For the first interview of the series, Liam sits down with Sinéad Moore, one of the newest additions to the WSF team: personal trainer, pole and aerial instructor, and, as it turns out, exactly the right person to make one particular case.

Sinéad was not a sporty kid. An anxious teenager who found yoga on YouTube, then pole dancing at sixteen, she fell hard for CrossFit in her twenties and got strong, and then learned the hard way what happens when you chase big skills without building the base underneath them. Sore shoulders, a nagging injury from forcing a move called the Iron X before she was ready, and a growing sense that there had to be a smarter way. So she went and studied it: an award winning college dissertation on how CrossFit affects self esteem and body image, and later a sports therapy project on the shoulder injuries that plague pole dancers and how strength training reduces them.

The thread running through all of it is simple and powerful: strength gives you a body you can trust. For an aerialist, that trust is physical, the shoulder strength to hold yourself safely in the air instead of collecting an injury "receipt" your body cashes later. For an everyday beginner, it is psychological, the confidence to walk into a gym, or, in the case of one member Sinéad works with, to get back out walking again after losing the confidence to do even that. Same mechanism, two very different bodies.

Along the way they get into the "beginner friendly" pole combos that are anything but, the CrossFit era of grinding a workout instead of building the strength to earn it, and why cross training is the not so secret weapon behind every impressive aerialist you admire.

Sinéad is also launching an online follow along foundational strength program for beginners and aerialists, twice a week, 35 to 45 minutes, over on her Instagram @movewithsinead.

Feeling lost about where to start? That is exactly who Sinéad loves to help. Book a free consultation: https://api.grow.pushpress.com/widget/bookings/intro

Hi, everybody.

Welcome back to the Wicklow Strength and Fitness Podcast.

It's me, it's Liam.

And today is a very special day.

I have a special guest, the first person I've interviewed on here in quite a while.

It is one of the latest additions to the WSF team.

Personal trainer, pole instructor, bird watcher, Sinead Moore.

How are you, Sinead?

I'm good.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm excited to be here.

Thanks for coming on.

It's one of the pioneers of the fitness industry, a pioneer at the moment.

I appreciate the.

I appreciate the hype.

Although I don't know if our audience will agree.

You are the first person I've interviewed on here since January.

Do you know who the last person was?

Was it Connor?

No, that's our mutual acquaintance.

Yeah.

Ms. Deborah Powell.

And I actually wanted to bring up Dave because I think if I look back to how I know you, it's actually through Deborah.

So I was curious what your perspective is, because one of the first things I ask everybody when they come on was what was your first interaction with WSF in general?

So I don't know if you have any that predate meeting me through Deborah, but what was your first WSF kind of interaction?

I came down here with Deb for one of the workouts.

Yeah.

And my first impression was I really liked it.

I was like, this is.

Go crack the vibes.

That was my first impression, that it was just nice vibes, good energy, people were there for the crack.

It didn't feel like this high pressure situation where you come in, you perform.

No.

It was like you're getting a good workout in, but you're having go hard.

And go home, baby.

I was like, I'm definitely not here to do that.

And when was it actually?

Oh, that was probably.

Good question.

Maybe three years ago.

Three or three years ago.

Like, had Deb started working here at that point?

Because she remembers she had.

She had started working here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Cool.

And then she worked here for three years.

And at no point during the time that she worked here were you interested in working here.

But then when she leaves, you decided there was an absence of honeys and you needed to come down.

Yeah, yeah.

I was like, there must be a serious lack of baby girl energy up in that gym.

I better go save the day.

That is exactly, exactly it.

Yeah.

Well, what actually happened?

I was away traveling with Deb and Alberto and we were in.

We were in Australia and I had left working in another gym full time, which was a great place to Work, but obviously I'm teaching dance, pole dance and arrow hoop at the same time.

So it was a lot.

So I had planned, okay, I'm going to start doing a bit of online work, which I set up.

And then I planned to leave that gym and go traveling with them, which is what I did.

And I was kind of like, it would be good to come back and go back because I love coaching and I love, I love doing personal training.

So I was like, the ideal situation would be to find something just a bit more manageable for my schedule.

And you guys put up that you were looking for a part time coach.

And I was like, Alberto actually said it to me.

He was like, you should do this.

He's still, he still is locked into what we're doing here on a daily basis, is he?

When he lived up the road.

Yeah.

Because chronically online.

Yeah, exactly.

You know who you are.

Yeah.

And that was.

So when, when did you actually start working here?

I'm obviously very well prepared for this interview in May.

In May, yeah, yeah.

So you've had pretty much the full summer now so far.

Yeah, yeah.

Does it still have the same energy you felt when you came in the first time as a.

Just to do a workout?

Definitely.

Like I've even more so gotten to seeing it because got to start coaching CrossFit classes and then obviously I'm here a lot while those classes are on and even just the one to one or the semi private personal training.

The vibes are immaculate.

Yeah, vibes are immaculate.

Yeah.

It's gonna go on a poster rewinding a bit.

Obviously you were doing training and strength training for a lot longer than the last three years since you came in here.

So how did you first get into going to the gym and stuff like that?

Like, was it when you were a teenager, were you playing sports?

Like, how did all that come about?

I was not a sporty child, so I dabbled a little bit in different sports, but it just wasn't my thing.

Like I was very much, especially in primary school.

I was, you know, one of the last kids to be picked to go on the team and pee, like feet kind of job.

Yeah.

Well, your coordination must have got better.

My coordination has significantly improved since then.

But also I just wasn't really into it.

So when you're not.

But yeah, no, I definitely was not naturally sporty inclined.

Like my sister was very sporty.

She was the sporty child in the, in the family.

But yeah, so I didn't really, I didn't do anything.

And then around When I was a teenager, I was like, getting kind of bad periods.

And I remember going to the doctor and she was like, well, do you exercise?

And I was like, I walk.

And she was like, maybe try getting a bit more active.

So I actually took that on.

I was like, I actually think that would make me feel better because I was also very anxious teenager, like, really, really anxious.

So I found free yoga videos, Yoga with Adrian on YouTube.

And I started doing those, and I was like, oh, this actually really does make me feel better.

And, like, I mean, I couldn't get my hands past my knees at the age of 16.

Like, I was so immobile.

Well, just tight and stiff, and I wasn't doing anything.

And then I was like, no, this actually really works.

One of my friends was like, do you want to try a pole dance class?

And I was like, sure, yeah.

I was like, 16, went.

And, yeah, I had so much fun.

It was so hard.

Like, I could not lift my feet off the ground for the first three weeks.

I went.

So one of the spins that people learn at first is called a front hook.

Okay.

And it's probably what Deb tried to teach me in her.

Probably is.

And you probably got it.

I couldn't.

I couldn't do that for weeks.

And I always tell people that when they first start doing pole, I'm like, I've been doing this for a long time.

When I started, I could not lift my two feet off the ground.

So that was my first kind of introduction to actual, like, feeling my own body weight.

Starting to feel like, oh, okay.

There's this thing called strength where if I start building that, I can actually get strong and be able to do things like what that amazing person over there is doing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So did that.

That was Delhi.

And then definitely Deborah Powell, baby girl was like, do you want to come try CrossFit with me?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

So we started that in braid together.

In Solace.

Was it in Solace?

Yeah.

And then I became, like, addicted.

I was obsessed.

Absolutely loved it.

Yeah.

I loved CrossFit and I loved just feeling stronger, getting stronger.

I was actually in college at the time, and I did my dissertation on the impact of CrossFit on self esteem body image.

I kind of want to read it.

Yeah, I'll find it.

I'll dig it up.

It was.

It was really interesting and I really enjoyed doing it.

And, like, so that was actually.

I did a qualitative research as my final year, like, project, which was probably a bit different to what other students were doing, but I Ended up getting an award for it.

So it paid off.

Must be pretty decent though.

It was, yeah.

I don't think it was bad.

I'd probably read it now and be like, oh.

But yeah, it was good and it was interesting and it was so enjoyable to see, talking to everyone like I talk to men, women of different ages and to just see how much it improves their confidence in their everyday life, their self esteem, how they felt about their bodies.

Like the gratitude that they had for what their bodies could do as opposed to berating themselves for what they felt like they were lacking or their bodies didn't looked or didn't look like.

Yeah, it was very cool, 100%.

I did an episode recently on why choosing resistance is important because of what it does for the mind and how you carry yourself is just different.

You feel more capable, more human.

It's interesting though, going back to what you say, I had always thought that you did CrossFit first and then got into pole.

I didn't know it was the other way around.

That's interesting.

When you started doing CrossFit you said you got like obsessed with it.

Did your pole dancing kind of go become secondary for a little while and you kind of pulled away from it and then re found it or what way did that kind of transport?

That's pretty much what happened.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I did pull on and off for a little bit.

It wasn't really structured in any way.

Like I kind of dipped in and out and then yeah, I got really into CrossFit.

I wasn't really doing pole and also the pole classes around me had stopped and then I heard of a girl doing them in Bray.

Shout out to Ella, owner of house of hole.

There you go.

Yeah, I started doing classes with her and I started getting back into it.

But I was still very much into CrossFit.

Yeah.

And like training five days a week, trying to do a bit of poll as well.

And then when I go to poll I'd be like, wow, the mobility and flexibility required to do some of the stuff that I want to do is like severely lacking.

And then I was trying to train for that as well and do CrossFit five days a week.

And it was just a little bit out of balance.

A little bit out of balance.

It was too much.

My poor shoulders.

Yeah.

Going from doing a hundred kipping pull ups into trying to Crazy.

Yeah.

And trying to go to do a pole.

Trying to pretzel yourself around.

Yeah.

So you know the terms.

I was trying to think of something.

I was like, what did she say?

Well, pretzel wouldn't really be that much of a technical term for.

There is a move called pretzel, to be fair.

But yeah.

So the two didn't work together that well, like trying to train that much.

Yeah, but I knew that if I want to be strong for pole, I. I do need to strength train.

Just maybe not doing crazy CrossFit classes five days a week.

Yeah.

Finding a balance better.

Finding a balance.

Yeah.

With your own experience and obviously now being a personal trainer and like pole instructor, aerialist, all of that kind of stuff.

Like why do you think that people doing pole aerialists, all the people who are training in that kind of discipline modality, should be doing strength training as well?

Yeah, they 100,000,000,000 should be doing strength training.

Especially if you are feeling like you're plateauing, you're not seeing progress in your pole or aerial journey, or you're finding that you keep getting niggles or you feel like you're getting injured quite frequently.

Usually the key missing factor is strength training for those people because when you're on a pole, especially pole, you tend to do a lot of the work on one side.

You might be doing it for one hour a week, which is great.

Like if that's what you can afford to do and you're doing it, amazing.

But what I would say is if you want to mitigate your chance of injury, if you want to feel stronger, doing pole strength training will just serve you so well.

Like, cross training is the key.

You look at any pole dancer that you see online that you admire, that you're like, wow, they can do incredible stuff.

I would bet money that they are also doing some form of cross training and that probably involves strength training and some kind of flexibility training with it.

You can nearly guarantee it.

Right.

You look at some the moves.

Again, I only know from your Instagram really what some of the stuff is.

And I'm like, okay, you need upper body strength to do it.

Like, and you mentioned injuries and stuff.

Is, is it kind of similar to.

In my head I'm going down the CrossFit realm and I'm like thinking of people trying to do say like kipping pull ups before having the requisite strengths by doing like strict ones and stuff.

Yeah.

Is it similar in the pole world?

Yes.

So this girl actually went back to college.

I didn't even know.

I set that up.

Okay.

And I went and I studied sports therapy during COVID So like I did my degree in psychology, I went and I worked in offices and I was like, this is definitely not for me.

And then I started teaching pole and I was like, okay, this, I love coaching and I'd love to branch into that world more.

So I went back, studied sports therapy while working and that time I did my fanning year project on basically the shoulder injuries that tend to be acquired in pole dance and like how we can mitigate those.

Because there isn't obviously a whole lot of specific research on that, but I was able to pull from different areas and like, if you look at the research on Poland injuries, tends to be shoulder injuries and like a huge amount of shoulder injuries reported by participants doing pole dance, like too many, too many.

And like, generally speaking that is because you're obviously doing a lot of work on one side.

You haven't prepped your body or your tissues for the load that you're putting them under.

Like you're expecting you to hold your whole body weight up and.

But maybe you could walk into a gym and you wouldn't be able to lift a bar that's your own body weight, but you expect yourself to be able to do that in the air on a pole and then wrap yourself into these crazy positions.

It's a big demand to be placing on your body, especially if you haven't prepped it for that in any way.

So no wonder there's a huge amount of injuries.

So that time we went quantitative and I did basically like, I was trying to keep it as simple as possible, but it was based on research that shows that muscle strength, muscle endurance in your shoulders will mitigate the likelihood of injury.

Like obviously you cannot prevent injuries, they happen if you're an active person, but you can mitigate the severity and the frequency likelihood, all of that.

And yeah, so I essentially did like a, it was kind of like an eight week strength training phase for the upper body and it was just cool the way and I, I tested, I just had a simple test.

It was basically how many push ups you can do, right?

Yeah.

And it was cool to see like that increase over time, but also the way people executed improve over time.

And then obviously the conclusion that we come to is that okay, by having that measure and you being able to do more of this better, you are stronger and therefore you should be better equipped to deal with the demands of pole on your body.

And people were looking at, like, muscle ups and things like that.

And they thought that all they had to do to get better at, say, Fran as a workout, Right.

With thrusters and pull ups.

They thought all they had to do to get better at Fran was just keep doing Fran and just keep doing it over and over and over again.

And I'm going to get better at thrusters and pull ups.

And instead of actually going and working on front squats, push presses, strict pull ups, like, pulling strength and everything that would actually influence that workout.

It was just like, keep going.

And I remember, like, extreme examples of like, oh, I'm gonna get a muscle up.

And they're just swinging with, like, 10 bands attached to them and stuff like that.

And you're like, what is that doing?

Like, what are we.

What are we trying to train here?

So you're just flinging yourself over and you're, like, imagining like a freaking Looney Tunes cartoon of someone just flying through the roof or whatever.

Yeah, it kind of feels like.

I don't know.

Would you agree that pole training in 10 years time would hopefully be a bit more sophisticated in terms of understanding the prerequisite required strength to do some of the movements like we have now?

I'd say in most of the CrossFit world, yeah, definitely.

Like, there's so much there.

But, yeah, it's interesting.

Like, you see people.

A big plague at the moment within pole is instructors or dancers, whatever, putting up a combination and saying it's beginner.

Like, look at this beginner friendly.

And it's like, they're doing crazy shit.

I'm like, normal people don't have that range in their shoulders.

Like, that would take time to even get there.

Yet you're saying, look at this beginner combo.

Like, throw yourself into the, like, crazy.

So I think a big problem is beginners seeing that.

Or people have just started off poll seeing that and being like, oh, well, it's beginner.

I'm a beginner.

I can do that.

And it's, like, so important to build a foundation, to have, like, a solid base.

Like, what you said you want to do Fran, but.

And you're just like, do you hate yourself?

You're just making yourself do Fran over and over again.

I think there is an overlap.

Yeah.

Instead of building up that base by.

Yeah.

Working on front squats and different movements like this, like, really building it up so that you're able to tolerate that load and do it.

And instead of, you know, doing it one time and, like, destroying yourself, actually building up to a place where you can confidently do it and do it with ease and do it kind of like with finesse, which is much better than just like forcing yourself into something and then doing it over and over again and you don't even.

Yeah.

I don't think people even see the kind of damage that they're doing.

And, like, your body will show you that receipt later on, I promise.

Yeah, 100%.

But another war wounds.

Yeah.

Yeah, we all do.

Sorry.

I am not perfect.

I've done all of this.

This is.

I'm speaking from a lot back in the day.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And like, I hurt myself trying to do, like, iron X a million times over it.

That's.

Yeah.

So basically it's kind of like a flag, but you're in a straddle.

It's a lot in the.

It's a cool move.

And it was one of those things where I was like, I really want to be able to do this.

Yeah.

And I hurt myself trying to do it when I wasn't ready.

Learned from it.

And I was like, okay, well, what do I need for that?

Well, I need, like, a lot of overhead pressing strength.

I also need range.

I need, like a really strong pull.

So I went and I worked on all of these things and then I was able to do it without destroying myself and being able to repeat it.

Because, like, you want to do a move.

Okay, what do you want to do it for?

Surely you want to be able to repeat that move in a way that, like, looks clean and feels good.

I think the looks clean and feels good things again.

I keep trying this back to crossfix is where my own understanding goes.

It's like when you see somebody, like, grinding through a muscle up or something like that, where it's like, okay, technically, I mean, that is one.

But then you see someone beside them just cranking out like, you know, five beautiful reps. Because they did the strength build up, they did the drills, they've done everything to get it, like, perfect.

So then when they're practicing them, there's no, like, brute force to get them over top of the bar.

So I suppose there's a similar thing going on in pole where it's like people can true sheer grit be able to perform to a certain level.

And then it probably gets to a point where you need to have, like, the finesse, as you so lovely put it, to actually progress any further.

Yeah, exactly.

And like, you will see the difference, as in who's going to last longer and be able to progress in the way that they do and the people who are like getting those reps in, building that foundation, like the thing is, and the same across it, it's not a case of like you can or you can't do a muscle up and that's it.

The people you see doing those movements, those really tough movements that demand so much in terms of strength, mobility, they've put the work in.

Like you should see them from day one, they were not doing muscle ups, they were doing all the like hard repetitions consistently.

And then they built to that.

It wasn't a case of like they could just, they just could naturally do a muscle up.

They built that.

I feel like I've demonstrated through this whole entry so far that I know very little about Pole bar.

Like I've been to like two of your shows.

I think I went with Deb or whatever.

But I think as well a lot of people listening to this probably don't know a whole lot about pole because they follow a gym podcast and obviously there might be a few people clicking on cuz they see you and they know you.

But also because of that, like what would you think?

For me, the person doesn't know much about Poe.

For the person listening to this, like, what are the most common misconceptions about like pole training?

I think one of the most common ones is that you have to have these prerequisites to be able to do it.

Like you have to be strong, you have to be flexible.

No, of course you don't have to be strong, you don't have to be flexible.

Like no one.

Why do you go to the gym?

You go to the gym to become strong.

It's the same with pole.

Like any.

And again, this is, you know, green flags in a studio or an instructor is someone who sticks, starts off their pole class and is really focused in on building those foundations with you, bringing you through those foundational elements, making you sure you have those masters.

And like it is when it comes to poll, it's a bit more of a nuanced conversation because obviously with CrossFit with training, there is a bit more regulation in terms of like you have a certificate to teach.

Poll is a little bit different in that sense.

Like yes, of course as a beginner you want an instructor who's going to bring you through those foundational elements in a way that builds your strength and works with you where you're at.

Right.

But pole is also, it's kind of like a folk art.

So pole.

And the reason why I say that is because the origins of Pole are in clubs.

Origins are strippers and sex workers.

Right.

And yeah, I think there.

There does come a certain level of, like, you assume a certain level of risk when you go to certain classes.

And because poll is different in that sense, regulating it and making people, making sure everyone has a certificate in order to teach.

Da, da, da.

It's a bit more complicated than that because of where pol comes from and what it is.

You should go learn pole also from strippers.

And not necessarily everyone's gonna have this, like, fancy degree where they do.

You know what I mean?

So that's why, like, when it comes to you and yourself, assume a bit of responsibility in your journey, go and, like, if you can, yes, learn those beginner elements, but also go and learn from people that this originated from too.

Like, that's so important and you'll get so much out of it as well.

So it is a little bit different in that sense, but also taking responsibility for yourself and being like, okay, well, what do I need if I want to go and do these things?

Well, yeah, we need to get a little bit stronger cross training, strong strength training.

Let's go.

So it's like in your.

In your.

The way we're laying this out, I suppose it's like, strength training is a really good, like, compliment, but it's not necessary that you do it first.

It's like you can start pole, you can do all the beginner stuff, and then strength training will only help you advance faster 100%.

You do not need to, like, you do not need anything to come and start pole.

Any good instructor, any good studio will welcome you with open arms and help you get to where you want to be or help you just come in and, like, enjoy the class, if that's what you're there for.

You're just there for an hour to have that time to yourself.

That is okay as well.

What I'm saying is, if you want to make progress, if you want to mitigate injury likelihood, cross training is where it's at.

Yeah.

You mentioned, obviously, the origins of pole coming through.

Like strippers, sex workers, all that kind of stuff.

Is there.

Would you still deal with, like, much of a stigma related to that side of things?

Like, would that ever really pop up anymore?

Or is that kind of twice 20 years ago?

There's still so much stigma.

Yeah.

Especially for people who are working in clubs.

And then in terms of people who come to try it.

Yeah.

Like, I do know people who, like, say, still wouldn't tell their family that this is something that they do Even as a hobby.

Yeah.

So there still is a lot of that.

And I think people.

Yeah, people still feel a lot of that.

But what's been really good, because when polls started off, you saw a lot of studios really trying to distance pole from that and being like, oh, but it comes from, you know, Chinese pole, Indian pole.

And it's like, then why are we doing.

Yeah, yeah.

Then why are we doing moves called, like, Jamila and Gemini?

Where do they come from?

Who's that name?

Sound like stripper names to me.

And we're using a steel pole.

Do you know what I mean?

And we're dancing around in heels, like, yeah, okay.

Do you know what?

So you.

Yeah, when Pol started off, it was very much trying to distance because obviously, huge stigma around that.

There still is.

There's still a huge amount more recently though, there's been, like, very much a coming back to that.

And it, like, you see it more of, like, studios and people embracing those roots and being like, no, this is where it comes from.

And, like, the two are mutually exclusive.

Like, you can be strong and sensual.

Like, you can do both.

Why not?

Where.

But I know in Ireland we're a bit like, that's very scary.

Good Catholic country that we are.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sweep all that under the.

Very spooky for some people.

No, the light should be turned off.

Happens in the bed.

Only in the bed.

Yeah.

Like, you don't really think about any of that stuff.

Yeah, yeah.

But I think it's such a cool way to start to get strong and to tap into your body because, yeah, like, so many people have repressed that a lot or feel a lot of shame around it.

And I think it's so cool to be able to go to a space where that is embraced for everyone.

It doesn't matter who you are, what you look like, what you identify as, your sexuality doesn't matter.

You can come in and you can just be yourself in that space and also embrace those elements that, like, might be hard for you to express or embrace in other parts of your life.

Just as a follow up to that, because it did pop into my head of thinking of, like, at an Irish wedding, the band starts playing.

Nobody's up dancing because nobody's drunk enough yet.

And it takes one or two, like, brave souls to go up and kind of get it going.

But still everybody's just doing the little, like, one step, two step, kind of not really moving too much kind of vibe until, like, you know, midnight comes around and people are a bit more twisted and they obviously Lose the kind of inhibitions or whatever.

Is pole maybe, like, in societies that are a little bit less repressed from our own kind of, like, sexuality and stuff in other countries.

Is pole bigger or easier to sell because of that?

That's a good question.

Yeah.

So there's definitely a bit of a different culture around it here.

Is it easier to sell?

Well, honestly, I think in Ireland, Poll's doing really well.

Like, there's its counterculture to our repressed, potentially.

Yeah.

And people are like, I really want to do that.

But also, like, for someone I. I very much relate to the people who are like, sport wasn't for me, isn't for me.

I don't enjoy it.

I just.

It's not.

Like, again, I was not a sporty child.

Like, pole is the first.

Well, and CrossFit pole first, though.

That was the first thing that made me kind of be like, oh, I really like this.

I want to feel strong and be strong for this.

So, yeah, I think it does attract people who maybe don't feel like they fit in in other parts of fitness.

Like, it's just not for them.

So, yeah, I think there's a big pull in terms of that crowd, which is great because you're seeing people become involved in something that maybe they wouldn't have done otherwise.

Yeah, it's interesting.

Like, I guess the culture is different around it in different places, but, yeah, there's definitely a big demand for it in Ireland, which is so cool.

Like, you've seen this kind of revolution.

Yeah, I was about to say it was like a sense of rebellion or whatever.

Yes, we were, you know, 60 years ago.

You can't imagine, like, pole classes, you know, being as popular as they are now.

Obviously, with.

With the.

Obviously everything that's happened since then, you.

Know, it's so popular.

And, like, when I started, there weren't many studios.

Now there's.

There's so much more popping up and, like, our attitudes around it are changing.

Like, I didn't receive too much pushback, but I. I'd be pretty good at kind of ignoring that.

Kind of goes over my head anyway.

But I did get a bit of, like, a few comments of now, careful, you don't want to get too muscly.

Like, oh, yeah, yeah.

That kind of.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Those ones are Asia.

Well, to be fair, I still hear that in, like, intro sessions that I'll do in here.

It's just like, you know, when we talk about strength, you know, and people like, yeah, I want to get strong.

It's like I don't want to get too big.

And I'm like, listen, I've been trying to look like a prime Arnold Schwarzenegger since I was 18.

It's not going well.

It's so hard.

Exactly.

Yeah.

It's really difficult.

So it's like, you know.

But that was.

That misconception kind of just holds true, I suppose.

And it's just trying to balance that.

Yeah.

People have definitely.

It's hard to let go of stuff like that, especially if you're raised being told this is what is, like, beautiful and what looks great.

But I think standards.

Yeah.

And I think a lot of people are kind of relearning what looks good or what they think looks good.

Like, year by year, I feel like it changes.

I feel like there was a period where, like, strong is beautiful was being pushed and people were being more, like, inclined to get into the gym.

I do feel like that's kind of retreated a little bit in the last couple years.

Again, you're probably more clued into that than I am, but I feel like it's kind of gone back to ultra thin being the thing that was in.

Definitely being pushed by the Internet again, 100%.

Although what I would say is, like, a lot of the people who come in, and especially, like, the women I interact with, a lot of them, I'm still.

I'm still hearing from them that they love looking strong and want to look strong.

So I think it's, like, definitely a thing that's being pushed on the Internet a lot now.

Although in real life, a lot of the people I interact with, it's more.

So probably would be women aged, I'm gonna say, 35 plus.

That might be a bit more hung up on that.

On the thing.

Which is.

Yeah.

Which is.

That's just the people.

I mean.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I want to actually rewind a little bit because you mentioned about how pole was the first thing you found, and then it was CrossFit, where you kind of unlocked that kind of, like, sportiness within yourself and kind of found something that you enjoyed.

And you've obviously done the teen classes here.

Like, you've coached them and stuff with.

With Katie.

One of the things I love about that, and it's not necessarily something I would have thought of when we were starting them, is that it's a really nice thing for kids that age who don't have a lot of sports to get involved with now.

There's plenty of them who do, like, obviously, who play Other sports and they use this as a way to like get an upper edge on like being a bit faster, being a bit stronger.

But there's also plenty in there who didn't have anything.

Is it kind of the same in the, in the pole world?

Like, would you have teen options in pole?

Like, would you have like younger age groups getting involved now?

Yeah, so there are pole classes for teens.

We don't currently provide them.

We do aerial hoop classes for teens and kids though.

And yeah, that's, it's, it's great.

So there's such a mix of kids within those classes.

Like what you said, similar to here.

Like there's kids who are doing gymnastics, they want to try another form or get a little bit stronger as well.

Because especially in the classes I coach anyway, I really do try to have an emphasis on.

We are also building strength here.

So I'll try and work that into the warm up through different exercises.

And of course they're building strength when they're in the hoop too, but I'll do conditioning with them in the hoop as well.

So.

Yeah, and then there'd be a lot of kids who sport just isn't for them.

They're just not.

They just don't enjoy it.

They don't want to do it for whatever reason.

Or there's people, and I noticed this in pole classes as well, who like what you said about me wouldn't be that coordinated or like really struggle with coordination in general or struggled with coordination as a kid and tried sports once and got like hit in the face with a ball and they were like, I'm never doing that again.

Yeah, it becomes one of those core.

Mainstream, not speaking from personal experience.

You know the movie Inside out.

Like the core memory comes in, it goes through.

It's just the ball hitting the face like, oh, he's never gonna be a sports star.

Yeah.

Literally.

Yeah.

So there's people coming in doing that and like what's amazing is a lot of people just accept and feel this truth in themselves.

I am uncoordinated, I am not strong.

And they just, that is just something they believe.

And I believe that as well about myself.

But then when I came to do poll and try other things, I really started to challenge that.

I was like, I don't have to actually lean into that.

Like I can lean into a different truth for myself and put the work in there.

And like, if you put the work in, if you're consistent, of course you're going to get stronger.

Like you will.

Human body is amazing.

It's very adaptable.

And even in kids with dyspraxia, there is research to show that handstand training.

Really interesting.

Can actually improve their coordination.

Yeah, really interesting, interesting.

I must actually talk to Katie about that.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, of course, though, you know, and I mean, sport in general would.

But there's like specific research for that which I thought was quite cool.

That's really cool because I know Katie has the teens doing a lot of handstands, but I think it's just obviously something to bring into it.

But doing something where you're enjoying it and you're not having to think so much about what you're doing, I think is a big draw for people, like getting to exercise to music.

They're really focusing on, you know, doing the move or the spin or whatever, so they're not really thinking about the fact that, like, they're actually really working out and using a lot of different parts of their bodies.

You mentioned, like, the uncoordinated label that we would give to ourselves or I'm not sporty.

And these, like, these labels, these are internal monologues that we kind of tell ourselves that kind of dictate our future.

And I always say that I think resistance training and doing strength training is one of the biggest things you can do to like, flip those labels.

Because if you've been labeled as weak or unconfident or things like that, if you start strength training, that obviously changes your perception of who you are.

It changes how you carry yourself.

What would you say is the biggest thing you notice?

Because for me, with resistance training, it is confidence.

I can see if someone comes here and three months later they've been doing the work, they're just walking around different, they're a different person, they feel more capable.

And I can literally see it in how they carry themselves.

Is there a similar thing you'd notice, like, if I sent you somebody who was walking in and they feel like again, they're giving themselves those labels of uncoordinated, maybe it's not sexy as well.

Like, whatever.

Those kind of, like labels you would kind of find common with somebody starting a poll journey, a beginner's class.

Like, what's the big thing you notice about them in three months time?

Like, what's changing in their self perception?

Yeah, very similar to what you said.

And it's so cool to watch people's journey in that sense.

So, like walking in at first light, that head down, can't look up.

It's so hard.

Like, we forget how hard it is for people to walk into even just a space like this.

But it's hard for everyone when they first walk in.

And yeah, with Paul is so cool.

So I'll see people come in and like Whitpole, you need your skin to grip.

You just do.

So you'll see people come in being like as covered as possible.

Yeah, yeah, as much as possible.

A lot of the time they're like covering up and then fast forward 12 weeks, they don't, generally speaking, they don't care anymore.

Yeah, yeah.

Because when you walk in at first, like there's mirrors in studios as well.

So it can be quite hard.

Like it can be quite like.

Yeah.

And a lot of stuff can come up but.

But you see just that drop after a few weeks.

They're around people who are in a very similar position, who feel a similar way.

And like, I think people start to learn it doesn't matter what body you're in, people are still self conscious.

People still have hang ups about the way they look.

And over time, like the more you keep showing up for yourself, that kind of starts to shed and you see it in people.

Fast forward three months, someone's walking in and like stripping off and they're like, okay, let's go.

It's great.

Yeah, like, yeah, exactly.

And you mentioned there like, obviously the fear of somebody walking into a place like this, a pol studio.

Like the fear of what?

It's like the first time, obviously for me and you, that's many years removed but you do still try to recall it for sure.

So you can put yourself in the shoes.

I think one of the most recent memories I have of talking to somebody about it was you've, you've worked with Jill, right?

Yes.

So obviously Jill is Ian's mom.

Ian and Lauren have been members here for like six years.

Good friends of mine.

Like talking to them about Jill's journey and like how nervous she was coming in for the first time and like, you know, the days after and like almost reliving that member journey through the eyes of that person who is coming in and is absolutely terrified as well.

Like, what would you say to someone who is like watching, Maybe this is going to be a video that's clipped out on social media.

They're listening to a podcast.

They're thinking about getting involved in either strength training, crossfit pole.

Like, what would you say to somebody who's thinking of getting started?

Yeah, just do it.

Like we're all gonna die.

You may as well just do it.

Go for it.

Everyone when they first walk into somewhere like here, they feel that fear.

Like, it is.

It's a really hard thing to do, but.

But we can do hard things.

And the way you're gonna feel after will be so worth it.

It will just be worth it.

And I know it's so scary, but, like, I promise you, no one is thinking about you or looking at you because they're too busy thinking about themselves.

Honest to God.

They're thinking about themselves and what they're doing.

They're actually not looking at you.

And you deserve to be there as much as anyone else.

You deserve to take up space.

It doesn't matter where you are in your fitness journey.

You are equally as inherently valuable and deserving of being in that space and being there.

And it's like you're doing a service to yourself, but also the people around you.

Like, the version of you, the people you love are going to get is.

Yeah.

So, so worth it.

You deserve it.

I love that.

I'm going to put you on the spot.

You've been working here for three or four months now.

What's your biggest highlight of the four months so far?

I know that's going to take a minute to think of.

Give me a little, because there's gonna be a few.

I've been working with, like, such lovely people.

Well, you mentioned Jill.

Like, of course Jill's a highlight.

Like, what a honey.

She's just.

Yeah, she's great.

Like, she walked in, she asked Ian to get me to stop emailing her so much.

But,.

Yeah, Jill's definitely been a highlight.

Jill's like, a really effervescent, like, bubbly person.

Anyway.

So, so lovely to work with.

Obviously, you can see when she first walked in, she was a bit nervous and a little bit apprehensive, but she just took it on.

She just went for it.

She was like.

She was so consistent.

She was coming in, and now she's joining the Strength for life classes.

So it's like watching someone graduate into.

Yeah, so that's definitely been a highlight.

Yeah.

I'm, like, so proud of you.

And then also.

We're okay to use names here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

I'm gonna.

I'm gonna name another client.

Yeah, yeah.

Another client, Veronica.

Someone walking in who literally was walking in feeling unbalanced.

Like, she'd be someone who'd be out going for walks.

Said she just didn't.

She felt like she was.

She couldn't balance on her feet well, so she'd lost her confidence even going out for walks.

She came in here, and you could literally.

I Could, I could feel it off her.

I was like, okay, this has been really hard for her to walk through these doors.

And she said it to me.

She's like, I'm looking at all these fit people.

I feel out of place.

And again, I was like, you are not out of place.

This is, this is for you and this is going to be great for you.

She kept coming, she stayed consistent and couple of weeks ago she came in and she was like, Sinead, the difference is like unbelievable.

Like I'm back going out for walks.

I feel so much stronger.

It's made a huge difference to my confidence.

And again, it's coming back to that confidence, that self esteem.

Like coming into the gym, you're coming in for half an hour, 45 an hour, whatever it is, a few times a week.

But the bleed out effect that has on the rest of your life, on the rest of the hours during your day is massive.

Like, yeah, it's just so.

Seeing that happen in real time.

Yeah, that's.

Those are the two highlights.

And I suppose like for every Veronica who for one day plucks up the courage to reach out to a gym to get started because they know somebody that it worked for, they just had a day where they were done with it or just finally plugged up the courage, there's probably so many who just accept, oh, no, that's not for me, I can't do that.

And I think that's the part that I always try to ring true.

Like, it's like with our social media, with these podcasts, with everything we do in terms of messaging, it's always do it with a smile, happiness, smiling, average everyday people doing extraordinary things.

Yes.

But it takes a while to build to that.

But no matter what, there's that fear factor that we have to help overcome.

So I'm just going to say thanks for being you because you're a very easy person to introduce people to.

You're always very smiling, very bubbly.

So I think the feedback has always been great on that front.

If there's one person in the world that you could work with in terms of like, overall, like one person out there who's absolutely terrified listening, what would you say to them in terms of.

Or, sorry, who would it be in terms of?

Like, is it young kids?

Is it like people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s?

Like, who's your ideal client avatar, for want of a better term?

Okay, yeah, I love the clients who come in and like, similar to the clients that we've been talking about who are just Like I don't know where to start.

Can you please help me?

Yeah.

I really love working with those people because they've taken and they've taken the really brave and hard step to be like, I'm gonna do this for myself.

And maybe they haven't done something for themselves in a long time but they're coming in wanting to do this with, with an open mind and they've got the will there and all they need is like a little bit of guidance.

But they're gonna show up because they've made that decision.

So yeah, I mean, I guess the person who I'd really want to work with is the person who just feels a little bit lost and doesn't know where to start, doesn't even know where to begin and is maybe like really apprehensive about starting any type of fitness journey in general.

You are welcome.

I embrace you with open arms.

I will help you make that first step 100%.

Sinead, thank you very much for coming on and having a chat.

Thank you, Liam.

Did you enjoy it?

I enjoyed it very much.

What I have coming up, I am going to be launching a strength training program for people who beat me to it.

Yeah, you beat me to it.

Go for it.

Tell us all about what's coming up in your life in the world of Sinead.

Thank you, Liam.

For people who just don't know where to start.

For anyone beginning out aerialist, I'm going to be working from like foundation level up.

It's follow along classes.

You do them online.

I'm going to be releasing all the information on it soon but it's going to be, it's going to be basically an intro foundational strength elements just to.

Help you build beginners who are interested,.

Designed for beginners who are interested or aerialists who don't have a lot of experience, experience in strength training and want to know how to start.

It's all following along classes twice a week, 35 to 45 minutes and I build that base up and give yeah, lots of info on how to train.

Aerialists looking to take their training to the next level as you've experienced or somebody who's just maybe too scared to come into a gym in the environment and want to do something at home first.

And that's going to be delivered online, correct?

It will be follow along classes and over the next couple of months I'll be releasing all the information on that on my Instagram which is Move with Sinead.

That's what I was looking for.

Yeah, gotcha.

Alright, Sinead thank you very much.

Is there anything else that you want to shout out to the people before we wrap up?

Thank you for all being so lovely here and welcoming me with open arms.

I've like really, really enjoyed it.

I love the vibes here, the people so sound and yeah, great crack.

Thank you so much for having me and for welcoming me to the team.

And we hope you're going to be here for a long time.

I suppose my final wrap up question to you is simply that we're obviously having our next staff day on the 26th.

We usually do that with like a little workshop in the morning where we're working on some stuff for the gym and then we'll go do an activity at some point.

I want to do pole as an activity so that I can, well, number one, laugh at myself but also laugh at the rest of the team.

Are you down to host us and teach us 110%?

That would be such crack.

Let's go.

And we need to set up the cameras and make sure we have evidence and CCTV of definitely everybody doing that.

Maybe Alex can come along and get some.

Oh yeah, yeah.

Yes, definitely.

That's gonna be prime social media content.

Alright, thanks pal.

We'll leave it there.

And thank you all for listening in today.

I hope you enjoyed today's interview.

We're gonna have all, all of the coaching team on between now and the end of the year, interspersed with some more solo episodes with me.

But for now, thanks to Sinead and thanks to you guys for listening.

I'll see you all on here next week.

Thank you so much.

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