Whenever I start a new hobby, I research and collect books to help myself learn about the topic. Joining the sport of pole dancing was no exception. Once, I placed a pole in my home, I wanted to be able to practice and find new moves to learn in class and to give me inspiration for building combos. However, finding resources for pole dancing that were well written and had decent pictures was a hard task. The book that I found, which I use the most, is called “Pole Dance Fitness: The Complete Book” and is written by Irina Kartaly. This book will help any level of dancer move through their pole dance journey. Here is a brief description of what you will find in the book.



This book comes with over 300 exercises which are each accompanied with a clear colored picture of the trick and a short description of how to maneuver into the move and points of contact your body should have with the pole. The book is very well organized and broken into sections with hand grip and leg variations, warmups, leveled moves, cool down stretches and meal planning.



Warm-ups and stretches are broken down for floor moves and pole moves. The warmups focus on stretching every muscle group effectively and building strength with different forms of sit-ups, planks, and squat exercises. As well as on the pole workouts to build muscle with climbs, lifts, kicks, squats and crunches. Every exercise is designed to help you warm up your body properly while incorporating exercises to help build the muscles needed to advance in your pole journey.



Every pole dancer needs to know the techniques of climbing, shoulder mounting and being able to complete a handstands. There are 3 sections which give a variety of each technique and build in difficulty modifiers to challenge any level of dancer. These techniques are crucial in developing and advancing into higher levels. Make sure you take time to build a few of these into every pole workout session.



The pole dance program is broken down into 3 levels (basic, intermediate and advanced). The author wrote this program with the idea of the reader following the moves in sequential order. Every move gives you an illustrated picture or series of pictures which show how the move should look. Each picture, in turn, comes with a description of how your body should move and where you should contact the pole. You can build combinations of moves for any level using this book. There is even a section of prepared combinations in varying levels within the program if you struggle with creating your own .



After the dance program there are post workout stretches to help you reduce muscle fatigue and soreness. The post workout stretches help you focus on every muscle group. Remember to always stretch to avoid injury.



The last section of the book is a nutrition plan if you are wanting ways to help you reduce your weight or want healthy meal planning ideas. The nutrition plan has plenty of meals, drinks, and snack recipes. All of the recipes come with caloric, protein, fat and carbohydrate information.



I hope you check out this book and find it as beneficial for you as I have found it for me. You can purchase the book on Amazon or through your local bookstore. The cost is about $27.95 for a hard copy. This truly is a book every pole dancer needs in their home studio for referencing.



Do you have a favorite book or resource you use for pole dancing?