June 2017 Pole Dancing & Fitness Challenges

This month I'll be participating in my own fitness challenge (see last week's blog) The Pinterest Fitness Stability Ball Challenge. Check out my blog for more details and be sure to tag @poleharmony on Instagram if you do participate! For more challenges, check out the current June pole challenges! I will try to keep adding to this list as I see the challenges posted throughout the first week of June.

3 DAYS LEFT until #ReadyforSummerPoleChallengeJune17 ☀️ 🏝 🏖☀️ POLE CHALLENGE ☀️⛱#ReadyforSummerPoleChallengeJune17 💖 Hosted by me @melania_poledance and @polepunzelshop 💛 This challenge includes many pole moves with the letters of Ready for Summer! 🙆🏼 Here is a list 📝 of the pole tricks, but you can do any other move with the daily letter. ⛱ Everyone can join this challenge and win an amazing tank top from Polepunzel Shop! 🦄 ❗️ To join in ❗️ 1. Repost this photo on instagram and tag some friends who may want to join the challenge. ✅ 2. Follow me @melania_poledance and @polepunzelshop so we can see you joined the challenge. ✅ 3. Post a photo or a video every day and tag #ReadyforSummerPoleChallengeJune17 @melania_poledance and @polepunzelshop in your post description so we can see your photos. ✅ ❤️💛💚💙💜 Be sure that your profile is public or dm me 💌 to follow you. In the end of the challenge, we choose a winner 🏅who will win a tank top from PolePunzel Shop! 🦄 Can't wait to see your amazing photos! Do your best and be creative! ☀️❤️ #poledance #poledancing #poledancing #poledancer #poledancenation #polechallenge #poledancechallenge #polesport #polefitness #polefit #poleaddict #poleart #poletrick #poledancersofinstagram #poledancersofig #polelife #polelove #instagood #pdrussianlayback #pdbutterfly #pdrainbow #pdallegra #pdayesha #pdscorpio

A post shared by Melania Kisgyura (@melania_poledance) on May 28, 2017 at 11:17pm PDT

Sooo... On june 1st I am starting my first pole challenge ever in collaboration with @boomkats_polewear. Every trick from the list above will be posted the night before, so you can see it and film it the day after, but remember: 👉🏽always respect your body's practice 👉🏽 take rest days 👉🏽it is allowed to catch up with the challenge or to pre-record 👉🏽you can post a photo or a video, on static or spinning pole 👉🏽you can always choose an easier version of the trick - everything counts! 👉🏽 follow me and @boomkats_polewear 👉🏽always tag me and @boomkats_polewear, so we can see your post 👉🏽tag #boomkats_polechallenge and #boomkats_polewear There will be three winners announced on june 15th. First place gets to spend 50€ in @boomkats_polewear store and second and third place get a wristband of their choice. Good luck everyone!💛

A post shared by Tjaša Skubic (@tjasaskubic_poledance) on May 29, 2017 at 10:37am PDT

Pinterest Fitness Series: Stability Ball 4 Week Routine

If you're like me, you find yourself pinning away on Pinterest various exercise pins for future fitness routines only to find yourself never really going back to those workouts and making use of them.  Since I've only ever really used my Pinterest Fitness Board for ideas of how to use equipment, I thought it would be a great idea to start a new blog series where I actually do the fitness routines by compiling them into a monthly challenge routine.  And of course sharing these new routines with all my readers! 




For the first month installment of this new blog series, I have decided to make use of the very popular and trustworthy stability ball. 😊 For this month's routine I've decided to incorporate these Pinterest Fitness routines two days a week. I recommend choosing two days during the week where you can remain consistent for the course of the four weeks.  You may also want to consider two days that allow you to have a rest day in between such as Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. These routines will be performed for four weeks consecutively. Check out the list below for the designated workout for each day. If you click the link to the corresponding workout, you will be redirected to the pin on Pinterest where you can pin it to your own Fitness Board. 

Week 1
Day 1	450 Rep Stability Ball Glute Workout	http://pin.it/bl9qbza
Day 2	Exercise Ball Ab Workout	http://pin.it/gMpS_YF
Week 2
Day 1	Total Body Stability Ball Circuit	http://pin.it/klPZA6o
Day 2	Roll with it	http://pin.it/PbSaImL
Week 3
Day 1	Have a Ball Super Body Blast	http://pin.it/O-sZtQB
Day 2	Tone Your Gut	http://pin.it/BkKnIgt
Week 4
Day 1	15 Minute Full Body	http://pin.it/dbP_PDU
Day 2	Firm Your Butt	http://pin.it/iQg6eWV

Staying on Track with Fitness During Travel

The past couple months have been extremely busy for me as I was on the road for a funeral and a friend's wedding activities.  The wedding activities required me to stay over night in hotels and eat food while on the road, which I'm sure we all know isn't always the healthiest of meals.  My husband and I have been trying to stay on track with our fitness goals and didn't want to let travel and event obligations get in the way of our healthy lifestyle choices.  We decided that since we'd be staying in a hotel that we would both make it our goal to find time to get in a good workout while we were away from the comforts of our home and local gym. 


Many times when I travel, I make an effort to scope out the local pole studios.  With time constraints due to the weekend festivities, adhering to a set schedule for a studio and their particular level of classes would not suffice for this trip.  As I planned for my trip, I found myself racking my brain for fitness alternatives that could easily be accomplished in my hotel room or the hotel fitness facility.  Below are some ideas I came up with that could work for any time and any place when you are determined to stay on track during your travels. 


1. Workout Labs Exercise Cards- simple, on the go, and requires no equipment.  Just pack your deck of cards and either follow the pre-made workouts included in the card pack or create your own.  You can download the recommended app that works as a timer to allow you to complete the exercise reps without having to worry about counting or to implement a cardio element to your routine.  To increase your workouts, you can add ankle weights or small weights.  Pack a mat in case you decide to take your cards and workout to a larger area in your hotel's fitness area or an outside park. 


2. DoYogaWithMe.com Online Classes- stream any level of yoga class anywhere with wifi access on your mobile device, ipad, or laptop.  Classes are free. Just pack a mat and start streaming from your hotel room.


3. Pure Barre Online Workouts- Another online streaming idea that requires none to a few easy to packable items that will enable you to get in that gym style workout without having to leave your hotel room.  Based on which streaming video you purchase you will just need to pack along a mat, two 2-3 lb weights, resistance band, or a mini exercise ball. 


4. DVDs- Have some go to workout DVDs that you love but haven't included in your workout rotation in awhile?  Traveling can be a great time to bust out those favorites.  Pop in a DVD in your hotel room and get to work. 


5. Fitness Facility in Hotel- When booking a hotel, try to book a room at a hotel that has a fitness facility and then make use of that facility.  My husband has decided from now on that all hotel bookings will have to have fitness amenities. He is a standard machines workout kind of guy.  I can get creative with my workouts but if you find yourself not wanting to dedicate extra packing space or feel don't like leaving yourself responsible for achieving your fitness success creatively when traveling, then I encourage you to consider booking your stay where you can at least have the option to fall back on exercise machines. 


6. Local Studios/Fitness Facilities- And the final fitness traveling idea is to seek out opportunities where you can workout and take a class at a local fitness facility.  Facilities like the YMCA offer Free Day Passes.  If classes or facility hours work with your schedule while traveling, then this is an excellent idea to get out and get active. 


I ended up making use of the hotel fitness facilities with my husband during our wedding hotel weekend stay.  It was just the two of us so we got full private access to the machines.  While doing some research for this blog, I came across one of the instagram user's posts that I regularly follow and wanted to share her post and page with my readers.  In this post she was also traveling for a wedding and found herself in a hotel working out.  Check out her video for some great ideas for hotel workouts and easy to do routines while at home. 

Happy Saturday loves!!! 🤗🤗 Homebodysculpt hits the road! We're in Raleigh NC for a wedding this weekend with close friends and family -- heart is so very full ☺️🙏🏼 I wanted to share with you babes a quick equipment FREE workout that will get you sweating for a full body sculpt 🔥🔥💪🏼💦 Anddddd you can do these moves anywhere. Feel free to adjust the number of reps to suit YOU, and modify these moves as needed. Happy sculpting -- you've got this babes!! 👊🏼😘 #hbsculptHIIT #hbsculptfullbody ------- 👊🏼Complete 4 rounds; Rest 30s btwn rounds 👊🏼 1️⃣slow split squat hops (10x each side) 2️⃣burpees (12x) 3️⃣triple pulse squat jumps (20x) 4️⃣knee pump tricep dips (15x each side) 4️⃣L touches (10x each side) 6️⃣ab bikes (20x)

A post shared by Catherine Elizabeth (@homebodysculpt) on Apr 1, 2017 at 8:01am PDT

The Truth About Fad Diets and Cleanses

I've never been one to believe in dieting.  In my observances, everyone I have known that has participated in a diet has never been successful by limiting their nutritional intake as a means to change their body size.  I have witnessed many go from diet to diet without any changes they were initially seeking when starting a diet.  I think it's time we stop pushing the ideology that a diet is a fix to years of bad habits.  Real change start with a lifestyle modification.  My local news aired a segment in January of this year focusing on this very issue. 


WTHR Indianapolis spoke with Erin Coleman, a Registered Dietician at Community Health Network about fad diets and cleanses.  In the segment, Erin points out the startling statistic that the average adult American will try a fad diet four times a year.  She says this statistic highlights the restrictive nature of diets and that they just do not work.  She also talked about the concern for nutrient deficiency which is common among fad diets as they often require participants to eliminate entire food items and groups.  Erin says that studies have shown that 1/3 to 2/3 of dieters end up gaining weight and most often go on to gain more than they initially lost when starting the diet.  Erin further goes on to discuss the trend of cleanses.  She stated that our body already has a good cleansing system in place- our kidneys and livers.  Vitals organs that have a key role in removing toxins from our bodies.  So how do you go about losing weight? Exercise and eating foods that support your metabolism.  Focus on nutritional support that help you make modifications to keep your body supported for it's energy needs. 


To watch the video segment, click here: Registered Dietitian weighs in on fad diets and cleanses


I wanted to share this health segment with my readers as I feel like in the fitness world many of us may have personally or known friends and family members who have participated in fad dieting only to be disappointed time and time again.  Like I said before, real change begins with lifestyle modifications.  If you're struggling with putting together a nutritional plan for a healthier lifestyle, I recommend consulting a Registered Dietician.  There is so much out there on the internet that the task of formulating healthier dietary habits can be overwhelming.  Let a professional do the work for you so you can start enjoying developing better dietary habits and not fall victim to another dietary fad.

Self Love Bath Recipes

This past February I indulged on a self love journey.  I found myself searching for a means to take care of myself and put my emotional, mental, and physical well being at the forefront of my priorities.  More often than not, we have a tendency to neglect the truly important reason why we have and do everything in our lives.  The self.  What sparked this self love journey came from an unlikely source- one of the ten commandments. I saw them on a refrigerator magnet while using the microwave at work.  I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious.  (Yes, there is a difference.)  I did not grow up going to church or learning all about the teachings of Abrahamic religious views.  It may come as a surprise to many but it wasn't until recently at thirty two years of age that I read through the ten commandments.  The unlikely source of self love inspiration came from the commandment "No other gods before me."  I have studied many religions and their belief systems and read many differing views on the topic.  I have a basic understanding of the common belief of what this commandment means to the religion that professes it as doctrine however, I follow a belief that what speaks to each individual in their heart about ideas within the spiritual realm are not my place to judge or criticize.  It spoke to me more on the level of a concept that we are gods and that in the spirit of honoring ourselves, we place ourselves first and honor no one else before our own worth.  So all spiritual and religious jargon aside, nothing is more important than ourselves.  We should be more proactive in honoring our self than the societal norms of our modern day American culture allows us to.  Working out and attending to our physical wellbeing is only a piece of the bigger picture in the concept of self love.  There's so much more in depth ideology to self love that I couldn't possibly hit on every necessary element in just this one blog post.  I do however, want to share a new found relaxing bath recipe that I have incorporated in my self love ritual that nurtures the component of mindfulness after a long day. 

• Easy Lavender Milk Bath

1. Dr. Teal's Lavender Soothe & Sleep Foaming Bath (4 caps added to running bath water)
2. Epsom Salt (1 cup)
3. Dry milk (1 cup)


Add all ingredients to tub as it fills with warm water.  Additional relaxation includes candles and oil diffuser with 3 drops Lavender essential oil.