Today I completed the BodyPump Advanced Instructor Module 1! I have been wanting to go through advanced instructor training for a long time now so I was thrilled to discover a course was being offered in Cary. I signed up a couple of months ago and today was the big day!
I love BodyPump (read more about why). I totally credit it for all of my muscle tone and completely changing the shape of my body. The purpose of advanced instructor training is to improve your teaching skills and perfect technique. Also, AIMs are how Les Mills is selecting the new generation of trainers and one of my long-term “stretch goals” is to become a trainer for BodyPump. That means I would train other instructors and present new releases and lead workshops. Getting to the point where I can train others to teach is a huge career goal of mine (and not just for BodyPump…hopefully one day yoga too!).
Although it was an awesome day, it was a long one. Six hours of driving and 8.5 hours of training. My alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. and I was on the road by 5. I stayed awake thanks to coffee and the BodyPump music that was blasting as I reviewed choreography. I ate some overnight oats around 6:30 and finally arrived in Cary for the training around 7:45 a.m.
The agenda for our full day was posted when we arrived. We started out by teaching and receiving feedback. I really appreciate honest feedback and what I received really resonated with me. Sloooooow down…”say it and let it sink in.” I totally agree with this! I am such a “coach” and want to tell my students everything about what they’re doing. In reality, less is always more.
After presentation we went through some flexibility, strength and technique drills. We did a cool hip flexor flexibility test where you laid back on a stack of steps and let your leg hang.
Knee above the thigh = poor flexibility
Knee in-line with the thigh = good flexibility
Knee below thigh = excellent flexibility
I had a slight advantage thanks to yoga. 😉
The other cool drill we did was the Sorenson Test. This is meant to test the endurance of you back, glute and hamstring muscles. We had to lay down prone on a step and maintain a position where our chest was lifted above the line of our hips with palms face down while a partner pressed down on our legs.
2 minutes = Average
3 minutes = Ideal for a BodyPump instructor
4 minutes = Athlete status
I held mine for a little over 4 minutes and then bailed. My low back and IT bands were killing! Some people in our training held this up to 8 minutes. Insane!!!
We had a short lunch break but luckily there was a Panera close by. I ordered vegetable soup, the harvest turkey salad and whole wheat baguette. I grabbed a coffee to go.
We spent the afternoon talking about how to really effectively teach our classes using cues and tone of voice and then ended the day by presenting our assigned tracks again so that we could apply all the things that we learned. I ended up doing the lunge track FIVE times over the course of the day. We did the entire release twice + the technique drills (plus practicing our assigned tracks with partners…mine was lunges). I predict that I will be very sore in the morning! Watch out yoga, here I come.
Much thanks to our amazing trainer, Darren. I promise to talk less and work on my form! 😀
We wrapped up our training at 5:30 and after a trip to Starbucks for an Awake tea, I was back on the road for Charlotte. I got home around 8:30 and got straight to work preparing dinner.
Baked tofu seasoned with Dizzy Pig Shakin’ the Tree and topped with roasted red pepper hummus, whole wheat couscous with sun dried tomatoes and feta and sautéed spinach. Complimented by a huge glass of wine + cookies!
Now I crash. What a long but awesome day! Happy weekend!!!
