Monday, August 15, 2011

I love how they say dumbells like Arnold...dooombulls


At 12pm today I had a meeting at the University to fill out some final paperwork for my visa and to sign my contract to teach 6 fitness/ spin classes in the fall. I'm not able to work until my visa comes through so I hope things move along quickly. I'm so accustomed to having full days that I feel a little lost without them. I do feel much more relaxed then I have in a long time and the simple life can be really great at times. I went to UM Sport, the University gym, to do a demo class for the spin program coordinator today. His name is Ruud and he is a really authentic person. I was going to say nice but that is so generic and I'm trying to be more thoughtful these days. The style of teaching is quite different then what I am used to but he gave me some really constructive feedback. I think I am going to have to work on my non-verbal cueing as a number of my participants will speak english as a second, third or not at all language. They are very much about music to the point that it feels like a choreographed dance class. Not my usual teaching style but I can do it and still honour who I am. I just need to be creative ;)
I also attended a class called Workout Mix, that I am slotted to teach for the fall. The instructor who was teaching is also the person who manages all the scheduling, training etc for fitness instructors. She had great musicality and personality in front of the group and you could tell she loves to teach the dance style classes. When we got to the strength section of the class we proceeded to train the chest and back in a standing position with dumbells, they say dumbells like Arnold Schwarzenegger (awesome), in our hands pressing forward and rowing back STANDING. Ouch! This is not for the chest and back.... I need to help these people. A very motivating thing for me was the numbers. There were 23 people in the class. In the summer! Apparently there can be up to 80 people in a class in the fall. Did I mention we teach in a gymnasium?? It's huge..no mirrors...but I like that...the constant visual feedback can be grueling even for the most confident and body proud women.
When I spoke with her after class she expressed how open they are to me teaching in my own style which I am very excited about. I will give her some feedback when I see her tomorrow. It is different being on this side of the management table. I think it's important to be here again :) I really hope that people like my classes! I think this will give me an opportunity to really improve as an instructor and to bring something to the other instructors here as well.

1 comment:

  1. Great blog Alana, very funny! Makes me wish i'd started something similar to keep the folks back home updated. Too late now though I almost feel fully Canadian! Keep us posted on how the classes go, good luck! ;-)

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