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Lesson learned from an injured poler
Hey All!
So I thought I’d share my pole failure and help reiterate to others how safety is really important.
Last week I’ve finally become really comfortable holding a butterfly. But, I know that my grip, when moved, may slip due to sweaty hands. Well in class today, I put on the wrong grip aid (tite grip 2 instead of tite grip 1) and I was already reapplying my chalk multiple times due to slipping. We started to learn the dragon tail. My instructor asked us if any of us wanted a spot. Ignoring my hands and previous slipping experiences that day, I told her I was fine and I didn’t need a spot.I wasn’t fine. I put the bottom hand under my body and went to move my knee out when the hand slipped. I ended up catching my fall on my right little toe, (and then left shin, which was totally ok) which was severely sprained, possible microfracture. I’m out for at least a week. All because I wanted to prove to myself I was steady and I could hold a move.
So if you are asked if you want a spot, unless you have done that move tons of times, it’s probably a great idea to get a spot for your first few times until you know how stable you truly are.
*sob* I just got Rock n Pole in the mail and was so looking forward to working on some of the choreography this weekend as I’m going to be alone for thanksgiving. 🙁
Don’t be meeeee!! Be my classmates who asked for a spotter and got to finish class. This is your pole failure PSA of the day.
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2 Replies
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Thanks for the reminder. It’s hard to remember we’re not invincible…well not so hard for me now that I’m older but I definitely thought I was invincible when I was younger. I hope you heal up quickly.
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Ouch, that sounds painful, I’m really sorry you’re going through that. Thank you for sharing such an honest reminder, because it’s so easy to push through when our body or grip is telling us otherwise. I had a similar scare when I ignored how slippery my hands were during a shoulder mount and ended up sliding off before I even locked in. Luckily I landed on my side with just some bruises, but it made me start taking grip prep, warm-ups, and spotting much more seriously.
One thing that helped me was being more mindful about the products I use for grip and recovery. There are some resources out there that focus on safe training practices and injury prevention, FlareSyn has been a good read for me when I needed to rethink how I train smarter instead of harder.
You’re absolutely right: accepting a spot isn’t a weakness, it’s just part of building safe habits. Hoping you heal up fast and get back to enjoying your new choreography soon!
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