Welcome to some unfiltered thoughts from me, Momentum studio owner Anna 🙂

The question that’s been on my mind this week has been:

Is 30 too old to start pole or aerial?

Here’s why:

Every few months, I like to have a little Google about pole and aerial classes to find out what people Google about pole and aerial classes lol.
Honestly that’s the truth.

It’s for studio marketing bits and resources as I love having little blog posts, guides and pages ready on our website for the most popular questions and worries. After all, starting something like this is SOOOO scary.

I certainly was bricking it outside the studio of Pole Crazy in Bournemouth, waiting on a sofa in the reception area on a hot summer night in July 2010 – wondering if anyone is going to look at me funny if I just get up and leg it before class starts.

So Google told me that some of the related searches for “beginner pole class” or “beginner aerial class” or ” how to start pole/aerial” is this one right here:

“Is 30 too old to start pole/aerial?”

So I jotted it down on my to do list of topics for social and blog posts, guides, etc without giving it too much attention.

It was only later that day when I was doing my own training that I started thinking about it.
As a 39 year old. Training!!!
I know the audacity 🙂

And it made me a bit sad actually.

And it was less the whole asking about what age it is ok to start something new in terms of training, fitness and hobby, but the fact that 30 was used.

Ok I lie – both actually. 

30 is so damn young!!!

And you are allowed to try new things at any age – it’s not illegal to try a new sport at any age as long as you are medically ok to do so.

I am 39. And yes I did start pole at 24, but I did not start straps until I was well into my 30s.

The majority of people training at Momentum are in their 30s.

The majority of instructors here at Momentum are mid-late thirties and in their 40s.

And you know what I observe about all of them?

That they are the strongest, hottest, most confident, and overall amazing selves that I have ever seen them.

Personally I feel better now at nearly 40 than I have when I was 26.
Yes physically of course I had more energy when I was my 22 year old whippersnapper self, no doubt about that.

But I don’t feel old.
The “old” I thought people at 40 feel and are. But we don’t actually feel old, because we aren’t. 
Or that my best days are past me.

Much the opposite actually. Still plenty of time for the best days yet.

Perhaps because I do aerial.
Perhaps because I have found you feel more ok with yourself generally as you get older.
Perhaps because I have stopped thinking life ends at 30 and it’s only downhill and I’m rotting every second that I live and breathe past the moment of my 30th birthday.
Perhaps because I have found that a lot of areas of life that were a struggle in my 20s feel easier now.

Don’t get me wrong though – I was scared of turning 30 when I was in my 20s. But now in my 30s, I don’t fear turning 40 – I think it’s cool that I am allowed to be 40 soon. That I am at an age where I understand what it means to take better care of myself. Appreciate the little things more, and be a bit more present in life, and have something like pole/aerial training switch from achievement focus in my 20s and early 30s – to enjoyment and longevity focus.

Yes 32 year old me would cringe at the paragraph above.

And also I am no saint. Making it out that I am just treating pole/aerial training like diligent physio exercises to live to 130, no I definitely still want big tricks and flashy sequences, and often overdo it.
Just like I did in my 20s 😉

I still have goal moves and aspirations. But whether or not I achieve them does no longer dictate my self-worth and I no longer feel like a piece of shit for the rest of the day if I had a bit of a shitty session.

We put so many limitations on ourselves.
Some come from narratives we have internalised, others come from the outside, our environment, culture, the various forms of media.

But age, and chronological age especially, is just a number. It’s the sum of years you have been lucky enough to have been alive on this earth for.

It does not dictate how you feel in your body, or what is is capable of.
Your biological age would be a better measure of this. But we rarely know our biological age – only the sum of years since the day we were born aka our chronological age.

You can start a new sport any time you like. And most certainly after your 30th birthday.

Starting in your 30s and beyond is actually the most ideal time. Because no younger age exists unless you can invent time travel 🙂 so you know what they say: the best time to start was yesterday – the second best time is now.

And there are benefits to starting in your 30s and beyond:

You may find that in your 30s, there are some areas of life that are better set up to make space for a new hobby and really sticking with it.

You may find that you enjoy and savour it a little more.

You may find that you enjoy moving your body a bit more.

You may find that is rewires some thoughts you had about age, ageing and what bodies in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s can do.

Research demonstrates that the more positive our attitude towards age and ageing, the better we age, and healthier and active we remain. So by surrounding yourself with people who are doing young people things, no matter what their age, you age healthier too! I find that fucking awesome!

You got this!