Why is the Gym Program on the ‘Pole with Steph’ App an effective cross training program for Pole Dancers?

✨Well first, what are some of the “why’s” of cross training? Injury prevention, balanced muscle development, improved flexibility

We might want to train pole everyday, but that would likely lead to overuse injuries, which is where cross training comes in. But if pole is something you want to improve your performance in, then you want your cross training program to support that, right?

So an effective cross training program will include exercises that 1) focus on the muscles that you need to make you stronger for pole AND 2) focus on muscles that you might not specifically need for pole, but will contribute to balanced muscle development and overall improved movement patterns 💪🏼

I’ll give you some examples directly from the App's gym program:

1️⃣Dips: Often times in pole, we push into the pole while the shoulder is in extension. Focusing on the push out of the bottom of a dip is a good exercise to build muscles for this (example: bottom “pushing” arm in a cup grip air walk)

2️⃣Leg Extensions (quads): I know you are trying to rid our legs of micro bends! Say hello to this exercise!

3️⃣Drop Back Lunge (glute long bias): I could relate this to pole and flexibility, but it can also be viewed as something to balance our muscles. We do a lot of hip extension (glute short bias) work when trying to make our pole splits flatter and our backbends bendier.

4️⃣Elevated Single Leg Glute Bridge (glute short bias) (top 1/2 ROM): The role of the glutes in hip extension (backbends and back leg in splits) is 2nd to none! This drill specifically targets the muscles needed to produce hip extension using the glutes (pole example: back leg in jade)

Go to recent Instagram post to see clips of the drills mentioned above: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCg-3XzuabZ/?igsh=bjVkNDFwNWJteGhu

And before the launch of a new 12 week cycle, Tiana and I discuss changes that will continue to best support us in our pole journeys!

All members or the program are also encouraged to post videos for feedback here in the App's Community Feed!

Questions (or have a testimonial you’d like to share from using the program)? I’d love to hear from you here in the comments!

And this post would not be complete without a shoutout to the wizardry behind the Program, @Coach Tiana 🧙‍♀️

Happy Training!
Coach Steph & Coach Tiana