Pole fitness is the ultimate workout—it’s gymnastics and dance mixed into one suspended in mid air. It takes flexibility, coordination, stamina, and core strength to pull off even a basic move on the pole, but Sabine Dworak makes it look easy. Injured with a stress fracture in her foot, she was forced to turn her problem “upside down” transforming from being a life-long ballerina on the dance floor into an acrobatic whiz on the pole.
“I couldn’t stand or run. Everything I did was super painful,” says Sabine, but she couldn’t stay away from dance for long and the glorified aerial performances in Las Vegas piqued her interest. “I decided to turn my injury into an opportunity,” and she after her stress fracture she was introduced to the trapeze, silks, and pole. In 2014 Sabine took first place in the Masters Division at the U.S National Pole Competition. She is also an internationally recognized instructor leading workshops in the US and Germany.
“I fell in love with pole dancing—for me, it’s a lot more fun to workout with creative, sexy movements rather than repetitive motions,” and Sabine’s workouts are nothing short of sexy. In her private classes she emphasizes core strengthening and muscle building through feminine exercises that make a woman feel beautiful and alive. The intense warm-up she leads before class is a crucial part of her class as it helps to activate and strengthen the muscles used in a pole routine.
“When I started I didn’t have the upper body strength,” Sabine says, who like most women had to build up the muscle in her arms, back and shoulders to support her body weight for hours at a time. She took to the gym and with the help of a personal trainer she targeted key muscle groups that gave her the strength she needed. “With your trainer you can find exercises that suit your body,” she says, and specifically for pole, hip, pelvic, back, and neck strength is necessary.
“There’s a huge difference between getting fit on a pole and getting fit in the gym. The combination of both is ideal. Moving your body creatively improves flexibility as well,” Sabine explains.
“Pole dancing connects you with your body and empowers you to move in a feminine, confident way,” says Sabine, and like in any sport, it’s the mental component that can hold you back or propel you as an athlete. Sabine creates a fun and supportive learning environment that encourages women of all ages and backgrounds to fully express themselves. Pole fitness can be an exciting way to get in shape and while it gets a bad rap when it’s associated with striptease, pole dancing is actually a very competitive acrobatic sport. It takes guts to step up to the pole and move in an athletic, sexy way, but with the right instruction even someone with little experience can learn to pull off a pole routine and make it look good.
Sabine Dworak is a Crunch certified ‘Pole Fitness’ instructor offering private and group pole lessons. For more information visit www.poleperfekt.com.
