Enhance Your Pole Dance Performance with Lower Body Gym Exercises
A strong lower body is the foundation of stability and power in pole dancing. From elegant transitions to daring lifts, leg strength is essential for executing advanced tricks with grace and precision. In this final part of our blog series, we'll explore gym exercises tailored to strengthen your lower body, helping you achieve new heights in your pole dancing journey.
1. Squats (Bulgarian Split Squat)
Boost Lower Body Strength with Bulgarian Split Squats
Squats are a fundamental lower body exercise that targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. They help build lower body strength, stability, and power, which are beneficial for various pole dance moves. Variations like Sumo squats, Barbell Squats, Dumbbell Squats, and Split Squats offer versatility in your workout routine, allowing you to target different muscle groups effectively.
2. Lunges
Enhance Balance and Coordination with Lunges
Lunges are effective for targeting the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes while improving balance and coordination. Strengthening these muscles is essential for executing graceful transitions and maintaining control on the pole. Think how many times we end up in the beautiful lounge next to the pole and we want to be able to move out of it gracefully - there are endless ways in and out of the lounge and strengthening your muscles in this position will help you a lot in them. Explore various lunge variations to challenge yourself and improve your overall pole dancing performance.
3. Deadlifts (Romanian, Sumo or Classic)
Strengthen Your Posterior Chain with Deadlifts
And I don’t mean deadlift into human flag - don’t worry! Deadlifts with weight (dumbbell or barbell) primarily target the hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and core muscles, improving posterior chain strength and stability. Strengthening these muscles is crucial for maintaining proper form during pole dance tricks and transitions. Whether you choose Romanian, Sumo, or Classic deadlift variations, focus on hip movement and engage your muscles effectively for maximum results.
4. Leg Press
Build Lower Body Endurance with Leg Press
The leg press is an excellent exercise for building quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes strength. Strengthening these muscles improves stability and control, essential for executing splits and other advanced pole dance moves. Adjust the weight and repetitions to challenge yourself and achieve optimal results. Strong quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes are essential for splits both on the ground and up in the air!
5. Calf Raises
Enhance Ankle Stability with Calf Raises
Calf raises target the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) and help improve ankle stability and strength. Strong calves can assist in maintaining balance and stability in our beloved stilettos but even when you prefer to dance barefoot they are crucial to execute beautiful lines. Incorporate different heights of platforms or steps to vary the intensity of the exercise.
6. Step-Ups
Improve Quadriceps and Glutes Strength with Step-Ups
Step-ups target the quadriceps and glutes while engaging the core and stabilizer muscles. Mimicking the movement patterns used in climbing and transitioning on the pole, step-ups are an effective exercise for improving lower body strength and agility. Experiment with different step heights and variations to challenge yourself and enhance your pole dancing performance.
7. Glute Bridges or Hip Thrust
Enhance Hip Mobility with Glute Bridges
Primarily target the glutes and hamstrings while also engaging the core and lower back muscles. They help improve hip mobility, strength, and stability, for aerial splits and many pole tricks. In glute bridge you can take less weight but do more reps, focus on really using you glute muscles , movement is short. In Hip Thrust you can use bigger weight and do less reps, movement is longer, you should focus on both glutes and hamstrings. Focus on proper form and muscle engagement to maximize the benefits of these exercises.
8. Inner Thigh Machine
Strengthen Adductor Muscles with Inner Thigh Machine
The inner thigh machine primarily targets the adductor muscles, including the adductor longus, adductor magnus, and adductor brevis. Strengthening the inner thigh muscles can improve your ability to grip the pole between your legs while in pole sit. But also during tricks like the Gemini, Scorpio, and Cross Knee Release. It can also enhance your stability and control during spins and holds that require inner thigh engagement.
9. Outer Thigh Machine
Improve Hip Abduction with Outer Thigh Machine
The outer thigh machine primarily targets the abductor muscles, including the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. Strengthening the outer thigh muscles can improve your stability and control during everything that requires hip abduction, such as the standing side split but also lifting your leg to hook in cupid, side climb and many more. It can also enhance your overall lower body stability, aiding in transitions between moves on the pole.
10. Kick backs
Enhance Lower Body Strength with Kick Backs
Kick backs target the glutes and hamstrings, offering a dynamic workout to enhance lower body strength and stability. With controlled movements, kick back against the resistance provided by the cable machine, focusing on squeezing your glutes at the peak of each rep. This exercise mimics the motion of movements like leg hooks and back leg extensions on the pole, making it a valuable addition to your training routine but will also improve your aerial spits!
Incorporating these lower body exercises into your gym routine will amplify your strength and agility, paving the way for remarkable progress in your pole dancing skills. Remember to listen to your body, gradually increase resistance, and maintain proper form throughout your workouts.
Unlock your full potential with our free PDF training plan featuring recommended sets and intensities for strengthening your lower body for pole dancing. Download it now:
For a comprehensive training plan catered to your abilities contact Natalia on instagram @natalia.robotycka
