Fitness Instructions

It's a New Year! A fun fact about me: I am a fitness instructor on campus. No, but seriously. I love being a fitness instructor:

1. I find group fitness motivating. It keeps me active, because I know that at least once a week I have to smile while I'm working out. That takes training. In our industry, we are often reminded that when we are instructing, our focus is on the participants getting a great workout. So I try to attend multiple group fitness classes a week to get a good workout myself.

2. Being a fitness instructor is valuable for me because it challenges me to step outside of my insecurities at least once a week. I have to work out (read: be vulnerable) in front a group of (mostly) strangers, sweat, jump around, and sometimes make mistakes (left hand and right hand cues are usually 50% accurate when I try to use them.) It's an important practice for me to appear confident and to deal with my perfectionist tendencies, to just mess up sometimes, move on, and ensure that the participants are getting a great workout. And every once and a while, when I'm feeling shy, I watch this video: 3. I love that I can make my body stronger. How can I tell? My muscles are usually sore. I thought that I would stop getting sore after a good workout eventually. Nope. Doesn’t seem to matter. Those sore muscles demonstrate to me that my body is being re-shaped and challenged. That's pretty cool. 4. I have the pleasure to teach in two beautiful spaces: Dance Studio (located at the Athletic Centre @ 55 Harbord Street) --- high ceilings, full mirror, and lots of space to move around. If you’ve never attended a class in the Dance Studio, its not a bad idea to show up early and ask for directions. From the main entrance, the staff can provide instructions to navigate the maze-like halls! Goldring Studio (located in the Goldring Centre FOR ALL PERFORMANCE UOFT STUDENTS @ 100 Devonshire Place)— huge glass wall, windows that open, wall to wall mirror, speaker system in the ceiling. The entrance to the studio is also glass, so you can wave to the passerby-ers! 5. I am a certified group fitness instructor, and I take my job seriously! A lot of planning goes into each of my 45 minutes classes, because I want to ensure my participants are safe, and keep coming back! Here are the things to remember that as a participant you have a right to have: Safety—certified instructors are careful to plan exercises and movements to keep everyone safe. Your instructor cannot touch you (to correct form or anything) without your permission. Confidentiality—if you disclose something to me, I won’t share with anyone. You won't be in any photos without written permission too.

Maybe you're considering trying a new fitness routine on campus? My regular class this week had 20 participants, of which many were new faces to me. Be assured, you will never be the only one trying the class for the first time, especially at the beginning of a new semester. And if you miss a step, or a move, as long as you're still moving your body you are being active! Even though I am the professional, I still get nervous every time I instruct a class. It's all the best kind of nerves. The ones that mean I care about doing well, so I care that my performance, music, routines, (and jokes) go well! Visit the KPE faqs and be sure to read my post from last semester about what to bring to a fitness class! Not all classes are listed on the drop-in schedule, as many are available through the registered programming. It's not too late to try something new-- did you know we have a Parkour Class at UofT? Starting Monday Jan 18, be sure to participate in the conversation on Twitter with the @HealthyUofT Crew by answering the question #HowDoUMove ??