Workouts

“Yoga Porn”

| cheriarmour

First, please allow me to thank all of you who sent your kind thoughts and prayers my way for my dad and his heart.  My father is feeling much better, and the stents are doing their job – he has been able to sleep through the night (for the first time in a long time) without chest pain.  Thank you, thank you!

“Yoga Porn”

I’m starting to question why I ever started to follow Yoganonymous on social media.

Admittedly, I’m not as regular with my yoga practice as I should be – I really enjoy getting some quality time with my yoga mat, but often times, when I’m trying to quickly squeeze in a workout between teaching classes and scheduling for the following month, my first thought is to jump on the treadmill really quickly rather than to get down to the mat (that I purchased from Craigslist when I was too poor to afford one a few years back).

But at any rate, I feel that yoga, like many forms of exercise, prayer, or meditation, is an important and valuable practice that does a lot of good for a lot of people.  So why this hate?

There was this a while back, I Don’t Do Yoga and It’s Because of You.  And then this, End Yoga Porn: Focus on “Real People and Stop the Selfies.

[Please allow me to point out that that quotation mark in the second title was part of the title, and not a typo on my part.  I think it was for emphasis?]

So, let me break it down for you.  “Yoga Porn” refers to those photos that you’ll often see on Instagram and Facebook, the ones of your healthy friends and sometimes your fitness inspiration in various yoga poses.  Sometimes the women are professionals, long-haired lithe beauties like Laura Sykora, and sometimes, it’s some chick with a lot of tattoos from Cary in a bikini.  Either way, typically I look, will watch videos, check out their alignment (which is not always perfect, but I’m certainly down to learn something,) and move along.  Sometimes, if I’m being honest, I’ll check the yogi in question out, and take mental notes on how great her (usually) body is, and remark to myself, that though I certainly don’t look like this when I do yoga, I hope that I look like this some day.  And that’s the extent of my feeling.

But these articles that Yogaonymous is guilty of circulating on more than one occasion are, for lack of a better word, silly.  To succinctly sum up their arguments, the authors assert that:

  • Yoga selfies are indicative of an ego issue (the person in the selfie has a big fat head).  The selfier (stay with me, I had to make that word up), only cares about looking good.
  • Yoga selfies are discouraging to folks who want to do yoga because of…
    • The beautiful people that they feature.
    • The beautiful people that they feature wearing bikinis.
  • Yoga selfies aren’t “real” yoga.
  • Yoga selfies are a competition to see who can outdo whom.
  • And the most troubling and sad assertion, that “I don’t do Yoga and it’s because of you [selfier]”

::deep breath::

Typically, you won’t catch me posting a ton of yoga selfies (or selfies in particular) because I’m awkward, and I don’t practice a ton of yoga.  However, I snap pics of my running shoes, trails I’m running on, and foodstuffs I create.  Not because I have an ego problem, or because I feel like I’m in competition with anyone else, but because these are the things that I do on the daily.  And I’m willing to bet the perps of this “porn” are doing the same.  They spend a lot of time with their mats, and if they happen to be in bikinis?  Guess what, they probably spend a lot of time in bikinis as well.

To the authors of these articles, or to people who see these yoga selfies and snarl, please don’t try to get into the yogis head and parse out what their intention is.  Take the selfie for what it is.  A FRICKIN SELFIE!  And not something that should have the power to make you feel bad about yourself, discourage you from practicing, feel “less than” about your body or your form of exercise, critical of whether it is “real” yoga or not, or in any way, impact your mood or well-being.  In fact, I might even suggest that you look at it, and perhaps feel inspired.  Heck, I can appreciate a pretty girl in a bikini with some decent alignment in a downward dog, and pray, that one day too, I might not look like a lost bison in my yoga classes.

As an aside, I will say, the one area of merit that came from one of the authors was when she mentioned poor alignment in a lot of selfies, which can be concerning, especially for someone who is a yoga pro, like she is.  I would caution folks who like to scroll through yogsperation on IG not to try to imitate those poses or recreate them without first warming up or asking your yoga teacher for appropriate cues – it’s a good way to end up hurt.

So, fitness friends, tell me.  What do you think of yoga porn?

Spoiler alert:  I kinda like it.  Who doesn’t appreciate beautiful people doing beautiful things, right?

 

First time for everything pt. 2

| cheriarmour

I talked a few weeks back about my first time visiting the chiropractor, and I have to keep it 100, my neck and shoulder are feeling really really good.  I know for a fact that a lot of folks feel skeptical about the chiro, but I was really at a loss for what they might do for me besides prescribe a heavy dose of NSAIDS.  Which, honestly, doesn’t do me a whole lot of good because I could take like a million Aleve and drink red wine till the cows come home – I really wanted results.

So my verdict so far on the chiropractor is that I’m seeing some results, which is more than I could say before.  My shoulder feels 100%, and my neck feels almost 100%.  I think I will continue seeing him every month, especially given the fact that I am so active and am sore and imbalanced any given day.  I’m glad I gave it a shot.

So in the vein of trying new things, I started something a few weeks ago, and I guess I’m committed, so it’s time to come clean…I have been working out with a personal trainer once a week!

Let me back things up.  I never really thought twice about a personal trainer, mainly because I have never ever paid for a gym membership since I’ve been teaching classes for 5-6 years.  But, when I started this job 6 months ago (six months!?) our HR specialist mentioned that we got 1 hour of personal training included in our position a week.  I watched my office-mates take advantage of it, and finally, after months, I took advantage of it.

It’s funny, because it seems like Jill, the trainer, was a little nervous to train the group fitness director, because I’m supposed to be fit and stuff, but she really did an awesome job, and it feels good to feel sore again – sometimes when you’re constantly moving it’s hard to get sore.

I’m enjoying it.  I’m enjoying getting sore.  I’m enjoying challenging myself.  I’m enjoying watching my body firm up.  I’m enjoying talking to Jill on our Wednesday mornings.  And a friend told me yesterday that my body is looking fantastic.  WHA!

I like it 🙂

Have you ever worked out with a personal trainer?

Pole Fit

| cheriarmour

In case you were wondering, per one of my last posts, everything is still freezing and miserable, complete with the schools here doing a two-hour delay.  Brr!

I went for a run with my headlamp on the trails this evening (the sun went down about three-fourths of the way through the run), and my hands are still frozen.  I got home like a half-hour ago.  Double brrr.

Anyhoo, I hope you all are attempting to stay warm and snuggling under lots of blankets – I feel like life has reached new levels of sadness when a high of 47 gets me hot.

Reminds me of this guy, who said “I am too cold, take my ass back to jail.”  That’s where I am right now.

But I digress.

Pole Fit

So, I have been teaching at a Pole Fitness studio for a few years, but I’ve been strictly teaching off-the-pole classes, meaning that I stick to what I know.  I’ve taught Zumba® Fitness classes, and boot camps and things, but as of December, I’ve started my training to teach Pole Fitness classes at Aradia Fitness, and Saturday morning, I assisted at my first “Teaser” class, the class meant to entice you to take more and more classes and to get to those classes that will get you poling for real for real…

Aradia Fitness
Our shiny new poles!

I guess what I’m really starting to love about this type of fitness is really two-fold.

Number one, you are really doing a lot of bodyweight stuff, something I think that a lot of folks tend to skimp on – rather they just go doing a million bicep curls and thinking that they’re rocking out.

Two, it’s so cool to lead a class where women are actually getting a chance to be aware of their bodies. Because in a lot of classes, that just ain’t happening. But it’s cool to strut around, be sexy, and allow other women to do the same. It’s always funny because in the first few minutes, you hear the giggles, and the nervous laughter – it’s almost as if they’re – we’re – nervous to have a good time with our bodies.

Have you ever taken a sexy-fit class?  Want to?  

New Year’s Resolutioners

| cheriarmour

I have a big, big problem with us fitness people, and it centers around the talk regarding New Year’s Resolutioners, or, the reason the gym is packed with folks essentially swinging from the chandeliers in the months of January-March.  Which, I guess, for folks really dedicated to the gym, can seem sort of annoying, but this type of talk is extremely problematic for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, I used to be a little bit heavier than I was now, and I never worked out.  At some point during undergrad and into my first year of grad school, my metabolism could no longer efficiently handle the crap I was shoveling into my system, and I gained somewhere between 30 and 40 pounds.  When I finally lost it and started feeling comfortable in the gym, I was one of those new people.  Sure, my active-lifestyle awakening didn’t quite occur at the stroke of midnight on January 1st, however, had folks been rude and unwelcoming, perhaps I would not be sitting in my job where I am now.

So as you’re mumbling and grumbling about how “annoying” resolutioners are, and how you won’t worry because “they’ll be gone in two weeks anyway,” remember a few things.

  1. You didn’t pop out of the womb nailing squats on the squat rack.  At some point, you were the new kid too, and just because you fancy yourself a pro now doesn’t mean you can side-eye the new guy or gal.  Of course, if someone is breaking gym etiquette or seems completely clueless, feel free to politely inform him or her of their party foul, but play nice.
  2. They’ll [resolutioners] keep you on your toes!  So all the cardio machines are used up.  Maybe today is the day you try a new class or go for a run outside?  Who knows?  The fact that your favorite elliptical in front of your favorite tv is in use isn’t the end of the world.
  3. What about your goals?  What if someone grumbled to you that they thought your 2015 planner was stupid and that you’ll ditch the thing by March anyway, so not to bother.  That would be rude, right?  Especially given that you take that resolution very seriously.
  4. And finally, you should be encouraging of anyone who is making steps and changes to create a healthier lifestyle.  Mentioning that they’ll be gone in a few weeks anyway is negative, and not encouraging for folks just checking things out, and hoping to learn to love working out.

Don’t be a hater…

Taylor-Swift-Shake-Off-GIF

And I say this every year, but here’s to 2015 being the year that everyone nails their goal and sticks it out at the gym!  We’re looking forward to having you!

To be a good, no, GREAT fitness instructor!

| cheriarmour

A few weeks back, I addressed some questions that folks have had for me regarding becoming a fitness instructor, which I did back in 2009.  That was the catalyst for a major life change for me – I dropped a whole lot of weight, and changed the course of  my career.  I’m now a Group Fitness Director, and blog – a little about running, and a lot about life – two things I would never have done had I not signed up for a Zumba® Fitness Training like 5 years ago.

I talked about how to get to teach at a gym once you do get the appropriate certifications here.

Now, let’s talk about once you start teaching.  How do you make sure that you’re a good – GREAT – fitness instructor?

Fitness instructorOnce you’ve started teaching, there are a few things to remember that will take you to the next level….

  1. Keep going to other folks’ classes.  Just because you teach a full schedule doesn’t mean you should completely stop taking other classes.  For one, you get to work out, for two, you can learn a ton of new stuff.  You get to see how other teachers cue, and cherry pick things you love about classes, as well as some that you’d rather leave behind.
  2. Keep up with your continuing education.  Fitness is not a one-and-done type of deal, and should never be.  Continue to take classes that not only interest you, but those that will challenge you, and those that will strengthen you as an instructor.
  3. At the beginning of each class?  Introduce yourself by name, and introduce the format of the class.
  4. Always ask if there is anyone who is new to class, not to embarrass them or single them out in anyone way, but to make sure that you explain some things to folks who are new to class.  Are there any contraindicated movements?  Anything you need to remind them off?
  5. Always remind the class that there are modifications to every movement that should make the movement safe for any “special” population.  That term refers to anyone who may be injured, our folks who are morbidly obese, folks who are physically handicapped in some way, elderly populations, or even pregnant folks.  Remind the class that there are modifications, but don’t assume that just because someone is elderly, that they’re not interested in a squat.  These mods are for everyone!
  6. Eye contact is important.  Make eye contact with every single person in the class.  Make each person feel like they are the most important person in the room at some point.  Because they are!  They are the reason why you’re doing what you’re doing.
  7. Your class is not the time to show out or show off.  Leave your ego elsewhere.  Your job is to be the ambassador to a good, safe, healthy time.  Straight up, don’t be a douche.
  8. Smile!  Be genuine!  Seriously.  Nothing worse than an instructor who acts like the funeral march should be playing, or that they should be taken ridiculously seriously.

So there are my tips (just before the holiday) on how to be a great instructor that your students will <3.  What is your favorite group exercise class to attend?  Who is your favorite instructor? 

Owned by a box jump.

| cheriarmour

I have been working hard hard hard, trying to get the group fitness schedule out, because once Christmas comes, I don’t really want to do JACK.  So when I got sick of sitting in front of the computer (which doesn’t really take that long), I hopped off my desk, and went over to the treadmill.

For one, there was this gorgeous tall leggy thing beside me who was running like a beautiful gazelle.  Now I am a lot of things – I leggy and tall, but I’m over 99% sure that I don’t look as good as she does on the machine.  And I completely own that.

For two, the gym is starting to get really really crowded, so the treadmills have started to do this weird thing where they sort of get overwhelmed and short out, so I was really getting it during Uptown Funk [see below]

I’m sort of addicted to this song – love the 70s theme, and once again, Mark Ronson kills it!

Anyhoo, so I’m really getting it during this song and the treadmill just CUTS OFF. I kind of just stopped, looked around. The girl next to me continued to run in her beautiful way, and I just tried to avoid eye contact with everyone else on the floor.

I finished up the run, and went over to the functional fitness area and did some clean and presses, dead lifts, and decided to quickly top that off with a little bit of box jumping.

Have you ever tripped while box jumping?

Just…don’t.

Mid-jump, I found myself preoccupied by something, and my shin caught the box.

“SHIT”

Of course, at that precise moment, I turned behind me to see who might have witnessed the foul, and my boss was standing behind me, mouth completely agape. Go me!

BruiseLong story short, my legs are just not cute at all – but at least I managed to sneak my workout in during such a busy busy week!

How are you sneaking in your workouts during this nasty (weather-wise) week?

 

You’re a fitness instructor, now what?

| cheriarmour

So first and foremost, I would be a sucky blogger not to acknowledge the fact that our country has been thrown into turmoil.  And not to get all political on the blog, but suffice it to say that being black in this country over the past few weeks has been really difficult.  Like, my chest-is-tight-what-the-hell-are-we-gonna-do-to-make-sure-this-never-happens-again difficult.  I’m praying.  Hard.

↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔ ↔

So in a continuation of yesterday’s post we’re talking today about what happens after you take the plunge and go for a weekend and get your license or your cert in a certain fitness format.

Becoming a fitness instructor
Aw snap, Nike Hoodie Cheri is back….

First things first.  I kind of thought about this after I wrote the post that went live yesterday, however, I didn’t really address the process that goes into becoming a Yoga instructor.

So for starters, I am not certified to teach Yoga.  I love Yoga, and one day, I may become certified, however, I think it’s important to realize that Yoga instructors go through a different, much more intensive process to get certified.  A lot of times it involves a lot of money, some travel, and a lot of continuing education workshops.  If any of you guys are looking to become more proficient in the Yoga arena, I definitely can point you in the right direction, however, this isn’t necessarily the post, or post series for you.

Moving right along…

So we talked about the appropriate steps to go through to become an instructor in your area of choice.  So you’ve done all that stuff, right?  How do you become a working instructor?  How do you continue to deliver safe, effective, and relevant classes?  How do you make sure that you don’t get yourself in legal trouble?

Here we go.

So, for starters, you’ve got your certs and your licenses, right?

  1. Get your CPR stuff updated.  Honestly, it’s not a bad idea to have that stuff done anyways, and a lot of time, your job will offer it, or get it paid for for you.  It seems silly, but you never know when you’re going to need it, and you have to have it to teach at most gyms.
  2. Continue to take classes in the time you’re not teaching. I can’t stress this enough, but you need to be auditing other classes.  What are other instructors doing? What’s hot in the streets?  What’s up with music?  What do the classes seem to respond to?  What doesn’t work, even?
  3. Contact the group fitness director at the club/gym you’d like to teach out.  So, that’s what I do when I’m not running/teaching/writing.  I am the director of a large group of fitness instructor.  My job is to coordinate like a million instructors and make sure our group fitness schedule is diverse, robust, and running effectively.  If this info isn’t clearly listed on the club’s website, call the front desk and ask for the group fitness manager, or the director of group fitness.  Usually, they can at least provide you with an email address. When you contact his person, introduce yourself, clearly outline what classes and formats that you’re comfortable teaching, and ask if you can come in to do a demo.
  4. If your demo is good, it should be pretty easy to get onto the schedule, or at least on the sub list.  If you’re on the sub list, sub often and be available, and you should be a regular instructor in no time.   

As you can see from the tips above, once you get your certs and licenses together, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get on a schedule somewhere, provided you’re a good instructor (a topic we will touch on), and you’re prepped to either teach your one format like a rock star, or you can teach a variety of formats well (seriously, we LOVE that stuff).

This is how you get IN.  Now stay tuned, next week we talk about what makes a good instructor, and what makes a ::shudder:: bad one : )

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!

 

 

45

| cheriarmour

Before we get all silly –

I alluded to this last week, but unfortunately, at the close of this week, I will have attended two funeral services.  Cancer absolutely sucks, and prayers for folks that I consider family would be greatly greatly appreciated.  And forgive me if I’m extremely weepy this week.

********

So, the other day, I posted a photo from Buzzfeed’s timeline of Jennifer Lopez.

I’m gonna let you feast your eyes for a second.

Jennifer Lopez 45If you’re not aware, this is Jennifer Lopez, of “In Living Color” fame.  She also was partner to Sean “P-Diddy” Combs, had an excellent MTV diary, married Marc Anthony, and starred in Selena, Enough, and The Wedding Planner.  I still have questions about the vocals from time to time, however, J.Lolas doesn’t have student loans so I’m just being a hater.

One thing I’m not hating on?  Her body!  At the age of 45, she looks better than I do having had 0 children.  To review, Juannifer has a set of twins.  That grew inside of that stomach.

But, upon checking out some of the Facebook comments on the picture, one of my biggest pet peeves started to rear its ugly ugly head.

Catherine Claridge REMINDER: Jennifer Lopez is a celebrity with a team of nutritionists and personal trainers on her payroll. Fuck off BuzzFeed.

Okay.  A few questions for this charming commentator.

  1. Does Jennifer’s team of nutritionists force her to eat the right things?
  2. Do Jennifer’s personal trainers run on the treadmill for her?
  3. How about her lifting?  Does someone else do her lifting?
  4. And under this assumption, this would mean that all famous folks with teams of personal trainers and nutritionist have similar bodies and never struggle with food.  Stars that have had very public battles with food, our Carnie Wilsons, our Janet Jacksons, our Oprahs, are just not a thing?

Laura Miller It’s also her only job too.

  1. Jennifer Lopez has no other job than to work out and look amazing?
  2. Isn’t she a mom?
  3. Isn’t she an actress?
  4. Isn’t she a singer?
  5. Isn’t she a judge on American Idol?

The point of this is all to say: working out and staying healthy is hard, AND we should give credit where credit is due.  Mama looks good, and we should celebrate that.

Do you look up to any celebs for their exercise and healthy eating habits?