YES! I've had a very similar experience between stainless steel and chrome.. needing different grips. What those grips are probably depends on the person, but I think it's very normal to need different ones for the variety of pole finishes. I know many people that swear by itac, but I don't personally like it. I recommend you try it anyways though! Other ones to try:

Grip it (on Amazon) https://amzn.to/4fbLqQwMonkey Hands (I like the red one): https://us.monkeyhands.eu

In general I have dry skin, so it's important for me (in all seasons) to get a little sweaty before poling.. it's help my grip ALOT! If it's tough for you to sweat in the cold months, one of our subscribers has this AMAZING dry skin spray (Thuy Dinh) that I love to spray on before warming up and it works like a charm!!! https://heauxxxapparel.com/products/tree-frog-grip-dry-skin-formula

So happy you’re feeling better too babe!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼 love seeing you back doing more pole things! Also v proud of your cup grip handspring and almosttttt Phoenix!! 🥳👏🏼🤗

Movement related: I've been better this past month giving myself lower intensity days / active recovery days vs pushing myself on a really sore / achy body. There is definitely a season to push and I'm currently not in one hehe so I'm embracing that!!

Non pole related: I organized an out of control closet in my apartment yesterday LOL it sounds funny, but it's one of those things that has been on my list forever and it just felt so good to finally get it done!!

And another WELCOME NEW SUBSCRIBERS!

Yes! You are probably feeling the very top of the hamstring (it connects right under the booty) and that muscle is an important one for BOP (the front leg). And yes, we don't want any pain in the shoulder during this, so it's important to breathe and work on tiny movements like moving the elbow forward and back, tucking untucking the tailbone, etc.. this done overtime will help increase that shoulder and chest flexibility..

okay so this is all good to know. It looks like this will be a good drill to prioritize. It'll help you increase the flexibility and range of motion that the BOP will require on the pole!

Reminder that all Programs are always easily accessible via the menu at the top of your app or web browser (screenshot attached): 

Flexibility Program: https://polewithsteph.com/programs/polewithstephpoleprogram

I loooove this combo with the shapes from the challenge!! So good Espi!! And so happy to see you able to participate in the challenges again yayyyyyy! Thanks for posting here!

YES! Very clean Susan!! Awesome babe!!

Try bending that top arm babe. That’ll engage the bicep, which should take a little pressure off your grip. Lower shoulder pressing up to ear and top arm bent for a strong bicep 💪🏼