The body can hurt when first starting Pole. You may experience muscle soreness, bumps and/or bruises from contacting the pole. With practice you will gain strength and more control over your movement, which decreases contacting the pole in a way that causes bruises or bumps. Your skin may also take some time to break in and get used to the pole especially in more sensitive areas like the inner thighs. Leg grip is required for pole and as your inner thigh strength develops and muscle memory sharpens with repetition over time, the pain that you may experience at the beginning lessens or goes away. Note that since you’ll always be progressing, there is potential for skin sensitivity or bruising to occur when learning new moves.