Starting all Over!

On March 21 at 3:57pm my baby girl, Jade, was born. It was Hell! 46 hours of hard labor, 24 hours of it with no epidural! (I was trying to go drug-free LOL) After about the first week and a half after, I finally started to feel slightly back to normal. Now Jade is 6 weeks old and I feel great. Aside from acclimating to my new crazy sleep patterns and day schedule of breastfeeding, diapers etc..I am ready to get the old Lynn back.

Visiting the studio and seeing the girls always makes my day. I am very thankful for Sara Beth, Lexi, Rachel and Anne for coming on board and taking the VIP Pole Program to a new level. Finding out I was pregnant completely shocked me. I had major anxiety about how to prepare the studio for my absence but all the new VIP team of ladies only made it better! We have grown and are even expanding into St. Augustine's Fit 4 Her gym later this summer!!

So now what? I look in the mirror and feel all the muscle I have lost. I realize I have to completely start over!

Step 1: Setting Goals! I always needed a goal to keep me focused. I cannot stand not being in good physical shape with healthy eating habits, all of which completely changed throughout pregnancy. Exercise and diet go hand in hand. I am a certified personal trainer and trained numerous clients prior to opening VIP. Hard work truly pays off you just have to commit!

Goal: June 12=International Pole Convention West Palm Beach, VIP Mavens Group Performance! OMG! I'll be on a stage and videotaped!

Step2: Action Plan! To obtain my goal, I will need to stay motivated. I know that loud, good music motivates me, as well as looking at pictures of women who inspire me. I cut out pics of fitness models and posted them in my bathroom, tore out sample weight lifting workouts from magazines and pinned them up in my garage gym. In between baby feedings I planned to workout with weights 4 days a week. Building muscle burns fat and continues to burn fat even after your workout unlike cardio alone. (which is why I love pole, its both!) My diet is based on my blood type "O". I learned that wheat, grains and sugar are my nemesis, they put weight on me. I learned this from my husband, The Pole Doc, Dr. Alvin Green, who is a holistic nutrition nut. A sample daily plan I follow is:

Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs, Spinach, & Feta Omlette

Snacks: Greek yogurt, fruit, blended smoothie, protein or lara bars

Lunch: Sweet Potato, Tilapia and side salad. Plus a few dark chocolate chips for sanity

Dinner: Steak, green beans , salad, and strawberries w/whip cream

Most days 'Im pretty good. On the weekends I slack a bit, but as long as I workout hard I know I'm getting closer to my goal.

Step 3: Keep following step 1 & 2 until the goal is reached! I took my before picture and measurements to track my fat loss. The hardest thing about losing fat is patience. Some days I eat more of the things I shouldn't. The important thing is to know how to get back on track. I usually plan for the week by preparing meals Sunday, it helps keep me successful.

I had to laugh at myself, I put heels on and went to dinner for the first time in a long, long time. I almost fell! LOL! My lack of core muscles and ankle strength struck me as I tried to walk! I also attempted to climb the pole at week 4... FAIL! Nope, not happening! I went home and continued training my core with beginner ab moves and heavy weight lifiting, by week 6 I can pull up onto the pole! YAY! To all you girls who think pole is for fit people, think again. You can do it! It's the best workout that will keep you sexy and in shape! Stay tuned for more!

VIP Pole Mom Beginning...still waiting!

Hello! My name is Lynn, the VIP Pole Mom!(Well, not really I am still waiting; due yesterday March 15! ) I am co-owner of VIP Women's Dance and currently awaiting the arrival of my baby Jade Ashley. I wanted to start a blog to stay connected to my real first child-the studio (born September 2009) and the women who attend or would like to attend our magical place.

Over the past year and half my beautiful partner (Leigh Ann Zagray) and I have worked our booties off to take our American female dream of owning a small fun business and make it a successful reality. I started the studio as an experienced personal trainer and head pole fitness instructor from Orlando. I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle to be in love and at the beach. All my friends thought I was nuts for moving to Jacksonville...there's nothing there! Well, my future husband was, the beach was and I was determined to start a new life and create it the way I wanted. It was the best decision I ever made in my life!

I moved to Jacksonville Beach in late 2008. I was finishing my degree at UCF in Exercise Science and working at Ten Salon in Ponte Vedra Beach. I lived in a quaint apartment 2 blocks from the ocean but something was missing. I missed my passion. I missed teaching sexy fitness...bad. I longed to be in my sexy outfits, listening to my favorite music loudly and creating routines, flipping upside down and challenging myself to new heights. I missed pole.

I began researching for local studios in the area. None. Except an ad from Inshape Ladies Fitness in Mandarin, they wanted to incorporate pole fitness but did not have poles...ok? Luckily, I also was qualified to teach chair classes, so I accepted with the goal to build up the interest for pole. At the same time I stumbled upon the lovely Jennifer Devore of Peek on Google. She was a local pinup boudoir photographer and began thinking about starting my own business promoting women only pole parties with my portable platinum stages pole. We took some shots together and became great friends soon I made it legal and VIP Women's Dance Parties was born in early 2009!

It wasn't long before I scouted places closer to home to potentially teach a class. I found an opportunity next door to the Jax Beach Bailey's Gym who hired me to begin classes. Since I was new to the Jacksonville area I wasn't sure what the market would be like so I began teaching sexy belly dance. I would not say I am anywhere near the best belly dancer in the world(or even close) but I did know how to teach a fitness belly dance class that was fun, a workout and sexy!
I packed out classes at both locations! I was back! Lynn was back and better than ever! I even decided to do a local fitness competition to get completely focused and super in-shape for my new business.

I met Leigh Ann Zagray at Panera. She approached me out of the blue to ask if I taught belly dance? She had noticed me Googling belly dance costumes for class and I must have peaked her curiosity...she was super sweet and I gave her my number for my class. She became my best student, even performing with me at a opening of a new restaurant with not even 2 months of classes!
She was a doll, incredibly eager to learn and be apart of something different and fun. We immediately clicked. We worked well together and I loved her input. I watched Leigh Ann transform from an average woman to the sexy diva you see teaching today. Her transformation was amazing...30 pounds later, a new hairdo, lashes, booty shorts, 6 inch heels and rocking some pole, belly and chair dance skills! In less than one year! She is also a Pole Mom to a 10 year old boy! Go girl!

About the same time I met Leigh Ann, I met Becca. The new neighborhood invited us out for a house dinner party (Tuesday night dinner group) where an extroverted happy go lucky girl introduced herself as Becca. She was energetic and ultra funny. A hottie with an athletic build. She cracked me up. Becca noticed my fishnets under my clothes and asked what I did. I had just finished teaching my chair class and explained to her that I was a dance fitness instructor-pole certified. She was ignited with curiosity...really? We immediately made plans to connect and bring my pole to her house to show her some stuff. I was extremely excited to have met someone completely eager to learn! That night of the pole demo, she bought the exact same pole and the Dry Hands grip(for slipperly hands). I found my first pole addict!

In the months that followed, I continued to teach and practice pole at Becca's house. Remembering the beginning days is heartfelt as I was new to the area and already met such awesome ladies. It was then that the studio was being born. The three of us Leigh Ann, Becca and I would open VIP Women's Dance with only 1 pole and a dream to succeed no matter what...and the rest is history! Join me as I continue to relive the past, present and future of pole dancing...from a multitude of perspectives, next chapter...being a pole mom.xo