Profiles

She has taught all kinds of aerobics - specializing in Pilates - but she got in a spin when she gave pole dancing a whirl.

Angelina ordered a pole after her very first lesson and it has pride of place in her front entrance hall. Her dad may have had initial reservations about installing a pole but now he can't walk past it without having a spin!

How did you get into fitness?

I took my ETM (exercise to music course) when I was at school so I could teach aerobics classes to earn some extra money before going travelling and then going on to university to study law and/or forensic science.

Fate intervened at my ETM assessment, though. When the assessor told me I had passed, he asked me what I would like to do next. Feeling a little cheeky I replied, “your job” as a joke!

He was so impressed by my performance he offered me a job with the company. The job involved teaching people who wanted to become either ETM instructors, gym instructors or personal trainers.

To work for the company I had to complete my personal trainer award, several other courses and my BA (Honours) Education. It was a great opportunity - I could earn at the same time as paying for my qualifications and degree before deciding for definite what area I would like to specialise in.

I’m still working for the same company now and loving everyday. I loved teaching the theory side of anatomy and physiology so much I started to work for different colleges teaching that subject.

Now whether I’m lecturing, working for the company, teaching classes or personal training I wake up everyday and look forward to going to work. I have the best job in the world, well with the exception of a chief chocolate taster!

You’re qualified to teach almost every fitness class so why do you mainly teach Pilates?

I returned from back-packing around the world in October 2000 and the only classes I was offered were the mind and body classes. I was gutted; I mean who wants to go and just relax, stretch and think about breathing!? I couldn't imagine anything less inspiring or de-motivating!

However, that’s before I had done a Pilates class and fully looked into the principles behind it. Now I think it is life changing and can make such a difference to people and their quality of life.

Many of the postural problems and back problems we encounter today are down to our modern lifestyles – such as sitting at desks, computers or driving for prolonged periods which can cause the shoulders to round forward and strain on the lower back. This in turn can cause muscle imbalance and pain and Pilates can alleviate this.

It was a massive turning point for many classes in the fitness industry and it is now the area which I teach most classes in and truly love!

Can it flatten a flabby stomach?

It can but you need to pull your abs in when you do your abs workout and, sadly, if you eat more calories than you burn off and you eat unhealthy, stodgy food and no matter how much Pilates you do, you won't get a flat stomach.

Pilates can tighten the corset muscle surrounding the abs, which can ultimately lead to a flatter torso area.

People think doing lots and lots of ab curls will give them a flat stomach; unless you pull your abs in first (so tighten the corset muscle) you could ultimately push your abs out into a doom shape. I know a body builder who has a great six pack but the six pack domes outwards giving a rounded shape to the stomach.

By pulling your corset tight and keeping tight it helps to pull all the muscles around the torso in tight, this can lead to the appearance of a much flatter and tighter abdominal region.

I am quite a taskmaster, though, and I do push my students but they love it really!

So how did you get into pole aerobics?

Rachel Holmes who teaches Fitness Pilates put me in touch with the most awe-inspiring, fantastically phenomenal girl called Rebecca Straker, who runs pole aerobic classes.

After my first lesson I loved it so much I ordered my pole the same day. I had quite a task trying to persuade Dad to let me set the pole up in the hall!

After much persuasion and cajoling he finally allowed me to set it up and now even he can’t go past it without climbing or going upside down not bad to say he’s 65!

Both my boyfriend Paul and my dad were very against me trying pole aerobics; it has quite a stigma attached to it. When I showed them what Becky had taught me they agreed it was like doing a gym workout and they wanted to see if they had the strength to be able to do some of the moves. 

Now even they say a session on the pole is just as hard as going in the gym! We all have new found respect for how hard lap dancers work by performing all the spinning, climbing and inverting tricks.

Tell us what to expect from a pole aerobics class?

The fitness pole dancing class I do is just like a normal aerobics class with a warm up, main section and cool down. The moves are based on endurance, strength and cardio vascular fitness. They don’t contain any dance moves or wiggling against the pole!

Any funny pole stories?

One set of ladies turned up in stilettos with mini skirts and a large bag of tassels to be attached to various pieces of anatomy. You should have seen my dad’s face!
Luckily, it turned out they were only doing it to wind my Dad up as they knew he would be in and they had all their fitness clothing out in the car.

Do you ever take it easy and veg out on the couch?

Never. There is always something I could be doing. I get bored and fidgety if I sit for too long.