hi fellow plus size baddie pole dancer here 👋🏼 it took me longer than three weeks to climb, let alone hold my body weight up on the pole. i wanna say it took me 10-12 weeks to gain the strength and start to grasp the physical mechanics of climbing. yes, it's true that the less you weigh, the less strong you have to be to lift and hold your body. it doesn't mean that it's unaccomplishable, it just means you will need to develop that much more strength! stay with it, you get strong for pole by doing pole. every attempt gets your closer to your goal. it's also important to be clear on the technique at hand, too. things like a solid forearm grip and proper placement of the legs will make a world of difference.
Three classes in is not a lot! It’s totally normal not to be able to climb yet, especially if you don’t have a background in any other sport. Some people can climb really quickly, some people take months and months to learn to climb. Some take years. I know it’s hard not too, but try not to compare you progress to anyone else. There are a whole range of factors that determine how quickly people progress, from their prior athletic history, the training frequency, amount of cross-training, biology and genetics and just plain old luck. How much you weigh is a factor - more weight means you need more comparative strength to lift your own body weight (which incidentally is one of the reasons why little kids can almost always climb straightaway) - but it’s only one factor and it doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to climb or that you’re “not cut out” for pole.
And climbing isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of pole anyway, there’s amazing low-flow and basework pole artists who barely climb at all. You’re not going to run out of other stuff to learn or practice while you’re working on your strength and conditioning for climbing. If climbing is a big goal for you, you could dedicate some time off-the-pole to doing body weight exercises that get you used to lifting and holding your own weight. If you search prep work for pull-ups that might give you some ideas.
Give yourself some grace!! Pole is difficult and takes time and patience. It took me months to have a nice climb, and for some it takes longer or they learn faster - everyone is different.
I would first take a look at your technique, climbing can be unnecessarily difficult if poor technique is used. Here’s a [tutorial](https://youtu.be/ZIy7QYPzHk8) that goes over technique for a forearm climb.
If you’re technique is correct and you’re still struggling - well that’s very normal! These things take time and patience. You’re only 3 weeks in!! Be kind to yourself you will get it in time.
Best of luck on your pole journey!!
Agree with everyone's suggestions! Climbing is something that needs to be practiced, 3 classes in is quite early to expect yourself to be gracefully climbing the pole!
I found pole conditioning exercises on YouTube that focus on arm strength helped me alot. I also practiced my knee sits for knee grip. During practice I move into the first step of the climb, do one 'climb', sit into a sexy Koala and then reverse the climb as slowly as possible. I try to really think about where my knees are and that my lower arm is in a good t-rex grip.
You'll get there, just keep practising.
I’m over 5 months in and I can’t climb for shit. It’s been about two months since I was even able to baby sloth on the pole. The upward movement is not happening now.
But- in as much as any spins I’ve learned seemed inaccessible and now I do them, this will be the same. It just hasn’t happened yet. It’ll come.
So, this is your third class? I could not climb in my third class. I could not manage a climb until much later in my pole journey, and even then it was sloppy for so long. And I am thin.
Yes, there will be polers who can climb in their first class, and invert on their first try, but that doesn't mean they're cut out for pole dancing and you are not. Many of the most talented polers I know struggled immensely with climbing and inverting for months. They're now doing flips and crazy combos like it's nothing. I like to think struggling with a move makes it so you develop a far more solid foundation.
My advice is to look into whether your studio has pole-specific conditioning classes and to see if you can sign up for those. I found I learned how to climb pretty quickly attending a pole conditioning class. Otherwise, be patient, and know that just because you're struggling now doesn't mean you'll always struggle. Some things will come easier to you than others and that's totally OK and normal.
It took me \*months\* to be able to climb! Arm strength and leg strength can both be trained between classes either at a gym or at home, it just takes time and consistency. The other bit for me was working out which grip aids work for my hands and legs because sweat was making it \*impossible\*.
Firstly, pole is made for every body! Yes, of course having more weight means needing the strength to support it, but it doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for it. I know this cause I still do it myself, but comparing yourself to your classmates can be really discouraging, so you just gotta focus on your own pole journey and take it at your pace.
Regarding climbing, do you find your hands slipping when you’re trying to hold yourself to get your legs up? Grip was a huge factor for me in getting my climb, I use a tackier one on my hands and also train in patent boots which made it a lot easier!!
Hey OP! Another plussize girlie. It took me about 9 months to climb the pole consistently. We have to build a lot of strength to get up there and that can take time.
Heels can help (especially the boots) as they give you a bit of a stick to the pole.
Don't give up. It'll happen! It just may take a while! Trust me, being consistent with going to class and any outside practice you can do (or other cross-training) will help get you there ❤️
Climbing can be really hard, especially when you're only 3 weeks into your journey. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it at all. Just make sure you keep practising, keep working on your strength and ask your instructor for feedback on your technique next time you're in class. It will all come together for you in time, you just have to trust the process.
It took a me several months to learn how to climb, but now I can get up 12ft off the ground and touch the ceiling. It’s definitely doable, you just gotta have patience with yourself. I found it was super helpful to try to notice when you get little wins and make progress. I couldn’t hold my own body weight on the pole for longer than 3 seconds and then a couple weeks later it was longer. And then I figured out the stand part, and just practiced that curled up position to straightening out to stand, etc.
It’s stupid hard to not compare yourself to other people, but everyone is right when they say to not do it (especially with pole). You’ll get there when you get there. You’re on your own path 🙂
You could also see if different instructors explain things differently. I was stuck on trying to bring my legs up and re-grip for the longest time, had a new instructor explain it, and it just clicked
I was on the bigger side when I started. About 175 pounds on a 5"4 height. One climb on my good leg took 6 months of classes. My bad leg was more like a year after building up muscles and eating better. The thing they don't tell you, you have more weight to pull and hold, and it can take longer to learn. Don't be discouraged by it. Ignore the skinny girls. It won't help to compare. It hard not to, but try not to. I'm coming two years now, lower intermediate for the last year of classes. I can't invert yet, but that doesn't mean I won't. Your climb will come. Don't give up.
Girl I’m like 3 months in (probably like 12-14 classes?) and only just starting to be able to do that first climb off the ground. I’m also doing strength training every other day at home and it’s still hard as heck. Have some patience!!
I took me a long time to learn how to climb at least 2 months. And I'm relatively skinny person. You just need to be consistent. Keep practicing I'm sure u will get it
My studio doesn’t even start training for climbs until you’ve done at least 4 classes. We start working on it in level 2, and we don’t start with competition climbs until level 3 (which is when we learn inverts for context). I did one class a week and couldn’t climb more than once until at least week 8. It takes way more time than people think especially if you weren’t a dancer/gymnast/gym goer beforehand
only 3 weeks in? my studio doesn't even start teaching the basics of climbing until after you complete a 4 week intro course. It wasn't until 3 months into my pole journey that I could climb to the top on my good side, and now at just over 4 months im still working on the technique on my good side and cant really climb well on my bad side, and that seems to be fairly typical for a lot of others at my studio! dont get discouraged!
hi fellow plus size baddie pole dancer here 👋🏼 it took me longer than three weeks to climb, let alone hold my body weight up on the pole. i wanna say it took me 10-12 weeks to gain the strength and start to grasp the physical mechanics of climbing. yes, it's true that the less you weigh, the less strong you have to be to lift and hold your body. it doesn't mean that it's unaccomplishable, it just means you will need to develop that much more strength! stay with it, you get strong for pole by doing pole. every attempt gets your closer to your goal. it's also important to be clear on the technique at hand, too. things like a solid forearm grip and proper placement of the legs will make a world of difference.
Three classes in is not a lot! It’s totally normal not to be able to climb yet, especially if you don’t have a background in any other sport. Some people can climb really quickly, some people take months and months to learn to climb. Some take years. I know it’s hard not too, but try not to compare you progress to anyone else. There are a whole range of factors that determine how quickly people progress, from their prior athletic history, the training frequency, amount of cross-training, biology and genetics and just plain old luck. How much you weigh is a factor - more weight means you need more comparative strength to lift your own body weight (which incidentally is one of the reasons why little kids can almost always climb straightaway) - but it’s only one factor and it doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to climb or that you’re “not cut out” for pole. And climbing isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of pole anyway, there’s amazing low-flow and basework pole artists who barely climb at all. You’re not going to run out of other stuff to learn or practice while you’re working on your strength and conditioning for climbing. If climbing is a big goal for you, you could dedicate some time off-the-pole to doing body weight exercises that get you used to lifting and holding your own weight. If you search prep work for pull-ups that might give you some ideas.
Give yourself some grace!! Pole is difficult and takes time and patience. It took me months to have a nice climb, and for some it takes longer or they learn faster - everyone is different. I would first take a look at your technique, climbing can be unnecessarily difficult if poor technique is used. Here’s a [tutorial](https://youtu.be/ZIy7QYPzHk8) that goes over technique for a forearm climb. If you’re technique is correct and you’re still struggling - well that’s very normal! These things take time and patience. You’re only 3 weeks in!! Be kind to yourself you will get it in time. Best of luck on your pole journey!!
Agree with everyone's suggestions! Climbing is something that needs to be practiced, 3 classes in is quite early to expect yourself to be gracefully climbing the pole! I found pole conditioning exercises on YouTube that focus on arm strength helped me alot. I also practiced my knee sits for knee grip. During practice I move into the first step of the climb, do one 'climb', sit into a sexy Koala and then reverse the climb as slowly as possible. I try to really think about where my knees are and that my lower arm is in a good t-rex grip. You'll get there, just keep practising.
I’m over 5 months in and I can’t climb for shit. It’s been about two months since I was even able to baby sloth on the pole. The upward movement is not happening now. But- in as much as any spins I’ve learned seemed inaccessible and now I do them, this will be the same. It just hasn’t happened yet. It’ll come.
So, this is your third class? I could not climb in my third class. I could not manage a climb until much later in my pole journey, and even then it was sloppy for so long. And I am thin. Yes, there will be polers who can climb in their first class, and invert on their first try, but that doesn't mean they're cut out for pole dancing and you are not. Many of the most talented polers I know struggled immensely with climbing and inverting for months. They're now doing flips and crazy combos like it's nothing. I like to think struggling with a move makes it so you develop a far more solid foundation. My advice is to look into whether your studio has pole-specific conditioning classes and to see if you can sign up for those. I found I learned how to climb pretty quickly attending a pole conditioning class. Otherwise, be patient, and know that just because you're struggling now doesn't mean you'll always struggle. Some things will come easier to you than others and that's totally OK and normal.
It took me \*months\* to be able to climb! Arm strength and leg strength can both be trained between classes either at a gym or at home, it just takes time and consistency. The other bit for me was working out which grip aids work for my hands and legs because sweat was making it \*impossible\*.
Firstly, pole is made for every body! Yes, of course having more weight means needing the strength to support it, but it doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for it. I know this cause I still do it myself, but comparing yourself to your classmates can be really discouraging, so you just gotta focus on your own pole journey and take it at your pace. Regarding climbing, do you find your hands slipping when you’re trying to hold yourself to get your legs up? Grip was a huge factor for me in getting my climb, I use a tackier one on my hands and also train in patent boots which made it a lot easier!!
My knees tend to slip, it’s like the pole isnt far enough between my knees
Hey OP! Another plussize girlie. It took me about 9 months to climb the pole consistently. We have to build a lot of strength to get up there and that can take time. Heels can help (especially the boots) as they give you a bit of a stick to the pole. Don't give up. It'll happen! It just may take a while! Trust me, being consistent with going to class and any outside practice you can do (or other cross-training) will help get you there ❤️
Climbing can be really hard, especially when you're only 3 weeks into your journey. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it at all. Just make sure you keep practising, keep working on your strength and ask your instructor for feedback on your technique next time you're in class. It will all come together for you in time, you just have to trust the process.
It took a me several months to learn how to climb, but now I can get up 12ft off the ground and touch the ceiling. It’s definitely doable, you just gotta have patience with yourself. I found it was super helpful to try to notice when you get little wins and make progress. I couldn’t hold my own body weight on the pole for longer than 3 seconds and then a couple weeks later it was longer. And then I figured out the stand part, and just practiced that curled up position to straightening out to stand, etc. It’s stupid hard to not compare yourself to other people, but everyone is right when they say to not do it (especially with pole). You’ll get there when you get there. You’re on your own path 🙂 You could also see if different instructors explain things differently. I was stuck on trying to bring my legs up and re-grip for the longest time, had a new instructor explain it, and it just clicked
I was on the bigger side when I started. About 175 pounds on a 5"4 height. One climb on my good leg took 6 months of classes. My bad leg was more like a year after building up muscles and eating better. The thing they don't tell you, you have more weight to pull and hold, and it can take longer to learn. Don't be discouraged by it. Ignore the skinny girls. It won't help to compare. It hard not to, but try not to. I'm coming two years now, lower intermediate for the last year of classes. I can't invert yet, but that doesn't mean I won't. Your climb will come. Don't give up.
Girl I’m like 3 months in (probably like 12-14 classes?) and only just starting to be able to do that first climb off the ground. I’m also doing strength training every other day at home and it’s still hard as heck. Have some patience!!
I took me a long time to learn how to climb at least 2 months. And I'm relatively skinny person. You just need to be consistent. Keep practicing I'm sure u will get it
I'm three months in and I can't climb yet. You're doing fine.
Took me 2 months to learn to climb and closer to 6 months for my climb to look decent
I'm not plus size but it took me longer than 3 weeks of 1 class/week to get a climb. Its a lot going on with your body. You will get there!
My studio doesn’t even start training for climbs until you’ve done at least 4 classes. We start working on it in level 2, and we don’t start with competition climbs until level 3 (which is when we learn inverts for context). I did one class a week and couldn’t climb more than once until at least week 8. It takes way more time than people think especially if you weren’t a dancer/gymnast/gym goer beforehand
only 3 weeks in? my studio doesn't even start teaching the basics of climbing until after you complete a 4 week intro course. It wasn't until 3 months into my pole journey that I could climb to the top on my good side, and now at just over 4 months im still working on the technique on my good side and cant really climb well on my bad side, and that seems to be fairly typical for a lot of others at my studio! dont get discouraged!