Ok so you may or may not know my gorgeous Sweet Cheeks beauty room is located within Athena Fitness. A gorgeous tall, naturally lit studio that teaches Pole & Aerial Fitness. I watch these girls in absolute awe as I work away and have been itching to take part for ages, but what with pregnancy, work commitments and time, I haven’t had the opportunity to sign up for a course …until today!!
I’m fortunate to be a skinny cow and so I worry a lot about what fitness I do so as not to look like skeletor! I really do concentrate on things that provide me with some time out, work on my core strength, whilst working on all my body and that make me feel positive in myself. Pole does all of that and more. It not only guides us as women to look and feel a little bit sexy about ourselves but it has tons of health benefits too, many of which I didn’t even realise until I started searching the web, they include burning lots of calories, deminishes stress levels, feel more motivated, more flexible and limber, its good for your heart and blood flow and fab for kinaesthetic awareness, balance and centre of gravity (which in the long run could help make me less clumsy!!)
So Faye the owner of Athena Fitness has been training for 8 years and teaching for 7, she knows her stuff and demonstrates each move with calm and clear instruction, as she moves in a fluid like motion around the pole. Today there is me and 5 other ladies working through a selection of moves that all have pretty cool names, although I’m pretty sure I won’t remember them by next week. I know I learnt a lot of spins including the basics, fireman and attitude, a hook spin that went backwards I couldn’t quite master that, and some pretty spins including a frog & kiss (hehe that last bit sounds like a fairy tale!) Faye also made us have a go of climbing the poles (the ones in the studio are pretty epic, full competition poles that reach the very high ceiling!) and that’s when I snapped my first #AthenaPoleSelfie although I couldn’t grip with my thighs and failed miserably attempting the crucifix move that involved NO HANDS!
I’m buzzing from today’s class, I didn’t feel an idiot even when I couldn’t do bits, the other girls there all of different levels were so supportive and Faye on hand to advise me of the easiest and least painful ways of accomplishing each move. I honestly can’t wait for next week, maybe ill do you all a little update at the end of my course.
If you are reading this because you are thinking of trying pole, or coming down to Athena, do it! I promise you won’t regret it, I’m hugely conscious of my size (everyone feels comfortable digging out a skinny person) and today it didn’t even matter! I haven’t stopped smiling, I feel stretched, I’m pushing my body to be its best, I’m comfortable in me and it just makes me feel happy, whatever your size pole can make you feel fabulous and not more so then with the delightful teachers and members of Athena Fitness.
Catching up with Faye after I asked her what she loved most and what surprises people most about the sport? Her reply was “I love to see people fall in love with it, the pride when they master a move they have been working on for so long is always so rewarding for me as an instructor and I think what surprises people most is how much they like it, the confidence they gain on a personal level and how addictive it becomes.”
Keep up to date with Athena Fitness, free taster days they hold, demos, videos, pics plus all the amazing membership and packages through their website, Facebook Page and if Faye ever finds the log in details Twitter! Hehe
The next lot if courses start mid November why not come join in?
xoxo
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