Most pole dancers, and athletes in general, are familiar with the stage of stagnation when progress seems to have stopped. This period of stagnation is called a plateau. A plateau is a natural and unavoidable stage of development for any activity. A PLATEAU IS A NORMAL THING. It is a period when no VISUAL results are seen. Your body is still working extremely hard and progress is happening, but you can’t see that progress immediately.
In pole fitness, the plateau occurs when the period of learning easy tricks is over and more complicated tricks have begun. Nothing is easy in pole, I agree. But in this context by easy tricks I mean tricks where the hardest part is to get into the trick. And by hard tricks I mean the ones where you need enough strength and flexibility not just to get in and out of it, but also to hold it.
When you reach your first plateau (yep, you will have more than one in your pole journey) it might seem that you are stuck and pole dancing is not for you, but it is a mistake. Once again, the plateau is just one of the stages of your pole training. Not a single learning process proceeds smoothly and evenly all the time.
If you’ve reached the plateau:
- First of all, celebrate it! It does take time and effort to get to the plateau. This means that you have already put in a great deal of regular training and made a certain amount of progress.
- Second, a plateau is a temporary phenomenon. It won’t last forever. But when it is over, you will notice that your skills are on the next level: all the accumulated progress will finally become visible!
I understand that the plateau stage can be a mental challenge. Below are some ideas on how to stay motivated and happy during a plateau:
- Step away from your pole and train your structures such as strength and/or flexibility. It is phenomenal how many people don’t understand that complex tricks require much more time, persistence, and special physical preparation off pole before attempting those moves on the pole;
- Don’t do anything special and just continue to train at your own pace. After all, you know now that you must just wait till it ends;
- Take some time off. You are just tired of work and workouts. Book a short or long vacation and soon you will feel that you miss your favorite activity.
- For the time being switch to a new activity and diversify your training process: try dance classes, floor work, meditation, yoga, pilates, rock climbing, belly dancing, etc.;
- Find pole athletes who inspire you and take their online classes, if this is an option;
- Learn to enjoy the process of training, not just the results. Every second you have a chance to explore your body and learn more about it. Isn’t that awesome?!!!
- Try training at different times. What if the peak of your activity is early morning or lunchtime?
- Find your old pics and videos and think of how much progress you have already made;
- Buy new outfits for training! Or new shiny stilettos! Do a photoshoot or just turn your favorite song on and dance!
Whichever option or options you choose, remember to treat your body and mind with respect and care.
Victoria
Owner/Pole Instructor