http://www.thepoledancingshop.com/news/40/Powerful-bodies%2C-Even-more-powerful-minds-by-Lori-Myers.html
Powerful bodies, Even more powerful minds by Lori Myers
Posted on 14th May 2010 @ 4:32 PM
While pole fitness is definitely my shiny new toy, I am not new to the fitness world. I have spent a lot of time and money trying to get myself into shape over the years. I am six feet tall, so regardless of my weight, I've always been a "big girl". I gained significant weight in my 20's while in college. My highest weight was almost 350 pounds. On March 17, 2004 (at age 27), I had RNY gastric bypass surgery at UCSF. I ended up losing 165 pounds. I am now 33 years old and have put on about 40 pounds. So, I decided it was time to find a new, fun way to lose weight and get in shape. That is what brought me to Twirly Girls Pole Fitness in Pleasanton, California. Clearly, at over 200 pounds, I am not the "normal" vision of a pole dancer. Twirly Girls' owner, Bel, said that when she met me, she immediately thought of a viking warrior. I get an image of a strong woman with long flowing hair, carrying a bow and arrow or sword and wearing a fur-lined bikini. I can live with that image! Because of my height, I am often called Amazon, so it's not too far from something I've imagined before. I may never have the slim, dancer's body, or a super-toned, muscular body but I can always be me. So who am I in the pole dancing world? I am fun and silly. I like to dance crazy to loud, dirty rock songs. However, I think I've limited what I allow myself to do because I've always made the excuse, "I'm sure I'm too big to do that".
At my studio, there is a girl named Jen. She has the most amazing body, flexibility and strength. She can do all the things I want to do on the pole! She's also the size of one of my legs. So, then I started asking myself: Even if I was in the best shape of my life, would *I* be able to do what Jennifer does? I would guess her to be under 5 feet tall and under 100 pounds -- PURE muscle. I'm well over twice her size! Can a six foot tall body hang off a pole and do all the things that a five foot tall body can? Her toned muscles have to hold up a lot less than my flabby muscles do. I'm not taking away from the amazing things she can do! But am I setting myself up to fail by thinking or hoping that I too could hold the poses that Jennifer can?Recently, I had a conversation with Amber Richard, who is also a tall pole dancer. She gave me a whole new respect for what taller bodies can acomplish. So I have a new mission to get myself into better shape so that I too can do all of the cool pole tricks that Bel, Jen and Amber (just to name a few...) can do. I don't want to hold myself back anymore.
Now I'd love to know... What is holding you back? Is it you? Leave me a comment below!
Until next time, keep twirling!
Lori Myers
Student at Twirly Girls Pole Fitness Studio in Pleasanton, California
http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/
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Hi - I am so glad I found this blog post! I was on Google searching for "tall pole dancer" and up popped your blog. I am commenting here today because I too am a tall girl, 5'10" to be exact, around 150lbs., and am taking my first pole class tonight! After years of trying gyms, jogging the park and every perceived "normal" exercise regimen, I found that none of them worked for me and didn't keep my attention and focus. I remember seeing an add for the S Factor studios and found one in my city. After a bit of research I found other studios in my city that are less expensive, but also offer a wide variety of classes for pole dance aerobics, to yoga. My concern was that I might be too tall for the pole as every YouTube video that I have seen shows these tiny, little 5'2" ladies walking up the pole backwards and making it look like they have been doing it since birth! Believe it or not I was a competitive gymnast when I was young. I hit a late growth spurt at 15 and all the flipping and balance beam balancing were over. Don't get me wrong, I love being tall and I know that I will more than likely be the tallest woman there tonight. It is nice to read about another tall lady and her pole dancing experiences and from the looks of it you must be having the time of your life! Thank you so much for blogging your experiences!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!! So nice to meet you! You will absolutely be fine!! The best advice I can give...start doing your sit ups! ;-) Core strength is key to tricks on the pole. I can't wait to hear about your experiences!
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