Gym Gems

Here’s to my PiYo BFF, Dalyce, who always challenges me to try crazy stuff with her after our classes...and always ends up making me feel like a ROCKSTAR!!!!!

I won’t post our two fail videos while we calibrated the physics :-D, but I can’t tell you how *STRONG* this made me feel!!!

We took aerial yoga after I subbed an extra PiYo class another day, too. Awesome photo ops!!!

Significant gym schedule change: fancy corporate gym in the city has changed my Wednesday class from Zumba to PiYo. My Zumba faithfuls are beyond furious...but I’m really not. I actually prefer teaching PiYo over Zumba right now. I absolutely don’t want to give up Zumba completely – I would be very sad, if I were teaching it nowhere; but my one Zumba class on Tuesdays at my sweet boutique gym here in town satisfies my heart for that. I’m happy & excited for this fresh change – most especially b/c it eliminates the bizarre sense of competition that our boss fostered between me & the other Zumba instructor there. It was sucking the joy out of Zumba for me, so I’m thankful that that dynamic is now dissolved, that I’m teaching more of my favorite thing, and that I’m still keeping up a comfortable little splash of dance.

Speaking of my new Wed PiYo: when a gym member tells you they got emotional when coming to your class for the first time last week, because you were so *accepting* and inspiring...and that they were sore for four days afterwards! #success #gratitude #positivitychangeslives

Sharing this led to a FB convo with another BFF:
Her: “Sadly it is super hard to find classes that are so accepting.”
Me: “You are so right. I can’t tell you how many fitness classes I’ve walked into in the last 6 years where there was no compassion or desire to put the members at ease. I’m all about a hardcore, serious class - I don’t want my fitness classes that I take to be too casual; I’m there to work!!! But I also want some reassurance that the instructor is not going to judge me if/when I make a misstep. People - including me! - want reassurance that it’s OK & nothing to be embarrassed about if they don’t do it exactly like instructor, as long as they are trying their best. I know I respond best to intense work, but with a smile and reminders to be true to myself & do the best for my body & where it’s at today.”
Her: “It is even worse when you are overweight.... I have had places actually say to me that the class is not a good fit for me because of my size. Really? That is when I started doing stuff outside of gyms.”
Me: “Insanity. Completely counterintuitive to the entire point of fitness! It’s like when people say they can’t go to church, until they “become better people.” Hello: we are ALL always broken, we all always have stuff we have to work on, whether it’s highly visible or not. These should be havens for all people to improve their quality of life. That is my ultimate goal: when you come to my class, I am there to help improve your quality of life.”

Yes, I live at the gym. Yes, it’s exactly who I am now. Nope, I will no longer say, “I can’t believe this is me! I can’t believe I *want* to go every day!” It’s been over six years now that I’ve been teaching as a paid fitness professional. This is no longer surprising news - this is my truth. #ownit #priority ❤️