There’s no part of the gym experience that makes me feel sexy—not the damp, musty locker rooms, not the baggy shirts and track pants I work out in, and certainly not the sweat dripping down my forehead as I stumble through cardio kickboxing or huff and puff on the stair climber. But perhaps I’d feel differently if I put on sky-high stilettos and a push-up bra, sauntered past the standard gym equipment, and gyrated in front of a mirror for an hour instead. That’s how many women are choosing to spend their gym time these days, forgoing sit-ups and interval running for increasingly popular pole dancing classes.
I’ve never taken one myself, since any sexy dancing I do in public (i.e., not alone in my bedroom, listening to Britney Spears’ “Blackout”) is brought on by one too many gin fizzes. But if you’ve ever watched someone work the pole, either in class or in the club, it’s obvious just how much physical strength and cardiovascular endurance it requires. Even for the very shy among us—or possibly especially for the very shy, given the reported confidence boosts that come from this type of exercise—there are some very real reasons why more of us should get on the pole.
Sweating in Stilettos
Pole dancing classes offer women the opportunity to let loose and have fun while toning their bodies and increasing their core strength. (Swinging your entire body around a pole works your abs like nothing else, or so I’m told.) Students are encouraged to wear sexy attire, like platform heels and stripper shorts, to really get in the mood and get into the movements, but you can usually wear more modest shorts and tank tops, too. But once the music starts playing and everyone else starts dancing and writhing to the beat, it’s possible that you won’t care as much about what or how much you’re wearing.
Layne F., a medical student from Scottsdale, Arizona, has taken three pole dancing classes in the past and says she would love to take more if her school schedule were more flexible. “The first time was actually my favorite time I’ve been, because I had no idea what to expect and how much fun it was going to be,” she shares. She says that she wasn’t nervous before class started, but she did get a case of the butterflies anytime she had to perform a trick on the pole. “The moves are challenging because you have a triad of things you’re trying to accomplish: getting your body to cooperate to do the trick, not falling, and looking sexy at the same time,” Layne explains. “But when you get that first spin or slide up and down the pole, you definitely feel sexy!”
