Ashley

Do you find yourself wondering why you’re not getting better. If you really want to get better it doesn’t happen by chance or just by showing up…although thats a good start. It takes a conscious and specific effort. 

• Trying everything (and everyone) but not sticking to anything long enough. (Jumping from studio to studio, instructor to instructor, drill to drill, learning platform to learning platform)

• You’re not addressing your body’s specific needs. This is often related to my first point. Too many people are looking for a solution (and trying on everyone they can find) without first properly identifying what their issue actually is.  

• You’re not building capacity. You keep trying to force and figure out a move that your body physically is not ready for.
  
• You’re not on a program with progressions. Showing up a class, open studio or your personal practice doing this and that with no structure leads to no specific results. You gotta plan the work then work the plan. Then review (and if necessary adjust) along the way.
  
• Doing only the easy or fun parts of training and skipping or cutting corners (or  rep/hold counts)

• Looking for the shortcut. There is no shortcut. The work is the trick and to get the trick/move you must do the work.
  
• Staying in your comfort zone. You have to push yourself. If you just do the bare minimum, stay under your threshold then you’re not going to get the breakthrough you say you want. Your comfort zone is where and why your plate.
  
• You’re treating movement like it’s passive. Everything we do is active. You have to learn what engagement is and feels like and how to engage your muscles to achieve good tension to support your movement. You have to learn how to properly push, pull and stabilize and you have to learn how to do this in different positions with all of your body parts.
  
• Trying to do everything at once. Losing weight, getting strong, developing your flexibility, getting more flowy, and learning to invert, improving your endurance and conditioning, while enhancing your artistry is like trying to find a specific needle in a needle stack. YOU NEED TO FOCUS.
  
• This last one is specific to instructors: that’s not your student’s goal. Not all students want to get “better” according to what you think is “better”. Some are there for the community, the connection, the social time, the personal time, the movement. Meet them where they are at. Its okay if they don’t reach the goals you think that they should (as long as they aren’t complaining asking or wondering why)

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We tend to think of choice as the static thing that we do once and what’s done is done and you’re stuck with it. But I’ve developed a whole new perspective on it. The truth is that we’re not so stuck with choices. Now I’m not talking about the feasibility and ease of changing your mind and making a different choice, that’s the complex part that needs careful consideration and often planning. But so many of us never even get to that point because we allow our previous choices to keep us stuck. 

But the point is that you do have the option to change your mind about things. And there’s nothing wrong with changing your mind. Whether it’s about your major in school, your career path, the partner your with, the place that you live, the style of your hair, the look and movement of your body, the type of person you’re attracted to, the products you use, your sense of style, etc., … You have the ability to change those things and make a different choice that suits you where you’re at right now in your life. 

This is something that the more I embrace it, the easier it feels to change my mind about anything and not stress or worry about not sticking with my original choice. 

So case in point…When we got our new building and I decided to put it in the name of my LLC, which is Aerial Athletics, Dallas I decided that it needed its own logo and branding. I spent a lot of time looking at colors, which I wanted to be more or less gender neutral. I didn’t wanna go with pink although that’s what I used for FlexyFit – and that’s one of my favorite colors. I just wanted it to be different so I went through so many different color pallets and decided upon a really pretty blue and yellow. 

All of the content and materials I put out initially were those colors and I built our website around those colors. Then a few months in I had to prep my logo for our door sign and that’s where things changed. 

I realized that the existing layout of the logo was not going to look good and so I ended up changing the layout and proportions. Also, our business complex has specific design requirements for signage, one being that signage was 1-color all white. So I had to take that into consideration and tweak the logo more. During file prep I ended up putting it in black just to make it easier to edit. And there was something about seeing my logo in basic black and white with the new layout that genuinely got me excited in a whole new way. I ended up liking it better than the original.

So despite already having the original out there, having spent way too many hours brainstorming and drafting designs, and already having some merch created with the old colors, I embraced the new choice and I CHANGED EVERYTHING! And let me tell you, this change was for the better. My website got a whole new look and feel, that actually looks better with the style of photos and videos I’ve been using for NaS  our “not a studio”. I am slowly changing the posting style on my social media to reflect this new black-and-white vibe which actually better ties into my FlexyFit logo and so my brands together look a lot more cohesive.

When it comes to choice we often treat it like it’s not an option. Like I can’t change my mind…and we actually tell ourselves “I can’t do that”.  I have to accept this previous choice forever…but my question to you is: Why can’t you do that? Why can’t you choose different? 

You can absolutely change your mind ANYTIME. It is OK to change your mind. Change and choice are not static things. If something is no longer serving you, helping you, making you happy, improving your life, bringing your happiness and harmony then consider making a different choice and changing it. 

They are things that continually happen and will happen and sometimes they happen to us and you’re forced to make a change, you’re forced to make a different choice, but if you get anything from this, don’t wait till you’re forced explore your options. Explore your opportunities, explore what is no longer serving you and make another choice when you feel its right for you and when you want to. It’s OK.

We are lucky to have choice, but when we settle and don’t allow ourselves to make better choices for ourselves, we are in a sense throwing in the towel on what could be better. 

What is it going to cost you to stay stuck where your’e at feeling how you’re feeling just because you made that choice. It’s a sunken cost honey….sticking with it won’t make things better or more acceptable just because “you stuck with it”

TLDR -> Listen In Instead

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reating health and fitness like it’s this thing we do one time and then we’re done and set for life is probably one of the biggest misconceptions. 

Too often I hear and talk to people that say things like “well I did it for a while and it didn’t work or it stopped working” … that’s because you stopped doing it. And trust me, I get it…life happens…and then it happens again…sometimes harder. 

BUT thats why you have to realize that what you’re really doing (if you want the results to stick and last) is creating a new normal for yourself. One that you can maintain everyday for the rest of your life and one that you can revert back to easily when life starts “living”. One that allows you to look, move and feel how you want – whether that’s in a smaller, bigger, stronger or more mobile body.

Remember, diets are temporary, challenges are temporary, workout fads are temporary. Build the changes and habits into your daily lifestyle so that they manageable and aren’t temporary. 

#flexyfit#aerialathleticsdallas#getfit#gymmotivation#fitnesscoach

TLDR -> Listen In Instead

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Let’s have a quick chat about #motivation

You don’t find it where you think you do. It’s not an external stimulant. Stop looking outside of you and waiting for someone or something else to give it to you. True motivation comes from within. Find your WHY to find your motivation and use that to build consistency. 

Listen in for the full insight

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TRIGGER WARNING!

When I first started competing in pole, I thought that I had to lose weight to be competitive. Most of the bodies I was going up against looked nothing like mine – in both size and color. Years of shape shifting and then shifting from competitor to coach and judge changed my mind and my approach. Listen in to see what happened and what changed.

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For me, coaching and judging go hand in hand. I’ve found that coaching makes me a better judge and judging makes me a better coach. And my life and work are made up of these two things.

My competitive career got cut short with injuries and surgeries so I shifted my all into coaching and judging and it was the best, most fulfilling decision ever. I’ve found that coaching makes me a better judge and judging makes me a better coach. From conceptualizing ideas, to building music, creating and refining combos, and giving feedback, I love working with athletes and supporting them on their competitive journeys.

Listen in for more

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So here’s why I ended up crying at my first pole competition and how others can avoid this costly trick selection and routine design mistake I still see happening today. 

I thought I knew what I was doing when I created my routine for my first competition…I didn’t! And it was a hard lesson, but one that has stuck with me. 

During our competitor meeting I learned that a move that was the focal point of my performance was not allowed. It wasn’t clear in the rules and I didn’t stop to ask for further clarification. Being that it didn’t say I couldn’t, I thought I could…WRONG! And this is long before things like “points of contact” were common language. 

I was faced with a dilemma, I could perform as is and face deduction or change my performance on the fly and hope for the best. Neither option was a great one. 

Fast forward over a decade and that lesson of rule comprehension and getting clarity from the start is the foundation of every performance I work on. 

Now don’t get me wrong I study competition manuals for a living and trust me when I say I understand firsthand that rules can be complicated, unclear and hundreds of pages long in some cases. But those rules are the base of your competition strategy and design. Not understanding rules, not asking for clarity or waiting until the last minute to inquire can cost you points or even the podium. 

Start with the rule: do they mesh with you as a person and your performance style? Do you understand them? Does your performance align with them and the scoresheet? The first two questions should be answered before you even sign up and that third question is one that you should circle back to throughout the competition prep process.

TLDR: Listen In Instead!

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I don’t even know where to begin. This past Friday I co-hosted a Freestyle Friday Community Jam at my new “Not a Studio” and we had when I tell you the energy and vibe in the room was freaking spectacular. The community, the camaraderie…it was truly everything! We made new friends, reconnected with old friends and danced our asses off in the most creative ways! My heart was so full beyond words at by the end of the night. Thank you to everyone that came out and jammed with us. It was beautiful to see so much community in one loving space. This is what “NaS” was built for! 

The night was so lit and long before it was over we had people asking us to do it again. So we’re doing just that and then some! But before I fill you in on whats to come, I want to share some history on how Freestyle Friday came to be.

The History of Freestyle Friday
I started Freestyle Friday back in 2012, when I was still just a baby poler, as a way to challenge myself to work on my flow and fluidity. When it came to  executing tricks, I felt pretty good, but my transitions, floorwork and overall flow wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I felt really choppy and one-dimensional in my dance. I thought that if I forced myself to dance (and not just trick out) more regularly, it would help improve my flow and make me a more well-rounded dancer.

So I gave myself the weekly challenge, which I dubbed Freestyle Friday, of doing a freestyle dance and documenting my progress by video. This was a fun way for me to challenge and push myself to dance each week, explore movement and appreciate more music styles. I ended up sharing this challenge with my fellow pole sisters in hopes that it will encourage others to work on their freestyle ability as well. This personal challenge turned into a movement. At its peak, Freestyle Friday was going hard with a Facebook group of over 700 members, FreeStyle Friday and freestyle-themed classes popping up at studios, and so many dancers seeing amazing growth in their dance.

The Future of Freestyle Friday starts NOW!

Friday night inspired me to bring Freestyle Friday back to the community and our industry. I’ve reopened our Facebook Group and @Pole_4_your_soul and I are excited to host more Freestyle Friday Community Jams on the first Friday of every month. Freestyle Friday the challenge and Freestyle Friday the Community jam, while separate movement opportunities will run parallel.

Freestyle Friday Challenge
Each week (typically on Sunday or Monday) we’ll announce that week’s FreeStyle song in our Facebook group and on my Instagram @entertainmentgoddess, then anyone that wants to join in can just post their videos on Friday.  There are only three rules: 

1. Have fun 
2. Please stick to the chosen song..but it CAN be a remix/different version! 
3. No editing…this is a freestyle

Use the hashtags #freestylefriday #pdfreestylefriday #pdfreestyle #aerialfreestyle #aerialfreestylefriday 

This challenge isn’t just for pole. Show and share your moves on the ground, chair, aerial, flow arts, wall/mirror work…or anything related to dance movement.

Freestyle Friday Community Jam
The first Friday of the month Aerial Athletics Dallas will open its doors for a community jam. Led by me @entertainmentgoddess and @Pole_4_your_soul each month will feature new prompts and games designed to help strengthen freestyling skills and build confidence.

About last night…FREESTYLE FRIDAY with the DFW pole community was so LIT!! Thank you to everyone that came out and jammed with us. It was beautiful to see so much community in one loving space. This is what NaS was built for! And yes, we’re gonna do it again. You can so dance with us.Stay tuned for details!!!

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There are so many moving pieces to competition prep but I wanted to share 3 helpful things that I too often see athletes skipping in their prep that can really help make a big difference if we just embrace them.

• Trim what’s not working 
• Practice the “small stuff” (it’s actually a really BIG deal)
• Rest…stop over training. Recovery is where the work actually sticks.

Most people drill the tricks or the or favorite part of the routine and skip everything else. Don’t be most people.

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Oh bonus tip: get a coach if you need help, feel stuck or unsure of things. A great competition coach will help you work out those kinks and bring your very best! 

Slide into my DMs if you competition questions or need a coach!