The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived: studios have reopened. If you're worried about having lost strength and whether you will ever be able to invert again, fear not. In issue 6, (out in July) we explore the wonderful world of muscle memory and why it won't take as long to regain your strength as it did in the first place. In Wales, studios have already reopened for private lessons, and classes will resume on the 17th May. So far, we've only booked private lessons - we may need some time to reintegrate ourselves into society before we rejoin a class. We're pretty much feral now.
The important thing to remember is to not be hard on yourself and not compare yourself to your classmates. We suffer from this, so we know how hard it is. Some people are lucky enough to have a pole at home, so have been able to keep training. Others (like us) have a pole but lack the motivation. Which is another thing not to beat yourself up about. During the first lockdown, we booked on to several flexibility classes, we did online pole classes with teachers around the world, and we trained with one of our pole studios five days a week. We were motivated, we were strong. This lockdown we started with twice weekly flexibility classes with Carly Carnage and Leah Rose, and we joined Azaria Frost's weekly pole class with Momentum Pole and Aerial. In the last couple of months, we've just done Azaria's class. And we found a company that sells vegan Mini Eggs and Smarties, so that's how our healthy eating is going.
If, like us, you started out as enthusiastic as Mr Motivator (fabulous '90s aerobic star. Look him up) but now can barely muster the motivation to get out of bed, there is a reason. It's called a global pandemic. We are in a situation we've never experienced. Each day, we've been bombarded with terrifying death statistics. We've been confined to our homes and local areas, which would have been incomprehensible before. We've had restrictions eased then re-imposed. Even now, we don't know for certain whether there will be another lockdown. So at first, having time was a bit of a novelty. But that wears off when it becomes your reality, you can't see friends and family and the death toll rises. Just keep telling yourself, you're not lazy, you're not unmotivated, and you're not being unproductive. You're in survival mode. You've been in survival mode for 14 months, and that takes a toll on your body and mind.
Normal rules don't apply.