Aerial Fitness 1 yr Anniversary!

Time flies when you’re defying gravity. This month marks my one year anniversary of becoming an aerial fitness instructor at The Girls Room Dallas, and I couldn’t love my job MORE! As if being a part of such a wonderful and loving family of athletes wasn’t incentive enough, I also get the opportunity to empower, challenge and learn from all of these fabulous women who cross my path.

 

This time last year I was wrapping up training with Founder of The Girls Room, Karyn Pentecost. After shadowing her and my fellow instructors, I felt more than ready to get started. I began teaching private lessons on the weekends like it was going out of style. The sweating and soreness made me acknowledge that IT WAS WORKING. All of my efforts were beginning to show, in my body as well as state of mind and overall being.

 

I began experimenting with smarter, and healthier vegetarian meal options and stayed away from the bar scene to make sure I stayed on the ball. Who wants to take classes from an out of shape personal trainer? Pretty sure no one. The weight dropped seemingly instantaneously. I didn’t even notice until all my ‘skinny pants’ were dropping past my thighs, needless to say I’m in the process of re-vamping my wardrobe. All donations can be made to the Jonna-lost-like-30-pounds association. But for real.

HERE is my post from last year after Karyn gave me the opportunity of a lifetime! 

http://jblackpolefit.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-girls-rooms-new-level-1-2-instructor.html

 

I am so thankful, as well as proud of myself, to be involved and welcomed into such an incredible group of men and women who share the same, one passion. I’ve never heard of another group of athletes who train and compete against one another, and who will turn around and actually HELP choreograph, and even SUBMIT COMPETITION EMAILS for one another. That’s love right there! Now, thanks to the support (and flat out SHOVE) from my sisters, I am competing in my first ever Aerial Fitness competition this summer in Austin Texas at the Capital of Texas Pole Dance Competition! I am still just in the beginnings of my pole fitness journey and look forward to the opportunities that lay ahead of me. Thanks for reading! LOVE XOXO

 

 

COTPDC&NYC2014

Happy Hump day, friends and pole sisters!

As many of you know, I have recently submitted my application fee for the Capital of Texas Pole Dance Competition (COTPDC). I have yet to record my try-out video, and am extremely nervous to record my submission. REALLY, REALLY NERVOUS. With that being said, also keep in mind: that as a non-competitive person, trying out for (my first) competition, I am looking forward to this humbling experience-whether it be failure or success. I’ll be trying out for the “Artistic” Professional division. This is the first year for COTPDC to have an Artistic division, and I hope I am able to share my creativity and passion by breaking in the new category, and setting a standard aside my potential future pole sisters/competitors. Pole dancing can be lots of things (metal, lyrical, comedic, gymnastic) and I hope to see and portray both emotion and grace in my video submission. 

Competing is a weird concept to me, so I’m going to just look at this potential experience as any regular pole jam with my sisters, but with more glitter and stage lights J If I don’t make it, oh well, I tried, which is a first step-and 1 step is better than none at all!

Also, please do not ask to see my submission video, its top secret! I already signed my life away to TX ‘bout it.

THANK YOU ALL for your support and motivation, and straight up PUSH to compete. I literally WOULD NOT do it without the love and encouragement of my friends and pole sisters! That’s YOU Claudia, Amy, Hollis, Pam, Femi, Valerie, Jamie, Brandi, Mellissa, Jenny, Shelly, Ashlee, Xaviera, Kristen, Megan, Camille, Mia, Natalia, Marissa, Maram, Tricia, Victoria, Stacie, Bianca, Karyn, Samantha, oh my gosh the list… So much love.

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Speaking of dedication to Pole Fitness…

I had recently expressed interest in participating in Sergia Louis Anderson's summer pole camp at Vertitude in California. Sergia is a world renown aerial athlete, who has claimed some of the most prestigious pole titles to date. All things considered, she will always be my favorite for these reasons: demanding stage presence and crowd control, fluency and graceful execution in tricks, creativity with both simple and advance pole combinations. MIND BLOWING woman, right there!

I already had my savings mapped out for the next 3 months to prepare to purchase all my tickets and lodging. Then I received my cousins wedding invitation in the mail, and realized I had to pick between my ultimate, longtime pole crush - and my cousins awesome union with his fiancé. Considering The Vertitude and Sergia aren’t going anywhere (or becoming less amazing) anytime soon, I decided a vacation to New York City to visit my cousin Garrett and his boyfriend, Richard was the best way to make my summer magical. If money grew on trees, I would make both vacations a reality, but unfortunately, I like to pay my bills on time.. So there's that. 

I cannot WAIT to visit the city for the first time and reunite with my cousin, who I have not seen in years. Since he and I have visited, we've both ‘come out’ to our families and pursued what makes us happy. I’m so excited to see him, and how he’s doing with his life in the city (differing dramatically from his hometown Tulsa OK, I’m sure) and catch up. Garrett was my late mothers nephew, and encouraged him to always be himself, so I know she would be very proud and happy to know I’m attending the ceremony.

Since I am nixing the Vertitude from my agenda, I am looking to arrange a few pole play-dates at Body and Pole, New York.

Expensive? Uh-yuh. Worth it? fur-sure. As Brandi so eloquently put it, B&P is the ‘mecca’. Just typing about it is getting me antsy to pole. Oooh!

Thanks for reading, this post was a little silly, but too long to speak/type to everyone individually. LOVE YALL! 

Posts to come about ...

Valentines day in OKC performing at Adele Wolfs Burlesque Show, 

and teaching at Altitude Fitness with Tricia Lauerman! 

You own your OWN transformation -Tricia Lauerman

*This entry is dedicated to Tricia Lauerman, which I am saving the 'best' paragraph for last!

Everyone knows everything is bigger in Texas, but aerialists world wide acknowledge Texans for their intensity and ferocity in not only aerial artistry/training, but entrepreneurship as well. Texas, being among the top 9 entrepreneur states, also hosts one of the most widely known, elite pole fitness and aerial silks competitions nation wide. I guess you could say us Texans have a fast paced way of life, and we don't disagree! That must be why it's so admirable for a woman, with a loving family and sense of determination to get up and start her own business. Not just any business, but a pole fitness studio! Complete with Hip hop cardio, Aerial silks, Lyra hoop, and Ballet barre!

My friend Tricia Lauerman, who is one of the most insanely in-shape people I've ever met, runs a home, and takes care of her awesome kids and super cool husband while running a business. I have no idea how she does it, but thank God she does, because Frisco TX has way too many talented polers in the area not to have a training spot! Everything from the wall decor to the garment hangers are absolutely adorable, which just makes it that much more exciting to dance in! Tricia has done an amazing job at putting her own je ne sais quoi on the place, and had great feedback at her recent Grand Opening party.

Laurie Shull Reynolds displaying Lyra hoop art

Performances included a Lyra hoop demonstration but Laurie Reynolds, a certified lyra hoop instructor heavily involved in the Dallas aerial community.

Check out Espy's son! 

 Following Laurie's lyra hoop awesomeness was an Aerial silks performer and a raffle for a free acro yoga workshop, which my friend and student Natalia luckily won! We then found our seats to prepare for the hip hop performance, led by Kim, A fiercely fit zumba/hip hop cardio instructor who we have all fallen in love with her for her sweet personality and intense training mentality. This lady eats burpees for breakfast. Tricia, Jamie, Espy, Jamie, Espy's SON and I jammed out with Kim in the hip hop showcase and has a blast! That's right, my friends SON showed us up with his hip hop style!

OH, and we can't forget the other brave soul who volunteered for Lillianas awesome zumba demo! 

No caption needed.

After the cardio performances, it was time for some pole! YEAH! I enjoyed watching my former students and friends perform, they truly blew my mind in the sense that they revealed a side which they had never before. Adrenaline, it's one hell of a drug! My girl Nissa KILLED IT with her emotion in her routine, which to my belief was her first performance. If that indeed was her first performance, and she brought that amount of passion to her movement, all I have to say is watch out y'all! 

Joy, oh Joy. She tapped into her inner dark side and rocked out like a bad ass! First of all, adorable outfit. Second of all, if this showcase had a 'Miss Trixter' title to hand out, it'd be given to THIS GIRL! The combos just didn't stop coming. It was elegant insanity. Growing in my pole fitness journey, Joy has always been by my side helping and encouraging me throughout my progress, and it was amazing to see her completely own her routine and capture the entire audience. 

FIERCE 

Tricia did her jam, and brought the musicality like the BOSS she is. Which, gave me chills undoubtedly. In fact if you were to get a hold of her video, you can probably hear me screaming every other 8 count because of her being so on point! That must be why she's reigning CHAMP Miss Texas Pole Star Masters div. 2012! Keeping the title in house, Tricia handed the crown off to Miss Divinity, who is a drop dead gorgeous mother and wife residing in the Frisco area. There's nothing more inspiring to a dancer than seeing two of her title winning champion friends perform, along with her many other strong and blossoming dancer friends rock it out together under one roof. 

Miss Texas Pole Star Masters Champion 2013

After a few jams, it was my turn to showcase! I picked a song that I often turn to when I'm seeking to evoke my most emotional dancing, and truly 'feel' the music. 'Echoes of Silence' by The Weeknd is a gorgeous lyrical jam that helped me take my sweet time through my transitions and show em what I wanted em to see-PRETTINESS. Not 'Sexyness', or 'Hotness', whatever that even may be. Defending pole fitness is a job we as polers take on, and I choose to reveal to strong and elegant side of pole fitness contrary to the stereotype.

Me, performing at Altitude Fitness, Frisco 

After my dance, I was applauded by my friend (slash family) and greeted by Tricia with a hug and a shout out. After giving me props on my 25lb-ish weightloss to the crowd, I thanked her for all her help. She then shook her head and said into the mic "You own your OWN transformation, girl!" which resonated with me so humbly. Because us women are pretty bad at taking compliments, aren't we! She couldn't be more right, I did have her guidance and encouragement the whole time but it was ME who did the dirty work and shred the pounds. That's when this picture was snapped! 2013 was a 'comeback' year for me, which I lost a BUNCH of weight, and gained a ton of sisters and self confidence, thanks to The Girls Room, Altitude Fitness, and my own perseverance!

"Oh my God Becky, look at her guns. They are SO TONED. She looks like one of those, pole dance, all stars..."

You can tell whenever my pole sisters and I just had a successful pole jam, because the MINUTE we're home-sometimes before we even make it there yet, we're on Facebook posting and radiating about our BAD ASS classes we just tackled together. Today was Monday, and our schedule on Mondays ROCKS, so starting my week ends up not sucking so bad afterall! At 6:00 we have Pole Levels 1-3, 7:00 begins Hip Hop Booty Pop (you guessed it, hot, sexy, sweaty twerkin' cardio) followed by Amy's Pole Levels 4-6.

 

A Facebook post from one of my students

This made me SO HAPPY!!!

 

-Will write more & elaborate on 3.12.2013-

The tricks we worked on today in Levels 4-6 were drops, and a little bit of jade. You can hear Amy and Natalie encouraging me in the video below, it's hilarious. "Don't be a little bitch" Nat says at one point! Haha, love it! ENJOY <3

 

ALSO, here's anotherr video I think I forgot to post... Whoops!

3hr Monday Pole Sesh

Hello pole loves and pole admirers!

Today, I kicked my butt! Woo! I started with co-teaching Level 1-3 with Deseree in Irving, and stuck around for Hip Hop Booty Pop cardio class, also taught by Deseree. It is so much fun learning how to isolate your muscles and dance it out with your friends while laughing at yourself in the mirror!

From 8:00-9:00 is Level 4-6 pole class taught by the bad ass Amy Henderson. I love her intense classes, I always learn a lot from what she has to say. I missed the awesome warm up because I was learning the ropes around the studio but was still sweating and warm from Hip Hop Booty Pop, anyways!

Below is a video of what we covered today in Amy's class: Candy Cane into Scotsman. Scotsman would be cool, if it didn't make me have a wonky freakin' foot! You'll see, it's like a dang bird claw. I gotta fix that. ASAP. Everyone seemed to struggle with it, it's a tough move. If ya don't believe me, let me see YOU try it :)



The Girls Room's NEW Level 1 & 2 Instructor!

Wow, a lot has happened since I've last posted! Where do I start?! HMM, I guess with the part where I GOT CERTIFIED IN POLE FITNESS LEVEL 1 & 2!

Karyn Pentecost, the founder of The Girls Room LLC asked me a few months back to consider becoming certified in Pole Fitness: Levels 1 and 2. I OBVIOUSLY responded with a gigantic "YES!" And it could NOT have come at a perfect time. A week prior to Karyn's proposal I had been dumped and cheated on by my boyfriend and best friend of two years. Completely blind sided and heart broken, I turned to pole fitness and used it as my outlet.
I felt empowered and liberated, and it helped me really buckle down on my technique. That being said, I still have a long way to go but learn more each and every day.

Looking back at my entire pole fitness journey with The Girls Room, I am so thankful for whole experience. Had I not spent that $50 on that 5 day fit-pass, I would have never known about this magnificent, underground world of badass, elegant athletes. My membership was an investment in my fitness, my health, and my hard earned money. The money I busted my ass to make went to bettering myself, and that's how I justified my expense. Legit, right? Thought so. :)

About my training process -
I have spent this past weekend following Karyn and Deseree at the Frisco and Dallas location, and have learned so much. Friday evening I sat with Karyn, one on one after teaching 6 beginners the basics of pole fitness. The girls learned Indian Swing and Warrior, and one girl even got a good climb in! My solo session with Karyn was very beneficial and inspiring. It takes strong women to do what we do, as well as start your own business and I can learn a lot from the women within the pole community. Which, by the way, there's more of us in this tight, loving community than you'd think!

Saturday I shadowed Deseree with two FABULOUS bachelorette parties! And let me tell you, we had a BLAST! I cannot wait to throw one for my best friend, Pam in May! We spun and booty popped all day in the studio, learning the basic level 1 & 2 tricks while also mastering some super sexy chair choreography! I just realised almost all of my sentances end in explaimation marks-Guess that's how you know I'm excited. Today (Sunday) Karyn held a Level 1 & 2 workshop in Irving, where we molded a fresh newbie into a beautiful beginner level dancer. I was very beneficial to me to experience a clean slate to help guide in the beginner levels that I'll be teaching.


I haven't uploaded a couple of videos since my last post, so I've included them below! Please check them out and get a taste of what goes on at The Girls Room and stick around to see videos in the future of beginner levels 1 & 2 and The Girls Room, Irving!


Thanks for reading and I hope to see you at the St. Pattys Day competition and showcase at The Girls Room Frisco, 3.16.2013 6:00-9:00!

Cupid can go to hell, if you ask me...

So this week I have been introduced to Cupid.



Not the cute little guy with the smoothe butt cheeks shooting the bow and arrow, but the pole pose. Or hold. Or sit, whatever it technically is, hehe! I, myself get into easiest from an invert, then pushing with my 'kickstand' hand and placing my calve on the pole. In part of my practice video you'll notice my hands fidgit, this is where I almost eat it.  The point is, I'm getting there! I'm super pumped about my progress and can't wait to practice it some more. When claudia was teaching it to us, she demonstrated SO many variations and possibilities with the pose. I'll get there.. eventually ;)












LOVE,
     Jonna P