BODYSTEP yeah!

I don't really like the "BODYSTEP yeh" that seem to end up in the warm-up tracks very much, but it is exactly what I wanted to scream to myself after my class this morning.

On Fridays I have a permanent class at a ladies only gym. I took it on in November. This class has had a large turnover of instructors (me moving isn't helping that statistic) and I was told that I shouldn't expect more than 5-6 people as 'they're not really steppers', that I needed to teach 'low options, then lower than low options' by a few instructors.

I was a little bit apprehensive about taking it on, particularly because I noticed in my years of participating in mid-morning classes whilst I was at uni, that the 'mummy' crowd tend to prefer more experienced and mature instructors.

There has been a few classes where I've said to myself that the class wasn't worth it, but I battled on through. Truth be told, if it wasn't so close and if it wasn't at such a convenient time for me, I would have given it up. These days, it's the highlight of my week!

The demographic of this gym is SO different to anywhere else I teach. Most of them come into the gym having never done an exercise program before, let alone group fitness... the staff are pretty good at recommending classes to their clients and the members are really good at letting me know if they've got injuries, new to the class etc. This makes things so much easier where at most gyms I get to play 'spot the newbie' at the beginning of the class.

Luckily when I started teaching the class we were just starting a new release, but mixing was a whole new ballgame. I wasn't sure whether to just stick with the same mix I did for the rest of my classes, or do something entirely different. I've been slowly figuring them out... at first, I was my normal, cheerful, happy joking self and I got nothing for them. I really did think I was having trouble with connecting with the members, but before and after the classes, the interaction wasn't a problem at all. My numbers stayed reasonably constant, but I was really playing it safe, both with my teaching style and the mixes I taught.

One week I was teaching "Single Ladies" from BODYSTEP #76 in my other classes. I love this track, but I got in the car and had a sinking feeling when I realised that I hadn't organised an alternative track. Ooops. I spent the drive trying to think about any other party steps for which I knew the choreography for... nope. "Single Ladies" it was. I decided to have fun with it anyway, and worry about the consequences later... to my surprise, they loved it! (4 weeks later, we're still doing the same track at their request)

I knew I'd cracked them when I discovered, much to my surprise, that the more I 'party', the more over the top I get, the more they liked it. I was told last week by one of my ladies that she felt like she was 21 again when she came to my class, and I think it's really cool that I can create an atmosphere and provide a release like that. They also now like to ask a multitude of questions about my social life after every class, and as much as I do enjoy a good night on the town, it's not particularly wild. I almost feel like I'm letting them down!

The best thing about this class though, is sharing their success. In most of the other classes that I teach, there's a few participants that are just starting out on their fitness journey, but the majority are settled - going to classes isn't really achieving any new milestones. My lovely ladies are so excited about everything from weight lost to going onto two, or even one riser for the first few tracks for the first time, to just getting through the class! I had a new lady today who came up to me, so stoked that she'd gotten through the class for the first time after not doing group fitness for 10 years due to a back injury.

Today it was hot, and it's a pretty well known fact that the air-con isn't that great in this particular studio. I was thinking I'd be coming to a class of about 7 members, 12 is about average (the gym is only little). I had 18. I think I poured every single ounce of energy I had... I wasn't going for big propulsions, but really connecting with passion, which really built the energy. I finished up feeling completely THRASHED afterwards.

I'll miss them!

Milestones

When I first started instructing, nearly a year ago (and hasn't time flown), I'd turn up to cover a class and felt like an absolute fraud. Whenever anybody asked me if I was the instructor taking the class, particularly at a new gym, I wasn't sure whether I should be answering yes or not.

Along my journey from shadowing, to team teaching, to having my own classes, there were a number of milestones which seem like the tiniest little things now but were huge at the time... going from one track to three to half a class to the whole entire thing.

And then there are the quintessential instructor experiences that are probably going to happen sooner or later. Things like teaching without a microphone, stereos/ipods/cds malfunctioning, participants sharing WAY, WAY too much information.

Where is this leading??

Tonight, I had my first (and hopefully last) wardrobe malfunction.

I bought a new pair of yoga pants during my break at work today. As I was team-teaching BODYBALANCE tonight, I decided I'd wear them. I came straight from a BODYSTEP class (#2 of the day) and was a little rushed.

Everything appeared to be going fine, until the sun salutations. I looked back into the mirror behind me, and realised that there was a nice, white patch of ass cheek showing. Whoops. The stitching on my lovely new pants had split and clever me was wearing a g-string. Now I know that I might like to take a VPL over ass-crack. Luckily, my esteemed colleague (male) hadn't noticed and I snuck off to the bathrooms to change into my shorts from BODYSTEP. Not entirely appropriate, but a lot better than the alternative!!

I can definitely call myself an instructor now...

Grasping Opportunity

I tend to become a very bad blogger when things get tumultuous.

Since my last post, a number of things have unexpectedly been thrown around. I haven't been quite sure as to how to cope with this, so I decide not to think about it, and therefore, not blog about it.

I'm not going to London and France.

My list of my sexybitch 'things to do' are not really happening - I am eating well, and I am preparing for all my classes well, but I'm not progressing very well with the rest of it.

I got offered a class at 'one of those' big gyms where the GFM is known for having high standards and was SO pleased to be asked to take it on, but had to turn it down an hour later.

I'm not going to get to teach BODYSTEP 79, which I have been desperately waiting for since October 2009...

BUT

It's all for a good reason!




I'M MOVING TO SYDNEY!!!!!

I have been offered what is my ideal job (hoping that the reality matches it) and I'm just waiting to finalise the contract. My boss-to-be called my current boss (I had to tell her as I needed time off to go to Sydney for the interview when our assistant manager was away) on Friday for a reference and I'm told she said very good things about me.

I was excited, now I'm more terrified than anything.

The whole process has been pretty drawn out and harrowing. I saw the job on Seek in the first week of January, and didn't apply for it straight away. I felt drawn to it... that weekend, when a friend had drinks at her house, another friend read my tarot cards. I'd never paid much thought to that kind of thing, but she said some things that were scarily, scarily accurate and she wouldn't have known. I asked her about my future and I burst into tears (ok, I'd had MORE than a few) when she said something was going to happen in the next few days and I'd find that direction that I was looking for... I hadn't mentioned the job at all.

I went home and as soon as I'd gotten over my hangover, I applied.

Didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks, which all things considered, was fairly normal. In the mean time, I was stressing out because I knew that this was it... if I didn't at least get an interview, I was SCREWED.

So they did e-mail, and I organised to fly out on Australia Day. I missed all the festivities and missed the Triple J hottest 100 countdown. I spent the next day running around doing a few errands and the interview wasn't until 5pm. Group session first, then me on my own.

I felt good afterwards and flew back home early the next morning, knowing that it was now outside of my control. The rest of the interviews weren't going to be until the following week, but then they were delayed for another week.

Long story short... and probably the biggest reason for me not blogging, but I had a couple of really BAD weeks at work, which included the stress of the shock resignation of our *amazing* assistant manager and the most horrible member experience I have had to date. I nearly quit on the spot and the anxiety I was experiencing about not knowing about this job really compounded it.

By Wednesday morning when I hadn't heard, I gave up hope. At 2.05pm, the call I'd been waiting for came... he wanted to offer it to me, just pending a reference check. Relief...


So now it's absolute madness.

I've been a little devastated that despite the dominance of a certain gym chain in Sydney, that there is so little Bodystep on the timetables. I'm currently team teaching Bodybalance as well at said gym chain, but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get my certification done before I leave. We have an assessment this week so I will see how I go.

Also unfortunate is the fact that because our quarterlies are so LATE this quarter, Sydney will already be mixing by the time I get over there! I was lucky enough to have a sneak peek of the DVD as two of my fellow instructors attended quarterlies in Adelaide, and oh my... I figured that you might see my head pop up in maybe one, two tracks when they zoomed out...

No, I think I have achieved my goal of dvd 'fame'. EVERY SINGLE TRACK. I can die happy now. I was told by a certain VIP when I was still in Auckland that I was all over it, and I didn't quite believe them. Then when the trainers/presenters got their packs I was told again. It definitely had to be seen to be believed...

Being me, I also have a tag hanging out the bottom of my top the entire time...
 

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