A little less than a year ago, I started pole at Iron X Fitness on a whim. I was uninspired in my burlesque numbers and looking for a shake up. I convinced a friend to join me, and we signed up for Intro to Pole together. I spent the week leading up to my first class watching all the pole videos I could. I reassured myself that I would be just fine.
It turns out that a lot of pole moves don’t come naturally to me. I have overwhelming anxiety, and need to cross-train my core muscles a whole lot more than I do. It took me 3 out of the 4 weeks of the intro class to pick my feet up off the ground for a single spin. When I finally did it? It felt glorious. A natural high for achieving something I had been working so hard on.
It took me another 6 months of actively working on it to completely nail that spin, and that doesn’t even account for the Covid closure. Each time I get closer, I have more to celebrate. I am getting stronger. I am getting braver. My pole journey is a little slower than some people’s, but it’s mine and I am proud of it. I have discovered things that I love to do, and I keep working on the things that are more of a challenge for me.
I am grateful to my Iron X Fitness family for continuing to encourage me. I get variations when I need them, cheers when I do something new, and plenty of sympathetic ears to listen when I am feeling frustrated. It’s the community at IXF that keeps me coming back week after week. That, and a determination to conquer all the spins that are just out of reach!
Written by Alicia Furness
