When Marcy Kerr sees a woman lift her body and spin around a metal pole, she doesn’t see seduction – she sees strength.
In May, Kerr opened Chrome Fitness, a studio that offers pole dancing fitness, located near 116th Street and Guilford Road.
Pole dancing as an exercise is nothing new to Central Indiana and Kerr said it’s a fun way for women to increase strength in their upper body and core. What was once-seen as a scandalous way to work out is now accepted as a common form of fitness. Even if some men choose to hold onto preconceived notions, Kerr said.
“Some people still go to that negative place and make those comments,” she said. “Sometimes we can’t get everyone to realize that we aren’t doing this to be sexy. We are gymnasts on a vertical pole.”
Kerr said lots of women grew up taking dance classes, but can’t find anything structured when they become an adult, so this is a great way to work those muscles and express one’s self.
“The typical thing that you think of is that pole dancing is strip clubs and sexy, but that’s not where we come from,” she said “That’s not what we teach. We don’t teach stripping. We teach fitness and we teach dance. They are encouraged to dance any way they want. They could do a modern routine, or story telling or sad, or if they want to do sexy then that’s what they want. We work on making women feel comfortable and confident. We have a very safe place here.”
Kerr has been teaching group fitness for five years and pole fitness for three. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in kinesiology from IUPUI and she’s wanted to open her own studio for quite some time.
Pole dancing classes are women-only, but Chrome Fitness offers a variety of classes including Zumba, vinyasa flow yoga and chair dancing.
For more information, visit www.mychromefitness.com.
BENEFITS OF POLE DANCING FITNESS
- Weight Loss – In a single class, a participant can burn as many as 250 calories.
- Toning Muscle – Dancers often support their whole body weight with one arm, which builds upper body strength. Climbing the pole can be more difficult than lifting weights and holding yourself upside down engages the core.
- Increased flexibility – Contorting one’s legs and arms and holding poses helps stretch muscles that can often be stiff.
