Last Updated on December 17, 2022
Being over 50 can be a challenging time for women. Slowly but surely, society’s attitude towards older women is changing. What it means to be over 50 is changing. Being over 50, it seems, is no different to being over 40.
Pole dancing at 50 years old might sound unusual, but why should it be? It Is, after all, just another fitness class. Pole fitness really is suitable for all people, age is not something which should be a barrier to learning how to pole dance.
This article will look at the specific benefits of pole dancing into your 50s and beyond. We’ve written extensively about the health and wellbeing benefits that come with pole dancing, but they’re very general.
You will learn:
- Why pole dancing doesn’t have an age limit
- Specific health benefits of pole dancing when you’re 50+
- How the pole fitness community welcomes people from all backgrounds, ages, shapes and sizes
- The different ways pole dancing can improve your body’s natural ageing process
‘Tone’ your Muscles
Ok, so toning isn’t actually a thing. Everyone thinks it’s a thing, but it’s not. In the exercise, you’re either burning fat, building muscle or a combination of both. The is no ‘toning’ unless you do both, you can’t simply do a series of ‘toning exercises’ then laze around eating cookies!
Pole dancing is both fat burning (cardio) and strength-building. You can’t target fat loss, so for your muscles to be visible, you need to burn excess body fat in order to see the defined muscles underneath.
Burning excess fat usually involves the dreaded cardio, increasing your heart rate to burn calories. Whereas building muscle is strength-building, repetitions and resistance.
Pole dancing does both, so it does, in effect, make your body more toned. Keeping your body toned throughout your 40s and 50s is a good motivator for staying healthy.
Pole Fitness is Cardio that isn’t a Chore
One of the benefits of pole dancing for fitness is that it gives you a good cardio workout. But, as it’s so fun and varied – it doesn’t even feel like cardio!
Cardio workouts are important to burn fat, lower cholesterol and maintain a healthy heart and blood pressure. It’s also something that most people hate. 30 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike several times per week is boring as hell.
But Pole dancing is fun and exciting to take part in. If you take up pole fitness now, you’ll actually look forward to your cardio sessions.
You don’t need any Previous Fitness Experience
It’s OK to start pole dancing as a total newbie. Not just a newbie to pole fitness, but a complete and utter beginner – that’s cool, you’ll be very welcome at a pole class.
You may not be able to climb up the pole and perform the tricks straight away, that’s ok too. Even the best performers in the world have to learn and perfect their technique. Pole dancing takes practice, but each time you practice you will see improvement, even if you’ve never done anything like this before.
That’s why pole dancing is a perfect workout, even the most inexperienced people are able to learn. Uncoordinated? Lacking strength? Can’t stretch very far? None of that matters, there are plenty of tricks, and variations of tricks that you’ll be able to perform.
It may be a learning curve, but you’ll love every minute and your achievements will feel incredible.
See also: How to get upper body strength for pole dancing
The Pole Dance Community is not Judgmental
Pole dancing classes are welcoming places. In fact, the entire pole dance community is a very welcoming place. There’s very little bitchiness or nastiness, it’s just a group of people who want to get fit and learn how to pole dance. People of all ages, shapes and sizes are welcome at pole dancing classes around the world.
If going to a pole dancing class is too intimidating for you, then you can get a head start by getting your own dance pole and learning at home initially, so you can attend your first ever pole dance class with confidence! (Always take special safety precautions if you’re pole dancing at home).
Feel Physically Younger with Pole Dancing
Remember being 20, when you could sit on the floor for hours and bounce back onto your feet without a care in the world? Trying to get up after sitting on the floor as you get older involves making a weird grunting noise and gracefully clambering up to your feet, ideally with someone’s help.
If you take up pole dancing in your 50s, you’ll start to feel younger and healthier. Small things like getting up after you’ve been sitting down for a long time will start to be lessened as your body becomes fitter.
Pole dancing is a complete full-body workout. In particular, you’ll work your entire upper body, core and thighs. It involves lifting your own body weight, climbing up a vertical pole with no foot-holds and eventually learning to invert your body.
This may sound impossible if you’ve never tried it before, but with some determination, all pole dancers gain strength incredibly quickly. You will start to notice an improvement in your strength almost instantly.
Not only will you be stronger, but you’ll be more nimble, flexible, and generally less-achy in the long-term. The importance of flexibility is often overlooked. Being flexible makes you healthier in many ways; it reduces your risk of muscle injury and minimizes muscle soreness.
Pole dancing definitely improves your flexibility. Many pole dancers chase their dream of being able to do box splits – why? Because they look amazing, that’s why!
It’s never too late to start pole dancing, so get started today!
Strengthen your Joints
As women, our natural hormones (estrogen) give us strong bones. As we age and our natural estrogen level decreases, our bones become brittle and susceptible to losing density. It’s vital that women keep their joints strong to prevent this.
Pole dancing can help strengthen your joints, you’ll use all of your joints in a pole dance workout, so it’s a great way to keep on top of this.
Related post: How to Get More Flexible in No Time!
Body Confidence & Mental Well-Being
Want more body confidence? Don’t we all. This isn’t just for women over 40/over 50, this is for all women! Pole dancing will increase your body confidence like nothing else.
After just 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.
You’ll soon start to be able to wear clothes which cling to parts of your body you’d never dream of showing before. That really is a wonderful feeling.
When you realize your pole fitness achievements, your confidence will know no bounds! Even your first climb, your first spin and the first time you held your body weight for more than 2 seconds, you’ll think to yourself – “I did that!”
Just remember, if you can do what you once thought impossible, then you can do anything!
Alongside this new found body confidence, the endorphins released by exercise will reduce your overall stress levels.
If you do have a stressful day at work or at home, a pole workout is a great way to relieve said stress!
This is because adrenaline builds up when we get stressed and 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 better state of mind after your pole dance workout.
More Energy & Better Sleep
High impact exercise, such as pole dancing will enable you to feel more energized and have a better routine when it comes to getting plenty of refreshing sleep. Getting enough sleep as we get older is equally as important as exercise and eating a healthy diet.
Sadly, not many people get enough sleep, frequently find themselves feeling restless at night or they wake up feeling unrefreshed. Work worries, money worries, overuse of technology, and lack of exercise will often be to blame.
If you ensure that you exercise regularly, in a very short amount of 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 hay.
Discover your Passion
Do you feel like you’re still searching for your passion? Well, pole dancing could be what you were meant to do – it could be your thing. People often have hidden talents, often unexpected ones.
Pole fitness could be what you were born to do, you just don’t know it yet.
Are you a pole dancer who is over 50? Did you start learning recently or have you pole danced your way through the decades?
We’d love it if you reached out and left a comment below letting us know your experience!
Happy Poling!
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I’m not over 50, but I’m almost there, having turned 49 four days ago! I started pole dance classes in December 2017 after a friend suggested it as an alternative form of exercise. I have had an early menopause and also suffer from depression, and was in a very bad place due to work-related stress, but wanted to be proactive in getting back to “being me” so I decided to give it a go and I absolutely love it! I’ve always been quite active so have taken to some of the tricks quite quickly, but lack a little finesse! Along with volunteering for a local sailing charity pole classes have been a life changer for me. Everything in the article I’m responding to is so true, and I would recommend pole fitness so anyone now for so many different reasons.
I’m 49 in May and started pole fit in January this year. I wanted to do something different, fun and make new friends as well as improving my strength and flexibility. The pole community are very welcoming and supportive and while I am slower than my younger class-mates, I still make progress every week!
Hi Sue, thanks for commenting! That’s good to hear – my classes were made up of 17 – 60 year olds – it was great! Best of luck for your pole progress.
I met a 76 yr old woman who wants to take pole lessons from me. What can I offer her as a positive experience? I’m stumped.
I am an almost 67 year old woman who would like to try Pole Dancing for a variety of reasons. Is there a class in Portland OR that caters to older women?
Hi, I turned 50 a few months ago and am a pole newbie, having done about 7 classes 🙂 I love it. I feel like I make a little progress every week, but also like my progress (compared to younger classmates) is quite slow. Although I feel I am getting stronger and more toned as a result of starting pole, I am a bit on the heavier side so lifting my body weight is not easy. Will I ever be able to do tricks and inversions and achieve that lightness? How long will it take, or is it a bit of a pipe dream for someone of my age and stage? How many classes should I do per week – with my schedule I can only fit in one…
Slow and steady, it’s no race! I’m 58 and poling 7 months. It took me 6 months to even climb and now I’m moving a little faster on my journey. I can’t invert from the ground, I’m just not strong enough in my core yet, but I’m just starting with a side climb to Jasmine and then invert into leg hang or crucifix. It’s definitely not pretty, and I’ve dismounted tragically on many occasions, (thank heavens for the crash mat) but is progress so I’m happy! I’m the oldest in my class, but we are all so supportive of each other, and I can do some things the younger ones can’t, and vice versa, so it all balances out. Stick with it, I only go once a week, so you’ll get there too!
I’m 57 and have been pole dancing for two years. I’ve seen increased flexibility and strength. I can now climb a pole, spinning or static, can do a pole split, almost an invert, lots of neat things. BUT there is no change in my size. NONE. I am glad I pole but I bought into the idea it meant weight loss and that is just not true for everyone. I am always the oldest in my class and that is sometimes great but sometimes I feel self-conscious, which is something for new polers to be aware of.