Ashley

A few weeks ago I was lucky to come out of retirement and perform at PSO Southwest in Fort Worth. Returning to the competition stage after a hiatus was such a fulfilling experience. This competition differed vastly from all of my previous competitions. The biggest difference was my goals, which were primarily fitness oriented. I knew that losing weight and improving my health would have a significant impact on my performance ability because of the increases in strength and endurance – in conjunction with carrying less weight. Other than improving my fitness, my only goals were to not stress and perform my best! Being that my goals were different this time around, I went into the competition already a winner for having accomplished the fitness goals I set. And because of this shift in focus, I had the opportunity to approach my competition training  from a different angle and truly prepare for competition.

In the past, my competition prep has been almost non-existent. Between school, work and often working as a staff member or as a designer for the competition, I was left with very little time to actually prepare choreography and practice a routine. I always went into the competition having run my routine (or lack thereof) less than five times, not having a solid plan of attack, forgetting my first 30 seconds of choreo once on stage and feeling like I wasn’t as serious as my fellow competitors.

This time around, my prep was primarily done in gym and in the kitchen. The time that I did spend on the pole was focused on stretching and running through key combos. The months prior to competition I was able to shed about 15 excess pounds and build muscle through daily cardio and weight training – in addition to teaching 4-6 classes a week. I was also able to maintain a relatively clean eating habit. Usually, I fall back to my not-so-healthy eating habits, consuming fast food and all kinds of carbs (mmmmm, carbs) the week and DAY of competition. MY DEDICATION THIS TIME AROUND WAS THE BEST IT’S EVER BEEN.

This preparation reinforced my belief and understanding that nothing happens by chance. Those competitors that win and that just slay the stage are great by choice and not by chance. You can get up there and wing it (and there’s nothing wrong with that) and hope for the best, but those that step on that stage prepared radiate that preparation; letting in shine through in their performance. It’s no accident that some aerialists find themselves on the winner’s podium. The same can be about those that seem to progress faster than others. You really do get out what you put into it. Those that invested countless hours of practice; visualized over and over again; recorded, watched and re-recorded; sought out input and feedback; practiced the way they wanted to perform; they made a lasting impression. I am a firm believer that you must train the way you want to perform. When you do, it just becomes second nature.

I named this post after one of my all-time favorite books by Jim Collins. In the book, he examines the journey and success of top companies in comparison to rivals that have not seen the same success despite relatively similar environments. 

Okay, so there’s a discussion that is currently going on in the pole world and it has been on my mind continuously since I first read about it. After seeing much of the back and forth I felt like I need to express my thoughts on this out loud. Not to ignite any additional fire but to just offer up some food for thought on the issue.

[quote]I have been told that the male pole dancers of the community are angry and offended that I am not giving a big cash prize to the men’s division this year and are saying that I discriminate against men and am being disrespectful to the male pole dancers. I have been told that I “won’t have a men’s division”. I have had several private conversations over the past few weeks, which I have explained that the men’s division is an experiment to see the interest it draws from the men in the community who have never even applied to our event in the past, never attended and in most cases never even acknowledged personal invitations I’ve sent to individuals in past years. Each year we have no more than 2 or 3 men apply to our event. The prize money is coming from the application fees. When the applications from hundreds of women compared to a couple of men, I don’t feel it is right to take the money they have put into our event to give the men an equal prize the first year they have their own division. There are many people I speak to in the pole community who are expressing that we need to support the people who support us and with so many looking for support from events and sponsors, that we cannot support those who do not support us in return. (sorry for the over-use of the word support there! LOL!)”
– Mary Ellyn Weissman [/quote]

Now I have somewhat of a unique perspective (in my opinion) because over the last few years I’ve been able to work and see behind the scenes of many of these competitions and what it takes to make them happen….and let me tell you what theses organizers do AIN’T EASY. You see so many competitions come and go for so many reasons, but in regards to stable competitions such as Midwest/North American Pole Championships, Miss Pole Dance Oklahoma, Florida Pole Fitness Championship, all of the PSO competitions and Miss Texas Pole Star (to name a few), which are still standing and still thriving you have to assume that they are obviously doing something right and therefore we should trust in what they do. Instead of tearing down by picking at rules and prizes, we should be building each other up and supporting these respectable pole competitions that are put on to give US a creative outlet to show off our talent and passion.

With so many competitions that only give winners a trophy and or a sash and send you on your merry way, I think ANY amount of prize money is great! If your main focus is the prize money then in my opinion you shouldn’t be competing. If money is your end goal and sole focus then you should probably consider getting a job or a side hustle lol.

Yet at the same time, if prize money is truly a concern for you as a competitor or as a supporter then I would encourage you to be helpful and proactive. Reach out to the event organizers and ask “what can be done or what can I do to help increase prize money and prize value”. You might be surprised that it could be as simple as spreading the word and get your pole brothers to enter – think about time spent spreading the word instead of time spent attacking the event organizers. You could event host a fund raiser to raise money that could be donated to the competition to be used as prize money. OR help identify companies that would be willing to donate prizes or money. I’m just saying that there are so many more effective options out there than criticism.

Overall, we all should be appreciative of the opportunity and growth that is being provided through the addition of a Mens Division. Personally, I don’t think that Men belong in the same divisions as women…I just don’t think they can be judged on the same scale equally and efficiently…despite how fair judges try to be I think that there’s just this grey area…but again just my opinion. But anyways…

Like all new businesses and endeavors that are in the startup phase, with the addition of new divisions to any competition there must be a period of growth and adaptation. Things will get better and more balanced as time goes on. And I’ms sure that much thought was given to the pros and cons of adding a Mens Division, prize money, rules, etc. So difference in prize money amounts this is not an oversight or a plight of unfairness. Whether or not you can see it, understand it, appreciate it or agree with it you have to respect it. Respect the fact that you are being heard. That doors are being open and opportunity being provided. “More” “Bigger” “Better” These things come in time. Has anyone stopped to consider the additional time and resources that it takes to add a mens division…what is being put out by the event organizers to make this happen?

And to all of the competitors think about the highs and lows that we ourselves go through with each competition. Now imagine that magnified over a hundred times, and this is only a fraction of what our competiton organizers are dealing with. They are faced with the highs and lows of not only themselves, but their staff, all of the applicants, the finalists that are chosen to compete, judges, vendors, special performers, engineering staff, etc…

Recording your practice sessions is one of the best things you can do when working on a trick or routine. Being able to actually see yourself in motion allows you to identify both the good and the bad from start to finish – and not just one key moment (as with photos). Now don’t get me wrong, photos are a great way to document your ability to “HOLD” a new trick or pose, but photos are only one moment in time and they lack two key elements:

1) Your transition into the trick
2) Your transition out of the trick

Your transition into and out of tricks is what makes a routine fluid and seamless. I recommend recording every chance you get. Plus you can still take a photo at the same time or screen capture a photo from the video. And let’s be honest, there’s nothing like seeing yourself in action!

Recording Rehearsals for Events:
When it comes to prepping for a competition or a showcase performance I absolutely recommend that you record your rehearsals. You should always practice your routine on video before your actual performance. It’s not enough to write out combos, perform to the mirror or to visualize the routine. To ensure that you hit your moves and have a memorable performance that conveys the feeling/story/emotion that you image, you actually need to go through the actual dance with your music. Do a real dress rehearsal to see if your routine works from start to finish. You’ll feel more confident knowing how your performance looks from the audience’s point of view.

Why I record my rehearsals:
I’ve been recording my practice sessions for the last few years and I have seen a dramatic improvement in my pole ability and fluidity. I’ve found that I’m able to spot things that I miss when trying to watch myself in the mirror. Plus I am able to share that video footage with others and get valuable feedback.

One thing I’ve noticed is that many of my pole sisters are apprehensive about recording. You have no problem looking at yourself in the mirror when you get dressed, put on make up or just want to see how good you look! So why not record yourself when you’re doing a combo or a dance? Two things that I like to point out is that you don’t have to show the recording to anyone or if you really just don’t like it you can always delete it. While you might not like the video recording it will help you get better and (even if you do delete it) you’ll never regret recording it. It’s simply a learning tool. Regardless of what you might think it’s not all bad. There will be moments and moves that you are just downright proud of and impressed with. Most importantly you’ll always find room for improvement and you’ll be able to more easily identify and incorporate.

How about you? What’s the best performance or rehearsal advice you’ve ever gotten?

The legend continues with the 5th Anniversary of the Miss Texas Pole Star Competition, which is sure to be phenomenal! Last year’s event debuted the Women’s Professional division – which I was lucky to compete in.

This year brings with it a lot of exiting new additions. First, MTPS is not just for Texas any longer! MTPS is now a National Competition with no residency requirements (with the exception of the Ultimate Pole category still open to Texas residents only.) The second big addition is the expansion of the Lyra division which now includes an Amateur and a Professional division. And finally (saving the best for last) MTPS has added a men’s categories for Pole, Silks and Lyra. All of the men’s divisions have open residency.

I have been working really hard behind the scenes with the MTPS staff to get the website updated, design artwork and get the application ready for all of you awesome athletes. I also built a SWEET new uploader on the website that will competitors to bypass YouTube and Vimeo and directly upload their tryout videos to MTPS. As a competitor myself I understand the stress that competition and tryouts can bring so I tried to put that knowledge and experience to use to help the MTPS staff improve the overall experience for everyone. You’ll see some other improvements along the way and I hope that you find them helpful. There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes (more than you could imagine) and trust me when I say it makes you appreciate competitions and those that run them even more.

If you’re thinking about trying out you definitely should! Check out the tryout information and rules. All submission videos are due June 15th. Good luck everyone! See more detailed info here: http://bit.ly/1q5fNI8 or check out our website www.misstexaspolestar.com

Bendability Fitness posted some great tips on relieving sore muscles and I thought it would be great to share it with you.

1. Apply Heat to the sore Area.
Applying heat to the area increases blood flow to that area, which helps the small muscle tears to heal faster. Examples: Sauna, hot tub, steam, hot pads or soaking in a hot bath tub. To increase the benefits of your bath add 2 cups of Epsom salt and 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil! This combo is great for relieving sore and stiff muscles.

2.Stretching.
After an intense workout or stretching session it is always good to do some light cardio and mild stretching the day after! This helps with blood flow to the sore areas and helps loosen up stiffness. This increase in blood flow helps to repair the muscle tissue more quickly and will leave you feeling more limber.

3.Rub away the pain.
Get a professional massage, have a friend rub your sore and stiff muscles or use a foam roller and rub the pain away yourself. Having sore muscles worked on helps to bring blood flow to the area which helps to repair muscles and move toxins out! Bendablility’s Foam Roller DVD is great for relieving, lengthening and stretching sore muscles! Also using an Arnica Oil or lotion can be beneficial when rubbed into sore areas. Aveda makes a great Active oil that is targeted at helping sore muscles.

4.Post workout Ice pack.
The cold temperature constricts blood vessels which reduces swelling. When you remove the ice pack your body warms up quickly, improving circulation which helps with the healing process! Cooling the muscles works best right after a hard workout. Use the Ice pack on a specific area (ex. Sore neck, shoulder, wrists etc). Some also swear by cold showers and/or baths for quicker recovery time.

5.Rest and Diet.
Your body needs rest to recover and re-build! Get lots of sleep when training hard and make sure to have a day off in your routine. Drinking a lot of water is also very important (8-9 glasses a day minimum)! Without adequate water your body will not function at its best and even with mild dehydration you can feel a lack of energy. Water also helps to flush toxins out of your muscles and keep the recovery process moving smoothly.
Eating food that helps to bring inflammation down is also a great way to support your training. Examples of foods that bring inflammation down (but not limited to)are: Ginger (great as tea or juiced! You can add ginger juice and lemon to your drinking water for a kick), turmeric, walnuts, olive oil, veggies and non-acidic fruits and green tea.