Why Pole Dance

So after last weeks ‘Why Dance’ article, I thought why not take things one step further. I first wanted you to see why I’m so passionate about dance, before I introduced the love of my life… Pole dancing!

There are lots of people who seem to believe in the myth that if you’re a pole dancer, then you must be a stripper. Those people can continue to believe what they want, but that isn’t the case. On the contrary, most of us pole dancers pay to dance instead of the other way round.

Pole dancing is basically a beautiful mix of dance, gymnastics and parkour.  It’s the grace and fluidity of contemporary dance; the hard, rhythmic, edgy stylings of hip-hop; together mixed with the flexibility and skill of gymnastics and the gravity defying stunts of parkour!

What could be better?

Well let me tell you…

Pole dancing or pole fitness is an amazing form of exercise. You’ve probably heard that before but imagine this: you could do your weight training AND your cardio AT... THE SAME... TIME!!! 

That is exactly what pole dancing is. 

You have to use your own weight to build your strength. The beautiful of this form of training is that you don’t just have a broad goal of “I want to have a six pack” or “I want to be stronger”. Your goals are supper specific based around a move you are trying to perfect. A happy consequence of those goals will get you stronger in the process. Maybe you are trying to do a one handed bow and arrow, which looks like this…

So you practise and practise and practise until you get the move right and in doing so, you get stronger and stronger. This means you are more likely to succeed because you can actually see your improvement week after week as you get harder moves right.

So that’s one amazing pole benefit or polefit J

There’s another one though! Pole has this incredible ability to change lives. You see, the stronger you get, the more you can do these gravity defying tricks. And if you can go from doing this...

To doing this…

Or this... 

Then hell, you can do anything right?

Suddenly, the things that used to hold me back are minor, my feelings of inferiority have dwindled and I feel invincible. I firmly believe every woman out there should stop making excuses and get on a pole. Pole has definitely changed my life, it’s given me strength physically, emotionally and mentally. It’s given me more confidence and taught me the art of perseverance. It’s taught me not to be afraid. 

In pole, there’s nothing that will hold you back more than fear. If you can take that and apply it to your life, there’s nothing that can stop you. And pole has changed the way I feel about my body.

If you’ve read my Beautiful Body Challenge article, you’ll know I’ve struggled with this curvy and somewhat wobbly body of mine, but pole changed that for me and many other women I know from pole. Not only is pole a great way to lose weight, which obviously makes you feel better, but it also just makes you feel sexy. I think it’s partly that feeling of strength and power where you know you’re strong and that makes you feel confident which makes you feel sexy. I also think that there’s a little bit of that “Hey I’m a pole dancer and I can do the kind of things men pay to see in strip clubs except I do it with a class and my pole clothes on” and that always just makes you feel sexy.

I love pole. I love my pole family. I love the women and man who teach me. I love the constant support and encouragement you find inside any pole studio. I love how we share our triumphs and our tribulations. I love how it makes me feel and what it’s taught me about myself.

Every day is a new challenge and a new achievement. So all of you, women AND MEN, please do yourself a favour and go try pole, because the only answer to the question “Why pole dancing” is because it will change you life…

Why dance

When I was in primary and high school, I used to dance. I did freestyle, hip-hop for a bit, modern and so on. But when I got into grade 10, I started to get really lazy and I just stopped.

I didn’t realise the loss until I started university and began my drama training. It was then, when I was thrown into movement training that I regretted those years of lost dancing. In my second year though I really found my way back to dance when I met a truly amazing South African dance talent. This man wasn’t just my lecture, but he was also the inspiration I needed to get my butt back into dancing gear.

But you see, there’s contemporary dance and then there’s contemporary dance training for theatre. The focus of the first is all about the technique. The focus of the second, is on the story, the creation and the feeling.

Dance, from my point of view is about inviting those watching into an emotional experience. And that is exactly what it should be when you dance, an emotional experience.

I’m a huge advocate for dance and the advantage it has in education and personal development. You see dance is a form of expression and because of this, including dance into the school curriculum could help teach children a positive way of expressing themselves. When a child learns to put their emotions into their movement instead of in to their fists or negative words they begin to develop stronger social skills too.

Dance isn’t just about looking pretty either. It’s about physical, whole-bodied creativity. People underestimate the importance of developing creativity in childhood development. Even for adults creativity is a vital skill that is often over looked. You see, creativity isn’t just about making pretty things or being an artist of some kind. Creativity helps with problem solving, innovation and the ability to think outside the box.

And, according to SocialDance, dance is a stress reliever and increases your serotonin which improves your sense of well-being. But they also say, that new studies have shown dancing actually makes you smarter. They site a study from the New England Journal of Medicine and in this study they examined the effect of different activities and how they may help an individual prevent dementia. The study showed that something like frequent reading offers 35% improved protection from dementia. But, dance offers a 76% improved protection again dementia. That was the highest improvement in the whole study.

Now, aside from the emotional and mental benefits of dance, let’s look at the physical benefits. Betterhealth.vic.gov.au list a number of physical benefits including:

·         Improved condition of your heart and lungs;

·         Increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness;

·         Increased aerobic fitness;

·         Improved muscle tone and strength;

·         Weight management;

·         Stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis;

·         Better coordination, agility and flexibility;

·         Improved balance and spatial awareness; and

·         Increased physical confidence.

Not everyone enjoys running or cycling (in the gym or on the road). Dance is a great alternative to these

traditional forms of cardio. And because dance is a dynamic form of movement that requires you to use multiple muscles in many different ways, you’ll develop more over all muscle tone and burn calories without having to stand on a tread mill and just work part of your body. 

And above all of that, dance is fun, it’s challenging and it’s exciting. And I’m going to say this, whether or not anyone listens, but dance isn’t just for girls. The kind of strength and tricks that a man can do in dance is just too cool.

I’ve been teaching dance for three years now and I have seen the young ladies I teach grow in confidence and ability. So give dance a try, doesn’t matter what type it is. And if anyone asks you “why dance?” you can tell them it makes you fitter, smarted, more creative, confident, socially developed and hell, it’s fun.

Happy dancing!

Bringing back retro

Let's bring back retro fashion

Retro Fashion 

You can’t actually go shopping for clothes anywhere without saying the words “that’s so retro”. The fact is, retro fashion is back and the different eras are merging into one another.

I personally love retro fashion, but you do need to know how to wear it. Ever era had it’s good points and it’s not so good points. It takes some restraint to make it work.

So that’s what I want to do in this article. I want to show you, my spin on bringing back retro fashion and the good points I think you should focus on when you try put together your own retro fashion throw-backs.

Let’s get started with the 20s…

The 20s

The fashion of this era was fun and flirty. All you have to do is think of the movie Gatsby and you already know what to expect.

Now as beautiful as the 20s fashion is, I think you’ll struggle to pull of elbow length gloves and tassels.  But then what do I know, I’ve gone out for an evening of dancing in a red tops hat…

See?

Anyway, for some 20s fashion rather focus on:

•          A dropped waist;
•          Strappy heals;
•          Lots of beads and bracelets;
•         Fun hair accessories with sparkle and maybe some feathers; or
•          A cloche hat (as close to).

There’s my take, see dropped waist, hat and strappy heals.

So, nothing noteworthy happened in the world of fashion in the 30s and 40s. I think everyone was more worried about recovering from war to be fashionable. So lets jump to the 50s.

The 50s

This is another era of beautiful fashion and I personally advocate for drawing on your inner pin up girl as much as possible.

For 50s fashion, I’d say focus on:

·         Poka dots! And lots of them!;

·         High waisted;

·         High heals; and

·         Red, red lips!

Oh and curly hair is a must here, it adds to the flirtiness of this fashion. Here’s my versions.

The 60s

Now to another of my favourite fashion eras, the 60s. This era is fun, sassy and cute. There’s also lots to work with, so here’s what you can use:

•          High waisted pants and short (yes please);
•          Short dresses with a fitted waist;
•          Shirts and dresses with petter pan collars;
•          Caplets;
•          Fun bold prints; and
•          Of course, if you’re feeling hippy vibes, peace signs accessories.

The 70s

Now let’s bring back disco. The 70s were about fun and partying and the fashion shows that. So for your 70s through back, focus on:

•          Bold and psychedelic prints;
•          Boots. If I could find a pair of white GoGo boots, I’d be all over them;
•          Of course, there's the bell bottoms. Just be careful with these. If you’re big on top, then the bells may just make you look bigger; and
•          If you’re brave, a plunging neckline too.

Just please no yucky tassels.  Those are a bad through back.

Now, let’s get colourful

The 80s

Let’s not lie, the 80s were bad. Bad, bad, bad! Too many mismatched colours and some fabric textures that should never be repeated.

So if you’re going to try pull off the 80s, stick to:

•         Bright colours (a few but not too many);
•         T-shirt with bold slogans and pictures; and
•         Layers.

My version doesn't look very 80s at all I know, but I kept it to the 80s use of bright colour with neon pinks and green.

If you want to do more than that… good luck and please send my photos!

But… in the spirit of retro fashion this did happen…

Yeah… anyway, onto our last era.

The 90s

Oh the bubble pop and girl power. With the influences of the Spice Girls there was a lot of pink and sparkle. This was this era of the platform sneaker thing and pigtails, not to mention my childhood.

To pull off a bit of 90sness go for:

• Crop tops (if you’re a prude like me just wear a tank top underneath it);
• Bell bottom jeans;
• Lots of pink;
• Sneakers (if anyone still has their spice girls shoes, then you’re my hero);
• Acid washed denim shorts and shirts;
• Tommy takkies;
• Floral and plaid prints; and
• Over sized shirts. 

Here’s my 90s throw back.

With all of these things, restraint is key. Pick one or two focus elements and make them stand out.

Retro fashion is about having fun and mixing it up.

So go get your retro on and I’d love to see photos of your retro fashion.

I'll leave you with this image of boyfriend (he's meant to be Prince) and myself before hitting Flash Back Friday last night.

Yes... I went 80s...

Cake or death – A dieter’s worst mistake

When it comes to diets, there’s hundreds, all of which comes with strict dos and don’ts. Now for most people, if they say they’re going on a diet, they mean all in, living on salad and water.

But then something terrible happens. They keep at it for a week and then they’re faced with a slice of cake and they cave. Within seconds they’ve gone from driven to eat health and be better, to rolling in the dirt covered in cake crumbs while the band waggon leaves them behind.

At this point they’ve given up. They think because of this one piece of cake, their diet is ruined so they may as well give it up.

I call this the Cake or Death approach to dieting. This is the number one biggest mistake a dieter can make.

The reason for this is if you’re so strict on yourself with your diet, you are probably going to fail. And when you do, you think it’s ruined and there’s no point in trying again.

When realistically, if you’ve been eating well for two weeks, then one slice of cake isn’t going to suddenly undone all that good work.

This extremely approach to dieting is very hard to stick to and is the wrong approach.

If you want to lose weight, you need to be going for a long term and sustainable approach because this may be much slower weight loss, but you’ll actually be able to maintain the weight loss.

Here’s my alternative to the Cake or Death approach to dieting.

1. Don’t go extreme. Base your diet on true balance and on good healthy nutrition. That means lots of protein, lots of veg, a small amount of carbs, and the occasional treat. Remember you can have that slice of cake, just not every day or even every week. They’re treats and you must treat them that way
2.  Don’t have a set ‘cheat day’. What happens with a cheat day is you’ll cheat just because you can. If you’re going to have a treat, have it because you’ve been wanting it all week and you can’t stop craving it, not just because it’s your cheat day and you can have something ‘bad’.
3. Don’t diet, change your lifestyle instead. No strict diet in the world will help, if you drink wine and beer every night, just like cutting out everything sugary doesn’t help if you’re eating endless amounts of bread and potatoes. You have to change your lifestyle and make it one you can maintain.

And don’t forget about exercise.

If you want to read more about the kind of eating plan and exercise I’d include in this healthy lifestyle, you can check out my blog post about the ‘Get-Fit-Not-Thin Revolution’.

Don’t try be skinny, try be health and a better body will follow on. One slice of cake doesn’t ruin everything, just keep it balanced and you’ll be well on your way to feeling fit and healthy.  

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Ripped Freak – The Review

In this Article I’m reviewing a product called Ripped Freak. This is a fat burning tablet supplement which I've been taking for the last three weeks. Ripped Freak has been created by the people at Pharma Freak.

Ripper Freak is actually a fat burner designed for body builders. The big strong, manly muscly kind. It was even recommended to me by a friend who I’d stick under the body building category. You can’t miss its very masculine yellow and red box. It's is kind of a funny contract to the pleasant raspberry taste and smell of the tablets themselves. The reason for the raspberry is everyone’s favorite, Raspberry Ketones.

It’s been said that the claims that Raspberry Ketones help burn fat were never really tested on humans. Only on rats… But it seems, judging by all the success stories springing up from them, there must be some truth to the claim.

Now, some may say it’s a little hypocritical to have a challenge for women to start loving their bodies one week, and to then start taking fat burner the next. But there’s more to Ripper Freak than just its claim to being an amazing fat burner.

Firstly, one Ripped Freak tablet is equal to about three cups of coffee. This is probably why I’ve been able to cut my coffee consumption down to just one cup with breakfast. The beauty is I’ve generally had more energy with Ripped Freak than I would just with coffee. And it’s not just ‘I’m awake' kind of energy, but strength energy.

During pole I’ve found that I feel stronger and able to push myself further. So Ripped Freak has done more than possibly help me lose weight, but it’s helped me push myself and get my pole mojo back. Big thumbs up on that front.

Another huge benefit that I’ve found while using Ripped Freak is that my cravings for sugar have dropped drastically. Before I started taking it I found I was really struggling to say no to sugar, but now the cravings really have dropped to almost nothing. I really noticed it when I decided to have a few Love Hearts which are my favorite sweet in the whole world. Now normally when I start eating them, I can’t stop until the role is finished. This time I had about 5 or 6 and then put them away. So another awesome benefit.

Ripped Freak is a really easy to use product as well. It’s just one tablet first thing in the morning as soon as you wake up. That’s it. You can take a second one if you choose to but then it’s normally around mid-day. You just have to take it at least three hours before go to sleep. Otherwise that caffeine kick’s going to have your up forever!

The instructions say you should take your tablet with a minimum of 8 ounces of water (It’s an America product hence the ounces) which equals a small glass of water. This sounds like an old ‘rule’ but trust me, if you just have like a mouthful of water to get the tablet down, you’re looking at some rather unpleasant heart burn. I found that out the hard way.

Something else I really like is the bottle comes with a diet plan and exercise plan (that's the card you can see in the picture of the product). Both are designed for those muscly gym-loving body builders but they’re awesome to use as guides. I use the diet plan as a guide to the short of things I can and should be eating at certain times of the day. So that’s really useful.

Ripped Freak is very expensive. R599 for 60 tablets, so it’s a two month supply. There is a benefit to buying expensive diet supplements like this though, or at least I think so. Because of the fact that there is no perfect miracle fat burning supplement on earth that will get rid of your fat while you sit on that couch and eat cake, you become more aware of what you eat when you’ve paid good money for a supplement. Knowing this is an expensive product you don’t want to waste your money by eating junk and therefore not getting the full benefit, so it really help give you motivation to stick to a healthier diet.

Ripped Freak isn’t readily available in South Africa but you can buy it from Chrome Supplements. I went to the one in Bel Air center.  

Now for the part that really matters. The weight lose...

On the left is the photo I used in my beautiful body challenge, on the right a photo taken last night after using Ripped Freak for three weeks.

Now, I'll be honest, I definitely haven't lost as much as I'd like to have, given I've seen and heard reviews of this product where people have see visible results after only two weeks of use. But maybe that's because I just don't exercise enough. Maybe teaching two dance classes a week and poling at least three times a week just aren't the same as going to the gym every evening. 

But I will say this, if you look closely, not too closely though, at my after photo, I do think my hips look marginally narrower and I feel when I look in the mirror that I've got more definition in my stomach. Sadly even the best fat burner in the world can't directly target my stupid thighs but again it has only been three weeks. 

Over all, Ripped Freak is a nice diet supplement that's helped with my energy levels, my cravings, my motivations and my eating habits. Whether or not it's truly an effective fat burner for an average person like me who doesn't live only in the gym, the jury is still out.

But I shall up date you after I've finished my full two months and let's see if my opinion has been changed.

Getting hooked on Aerial Hoops

So I’ve been pole dancing for about 1 year and 1 month (just over) but this Friday was the first time I tried aerial hoop/lyra.

I’m not going to lie to you.

It was awesome.

It’s very different to pole in that it requires less wrought iron strength. On a pole you’re always supporting your own weight in some way. On a hoop you always have something above or below you carrying your weight.

It’s a different kind of pain though. Because a Lyra is much thinner than any pole, it ‘bites’ into you more. You're also generally carrying the weight in your hands, elbows, backs of your knees or back. Because of this I’ve got rather blue legs.

If you do pole already and you want to try the lyra you won’t have too much trouble as the hardest part is inverting into the ring, after that, it’s all about balance.

Advanced pole is all about how strong you are, but advanced lyra is all about how flexible you are. So if you’re flexy then lyra might be right up your ally.

This was my first time ever in one and I found it quite easy to understand the balance and tension points that you need to create in order to hold moves. Here’s a little of me messing around on the lyra.

(they're not great photos cause they were taken on my old blackberry, which yes I still use)

Well that’s a little about my first lyra experience J

The Two Week Challenge

Are you ready for another LivingLovingLifestyle challenge?

This one doesn't require you to take body photos or make public declarations though. This is much more of a private challenge. This is The Two Week Challenge.

The idea behind The Two Week Challenge is that very specific short term goals are much easier to achieve than vague long term goals are. What this means for you when you want to change something is that if you just say well I want to lose weight or stop smoking, chances are you're not going to succeeded.

But if you say "I'm not going to touch a single cigarette for two weeks" or "I'm not going to eat sweets for two weeks", then you'll probably succeed because that's pretty ease to achieve. 

If you can get through those two weeks, then maybe you'll go, "well I've gone two weeks without it, so maybe I can go another two weeks"

If you get through another two weeks then maybe you'll say "I've gone a month, lets see if I can go another month"

And if you're able to keep achieving these specific short term goals, then the next thing you know, you'll have kicked a bad habit, changed the way you do something, or picked up a good habit.

Presently I'm on The Two Week Challenge and I want to cut down the amount of coffee I drink to one cup with my breakfast, and to stop eating sweets and chocolates so often.

I'm just under a week in and so far so good, I'm starting to find that I'm getting through the day without feeling particularly tiered and even if I'm still fancying sweets, I'm finding it easy to not have them. 

So come on and let's try The Two Week Challenge together.

If you haven't joined The Beautiful Body Challenge yet, please do so, you can find me at Ashley Kim-Ginger on Facebook or @KimGinge on Twitter or you can leave a comment for you.

Good luck and happy life changing :)