It all began in 2009 when Karen Boshoff saw a flyer for one of the first pole fitness studios in Cape Town.  This young mother of a two-year old toddler had endured a move to Cape Town, having a baby girl and then working her way through post-natal depression.  She was in a rut.  She signed up for the pole fitness classes, and after a few lessons realised how much her confidence and self-esteem had grown, and how much her body had begun to change.

In 2012 Karen launched her own studio, LightenUp Pole Fitness, and now strives to share her passion for pole fitness and introduce others to its mental and physical benefits and challenges.  The pole is not only a very versatile piece of fitness equipment, but empowers a person through building self confidence and self esteem.  It works the whole body, improving muscle tone, coordination, flexibility and posture as well as upper body and core strength. Karen loves how pole fitness combines dance, gymnastics, agility and grace.

What we offer our clientele
LightenUp Pole Fitness offers pole fitness lessons to mainly female students.  Our clients vary from scholars in their late teens, to ladies with more life experience in their fifties. Students don’t need any specific background or level of strength to join our classes. We work around each individual’s ability and offer classes for pre-beginners all the way to advanced students.

We aim to bring variety to into our classes and keep them interesting. Each class consists of a warm up, conditioning exercises on or off the pole, and building our student’s repertoire through learning new pole moves such as spins and tricks - sometimes in combination to build routines and enhance flexibility.

Why are we special
We are special because we make you feel special.  During a lesson each student receives a lot of individual attention.  LightenUp Pole Fitness encourages women of all shapes and sizes to join us for fabulous fun, an enjoyable experience and an awesome workout. This unique form of dance is fun and can be used to really express oneself.

About the studio and instructors
Now a highly qualified instructor Karen has grown LightenUp Pole Fitness from her being the solo instructor, giving 4 classes a week, to employing three instructors and offering 12 classes a week.

These classes are each tailored to accommodate the needs of beginners through to advanced students. Each instructor has her own unique abilities, which provides our students with a varied, versatile and all-round experience, allowing each person to grow and develop their own style.

Social Media:
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/lightenuppolefitness