) but I got into it.

Now after I'd been instructed to spot Tom whilst he did his hero and try it myself when Karen went to check on another pair I decided to attempt the hero (it went sort of ok.....ish....) and then get back into tangling my legs around. The result was FAR nicer than the first go in, even getting a "wow, that looked REALLY good" from Tom (who left me hanging in that pose for about 45 seconds whilst he took a picture of every angle....I'd started seeing pulsing black dots by the time I got down :p I'm pretty sure most of my blood was in my head by then!) and this is what we came out with...

On seeing that last photo my immediate reaction was disgust. Then I decided it'd be ok, I could photoshop it to take out that HUGE belly.

You know what though? I'm not going to. That would be to erase everything I believe in. It's damn well about time that I started to love my body for what it is - strong, flexible and hardy instead of hating it for what it isn't. Yes. I have stomach fat; but you know what? Underneath that I have strong, hard muscle that can support me, pull me upside down and keep me going for hours. What is there to hate about that?

So there it is, in all of it's glory. Yeah, not the most flattering angle, given that I'm squished up against the pole but that's it. That is my body, upside down, tangled together.

Well, overall I'm proud as punch with that move. Screw the belly fat!

To finish things off I got Tom to photo the "skater" (a level 2 move we'd never tried before)...it looks nice :D

I know I've sagged in the last one, but in my defence I'd been stood there for a little while and poles are HARD. As in, they're not soft. I have some interesting bruises this week.

Overall, this week has been pretty awesome :) I know my American friends are celebrating Thanksgiving today, so in that spirit I have been thankful for pole, for tenacity, for support and for the confidence from knowing you can kick ass.

What are you thankful for today?

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#Sundayfunday - A Pole Grading, A High Protein Vegetarian Recipe Experiment & Other Stories!

24/11/2014

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Yesterday was the much famed pole level one grading.....

At 10:30am Tom and I set off for the pole barn to practice, spent an hour and a bit doing that before coming home, eating (or TRYING to eat something) and then heading out for the leisure centre progressively getting more terrified with the minutes!

It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I happened to be the VERY last performance of the afternoon and there had been some REALLY fantastic performances coming before me. By the time I got to perform I'd gone past nerves into confusion into false bravado....still, once the music came on and I started, the nerves melted away. Going from "omg, why on EARTH have I CHOSEN to do this" to "I WAS BORN FOR THIS.....I LIVE FOR THE APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE....." in less than 10 seconds ;)

Everything happened at the right time and it felt AMAZING!!

Once it was done, the sensation was like almost nothing I've felt before. When I saw Charlie afterwards though, she pointed out I'd missed something. NOOOOOO. Wrapped up int he moment I'd skipped a spin. Crap.

Still, I passed and had an awesome time doing it - I came home to a bunch of flowers and my lovely hubs editing the video to make it look super cool. Very cute :D

He'd also bought me a chocolate orange. Oh dear!

Anyway, half a chocolate orange and a bath later I was playing WoW (I'm level 100 now....whoop!) and chilling out. Amazing day...#SundayFunday was a reality!

Anyway, Monday has been kind to me - I managed to drag myself out to the gym on my half day off. I was tempted to curl up with a hot cup of tea and a book rather than heading out into the FREEZING COLD (yes, it is FREEZING!) but I steeled my groins and headed out.

Having got to the gym I found I wasn't much in the mood for a session. I'm tired and stiff from all of the pole yesterday but slowly got into my routine (routine is always a great crutch!). I was clumsier than usual though (which is saying something) and managed to put the barbell at the wrong angle, slip off the bench I was doing leg raises on, overbalanced whilst doing tri-dips/leg raises on the raised thingie and then finished it off by squirting water from the fountain up my nose. Still, the cross trainer ROCKED and I bopped along for 30 minutes or so to my favourite tunes :D

Anyway, having thought about my high-protein experiments I thought I'd share one of my favourites with you....now I'm going to be honest with you. I dislike cooking. I dislike hassle and I dislike preparation - so with that intro....

Your quick and easy vegetarian recipe for today is something that I often eat for breakfast - one of my biggest problems is WHAT to eat for breakfast. So often I slip back into high carb alternatives simply for the lack of knowledge of what better to eat - so, this is one of my favourite choices!

Scrambled egg on toast....microwave version. This takes a minute to make and is SCRUMMY.

Macros break down like this (this is for 2xegg and 1xtoast) with a beautifully balanced 18g carbs, 18g fat and 21g of protein (for 328kcal).

You'll need:
2 x medium/large eggs
1 x piece of bread
1 x cup
1 x splodge of oil (I use olive)
150ml milk (I prefer whole - you can use whatever you like)

Optional extra:
1 x tbs cheese spread/20g cheddar cheese

1. Oil into the cup and wiggle the cup around for coverage
2. Crack eggs into cup and beat them (that always makes me giggle to say). Add the milk (and cheese if you're using it) here.
3. Microwave eggs for 1 min (1.5 min for 3 eggs, 45-60s for 1 egg ALL dependent on your microwave ofc)
4. Bread into toaster, toast
5. Butter bread, put on plate, tip eggs out and voila. You have lunch/breakfast/snack

You can add tomato ketchup/tabasco sauce or anything you fancy to flavour. Mine has tommy-k and Tabasco on here!

Do you have any quick and easy favourite breakfast recipes?

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It's Not About What You Can Or Cannot Do - It's About What You're Willing To Put In To Do It!

22/11/2014

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It's Not About What You Can Or Cannot Do - It's About What You're Willing To Put In To Do It! motivational quote

Recently I've been finding things hard. I've been injured, upset and ill on and off for a few months and I've got to thinking about where I expected to be at this time in this year.

I exercise regularly, try to keep a high baseline of non-exercise activity and generally try to watch what I'm eating. So why aren't I THERE yet?

For some of you this will seem silly - common sense maybe; but for me, it has been a revelation. I don't know how often I've said some thing like "i want to be as good as that person" and recently sat and thought about what makes me different -why am I NOT as good at that activity as that AWESOME person I'm watching? Well, how about hours of dedicated training? The question for me now is how MUCH do I want to be like that person? How much am I willing to give.

Things don't (usually) come with ease,on a first go, on natural talent. so many women say to me "Oh I'd love to pole dance but I don't have the strength" well of course you don't, unless you've been training for strength. Not many people, women especially just naturally have the strength to support their own body weight on one or two arms - you have to train into it - or off be lucky enough to work where your strength is a primary requirement.

So there I was, watching a YouTube video when this revelation hit me. I suppose it's always been something I suspected, but I'd never applied logic to the system. For years I wondered why I'm not a great guitarist...well, because I just don't practice enough. Time to apply that to my fitness goals. I say I want to be strong, I want to be good enough to compete, I want to have low body fat; but what am I ready to put in to getting those things?

Well, I've been closely looking at what I'm willing to put in and I've been brutally honest. I've not been willing to put enough in to get what I want and therein lies the answer to my question - why have I not seen the progress I've wanted to see?

So what can we do to achieve our goals?

I need to firstly commit to achieving them. Often goals can seem so far off they're hard to imagine completing - which is when you start to slip.

Secondly I need to know exactly what I need to do to achieve those goals. Time to set out and actually research my goals - strength, power, lower body fat.

Thirdly I need to decide how I'm going to achieve those goals. How much leeway do I have and how much does it mean to me - how much will I put in?

It's not all about sacrifice though...

Time and time again studies have shown that restrictive dieting leads to failure. In psychology this is based on something called the boundary model (Herman and Polivy) - we lash out psychologically to being too restricted. In everyday life, it's known as common sense - don't go too hard on yourself whilst maintaining a good edge.

Easier said than done!

So, time for me to go away and actually consider these points. Where do I want to be in a year's time? Can I get there? Do I WANT to get there?

Looking through my summer pictures, completing the Trailwalker and all of the pole progress I know that with dedication, anything is possible - it's just very easy to forget what you're actually capable of!

So - What are you willing to give up for your goals? What will you keep to maintain the balance?

References
http://psycnet.apa.org/books/11753/001
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1098-108X%28199107%2910:4%3C461::AID-EAT2260100411%3E3.0.CO;2-U
http://drexel.edu/psychology/faculty/lowe_michael/17_Lowe_Psych_Bull_1993.pdf

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You Can Always Tell It's Thursday. My New Favourite Recipe & Other Stories

20/11/2014

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It's Thursday. The only day of the week where you can wake up, brush your teeth with soap, wash your face with toothpaste and try to drink the olive oil sat next to your coffee and it seem like you're making progress.

Ah Thursday. My favourite day of the week. Well. It's pre-Friday and you know that you've almost made the week. Trouble is, this time is going awfully quickly!

So, what do I have to say for today? "nngghhhhshhh".

Yep.

That's what today is inspiring in me...

Wednesday this week was a beautiful day. I got home from work early (being slightly part time), made myself some food (yes, I actually made myself some food!) and then realized I had a large portion of time that was unassigned....the first time in a week or two.

Now some of you will know that the new WoW (World of Warcraft) expansion came out last Thursday - Warlords of Draenor. Between queue times (which were ridiculous), OFSTED (which is also ridiculous), a rather large craft order (from my shop on Etsy....go check me out :p) and my mother-in-law moving house I had NO time to play. If you mix into that the fact that my car broke down on the way to helping MiL move AND I had an....unfortunate....incident well. What can I say. No WoW time.

So, yesterday I was faced with a decision. Do I stick to the plan, go to the gym (after having my EXTREMELY good lunch meal) and be a "good" girl. Or do I blow it all off and level my main (guardian druid....she's beautiful and I love her....).

Well. Somehow I managed to turn away from the screen (having done my garrison quests....), change into my gym gear and actually LEAVE the house. I even have proof...

1.5 hours later, I'm finished with the gym and some yoga to stretch it all out...

And it's time for some WoW.

Not to get too geeky, but for those of you who are interested the new expansion is amazing - gorgeous tileset, the garrison idea is BRILLIANT and there are lots of things to do that don't involve stooping to the level of pugging. Ooops. Did I say that? I meant lots of fun, solo things to do :p

Anyway, geek zone over and today I have decided that I'm going to share my gorgeous lunch with you - it's a fave recipe for me now (and happened quite by accident).

As I often say, I'm a LAZY vegetarian, so I have a lot of trouble with getting enough protein into my diet. This meal was a beautifully balanced 36g carbs, 30g fat and 38g protein. Yum!

Fast, easy, vegetarin, high protein recipe

Ok, so I'm not so much about the presentation....but it tasted good :D

So, for a beautifully balanced meal:

You can find the link to the recipe on MFP here.

125g quinoa (I used the red and white pre-prepared quinoa from the Tesco whole food section)
3 x medium eggs (you can put in fewer eggs - I was REALLY hungry and I love eggs - this would change the macros though!)
30g cheddar cheese

1. Microwave the eggs (pop into a cup, beat them around and then microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on the microwave and number of eggs!) *remember to put a little olive oil in the cup to avoid the egg sticking...
2. Pop the quinoa onto a plate (preferably clean....!)
3. Tip the eggs out onto the quinoa
4. Grate some cheese over the top - add some raw onion/tomato if you fancy
5. VOILA

Yum :D

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It's Thursday? The Day After The Days Before...What A Week!

13/11/2014

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Sometimes the best workouts are the unexpected ones!

Well well well. What a week.

I've said that before, but I don't think I've ever meant it so emphatically! On Monday someone was joking in the staff room that this was the week from hell. We had an open evening, meetings on two days after school and a report deadline.

At 12pm on Monday we got the call that our school was going to go through OFSTED. Bet that person kicked themselves.

In addition to that, I got a lovely order for a couple of candle holders that needed to be made and dispatched in 72 hours and I somehow had to keep working out....this was going to be an interesting few days!

So, after leaving school at about 9:30pm on Monday evening, everyone got down to go through OFSTED. Queue two days of very little sleep and lots of work. By Monday evening I'd made one gecko (which crumbled to pieces because of a BAD batch of clay....) and been to the gym for legs day, and I just had to survive the next two days....

Now as you know, Tuesday was pole day. Tuesday. Pole VS OFSTED. I'm sure you can guess what won out in the end....

So, after getting to pole on Tuesday night (yep, lol) I have to admit to being knackered. I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to achieve, but I'm SO glad that I went. I reasoned that my normal life shouldn't be put on hold just because of my work life, it's important to have a balance, so I went and balanced.

After working on our grading routines (1 week......eeeeek) Karen came to check on us and see what we were up to. Routines were checked and approved (although I did get pulled up on one of my pivots by Charlie for going too quickly into it....it's hard without the right music!!) and then onto the usual stuff. This week was a bit of going over lots of things, Tom and I managed to secure a pole each (I wanted the black one, then the silver one, then the black one back....it had more grip for the armpit moves but too much for the spins..... *sheepish look*) and then went about our business. I worked on my corkscrew (yeah that's really not getting much better quickly), did an ankle release (with Charlie - our lead instructor supporting some of my weight, but hey, it still happened.....and Tom *might* have been holding my legs....loool) and then tried a range of armpit grips and sits. At the every end of the lesson, Karen told me about a move that sounded AMAZING :D It's from a Gemini (one of my fave moves these days - funny how that changed, I remember being so frustrated that I couldn't get into a Gemini for weeks on end!) and I have to bend round and grab my opposite feet....I'm not sure I bend that way but we'll see next week :D It was all very fun and very nice - a perfect way to take my mind off of the looming spectre of OFSTED (thanks guys <3).

Anyway, yesterday evening marked the end of the OFSTED inspection of the school and I looked forward to sitting quietly, listening to jazz and doing not a lot. Of course things never work out that way and instead I ended up helping a friend move some furniture around - I don't think I've ever appreciated my new strength until last night. All those reps in the gym, all of that dragging my butt up a pole has REALLY paid off :D It was a great, if unplanned, workout and it got me up and moving, which meant I slept REALLY well last night. I had a lovely warm bath when I got in and read for a bit *aaaaand relax*

So. Today is Thursday. It's actually Thursday! Where did the rest of the week go?! A bit of pole and some nice, mild Pilates for tonight methinks!

So how has your week gone? Have you managed to get in any unexpected workouts?!

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Remember, Remember The 5th Of November....It's Your Weekly Pole Blog!! :D

5/11/2014

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Whenever I write the word Wednesday, I still spell it in my head. Wed-nes-day. I mean, that's the only way to do it right? It's a long word....right? ;)

So, how was your Wed-nes-day? I was almost on time for work today AND I got two periods off at the end of the day on account of being (very slightly) part time. This was a good Wed(-)nes(-)day.

On getting home, I spent a LONG time doing PiYO. I missed a few days and decided to do them back to back....bad idea.

By the end of the 2 hours or so of missed PiYO I looked a bit like this....

Still, totally worth it! I' really enjoying the PiYO workouts so far, and "sweat" makes me actually SWEAT! Nice job Chalene (total girl crush ;) ).

So yesterday was pole. Of course. I mean, what else would you do on a Tuesday evening? ;)

We spent a lot of time getting bruised last night. It. Was. Awesome :D

Sadly though, my Butterfly has gone wonky again. What gives?! Time to concentrate on staying straight ;)

Now this week has been busy, but Tom and I managed to get along to what we call the "pole barn" on Monday afternoon.

Now this barn is out in the middle of no-where. Farmland and not a lot else surrounds it. It got dark VERY quickly whilst we were out there.

When we arrived there was a driver-less car, parked outside of the barn, running, lights on.....creeeeeepy.

We ignored it and went in.

Then about 30 minutes later, Tom noticed something moving outside.

There was no one there...

Now I'm going to go ahead and let you all know that I am a WIMP. Yep. Total wimp. Sneer all you like about my cowardice but just remember, I would be the one alive at the end of the scary movie. Or the zombie apocalypse.

Although saying that, I might survive the apocalypse but I'd probably starve to death within a month from hiding in a closet.

My sister and I have already started planning for the apocalypse, it's been decided that I will be HIDING IN A TREE if anyone wants me. I've already started planning for this event by trying to do pull-ups.....yep, you wondered about that goal right? ;)

If I fall out of the tree though, I'd totally have to go along these lines...

Anyway, with the creepy car and the thing that was OBVIOUSLY A PERSON EATING GHOST we managed another hour before creeping ourselves out and leaving. Still, the routines for grading are coming along.....squee!! 23rd November here we come :D

So, what are you looking forward to this month? And what are your plans for the zombie apocalypse?!

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Pinch-Punch First Of The Month! What Can 30 Days Bring You?!

1/11/2014

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Hi all! o/

Welcome to November everyone! As you know, I don't always blog on a Saturday, but when I do I blog on a Saturday.... 0_o

So. New month! We have two months until Christmas, that's actually 54 days. It creeps up on you quickly doesn't it. The Christmas decorations are out and I'd stay well away from shopping areas for fear of getting Christmas music-ed to death ;) I'm no scrooge, but I think the decorations in November take away from all of the exciting stuff November has to offer. Those short days, long nights, opportunities to cuddle up with something (or someone) warm. Furry socks, hot water bottles. Fireworks! There's so much to look forward to before Christmas!

Anyway. I have to confess, I have spent the first of November here in the UK in my jogging bottoms (or sweat pants as my lovely American friends call them :D) and a football shirt. I have been disinclined to acquiesce to anyone's demands that I move. The sofa is my friend. We're good friends and we get along well. It accepts me for who I am and doesn't judge that I'm reading my way through the True-blood novels (yes, I liked Twilight too - I'm not ashamed....).

Anyay, whilst staring into space, listening to next door's child crying (when you live in a flat and someone close has a baby, you all get to have that new baby experience. Except you don't actually get a pink ball of child. Not sure whether that's the best part or not 0_o) I was thinking about my goals for November.

You see, I didn't really set myself goals for October. I had an idea that I'd follow and it was sort of ok. Stay away from things that I know will rot my teeth (and my brain....) like sweeties (or too many of them), don't drink fizzy and do yoga every day. Check. That was the extent of my planning for October. Somewhere along the way, I got lost. You see, in teaching, when we set ourselves goals they have to be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed. My goals for October were not SMART. I'm not even sure they were smart....

Like a lot of people (I'm sure anyway), when I set vague goals, internally I'm happy to push those boundaries. My goals have to be very specific with criteria to fulfill, otherwise I'll wander off. It also happens when I'm talking. Look, a cat! Ooooh, isn't it a pretty cat. So cute. You know, my cat, Dave.....

See. My students know this and they utilise it. When I was at school, my RE teacher once referred to my concentration span as that of a "goldfish". It's still true. I happen to have the memory of an elephant though (and a few other things to boot. Sadly not a trunk. Oh, I'd love a trunk.....you could have so much fun with it) so either I'm a massive land based fish, or a tiny swimming elephant...

Anyway. Goals. Goals need to be concise and targeted. With specific criteria to fulfill. Otherwise, you'll wander off track somewhere. It's easy and you don't always notice in enough time!

So, my goals for November (see, stayed on track there, eh eh. It happens sometimes):

1. Lose 2Ibs in scale-weight by December 1st. From 154.2 - 152.2 (this is my scariest goal!). Specific? Check. Measurable? Check. Attainable? Eeeeek. Check. Realistic? Hahahahaha.Yeah. No but really. Check. Timed? Check.

2. Follow the PiYO workout calendar throughout the month. S = yep, M = yep, A = YEP, R = yep, T = yep! Smart? We'll see ;)

3. Go to the gym, to lift (weights. Girl style. YEAH... RAWWWWRRRR) (full body) at least twice a week, for at least 30 minutes for the month of November. S = yep, M = yep, A = yep, R = yep, T =yep.

4. Run 5k at least once every week (in my super shiny (well, actually not shiny at all since they go out all weather but hey...) new Brookes running shoes!!) for the month of November (so that should total 4 runs at least in November). SMART? yeeeeaaah!

5. Ensure that I am eating at least 144g protein/day or protein totaling 30% of my daily calorie intake (which ever is higher). I'm a carb fiend, and whilst I have nothing at ALL against carbs - in fact, I think they're extremely useful, they help manage my condition AND they're the body's easiest source of energy - I tend to overeat carbs (in terms of carbs used/carbs intake), which leads to a lot of fluid retention and glycogen/fat storage. This is probably my smartest goal xD I always blame being a vegetarian for my poor protein intake, but the fact is it's only a factor because I am a lazy eater (and I'm not trusted to cook in this household.....apparently my food never looks good. It tastes good though. FUNCTIONAL! lol).

They're my main goals - this month has a lot to offer, so of course I expect to maintain my yoga streak (87 days now, whooo!) and my non-fizzy streak (61 days now!) but they are sort of becoming just part of my lifestyle now (and I am enjoying the increased flexibility :D ).

I'm also aiming to work on my half-flag every lesson, gain my grading in Pole (level 1) and keep working on the core strength to do a shoulder mount - I'm hoping to at least get my feet curled up by the end of the month!

So, those are my goals - both big and small. I'm aiming to be in a more settled routine (still getting back to it after the summer holiday!!) by the end of November and running more regularly to maintain my cardio fitness.

What are your goals for November? What do you hope to achieve by the end of November?

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It's Your Feel Good Friday Pole Blog - Caterpillar, Evil-Super Girl And Other Stories!

1/11/2014

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Whether it's Halloween, Samhain or any other variation on the ceremony - Happy Friday :D Halloween is my favourite day of the year - it's mid-autumn, the air smells fresh and clean and you're preparing for the cold darkness of winter. It's a perfect day to dress up, eat stuff you probably shouldn't and have a bit of fun. I spent the afternoon trick or treating with my nephews, dressed as super-girl gone bad...I only got three sweeties, but I had a ball. My sister was dressed as Spider-girl and together we escorted our nephew's into some spoooooky houses!

Originally I wanted to dress up as super woman, I couldn't find a red skirt anywhere and started to get quite frustrated. I was tempted to not bother going out trick or treating with my sisters, but then I realised that actually, I have the power to choose what I looked like. I could wear a black skirt and become a "bad" superwoman. We don't always need to fit the mould and sometimes, stepping outside those parameters means we can have a lot more fun. I enjoyed dressing up and I enjoyed the circuit - some people had VERY impressive Halloween displays! Plus, I got to wear a cape. I'd wear a cape every day if I could get away with it...

The moral of that story for me was simply: personalise, be yourself and allow yourself to get immersed in things. Important lesson there for me today!

Anyway, after all of the kids had gone to bed, it was time for the big girls to get dressed up. We had super-girl gone bad, Zombie Pirate Princess, Spider-girl and Marylin Monroe. In the car on the way to the pub it was like the start of a bad joke....

So, anyway, I said pole, I meant pole!

I've been quiet on the pole front lately, it's been slow going for me for a few weeks now - since my shoulder injury but this week, it picked up in style.

Last week Karen had us trying Caterpillar. I managed a half a caterpillar climb and then slid down the pole, feeling like I'd run about 10k. It's hard. Oooh, it might not look it, but you're upside down, pushing up, whilst trying to balance and hold on to the pole.

So, one caterpillar, with Karen holding my hips and pushing upwards whilst I pushed from my arms. Not dignified, not graceful, but it was functional.

This week, Tom decided it was time he tried a caterpillar, since it's such good strength work. He did it. Not only did he do one, he did three in a row.

"Have a go, oh go on".

Yah. I tried making an excuse, crying off of doing it - I felt so unbalanced last time I'd tried it I was loathe to do it again, but eventually, with the promise he'd catch me and not let me break my neck, Tom got me onto the pole to attempt a caterpillar climb. I did it. Not only did I do it, I did three in a row! I slid off the pole, more to surprise than actually being unable to do more - what an improvement from last week! Could I do it again?

Let me show you...

Ok, yes, you might be wondering at the start of that video what I'm doing. Luckily my lovely camera-woman moved round to actually capture the move in full, otherwise all we'd have had was me undulating against the pole for thirty seconds!

So, two sets of three (actually the second set had a bonus fourth!) and I'm SUPER chuffed!!

You might recall Karen drilling me on Butterfly last week. Well, she read the blog. Apparently, all I'm ever going to be doing again is Butterfly ;P (I'm joking.....please don't make that real xD). Warmed up and I looked at her to see what she'd like to do. First words "Butterfly". Ugh. Well. This week proves that constant practice completely pays off - I got up and did my Butterfly (so if you're reading this Karen, thank you and yes, you were right!). It was a straight one, my leg did not veer to the side and I actually felt fairly comfortable in it. Of course then I had to work out how to get into a flat-line from the Butterfly.....should look something like this:

Taken from http://www.poleexercise.co.uk/?attachment_id=1280

Well, for once my body knew what I wanted and actually did it. First time. Leg came round, other leg came off and voila.

Some weeks, my brain and body refuse to communicate. It's like they're at war. Brain says "leg UP", body hears "bend leg down, towards the ground. No, actually you know what, stop functioning altogether - just let go" but this week we seem to have reached some treaty whereby they'll actually co-operate. I'll enjoy the peace whilst it lasts ;)

Anyway, there was a bit of spinning and an "oh crap" moment, but it worked. I needed to be a lot straighter and my wrists didn't fancy co-operating so much, but after a couple of tries I started to get the feel for it. I'll have to keep working on it to try and get my lower arm up and into a better position to hold my weight!

As if getting a flat-line AND a caterpillar in one session wasn't enough, I felt really greedy last week and also attempted a "Shark" (not sure what it's called elsewhere, but that's what we call it). I'll get a picture of it. When I've lost about 20Ibs - there was a lot of flab on display for this one since my stomach was all over the pole, but it looks like this (of course, this guy makes it all look so easy :D)

Screenshot from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPKR2SZOxKA - Evgeny Greshilov

I also continued working on my half-flag. It's not perfect, but I'm proud of it - when I first started I couldn't even lift my legs off of the ground, so it's all progress!!

What it's supposed to look like (from poleexercise.co.uk)

It goes to show that with consistent practice and a good instructor (no, I'm not just trying to butter Karen up so I don't have to do a million more Butterfly's in my lifetime) progress comes. You just have to wait to see it sometimes.

Lots of people can get discouraged when things don't move as quickly as they'd like - the countless number of MFP friends who have disappeared after getting frustrated at results after a week. The people who come and go in my training sessions (for both pole and martial arts) are examples of this, people who have had a try but didn't get to do advanced stuff in their first sessions and got fed up with the basics; but you get what you work for - if you're willing to work, the results WILL come to you.

I feel good this Friday. This week has bought me a lot. I've had a chance to rest, to get back to the gym, to eat some yummy food (not everyone agrees the food I prepare looks great, but I think it tastes awesome - it's functional, what more does it need to be!?) AND I had an awesome practice. I also bumped into my Sensei (who I may have been not-quite avoiding for fear of being known as a slacker) and he was not mad at me. Bonus. Now I just need to get my ass back into training!

This week has been good for me - what has it bought you? What makes you feel good this Friday?

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Sometimes the best workouts are the unexpected ones!

Like What You See?Buy me a beer! :)

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Like What You See?
Buy me a beer! :)