I’ve never been the most athletic person. I’m the kind of girl who cut corners during high school laps when the teacher wasn’t looking. During the brief time I had a gym membership, I was terrified to go, convinced that I’d become the center of the gym’s laughter, as I struggled to lift the bar (silly, I know). I attempted running a couple of times, but it turns out I’m not super motivated to do that unless there’s something I’m fleeing. I genuinely tried to be more active, but I just didn’t know how to do it in a way I would enjoy.
More importantly, I wanted to look in the mirror and love what I saw, and I thought exercise was the key. Actually, I thought losing weight was the key and figured exercise would get me there.
In April 2023, I was fresh out of ideas, and as a hail mary, I signed up for pole dancing classes at a local studio in Waterloo called Brass Butterflies. I had no dance experience and couldn’t even do a push-up, but I figured why not do it for the plot?
In my first few weeks, I learned the fireman spin, mermaid spin, fun combos, and some conditioning. I was always excited to go to class, which was super unusual for me. It’s not like pole dancing was easy, nor did I have some natural ability and had found my calling (actually, it did not come naturally at all; I swear I have two left feet). I started to think this pole studio must be magical and had put me under some kind of pro-workout spell.
In hindsight, I loved coming because the studio had the best vibes — I felt like I belonged. Within the first couple of weeks, the staff knew my name and seemed even more invested in my progress than I was.
The first time I ever climbed the pole was during an open session (meaning you can practice whatever you want). I got into position, made my first pull-up, and then another. Suddenly I heard clapping and shouting. Some staff who knew I had been working towards this for a while, and other people in the room I hadn’t even met were cheering me on. This overwhelming encouragement gave me the push to pull up one more time and climb the highest I had ever gotten. For everyone else that probably seemed like just another Tuesday at the studio, but as a previously unathletic girlie, I felt on top of the world (in reality I was barely on top of the pole — I only made it most of the way up, but that was still a big deal for me)!
I’m six months into pole now, and as the title says, I haven’t lost any wild amount of weight nor am I suddenly shaped like Kim Kardashian. I’m okay with that now though. Before I started pole I used to look at myself in the mirror while pinching my tummy fat and cursing the fact that pasta isn’t a low-calorie option. In all seriousness, I hated what I saw. Now when I look in the mirror, I realize that same tummy fat is part of the body strong enough to hold itself up on a pole and nail a backspin, so it must be pretty hot.