Welcome back to another month of the XPERT blog, where we chat about all things events, training tips, and much more. March, however, is dedicated to one of my most favourite topics to cover – it’s time for a course review! Today, I will be talking you through everything you need to know about the XPERT spin pole certification, and why you should be adding this challenging, rewarding and fun discipline to your teaching menu.

First things first: what is spin pole, and why does it need its own certification? Well, to those who aren’t already familiar, one of the worst-kept secrets within our pole community is that our trusty X-Poles actually have a spin mode function. That’s right – some of those glorious videos you’ve seen on social media where dancers display a beautiful 360 degrees rotation of their shapes up the pole are actually executed on a spinning pole. Don’t be fooled, though, just because the pole is doing the spinning motion for us certainly doesn’t make things any easier. Spin pole is an altogether different ball game with completely different mechanics, which in turn means that it is totally unique to teach. But don’t fret – XPERT has got us pole dance instructors covered with their Spin Pole certification.

The XPERT Spin Pole certification is designed to give you all the skills you need to deliver fun, informative and safe spin pole classes to your students. As part of the course, you explore different moves and transitions, all with regressions, progressions and a handy section dedicated to ‘what can sometimes go wrong’ (which is a godsend for teaching troubleshooting). The training also goes over the science behind spinning pole, meaning that as you go on to deliver your own spin pole classes, you have the tools you need to build effective combos that actually properly work on spin – after all, you don’t want to be piecing together moves that will cause the pole to stop spinning, or combos that simply don’t work with a spin.

Anyway, before I go too much into the training, there’s some pretty cool updates to how XPERT training is delivered which I am excited to share with you all. Firstly – the written exam is now available to do online in your own time either before the course, or on the evening before the second day if you so wish. For me, this is a game changer – test conditions for written exams where everyone is silent enough to hear a pin drop and people around you are finishing before you are literally the worst conditions for me to think straight. So now, you don’t have to! The online exam is filled out in your own time, in your own space – all you need to do is show your XPERT trainer your final mark on day two and discuss any incorrect answers, and you’re golden.

The second update to how things are done at XPERT is your practical exam – the mock class you deliver to show your teaching aptitude – is now done separated into two groups which happen simultaneously. Personally I love this. If there’s one thing that can be sure-fire to make you feel under pressure it’s having ‘all eyes on you’. Now, with two groups working simultaneously, there is no need to worry about feeling under heavy, undivided scrutiny from your fellow course goers and XPERT trainer (although, the courses are always so friendly and supportive the pressure was never really ‘real’ in the first place, it was all self-perceived).

With all the exciting changes in place for the face to face learning with XPERT, I was thoroughly looking forward to the Spin Pole training I was due to attend. As I drove down the motorway to Breathe Pole and Fitness in Swindon, I was thankful for the sun making a welcome appearance in the sky – after all, the course date was mid-March, which can still very much have a cold post-winter edge here in the UK. As I arrived at the studio, I received a warm welcome from my fellow attendees and our XPERT trainer for the weekend, Amy Wiliams. I had learnt from Amy previously on the Flexibility Flow certification, so I knew I was in for a real treat when it came to not only exploring the techniques, moves and content on the course but also the anatomy behind them, which she is so knowledgeable on.

One thing I love about attending XPERT training is the different perspectives and backgrounds of everyone on the course. Group discussion and collaboration is a heavily encouraged and incorporated part of the training, and it is so valuable gaining different insights and perspectives from all the different attendees. The course was a true team effort as we worked together to build lesson plans, discussed and delivered an effective warm up as a group, and spent time troubleshooting how moves may be different on spin pole compared to our usual static offering.

Amy was so brilliant at ensuring we all fully understood the spin mechanisms behind each move as she delivered them. She took the time to really explain the anatomy, theory and all the tips and tricks we needed to be able to pass these moves onto our students safely and effectively. Her energy was great, both motivating and encouraging us throughout the training, and I came away feeling proud and confident in my skills both as a pole dancer and as a teacher.

My favourite part about the entire weekend was the focus the whole training had to enable us to really understand how spin pole works. The course wasn’t simply a selection of moves with progressions and regressions – each one was thoughtfully curated to give us the tools to effectively deliver them on spin pole. I have come away feeling truly equipped to give my students an in-depth understanding and teaching with each of these moves, and to be able to deliver different levels for all abilities within my classes.

All that’s left to say is a heartfelt thank you to XPERT trainer Amy for providing such an excellent weekend, and to tell you that if you’ve been waiting for your sign to book this amazing training – this is it! The XPERT Spin Pole certification is available both as an online and face to face offering, so whatever way you prefer to learn, XPERT has got you. Come and join us, and certify today!

Pole and aerial instructors – this one’s for you. The start of the year can be such a busy time for our studios, and on top of that, the doom and gloom of the shorter days of winter can make it so difficult to find motivation to do anything apart from lying on the sofa with a bowl of your favourite snacks (which is a totally valid use of your time, by the way). So when we do finally manage to find some time in our schedule to get to the studio, it’s important that we strike a balance between training for ourselves as well as dedicating our time to teaching.

As teachers, often when we allow some time in our schedule to head to the studio, it can be pretty easy for our diary to snowball from a few hours of clear space to a jam- packed schedule of lesson planning, private lessons, studio prep and admin. After all, we teach because we love it and we want to make time for our students, and as pole and aerial is also our job, if there’s an opportunity for some work, it’s something we will usually always consider. So how do we navigate striking a balance in our busy schedules to not only accommodate our paid opportunities and instructor admin/planning/literally everything else time, and actually meaningfully training for ourselves?

First of all, let’s talk about why it’s important to train for ourselves. Well, the main reason in my opinion is because ultimately, it’s important to maintain our own passion for pole and aerial. Our job as instructors is to ensure our students are safe and happy, and also, to inspire. Inspiration doesn’t just come from ‘wow, look at that amazing trick they can do’, it can also be found within a genuine passion for the artform. In order to be a living, breathing testament to all the positive things to be found within pole and aerial, it is vital that our enthusiasm keeps burning bright.

Another reason it’s key to train for ourselves is to look after ourselves. Look, we know how it is – you do the warm up granted, but then the rest of the class you spend walking around, helping students, spotting the occasional person and the only time you spend on the pole is for a quick demo. I hate to say it, but that isn’t training, and it’s certainly not the best way to treat your body (although I know we don’t always have a choice). If we had a student who was operating on the same ‘on the pole once every fifteen minutes’ pattern, we would probably chat to them about ensuring they keep their body warmed up throughout – but we more-than-likely wouldn’t, or can’t really, consider that ourselves (insert the upside down smiling emoji here).

Finally, another excellent reason why we as instructors need to train for ourselves is simply because we can’t, and shouldn’t have to pour from an empty cup. We are all only human, and we have such a passion for this job that it becomes so easy to dedicate all our time to teaching because we adore it, and our students. But ultimately, the way to be our very best selves as instructors is to ensure that our own love for pole and aerial is fulfilled whilst we are also providing that for our students. And really, the very best way to do that is ensuring that we actually get to do some pole and aerial in our free time as well.

So, how do we make sure that we strike that balance between training for ourselves and working as a pole and aerial instructor?

Book Onto a Class – and when I say this, I don’t just mean, book onto a class that you can maybe cancel if you need to teach that day instead. Carve out some time in your schedule to really, properly be a student. This could be booking onto a workshop, or a weekender, or even a private lesson with another instructor you admire. Try to make an event of this time for learning, and try not to spend the whole time with your instructor hat on. Allow yourself to fully immerse yourself into being a student. Think about things that you have always wanted to train that maybe have been put onto the backburner without even realising it. Make this time for your lesson completely non-negotiable – whenever it is, put a big old red marker pen ring around it and underline the time and date a bunch of times. Treat that lesson as though it’s an appointment you’ve waited for months for and absolutely cannot move.

Actually Plan Your Training – as instructors, we spend a lot of time lesson planning, and organising our diary to fit in our classes and other commitments. But do you actually factor in any time to train for yourself as well? I often think back to my Granny – she always used to say, ‘if it’s not in my diary, it’s not going to happen’. I think this mantra is a pretty solid one to live by – even if we want to do something, but we haven’t allocated time within our schedule to do it, is it really going to happen? Probably not.

Of course, it isn’t always possible when we are at the studio for everything to fall exactly as it should. After all, sometimes a private lesson could run over, or another instructor may fall ill and we need to cover for them, or we even just are feeling a little tired that day and would rather use the gaps in our schedule to have a nice cup of tea – and that is totally valid. But a sure-fire way for any gap in our schedule to get unintentionally filled with non-training time is by not even blocking it out in the first place. Make sure that if you unintentionally have a space in your diary which you spot and think ‘ooh, that would be good for a bit of training’, write it in there.

One for You, One for Me – another thing that can sometimes happen as instructors is we wind up training things that we need to teach, rather than things we actually want to train. How many times have training sessions been lost to lesson planning, rather than exploring new tricks for ourselves? Treat your training session like you would any other lesson plan, and consider adopting the ‘one for you, one for me’ ideology. It’s a pretty simple premise. For every one thing you train because you need it for teaching, you train another that is simply because you want to do it.

I know this might seem pretty obvious, but we all know how time can fly when we are training, and we all also know how easy it is to go down a rabbit hole when we aren’t following any kind of schedule in our session. Try to get into the habit of not only writing down exactly what it is you want or need to train that day, but also structuring this in a way that you are ensuring that the stuff you want to give a try for your own enjoyment isn’t just tacked onto the end with a question mark over it, give those tricks or transitions pride of place in your session.

Link Up with Other Instructors – odds are, if you’re feeling like you’re struggling to strike a balance between being an instructor and your own training, you won’t be alone in that feeling. Or at least, every instructor around you will have felt that way themselves at one point or another too. So reach out and talk about it. Find solace in the other pole and aerial professionals around you, whether that be directly at your studio or further afield on social media. Sometimes all it can take is speaking to like- minded individuals about how you are feeling to really get to the root of your emotions on the subject.

Another nice thing you can do with the other instructors in your life is to allocate time to train with them. Sometimes, as a self-employed person especially, it can feel as though you have to do everything on your own – but when it comes to training, you really don’t. Training dates are a great way to keep your passion for pole and aerial lit whilst also getting some much needed time on the equipment. You can share skills, and you can support each other, and also it can just generally be a bit more fun to train with others around you instead of on your own.

So there you have it, four of my suggestions to give a go in order to re-find that balance in your training and teaching life again. Ultimately, there is no perfect answer, and some of these suggestions may not work for you, but really the main takeaway I have for you is this. If you don’t make time for it, it won’t happen. So if you want to re-find that balance, you’ve got to get creative with how you can manage your time. And honestly, it’s okay if at the moment that is completely outside of your capabilities – life isn’t perfect and easy, and sometimes it’s just too busy to schedule in training for leisure. Just remember, no matter what, that the reason you teach pole and aerial is because you love it, and you love teaching, and all of this is worth it in the end!