APRIL 2012 - ISSUE 03 - Massive Magazine

FEATURE
Elisha Stephens tries out the latest trend in fitness and finds there’s more to it than meets the eye
EXPLODING THE MYTHS OF POLE DANCING
Pole dancing classes are catching
on around the world as an interesting
and fun way to get fit, lose
weight, and improve flexibility.
Celebrities such as Kate Hudson and
Jenifer Love Hewitt, who revealed her passion
for pole dancing in this month’s edition
of Maxim magazine, have claimed that
pole fitness is their ‘body secret’, turning it
into a fitness trend.
Now, pole fitness studios are popping up
all over New Zealand, many with special
deals for students, so it’s the perfect time to
give it a try.
So that is exactly what I decided to do.
And two six-week courses later I don’t think
I’m doing too badly.
I feel healthier and happier because not
only have I increased my amount of exercise
each week but it is a workout I enjoy
(it does help that one of my good friends is
in the same class); I am inching ever closer
to the splits (as a beginner by “ever closer”
I don’t actually mean “I am close to doing
the splits”, those of you who have ever attempted
the splits will understand); and it
has opened my eyes to a whole other world
of performing arts.
As pole fitness has become more popular
it has become influenced by the original
disciplines of instructors and performers
– yoga, pilates, circus and burlesque – and
this is evident in conditioning techniques
and more complex ‘tricks’.
At the moment, most of those who attend
pole-dance classes are already involved in
creative industries such as circus, gymnastics,
and burlesque, or are fed up with their
usual gym work out. However, more and
more ‘ordinary’ people are also being drawn
to the fitness benefits of pole fitness as more
people are talking about it.
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