I was back in class last night, after a few days off for vacation. Tired, to say the least. As a result, I didn’t do as much as I would normally have done, but I did rehearse my static run a few times, plus I tried some of the stuff we’ve been working on for a while, like the twisted hand grip pencil. We got a breakdown of the meathook, which is not at all like what I thought it was – I first saw it in a class while at that spinning pole class I took the other week, but the instructor never really broke down how to do it. I got a proper breakdown last night at my usual studio – one of the reasons I love it there – and was able to attempt it. I’m looking forward to trying it again! Since I am in class a lot over the next two weeks, to prep for the competition, I’ll have ample time to work on it (in between when I’ll be doing my practice for the event).

I’m definitely in a bit of a panic about everything, because I do not feel ready at all, and am terrified of making an ass out of myself. That’s the funny thing about challenging oneself – all the old demons come out and you’ve gotta beat them back like Whack-A-Moles. Even when I get down on myself or freaked out, I still put one foot in front of the other, which is something. It doesn’t seem like much, but I haven’t given up – I have my off times and my frustrations, but I committed to extra classes to make myself work.

I saw this crazy shoulder mount variation that I’m going to share in a moment – shoulder mount is something that has taken me about a year to be able to do, for whatever reason. I swear it’s been a matter of commitment issues, not strength. I can do it now, although it’s not pretty the way I would like it to be – that will come with more conditioning. My technical issues came from kicking my legs out without lifting them – and my body – up toward the pole…it also took me a while to find the right position. The shoulder grip area (for me) seems to be right between the base of my neck and the top of my shoulder blade bone, which is near the shoulder. If I look in the mirror, there is about a 2 to 3 inch area of skin between the base of my neck and where my collar bone rises to meet the shoulder. That is the fleshy part of my shoulder (for lack of a better word) and seems to be the right pocket for my mount, so as to avoid the compression being placed on bone. It’s something that I feel out more than something I look for when I get into it. Then, it is a matter of getting the right position for the head/body – I tend to lean back a bit, so I’m a little lower on the pole, but not too much – too much causes slipping and added weight in a weird way. I also had to learn to tuck my elbows in toward the pole when I would launch – I kept leaving them out and, once it was caught my one of the instructors, I was told that I was taking half my power away by doing it. I can now get up on the pole if I am not tired, and I’m doing infinitely better with it overall, but it is something I try each week. Sometimes, pole is a journey of getting tricks right away…other times, it takes a year of conditioning to be able to do one thing, which is both frustrating and gratifying (once you hit it).

I did notice last night that I now have control in my headstand that I didn’t have before – instead of kicking up, I was able to roll up smoothly, which (again) is something that has taken ages. It’s now down to stamina – being able to do it again and again, instead of just twice or whatever. 🙂

Anyway, on to that modified shoulder mount, which starts just after the 2:34 mark in this video – I almost threw up when I saw it for the first time.

She uses the pocket of her elbow as a grip – elbow grips are not my favorite (ouch) – and I can’t imagine how hard it must be! Anyway, overall, she’s got some amazing athleticism!

Today is night 2 of class this week – hoping to have some more energy and work on floor choreo. I did some spinning pole stuff last night, but not a ton – I was assigned the new 45mm to work on, because I need it for PPC, but also because nobody else had much experience on it, apparently. So the girls would stop by and play on it, but it was mostly mine for the night, which is fine. I may be on it again tonight, we’ll see. I had to work to avoid a busted spot on my foot last night – it’s right where I climb, so I had to modify the climb so as to not rip it open again. It took me a little while to figure out how to do that – I had to go back to an old style of climbing and use my knees more than my foot hook, which was weird. Anyway, we’ll see what tonight brings!