Heaps of people who read my first blog post about my first trimester of poling pregnant wrote to me (thank you!) and said there was a massive lack of information out there on the subject and subsequently they had felt scared to continue poling throughout their own pregnancy. This is such a shame and is also my whole motivation for writing this blog! Please continue to share your experiences with me so we can all contribute to getting as much info out there as possible and hopefully more women will be able to safely and confidently continue their favourite sport during their pregnancy!!
So I thought I would write a post specifically about this- some advice from a pregnant pole teacher to a pregnant student. Almost every pole teacher I know has had the great privilege to be amongst the first few people to know about a student's pregnancy. This is so beautiful and we are very grateful to be trusted with this secret. And as such, we often find ourselves in the position of being asked for a little bit of advice- Should I stop pole completely? Should I drop a level, or switch to flex or floor work?
I will preface everything further I have to say on the subject with this- I am not a doctor! This is not professional health advice! This is purely my own experience and thoughts on the subject. Remember that every body is different, and every pregnancy is different! Always seek advice from your doctor or obstetrician and always listen to what your body is telling you.
Ok, disclaimer out of the way, the general consensus on all sports when pregnant seems to be that if your body is used to the activity, and you do not have a high-risk pregnancy (again-speak to your doctor or obstetrician about your pregnancy and make sure they understand what pole is...show them a video if you must!), then you should be ok to sensibly continue with the type of exercise you are doing. Think maintenance of the level you are at, not pushing yourself or learning new skills, now is not the time to have a go at the latest, greatest pole trick on instagram!
My advice as a pole teacher to any pole student who approaches me with their good news is:
*LEVEL- Most likely you will want to drop down a level. You could stay in the level you are in for now IF you are very comfortable there and find it quite easy. But at some point you probably will want to drop down one or two levels. Do not increase the intensity level of your exercise program is the general advice, so that means stay at the same pace until your body tells you you need to back off even more. You may prefer to drop it down a notch straight away to be on the safe-side.
*TRICKS- Don't learn any new tricks because there is a greater risk of you falling when doing something unfamiliar. To be on the safe side you may prefer to stay low to the ground even in tricks you are experienced in, and only perform tricks you are super confident and secure in. Keep a hand on, or skip it if anything feels risky.
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| Felix Cane's famous Spatchcock- pregnancy is probably not the time to try it. Image credit-Vertigo Photography |
*TELL YOUR TEACHER- I know it's still too early to be telling the world, but please make sure to inform your teacher so they know not to push you, and can spot you as necessary. As I mentioned, you'd be amazed how often we have been amongst the first privileged few to know about our student's wonderful news, and your secret is safe with us I promise!
*TAKE IT EASY- Listen to your body! Sit down when you feel dizzy, tired or nauseous. Maybe don't do the whole routine, just do some bits and rest and get your breath back in some of the harder pole combinations or faster choreography sections. The general medical advice on this is don't exercise to the point of exhaustion or heavy sweating and breathlessness. Here is a great page from the Victorian government website about exercising during pregnancy.
*CHANGE IT UP- If there is a day when you don't feel like doing pole class, don't come! Do flex that week instead. Fatigue and morning sickness can be so debilitating so just stay at home resting (or being close to the bathroom-oh the joys!) when you need to. Look after yourself. Also if the spinning is making you nauseous, or you'd just prefer to be closer to the ground, consider switching to a chair or floor work class.
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| Chair is fun too! Image credit The Black Light |
*INTERNAL STUFF- Remember that during pregnancy, even before there are any discernible physical changes, internally your body is changing dramatically. Your heart is pumping up to 50% more blood around your body! And you will have an increased resting heart-rate. This can make you feel light-headed or fatigue may set in sooner. Your uterus is growing, making everything squash up in there. It's all a bit uncomfortable and exhausting growing a human! Here is a nice positive article from Huffington Post about the awesome things your body does during pregnancy. Nice to read, as opposed to always talking about the crappy side effects!
*JOINTS AND STRETCHING- Hormones such as relaxin and progesterone are softening your joints, muscles and ligaments to help make room for the baby inside your body, and to help with childbirth. Unfortunately, this can potentially lead to laxity and instability in all the joints, not just the ones obviously related to the baby. Being fit and strong pole dancers, hopefully we shouldn't have too many adverse effects from this, but regardless as you get heavier the load on your joints will obviously increase. You have to remember to engage your muscles correctly, for example don't hang out of shoulders in spins, instead keep them pulling down to engage your shoulder stabilisers.
With regard to stretching, most pregnancy advice is to keep it up, as it will help to relieve some of the growing pains that go along with your body changing, but bear in mind that this advice is usually aimed at "normal" people (non-polers), so they mean gentle stretching, not crazy over-splits with 3 blocks under your feet! Now isn't the time to try to get your middle splits! Rather, maintain the level of flex that you had before pregnancy. Also don't hold your stretches for too long or you run the risk of joint damage, especially later in your pregnancy. Here is a little page from "what to expect" about stretching during pregnancy.
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| still not quite flat...fake it 'til you make it! Image credit The Black Light |
*INVERTS?- You will know when it's time to stop inverting, or when you just feel too heavy to even spin around the pole any more. I've surveyed some of the Pole Mamas I know and they all said they stopped inverting around the 4 or 5 month mark. Bear in mind they were all pole instructors so were very fit and their bodies very used to inverting. You may feel like you need to stop sooner. This is because we obviously use our abdominal muscles to invert and they are starting to stretch out to make room for bub, so will not function how they used to. My experience was that I just couldn't do it one day!
Also, I started to find inverted positions on the floor uncomfortable, like you know when you lie on your back and throw your feet back over your head (the "plough" stretch in yoga)? Or when we do shoulder stands in floor work? I just really struggle to breathe in these positions, so I don't really do much of them any more, and I definitely don't hold them for long when I do.
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| Floor inversion...can't breathe!!! Image credit The Black Light |
Also, FYI some old-school yoga peeps might tell you that you can change the position of the baby by inverting so that's why you shouldn't do it, but there is no scientific evidence to validate this claim. Just smile and nod, remember the advice is well-intentioned, and do what you are comfortable with ;-)
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| I'll miss you my pretties!!!! Image credit-Pleaser Heels |
So to sum up, just be sensible! Check in regularly with your doctors, don't push hard in class and listen to your body! After all how many times in your life will you be able to take it easy on your self without feeling guilty? Enjoy this time and your changing body as much as you can, and keep doing what makes you feel good, whether that's body-rolling around the pole, or slothing on the couch with ice-cream!
My next post about my experience of my second trimester is coming in the next week or two, until then, thanks for reading! Feel free to drop me a line with any questions, or I would love to hear your story or some tips from your own experience. You can email me at roxycarless@gmail.com.
Roxy, the pregnant pole dancer xxx
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