POLE FITNESS
A Sexy, Full-Body Workout
By Arlene Gross
Former gymnast and dancer, Cathy Wagner, teaches a fitness workout she calls, “pole dancing.”
“This is so different,” says Wagner who teaches at Two Worlds Fitness in Greenvale, Variations Dance Studio in Huntington and Rhythm and Soul in Levittown. “It’s lengthening and stretching—it makes you more flexible. It gives you a dancer’s body.”
Wagner’s classes start with a warm up of floor stretching, followed by ab and butt work, then stretching on the pole. Pole exercises include squatting, kicking, jumping, climbing, hip roll, “tushy” twirl, frozen holds (holding your body in a position for a few seconds), tricks and transitions, all to an upbeat musical accompaniment. “You leave here feeling taller—because it’s so lengthening, and you feel great,” says Wagner.
Karen Spector, of Roslyn, 40, has been taking Wagner’s classes for more than a year. “It’s fantastic,” Spector says. “You feel great. You can be yourself and let yourself go. You feel a little sexy when you walk out the door. I’ve been exercising my whole life and this is just a completely different feeling.” Adds Wagner, “I would recommend it for any age. It’s different and fun. You feel good and get a full body workout without even realizing it.
—Gross |
