I love group fitness. I love teaching classes and I really enjoy participating in other group fitness classes. That is something relatively new for me. I didn’t always enjoy it. Actually, I didn’t allow myself to enjoy group fitness because I was too scared to even try it.
Have you ever wanted to try a class and held back because you were scared? I have: I worried that I wasn’t fit enough; that I wouldn’t be able to keep up; and that I just wasn’t coordinated enough. I feared that people would watch me and judge me for not following along.
I decided to face that fear a few years ago. I was tired of watching others have fun in classes at the gym; I didn’t want to think of polite excuses when my friends were asking me to join their classes. I wanted to see what they were all about.
I picked a dance class for my first attempt at group fitness. For anyone that knows me well knows that dance is so far out of my comfort zone, even my loving husband laughed at me when I told him what I signed up for. I was of the notion ‘go big or go home’. Guess what, I fell. Right in the middle of class I fell flat on my face. Not once, or twice, but three times! Who does that? Me! I have two left feet, no coordination and I am usually tone deaf. Of course people laughed at me. No one laughed harder than I did. When the instructor suggested I take it easy it just gave me more motivation to figure it out and push harder. The following week I returned to class with determination it could only get better from there. I tried other classes, found my favorites and was hooked.
Truth is there will always be someone more fit than I am. Whether I am teaching the class or not, I can’t always forecast the fitness levels of other participants. I eagerly welcome anyone that is more fit than I am to join my classes. It is not about being stronger than my participants but knowing how to motivate them to push their limits. When I am in a class I enjoy the challenge training beside someone that is pushing just as hard or harder than I am. Instead of being afraid of not being as good as I use that as motivation to push myself that much harder.
I have come to accept the fact that I never will be coordinated and I will always be tone deaf with two left feet. I don’t need coordination to enjoy or teach a great class. I know my limits but that doesn’t stop me from pushing them and falling on my face every once in a while… yes I have done this in my own classes too!
I have also learned to accept that people will judge me. There is nothing I can do to stop that whether in fitness or other aspects of life. If someone choses to judge me because of something I can’t do that is their misfortune, not mine. In my experience though, there is very little judging in group classes.
There is no room for judgement amongst the camaraderie of a group of people working together with a common goal to get fit and have fun. The conversations before, after and even during class are always encouraging and motivating. I have seen many friendships develop through classes and we always have a great time while getting our sweat on.
Don’t let fear stand in your way of all the amazing benefits of group fitness. Get out of your comfort zone and give a class a try.
