A question a lot of people ask after watching my dtube pole videos is:

How are you sticking to the pole?

WHAT MAGIC IS THIS??

edit (@norweignyogis's comment cracked me up) SUPER GLUE - HAHA jk!

Well, today is your lucky day, as I am writing a more in depth post revealing insider secrets to sticking to the pole. I like to think that in a way that the way we float on a pole is magical, but I guess there are certain factors that also contribute to a poler’s skin grip or as we like to put it “tack.” :P

First of all - general tack 101 – it is important not to slather yourself in lotion or oils before jumping on the pole. Pole can be very dangerous if you are attempting tricks where you go upside down and you have no tack. The pole can also be affected by the humidity or environment. Polers use a mix of water and alcohol (1:1) in a spray to wipe down the pole when it starts to feel slick. The metal that the pole is made out of can vary – chrome, stainless steel, titanium gold, brass... just to name a few, and some materials are known to provide more tackiness.

There is both hand grip and body tack to consider, and both of these require different consideration. Depending on the day and humidity, I sometimes can go without hand tack. The less you need to use the better, so you don’t have to rely so much on a grip aid and grip strength can be built up. I like to use a hand tack called dry hands, and there are also other brands that leave your hand with a little bit of extra grip, some leave a chalky substance similar to the chalks that gymnasts use before their routines.

Skin naturally provides grip to the pole. Clothing such as leggings, unless it is specialized pole leggings will slide right off the pole. Body tack is great for sticking. A little goes a long way. For example, I will usually apply tack to the insides of the knees and front of the shins for climbing. The amount of tack used must be balanced. Too little, and you will slide off the pole. If you use too much on certain tricks requiring momentum, and you will get A LOT of friction and it will probably hurt like a $%@$.

This brings me to the last point, polers may look like they are effortlessly suspended on the pole in some crazy manner, but they are actively using muscle to squeeze and hold themselves in these positions! Points of contact are essential! The less points of contact, usually means the more difficult the trick. A lot of times there is a counterbalance going on as well or jamming of an arm or leg to get some hang time. There are tricks, where it is just a “chicken wing” or arm pit or just legs used to hold the trick. It actually took me a lot of practice, to finally gain the muscles to activate and squeeze enough to hold my body weight solidly!

Thanks for reading! Hope you found the secrets behind sticking to the pole interesting. Steem on and have a fabulous day!

Love,
Jess

P.S. Inviting all aerialists or aerial art lovers to browse or use the tag #aerialists! Let’s build a Steemit aerial arts community <3