Instructor Change

Scenario:

You have a class you regularly go to. You love the class, you love the instructor. One day there’s a sub. That’s okay, you still go, but it’s not the same. The sub is just as good a teacher, probably even better qualified for all you know, but she’s not YOUR instructor. Personalities are different. The feel of the class is different. Even the music is at a different volume. Boredom creeps up on you. Motivation is seriously lacking but you push yourself for as long as possible during the class until you can’t take it anymore. 30 minutes out of an hour is still a respectable workout. You’ve worked enough to be plenty sore the next day.

The original teacher has to leave for awhile and there’s no sub available so the class is temporarily cancelled. NOOOO!!!!

Months later you see there’s a new sub so you check it out again. SURPRISE!!! They’re funny and motivational and the room’s energy is beyond awesome. You start coming again…only to arrive one day and find yet another sub who’ll be taking over. Your energy plummets. Everything is dull again. 30 minutes later you’re out the door just as before. This new awesome sub will not be coming back not because of any issues but because that was the time agreed upon behind scenes.

You’re left in the same situation as before except with tons more muscle and a much deeper feeling of disappointment because you don’t want to lose that hard-won strength but neither do you want to struggle through an hour of boredom 2x/wk.

What do you do??

This is the dilemma I’m currently facing with BodyPUMP. Let me be clear that it is NOT the instructor’s fault. I’ve experienced 6 different BodyPUMP instructors and they ALL rocked. They knew their stuff, their form was on target, they were all nice and friendly and energetic. I don’t know what it is about an instructor that makes me want to take their class. I can go to a boring class but if I click with the instructor, I’ll keep going. Likewise, I can go to an awesome class but if I don’t click with that instructor, I won’t keep going.

I considered getting certified in it and teaching the darn thing myself cuz I always have awesome fun teaching fitness classes. It’s like a win/win – I get moving (sometimes I get worked seriously hard too), I motivate others to exercise and be healthy, and I get paid for it! Learning the choreo etc wouldn’t be all that difficult. I mean, it would take a lot of time, but it’s totally doable. It’s the training itself that’s not doable. A couple days of intense training and it’s not guaranteed that people pass that workshop to even get to their eval videos.

Unfortunately, I’m not physically strong enough to do that. I’m tons stronger than I used to be, but I’m not yet strong enough to tackle that monster. But it is a certification I’d like to get at some point because the class can be super fun and it works soooo well.

I’m not the type of person to push myself through an hour of fitness boredom (part of the reason I stop my workout plans so often) so I won’t be going to BodyPUMP class anymore. However, that doesn’t mean I’m s.o.l. Here’s my tentative schedule to make up for this loss:

• M – Walk/Jog Intervals // Tone It Up
• Tu – SilverSneakers Cardio Circuit // POP Pilates
• W – HIIT or PIIT
• Th – SilverSneakers Cardio Circuit // POP Pilates
• F – Walk/Jog Intervals // BodyPUMP??
• Sa – HIIT or PIIT
• Su – Rest

That schedule is subject to change on any given day but it’s the basic idea of what I’m currently planning on. My doctor said I shouldn’t be running at all because I have mild arthritis in my knees. However, I’ve been reading articles about it. They all differ of course but most seem to concur that osteoarthritis isn’t a 100% game breaker for running. If I was an athlete whose job was running etc then, yes, I’d be done. But there’s a possibility that cross-training and keeping it mild etc along with RICE blah blah blah…Maybe I could start running again. Nothing big, but maybe I’d be able to do 5k races again with the proper precautions?

I’m probably grasping at straws here, but I miss it so much. My legs are much stronger than they were too…I’ll have to talk to the doctor about it. He might relent and point me to a physical therapist or personal trainer who could help.

Anyway, so in lieu of BodyPUMP classes, I’ve made a new schedule. That’s what I do when I lose classes or instructors I really enjoy. I’m excited about starting this new schedule too. I love changing up my workouts! Except now my son’s school is out for the summer so I’ll have a mini-me in tow wherever I go. Oh joy. Oh rapture. At least he’s being a good sport about going to all of my classes etc and so well-behaved when we’re there! I’m lucky I’m in a gym where I can legally do that for the most part.