10 Tips to Set up a Home Pole Dance Space
Dr. Rosy Boa of the Science of Slink podcast shares 10 key considerations for building a home pole space based on a decade of home training, emphasizing that a home setup will differ from a studio. She covers choosing reputable pole brands and safe installation (permanent vs. tension-mounted), proper placement under structural supports, using boards to distribute weight in plaster construction, checking tension with temperature swings, and shaking the pole before use. She discusses flooring choices for different styles, avoiding gaps that can catch toenails, and keeping cleaning tools nearby. Other topics include optional open wall space, storing alcohol/grip and towels, safety gear like mats and self-spotting bands, additional props (chairs, blocks, weights), airflow/humidity/temperature control, lighting options, music setup considerate of neighbors, and filming considerations like corner placement and fisheye lenses.
Chapters:
00:00 Home Pole Setup Intro
01:05 Studio Versus Home Reality
01:55 Pole
05:43 Flooring
07:39 Wall Space
08:28 Storing essentials
09:20 Safety equipment
10:30 Props
11:55 HVAC
14:00 Lighting
15:46 Music
16:34 Filming
17:48 Recap And Final Thoughts
Iris Sparrow lighting tips: https://www.instagram.com/p/DcRKQnJhoX4/
Transcript:
I've been doing pole dance at home for a decade at this point, and these are the 10 things that I would go back in time and tell myself as a little baby pole getting my first home pole to consider when setting up a home pole space.
And today, I'm gonna share them all with you, uh, and hopefully, I can save you, you know, some time, some money, some headache, and make your life a little bit easier in your home pole journey.
I'm Dr. Rosy Boa. This is Science of Slink, the evidence-based pole podcast. I'm a pole dancer, a pole dance teacher.
I teach online. Uh, and I know some of y'all know that, 'cause you're my members in the Science of Slink membership. Big hearts to you. Thank you so much. You make all of this possible. If you wanna join, listener, if you are not already a member, come on in. Uh, it's a monthly membership, uh, really focused on bringing everything you need as a home poler together to help support really great feeling freestyle.
And if you're like, "Rosy, I don't know how to freestyle," that's why we have classes. So you can learn, uh, and you can continue to explore your artistry as you're building your strength and your flexibility and your pole technique all together. But more information about that in the caption if you wanna go check it out.
But today, we're talking about the nitty-gritty of setting up a home pole space. So before we get into the 10 things one thing that I do want you to think about and acknowledge is that a home pole space is not gonna be a studio space, right? There are just gonna be some differences. Unless you are, you know, extremely lucky and you have a whole building that you can dedicate, you know, somewhere in your life just to pole, probably this is gonna be a room or a part of a room, which is the case for me, somewhere in your house.
Uh, it's probably not gonna be as large. The experience isn't gonna be the same. You know, you're not gonna have as many people there with you live. It's just gonna be different. So I want you to take a moment and think about that and be like, "Oh, yeah, there are gonna be some differences." Uh, and just make your peace with it, right? That is okay. They're two separate things. They're gonna be different.
The first thing to consider is, of course, naturally, your pole, and where are you gonna put your pole? Uh, so I don't have an affiliate link or nothing. Um, my personal home pole is X-Pole. Like I said, I've, I've had it for a decade. It continues to work great.
Lupit is another really good brand. Uh, I have not used them, but Gaia poles out of Brazil have a lot of options if you have particularly concrete construction. Um, they've got a really cool system that lets you sort of fold up the pole when it's not in use, so that might be another option. Um, and I mean, these days, there are a ton of smaller manufacturers, uh, Fit2Flaunt, lots and lots of options out there for pole.
Definitely do your research. Um, make sure that it is a brand that has been tested for pole dance with weight, right? If it says posing anywhere in the description run. Run for the hills. The most stable and, um- Durable are gonna be poles that actually mount into the structure of the building itself, um, sometimes called permanent poles.
If you don't have access to that, uh, like me, uh, you're probably gonna be using a tension mounted pole, and this is something where the pole expands, uh, and sort of the pressure of the pole pushing up and down is what holds it in place.
Especially if you are using a tension-mounted pole, though, placement is really, really important. If you are in a place where there is, uh, architecture that is stud and beam, it needs to be one of those supporting thick pieces of wood, uh, that can help distribute the weight appropriately. If you are in construction that is plaster, I would recommend, and this is what I do, I'm, I'm in a place with plaster, uh, is I have my pole, the disc on the ceiling, and then I have a, a board to help distribute the weight even more that's just a little bit bigger than that disc.
And then I have a non-slip piece above that to help distribute it even more 'cause there aren't really studs in the way that my particular house is constructed. If you are in any doubt at all about the safety or stability, definitely reach out to an engineer, uh, some sort of structural engineer.
If you do have a tension mounted pole, especially if you have taller ceilings, so the shorter the pole, uh, the less this is gonna be a factor, although it is still gonna be a factor, make sure you are readjusting your tension every time there is a big temperature swing.
So metal, when it gets warm, it expands. When it gets cold, it contracts. Most of the home pole falls that I have seen have been when there has been a cold snap. The pole has shrunk, the amount of tension has reduced, and then when people go to get on the pole, it comes down. Uh, likewise, when the temperature spikes and the pole expands, this can cause warping and cracking in the pole.
So readjust your pole tension. Um, ideally every time you get on the pole, but realistically at least, uh, you know, four times a year when the seasons change, whenever there's a big swing. Definitely make sure that you are doing that. And then anytime before you get on the pole, before you trust your life to it, you know, give it a good, uh, I like to say like shaking a coconut tree, give it a good coconut tree shake, uh, just to make sure it's still really secure.
Where you put your pole is really gonna depend on the structure and construction of the room. You sort of have limited control over that. But within those spots that you could pick from, , you're gonna pick a place where you have the most space around your pole possible. And that includes at the top of the pole as well as the bottom of the pole. If you've got lights, if you've got a fan, if you've got, you know, any sort of fixture on the ceiling, keep an eye on those.
I've thankfully never broken a light bulb. Uh, knock on wood, I'm gonna stay that way. But I've certainly hit the ceiling before, and I've certainly run into light fixtures before, uh, up near the top of the pole. So, uh, definitely keep that in mind.
So that's the pole. Uh, as always, follow the manufacturer instructions. If you have any specific questions, reach out to the manufacturer.
The next thing to think about is the flooring.
How important and what the flooring is gonna need to be is really gonna depend on you and your style of pole, and how you wanna move, and what you wanna do. So if you are interested in doing very sort of swively, kinetic floor work, a floor that's, like, a little bit more slippery is probably gonna be better.
If you're really just interested in doing stuff on the pole and not a lot of transitions, not a lot of floor work, maybe something like carpet is gonna be okay. For me, I tend to prefer hard flooring. Uh, so I believe right now what I have is, like, vinyl planks, uh, are, are the flooring in that room.
I've also danced on dance flooring, like you'd have at, like, I don't know, like, a wedding reception or something, uh, that, that click together to put around the base of the pole when I was on carpet. Uh, 'cause I do like very swishy floor work, base work-y kind of stuff. Uh, and I was on carpet, and doing it on carpet just sucks. So definitely something to keep an eye out for.
Also keep an eye out for gaps between the flooring. Make sure the floorboards are nice and tight. Make sure your dance flooring is nice and tight. Unless you are always gonna be wearing socks or always gonna be wearing boots because you can absolutely catch your toenail and rip your toenails off.
Uh, not to, not to be gross, but it does happen. It's very unpleasant. Uh, and making sure that you don't have a lot of sort of, like, little seams that you can catch your toenails in is gonna make your life a lot better. Ask me how I know.
Also on the topic of flooring, a way to clean your flooring.
If you can sweep or vacuum. Uh, or actually, I like those little, like, push vacuums. It's like... It's not actually a vacuum. It's, it's all manual. But it's got like a, uh, like a little broom in it, uh, that, uh, as you, as you push it, it rotates and it collects all the dust and stuff. Uh, that's really nice to just push around real quickly before you get on the pole.
So having a way to clean it, and having your cleaning supplies, like, right nearby so that you can do it super quick before you get on the pole, at least for me, makes it much more likely that I'm actually gonna do it regularly. Uh, which means that I don't come up from you know, my floor work covered in, uh, you know, hair and fur and dust and whatever.
Number three, and this is optional but can be really helpful, is some sort of open wall space. So particularly if you are interested in doing, uh, you know, wall work, that's sort of a, a category of type of movements in pole, um, or if you're interested in training handstands at all, having open wall space can be really, really helpful.
Um, there's also a lot of stretching and contortion drills that really benefit from having open wall space. So, again, depending on what your goals are, depending on the type of movement you're interested in, this may or may not be super important to you. But it's definitely something to keep in mind, uh, especially if you're, like, trying to decide, you know, "Oh, where do I wanna hang, like, a rack or something?" Or, "Where do I wanna put art?" And for me, like, as, as far up as I can reach my fingers so I can do handstands is, uh, is about the, the height that I would need to feel comfortable can be really helpful. So something to keep in mind.
Another thing that you're gonna need is a place right nearby your pole to store your alcohol and your pole cloths. And I am a big fan of what I call the three towel method. So I, especially when it's very sweaty, I will have, uh, a towel for the pole. I will have a towel for my body, right? So to wipe down body sweat, 'cause I, you know, I sweat a lot.
And then another third towel specifically for the floor. So having a place to have all those that's nearby, that's to hand can be really helpful. If you use grip, that's also a good place to store grip. And if you've got the space, it can be really nice to have, like, a little laundry hamper as well, so as you're, you're done with, you know, your body toweling, your floor toweling, uh, your pole toweling, uh, and, you know, it's just not clean anymore, you can toss it right in the laundry bin, uh, right in your pole space.
So, that can be just a little quality of life. Definitely think about where you're gonna have those things nearby, 'cause you're gonna need them.
Another broad category of things to think about are, uh, are safety objects, right? So especially if you're training by yourself, if you're gonna be doing a lot of self-spotting, if you're gonna be working on things a little bit riskier, definitely having some sort of mat is very important.
So, uh, you can get custom pole mats, mats designed to be put around the base of the pole. Also something that can be helpful in this sort of self-spotting space is, uh, big rubber bands. Uh, Rubberbanditz is one brand. You don't necessarily have to do those. Where you can attach them to the pole and attach them to your body to help you spot various movements. Those can be really helpful.
Side caveat there, almost 100% of those have latex, so if you have a latex allergy, maybe give that a skip.
Uh, but thinking about your safety objects, where am I gonna put that? Mats in particular are pretty large. Uh, so I've found that they're pretty helpful to store vertically behind pieces of furniture. So if you have like a bookshelf or something, you can stick it behind the bookshelf. That's really helpful. Um, obviously if you have a closet, a closet's great, uh, to stick those in. Uh, but thinking about, you know, what type of mats you want and where you're gonna store them, uh, can be really helpful 'cause those are, are large, large objects
And then the sixth thing are non-safety other training props. This is just sort of like the miscellaneous stuff you might want to use as part of your pole training. Uh, so especially when I'm teaching, I will offer option- I will often offer options for yoga blocks. Really helpful for a variety of movements. If you're a foam roller enjoyer, having foam rollers can be really helpful.
An elevated surface can be really help, so something like a chair. Uh, or if you wanna do chair dance, right, where are you gonna put your chair? Chairs can be really nice, and, uh, usually, like, the black metal folding chairs that have a support beam between the front and back legs are what I'd, I generally recommend.
Uh, so just this week in conditioning, I had an option for Copenhagen planks using the chair. So having some sort of elevated surface can be really, really helpful, uh, both for strengthening and stretching, and also having, like, a, a pole play thing, and also just for doing chair on. So, uh, chairs can be really nice to have.
And then also sort of in this, in this bin of other possible things, you might have weights. Free weights can be helpful. Um, I, uh, I like kettlebells. I especially like using kettlebells to warm up, 'cause for me at least, it gets my heart rate up real, real fast. Uh, really helpful for getting some lower body, some posterior chain. I'll do, like, a quick five, 10-minute circuit, and I will be very warm, thank you kindly.
Uh, so very, very helpful to be able to add a little bit of resistance and weights are one way to do that. But if you're gonna have them, you need to have a place to store them so think about that as well.
Number seven to think about is airflow, temperature control, humidity control. So, a room is mostly empty space, right? And, uh, I don't need to tell y'all, you're pole dancers. The temperature and the humidity in the room are gonna really affect how things feel on the pole.
Um, I like to have a dehumidifier in my space. I mentioned previously, I sweat a lot. Especially in the summer when it is hot outside and I'm sweating a lot, uh, being able to keep the humidifi- humidity a little bit lower is really helpful for sticking. Um, if you live in a place where it gets very dry, a humidifier might be helpful, especially if you find that you're very slippery, your skin gets very dry, the pole gets very dry.
Uh, adjusting the humidity so that it's in a good range, also potentially adjusting the temperature. Uh, I usually have a space heater in my space because I, I am quite chilly as a person. Uh, I tend to run cold, and I stick best when I'm a little bit warmer. And also, you know, especially if you're doing pole stuff, you're not wearing that many clothes, so being able to keep the temperature comfortable really helpful.
Uh, also you might think about some sort of HEPA filter. You know, if you're in a place where there gets a lot of wildfire smoke, uh, you know, if you have dust mite allergies or pets, uh, helping to reduce air- airborne particulates can be really helpful, especially if you're in a room where you are breathing heavily and a lot.
Um, and if you're training with other people, you know, just helps to reduce infectious disease load, uh, and, uh, and help keep everybody a little bit more healthy as well. So some sort of air filtration, uh, potentially humidifying, dehumidifying, potentially some way to adjust the temperature. Uh, either space heater and also a fan can be really helpful for drying off the sweat.
And of course, fans work by drying sweat, so if you do have a fan, uh, and it's also really humid, it's not gonna do much besides move the air around you. So pairing a fan and a dehumidifier can be helpful. Although keep in mind, dehumidifiers are gonna make the space a little bit warmer, so, uh, trade-offs for your specific climate, your specific situation might be important.
Also in terms of temperature control, uh, thinking about windows, right? Do you want some sort of window covering? If you don't want some sort of window covering, but you do want privacy, maybe some sort of vinyl cling film can be helpful with that. Uh, so taking that into consideration as you're thinking about, you know, the air that you are moving through.
And then number eight is to think about lighting. So we have so many options for lighting these days. Um, Irish Sparrow actually did, like, a fabulous little tutorial on her Instagram, uh, recently about different ways to think about placing lighting, she uses smart bulbs, so you can change the color, and you can change the, the, the light intensity, which is really nice. My preference is always gonna be for, like, more little lights sort of scattered around. When I'm teaching, I have, like, um, a, a soft box, just so I have, like, sort of v- very flat, very direct light, so I'm, I'm really easy to see.
But if I'm just dancing for my own self, I like it a little bit more moody. Um, and I also really like, lights on the ground facing up that are a little bit softer and a little bit warmer. Um, I call it my booty lighting. 'Cause I really, you know, uh, I'm a fan of my own butt. Uh, hopefully you're a fan of your own butt, and if you like to highlight your assets, let us say, uh, having a, a light that is shining up onto you, uh, can be a really helpful way to do that. So that's something that I like. Also LEDs are really nice, particularly if it is hotter, because they uh, they tend to run cooler than incandescent. In addition to saving on your electricity bill, is gonna help keep your space a little bit cooler, which can be nice in the summer when it gets really hot. So thinking about lighting, uh, where you wanna set it up, what you want it to look like, what sort of things you enjoy dancing in.
Also, when are you gonna be dancing? Uh, if you are like, "I'm only gonna be dancing between 2:00 and 3:00 AM," well, in that case you probably, you know, don't need to really think about the daylight too much. You can really focus in on, on artificial lighting. Um, and if you're mostly gonna be dancing during the day, maybe you think a little bit m- more about, like, okay, where's the daylight coming from? How's that gonna affect things? You know, how it will be during different seasons. And obviously not make or break for a pole space, but can definitely be something just to think about if that's something that, that you care about, if you, if you like a little bit of mood lighting, which I do.
And of course, we are dancing.
What are we dancing to? Music probably, at least that's what I'm dancing to. Uh, so thinking about how you're gonna play music. Uh, so I have a couple options. I have, um, a speaker that I will use that I'll, I'll play music on if I'm just dancing for myself. If it is late uh, it is late at night or I am on, uh, a call with someone where I have my mic open, I will use, uh, earbuds instead so I'm not bothering nobody. Um, or when I'm teaching I'll use earbuds so there's no feedback. Uh, but thinking about how you're gonna play your music, uh, can be really important, especially, you know, if you're on the second story, my apartment folks, my, you know, attached folks. Thinking about your neighbors, thinking about what's gonna be respectful for them, uh, also, also pretty important.
So, uh, how is that gonna work in your space?
And then the final thing, and this is super optional, but if you are someone who likes to film yourself, also thinking about, okay, if I am gonna film myself, if I am gonna be taking, you know, videos and photos, what direction am I going to be doing it from, right?
Like, what are my camera angles going to be? Um, how easy is it for me to set up a camera in where I, you know, or a phone in where I want that space to be? And if you are like me, and you don't have, like, a huge room, right? If you've ever seen my stuff online, my room looks a lot bigger than it is because I actually use a fisheye lens. So it is making, uh, showing a wider field of view in all directions than just, like, the base camera. And I have, like, a little clip-on that I put onto my phone camera or my laptop camera when I'm teaching, uh, just so there's, like, a little bit more, more visible when I'm teaching.
Uh, and particularly so you can see both the top and the base of the pole. Uh, if you are interested in filming pole stuff, being able to see both bits of it can be very helpful. Not that you need to, but it can be very helpful. And the smaller the room is, the harder it's gonna be. Uh, and just, something to keep in mind putting a, a camera in a corner is gonna help you get the most, most field of view.
A little fisheye lens will help you get a good field of view. Um, and just something to think about if that's something you care about.
So I feel like I've been really info dumping on y'all.
Uh, but those are the 10 things that I would think about and take into consideration when putting together a pole space. Uh, so first up, your pole, where is it gonna be? What type is it gonna be? How you're gonna install it, how you're gonna make sure you're ensuring your safety. Number two, your flooring. Especially, like, watch out for those gaps. They are not fun. Uh, number three, maybe open wall space. Think about it. Is that something you're gonna want in your training? If it's not, y- it doesn't matter. You can cover your walls and shit perfectly fine. Four, thinking about a place to store your alcohol, your cleaning wipes maybe your, your floor cleaning materials, but just where are you gonna have those things so they're close to hand? Uh, number five, your safety equipment, your mats, your rubber bands, whatever you're using for self-spotting. If you are gonna have a spotter, where would they stand? Uh, all that stuff, making sure you got that in mind. Number six, thinking about other props that are not necessarily safety related, uh, maybe a chair, weights, yoga block, foam roller. Uh, you know, if you got any other pieces of, of favorite fitness equipment, yoga ball. Where are you gonna put those? Where are you gonna store those? A long stick can be really helpful, like a broom handle. Where are those gonna go? Do you even need them? Would you actually use them? All those good questions. Thinking about the air. How are you gonna control humidity, temperature, uh, air cleaning, some sort of HEPA filter? You know, uh, are you gonna need to think about windows at all? Thinking about all that. Uh, considering your lighting. Where are you gonna have lighting? How many? Are they gonna be, you know, battery operated? Are they gonna be plug-in? Uh, what's gonna make your space really feel fun to be in and, and enjoyable for you, 'cause it's the most important thing. Nine, music. How are you gonna play music? You know, how much are you gonna blast it? Uh, are you gonna have multiple options for music? If you're gonna play it from your phone, where's your phone gonna be? If you're gonna play it from a computer, where's your computer gonna be? Uh, all those good questions. Just thinking about it, thinking about those logistics, where you, where do you want all that stuff. And then finally, if you are gonna film, where would you be filming from? You know, where would you set up your camera? All the stuff related to filming.
10 things to consider when you're putting together a home pole space. Obviously, you don't need all of these. The only one that you actually genuinely need is number one, the pole, if you are poling. Um, or if you're just sort of interested in pole-adjacent movement, like my, my conditioning classes, just as an s- example, are not on the pole.
They are off the pole to support pole movement. Uh, and those, you just need, you know, a space, and I always offer equipment-free options. But if you happen to have the equipment, I will offer an equipment-having option as well. So if you're just looking to support your pole movement, really you just need space to move.
If you're looking to do pole, you do need a pole, And then everything else is just, icing on the cake. But still, I think good to think about, good to sit down and be like, "Hmm, if I'm setting up this space," you know, this is a good time to think through these things and figure stuff out.
Uh, and really, you know, make your space your own, something that's nice to be in, something that's comfortable, something that's functional, uh, something that fits you and your lifestyle. Thank you so much for joining me, uh, home poler or future home poler. Uh, as always, if you're interested in training home pole with me, you can check out my membership.
I don't really do drop-in classes, but I do have a free sample class so you can get a sense of my teaching style before you join the membership. Uh, and then I do have community flow classes, and these are just free classes, uh, a chance for folks to get together, move together, do some guided freestyle and hang out, right?
That's the point of pole, right? To have fun moving and a nice time. Uh, and maybe to do that with other people, if that's something that brings you to life. With that, I'm gonna let y'all go. Thank you so much for joining me today. Hope you came away with some tips, some tricks, some thoughts, uh, and I will talk to you very soon. Bye.
