In this episode Dr. Rosy Boa discusses regression in pole dancing—plateaus, losing tricks, and fluctuating capacity—as a normal outcome of changing life circumstances like stress, finances, injury, caregiving, and disability, including impacts from COVID. She argues pole should not be prioritized over basic needs and warns against tying self-worth to specific tricks, which can create shame and identity crises when abilities change. As a coaching approach, she recommends building the skill of “noticing”: tuning into proprioception and interoception, identifying what feels physically pleasurable, and cultivating aesthetic appreciation beyond technical perfection. She suggests practicing by watching peer-level dancers and identifying non-technical qualities (expression, musicality, lines, novelty) to develop a softer lens that can be turned inward, supporting motivation, enjoyment, and longevity in pole.

Are you a pole nerd interested in trying out online pole classes with Slink Through Strength? We’d love to have you! Use the code “podcast” for 10% off the Intro Pack and try out all of our unique online pole classes: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/catalog/25a67bd1/?productId=1828315&clearCart=true

Citations:

Loureiro F, Ringold SM, Aziz-Zadeh L. Interoception in Autism: A Narrative Review of Behavioral and Neurobiological Data. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2024 May 3;17:1841-1853. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S410605. PMID: 38716258; PMCID: PMC11075678.

(Movement/exercise is effective in supporting joint health, especially in patients who already have osteoarthritis) Nayab S, Bilal Elahi M. The Impact of Exercise Interventions on Pain, Function, and Quality of Life in Patients With Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cureus. 2024 Nov 25;16(11):e74464. doi: 10.7759/cureus.74464. PMID: 39726491; PMCID: PMC11669877.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:53 Why We Regress

01:29 Life Shifts and Capacity

03:30 Losing Tricks Is Normal

04:41 Identity Beyond Tricks

06:44 Noticing What Feels Good

09:14 Intrinsic Motivation in Practice

11:39 Appreciating Others Differently

13:47 Exercise to Train Your Eye

16:55 Beauty in Every Stage

20:10 Softness and Self Kindness
20:39 Wrap Up and Shout Outs

Dr. Rosy Boa hosts Science of Slink with guest trainer Àngel Casas, who practices body liberation, anti-diet, weight-neutral coaching, with a content warning for eating disorders, religious trauma, body weight, diet culture, and fatphobia. Angel describes being raised in a religious cult with strict body control, later leaving, coming out as a queer man, and repeatedly yo-yo dieting before starting a weight-loss fitness business during COVID. After working with clients and feeling triggered by diet practices, he sought help at an eating disorder center and learned about oppression, capitalism, and how “good body/bad body” narratives connect to diet culture; he shifted into non-diet personal training. Together they discuss weight-loss fitness as a results-based “scam,” problems with BMI and moralizing body size, medical fatphobia, GLP-1 drugs and harm reduction, alternative health markers (embodiment, daily functioning, strength, breath, joy), dismantling authoritarian fitness power dynamics, and building agency and compassion in movement. You can find Àngel at:https://nondietpersonaltraining.com/ / theantidiettrainer Are you a pole nerd interested in trying out online pole classes with Slink Through Strength? We’d love to have you! Use the code “podcast” for 10% off the Intro Pack and try out all of our unique online pole classes: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/cata... Chapters:00:00 Welcome and Content Warning00:48 Angels Origin Story08:07 BMI, Medical Fatphobia 10:03 Culture Morality and GLP1s12:01 Health Beyond Weight & Training for Bigger Life19:48 Learning Movement Autonomy & Joy32:31 How To Work Together34:09 Final Thanks And Wrap

Dr. Rosy Boa re-releases a vault episode on rest to coincide with her own offload week from pole, explaining what counts as rest, how often to schedule it, and why pole dancers often neglect it. She defines rest as a reduction in overall load that depends on an individual’s current training and life demands, notes gentle movement can still be rest, and advises avoiding pole-like pulling, leg-lifting, or intense mobility on rest days. General guidance includes at least one rest day per week and a lower-intensity deload week about once a month, with reduced load before major events. She outlines overtraining, citing sports medicine literature, with physical and mental warning signs (worsening soreness, performance decline, injuries, frequent illness, sleep disruption, appetite/weight/period changes, mood shifts, irritability, depression, fatigue). She describes the fitness-fatigue model, emphasizes sickness isn’t rest, recommends 6–8 hours sleep with consistent timing, and concludes that rest is essential for long-term pole health.

Are you a pole nerd interested in trying out online pole classes with Slink Through Strength? We’d love to have you! Use the code “podcast” for 10% off the Intro Pack and try out all of our unique online pole classes: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/catalog/25a67bd1/?productId=1828315&clearCart=true

Citations:

• Herring, S. A., Ben Kibler, W., Putukian, M., Berkoff, D. J., Bytomski, J., Carson, E., ... & Coppel, D. (2019). Load, overload, and recovery in the athlete: Select issues for the team physician-A consensus statement. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 18(4), 141-148. ⁠https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fu…

• The Fitness-Fatigue Model Revisited Implications for Planning Short- and Long-Term Training Chiu, Loren Z.F. MS, CSCS; Barnes, Jacque L. Strength and Conditioning Journal 25(6):p 42-51, December 2003. ⁠https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/pag…

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Offload Week

01:41 Why Rest Matters in Pole

03:21 What Counts as Rest

06:41 How Often to Rest and Deload

07:59 Overtraining Warning Signs

19:59 Fitness Fatigue Model Explained

22:50 Quick Q and A on Rest

26:19 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up