I would have never known unless I tried.
I remember it quiet clear the first time I walked into a gym, a 24-Hour Fitness to be exact. I was in awe at the amount of equipment that filled the facility, however the one thing that caught my eye was the group of women rocking out to hip hop music behind glass walls. They were having so much fun with each other… Some laughing at themselves while some were laughing at others. It was a completely different vibe than what I was feeling while treading along on the elliptical.
It was at that moment that I became addicted to group fitness classes. Sign-Me-Up! I was jumping into any and all fitness classes that were offered. I even woke up one morning in high school around 4am to attend a spin class. Now that was dedication. I fell in love with fitness classes for multipule reasons.
1.) They are extremely fun
2.) The help you stay motivated on those days where laying on the couch is more inticing
3.) A 60 minute workout feels like a 10 minute workout
4.) You don’t have to plan a workout routine for the day
5.) You get to meet new friends who attend the classes regularely… accountability partners!
My love for fitness classes soon inspired to the dream of one day leading my own fitness classes. I thought, “What better way to inspire and motivate people than doing the thing that I enjoy the most. . . Fitness Classes!” Not to mention that I would get paid to do something that I do anyways, why not kill two birds with one stone?
Throughout college, I passed on the gym membership and opted to use the free fitness center at my college. The dreams of becoming a fitness instructor were put on the back burner as other passions stirred more than others. In fact, I kind of lost sight of the idea of becoming a fitness instructor. While I wasn’t paying for fitness classes, I was taking up classes in my own living room. The college days were full of Turbo Jam with Chalene Johnson… it was pretty much a party of one. Her workouts were so much fun, I couldn’t get enough of her.
It wasn’t until recently that I started attending fitness classes again. I get to enjoy the multipul benefits of the university that my husband works at, including FREE usage of the gym and fitness classes. While I have been loving boot camp and ABs 101, Turbo Kick has been my all time favorite which is practically the same workout at Turbo Jam from the college days. As I attended more and more Turbo Kick sessions and started getting to know the instructor better, my dream of becoming a Turbo Kick instructor started creeping back into my life.
I took the plung about 6 months ago in becoming certified in teaching Turbo Kick classes which means I could ultimately teach classes at the university my husband works at. I was so excited that this moment had finally moved into gear as I started persuing my dreams. I went out and bought new workout clothes and started practicing my kicks and punches everyday. . . have to be the best!
Have you ever come to the realization in the middle of persuing your passions and dreams that it just isn’t what you thought it would be?
It wasn’t until recently, being yesterday, that I’ve come to the realization that:
* The idea of being a turbo kick instructor far exceeded actually being one.
* The enjoyment of being led in a turbo kick class far exceeded leading a turbo kick class.
* The energy I get from attending a fitness class far exceeds the energy I would get from leading a class
And humility and pride took a back seat as I laid my dreams to rest. While I struggle with the though of having wasted all my time, energy, and money on becoming certified as a Turbo Kick Instuctor, I have also learned through this experience that sometimes you just have to persue your dream to find out what lays on the other side of the door. If I hadn’t have persued this dream, than I would have always lived with the “What Ifs.”
Have you ever persued a passion or dream that lead you to see that those passions and dreams weren’t what you were expecting?
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OMG – YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those exclamations say it all! I agree – you never would have known. Me, I went thru a whole college degree unfortunately…. and years of working it…
Keep on enjoying just going to class!
Good job! I have some dreams but I have yet to really delve into them yet to make them happen. I hope this year. *crosses fingers*
I definitely want to become certified in some fitness classes in a few years–I’m only in high school, but I’m already excited
Congrats!!
Great post! I’m glad I followed Picky Eating RD’s link. I would like to be a personal trainer, but I think that if I worked in the gym, it would be hard to make myself go there regularly just for me. I totally hear wehre you’re coming from on that one.
Hi Ruth! Well, I have a recent post called A Discussion About My Failed Attempts. So, yes, I think about this a lot. We have to try things and concentrate on the attempt itself and not be preoccupied with success or possible failure. We have to be okay with allowing ourselves to fail. Otherwise, we won’t try any big scary goals because of fear of failure.
Leading a group requires responsibility, which isn’t so much fun. The glory of leading isn’t usually as big as it seems it would be. But you succeeded in getting your certification and most people would not feel confident enough to try that. And you are.
Congratulations on getting certified, though! that’s a big achievement. I don’t think instruction would be for me, either. Although I think it would be for selfish reasons… I would rather be having a grueling high intensity workout myself than helping other people to do so.
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