12/03/2026
We ask it all the time. We use it to measure progress. We use it to compare ourselves.
But “how long” tells you almost nothing about someone’s actual capacity.
Because progress in pole and aerial depends on so much more than time.
It depends on:
How many hours per week they train
Whether they train once a week or four times
What other strength or flexibility work they do alongside pole
The quality of coaching and education they receive
What their teachers emphasise. Tricks only, or foundations and conditioning
The resources they have access to. Home pole, gym, cross training, rehab support
And that is before we even consider any medical/health conditions, pre-existing injuries, or other factors impacting their body/health, OR what they walked into the sport with:
Did they do gymnastics for ten years?
Were they a competitive dancer?
Have they been lifting weights for five years?
Did they already have strong shoulders and mobile hips?
Two people can both say “I have been poling for a year.”
One might have trained 50 hours. Another might have trained 300.
Those are not the same. And neither is wrong. They are just different.
When you reduce progress to a timeline, you ignore exposure, consistency, coaching quality, cross training, recovery abilities, health and medical conditions and previous adaptations.
At Body & Movement Collective, we look at the whole picture. Not just how long you have been in the sport, but how you have trained, what your body has experienced, and what support you have had.
If you have been feeling behind because someone else has progressed “faster” in the same time frame, take a breath.
Your timeline is not the metric that matters. Your capacity is.
If you want clarity on what is actually limiting you and what will move you forward, book in with our physio, chiro or PT team. Because better questions lead to better progress.
