The Star Newspaper
The newest alternative to going to the gym has finally come to Ireland.
Pole dancing is the hippest fitness craze to sweep the nation and the world.

Brad and Angelina are rumoured to have had a pole installed in their
bedroom. The most famous housewife on the globe, Teri Hatcher is a fan too
and showcased her new found elasticity from pole dancing on Oprah last year.
Curvaceous Kelly Brook also credits it with keeping trim.
Well if they’re all at it, I’m going to give it a try.

I’m the type of person who keeps cab companies in operation. I abhor
physical exercise and avoid it at all costs. But things must change. When
researching methods of getting fit I was looking for something that would
require minimum effort with maximised results. I couldn’t find anything that
fitted that description. Then somebody suggested pole dancing.

It promises to burn twice as many calories as a gym workout and you get to
release your inhibitions and embrace your inner stripper as well.
When I first heard Pole dancing, it conjured up images of Stringfello’s and
scantily clad females wriggling around a slimy poll trying to make a quick
buck. Not the type of career I’m aspiring to.
When I heard it was also a workout, I thought of sweat and exhaustion and
aching muscles the day after. I didn’t know which was worse, pole dancing or
working out.

Luckily to my surprise, when I entered the Dublin Dance Zone studio for my
first pole dancing class it was nothing like Id imagined.
Bright and airy it didn’t resemble a strip club in the slightest.
It didn’t have any of those ghastly tread mill things or rowing machines
either.

The 8 poles that speckled the wooden floor looked like they were there for
decoration. I quickly learned that they are not there for aesthetical
purposes. In fact those poles are your ticket to slimline beauty. A toned
bum, rock hard abs and lean limbs are yours for the taking. All you have to
do is climb aboard the pole.

Next a bouncy red haired man bounded into view. Niall Newman was his name,
director of Dance Zone. His enthusiasm for the pole dancing is infectious.
It’s a pity his natural rhythm and coordination aren’t but I was assured
that would all come with time.
Niall ran through what was to come over the next hour. We also had a chat
about pole safety. Surely we won’t have graduated to the actual pole in an
hour I thought to myself.

Then the workout began. First we had a warm up and I became reacquainted
with all the muscles that I had forgotten that I had.
Then we were introduced to the pole. Before long we were swinging like
monkeys. It wasn’t as hard as I had envisaged.
Plus the fact that Niall was chatting to us all the way through made all the
effort that little less painful. His constant encouragement and wit really
adds to the feel good factor. We were moving non-stop for the hour, the lack
of breaks gave us no time to think about being sore and tired.

Before we knew it, we had mastered the art of ‘The chair’ (a highly
technical move that involves taking a couple of steps, all the while you
have your hands wrapped around the pole then you launch yourself into the
air and position yourself into a sitting position and swing yourself around
the pole)
Now it probably isn’t the most technical pole dancing move that there is to
learn but it was a long way from being able to do no pole dancing moves at
the beginning of the hour.

Lastly we had a cool down, and it was over.
The endorphins were flowing and our faces were glowing. I felt great, and
had acquired a new skill too.

Pole dancing is not even a tad sleazy and I have a new found respect for
pole dancers the world over, it’s certainly not as easy as it looks. You
also need snug fitting gym clothes and either trainers or bare feet to work
the pole and any type of oils or creams are strictly forbidden. I can tell
you why, it’s quite slippy on that pole.

Every muscle in my body was flexed during the one hour dance class, and I’m
sure ill be stiff and sore tomorrow. A few weeks of this and you would have
no problem strutting your stuff on Stringfello’s stage, because you would
have a tightened and toned body to be proud of and be fit enough to run a
marathon too.

I think ill go again next week.

By Sinéad Kenefick