by our Group Fitness Coordinator, Beth Cook
I get excited when I know someone is taking their first Body Pump or Kettlebell class because the participants in these classes are the most awesome crew who will help you set up, give you the low down and ask you how you liked it when class is over.
Let go of perfection, let go of what you think it should look like and instead tune in to how it makes you feel.
My very first group fitness class was in a mall with my mom. I was 13 and very, very shy with zero confidence in anything of the athletic variety. After a summer of classes, I remember how surprised I was going to P.E. class and realizing I wasn’t bad at sports, I just needed the confidence and a good support system!
I get excited when I know someone is taking their first Body Pump or Kettlebell class because the participants in these classes are the most awesome crew who will help you set-up, give you the low down and ask you how you liked it when class is over.
All of our instructors are welcoming and outstanding, but it is the members who take these classes, that make them so extraordinary. It is the friendships that have been built within these classes, the tears that have been shed during hard times and loss, the joy and celebration of good news, birthdays, marriages, new jobs, etc. that make me smile.
Group Fitness is about connection, and that carries into life outside of the classroom, from regular coffee meetups after morning cycling class, lunch after yoga, people staying on zoom to say hi to others, members checking in on other members if they have not seen them in the club or in class.
Of late if feels like society is pointing out all our differences and encouraging us to choose sides. That is not only terrible, but also not true. We have more in common with others than we do differences.
People may be lonelier than we think and feeling the presence of other people can help, be it a class, walking on the treadmill, lifting weights, etc. that can help you establish a routine, and start seeing familiar faces. So, consider that exercise, especially exercising among other people, has more benefits than physical fitness. Exercising among peers or in a group can also feed your soul.
This and all of our articles are written by our team of professionals and published in the Island Fitness Weekly Newsletter.
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