Coffee Talk Tuesday #129

It’s Tuesday! Grab your cup and let’s start talking.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I am loading up on the full-body classes this week! I’m subbing a couple of classes at AquaFit, and I love teaching this style. I feel most creative when I can design a whole class format, like I do for the HIIT/Intervals classes. I give them cute names like “Booty Gainz” or “All About the Core” or my signature “FWA 100.” I LOVE being able to teach the beachbody format classes (Turbo, PiYo, Insanity), and I add my little signature movements when I can, but they control the materials/music and then I pick what to present to the class. It’s still creative, but I like doing more of the planning work, which takes way more time but feels awesome when people dig it.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’ve recently started my third and final engagement with my Next Gen students — I’ll meet with all 181 of them 1:1 to go over summer plans, talk about the PSAT with 10th grade students, go over grades and attendance, and more. It takes a lot of concentration and planning to meet with each individual, but I love this part of the program!

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I had a unique opportunity last night during Turbo Kick class to teach sans music. The speaker kept making really awesome sounds, so it wasn’t working, right in the middle of class. I have some really nice speakers personally, but of course they stay at home, and I use them for events. Thinking quickly, I turned my volume all the way up, put my phone on the floor, and proceeded to teach with 5-6-7-8 beats. I still can’t believe I pulled it off, but after 10 years of teaching group fitness, you kind of have to roll with the punches. I’ll even venture to say everyone worked EXTRA hard, stomping to the movements and clapping hands to make some noises. I love my turbo family!

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’m so glad to have a flexible schedule with my jobs. Some weeks, it’s like everything and everyone needs ALL THE THINGS from me, but then I can also move things around and schedule tasks for the times that work best for me. There’s no point to me in being miserable in a 9-5 job situation when I crave flexibility. I’ve said this a million times to husband: I feel like I could work anywhere, and I have. Since age 14, I have been employed in some way or another. Ever since college, I’ve held multiple jobs at one time. I like the flow of different tasks, otherwise I feel complacent. I like new energy and opportunities. I’ve learned how to say “this is something I want to do” and how to go after a job or position I want. No two weeks look similar for me, even with the steady teaching schedule, and I love that. It takes lots of crafting and careful planning, but it makes me the happiest.

Related to this, if we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that it’s a learning process, to discover how you want to be professionally, and how you can contribute to this world. And – let me throw this out there – you’re never stuck. It’s up to YOU to decide how to move forward, and to determine your attitude. Here’s what I did back in the fall of 2017 when I felt stuck in my 10-year job, surrounded by individuals with ideas that made me cringe, and feeling like I wasn’t able to make any additional professional or personal progress: I made a list. On a white board, because #fancy. Make a few lists. What’s important to you? What’s a professional goal? How do you spend your time each day? Write it all down. Compare the lists. Are the things you’re doing every day related to your goal? If there are BIG gaps, it’s time to move on. YES! It’s scary. I left a job with no prospects, other than my fitness classes (which is a definite full job on its own, but not enough to pay the bills, or at least I haven’t figured out the best way to make that happen yet). I’m not necessarily recommending leaving with no prospects, but sometimes you must. It won’t get better until you make the big move. For you. People might not understand it, but that’s ok, they either will eventually get on board, or you thank them and move past them (KonMari style).

I literally spend so much time each week helping students think about what contributions they’d like to make to the world, and what problems they’d like to solve. I love these conversations, so please reach out if you need to have one. I’ve often thought about becoming a counselor or coach for this reason (not that it’s not my thing now, but I’d love to work with adults, too!). It’s on my board. But first, I have some fitness professional goals to rock, so all in good time.

That’s a lot for a Tuesday — I’ll see you in class, or next week!