Too stiff to do the split? This stretching workout will guide you from simple to advanced stretching moves to improve your flexibility for pole dancing, gymnastics and ballet.
Best Stretching Moves for Pole Dancing
The key to improving your flexibility for pole dancing is:
- to practice stretching often, even short periods.
- to always train both sides.
- to hold each of the positions for 20-60 seconds.
1) Hip Circles
- Stand straight with feet a bit wider than shoulder width apart.
- Put your hands on the hips and start slowly rotating them making big circles. Move in both directions for 1 minute.
Note: Keep your body relaxed, engage your core muscles. Hip circle band could help you to do these exercises
2) Plie Squats
- Stand with your feet wider than your shoulders, with your toes pointed out at a 45 degree angle.
- Squat down as if you were going to sit in a chair, bringing your thighs parallel to the floor and then return to starting position.
- Do 15 Plie Squats.
3) Plie Holds
- Squat down bringing your thighs parallel to the floor and hold in this position for 20-30 seconds.
4) Plie Squat on Toes
- Staying in Plie Squat position lift your heels off of the floor alternately onto your tip toes and hold for 2 seconds. Then bring your heels down. Do 20 reps.
5) Plie Inner Thigh Stretch
- Holding Plie Squat position, move your hips side to side stretching your inner thighs. Keep this position for 30 seconds.
Note: Keep your torso straight and hips parallel to the ground.
6) Deep Squat Stand
- Get into a Deep Squat position with knees pointed outward over toes.
- Position forearms against inner thigh pulling them apart as wider as possible. Hold this stretch.
Note: You shouldn’t feel pain while pulling your thighs apart, just a slight stretching.
7) Wide Forward Bend Circles
- Stand with your feet wider than your shoulders fold forward from the hips reaching for the floor. Swing your torso from side to side, keeping your hips stable.
- do for 20 swings.
Note: Bend your knees to cause less stress to your lower back.
8) One Leg Hamstring Stretch
- Staying in a Forward Bend position, lean your torso to one leg and hold for 15 seconds, then do the same for the other leg.
9) Wide-Legged Forward Bend
- Grab both of your legs with your arms, pressing your body even closer to your hips.
10) Wide-Legged Deep Forward Bend
- Then begin to walk your hands back beyond your ankles while keeping your arms straight. Hold for 15-20 seconds.
Note: Try keeping your body weight onto the balls of your feet to keep your hips in the same plane as your ankles.
11) Hurdler’s Stretch
- Sit on the floor with your legs wide. Bend the knee of one leg at 90 degree angle while keeping the other leg straight. If this position hurts the knee then place the top of the foot on the floor.
- Bend forward slowly trying to reach the foot of your extended leg. Stretch as far as possible. If possible, press your torso to your hip. Hold in this position for 15 seconds.
- Staying in this bent position, slowly turn 45 degrees towards the bent knee, facing the angle between the legs. Walk your hands forward as far as possible, feeling the maximum stretch. Hold this position for 15 seconds.
- Do the same for the other leg.
12) Split Leg Hamstring Stretch
- Put one of your legs in front of you. Slowly lean forward keeping both legs straight and feet flat on the floor.
- Try to move your torso as close to your knee as possible keeping your back straight. Hold for 10 seconds.
13) Dynamic Rolls
- Continue with dynamic stretching by rolling from one foot to the other, stretching muscles on both of your legs.
Note: Keep your legs and back straight. Do 15 rolls.
14) Calf and Hamstring Stretch
- Keeping inverted “V” position, raise your toes of your front leg off the floor, stretching your calf and hamstrings even more.
- Pulse for 15 seconds.
15) Inverted “V” Pause
- Move the weight of you body onto your front leg while raising your back leg on your toes. Hold this position for 15-20 seconds.
16) Leg to Knee Rolls
- From inverted “V” position bent your knees keeping your torso against your front leg with your feet on the floor. Do 10-12 reps.
17) Calf and Hamstring Stretch
- Keeping inverted “V” position, raise your toes of your front leg off the floor, stretching your calf and hamstrings even more.
- Pulse for 15 seconds.
18) Standing Split Swings
- Staying in inverted “V” position, move your arms a little bit forward, swing your back leg up perpendicular to the pole, putting your weight onto your front leg and arms.
- Do 10-12 swings.
19) Standing Split Hold
- Stay in standing split position holding your back leg up for 5-10 seconds.
20) Half Split With Knee Lift
- Slowly lower your leg bending it in the knee. Move your arms and torso closer to your body. Hold for 15 seconds.
- Change legs and do the whole complex on the other leg.
21) Overspilt on the Chair
- Put the chair a little bit further from the pole so you could do a good split.
- Kneel down with your back against the pole, gripping it with both hands over your head.
- Place one foot on the chair and straighten the other one behind you, doing into a split position.
- Slide your hands along the pole letting yourself go deeper into a split.
22) Overspilt Hold
- Move your hands onto the floor. Securing yourself with both hands, lean your torso forward resting it for 20 seconds.
23) Oversplit Backward Lean
- Then bring your torso up, grab the pole and lean backward to help relax your back on your upper body.
- Take your foot off the chair and relax.
If you want to improve your flexibility, check also these stretching tips and tricks. Even if you have no pole yet, we’ll guide you on how to train for pole dancing without a pole.
