how much will foundation help with pole fitness

Hello everyone,

   I'm trying to find a program that complements pole fitness. I've researched Scott Sonnon, convict con, other bodyweight programs in a quest to exponentially build my strength. The best performances I've seen were done by pole artists who have years of gymnastics/dance training.

The elements of pole are flexibility and strength--there are polers that just jump into pole anyway without any athletic background but their movements obviously appear different. Even if they pull off all the tricks it still LOOKS like they're making an effort, whereas an ex gymnast/dancer/acrobat is fluid, effortless, grace, as if they OWN the pole, their movements "flow" and they're defying gravity. It doesn't look like they're "trying" to hold their body weight up and It increases the quality of their performance considerably.

 Basically I'm trying to make up for my lack of athletic background and figuring out the most efficient way to do it. My questions are--can the foundation series give me the strength I am looking for in order to be the best I can be on the pole. And how many years of consistent training will it take me to achieve enough strength in order to achieve the fluidity and effortless movement I see in awesome pole performances.

In terms of flexibility..I am hoping Kit will get me to my splits?

Laurén Salemi said:

(...) can the foundation series give me the strength I am looking for in order to be the best I can be on the pole. And how many years of consistent training will it take me to achieve enough strength in order to achieve the fluidity and effortless movement I see in awesome pole performances.

 

In terms of flexibility..I am hoping Kit will get me to my splits?

Absolutely!

The time you'll need is highly dependent on where you are at right now in terms of physical fitness, strength, etc..., and your body ability to recover from training which is linked to where you are at, but also to your age, lifestyle (food & sleep), etc...

You'll get advice from pole specialists and other performers from the community.

thank you for the response. I'm 25  135 pounds 5'7 and am starting at square one considering I haven't worked out in several months :/

Foundation will definitely help.  I've seen some chinese pole performances and the most graceful ones use a lot of similar elements as will appear in Foundation.  I'd say it's the most specific training you could be doing (other than being on the pole itself) and considering at the end of F4 you'll have a human flag (the most impressive pole feat) than I'd say it's well worth your time to invest in it.

Hi Lauren,

My partner Cherie is an avid pole dancer (i think she's a little too obsessed sometimes).  When she started I encouraged her to engage in foundations training but she wasnt overly interested at that stage.  Injury after injury after injury, and most of the pole girls I met were pretty much funding physiotherapy single handed.

She has now started foundations and her increased strength is huge. She dropped her pole training back to 3 or 4 days a week and is doing F1 and H1 4 times per week, and she is loving it! She came to the seminar and showed a lot of the guys how its done  She is also wishing she started a lot early. I only have to say "I told you so" about 3 times per week

On top of that, from what I hear all the best pole dancers do plenty of conditioning borrowed from gymnastics anyways.  I know Anastasia and Evgeny (excuse my spelling) definitely partake, and Oona has a very popular video of her training gymnastics strength. 

You will start noticing gains within about a month if not sooner.  Coach has said if you really get stuck into it there is no reason you can't complete Foundation in 2 years.  

Actually the one pole dancer I used to hang out with earlier this year was pretty good but she was also tiny and maybe a 105#. One of the things that would have probably have helped her take it to the next level was a BW S&C program but she didn't really want to put in the time.

At some point, besides the requisite dance work, you will have to put in the time for upper body and core strength besides flexibility.

thanks for all the responses