While many overlooked the health benefits of poledancing for years, they’ve recently come to the fore as associations with thepractice have moved away from the strip club and into the studio.
Pole dancing has always required the same levels ofathleticism, elegance and skill as gymnastics and ballet. It’s a great activityto get into if you want to reap the health and fitness gains and have more funexercising than you could imagine.
People all over the world are now discovering the health benefits of pole dancing, and here’s why.
1. Increased strength
Pole dancing is a complete body workout. Even atbeginner level, the moves are dynamic and engage multiple muscles at once. It’slittle wonder, therefore, that so many personal trainers areembracing it.
Many pole dancing manoeuvres require you to lift andhold your own body weight, so it’s ideal for building strength in your backmuscles, biceps, triceps, and forearms. Even if you come to a class withoutmuch upper body strength, you’ll soon build it up through pole dancing.
Here are some common pole dancing moves that helpbuild upper body strength:
Beyond upper body strength, pole dancing gives youstrong core muscles. Your abdominals and lower back muscles are used to performmoves where you need to climb, lift your legs, or hold your weight.
These moves are perfect for improving core strength:
We weren’t kidding when we said pole dancing is acomplete body workout. Initially, you might find that most moves depend onupper body and core strength.
However, the grip for the more acrobaticintermediate manoeuvres comes from your legs. Sometimes, even without theassistance of your arms.
There are very few muscles you don’t use while pole dancing. The repetition involved in perfecting a manoeuvre means that by the time you nail it, you’ll be substantially stronger without even realising it.
2. Increased flexibility
Each of us is born with a full range of motion inour joints, but this is lost if we don’t use it regularly. In turn, our jointscan feel stiff and our range of motion restricted. The good news is that youcan condition your joints to restore flexibility—and pole dancing is perfect.
We’ve covered the importance of flexibility before. It’s about more than just being bendy—it also haspractical health benefits.
When one part of our body is less mobile than itshould be, other parts end up unnaturally compensating for it.
This can lead to premature joint wear, poor posture,and even poor form for basic movements like walking or lifting. Poor form meansmore aching, cramping and increased risk of injury, which may result in chronicjoint issues.
Given the twisting, stretching, and bending involvedin pole dancing, you’re training your muscles and joints to be more flexible.You’re also improving your sense of balance and spatial awareness.
Some of the more advanced pole dancing techniques border on contortion but don’t panic. You’ll have massively increased your flexibility by the time you’re at that level.
According to WHO, adults aged 18–64should complete at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exerciseor 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week.
Hitting this benchmark reduces the likelihood ofdeveloping Type II Diabetes by 40%, heart disease by 35%, and certain cancersby 20%. It opens the door to countless additional health benefits.
Pole dancing is an ideal way to hit this weeklyrecommendation because it keeps your heart rate up and incorporates your wholebody, even at beginner level.
Furthermore, pole dancing falls between moderate andintense physical activity comparable to aerobics or calisthenics.
This means you don’t have to do it as long each weekto reap the cardiovascular health benefits of pole dancing. Or, better still,you get a greater benefit for the same amount of time.
We spoke to Jaime Rangeley, a pole dancinginstructor from The Pole Studio,who added:
“The beginning of each class has a cardio componentto warm up the body and prepare it for exercise. In addition to that, we puttogether tricks, spins, and transition moves into combos to increaseendurance.
Other health benefits include increased strength and coordination as well as neurological benefits. Learning new movement has been proven to develop new neural pathways and help reduce the risk of dementia.”
4. Balance and coordination
Multiple studies show that developing balance and coordination is important for improving your overall quality of life, especially as you age.
Despite this, both elements of health and fitness are largely overlooked.
Good balance is the foundation of physical movement, as it keeps you upright and on your feet.
Coordinating that movement relies heavily on balance, as you will struggle to control a movement that doesn’t stem from a strong stance.
The two go hand in hand, and training them has various health benefits, such as injury prevention and improved performance. Having greater control over your body is never bad and will certainly help you later in life.
Pole dancing is one of the best activities you can do to train your balance and coordination. It relies heavily on both, as getting to grips with balancing your body against the pole is the first hurdle you’ll face.
Coordinating your movements comes next; this is virtually impossible without first mastering balance. Once you get to this stage, you’re already making significant progress.
You can’t complete this activity without having trained both to some degree, and then you’re well on your way to receiving these additional health benefits of pole dancing.
5. Improved sleep quality
While scientists have yet to uncover the exactreasons behind their findings, multiple studies have found alink between regular aerobic exercise and improved sleep quality.
Since pole dancing is an aerobic exercise thatchallenges multiple areas of your fitness, it’s a great activity to try if youstruggle with your sleep. It uses a lot of energy and releases multiplehormones that can help combat stress-related insomnia.
For example, your body will release serotonin during a poledancing session. This mood-stabilising hormone is known for promoting healthiersleeping patterns thanks to its ability to regulate stress in yourbrain.
Endorphins, also known as‘feel-good’ chemicals, are also released. They can similarly affect your sleepquality as they actively reduce stress hormone levels and decompress themind.
Once you create better sleep patterns throughregular exercise, this begins a ripple effect that positively impacts yourhealth.
According to WebMD, getting quality sleep on a regular basis can help improve your mood, give you a sharper brain and boost your heart health, amongst other benefits. Pole dancing is worth a try if you want to improve your long-term health.
Among the health benefits of pole dancing is thefact it helps you approach weight loss from both a cardio and strengthperspective. High activity in the sessions helps you burn calories, and all thelifting, climbing, and holding will help you build muscle.
Increasing and consistently maintaining yourphysical activity raises your basal metabolic rate. This is the number ofcalories your body burns when at rest. So, even when you’re not pole dancing,your body will be optimised to burn more calories between sessions.
Weight loss is related to yet distinct fromcardiovascular health because you don’t have to be a high-performing athlete tobe in good physical health.
However, pole dancing will result in you burning fatand gaining muscle. So, pole dancing is highly effective if your goal is tobecome leaner instead of just staying healthy.
“Many students do report weight loss and musclegain, as pole dance is a very dynamic form of exercise. But regardless of anychange to body shape, what I see in every single student is an increase in bodyconfidence and self-esteem.
Although I have taught many other fitnessclasses, what makes pole dance unique is that despite being a demandingworkout, we always have a lot of fun, and there is real camaraderie among thestudents.”
That brings us to the next point.
7. Mental health
All exercise is good for mental health—endorphinsare released when we exercise, which are proven to reduce stress and anxiety. This, combined with improved health, positive physical changesto your appearance and the mental stimulation physical exercise offers, isgreat for your self-esteem.
In addition to this, there are some unique mentalhealth benefits of pole dancing too. For instance, it creates a sense ofsolidarity with other classmates as each of you takes control of your body.You’ll also feel empowered and have more body confidence through pole dancing.
“It’s about developing your confidence, gettingstronger, and being proud of what your body is capable of doing—because it cando so much more than you’d ever thought possible.”
Beyond this, at any level of pole dancing, there’s the satisfaction of achieving a spectacular feat through athleticism, determination, and study of the art form. Put simply, pole dancing is as fulfilling as any pursuit can hope to be.
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