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Pole dancing: pole dancing provides a high-intensity workout while teaching a few tricks for the bedroom
Ebony, April, 2008 by Lynette Holloway
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Naledi Sesiny, a pint-sized dynamo of a woman, casts a come-hither smile as she grabs a glistening metal vertical pole in a softly-lit room filled with the undulating bass beats of "Cyclone," the popular Baby Bash song featuring rapper T-Pain.
She springs to her toes ballerina-style as she slides her left hand down the pole better known as a prop in the syncopated rooms of gentlemen's clubs and strip bars On the right side. she slides her body slowly toward the floor until she reaches a slightly seated position When her Knees reach a 90-degree angle, she tosses net head back. arches her back and begins to rise slowly. Her face is turned heavenward; a cascade of curls flowing beneath her, creating an ethereal scene of sensuality. She vamps and releases the pose, known as "the descending goddess."
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No, Sesinyi is not a stripper. She is a pole-dancing instructor at one of Chicago's premier fitness studios, Flirty Girl Fitness, which is bankrolled by the wives of current and retired NFL and NBA players. The entrepreneurial wives include Tracy Mourning, wife of Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat; Natasha Salley, wife of retired Detroit Pistons/Chicago Bulls star John Salley; Gina Coleman, wife of former Detroit Piston Derrick Coleman; Dee Dee AbdurRahim, wife of the Sacramento Kings' Shareef AbdurRahim; Heather Boston-Williams, wife of the Los Angeles Clippers' Aaron Williams; and Jennifer Williams, wife of former Boston Celtic Eric Williams. The expectation, they say, is that pole dancing will become a mainstay on the menu of workout choices for women across the nation. Currently, Flirty Girl Fitness studios are in Chicago and Toronto.
Jennifer Williams says she was drawn to pole dancing as a workout during a visit to Toronto two years ago, when she took a class and was attracted to the business as an investment shortly thereafter because it provides such an intense workout. Despite its rigors, Williams says she has so much fun between the music and classroom camaraderie, she does not feel as if she is working out.
"I know that pole dancing has built up my upper body," says Williams, who is lissome and toned and lives in Miami. "I definitely feel it. My legs are strong. Manipulating your own weight is a challenge, and I think it's something all women should master. Also, you get to bring something home for your husband. It's a workout that has benefits for the both of you." Like Williams, the other sports wives also have taken pole-dancing classes.
Sesinyi says getting women past the stigma of pole dancing is a challenge. But once they overcome it, look out. They exude sexuality and sensuality. Returning students become spirited and confident inside the studio, at home and at work. "Women love to feel sexy," she says. "It's also powerful knowing that you can literally hold your weight."
Classes for pole dancing as a workout have been popping up around the nation for about three years, from New York to Los Angeles to Chicago. The pole is just about the only thing the workout has in common with striptease acts, which are less gymnastically and dance-oriented, says Kerry Knee, co-founder of Flirty Girl Fitness, which has been open about a year in Chicago. The origins of pole dancing are uncertain, but the art is now on the map as a major workout.
Sesinyi, who is 5-foot-3 and weighs 115 pounds, attributes her six-pack abs, sculpted arms and thighs to pole dancing. "While I've always been athletic, I didn't look like this before I started teaching eight months ago."
Natasha Salley, a petite knockout with a sculpted body, attends classes three times a week in Los Angeles. "I have a six-pack. I've put on muscle and I'm really toned. It's hard, but you have fun while doing it ... and you feel great."
Classes offered by Flirty Girl Fitness, in Chicago's tony West Loop neighborhood, last about an hour and include a 5-minute warm-up to increase the heart rate and prepare the body for a high cardio- and strength-training pole-dance class, Sesinyi says. And another 5 minutes of stretching. Other studios, such as Sheila Kelley's S Factor, which has branches around the nation, offer two-hour classes, says Gerri Kyhill, the managing partner of the New York branch.
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Almost all studios require a series of workshops before allowing women to swing from the poles. The workshops help strengthen abs, thighs, glutes and calves in preparation for the rigors of doing actual pole tricks. Students burn an average of 300 calories per hour, Sesinyi says, and notice a difference after about six weeks, including more definition in the arms and legs, a slimmer waistline and weight loss, especially if the workout is combined with a reduction in calories and of fatty foods.
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Granted, pole dancing is popular and offers a tough workout that gets results, but experts like Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise in San Diego, warns that it can be too rigorous. The council, one of the largest fitness certification, education and training organizations in the nation, urges women to check with their doctors before starting a class. Additionally, Comana recommends the class only for women in good physical condition.
