Studying. Exams. Learning the planes of the body, types of learning styles and scope of practice and looking at the words “Group Fitness Instructor” or “GFI” hundreds of times over the course of 14 chapters. Why did I have to do that? Well to be an instructor with Aerial Dance, we have to get a certification to be able to do so, that way we can better understand what it means to be an instructor and learn other safe ways to help students. It was a great learning opportunity and it helped me understand more of how to be an instructor, but boy did it stress me out and consume a large part of my life in a short period of time.
In school I procrastinated on a lot of projects and homework, because my life was busy back then too but also I found that working under pressure with a time constraint worked better for me (most of the time). But this however, was something I could not procrastinate on. I chose to get my certification through ACE (American Council on Exercise) and it gave me an online book with 14 chapters ranging from topics of the muscles and bones of the body, to types of learning styles, program style and many more relating to group fitness. Not gonna lie, some of the chapters were SO boring and took me ages to get through, while some chapters were pretty insightful and taught me things I never would have known.
While studying and reading chapters on my free nights, I was still attending trainings at Aerial to learn the other apparatuses, and class formats too. At the end of a training session, whoever was leading the training would tell us to start designing our own classes for our co-teaches. I however chose not to focus on those just yet, as I was too focused on studying for my exam. The day came around where I had to take my exam, 150 questions later and I passed!! I literally almost cried. I was so relieved that I passed because I was so stressed about this.
I’m excited that this huge weight is off my shoulders finally and that I can finally start focusing on my observations and co-teaches. I know that I’ll be able to give them my all since I don’t have the exam to cram for anymore. So even when life feels busy or that you feel like something is too overwhelming, know that you can do it, just give yourself time, and use your support system around you. Whether it’s family, friends or the women at Aerial Dance. While I was doubting myself, every person I talked to told me that I could do it and they believed in me. It was great to know I had such a system around me. See you all around the studio!