12 Amazing Health Benefits Of Pole Dancing

If you’ve just started pole classes, or you’re thinking of starting then you’ll be pleased to know that there are dozens of health benefits of pole dancing and reading this article is just the first step of the journey!

All forms of exercise have health benefits, but pole dancing for fitness is a full-body workout that helps you lose weight, gain strength, and gain the ability to defy gravity! Pole dancing is more than just a fun and exciting way to keep fit and healthy.

It is a great way to tone up and slim down all areas of the body, including your thighs, buttocks, abdominals and arms.

But also, there is an incredible community of pole dancers all around the world who are incredibly supportive of each other.

Continue reading to learn the full details how pole dancing can benefit you and improve your life.

What Are The Main Health Benefits Of Pole Dancing?

Pole dancing is a medium-high intensity form of exercise which targets large and small muscle groups all over your body.

We often tell new students that they’ll be using muscles they haven’t used since they were doing cartwheels on the lawn as a child!

1. Increased Strength

Pole dancing is an unparalleled full-body workout that can help you develop strength like never before. It’s a body-weight exercise, which means that you get gradually stronger by lifting your own body – just like using a pull-up bar, climbing wall or other forms of gymnastic apparatus.

The nature of pole dancing requires you to use your own body weight as resistance, which means that you’ll be strengthening your muscles with every move you make.

The repetition of these movements helps to improve your coordination, balance, and endurance, providing you with a well-rounded workout that targets multiple muscle groups at the same time.

By repeatedly lifting your body weight and executing complex movements, such as climbing and inverting on a vertical pole, you’ll engage and challenge your upper body, core, and thighs.

Take a pole dancing invert for example, the first part of this trick engages the upper body in order to lift yourself off the ground, specifically the shoulders, upper arms and pectorals.

But, once that initial lift is over, it’s time for your lower body to take over. By engaging your abs, this allows you to lift your legs up toward the ceiling.

You also use the strength of your legs to get some momentum when performing this trick.

This is how a single pole dancing trick provides a full body workout!

So, if you’re looking to add some excitement to your strength-building routine, look no further than pole dancing.

2. Increased Flexibility & Mobility

While flexibility is often overlooked, it’s an incredibly important aspect of physical fitness that can greatly enhance your health and well-being.

Flexibility is important because it reduces your risk of muscle injury and minimizes muscle soreness. It also allows for smoother, more fluid movements and helps you conserve energy. And, with pole dancing, you can achieve increased flexibility without having to spend hours stretching every day.

In the world of pole dancing, increased flexibility is a highly sought after goal.

Many pole dancers aspire to master impressive moves like box splits, not just because they look amazing, but also because they require a high level of flexibility and strength.

Seriously, being more flexible has so many daily benefits that go beyond the pole.

Your muscles are like blue-tac. The more you stretch and move them, the more pliable, elastic and resilient they become.

Fewer aches and pains.

More ease in everyday movements.

Improved posture.

Better balance.

Flexibility also helps your joints move using their full range of motion, reducing the risk of injury.

Being more flexible means you can tackle any physical task with ease, whether it’s reaching for something on a high shelf or spinning around the pole!

In short, being more flexible makes your body feel better, move better, and perform better in your daily life. Pole dancing will help you stretch those muscles and feel the full benefits for yourself!

Related: How to Get More Flexible in No Time!

The hip flexor muscles are an important area to work on if you want to get more flexible. They are the Holy Grail; the “hidden survival muscle” in your body that will boost your energy levels, immune system, sexual function, strength and athletic performance when unlocked. If this “hidden” most powerful primal muscle is healthy, then we are healthy.

The #1 Hip Mobility Stretch Mistake

See also: Learn How To Unlock Your Hip Flexors

3. Increased Cardiovascular Health

Pole fitness students often ask me “Is pole dancing strength or cardio?”

Well… it’s actually both!

First off, pole dancing is a high-intensity, full-body workout that gets your heart rate up and keeps it there. This means that your heart and lungs are working hard to keep up with the demands of the workout.

When you’re pole dancing, you’re using multiple muscle groups at once, which means that you’re getting a full-body workout in one go.

This is a major plus for your heart, because it has to work harder to pump blood to all of those muscles!

Are you starting to see why pole dancing is a true full-body workout?!

Cardiovascular health is so important for all of us, regardless of age. Having a healthy heart lowers the risk or heart disease, strokes and heart attacks later in life.

So, if you’re in your 20s or 30s – it’s a good idea to start developing a habit of cardio as soon as possible.

Pole dancing is just as effective for your heart as any other moderate-to-intense training such as running, cycling or high-energy modern dance.

If you have a desk job that requires sitting down at a desk for long periods of time, then it’s even more important for you to increase your heart rate by exercising 3-4 times per week.

Related: A Perfect 10-Minute Warm-Up For Pole Dancers

4. Lose Weight And Burn calories

Feel those calories burn!

All forms of exercise will help you trim the excess fat. but, did you know that pole dancing can burn the same number of calories in 30 minutes as aerobics or callisthenics? Well, it’s true!

I’m sure many people feel as if they could lose a few pounds. Well, pole dancing is the perfect way to do it!

Pole dancing for fitness is a high impact sport that builds muscle and burns fat at the same time.

When you’re practising on the pole, you’re using a wide range of muscles, which, when used in unison will burn fat at the same time as making your muscles stronger.

This works in the same way as doing circuits or cross-training. Pole dancing combines cardiovascular activity with strength building for the ultimate workout.

Pole dancing is a medium-intense full-body workout and works the muscles in a more intense way than many other forms of exercise.

Using a pole for your workouts will lead to a more sustainable weight loss over a long period of time.

Read more about pole dancing for weight loss.

5. Improved Coordination And Rhythm

As a pole dancer and instructor, I can tell you that pole dancing is a fantastic workout for improving your coordination and rhythm.

I’ve seen girls come in who describe themselves as having “two left feet”, but six months later they’re spinning and moving with graceful flow and elegance.

Here’s why:

First off, pole dancing requires you to coordinate multiple muscle groups at once.

You’ll be using your arms, legs, and core to hold yourself up, spin, and execute various tricks.

This means that your brain is working hard to coordinate all of these different muscle groups, leading to improved coordination overall.

That’s right – your brain is also working hard (it’s like playing a game of vertical Twister!)

Additionally, pole dancing requires you to be fully in tune with your own body and movements.

You need to pay attention to your own balance and control as you spin, invert, and perform various tricks. This improves your body awareness, making you more in tune with your own movements.

And let’s not forget about the rhythm aspect!

Pole dancing is all about moving to the rhythm of the music and executing tricks in time with your chosen song. This requires you to have a good sense of rhythm and to be able to match your movements to the beat.

Over time, your rhythm and flow with improve with practice to make you a more confident dancer.

When you learn pole dancing you’ll most likely want to put all of your spins and moves together into a finished routine.

Part of the fun of pole dancing is finding the perfect song, picking your best moves and choreographing them with your personal style.

Don’t worry if you feel clumsy at first, ungrateful or as if you have ‘two left feet’. Your natural rhythm and style will come with practice.

See also: Is Pole Dancing a Sport or a form of art?

6. Better Body Confidence

After a few months of pole dancing, you’ll definitely notice a change in your body. You’ll be stronger, your muscles will feel firmer and you’ll be less fatigued. With this comes increased body confidence.

One of the biggest ways pole dancing improves body confidence is by helping you embrace your body and all its unique quirks.

As you move and spin on the pole, you’ll learn to celebrate your strength, flexibility, and grace.

Plus, when you nail a tough spin or hold, it’s a huge confidence boost! (Seriously – nailing your pole goals is such a special feeling!)

Another way pole dancing improves body confidence is by helping you break down negative body image thoughts and limiting beliefs.

As you focus on the moves and flow, you’ll realize that your body is capable of so much more than you ever thought possible.

When you see progress in your pole skills, you’ll start to see progress in your overall body image too.

You’ll soon start to be able to wear clothes that cling to parts of your body you’d never dream of showing off before. That really is a wonderful feeling and with a regular pole workout, you’ll feel more body confident in no time!

Related: How to track your pole fitness progress

7. Reduced Stress And Anxiety

Alongside this new found body confidence, the endorphins released by exercise will reduce your overall stress levels.

If you do have a stressful day, a hardcore pole workout is a great way to relieve stress! This is because adrenaline builds up when we get stressed.

A good workout session using the pole will work every muscle in your body – such a perfect way to release all of that extra adrenaline.

You’ll definitely be in a calmer state of mind after your pole dance workout.

Let me share a story with you…

You know that feeling when you’re just having one of those days. You wake up feeling drained and like nothing’s going your way.

That was me.

I was feeling so run down. It was a real s*****y day.

But, I had a pole fitness class later that day and I was this close to cancelling but decided “what the heck” and went along as planned.

As soon as I got there, I felt a shift. The energy of the other women in the class was infectious and before I knew it, I was laughing and having a blast.

The physical exertion of pole dancing is no joke, but it felt like a release. I was using muscles I didn’t even know I had and before I knew it, I was upside down, feeling empowered and confident.

By the end of the class, I was drenched in sweat and aching, but my mood was a complete 180. I felt strong, accomplished, and happy. It was like I had just hit the reset button on my day.

I left the studio feeling like a brand new person.

So, if you’re ever feeling down and like you just can’t shake it, I highly recommend hitting up a pole fitness class. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

8. Healthier Sleep

One of the little-known health benefits of pole dancing is that pole dancers enjoy better sleep.

Getting enough sleep is equally as important as exercise and eating a healthy diet.

Sadly, not many people get enough sleep because they find it too difficult. Work, money, technology, and lack of exercise are often to blame.

If you ensure that you exercise every day, with time you’ll start to notice your sleeping patterns improving and you’ll feel more refreshed after waking up too.

A regular pole dancing workout will help with your sleep routine, ensuring that you get a decent sleep every time you hit the sack.

9. Healthier Joints And Bones

As we age, our bones lose mineral density, especially us women. The risk of women getting osteoporosis gets higher the older we get, so it’s vital that we keep our bones and joints healthy.

Pole dancing strengthens muscles, joints and connecting tissue.

During a pole session, you’ll put less stress on your joints than you would if you were running or doing an aerobics class. However, it’s still important to warm-up and cooldown properly to reduce injury.

The high-impact nature of pole dancing puts pressure on bones, which in turn stimulates growth and strengthens them. This is why pole dancing is an excellent exercise for those looking to improve their bone health, especially as we age and our bones naturally become more fragile.

During some of the advanced pole tricks, there’s a lot of pressure put on your shoulders and wrists, so take extra care to build up your strength gradually!

10. Being Part Of An Incredible Worldwide Community

As beginner pole dancers you’ve only just started your journey and there is so much ahead of you!

The pole community is a wonderful community to be a part of. Our community is supportive, non-judgemental, caring and just simply incredible. Here are a few Facebook groups for pole dancers to join:

• Pole Freaks – Pole Chat
• Everything POLE
• Pole Community
• Pole For Beginners

11. Feel motivated to try other sports

Many pole dancers fall so in love with dance, aerial and acrobatics, they move on to try other things where they can put their new-found strength to good use:

• Yoga and Pilates
• Aerial Hoop
• Silks and Ropes
• Trapeze
• Gymnastics
• Ballet
• Breakdancing
• Burlesque
• Cheerleading
• Contemporary Dance
• Team sports
• Athletics

The possibilities are endless!

Related: 12 Other Workouts for Pole Dancers to Try

12. Better Sex Life

Pole dancers learn sexy moves and are taught by experienced instructors.

Even pole dancers who only use the pole as a form of exercise and do not really “dance” are taught basic sexy moves such as pointed toes and body rolls.

The ability to perform sexy moves allows you to initiate intimacy with your partner in fun and exciting ways. 

If you have the confidence to, you could devise an entire sexy performance that involves your pole at home.

You may surprise yourself! Many people find that pole dancing helps them discover a more sexual side to themselves that they didn’t know existed before!

As a pole dancer, you’ll start to learn how to use your body in different ways which can be thrilling.

So if you’re wanting to spice up your sex life or improve it, consider taking a pole dancing class and discover the untold benefits it can provide!

See also: Do Pole dancers benefit from having a better sex life?

---

Have you discovered any health benefits of pole fitness not mentioned here? Don’t forget to share this article with your family and friends so they can benefit too!

---

Happy poling!