IT’S EXHILARATING WHY I LOVE IT AS A SPORT
Catherine Mcleonard, 31, PHD student in veterinary parasitology
From the first pole dancing session I tried five years ago, I was hooked. Exhilarating, challenging and addictive, as I looked around the room watching the moves more advanced members were doing, I knew I had found the thing for me.
Pole fitness wasn’t as common back then, and I did have to answer some awkward questions at first – especially from my family, who thought I might be dancing in a club in front of other people. But when I explained that it took place in a studio and the aim was to build strength, they came around.
There’s a taboo around the sport because it’s primarily female and has long been sexualised. But that isn’t the reality of pole fitness. It’s a fun all-body workout that is great for training your core: you progress through a curriculum that is made up of increasingly difficult moves. The collaborative nature means everyone around you wants to help you reach the next goal and we’re all really supportive of one another.
It also cured the agony I had been in after a trapped nerve in my back in 2008, for which acupuncture and physiotherapy had proved futile – in fact, my back now hurts if I don’t dance for a few weeks. Others in my class, who have been in road traffic accidents or broken their backs, say the same.
While there are definite health benefits to it, that doesn’t mean it can’t be sexy, too. Pole dancing is a great way to build confidence, as well as strength. There are two styles of competitions you can enter: an athletic one, similar to gymnastics, or a performance, which is more like dancing.
Already, more studios have opened and people who do gymnastics and trampolining are encouraged to take it up.
Men are also joining in larger numbers: five per cent of those who attend my studio are male, and pole dancing videos are increasingly posted by guys. It’s great that the negative connotations are lifting, and that we are able to strengthen our bodies and feel confident without being sexualised.
‘It has long been sexualised, but that isn’t the reality of pole fitness’