Don’t Tell Me I Can’t… …learn to pole dance
Marilyn Devonish’s hobby really puts her fitness to the test
Gripping the thin vertical bar with both hands, I walk around it and pick up the pace, gaining momentum as I start spinning. Using my upper body and core strength, I lift my feet off the ground and wrap one leg around the bar as I continue spinning. It feels liberating and as I climb up the pole, I can feel every muscle in my body working. If you’d told me 10 years earlier that I’d take up pole dancing, I’d have scoffed, never imagining I’d try something so different and challenging at age 45.
I’ve always been an active person, fitting in jogging and weightlifting around my career as an accelerated learning coach and therapist. Throughout my 20s and 30s, I kept up my fitness but it was in 2014, when I was 45, that I noticed my motivation wavering. I just didn’t find working out fun and I knew then that I needed to find something that would keep me fit and interested.
I remembered a newspaper article that I’d read years before about pole fitness. I’d laughed it off at the time, not being able to imagine myself ever doing it, but now I wondered if it was just what I needed.
It sounded fun, so I searched for a class, but as I did, I started feeling nervous. Was I too old? Would I just make a fool of myself? I told myself I’d only sign up if I could find a class locally – it was as though I was trying to talk myself out of it. When I found a gym, quite literally at the end of my road, launching a new pole-fitness class, I knew I had to stop making excuses,
‘IT RAISED A FEW EYEBROWS’
and I signed up. Friends were supportive, telling me I’d be great, and it was the confidence boost I needed for when I headed to my first class in January 2015.
Unsure what to expect, I dressed in tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt, and I was surprised to see everyone else in shorts resembling hot pants. The instructor explained it had nothing to do with being provocative, but that skin to pole contact was needed for grip.
The class was mainly made up of women in their 20s, I was definitely the oldest in the room, but I didn’t let it affect my confidence.
We learnt how to walk around the pole and grip it properly, covering our hands in a special chalk, before lifting ourselves and doing a simple spin. I hadn’t realised how much strength was required and as I lifted myself up onto the pole, I could feel my muscles aching already.
At home, I rummaged through my wardrobe and found a pair of knee-length sports shorts. ‘They’re not short enough,’ my instructor said at the next class. I didn’t own anything shorter, so after asking friends where I could buy a pair short enough, I found what I needed.
Over the next few weeks I learnt and mastered a variety of spins and lifts, and even put them together in a routine.
I’d never had such fun; not only that, my muscle tone improved, as did my fitness and stamina. With only one class a week, I wanted to get more practice in, and about a year later, as I grew in confidence, I installed a pole in my bedroom. It raised a few eyebrows whenever I brought a date home. They were intrigued, and when they tried it and realised how difficult it is, they were impressed.
Over the years, I’ve tried all sorts of activities, including martial arts and ballet, but pole fitness has been the most physically challenging, and also the most fun.
I’m just so pleased that I let go of my inhibitions and gave it a try. Age should never prevent you from trying something new.