Top 4 Arm Exercises for Pole Dancing

My favorite upper body strength training exercises to increase pole dancing performance

When I was doing pole dancing, there were periods when I couldn't go to class. I was constantly nervous that I’d lose progress. To mitigate that, I’d go to the gym and do these exercises. Once, I took a month off and when I returned, to my surprise, I was finally nailing tricks I would get frustrated with in the past. 

Anyway, here are my top four upper body strength moves for pole conditioning:

#1. Pullovers

I do these on a flat bench. I lay on it like you would with a bench press. Then I go as slow as possible with slightly bent elbows for 10 reps. Then I switch my hand placement and go for another ten. DO THIS SLOW. DO A LOT OF THESE. Since this has more of a “stability” goal, slow high reps are key because it helps with endurance.

Why this exercise: This works the chest and lats. Both are needed for push AND pull. The movement itself feels like it’d help stabilize during shoulder mounts. You get better at pulling against the pole to do the mounts because you are training the same muscles used in shoulder mounts. 

How it helped: I noticed this helped with overall pole strength maintenance for my upper body. This helps with spins and holds because it targets two different muscle groups.

#2. Dumbbell flys:

It's better than the bench press for developing a stronger “push” against the pole. If I had to choose between flys and bench presses for pole, I’d do flys in a heartbeat. 

I do these lying on a bench using a low weight. You’re working a lot of tiny muscles, so it’s important to choose a lighter weight. I try to focus on feeling like I’m doing bear hugs when I move up. 

Why this exercise: I felt this helped my pushing movements more than the bench press. The plane of movement felt more similar to the push for chair or attitude spins. 

How it helped: I finally got my chair spin despite not going to pole class for a month. I learned the trick before I took my break and it annoyed me so much. It seemed so unattainable. I wasn’t sure if it was because of having a different instructor, but I felt much stronger. 

#3. Single arm lat pulldown (seated or kneeling)

I do this with a cable machine and that single-hand attachment. It’s only about 6 inches wide max. I do it in a proposal knee; one leg bent at 90 degrees and the other kneeling. This can also be done on regular lat pulldown machines. You can switch out the long bar attachment for the single hand attachment.

Why this exercise: This helps stabilize movements while increasing “pull” strength. It targets the main muscles, latissimus dorsi, which are used for pulling movements like climbs, pencil spins, and inverts.

How it helped: It’s awesome for increasing climbing strength. It helps a lot with invert strength and shoulder mounts. My inverts got better when I did more of these. I also noticed I could scale the pole way easier. 

#4. Dumbbell bench press:

Even though I think flys are superior, I can’t deny that this is a really good compound movement. It’s less targeted that flys, and will balance out your chest more.

Why this exercise: Since both hands have their weights, it ensures that you are working both sides. One isn’t favored over the other. Perfect for pole because you need to work both sides in different ways.

How it helped: It’s so good for increasing your push on the pole. Are you struggling with chair spins? This is the answer. 

Variations: Incline dumbbell press, decline dumbbell press, single arm dumbbell press. :