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On becoming a fitness instructor

| cheriarmour

First things – I was supposed to come into work super late, but ended up having to come in early because my email was EXPLODING, so to alleviate the pain and suffering I was dealing with from having to answer 65,000 emails, I bought myself an inappropriately large coffee from Dunkin Donuts, and it’s been sloshing to and fro in my belly.  Wanna know how good it feels to have 18 million gallons of a diuretic sloshing about in your stomach?  Not good at all.

But enough complaining, life is wonderful, and I’m not here to talk about my GI issues.

But I am here to talk about a question I’ve gotten a lot since becoming a fitness instructor in late 2009, after I completed my undergraduate degree.

First and foremost, I can, without a doubt say that becoming a fitness instructor completely changed my life.

I’d been taking Zumba® Fitness classes for a number of years, and had always toyed with the idea of teaching, because I loved the way my instructor made me feel.  After a boyfriend made fun of me so badly that I didn’t want to get certified, I finally got up the nerve and took the plunge a few months after I graduated.  I’m still amazed that my chubby ass got up the gall to to to the licensing weekend, but I went and it changed my life.

Before
As a total side note, I was never obese, but I was eating really poorly, and had put on about 40 pounds when all was said and done in college.

 

So my process for getting licensed and certified in fitness goes like this.

Zumba® Fitness ->Schwinn Cycling Certification->AFAA Group Exercise Certification->Body Pump™ Certification

So for those of you interested in getting certified in group fitness and becoming a fitness instructor, here are a few steps that can get you from the process, to getting the credentials needed to effectively teach a class.

Becoming a fitness instructor

1.  This one seems pretty obvious but go to a lot of classes.  What do you like about your favorite teachers?  Start paying attention to their cueing, their mic level, and how they interact with the class.  My strengths are my dance classes as well as my toning, but it made me a much stronger teacher to see how different groups do different things.

2.  Get the basics.  Before you hop to teaching/getting certified/licensed in something crazy or a specialty like Yoga or Zumba® Fitness, look for a group fitness certification through a program like AFAA.  I DID NOT do this, I did it all backwards, but looking back on it, AFAA was valuable and helped to remind me about some of the safety cues we often forget when we’re getting all hot and heavy in a class.  Like I said, I did this all backwards, but an AFAA cert is really valuable.

3.  Sign up for a training.  Whether’s it’s AFAA, Zumba® Fitness, Pound, or what have you, go ahead and sign up for a training.  Once you sign up (early, cause those things can really sell out), you will be sent some materials.  Definitely look them over, and if it’s a training where you will be presenting for evaluation, definitely study.  ‘Cause you don’t want to be the problem child who has no idea what’s going on.

4.  You’re all signed up for a two-day training!  It’s the night before!  Pack your stuff, pack some snacks, and be prepped to be sore.  I am super active, but the Body Pump™ process had me the most sore that I’ve ever been in my entire life, mostly due to the fact that in the span of 48 hours, we took like 5 classes, and did the Les Mills challenge.

So all of this is how you get to become a fitness instructor…stay tuned for info on how to get to teaching at the gym!

 

 

The world’s most unproductive day.

| cheriarmour

So, I am straight exhausted from Thanksgiving.  We hosted our first Thanksgiving as a married couple together, which was awesome because I got to flex my cooking muscles.  Most people assume because I eat pretty healthy and I pretty much hate to eat most things (mushrooms, potato chips, pickles, mealy tomatoes, watermelon sometimes, and the gourds), that I suck at cooking.  But when your options are either hate everything OR starve to death, you get pretty creative with cooking, which is exactly what I did.  All day on Thursday.

Okay, so Thanksgiving was all well and good, but immediately following, Austin and I drove up to Philly for a funeral, and because the death occurred so suddenly, we drove up and back to Philly in a day, not something  I’d recommend.   As a total side-note, as an avid runner and marathoner, I can honestly say that my legs hurt worse sitting in the car all day than they did running 30 miles in the desert last month.

So that said, I went into work for a little while on Sunday night after we got back, to clean out my inbox and work out and get some blood flowing down in my legs, and I formulated a plan to come into work, guns blazing on Monday morning, ready to rock.

Are These The 43 Funniest GIFs Of All Time?Yeah no.

I sent approximately 1.5 emails before the internet at work starting cutting out.  So naturally, I decided to go for a run in hopes that the internet would magically be restored by the time I got back.

No such luck.

I wandered around the branch.  I looked sadly at my iPhone.  I worked out some more.  I contemplated lifting weights.  Decided against it.  Ate some lunch for a while.  Thought about why Nick Jonas’ new single was so good.

I’m still not sure why it’s so good. Why he sounds black. Why he’s so cute. Why he’s playing with my emotions.

And by 4pm, when the internet finally decided it was going to come back on, I had like 1/2 of what I wanted to get done, done.

I ended up having to stay at work hours later than I planned to.

And still.  The most unproductive day ever.

Ah well. How was your Monday?

Thanksgiving Recap

| cheriarmour

My days/time are all off because of the way Thanksgiving falls just in the middle of the week, so today, you beautiful folks will get a post on a Saturday, which hasn’t happened in quite some time.

Anyhoo, so I had my first Thanksgiving as a:

  1. Homeowner.
  2. Married woman.
  3. Person who cooks all the food.
  4. Person who cleans for people to come over.

…And it was pretty cool.

Thanksgiving 1
The fam gathering around the island to pray and stuff…
Thanksgiving 4
I was feeling like my face wasn’t looking brilliant – very minimal makeup, so I don’t have a lot of pictures of my actual face from that morning. I think all the cooking made me feel like my skin was sorta eh.
Thanksgiving 2
We couldn’t get Chester off the table. Meh.

Thanksgivng 5So I woke up early on Thursday morning after we’d done some Wednesday evening shopping, and immediately got to cooking.  And I cooked and cooked and cooked.  On the menu?

  1. Mashed potatoes
  2. Corn
  3. Stuffing
  4. Hash Brown Casserole
  5. Creamed Spinach (I wasn’t a huge fan of this dish)
  6. White Veggie Lasagna
  7. Southern Made Biscuits

And my parents and sisters brought..

  1. A Bundt
  2. Pumpkin Pie
  3. Turkey and a Ham (I wasn’t too down with prepping the meat)
  4. Green Bean Casserole
  5. Mac and Cheese

I was terrified at some point that we wouldn’t have enough food, but at this count, I’ve just finished my third plate and I’m growing weary under the pressure of trying to finish these leftovers.  I’m a max, one to two-day leftover kinda girl – this is killing me.  I also don’t eat a ton as Thanksgiving sort of requires you to do so I’m sorta dying here.

So my entire Thanksgiving consisted of cooking, hosting family, and cleaning up later that night.  My workout that I’d sort of planned didn’t happen, my long walk didn’t happen.  Heck, I barely even got dessert.  But I have a lot, a TON to be thankful for.

What was your Thanksgiving like? 

 

If you shop on Thanksgiving, I’m judging you.

| cheriarmour

This will be my only post/rant on the issue, and then I will drop it and we’ll move along and all be friends.

On Thanksgiving, i will be doing two things.

  1. Going for a run so I can enjoy indulging without much guilt.
  2. Cooking.
  3. Enjoying dinner with my family.

So that was three things, but you get what I’m saying.  Nowhere above did I say I was going to go to Best Buy, Target, or Macy’s to stock up on some crappy deal, when I really need to be saving my coins (my car just decided it needed about $600 worth of help, so I really can’t be spending money all willy-nilly anyhow).  And the reason for this is that, after working in retail, Whole Foods and Fleet Feet, there is no way on God’s green earth that I’d get up from my dinner table, run out, and make someone else’s life really mis on that day.

Let me explain something to you about working retail during the holidays.  I truly didn’t experience this as much with the customers from Fleet Feet, however, the Whole Foods schedule, and the customers made me resent them and resent the holidays, a feeling I hated having.  I felt myself starting to hate holiday themed food, answering people’s dumbass questions regarding some weird food we have never carried, and hating people themselves, especially those who took out their holiday-induced stress on us.

Here’s an example.  One Thanksgiving-Eve, a woman called the bakery and screamed at me because she hadn’t realized that the Yule Logs were like chocolate inside when she bought them.  First off, I don’t care.  If that is your worst worry at the holidays, consider yourself lucky.  There is poverty, hunger, genocide, and racism in the world to scratch the surface – none of which take a break on the holidays.  And furthermore, it is not my fault that you didn’t realize that the yule logs were chocolate inside.  Now, if she were actually nice to be, I might actually feel inclined to fix her problem or offer her something of her choosing in the vanilla family, however, she was unkind, and therefore, I didn’t feel too pressed to correct her issue.  Especially, ESPECIALLY given that she seemed to have no concern that while I listened to her yule log lamentations, my family was wondering where I was, and getting started on all the cooking without me.

But I digress.

You can try and slice and dice it any way you want to…

-Those people volunteer to work. (And really, the way it works is that the folks that want to work volunteer first, and then your manager fills the rest of the holes with other folks who may not particularly care to work.)

-These folks make a TON of money in this season. (No on is getting rich on a retail salary.  If they’re making time-and-a-half, that is absolutely wonderful, but a really temporary fix for the anger and resentment that builds up towards folks around the holidays.)

-If they don’t like it, why are they working retail.  (Now, I know jobs are extremely easy to come by ::cough::, however, sometimes folks don’t have a whole lot of choice.  Or sometimes, they actually LIKE their retail situation during months that aren’t November and December.  However, that doesn’t mean they want to get screamed at about your yule logs on Thanksgiving Day.)

…But the fact stands.  You don’t need to shop on Thanksgiving.  And I’m judging you if you choose to do so.

Stevie Wonder – 11/22/14

| cheriarmour

When I was in like, fourth grade, I used to have this dream of inviting Stevie Wonder to speak to my class, and surprising my dad with a meet-and-greet with Stevie Wonder.

Sadly, that never happened, but this past weekend, I did the best that I could.

Stevie Wonder announced a tour in early September, which immediately, I knew that I wanted to go to.  But unfortunately, scalpers made the process of buying tickets extremely difficult, and by mid-October, the price of tickets had climbed to over $700 in some cases.  But after reading a few reviews of the show, I knew I had to go, and if I didn’t go, I’d regret it.

For about a month, I researched.  I entered radio contests, contact virtual strangers, and trolled the internet for a non-scammy, fair ticket price, and finally found one in a lawyer in Atlanta, who I purchased the tickets from for $300.  I gave my dad the news, and Saturday morning, we were cruising down to Atlanta to see the man that gave me my name (My Cherie Amor = Cheri Armour).

There are no words for the concert.  But there are pictures!

Stevie Wonder 1Stevie Wonder 2Stevie Wonder 3
Stevie Wonder 4Stevie Wonder 5Stevie Wonder 7

Concert Highlights

  • No one opened for Stevie Wonder, so literally, when it was go time, Stevie (who I’m apparently on a first-name basis with) walked out, introduced his two kids and India.Arie, and started the show.
  • Speaking of, India.Arie, who I’ve seen a few times, performed a few songs with him.  She is great, and her voice is as velvety as it’s ever been.
  • During Pastime Paradise, If It’s Magic, and Village Ghetto Land, Stevie Wonder straight-up stood up, looked straight into the audience, and just sang the songs.  Kind of a novel concept in the time of an artist flying around on a harness and relying heavily on dancers and a light show, but this was awesome.
  • He also made a few political statements.  Stevie Wonder doesn’t hate guns on their own, but feels we have a gun problem in this country and that something needs to be done so that folks can’t buy guns off Craiglist with the serial number scratched off.  That IS a felony by the way, but the point is, that guns are getting into the wrongs hands, and it needs to be stopped.  The execution is/will be difficult, but it absolutely has to be done. [Rant ovah]
  • Stevie Wonder evidently has an alter ego called “DJ Tick Tick Boom” who likes to play hits other than what’s on Songs in the Key of Life.  He sampled Part Time Lover, Do I Do, he covered some Michael Jackson (The Way You Make me Feel), and sang My Cherie Amor (!!).  It was hysterical and incredible.
  • Stevie Wonder’s daughter, Aisha, whom he wrote Isn’t She Lovely for, was at the show and gorgeous. 
  • Stevie Wonder is also a huge supporter of making love, not war.  He mentioned love, and I nothing but little heart emojis as I left the show.  He especially mentioned it during If It’s Magic, which was backed by this magical harp.
  • Keith John has been with Stevie since the 80s (my dad saw him in ’88).  Mr. John’s voice is stupid how similar it is to Stevie Wonder’s.  Watch all of this video and tell me you weren’t confused at the end of As…
  • And it was really, really cool to turn to my left, and see my dad actually participating in and enjoying a concert.  He sang a little bit.  He smiled during Ordinary Pain when the background singers were cussing Stevie out basically, and stood up for some of it.  The last concert I saw him do that at was John Mayer in like 2008.

Truthfully, this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to in my life.  And I’ve seen Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Gavin DeGraw (more times than I care to admit), and John Legend.  I make a practice out of seeing good shows, and this $300 I spent was the literal best money I’ve ever spent.  Annnd Stevie played for 3 hours, a record for all the shows I’ve ever been to.

What’s on your concert bucket list?  What’s the best concert that you’ve ever been to? 

Happy & Hale

| cheriarmour

First off, let’s go ahead and thank the sweet Starbucks angel from above who made me an eggnog latte on the DL today.  I don’t know what Starbucks’ deal is, but for some UNGODLY reason, they decided that they needed to discontinue the eggnog latte in our market.

I mean, not to say that I don’t completely understand that eggnog, on its own, is a horribly disgusting invention, however, in a latte, that is the most wondrous thing that has ever been created.  It’s creamy, it tastes like Christmas, and in small doses, it doesn’t make my stomach hurt that badly.

Starbucks

So, shoutout to the sweet angel, sent by God at the Starbucks on Fayetteville Street. Hashtag blessed.

Happy & Hale 

So a few days ago, the boys from Happy & Hale came to the Y, where I work, and they, in partnership with a local organization, brought lunches for everyone.  The salads and quinoa bowls looked so beyond words, I decided that although I couldn’t partake in the food that day (I was teaching a class, and food + exercise at the same time is not encouraged), I would try and get down there that day.

Photo via Bizjournal
Photo via Bizjournal

Happy & Hale is a far cry from what you typically think of when you think of southern food. The south is great for a lot of things, however, nutritional health and well-being is not our strong suit. We have Bojangles, Cookout, and biscuits (which are delish in moderation). However, with the advent of Whole Foods, Trader Joes, local farms, and the influx of hipsters and lumbersexuals that we have here, Happy & Hale has been an interesting and successful business downtown.

First, I checked out the menu online.  I thought it seemed a little pricey, but decided to splurge – plus the option was either that, or a Lean Cuisine because I didn’t pack a good lunch. #fail

I decided on the quinoa bowl, as I’d heard that this was one of the most popular things on the menu, and went for it.  The bowl was kinda similar to the salad bowl, and was packed.  Picture this.  Quinoa on the bottom.  Black beans, feta cheese, pico de gallo, onions, and some sick vinegarette were all included with some tofu for some more protein.

Lunch was DELICIOUS, and super filling.  Though I probably should have done without the onions (had to scavenge around for mouthwash after lunch), it was satisfying on two levels.  For one, it tasted good.  And there’s a lot to be said for that.  For two, it felt way better than shoving something really quickly while sitting in front of my computer.

If you didn’t pack it, where do you go to get your lunch?

30 Before 30 – the beginning

| cheriarmour

So on Saturday evening, I officially turned 27 years old.

I don’t really feel any kind of way about it, certainly not negatively, because honestly, the year that you get married and buy a house, planning some sort of birthday extravaganza isn’t tops on your list of things to do, but I really, truly had an awesome time for the big 27.

I taught a class….

The literal worst photo of me ever taken, but #longhairdontcare
The literal worst photo of me ever taken, but #longhairdontcare

..Went to dinner at Irregardless, which I am fully aware is not a word, but the food there is the absolute BOMB…

…And I drank lots and lots of mimosas with my friends at brunch, one of the most amazing food groups in the world.  (Seriously, I would attribute 99% of my college weight gain to inordinate amounts of brunch, and I was saddened that I had to let it go when I started becoming a little healthier.)

Brunch with my hubby (and a few friends)
Brunch with my hubby (and a few friends)

But, I’ve seen this really cool thing on other blogs, and I think it’s a cool way to hold myself accountable – a 30 before 30 list.

So the list won’t be finalized here, but I think it’s an interesting thing to start thinking about, especially since 30 isn’t necessarily a mythical age that is far off in the distance.  I’m no math whiz, but I’ve got a little less than three years until I start my 40 before 40 list, ya dig?

So a few things I’d like to accomplish before 30?

  1. Run a marathon. Quickly.
  2. Hone my guitar skills and perform on my own a few times.
  3. Get paid for a few gigs.
  4. Pay off my student loans.
  5. Speak Spanish well.
  6. Travel, legitimately travel, with my husband.  (We’ve taken trips here and there, but never a real trip, where we pack up, leave the pets behind, and push off for a few weeks of travel.  We’ve talked about Alaska and Greece for real, and I’m hoping to get to one of these as a honeymoon trip for us.
  7. Throw parties for my friends.  It’s something that has emerged over the past few years as a thing I like to do.  We’ve thrown Super Bowl parties, housewarming parties, New  Years’ parties, and I have never regretted having people over.  It’s something that I’d like to continue doing!
  8. Start an enjoyable and lucrative business.  Me and Austin are looking at a plan, possibly to launch next spring.  It’s a cool thing, because you get to flex your creative/organization/management muscles without too much risk.  If it doesn’t work out?  Hey, at least we have some experience running and maintaining a business right?
  9. Do stuff that makes me uncomfortable.  I’m pretty decent at this, but it’s not something I want to get out of the habit of doing it.  Teaching Pole Dancing (seriously, something I’m starting in the New Year), signing up for a challenging race, keeping myself on a tight budget – all things that I’m a little uncomfortable with, but things that would be a win for me ultimately.

So this is what I have so far.  Any ideas on what I should add to this list?  What is on your 30 before 30 (or 40 before 40 or 90 before 90 list?)

Currently reading…

| cheriarmour

Numero uno. It was my 27th birthday over the weekend. I only worked out a little, I ate ALL the food, and I think it’s nearly time for me to make a 30 Before 30 list. But anyhoo, my birthday weekend was absolute amazing – one of the best parts was this card that my husband gave me…

Orange CatBecause I had to ask him whether the card was custom made because that orange cat, looks exactly like Martin, the cat that I adopted back when we were only going to be a two-pet kind of family.  (We’re up to 4 now, and I cannot express to you what a crazy idea that is.) But I digress…

So first things, I have been able to read my first few books that I read since before I got engaged over the past few months.

So, after a fellow blogger mentioned this book…

BernadetteI went ahead and bought if off of my new, non-broken Kindle, and got to readin’.

A few things, without giving it all away?  This book is dark but hysterical, and if you kind of enjoyed Gone Girl, but you needed a little more lightness, this is the book for you.

But speaking of Gone Girl which I started reading when I was one the plane last week, I am so very much in shock.  Like the book starts, and you’re like, “OMG, this book is this way,” and then all the sudden the book just flips on you and changes the game.  READ IT!

I’m almost ashamed to admit that I haven’t read but two books since we got married, especially given that I’ve always been a reader, but I’m glad to say that I’m actually reading something pretty good!

What are you currently reading? 

 

Nike Women’s Half Marathon won’t return to D.C.

| cheriarmour

Between the wedding and the purchase of our house, I somehow missed this. Super disappointed, but feeling so very fortunate to have run the race twice – hoping to make it again for wherever they host in 2015!

nataliediblasio's avatarRunner's Breakfast

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The highly popular Run Nike Women Series will not be “running the streets of DC” again in 2015.

“The nation’s capital was a great place to host the Nike Women’s Half Marathon but as we look to continue to provide a premium race experience and serve all runners, we will extend to a new city in 2015. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for future updates,” organizers wrote on the Run Nike Women Series Facebook page.

Disappointed runners are flooding the page with questions and comments. Nike seems to be responding to the majority of them with similar comments: No D.C. – stay tuned.

“The Nike Women’s Half Marathon will not take place in Washington, DC in April 2015,” organizers wrote to one participant. “We will be moving to a new destination in order to bring the race experience to even more runners. Details to come, so stay tuned right…

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