No, I don’t take my clothes off.

I’ve never been into team sports. I’ve never liked going to the gym. It’s fun for a little while, but i get bored easily. The treadmill an I will never be friends. I liked working with a trainer, but who can afford a trainer all the time? I trained MMA for a while, but I quit after a few month, because sadly it wasn’t really working out with my schedule. I loved it. Loved being challenged and feeling like I actually worked hard.

I don’t remember when exactly, but a few years ago I found out about pole dancing for fitness. I took an intro class at a studio in Manhattan, but I didn’t really like the studio. It felt like a cult and I felt pressured to sign up for classes the same day. Another con for me was the fact that you had to sign up for classes on the same day of the week at the same time for eight weeks. That’s impossible to commit to for me.

After not thinking about pole dancing for a while I wanted to try it again. After some research I found another studio that seemed to be just what I was looking for. I signed up for another intro class and was hooked. I have been going to the studio for two years on and off but more regularly (at least once a week) for the last seven months. This sport challenges me every week. It requires a lot of strength, but you build that up as you learn. It can be frustrating when you’re trying to do a spin or a trick but you just can’t seem to get it right. But it can also be very empowering when you try something for 30 minutes and you finally get it right. And then you have the other ladies in class applauding you, it’s such an accomplishment.

And yes. I did call pole dancing a sport. What!? you ask, That’s not a sport. Anyone can swing on a pole. Well, maybe. Maybe anyone can do a simple spin. But can you do this?

This woman (Jenyne Butterfly) is so strong. She controls her body so well. And I’m going to take a wild guess here and assume she can do things you can’t do. Am I right? Just see what she’s doing at 3:20 in the video.

If you’re interested and live in the NYC area, New York Pole Dancing has a special on intro classes for the month of December. Check ‘em out!