Pole Dancing Videos Showing Hardcore Workouts

We normally associate pole dancing with something explicitly sexual. You can thank the male hive mind and a long history of female objectification for that. But as it turns out, pole dancing isn't necessarily as overtly sexual as the patriarchy would have you believe. Indeed, MOST things women do (like, for instance, existing, walking down the street minding their own business, doing laundry, wearing yoga pants, etc.) aren't calculated or intended to be sexual AT ALL. Imagine! A world in which women do things other than to be sexually appealing to men! WHAT MADNESS!

Pole dancing is an art that actually requires extreme strength, concentration and skill. Which really, are all extremely empowering, the opposite of what we've been led to believe about the practice. The pole dancing professionals who'll leave you in awe of their masterful, gymnastic use of the pole, move like elegant, powerful ballerinas. There's nothing smutty or degrading about it. Quite the opposite: These pole dancers will make you feel like you've just watched the hardest, most impressive workout in the world. I mean, can you hold yourself up using just your hands and spin around a pole while contorting your body into an upside-down pigeon pose? I didn't think so. Here are 8 pole dancers that will leave you with your jaw gaping in ways you never expected:

1. This woman who is utterly majestic:

2. This woman who might be a more impressive dancer than Ciara:

3. This woman who brings a beautiful vulnerability to pole dancing:

4. This woman who looks like a floating butterfly:

5. This champion who pulls the wildest shapes:

6. This woman who makes your yoga practice look totally lame by comparison:

7. This woman who is redefining the meaning of "core strength":

8. This woman who has no limits to strength and flexibility:

9. This mom with a PhD who could seriously kick your ass