Home Poling: Poler Bear’s Guide To Supplementary Studio Training (Part 2)

Cleo’s Rock n’ Pole

Welcome back ladies, we hope you enjoyed last month’s blog review of the audaciously awesome Alethea Austin. This week we are super excited to give you the low down on our Australian Pole Sister and fellow pole mom Cleo The Hurricane.

If you are new to the pole world, then you may not know who Cleo is… In which case I recommend an evening with a glass of wine, a pole sister or two and the Pole documentary ‘Blood Sweat and Sequins’, which you can watch on Netflix.

Those of you in the know will be well aware that Cleo The Hurricane is by now a household name in poling. Her signature style and branding have gone from strength to strength to bring an ever evolving range of clothing and training to the pole world.

Cleo’s range of DVD’s have been extremely popular as a way to cross train at home with or without a pole. From Cleo’s ‘Rock n Pole’, ‘Rockin’ Legs ‘n’ Abs’ to ‘Back is the New Black’, the common denominator in Cleo’s signature offerings is flexibility. Who doesn’t want hard core flexibility like Cleo herself? Cleo’s practically guarantees that by using her methods and programme for training, each and every poler can achieve splits as well as improved back flexibility. The DVD range includes fast paced, high energy warm ups and cool downs, choreography as well as tricks suitable for beginner to advanced polers. I give Cleo’s DVD range top marks for doing what it says on the tin. Love or hate her style (80’s rock/metal), with consistent use, polers around the world have shown significant improvement in flexibility.

Cleo’s range of DVD’s have been all but replaced by her online studio subscription, Cleo’s Rock ‘n’ Pole. Designed with the home poler in mind, this package opens up your living room to a host of world class instructors, as well as, a ‘sisterhood of support’ through the Facebook group Rockin’ Legs ‘n’ Abs.  The online studio seems to me to be grounded in the concept of challenges which ensures that one continues to engage with the studio unlike a gym membership that is paid for and forgotten just as quick.

Well known faces including Crystal Gibson and Jordan Kensley do an awesome job of breaking down tricks and floorwork that will definitely enhance your training programme.

Pros:

• Affordable: The cost for subscription to Cleo’s Rock ‘n’ Pole online studio depends on whether you opt for a monthly or annual subscription. Thus cost is approximately €16.50 – €25.50 per month.
• A huge array of many tricks, stretches, choreographies and more to keep you entertained for a long time!
• Online social media community and 30 day challenges designed to keep you motivated and accountable.
• Cleo herself is always available via social media to give advice on video’s posted and questions asked. Truly an outstanding businesswoman, stellar poler and all round rocking personality. We love her system of recognition in her online pole community.

Cons:

• Unique naming conventions that can make it confusing for polers to communicate about specific tricks in the wider pole community, but hey in the absence of codifying by the International Pole Sports Federation… What is new in the pole world? Spatchcock anyone? ; )
• Some of the higher intermediate to advanced tricks definitely requires some serious spotting as well as modifications/adaptations for individual polers, While Cleo is available online to give advice, there are just some things that can only be completed literally in the safe hands of your studio instructor.
• Some of the tutorials could be improved as they are somewhat vague, lacking clear instructions, I feel however that they are aimed at experienced polers and instructors who have an acute sense of body awareness as well as knowledge of how to break tricks down into their minutiae rather than novice learners.

Overall, Cleo’s Rock ‘n’ Pole online studio is a massive achievement in the pole world and we salute you Cleo for your vision for a pole studio that can reach out to everyone (particularly those disadvantaged by distance from a studio to train in). It is worthwhile investing in Cleo’s studio so long as you know your limits and are prepared to engage with the beauty of the pole journey rather than buy into the insta road to injury by overtraining or trying stuff your body hasn’t been prepped for.

Personally, I credit Cleo for bringing the rock into pole, the character into costuming and power into performance. She is the first ‘celebrity poler’ I ever knew of and also taught the first guest instructor workshop I have ever taken back in 2012 at IPDA. I have a lot of respect for Cleo and I really enjoyed learning variations on classic tricks through her online studio.

Visit her website here: https://www.cleosrocknpole.com