I had my first day of dancing. I am bruised BAD from practicing pole work and feel like I was hit by a truck. Will I get used to this over time...or....and what do you do to help the pain to get back to work.

I had my first day of dancing. I am bruised BAD from practicing pole work and feel like I was hit by a truck. Will I get used to this over time...or....and what do you do to help the pain to get back to work.
Yaaaaaaas guuuurl. Congrats!!!
We have many threads answering this question on here.
I literally felt like I'd been hit by a truck the morning after my first shift. It's like, 1,000 muscles I didn't know even existed were suddenly sore. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Yes, your body will adjust over time.
Take a hot bath with epsom salts. Make sure you are getting protein, carbs, and fat - consider taking a multivitamin (I take a prenatal for the extra iron since I'm prone to anemia). Some women swear by arnica pills. Stretch in front of netflix. Drink lots of water to help flush your system. REST. Give yourself time to recover.
As for bruising...I never stopped bruising. But I never worked as frequently as some women did. Try to minimize whatever you're doing that's causing you to bruise. If you'll be doing this more than a year, you'll need to start treating your body like a limited resource. Evaluate the "worth-it-ness" of moves that are causing your body pain. Eliminate whatever isn't worth it, and set boundaries around when you'll do certain things (for example, only using your knees for floorwork when someone is raining significant $$ on you vs. for every single customer).
Congrats on your first day! Now go to the store and buy some arnica gel! That stuff works wonders on fading bruises. I use it religiously and without it my legs would look disgusting. The pain and soreness should go away after you've been dancing a while. I think it could be from you working muscles you usually don't work but it should stop once your body gets used to dancing. Epsom salt soaks in the tub are great for soreness too.
Yeah, taking care of your internal and external health is so critical. Exercise becomes extremely important (hot vinyasa yoga was a literal lifesaver to maintain the health of my body while I was dancing and to tone knee-stabilizing/ankle-stabilizing muscles). Nutrition becomes extremely important.
If you pay attention to your body, you'll learn a ton about how to take care of it while you're dancing, because little tweaks in your self-care routine start to make a big difference in how you feel mentally and physically during and after a shift. I picked up a million little things while I was dancing that I still do even now that I'm not. Like taking a generic bottle of lotion (Aveeno) and adding vegetable-based glycerin and avocado oil to it to amplify the healthy effects of slathering yourself in lotion. Skin brushing > shower > self-massage/skin care with lotion in front of netflix. I could go on and on - we have so many resources on here!
You might want to look up the thread "How to burn out of stripping: a guide" while you're still new to avoid making some of the mistakes many of us have made!

Thank you ladies, I'll check out the other threads. I think I bruise from trying to climb the pole.





If you can get in a sauna, do so. Otherwise, some sun helps, not too much tho. Also yoga. I love a hot Epsom salt bath
MANY MEN WANTED TO LAY ME DOWN, BUT FEW WANTED TO LIFT ME UP
-Eartha Kitt



Congrats!


Lol, yup. Totally normal. You will toughen up. Congrats and good luck!
...and epsom salts are your friend. Also, hydrate like it's your job. Consider an iron supplement if iron deficiency has been an issue for you. low iron contributes to bruising more easily.



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