How to change a negative attitude towards physical activity...

A link to this article on how a lifelong negative attitude towards physical activity can result from the personal characteristics of a coach or instructor appeared in my feed reader this morning. It is based on the results of a study that took place at the University of Alberta. It doesn't surprise me at all, and I think that this is not at all limited to physical activity - who hasn't had an experience with the horrible/unfair/nutcase who you had for maths/art/language teacher who turned you off that particular subject forever?

So whilst I felt that the article confirmed what I'd already assumed, it did get me thinking about a few things.

I am so *LUCKY* to be enjoying being active and working as a group fitness instructor!

I will be the first to admit that I am not athletically gifted at all. In fact, I am quite the opposite. As a kid, I walked on my toes because I had super tight Achilles tendons (still do), had hypermobile joints and as a result was quite clumsy (not much has changed in nearly 24 years), and was a skinny little runt (possibly the only attribute I wish I still had).

I had a terrible time in PE as a result. I could write an entire series of blog posts about how I was put into the very last division for the running race in our athletics carnival, how my P.E. teacher wouldn't let me play softball in class because no-one would have me on their team, and that when I won Champion Girl for swimming when I was in Year 6, the same teacher's comment was 'Well, that's the first and last time you'll ever succeed in sport'. That was just the teachers - I was also teased relentlessly by my peers.

I started at a new school in Year 7 and never looked back after that. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic PE teacher in Year 7, who didn't know anything about my previous athletic endeavours (or lack of). Term 1 began with swimming, and I took up diving and got a highly coveted position on the inter-school diving team. I wasn't fantastic at it, but I was better than most of the other girls that tried out. She also encouraged me to try Rhythmic Gymnastics, and this was where I truly found my niche. OK, so I was still horribly uncoordinated, but how could I go wrong where the fact that I had natural turn-out and pointed feet, and overflexibility was a help and not a hindrance? Once I found a few things that I was actually competent at, it didn't really matter what else I did in PE... and I did actually enjoy most of the activities that we did. Luckily, we played very few team sports.

To this day, team sports terrify me. I've been asked by friends on a number of occasions to join them in their social netball/basketball/touch teams and have always turned them down. When I was at camp, and the staff were told that we had to pick a sport to play for Color War, I was so incredibly nervous and picked hockey because I figured it was something that very few people would actually be good at. As it turned out, I never had to play because the day before, I broke my elbow in a swimming race (I *told* you I was clumsy!)

In Year 10, we started to do a taster of the activities that they offered to Year 11 and 12 students in their compulsory Recreation periods, or Rec. It was here that I enjoyed my first BODYBALANCE and BODYCOMBAT classes (on BB14 and BC09 - still remember doing Kung-Fu fighting on the lawn - how scary!) Most girls hated Rec, as they didn't want to get sweaty, muck up their hair etc. I actually quite enjoyed being active, as long as it didn't involve running! Each term, we had the choice of a number of different options. I tried things like Windsurfing, surfing and bowling. In our final term, I was away the week that preferences given out, and was assigned to BODYJAM. My initial thoughts were that it couldn't be that bad, bodybalance and combat were pretty good.

When I turned up to the class, I was horrified. All the other girls there were dancers... I definitely couldn't call myself one. I struggled through the entire class, tripping over my own feet TWICE and drawing the instructor's attention to the fact that I didn't know what on EARTH I was doing.

I walked out and swore I was never setting foot in a BODYJAM class again. My drama teacher convinced me to give it another try. Second time around, it started to feel a little easier. The instructor noticed and gave me positive feedback about it. Who knows what he said, but from that point on, I was a bodyjammer!

So I found the answer to change in gymnastics and group fitness... unfortunately, I am STILL terrified of team sports as I mentioned above, but I am thankful that it is only that. I'm happy enjoying my group fitness though.

I could write another whole blog post that would be twice as long about my journey to becoming an instructor (only it would be twice as long, maybe one day...) but I hope that I am creating an atmosphere in my classes where my participants, especially the new ones can have that same positive experience. There is nothing more rewarding than having someone come into a BODYSTEP class for the first time feeling more than a little apprehensive as we begin, and then seeing them smile and enjoy the class once they relax and feel comfortable.

Oh, and the pillows?

Magic.
 

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