Stripping off the Pounds | Health

Everyone is always looking for a new type of exercise or diet to help strip off those extra pounds.  We want something that’s going to keep us motivated so that we keep working out.  I’ll be the first one to tell you that I am guilty of buying into every gimmick and product out there to slim down and shape up.  I personally own about 20 exercise DVDs, a treadmill, weights, rollerblades, a bike, and even a machine that gives you a complete workout in only 4 minutes per day!  But I do have to say that one of the best investments I have ever made was in purchasing a stripper pole!  

Not long after my initial pole fitness class at Vixen Fitness in Orlando, I decided to get a pole for myself. I ordered the pole online and every day I checked my inbox for the UPS tracking updates in anticipation of its arrival. The last time I experienced this magnitude of giddiness over a mail order item was when I was seven years old and had ordered “Sea Monkeys” that were advertised in the back of my big brother’s comic book.  However, on the day the pole arrived I discovered that there was somebody else in my house that was even more excited than me! My husband couldn’t wait to install the “stripper” pole in the bedroom.  Of course, he said that the reason for his enthusiasm was that he wanted to help me reach my fitness goals.

That night I put on my sexiest lingerie and high heels. I had a little champagne and put on some rock-n-roll music. Before I knew it, I was spinning around the pole like a rock star’s girlfriend! Don’t get me wrong… I don’t condone drinking and spinning.  But it doesn’t hurt to have a little sip or two before your first performance.  I soon found out that the dancing was great cardio and the spins and climbing made my muscles sore in places I never imagined! The strength it takes to climb one of these things is incredible! I had a newly found respect for the girls that do this for a profession.

When I began my weight loss journey, I faced the real reasons I had become overweight in the first place. I learned how to change negative thinking and my paradigms to create the woman that I desired to be… both on the inside and out. Through self-discovery, I learned that in the past I had a negative association with any kind of exercise.  So I did what I call, “brainwashing”. I used specific techniques to recondition my mind to believe that exercise was not a chore.  And once I started dancing…. Especially pole dancing; it wasn’t too hard to convince my subconscious mind that exercise could actually be fun.  It was almost as addictive as sex! 

And like sex, exercise is better if you’re enjoying it with somebody else. Having a friend or group of friends to be accountable to, laugh with and encourage is the best way to keep you motivated to move. You don’t really need all those fancy gadgets to lose weight. Sometimes all you need is a friend…and it doesn’t hurt to have a pole either!  Or better yet, try out Vixen Fitness. Bring your friends with you. I can guarantee that you’ll have a blast “stripping off the pounds”! Maybe I’ll see you there! 

Until then… love, hugs and pink lipstick kisses, Lynne.