What KIND of Work out IS Pole Fitness - Articles for you summary

Pole Fitness Combines 7-10 types of Work-outs...

In to 60 min of FUN Health

Pole Fitness has approximately 8-10 different styles and at least as many exercise categories. The science is new, because pole dance sport whether pure athletic acrobatic aerial or dance styled, it takes into account the individuals GOALS for the activity. The research is pretty overwhelming and has been since around 2017 when the "recreational" label for pole dancing started falling off the wheel of dance sport. I have placed the references at the bottom for you to read, if you wish.

If you do a search a lovely list comes up on the engines BUT... the references are Wikipedia and blog sites with no references. Being the geek I am - I went and found them...of course I did!

So let's get down to what exactly pole fitness has actually been documented to do for the body through exercise studies.

Pole Fitness is considered through documentation:

1. Aerobic -Endurance/stamina training-Cardiac Zone -full body work out

2. Anaerobic -progressive weight lifting

3. Interval training

Since Pole fitness is VERY hard to define we will go through these 3 and the other types of training later.

They are:

• End-range Flexibility & Balance training-

• Neuromuscular Development/ Dance training

• Acrobatic/aerial work -gymnastics

• Memory & Mood work (Strongly associated with #2)

Why??? And HOW??? Pole Works

1) Aerobic/endurance/Zone work-out:

Aerobic components, & Endurance training qualify it for moderate cardiac zone exercise. The slow progressive instruction focuses in building stamina to complete a routine to sustain heart rates for periods of time. Some classes, especially in the beginning will work to raise the heart rate slowly over the time period of 60 minutes. More advanced classes or cardiac dance specific classes use pole to increase the heart rate quickly and then maintain it.

While the research HAS been specific, and compared beginners to intermediates and professionals, the cardiac testing (by MRI & ECHO) has only been carried out on professional pole sport athletes or instructors teaching above level 3. After approx 4-6 years in pole it is hypothesized that the cardiovascular system a (Heart & Vessels of the body) were shown to remodel in a way to maintain HR & blood pressure, from the combined exercise categories of the sport we are reviewing here. Their cardiac health was scored above average.(2,3,4,9,11 & 12)

2) Anaerobic Work-out: Progressive lifting

a) Pole requires a steady progressive lifting and intense tightening of the entire muscle complexes that push & pull the body against gravity to maintain and HOLD the yoga like poses on the metal. While the skin factor is important, it is the dancers/athletes ability to use isometric muscle group engagements and "holds" to stay on the pole at variable diagonals, while against the metal pylon they dance around.

This occurs on the floor and in the air. The beginner learns on the floor with what is called regression work: building the muscle and muscle memory to engage in a sequence over time. Each added sequence adds more gravity/more weight progressively. The higher up the pole the more gravity and the longer the pose is held, while using 150 - 450 (plus) muscle group contractions. This is what causes whole body muscle gains.

Those muscle groups in the deep pelvis/leg/lower back area must be held in contraction for longer and longer as the student goes up the pole through proper sequenced training. The activity is so fun, they don't even think of it as weightlifting until...the next day! Then they KNOW in their literal gut, they used some muscles!

For WOMEN, specifically who begin to lose muscle at the end of fertility age (as early as age 27 has been recorded in medicine in the last 10 years), especially in the pelvic spinal push-pull groups, this factor is extremely important. The core has always been thought to be the visible abdominal muscles and the back side. In pole students LEARN all about the core muscles that keep you on the pole and train/or/condition them. The most mass gains are in these saggy deep & superficial muscles - keep reading! (1,3,4,5,7,11)

b) In the recent research in 2025 & 2026. Muscle mass was followed using machines:impedance, MRI's & Dexa-S scans. Amateurs across the board over a 6-month period who "went a poling", gained muscle mass of the full body. Researchers found the above across the board.

The pelvic /spinal erectors that waste 1st in women showed the largest gains, followed by: the arms, the upper back/chest and legs. They worked out no less than 2 days per week. The best part was the intermediates and the advanced group had the SAME gains. Poling allows CONTINUED mass development, and the growth stalls do not seem to appear, as long as the consistent practice or, even homework, is completed. (Yep they checked for it!) ... Which is why Mage Flow Pole tries to give you home ideas for between sessions!

Personal example: Same exact weight all 3 photos far right Fall 2024, Middle 6 months later and left is late 2025. Orange is muscle mass, Purple is water/fat. The straightening of the posture is notable as pole muscle engagement has changed my horrid SLUMP!

Total muscle mass gain was 12 lbs (SAME WEIGHT!)... all in core back & chest. Total inches lost was 20 combined-all areas. Age:60-63. In sarcopenia until 2020. Using pole fitness to address below!

3) High Intensity Interval training or HIIT.

HIIT is defined as "Short periods of intense anaerobic activity followed by lower-intensity aerobic activity", and involves both floor-work and pole work. In pole sport classes the beginner starts with attempting to go up the pole and then comes down, practices the move, then stops to learn another. While this is very short as the dancer progresses, the intense moves are preformed in groups of moves one after the other called "combos". They are up on the pole holding each pose, changing through dynamic contracting isometrics against gravity. The longer the time on the pole, the more intense as the contractions must be held. A Combo of 5 or 15 exerts incredible power in the transitions between moves as they progress. It has been described as "like running a sprint" when the sequences are completed and the poler does ret moves or does go hydrate and REST in intervals. (1,3,4,5,7,11)

What is happening is the following, which is where longevity research comes in.

Explosive power (fast twitch muscle fibers) are required to quickly activate muscle groups and change from one pole to the next or complete dance moves both on the floor and on the pole. Explosive power is sometimes referred to as DYNAMIC power. There are categories of pole sport and pole moves that are categorized as Dynamic-pole & dynamic moves (flying off or away from the pole).

This is why Beginners need to train in a progressive manner, Fatigue faster in class and can become upset without a program for muscle growth. At Mage Flow Pole & Fitness, our curriculum is based on the anaerobic needs of women especially those who are NOT ATHLETES or never been athletic. We start with no fast twitch fibers to speak of so alternate moves and regressions are very important for this reason in class.

It is a little known fact that as we age the muscle fibers that do this "dynamic contraction" are called Type II fibers. Type II fibers are like the dark meat on a chicken! They give maxim force and then...fatigue very quickly. Mid class fatigue is a beginner training problem that should be acknowledged by the instructor and the moves adapted. Over time (approx 24 weeks) these fibers catch up in women and all of a sudden, the sprints become easier and the time to muscle failure lengthens.

The fibers and muscle growth were studied in a huge muscle wasted group of men & women (over 11K total) over a 10-year period in a study in 2025. The researchers found, & treated the "sarcopenia" state and treated the problem with exercise prescribed specifically and then checked muscle gain. Sarcopenia/fragility was deemed reversible, but there was MORE.... What they found was that those people who did DYNAMIC work-outs at least once per week gained faster and did not relapse into fragility with that single fact. This means just lifting weights was NOT the entire answer to longevity! Dynamic work is a longevity extender!

The research on pole fitness did classify pole classes in these areas and did track which classes (sport or dance choreography) effected the most physical outcomes. It was found that the combined choreography, using pole moves, did cause more cardiovascular AND muscle gains than the plain sport. It was theorized that the HIIT factor incorporating the DYNAMIC muscle fibers was the variable that tipped the scale. This is a good reason for pole studios to offer more choreography classes than sport classes. Both are needed and the full work out complements the Intense lifting to failure pole sport work-outs beautifully.(1,6,8,&10)

So if you are geeky like me, here are those references.

If your Pole Fitness curious - skip over and register! Bet place to have fun and hit a total of TEN health needs in ONE class and go get busy living!

Be sure and sign up for blog sent straight to you as we discuss MORE pole geeky things weekly!

Next week: Pole Fitness science articles for women's bodies - the OTHER things Pole fitness categories you may be going to another type of work out to cover.

Save time...sign up and save yourself time in your busy week!

Copyright all images through Mage Pole Flow personal collection. Other images - magnific.com free.

References

1. Altulea, A., Rutten, M. G., Verdijk, L. B., & Demaria, M. (2025). Sport and longevity: an observational study of international athletes. GeroScience, 47(2), 1397-14

2. Antonova H. The impact of pole acrobatics training on structural and functional changes in the muscles of female athletes. Exp Clin Med. 2024;93(4). DOI: 10.35339/ekm.2024.93.4.zan

3. Dias, A. R. L., De Melo, B. L., Dos Santos, A. A., Silva, J. M. A., Leite, G., Bocalini, D. S., ... & Serra, A. J. (2022). Women pole dance athletes present morphofunctional left ventricular adaptations and greater physical fitness. Science & Sports, 37(7), 595-602.

4. Gronek, P., Boraczyński, M., Haas, A. N., Adamczyk, J., Pawlaczyk, M., Czarny, W., ... & Król-Zielińska, M. (2021). Body adaptation to dance: A gerontological perspective. Aging and disease, 12(3), 902.

5. Ignatoglou D, Paliouras A, Paraskevopoulos E, Strimpakos N, Bilika P, Papandreou M, Kapreli E. Pole Dancing-Specific Muscle Strength: Development and Reliability of a Novel Assessment Protocol. Methods and Protocols. 2024; 7(3):44. https://doi.org/10.3390/mps7030044

6. Lambert, C. P. (2022). Strength as a predictor of longevity: Compelling evidence. Journal of Men's Health, 18(5), 113.

7. Nawrocka, A., Pawelak, Z., & Mynarski, A. (2024). Longitudinal Effects of Pole Dance Training on Body Composition and Muscular Strength in Women. DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3990731/v1

8. Nicholas, Joanna C.1; McDonald, Kirsty A.1; Peeling, Peter1; Jackson, Ben1; Dimmock, James A.1; Alderson, Jacqueline A.1,2; Donnelly, Cyril J.1. Pole Dancing for Fitness: The Physiological and Metabolic Demand of a 60-Minute Class. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 33(10):p 2704-2710, October 2019. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002889

9. Rantanen, T., Masaki, K., He, Q. et al. Midlife muscle strength and human longevity up to age 100 years: a 44-year prospective study among a decedent cohort. AGE 34, 563–570 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-011-9256-y

10. Ruscello B, Esposito M, Pantanella L, Partipilo F, Lunetta L, D’Ottavio S. Biomechanics and Physiology in top level Pole Dancers. A case study. J Phys Sports Med . 2018;18:1-15. DOI: 10.36811/jphsm.2019.110001

11. Zharova IO, Antonova HP. Electromyographic indicators' investigation in female athletes engaged in pole acrobatics. Inter Collegas. 2025;12(1). DOI: 10.35339/ic.2025.12.1.zan.