Favourites: Pole Dancing

Now, I am a weedy girl. I walk a lot (everywhere in fact due to my extreme lack of funds for a car) so I can give a pretty good kick but ask me to carry something heavy? I have to resort to (and my feminist ancestors roll in their graves at this) eyelash fluttering. That's right, I am one of those pathetic girls who have to rely on their 'wiley feminine charms' to get their furniture moved. And that only works about 3 times out of 10.

But no more! For although I refuse to join a gym (what with them being an invention of the devil and all) I have decided that I do actually need to work out, get fit and be able to carry my own stuff.

So, what did I decided to do to achieve this? Pole dancing.

Whenever I went to strip clubs (Don't ask please. Although I must add that all the strippers I met were incredibly lovely people and were always extremely polite and chatty to shy English girls who wanted to ask where they got their shoes) I would always admire the way the strippers would fling themselves round their poles and how incredibly fun it looked.

So when I saw an advert for pole dancing in a pub my friends and I frequent, I thought, well why not?

I was fortunate enough to get a last minute place on a 6 week beginners course at the Iosis centre, based in the warehouse district of Liverpool (http://www.ioisis-poledance.co.uk/). It's based in a converted warehouse building and the instructors are wonderfully enthusiastic about their class and very understanding of how nervous first timers (me) are.

I had my very class last Wednesday.

It was So. Much. Fun.

I was terrified beforehand - convinced that as I had no idea what I was doing, no physical strength and barely enough self coordination to walk down a street without falling over that I was going to either:

a. knock myself unconscious in the first 5 minutes
b. make a complete tit out of myself
c. both

However when I got there I met a group of like minded, excited but nervous students and a friendly, chatty instructor who put us all at ease and we spent the next hour doing fun beginners exercises and poses. Including lots and lots of spinning around!

And yes, the first time I spun on my pole I might have gone too fast and ended up looking a cat stuck in a washing machine, and yes, when I was trying to do the sexy slide down the pole which involves just holding on with your hands and letting your legs fold gracefully to the floor I may have gotten stuck to the pole and, in my attempts to get down, made a sound not unlike cartoons characters make when they hit a plane of glass and then slide down that (but hey, at least they managed to slide down the thing).

But in spite of (or even due to) I had the most fantastic time. It was brilliant fun, great exercise and I can't wait to go again. If you ever thought about doing it, or if this post makes you want to try it - I say do it! Sign up now and give it a go - you won't regret it.

I do, however, really recommend having a bath afterwards. Not because you'll be hot and sweaty (which you will) but mainly because for the next two days after you will ache something rotten. I still can't lift my arms above my head without whimpering. Since you cannot do anything about it, I recommend you take it as proof that you've worked hard at something you've enjoyed.