Teaching fitness classes at SFU allows me to continue to develop my skills as a fitness professional and help promote healthy, active living to a huge community. I have the opportunity to engage with the SFU community in a way that not a lot of others can.
Applications to other Practices & Pursuits
I feel the wider purpose and meaning is obvious when
discussing teaching fitness classes. I am not only walking the walk, I am
encouraging others to do the same. When I can be participating in a practice I
love, while promoting active living to others; this is the ultimate
satisfaction for me.
Enabling Conditions 1) My workplace allows for cross area work. I work full time in Aquatics, but am also paid to teach fitness classes during my lunch hour.
2) I was able to afford the BCRPA fitness instructor course 10 years ago, something that not everyone can afford.
3) I have the accessibility – the fitness studios are
located within 10 minutes of my office.
4) My personality enables me to be comfortable in front of
crowds so am okay with leading a large group of people from all different
backgrounds, cultures and abilities. Some find it difficult to get past the ‘stage
fright’ aspect of teaching fitness classes.
Life Course Factors - Social Determinants
I appreciate the fact that I am teaching to only a select
group of people:
1) Fitness classes are not affordable for everyone. Students
pay $20 a semester for unlimited group classes and staff or community members
pay $55 a semester.
2) These fitness classes are not ideal for those who have
injuries or disabilities. They would need more one-on-one support versus a
group class of 30 people. 3) If there are language barriers, it might be intimidating for someone to participate in these classes. I remember when I was in Sweden on an exchange program and walked out of a step class crying because I was so confused about what was going on in the class.
4) The classes I teach are not suitable for seniors as the
music is rather loud, the rest of the crowd is younger and the exercises are
sometimes quite advanced.
SFU has already recognized the need to encourage people to
participate in fitness classes and to address some of the limitations that I
have mentioned above:
1) To make things more affordable, the SFU Health and
Wellness Centre has paired up with SFU Recreation to offer the "FitMix" class I
teach. This is completely free for students and offers a different style of
class every time.
2) Rather than just offering “Hard Core Bod,” a muscle
conditioning class more geared towards the younger or more fit crowd, SFU
Recreation offers approximately 45 other classes (eg. Yoga, aquafit, gentle
stretch) that would appeal to a more mature, injured, or less fit crowd.
3) In regards to language barriers, as fitness instructors, we
are trained to provide more demonstrations rather than describing what to do. I
also provide tactile feedback when moving around the class rather than just
telling someone how to make a correction to the exercise.
Teaching fitness classes is an active living practice for
which I have a true passion. I have taught all types of fitness classes from
Yoga to Aquafit to Zumba to cycling in all kinds of places such as Florida,
Mexico, the Bahamas, Japan, Calgary and Vancouver. I have taught in French and
English, in the freezing cold and blazing sun, to a class of one student and a
class of fifty students, and to 13 year olds and 75 year olds. With each fitness class I teach, my goal is always to inspire
and motivate my students as much as they inspire and motivate me.
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