Pole & COOKIES Yum!

What kind of exercise??? #2

Pole is full body, muscle and joint re-training & End-range Flexibility-training

Pole sport is categorized across the board as a full body work out. Fast efficient for qualifying for Cardiac general health AND muscle building with a perfect blend of fun and laughter....but one of the reasons it is hard to define is that it doesn't fit into the usual "go to the gym and do x-y-z to attack a-b-c problems".

• Is it Yoga?Is it gymnastics? Is it Pilates? Is it a gate-way to something sinister?

• Is it just for fun & recreation? Is there skill involved?

• Is this even seriously considered a sport?

• Is it circus training....

The answer to these is... YES ... but NO... it's NOT any of those things.

It is Aerobic, Anaerobic, HIIT in nature. Cardiac zones are reached in all classes based on level and topic taught. It does use yoga like poses. It has been compared to Olympic gymnastics, as well as the martial arts for dynamic muscle engagements (ju-jit-sue to be exact) and, it does by research data that abounds... tend to empower women, which may not work for some cultures as this could be sinister... however.....even the most reverent of pole dancers have found clothing that allow the sport across the world, so there is that.

AND CHILDREN ARE TRAINED IN IT! Yes they are due to the Olympics admissions of Aerial categories and world championships(just happened) that remains in the works for the future of SPORTS. While we see more adult women in dance art in the USPF the main US aerial federation covering all aerial is at: https://www.usaerialfederation.org/ for the https://ipsfsports.org/en/

Is it recreational and fun & a sport? Heck yes. The best part of Pole fitness appears to be its other work-out categories and even those category scientists are struggling to connect the dots.

All polers know is that it works, it is addicting, and their lives change for the better.

Let's look at the next type of exercise and poles answer to the female bodies needs!

End-range joint/muscle flexibility.

End-range flexibility.....A buzz word that came on the heels of the PNF stretching craze, in a long line of "stretching theory". Let's see...

There are static stretches - stretching in a set position and holding it for 30 made popular in the 1960-70s yogis trends. Coaches everywhere started paying attention.

In the 1980-1990's sports science and coaches noticed that static stretching actually decreased dynamic movement in athletes and actually decreased time and endurance.

PNF or Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation was defined and used since the 1950's by physical therapists in medical cases. Around the 1990's coaches started using it quietly with athletes, and it was the gold standard.So by the 2000's when the Olympic coaches hailed "movement based stretches" the "bomb", things moved forward with the science. PNF involves pulse tightening and release stretches seen on the sidelines of any sports event for years. The thing the public doesn't know is that it is a controlled tightening, not bouncing. And...the data(subjects studied) using PNF on end-range joint angles started showing up as "improved" significant;y even until humans in their 100's!.

Now, with longevity studies (big wadd of boomers getting real stiff now !) the term end-range flexibility has taken stretching to another level and pole is in the game!

Polers work end-range flexibility in a pole fitness program at Mage Flow Pole & Fitness, both in dance, pole class and in Wisdom balance class as we do ACTIVE muscle engagements and dynamic stretching warm-ups.

Women & End-range Flexibility:

Why it is very important for women

Women get stiffer and feel "off" with our massive hormones shifts monthly. We are used to it, never think about it. All through our 20's we bounce back with some soreness & slow down, but it goes a way and all is well. Women's health now know that the fertility period (ovarian non-viability) can range widely starting as young as age 27. Some get it earlier, some later, and they are calling it "pre-peri menopause", peri menopause and "ovarian dysfunction". Then there are the 6 million women in TEXAS alone that are IN menopause. Since 100% of all women will go through this, we PAY ATTENTION! It matters! It matters how we are doing because the wildness does affect how we feel AND how we feel about moving!

While it is beyond the scope of this article, we KNOW it happens. Even in dance class we here "it's my time, I'm off my game". There are published facts found in longevity studies on women most of the information is glossed over one. WE adapt to the STIFFNESS like a frog in a pot until we are cooked and DONE.

WE know about grip strength(all the rage and relevant to pole) but...how about getting your shoes tied, your knees up to your chest to paint your toenails? How about a hard-to-reach place while shaving the legs??? Go ask any provider about foot/leg cramps approaching age 45, and they will tell you...it's just age. Hmm, no...it's the body screaming for some self-care, exercise and maybe a different doctor!

Yeah...old speak comes in as "I'm just at that age". But these stiffness examples are subtle like that... and women have accepted them forever. But pole fitness can address this through it's END_RANGE Flexibility and PNF focused moves.

Women aging differently in 2026!

As women age their spinal erectors and ilio-psoas weakens, as a response to declining and erratic estrogen and T levels. We slowly slump forward and holding shoulders back or just straightening our spine and holding it "like momma said", becomes difficult for any length of time without reverting to the slump. Our shoulders in peri to full menopause become frozen. Our walk becomes just swinging our legs without actual muscle engagement and...we roll into a fragility governed "sea-shell shape", without ever knowing it. On your NEXt trip to the grocery, look around and see it happening the surrounding women! Is that what you want? If it is okay- you do you, we get it but...be sure you have great insurance!

We eventually loose bone from the hormones AND from not having the muscles to pull on them so they deposit needed the nutrients. The metabolic changes are a nightmare all on their own.

We WILL be getting to the "female hormones" in sports, and the effects on the fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers in the next 30 days so stay tuned!

A Great Example: Case study

I entered pole with 2 frozen shoulders using mostly my unstable weak legs & ankles, but I rolled about on the base of the pole, having a blast, & did NOT care! I was diagnosed as "aging" so whatever....

In 3 months the doctors wanted to know what had happened, since I had undergone 9 months of PT and injections, and those shoulders had stayed frozen.

I realize now the gentle required lower pole grip and end-range flexibility elements, had done its job. I was doing 1 conditioning class per week and 2-3 dance classes with mostly 1 hand, the other carried at my waist. Pole Fitness finally changed my life. In pole fitness we can stop this stone rolling aging, if not reverse it with end-range flexibility and muscle building work..

Years 0-3 were a bit slow, Years 4-6 (now) The correcting alignment is very noticeable.And all it took was homework "cookies" every day!

Pole and cookies!!!

In the last blog I revealed the Dexa-S scan after 2 solid consistent years in pole fitness. 60% of the muscle gained was through the trunk/pelvis section from the consistent work of pole fitness addressing NOT the big muscles but ALL the muscles that a woman needs to move and be healthy.

Pole fitness does a beautiful job with end-range flexibility using a thing called "conditioning".

What this actually looks like is stretching,... maybe some yoga or Pilates. But remember it is NOT.

Pole conditioning is working the tiny muscles through pole specific moves, so on the pole, those muscle engage when we tell them to. The muscles need blood flow, tendons and ligaments that aren't "rusty" and probably some nerve-flossing!

So we do them is SMALL repetitions over a period of days/weeks. These are called "cookies". They take about 5–7 minutes. This also rolls right into the NEURO-MUSCLAR pathway training, which is coming up. When we consciously contract muscle groups in a pattern multiple times.... we no longer have to think it through...-it becomes a naturally occurring movement!

"Bendy" happens in a controlled safe way using these techniques. Most of the effective conditioning is done in small increments of about 5 counts, in 3-5 rep sets usually no more than 1-2 times! We call them cookies. They take 15 minutes max and are based on the Moves you are personally working on!

The homework cookies you get, address the weakness that is stopping the moves your instructor has noted you are having difficulty with. Pole does not try to "get you in shape" in a week. It slowly corrects the body to alignment, so your shape LOOKS different, then you move different. Then the sticking to the pole happens!

I remember the 1st "cookie conditioning" I was given shoulder serrates dynamic conditioning, and thought it was THE stupidest thing I had ever done. I did it 3 days a week for 2 weeks and was walking in the grocery pushing the trolley when I noticed my shoulders were down, my elbows in, and I was centered over my pelvis. I FELT my fanny move side to side as my dress hit the back of my legs! It felt so off....(That's about picture 2)

About 2 weeks later my DH asked me if I had grown in the chest area. Open-mouthed... I stammered. When I got dressed the next day I stood up and looked. My shoulders had pulled back just a tiny bit without pain or discomfort. My lady lumps were up, and I wasn't even trying!

Here is my ilio-psoas cookie, and it is actually a variation of the pole "Jade" move that we use on the pole

The body needs to be bendy to make the weight shifts and contract the muscles in the correct orders to do the poses and transitions. Women's estrogen waver-declines cause bone and muscle problems. That makes us at risk as we bustle through life, not tending to themselves regularly.

This makes pole very advantageous and possibly superior to static stretching activities.Plus after gaining 3-12% muscle mass as the research says, the ACTUAL COOKIES you eat... are NOT such a big deal anymore! You have some calories to get in!

A Bit about Joint Angles and WHY pole works just fine in all Ages

It is a little known FACT, that the universities that began to study the sport for the 2024 Olympic Games, used mathematical JOINT ANGLES based on age of the competitor to come up with a SCORE, for the judges to use across the competitions categories. These were done for EACH age group and for EACH Pole move. Someone who is 19 is going to have a wider joint angle in making "Pole Shapes", than say someone who is 63.

Pole competitions do have women up to age 85 in them at the current surveys, especially in European countries. Hi IDA!!!!

What this means is that ANYONE can be a great dancer or a great poler, and even COMPETE.

They do NOT have to look like they are 20 for all eternity. Nor should they!

Wow, that IS a relief. I want to write a thank-you letter to the OIC and those universities!

Go grab-BOOK a pole class ladies, there is just nothing better for full body muscle growth that includes your joints!

Disclaimer: Mage Flow pole & fitness is not a medical facility and does not operate in healthcare. We report the research and examples of lives changing for the better. The waiver to participate in classes does include risks and doctor discussion agreement. The 2 most common injuries are the shoulders and the ankles from OVER USE and unsafe pole practice. Mage Flow Pole operates on strict safety protocols using progressive lifting and controlled movement education. Crash mates and appropriate heights are required for the students level of learning. Example:The classes for low flow are approximately 4-5 feet max, most of the class is on the knees. Floor class is ON THE FLOOR.