If you are wondering when you will ever find the time to stretch again you are not alone. I wish I had all the time it takes to get all suited up, warmed up, and have time to relax into stretching. Not going to happen!
Even though I have less time than ever before I have found a few ways to get a little closer to getting back my splits. Scroll down and click it to HD, enjoy!
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What challenges are you facing on your flexibility journey? Comment below and let's get through them together! #AllOverWednesday is your invitation to ask anything right here in the comment section and get a lot of love.
With my re-evaluation of fitness I have been really thinking about what fitness means to each person. Serendipitously, I recently received an email request to share Reebok's #BeMoreHuman message with all my Flexines, and I had to smile at the included graphic (below). I received compensation in exchange for this post but honestly how could I not share it regardless!
I wish I had known Reebok was going to have such a great commercial (read: containing a pole reference) so I would have thought to tune into the Superbowl for once--if it does not have figure skating or pole dance, the sporting event is wasted on me. I immediately thought of all the sporty pole dancers out there but as I clicked on I discovered a bit more.
You can take the HUMAN SCORE test from Reebok and find out a bit about your own fitness motivation and goals. It asks you to choose between two options, much like those Facebook quizzes to find out which movie character you are, and gives you a score at the end. I fully expected to get a score that matched a couch potato but instead I got this:
The description reads, "Brain Buffs do more than keep their bodies fit - they actively work to regularly challenge themselves to think big thoughts way outside the box. And they are rigorous thinkers inclined to do their own research." As it turns out, I do feel that fitness is an intellectual pursuit for me. It got me thinking about how much that means to me, and how special it is that I can engage so many sides of myself through pole fitness and a new fitness pursuit I am planning to share with you all soon. This multi-faceted quality of fitness is what keeps me going, both in fitness itself and outside of it.
When I started my flexibility journey I would have been overjoyed with open front splits but as my flexibility increased I wasn't as thrilled as I thought I would be. Yes, I posted excitedly to my friends and was pretty pleased but then I thought when do you really have the splits?
I still can't do the splits cold. I can't do them squared either, except for a few painful seconds after a long stretching session. Said few seconds usually entailing a whole lot of whining, lol. What you don't see when people post pictures of themselves in the splits is how warmed up they were, how much stretching they did to get in them, and how long they've been working on flexibility. It isn't just about being able to pose for a awesome splits shot, it's about being able to use them.
Upbeat, athletic movement defines Oona from her bouncy, center-of-the-head pony tail to her emphatically pointed feet. We love Oona because she is perky--and gravity defying!
Oona started her fitness journey very early in life: she was nine-years-old when she started gymnastics. Hold on. As someone who found her fitness/pole journey comparatively later in life, this can be intimidating. Following the advice of one of my favorite muses let's just ooh and ahh and be inspired to dabble in a few gymnastics moves. After all, small steps are what build up to greatness of Oona proportions :D
There are so many reasons Krissy KiKi is this week's Weekend Crush; of all of these, the absolute top is her fun personality. What I love about KiKi is she is always upbeat, fun, and the most encouraging person. I challenge you to read her blog and NOT be inspired--it's just not possible. When she's not giving tips on how to be yourself, or putting herself out there being all kinds of KiKi wacky, she's posting helpful comments. Incidentally, KiKi is running a 1 Year Pole Dancing Scholarship and a 30 Day Pole Dancing Scholarship through StudioVeena, check them out and apply by May 1st.
This entire blog owes its existence to our mutual quest to get the splits. We have met countless times with each other and even had the chance to add more ladies to our Flexine Army. Our pets are "furry Flexines" (especially Elle, Butters, and Griffy--these furries don't miss a single meeting that their human counterparts go to!). Despite my frugality, I've even managed to gather a whole host of flexy tools/gear and everyone in my house knows what's next when I start carting them around.
Let's face it, budgeting comes with a lot of making things work.
I like to get online and research free resources--it's amazing what a wealth of information there is. Just bear in mind that it is worth digging deeper for reliable information before you commit to any flexibility routines.
When I started working on my flexibility, I could not touch my toes. If I had to sit with my feet straight out in front of me it required propping myself up with my arms so I could lean back. Yeah I did really poorly on that stupid hamstring stretch in high school too. That one with the weird half-box wooden contraption you have to push the slider on as you stretch forward. Point is, hamstring flexibility is one of my big goals.
As you know, the only reason I did start flexy training was for pole. I honestly thought I could stretch religiously for a month or two and BAM! I'd be able to slide into a perfect split. I imagined myself bending my back in a loop around the pole and executing amazing, figure-skating-esque spins and translating what I love about that sport into pole. Boy was I wrong--apart from leg flexy training doing little for back flexy--training for the splits can be hard work.
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