Start Carefully.

Today, I will be meeting many new students at the gym as we begin a new session of fitness classes. Having been in this field for over 15 years I see a lot of students come and go during the first few weeks of classes.
While it is great to be excited and want to try every class your gym is offering, I suggest that you take it slowly in the beginning, especially if you have not exercised in awhile.

What often ends up happening is people try to make up for lost time and they push themselves too hard that first day. Remember that you cannot make up for months or years of being lazy in one single workout. Listen to your body. Pace yourself and you will be fine.

Ideally, we want students to exercise daily but you have to be selective when attending classes because you can get injured by working out the same muscle groups on back to back days. So if you attend a class where the teacher works your legs and arms, do not do those same muscle groups the very next day or you can risk injuring yourself. If you absolutely love the class that happens to be training your legs and arms, then pick very lite weights or use no weights at all. If you attend my classes on Monday and then on Tuesday, I design my programming to keep you safe.

Remember to drink water. Students can arrive in my class already dehydrated and then working out can aggravate this condition. Be sure to drink water after the workout to make up for lost fluids.

I cannot wait to be back in our old fitness room. It now has a new roof, windows and fresh paint!

I wish you a wonderful fall fitness session.

See you soon,
Beth

Taking a break for one week

Good Morning Everyone,

As you know I started a new job last week, teaching English in the Adult Education Sector, and as a result I need to take a week off from writing my blog.  We start fitness classes next week and my blog will return that morning. I have to make up for many years of being out of a standard classroom, so all of my time is being dedicated to writing lesson plans. 

Thanks for your understanding.
See you September 14th!

Have a great day.
Beth

A New Opportunity

I am happy to announce that today I am starting a new job!  I have been hired to teach English Secondary V, in an Adult Learning Center, four afternoons a week.

A number of you received this news directly from me yesterday, as I have had to cancel all of my afternoon fitness commitments in order to make this dream a reality.

Please note that none of my morning classes will be affected.

I originally studied at McGill University to teach English and MRE ( moral and religious education) at the secondary level. I came out of school full of energy, ready to help young people achieve their goals.  I did some substitution work but then my husband and I decided to start our family, so I put my dreams on the shelf and focused on raising our three amazing children.

I went to school at night to become a Personal Trainer/Fitness Instructor and then once I completed that dream, I worked in the evenings when my husband could be at home with the kids.

I fell in love with helping people to become healthier but my heart has always wanted to get back into the classroom. I need to know if I can have as great an impact on today's kids, as I have had on all of you!

I am so lucky to have many retired teachers in my fitness classes and one of them in particular felt that I would be best suited to teaching in the Adult sector. She saw something in me that I had forgotten was there.  Last year, she took me by the hand to this particular center and introduced me to some of the staff.  I have not been in a typical classroom in over 15 years, so part of me thought that she was a bit nuts however I felt that I needed to trust her.  As things unfolded last year it became apparent to me that the timing was not right.

On Wednesday, the phone rang and I was called in for an interview for a teaching job that would start Friday. What a crazy few days this has been.

I am absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity to see if I can help young adults.

This is my dream job. I get to keep leading and teaching my fitness students, while at the same time teaching English at the high school level.

I am going to make mistakes but as I have explained to you before, if I wait until I think I am perfect, I will never do anything different. The classroom is so different from when I studied at McGill. I am going to need a lot of help.

Am I the best English teacher the world has ever known?  Probably not.

Do I really care about my students and want them to succeed? Absolutely.

Will I do everything that is physically possible to help them to be successful?  Yes. 

I have the heart and I have the will. The rest will fall into place.

Please wish me luck.

Have a great weekend everyone,
Beth

My 100th Post!

 I started this blog in mid April of this year and I cannot believe that I am writing my 100th post this morning.

My hope in writing this blog was that it would bring me a bit closer to my students. We have such a short time together everyday, and often there are so many people in the room, that this blog allows me to reach out and speak to you after class.

I have been teaching at the same location for 17 years and in that time attendance has easily doubled. In one of my classes I used to get 15 students, now I get 45. Those 45 have to wait in line before class to get a number and if you are number 46 that day, unfortunately you miss out.

I am thrilled about the success of this particular class but I also feel some frustration from students who just want to exercise but at times cannot get in.

The blog gives me an opportunity to share information with all of my students whether you miss class or not.

I have very faithful readers who take a moment to tell me that they have read the morning's post. This brings us just a little bit closer together and in the end, my goal is to reach out and impact my students any way that I can!

Truth be told, I had no idea how to start this blog. I bought myself a "how to" book at Chapter's and jumped right in with both feet. I created my page and even though I had no one to tell me if it looked good or not, I went "live." I decided that my desire is not to be perfect, but to speak as if we are having coffee together. I believe that I have achieved this goal.


All of you are registering for the September programs. Most of you were not in class this summer as you vacationed and enjoyed the wonderful weather.

I cannot wait to see you all back in classes during the week of the 14th.

Have a great day everyone,

p.s  maybe I will make a gluten free "100th post" cake to celebrate!

Beth

My Home Studio

Many years ago, my carpenter husband made one of my dreams come true when he helped me to build a studio in our basement.  At the time, I had a few classes going in the area close to my home but the rent was expensive so I convinced Peter that it would be a great way to use the space.

I am happy to say that this little gym has been the one of the best things that we ever did. I offer three classes a week here and then when it is not in use, the family can use it for their own personal fitness. I also offer personal training here for those clients who live close by.

As a trainer, I am always trying to help my clients find a space in their home to workout and I am sad when they push themselves down into a dingy basement or a cluttered living room.  You have to love the space or you will not go there on you own to workout.

Fitness should not be last on your list. It should be first. If the space is set up beautifully and the equipment is easy to access, you can jump out of bed and get to your exercise quickly and before you know it, you are done and ready to start your day.

Of all of my clients, the ones who truly succeed, are the ones who carve out time in the early morning for exercise.  You are very busy and once the day starts, it is easy to put off time for yourself.

Get up 30 minutes earlier and devote that time to a short warm up and then basic exercises and stretching. Do not get on social media or turn on the TV.  Focus on you and your health for the first 30 minutes of each and every day. 

Today classes start in my home studio. I have been training 5 dedicated individuals in this space for the last 5 years or so. My space can fit 12 students so once in a while I invite my Pointe Claire students to come out to my house and after exercise, we have a lovely breakfast. We have so much fun that I have lost track of exactly how many years it has been.

Consider rearranging your space today to make working out easier and fun. You will be happy that you did!


See you soon,
Beth

You are my focus!

All over the world, trainers like myself are preparing programs for our September start up.  I want to let you in on a little secret.  When I am designing my classes, you are the focus, not me.

I think sometimes we enter classes and already we feel like we will never measure up.  That somehow we are failures unless we can keep up to the teacher.  Maybe we feel like the teacher is just a paid robot at the front of the class, hired to look good and push people beyond their limits.

This is not my goal. I do not want you to become me. I want you to become a healthier version of you!

I want you to enjoy your experience in my class so that you keep coming back. If the class is large, my  biggest fear is that beginners will slip through the cracks, feel unnoticed and not return.

So I want you to know that though I absolutely love my returning students, I have an eye out for the new kid on the block.

I am scoping out the class and trying as hard as I can to connect with the newcomers because I have been that nervous newbie in the back. I know what it is to get up the courage to try a new class and feel goofy in the process. I know how hard it is to find time to get to my class. I know that you are busy and so when you appear, it is my mission to let you know that I see you and I am here to serve you!

I do not teach 12-16 classes a week to be the strongest, best performer in the group. I teach that many classes so that I can reach that many people.

I want to give a hand up to someone who has just been told that they have diabetes and they have to exercise more.  I am there to guide that individual who has been told that they have high cholesterol and high blood pressure and that they have to improve their numbers or their lives are at risk. 

Let's face it, some people go to the gym to improve their appearance. While I am there for those people, what truly motivates me everyday is helping people improve their health, combat disease and have fun in the process.

Recently, I have been joking with some of my family and friends, saying that I believe my calling in fitness is to take care of the broken and wounded students. While it is a thrill to help elite athletes be even better, it is ten times more rewarding when a student tells me that because of my class, they are able to get off of medication or that they can now do the things that they love, pain free.

So introduce yourself to me on the first day. Share your success stories with me.

I am looking for you and I am ready to help.

Sincerely,
Beth