Pole Fitness: Extended Butterfly and First Inverted Combo (3 Moves!)

[pegasusaerialfitness]

have you tried in from just a basic invert? Invert/place dominant hand down on pole/square up hips/take leg off that is on the same side as the upper(non dominant hand) open hip out a little to get your "jester" leg behind you. looks good

[Poledancefan]

@pegasusaerialfitness Thanks! Yes, I did manage to figure out this move much later on...the butterfly is one of my favorites. /Joel Lessing

[antczak11]

thisi s a little creepy. but nice, you are better at this than expected

[Poledancefan]

@antczak11 Thank You! There are many excellent male polers out there who perform at a level of competitive, athletic excellence. Check out the Remy and Martin traditional Chinese style athletic/circus performances. It's first class male pole and is just pure athleticism for its own sake. /joel lessing

[Cpricrn1983]

I bet this will be a the best work out that you ever do, harder than it seems, be careful

[Poledancefan]

@Cpricrn1983 Thank you! /Joel Lessing

[beatrixtowers]

be careful with that mirror!

[Poledancefan]

@beatrixtowers lol...thanks...it's a cheap one from the dollar store..../Joel

[vixtaleo]

have you ever tried going in to this from a kiss hold? hook your dominant leg on the pole as high as you can and grip, other leg on the opposite side of the pole out straight, then top hand between your legs and bottom hand as low as possible. just a different method, would love to see your take on it! x

[Poledancefan]

@vixtaleo That sound interesting--I'd like to try it...but I am terrible at visualizing moves from written descriptions (lol, I always say I am "pole stupid" that way!!) I will look around for some tutorials for the butterfly doen that way...or if you have a link to a video, send it to me in a PM. Thanks for watching and commenting on the video! (Joel Lessing/Poledancefan) I am on facebook, by the way--if you are a Facebook poler...

[FitnessJunction]

More fitness tips here

[PluGGerica]

very good. keep up :)

[Poledancefan]

Thank You!

[Poledancefan]

@PluGGerica Thank You!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You!

[Poledancefan]

Thanks! I've been off the pole almost a week now...pretty much over my cold, but I wonder if I can do anything on the pole at all! Good luck with the ex-butt...it's a neat looking move, one of my favorites

[ChrizDaRobba]

Nice Progress! Keep Rocking!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You Chriz!

[REDKE71]

wow! fabulous extended butterfly! youre getting so strong joel, keep it up!!

[Poledancefan]

Thanks, Karol! It is almost my first anniversary of pole. Remember that YOU were among the most persistent of my supporters...always encouraging me to invert, to practice a little more, try a little harder. I am GRATEFUL for those little pokes and nudges...they really got me going. I would never have gotten any of these moves if you hadn't kept urging me to tip back...and get my feet up on that pole!!! A year later, a thousand thank you's to an awesome mentor!

[ruivam]

cool,keep it up! : )

[Poledancefan]

Thank You...!

[G000GAT0RS]

great job, Joel! You are really coming along!!!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You! I'm working on the shoulder problem today, Sunday...trying to push OUT and square off the shoulders to get my whole body AWAY and OFF the pole. I had a few good attempts...needs more practice... Thanks for the encouraging comments! I'm going to keep practicing to clean it up a little more.

[exdiva69]

3:43, i think..looked painful. glad u had the mats! keep yourself in one piece PLEASE, lol. we all have fallen, when i learned the butterfly even, w/o the extended, i was fallin all the time. LOL when u were saying 'i'm stuck' im mentally picturing you letting go of the hand between your legs and grabbing above, going straight into the superman. it WON'T be long:) the 9:40 (the combo)and smooth back to the pole action was dope! keep it up:) lil caterpillar to, cool!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You! Yeah...gotta love the mats. Those big foam pieces were rescued from a bean bag mattress thingy at a garage sale. I hosed 'em down with a little bleach water to get the smell out. Bought them for a dollar a piece! Thank you for the sweet comments...yes, if someone had told me a year ago I would do a three move inverted combo, I would've thought they were certifiably insane! It's almost my ONE year pole-a-versary..and I still can't believe I am doing these things!

[exdiva69]

INEED! not fun to fall on rug or floor 4 sure. u are VERY creative w/ your ideas for your safety equipment. good prices to huh? much better then a crash mat iam certain, for hundreds of dollars. a dollar a piece..man, i wish i were at that sale, lol. isn't it INSANE, i felt the same way by my almost 1 yr anniversary. it was soo weird how i watched others in amazement and now was doing some of that incredible stuff myself. it's much harder 4 a man, i think u have gotten so incredible in 1 yr!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You...well, for me, the weight is the real problem. I just KNOW I could be better...even if I could just shave off 10 pounds. And summer just kills me because of all the barbecues. Man! You don't want to be rude at a cookout party...but people are just PILING the food on your plate. Ha Ha...4th of July is just going to be crazy because by the time Sunday rolls around my body will look like a couch cushion!

[exdiva69]

GREAT JOB JOEL! your extended butterfly looks amazing, all i notice is that you are in pretty close to the pole, try & think about pushing out and fully extending in this move, not just the legs but the arms as well, so your are further away from the pole. if the pole is slippy i could see the body would gravitate close to the pole as the arms spread, making it tougher. when you got a real good grip try & mentally PUSH yourself to pushing the body out, away from the pole, but man u r damn good!

[Mannah83]

so the one where you let go of the pole is a gemini? I jsut got to where I can pull myself up upside down on the pole. trying some moves, but darn sweaty hands are limiting me! That and pole burns suck! You did awesome!

[Poledancefan]

THANK YOU! Yes...the easiest way to remember the North American and British terminology is the rhyme "Gemini...cross your thigh" and "Scorpio bites your hide,pole is down the same side." So whenever a dancer is hanging in a knee hook and the pole CROSSES her thigh to the other side, she is doing a gemini. If she is hanging in a knee hook and the pole goes STRAIGHT down that SAME side of the body as that knee...then it's a Scorpio Ozzies sometimes call both moves a Scorpio, though!. LOL!

[thatlarawoman]

3:39...go joel, yay!! that was very cool my friend and its nice to see video evidence after that poem. xx keep up the good work :-)

[Poledancefan]

Thank You...the butterflies are fun...and I'm going to get the LEFTY gemini to butterfly, too. Hopefully this weekend. I tried Lefty gemini to butterfly about ten times yesterday and fell flat on my a** every time....but I shall not be defeated, LOL!

[cgrammeral]

Wow, Joel. I'm gone for a few months and here you are looking fabulous! I see you've lost quite a bit of weight. Lookin' good with the new moves!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You...well, we finally got decent weather here and I'm back to my summer bike riding regime. It's the most fun way for me to burn calories. And it's the only workout my wife and I sometimes do together...a double bonus. I wish I could just KEEP my summer weight all year round!

[TrinaS08]

wow joel you never cease to amaze me with how far you've come!! keep up the great work..

[Poledancefan]

Thank You!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You!

[Ange70x]

Woohoo!!!!!!!

Go Joel Go Joel Go Joel!

Knew this video wouldn't be long after your poem :-)

Yes, I'd say you've nailed this move!

You nearly had that anchor move that I did when you got stuck!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You...I'll have to go back an look at that move. I wasn't trying for it on purpose, but I'll take any combo I can get, LOL!

[gsylass]

You're looking really strong, those inverts look effortless! Awesome caterpillar, I'd forgotten that move existed - will have to try it again. Quite ironic, combining a caterpillar and butterfly lol!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You! I never even thought about the caterpillar-butterfly connection! It is the perfect combo I guess. I've also been told the Scorpio is another nice exit from the butterfly. I can "SEE" it in my vids...but I cannot "FEEL" it when I'm up on the pole. Somehow I just can't make the top leg turn into a Scorpio hook yet!

[simnonin]

WOOOOHOOO, that was awesome, at 1:24 I thought "pretty good, he's not a liar in pentameter" but they got better and straighter as you went! AND... AND... AND... not only do you have SPS (short pole syndrome) to contend with, you also have electrical interference! You're a trooper!

Congrats on producing some pretty excellent video proof!

[Poledancefan]

Thanks, Sim! I have to tell you that this move was sort of a breakthrough in that there is a kind of "elation" or "high" while I am doing the move. Does that make sense? I mean, the Plank hurt, I hated it. The C/K scared me to death, and spins make my hands numb for 2 weeks, LOL!..but this move, it just feels so COOL!! Maybe this sounds insane, but I wanted to stop the car yesterday and pop one up on a street sign. It was like a craving or something...

[simnonin]

Dude, I totally know!!!! Gemini, Butterfly and Aysha are the reason I started pole and the rush is incredible and ongoing with my battle for handspring and death lay, I mean, you saw the Italy vid!!!

Loved the music too BTW, forgot to mention it in my first comment.

[telford51]

oh wow look at you, you are coming quite a pro at this now can see your progress now, your butterfly n lil catterpillar was fab , and you are tonning up nicley. well done on your fantastic progress

[Poledancefan]

Thank You....I haven't had a chance to see if you did your I-pole challenge yet. I know Shelly was planning a video challenge for you! Hope it went well!

[telford51]

aww yes i did the challenge in my new vid only 2 attempts hurts hehe, but will work on it

[Lorenzia777]

wonderful joel the butterfly is a great position i m lovet great job nice caterpillar

[Poledancefan]

Thank You, Gaby!

[studio30pole]

Niiiiiice Joel!!!! Great extensions! 5 Stars!

[Poledancefan]

Thank You! I'm working on butterfly all the month of June. Looks like I need to clean up the shoulder placement a little bit, so hopefully there will be a short vid next week with some touch-ups and improvements, LOL! I really LOVE this move...it feels fun to do it!

[fleurthefrenchcat]

Nice caterpillar around 1:00! Nice work Joel! You're doing geat! Notice at 2:40, 3:03 etc that your shoulders are completly parallel to the pole instead of squaring off, be careful with that. You want to get a nice square butterfly and allow yoiur shoulders to turn out as you extend the legs so that you have better control over the spinning that happens as you open out. Gemini to butterfly looked great! nice work!

[Poledancefan]

OK...I actually wanted to ask you about that..believe it or not! Well, you are an instructor, so you are primed to notice and correct technical errors. Because I knew that there was a problem up there. In just one clip I do push OUT and AWAY for a second. Is this the right thing to do? Does it come first (i.e., before the leg extends)...or second? I'm not sure if Jamilla does an EXTENDED-B on her lessons..I'll have to fast forward on DVD #3 and see..or look more closely at regular bfly move...

[fleurthefrenchcat]

You want to get comfortable pushing out and then extend after that, it's hard to do ex. butt. if your body is right up against the pole.

[MisterMasonite]

i thought you were naked at first HAHAHA

at 5:03 you can slide down with your legs together * i know thats not what you are practising in this video but still ha *

[Poledancefan]

Yeah, the grey shorts are a little....revealing, LOL! The black curtains swallow up all the light and the black gym shorts make me look like that "disconnected" body trick...you know, like a head just floating in midair, LOL! Well, anyway..my dismounts are definitely a problem. This is where a class would help. Sometimes I just watch tons of vids, asking myself how this or that poler got in or out of a certain trick. It's a goofy way to learn a skill, but I guess I like the anarchy!!

[glitterhips]

your inverts are looking really controlled! i hate the move stealer demon...it took my shoulder mount for two months! what a jerkface.

[Poledancefan]

Thanks, Glitter! Yeah, moves have a way of coming and going. I guess one advantage of regular classes would be that I would have more discipline and regular practice. Jeez, sometimes I just plain FORGET stuff I did before! Hey, I just saw your latest pics. You should get a professional photographer to do a photo shoot and a portfolio for you. You looked awesome in those static invert shots.

[Metallichik]

Woohoo! Awesome job Joel!! Congrats & keep up the good work! =)

[Poledancefan]

Thank You! I love doing this move actually..it feels really cool once you get it..and I was not really scared at all!