Body Combat Initial Training Day 1

Wanted to write this up real fast before I go to bed. Cause I'm exhausttttt!!

Today was the first day of two of the BodyCombat initial training. I had a blast!!! BC has similarities to turbokick but it's also very very, VERY different. You really embody the feel of a fight. The moves are really technical and form-specific. Everything works together like a jigsaw puzzle, and i love jigsaw puzzles!

We had to present a track today . I had track 7 which is Muay Thai. SOO MUCH FUN!!! Seriously, that track ROCKS!!! I was nervous at first because it's physically demanding but once I got up there I was fine. I got really good feedback from the trainer. She said my knees were perfect, my form was great, and my forward plyo push kick was great. I know she wouldn't just hand out compliments easily because this is meant to be a tough training that fully challenges you. So that made me feel quite proud of myself. She said I need to work on the downward street brawl punch, and also my plyo push.

Tomorrow I have the karate track which is a lot harder for me, and I have to present it twice so I'm a tad nervous about that. Especially because I am starting to feel really sore right now O_O. oh boy.

Still, super excited, and will update with my progress!

I never EVER thought I would be so into fitness....dude, I spent most of my life being fat and uncoordinated. I'm still fat-ish,but that's changing at its own pace, whatever. Still, I am pushing physical boundries I never would have thought i'd be able to push. PRETTY COOL.

Chalene Johnson always says to make your goals public, so I'm saying it now: I want to get really, really, REALLY good at this. And I know that's not specific like she says it's supposed to be but tomorrow after training I will probably have a better idea of measurable goals I can set. I really feel like I can learn, embody and master this format, with time.

Upcoming BodyCombat Training.. excited!!!

I've pretty much lost my mind. I signed up for another training -- BodyCombat. This one is going to be much, much harder than the TurboKick one, but I think I'm up for it. I LOVE Bodycombat. It's such an empowering workout that is VERY focused on form and technique. Which, I am a huge dork about.

I've been teaching Turbokick 1-2 times a week and i LOVE it!!! Sure I've made PLENTY of mistakes, but it all comes with being a new instructor I think, but so far the members seem pretty understanding and overall enjoy the workout. I am not planning to get lazy about this at all. I want to improve every single time.

And, if I get to teach BC, it's really going to challenge me and take me to the next level. I'm excited!! 

I have been working hard to get my form right before the training and practicing a lot because I have to come prepared to present 2 tracks -- i got track 6 and 7 which is karate and muay thai, respectively. Some of the hardest tracks in the release. Thankfully some wonderful instructors have been helping me iron out the details, and I'm going to learn a lot during the actual training too. yay!!

Have you tried Body Combat? Well if you haven't and aren't near a gym, I have good news. This workout can also be found on DVD, and starting today actually until the end of march it's a special price.

And I'm telling you, this workout is FIERCE. It is truly my new favorite. Ask me questions if you have any, otherwise you can get it HERE!!!!!

My First Two Classes

I stink at updating.

But I said I'd update after I'd taught my first fitness class. It wasn't real until then. I didn't put the job title on my facebook until then, lol.

So I taught my first and second classes -- on a tuesday and a wednesday -- shortly after getting hired. The first one sucked. The second one was awesome.

And, I'm probably being a little hard on myself saying the first one sucked. My friend who came to class swore she didn't even notice that I was struggling. By struggling I mean there were parts where I forgot the choreography and lost confidence. That's okay. It was a learning experience. I'm really glad I taught again the next day because I started to have a omg-why-am-i-even-doing-this panic attack after the first one lol.

I got a regular class starting next week (!!!!!). I'm taking over for a guy who's going on an extended medical leave -- 3 months. So basically, the class is mine until then. And by that point I'll probably be teaching more than just one day so yeah. I'm starting to get nervous again because it's unfamiliar territory, what if they hate me, etc. I'm trying to plan and prepare as much as possible. I really want to practice the routine on the folks at my regular gym first but I don't think i'm going to have that chance...hmmph. I heard the people over there are huge fans of Turbo so that's a good and bad thing. Good because they're probably full of energy. Bad because it's intimidating to keep up with that lol. We shall see. I am excited though!!!!

And .. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I am excited for 2014!! Already got plans to get more certifications and do more awesome things. yay!!

First Audition

I had my first audition at a gym today to be an official instructor!!!!!

It was ..... okay. I KNOW I could have done better. But I don't think I was the worst one either (it was a group audition).

Yeah, I'm gonna be upset if I don't get it. But there will be more. They said we can audition often enough.

I JUST WANT TO AND AM READY TO TEACH!!!!  Sooo exciting lol.

I am going to take a minute to pat myself on the back because I think I'm the only one who thinks this is pretty momentous.

First of all, I think it's pretty nerve-wracking for ANYONE to get up in front of a group and SPEAK, much less speak, demonstrate movements, be excited, and be able to motivate others.

Second, I am overweight still. I have a ways to go. I feel like I'm really fit on the inside but it doesn't show on the outside yet. I think a lot of overweight people would not want to classify themselves as fitness instructors. I was concerned about this at first, of course. Will people even accept me? I did a poll on a message board of women that I frequent. What do you think of overweight fitness instructors? Would you stay for the class? I got about a 50-50 answer. I'll take that!!! Plus, i'm probably getting ahead of myself right now but I think my passion for Turbo will show and I will grow with the class and hopefully one day people will be like yeah, she's awesome!! hehe. (plus, i am obviously working on losing the weight)

Third, considering where I came from, I think I've made some pretty good changes. Hated exercise. I even got out of doing PE in grade school. Hated people, hated talking to people, was AWFULLY shy, reserved, hated asking for help, always thought people were judging me, worried about what they thought, and all those other stereotypes lol.  I guess through Turbo I have gained more confidence and direction, overall. I am setting goals and ACTUALLY ACHIEVING THEM. Mind=blown. I never even knew what a goal WAS and why I should have them.

So can I get a high five!!!! :D

I still have a long way to go, I swear every week I feel like I've learned something new. I'm definitely not perfect or an expert about life or anything like that. Right now I am kind of just in a, "I don't give a freak I'm gonna do what I want and I'm gonna get there, darn it" kind of frame of mind.

I Passed Instructor Training!!

Yay!! Now I have to perfect my skills and get this going...

YAY for goals and the 30 day push. I am serious, everyone needs to go thru Chalene Johnson's 30 day push. it's FREE and it's life changing. 30daypush.com. I never knew how to prioritize, set goals and be organized before I did that.

I didn't expect the cert to come so fast... lol crazy. honestly I would like to lose a little more weight before I even try to teach a class, I think I would just feel better doing it... but we shall see.. I'm gonna keep plugging away. I definitely need to prioritize eating cleaner things. Quality calories really matter! 

The Scale is Not a Measure of Success

The scale.

THE SCALE.

The thing that causes so many people, especially women, pain and suffering.

WHY? It only tells part of the story. Not even close to all of it.

I used to freak out over the scale. I had to make sure I was wearing the exact same outfit at my time of weigh ins every week to not disturb the number. I would worry about eating small things before stepping on the scale.

I had to get a grip and gain some knowledge.

First of all, your weight fluctuates up to 7 pounds up and down in just one DAY. So getting on the scale multiple times a day is a surefire way to disappoint yourself.

Your weight can also fluctuate based on what types of foods you've consumed. High sodium things may make it go up.

Next, if you are working out a lot, your scale may stay stagnant for awhile. "WHAT?! I thought working out is supposed to help me LOSE weight!" Settle down, it does.  However if you are at the beginning of your journey and have JUST started working out, the scale is probably going to be stuck for awhile. Your body is adjusting to the change. It has no freaking clue what's going on. Let it adjust and be consistent with the workouts.

It also depends on what types of exercise you are doing. Cardio tends to burn a lot of calories and may make the scale go down faster. Weight lifting and strength training may make the scale go up. Why? You are building muscle!! Muscle is heavy! But the great news is, weight lifting is what REALLY causes you to see some major changes in your body. Since muscle takes up LESS ROOM than fat, you will lose inches and appear more toned -- EVEN if the scale still says the same thing.

Another benefit of weight lifting: it revs up your metabolism and you continue to burn extra calories all day long. Those calories will add up! So lift weight, ladies!!! And do lift heavy!! Tiny little barbie weights won't create much change.

I had one friend who "only" lost one pound last month. Yet she lost 11 inches overall. And you can PLAINLY see her progress. This is why the scale shouldn't matter!!!!

If you MUST weigh yourself, it is recommended to only do it once a week around the same time of day. I really only do once a month. Or even less. My clothes are getting looser and everyone keeps telling me I look like I've lost weight. So I must be doing something right!!!

Try not to freak out over gains. Gains happen. Often. Don't use that as an excuse to throw in the towel and decide you're never going to succeed.

Feel free to leave me questions or comments!

Mark This Date Down

Facing fears can be cool. After only a week and a few days of going to Turbokick Instructor training, I got the chance to teach in front of a live class. LET ME TELL YA, it was a lot harder than doing it in my house alone, lol.

All I did was teach the warm up section in my friend's class... that's all i felt comfortable doing for now lol. I was NERVOUS. A lot. And it showed. It was not a perfect performance because I felt like I should have put more personality into it. Also, I should have been louder on the mic. But at least I didn't mess up any of the choreography or timing. It wasn't a disaster by any means. So... yay!! One day when I'm teaching lots of classes, I will want to remember this day of doing it for the first time. :)

And 3 people told me I did a good job, woohoo!

TurboKick Certification Training Day!

So, I realize this blog hasn't been here very long, but if you know me at all you know I LOVE Turbokick. It's such a unique cardio kickboxing workout that is set to great music and has awesome moves that make you feel like you're at a party. And it's created by Chalene Johnson WHO I JUST LOVE. More about her in future posts, surely.

So I went and got certified to teach it.

LOL, no I didn't decide on this overnight. I have been thinking about doing this since last September. I noticed that I A. Loved the format, B. Wasn't getting sick of the format after taking it for quite some time, C. I really UNDERSTAND the format as far as how the layers were put together, and strived to get my form better and better with each class, and D. I CAN ACTUALLY DO AND KEEP UP WITH THE CLASS.

That last one is the big one.  Like I said in a previous post I spent my entire childhood and young adult life hating exercise, being uncoordinated, and being frustrated over not being able to keep up with the other kids.  Running, Swimming, even Biking, I could not/still cannot keep up with other people.

But that's distance stuff.  Turbo definitely requires SOME coordination (but not nearly as much as Zumba), and definitely endurance, but I can actually DO it. I was literally shocked when I realized that.   I can't even explain that moment of realization, ahha. I think it was about halfway through my third class. I no longer hated the instructor for telling us to cheer and make noise (love her now by the way. she's my favorite), and I was twisting and turning and kicking and punching right to tempo along with everyone else.

Ok well anyway. On to the certification day. Unfortunately I was having way too much fun to take pictures of the actual class and training, haha. But it was held at the Beachbody Headquarters in Santa Monica which was pretty sweet. I'm a Beachbody Coach so I thought it was cool to see what the actual company office looked like. An employee showed me around during a break in training.

They have motivational posters and advertisements for their programs all over the place.

Imagine driving this thing around all the time.

And I found the famous SHAKEOLOGY WALL. Sorry, I'm a huge dork, but I love Shakeology and I also love visuals so this was pretty cool.

And they also have a kitchen in there. They let us use it. There was Shakeology right there on the counter for us to use. Yummy!! I finally tried the Greenberry flavor, which I really surprisingly liked. It was sweet, yet mild.

Can you believe not everyone has tried the stuff? ;) I whipped up a couple of shakes for a few people at the training who hadn't tried it.

that is MEGA SWEAT hair.

Anyway, the training... was freaking AWESOME. Ever been in a room full of people who are as obsessed with something as you are?? Talk about high energy and fun. We had two awesome Master Trainers teaching us everything about it from basic steps, form and technique, how to connect with your class, and a bunch of other fun stuff. 

Favorite part? When we got into groups to practice and then one person from the group had to get on the microphone and teach a section to the entire room. I volunteered for that, and it was really awkward but really fun!! I definitely need a ton of practice as it's a lot harder than it looks.

Can't wait to find out if I passed training ... I'm sure I did but there's always a slight nervousness, lol. I'm gonna go crazy waiting!! 

In the meantime, I have a TON of fun music and choreography to keep me occupied.

12 rounds!!

And Turbowear.

"keep calm and turbo on." (i hate taking selfies)

I feel accomplished and proud of myself... but it's gonna be even better when I actually get to teach a real class. Stay tuned. :)