One never gets a second change to make a first impression, but the first impression is not the last chance to make a good impression!
In 15 months of being an Aerial Member I had never attended a Vertical Barre class, until three weeks ago. When I first became a member, I arrived for a pole class as a Vertical Barre class was leaving. The girls were all super sweaty and talking about how sore they were all going to be the next day. As a noob I was very intimidated by this group and got the impression that it was far beyond my level.
Aerial Conditioning, Pole Flow, Floor Flow, Beginner Pole, Intermediate Pole, Hammock, Hoop, Silks, Bendy Babe, I tried them all, except Vertical Barre. Fifteen months and I was still scared to death of that class. I’m really self conscious of being sweaty and having BO around other people. I didn’t want to take the class if there would be more than two people in the class. I didn’t want to take the class if there wasn’t time for me to shower afterwards. I didn’t want to take the class and have another class right after. I didn’t want to take the class when I had a lot going on the next day. Excuse after excuse held me back from trying something new.
Last week I finally decided not to the let fear get between me and a new experience. I packed some extra deodorant, some shower stuff so I could rinse off if I needed to, and a change of clothes. I walked into class and it was full! I mean, not a single extra pole full! To top it off, the only pole left was the pole in front! Trial by fire as the saying goes.
What an Awesome class!!! Kim did an excellent job creating a curriculum with a good mix of cardio and conditioning. Nothing was beyond a beginner level for skills and all the moves could easily be adapted if you had limitations or were recovering from an injury. It was all very low impact and used body weight not hand weights. The best part was not dripping sweat at the end. Don’t misunderstand me – it was hard work and I did sweat and need to change my clothes but the shower could wait for my 90 minute drive home. The next day I was sore but not “Toilet Trust Fall” sore. I could still function and do all my day to day tasks without regrets. In fact, I felt great! I had overcome my fear and done something good for me and my body. Many of the moves and exercises I was able to review and repeat with my pole at home and some didn’t even require a pole.
My takeaway is to not let a first impression of someone else’s experience keep you from trying it yourself. Maybe it will be too hard and you’ll have to do more prep work before the next time. Maybe it will be too easy and you’ll need to ask for a more challenging variation. Or maybe, it will be just right, you’ll have a great time, and you’ll sign up for the same class next week! You never know unless you try…