This is an Update

Yep. It's been a couple weeks without any posting on here. Not that I'm a prolific blogger or anything but I've had a half a dozen ideas for blog posts this month yet I haven't sat down and let those thoughts materialize onto the computer screen. Honestly? I've been exhausted lately. Like, really really exhausted. I feel guilty about falling asleep at 8pm even before my kids to to bed, annoyed about all the endless baskets of laundry that are piling up, and sad about not being up to date with what's going on with my friends and family.

You could say that I'm overwhelmed. It would be the truth.

I feel like I attacked 2014 head on with all these things I wanted to do without thinking about how it would affect my day-to-day life a few months down the road. So now here we are a few months in and I'm all "When did 'The Year of Me Doing Whatever the Hell I Want' turn into 'The Year of Me Being Overcommitted and Feeling Inadequate All the Time?'"

Today I ran with Team Challenge (the group I'm coaching for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation) and I had a discussion with one of my team members about her fears training for the half marathon this summer. We were talking about wanting other people to perceive us a certain way and the words, "You don't have to impress anybody!" came out of my mouth. Good advice right? Sometimes I wish I was as good as following my own advice as I am at giving it. In reality though, I'm kind of full of it.

I need to figure out what things I want to do in order to be happy and not worry about how anyone else views the decisions I make. That, or I need be sitting on a beach in Costa Rica, fruity drink in hand. (Luckily that is actually happening two weeks from now! Thank Jeebus.)

Pump it Up

Before I became a member of the Y, one thing I always heard from friends of mine who were members was: “BODY PUMP IS AWESOME.” Or maybe something like: “OmigoshBodyPumphurtssogoodyouhavetotryit! Also: OUCH.” So when the day finally came when I would finally make it to Body Pump at the South Shore YMCA I was…um...pumped? At the very least I was excited to take the class that I’d heard such good things about.

A lot of what scares people about a class like this is 1) There is a lot of “gear” involved and 2) There are lots of repetitions with the weights. Let’s talk about both.

1) Getting Started

It says on the class schedule to arrive early 10-15 minutes to set up. Although a seasoned Body Pump veteran wouldn’t need so much time, I got there 15 minutes early to talk to the instructor and figure out what weights I would be needing for class. In addition to mat I ended up with a stepper, two sets of light to medium dumbbells as well as a barbell and some varied weights to swap on and off of the bar depending on what muscle group we were working. Since I wasn’t familiar with the barbell she helped me figure out how much weight I would be needing and gave me some tips for how much weight to put on (i.e. start light and add if needed, squatting will be your heaviest weight of the day, etc.)

2) All those repetitions.

They are not kidding around.  LOTS of reps! I’m the type of person who is used to heavier weight/fewer repetitions so I was glad I listened to her advice to start lighter. What I thought was a good amount of weight for me would start to buuuurrrn about halfway through the song- whether it was overhead presses with the barbell or lunging lunging lunging again and again. Like the Body Combat class, each song had a “theme”. There was track for squatting, one for rowing, one for overhead pressing (and so forth.) By the end of class I had used every combination of weights on my barbell as well as both sets of dumbbells.

I can definitely see why this class is popular. A lot of people find strength training to be boring so the lively atmosphere and music help to keep the energy high. Plus, the higher repetitions add a level of cardio to the workout as well. So if you’ve ever gone back and forth about a Body Pump class don’t be intimidated! Just get there early, don’t go overboard on the weight and have fun!

36

I've been around for 36 years now. (Insert joke about needing a walker or something about my lawn. Har har.) Anyway, I woke up this morning and re-read my birthday blog post from two years ago- which I still think has a lot of great points. Yay for wisdom coming with age! Although this year I have a few more things that I'd like to add to that list:

Don't be afraid to put yourself in vulnerable situations.

I'm kind of surprised I didn't have this on the list before, although I do feel like in this past year I've done more things that initially made me feel uncomfortable. I have to say that I've never regretted trying anything new, even if I felt completely terrified or awkward going in. (Somebody remind me of this if I ever get the chance to jump out of a plane.)

It's ok to be selfish.

Ain't nobody know your life! At the end of the day I need to take care of me. (You know, after taking care of everyone else. Heh.) Sometimes I need to remind myself that I can say "No" to people. I can't do everything. (Believe me, I've tried.)

It's ok to not have all the answers.

I was tentative jumping into being a personal trainer because I thought I had to know everything and be the absolute best in order to coach others. Now that's just crazy because NOBODY KNOWS EVERYTHING. I'm never going to be the strongest/fastest/smartest but that doesn't mean I can't help people get stronger/faster/smarter. Life is about learning and I'm never going to stop. (Can't stop, won't stop.)

Embrace your gifts.

Ok, I did include this last time but it's very important to me. I never want to stop feeling grateful for all the things I have in my life. Holy crap I've done some amazing things in the past 36 years and I can't wait to do even more! And I will be thankful for every last second of it.

Getting Blitzed!

My latest class in my YMCA experiment/adventure was the lunchtime Y-Blitz class at the Downtown Y. It was my first time taking a class at this location and I went with my friend Sun so she could show me around bit before the workout. I have to say, this branch is pretty darn nice. It's newer and definitely has a more modern feel to it- although the layout that winds it's way through the Grand Avenue Mall building had me feeling a little bit lost at first! I especially was interested in the 1/6 mile track that goes loops through the whole facility.

But back to Blitz-ing. This class was BANANAS. I'm not even exaggerating. You only have 35 minutes to work but you better believe there is serious sweating being done every single second of your time there. Our workout that day was called "The Gauntlet". (Eeek!) It started with a sprint around the track followed by some jumps over stacked steppers and shuffling through hurdles. Then the really fun part: Each round we were given 4 different movements to perform. For example, 20 burpees, 20 squat jumps, 20 mountain climbers and 20 jackknife sit ups. Yes, that you read that right. 80 reps. Then repeat the whole circuit again and again as many times as you can. Every time we finished the track sprint and jumps we were given 4 new things to do. (Push ups, jump lunges, etc.) At one point Sun and I were doing dead lifts with gigantic kettlebells and slamming battle ropes in unison!

You can probably guess that this class is not for a beginner. I feel like I'm in really good shape and this was still a real challenge for me! I'm also pretty sure though that you would start to see results very quickly working out like this. It seemed like a lot of people there were used to this type of workout and they were performing like rockstars- although I didn't feel like there was a competitive vibe to the class at all. Everyone was just there to work hard and get it done.

So to sum up, if you're a newbie I'd wait before diving into the Blitz. However, if you're looking for a new challenge to conquer and enjoy shorter duration, high-intensity training, then you may have met your match.

Next up: Body Pump

Obviously.

Body Combat: Boomboompow!

I think I found my favorite Y class! (At least so far.) Sunday morning I took Body Combat for the first time at the South Shore YMCA and I feel like this class totally gets me. It's a super high energy cardio class where you punch, kick, shuffle and jump your way through choreographed movements set to some heart pumping music. There are no gloves, boxing bags or other equipment, but your body is working HARD for the full hour.

I have to say a class like this may take a little bit of brain work and coordination at first but I feel like there was a lot of repetition with the movements so you have time to figure out what your body is supposed to be doing. The instructor I had took some time right at the beginning to go over proper form for all the basic kicks and punches we'd be doing. Also, each song seemed to have a "theme" of some sort where you focused on one type of movement in particular (squatting, kicking or punching, etc.) By the end you are throwing everything you've learned throughout the hour into one intense circuit. I felt like I was dancing at one point as I really got in a good rhythm with the music! At the end we finished up with a push up and core circuit on the floor.

I'd highly recommend this class to anyone who likes cardio-focused classes without the frills of tons of equipment or workout "gear." I also think it was a fun way to get some aggression out. The instructor, Sara, at this class was really motivating throughout and had us working hard. I will definitely be back for this one down the road.


Video from the New Orleans YMCA on YouTube.

Next up: Y-Blitz!

I Have Confidence in Me

Where to begin. This post has been percolating around in my brain for a week because I have a lot of feelings about this but sometimes it takes a while for me to extract all the feels from inside my head and make sense of them all. Here we go.

A lot of people know that I got my personal trainer certification last year. The one thing I didn't want to do upon obtaining my certification was to walk into a big name gym and get put an a virtual hamster wheel- training people who get a one *free* session with their membership and never seeing them again, leading huge classes where I'd never match all the faces with names, and putting all the focus on selling memberships instead of building relationships. I also wanted to have control of when and where and how much I worked as a trainer. Honestly, this is not something I decided to do in order to help put food on the table. We're good over here. I chose to do this because I have a genuine interest in the field and think that I have something to offer people.

So that's why I had my own business. My own sad, small, half-ass little business. And here's what I learned:

1. Marketing is hard. Business-ing is hard. And I am terrible at it.
2. It's even harder if you're marketing for a business you really only want to do part-time.

After a couple of weeks I wanted to block MYSELF on social media with all the shouting about bootcamps and incessant retweeting invites and reminders about classes I was teaching. I also had no idea how to reach out to people outside of my own personal network, which is why I mainly ended up teaching classes to friends, and friends of friends.

Not to say I didn't learn a lot of useful things. Once I started training actual people instead of memorizing facts and figures from a big book, things started to come very naturally to me. I even picked up some one-on-one training clients where I really felt like I learned a lot about modifying exercises to suit a person's specific needs, and getting to know them on a more personal level. I remember when I was first considering getting certified I asked a trainer (again a friend of a friend) what advice he had and he said, "Listen. People really just want to be heard." That advice really stuck with me because as I taught more people I realized that it was much more than just presenting some movements and shouting out numbers of repetitions at them. People hire a personal trainer or go to a bootcamp class because they're looking for some kind of motivation outside of themselves. They need someone to listen to them and help them find their path to success.

ANYWAY. Back to me and half-assing my way through my business.

I decided to take a hiatus from training over the holidays (except for the one client I was working with in-home.) It had gotten too cold and dark to host bootcamp classes at the park anymore and I hadn't secured an indoor space for the winter. In fact, I wasn't sure it was even worth it for me to try and rent space for the number of people I thought I could potentially get into a class over November and December. After the new year I was feeling kind of down about my prospects and was procrastinating about taking action when I saw that a small personal training studio in the neighborhood, Wild Workouts and Wellness, was hiring trainers. The owner, Amber, is a person with whom my social circle overlaps with a lot and I've always had my eye on her as someone I was impressed with in the Milwaukee/Bay View fitness community.

So I submitted my application. She called me. We met. And I got the job.

I feel like a weight has been lifted. Like I can finally get down to doing what I want to do. No messing around with sales and marketing and spreadsheets. I show up, I meet awesome people, and we get to work. I feel very lucky that I stumbled upon his opportunity and that I've been welcomed fully onto their little team. During this past year I had bouts of feeling like I wasn't a "real" trainer because I wasn't out there enough "in the field," so-to-speak. I was even pretty nervous walking into her gym and presenting myself as a real deal, legit trainer. But now that I've started coaching the workouts it's like everything is starting to fall into place. I really DO know what I'm talking about. People can ask me questions and for the most part I KNOW THE ANSWERS. And if I don't- well I then have the opportunity to learn something new. I've got tons of room to grow and I'm looking forward to growing it.


I've been doing this thing lately where I say to myself, "All you have to do is be yourself and everything will fall into place." It's a little Maria Von Trapp-ish but hey, it works me for. And it probably helps that being myself is also not being a jerkface. (At least I'm pretty sure I'm not a jerkface.)