Fitness Freak Extraordinaire!

I had finally decided that I just wasn't cut out for a career in music. I wanted a family, a stable home; I didn't want to live 10 months of the year out of a suitcase. I had dropped out of college two years prior, but I still looked like a college student; I was putting on weight in all the wrong places. So, I decided to join a gym. Walking into the gym was an experience in itself! The music, the brand new equipment, the medicine balls, the huge aerobics floor. I instantly fell in love. I was soon a frequent participant in all of the aerobics classes, and quickly became a front row bunny. I even convinced my mother, who had struggled with her weight for years, to join me. It was our home away from home!

I was no more than a few weeks into my new workout regimen when the owner of the gym approached me after a kickboxing class. She praised me on my diligence and hard work, and told me that I should consider becoming a fitness instructor. She encouraged me to research the profession. I looked up all of the most reputable certifying bodies and decided to go for it! I ordered the study materials, chose a testing date, and got to work. Learning proper body mechanics and exercise anatomy and physiology reignited my passion for the human body. A month later I was a certified fitness instructor. I taught everything: kickboxing, body sculpting, step, hi/lo, abs...everything. I went from having 3 people come to my classes, to having a floor full of participants waiting for me to arrive at the gym. It was wonderful! I felt that I had found my niche.

Being a good fitness instructor requires lots of work; you must stay on top of changes in the industry, constantly create fun, fresh routines, buy new music, and always have lots of energy in every class. Being a great instruction requires all of the above, plus taking your personal fitness seriously. People love training with instructors that look the way they want to look. After a year of teaching aerobics, I was fit and had lots of energy, but my body didn't look the way I wanted it to. I wanted muscle...so, I began bodybuilding. I was instantly hooked. The challenge, the determination, the sacrifice...it was right up my alley. Working out became my life! I exercised for a living, and I trained in my spare time. Later on that same year, I became a certified personal trainer! I was a true professional.

I began training all over town. My clients really challenged me. I had lots of clients who trained strictly for aesthetic purposes, but many of my clients where children who were obese, and middle aged to elderly people who had been sent to me by their doctors for rehabilitation. It's easy to see where most people go wrong with diet and exercise. Those mistakes are easy for a trainer to correct as long as the participant is compliant. It's the rehab clients that offer the most challenge. There is so much to consider: strengths, weaknesses, compensations, atrophy, scar tissue, etc. I loved training these patients and seeing them get stronger and stronger every week. These are the clients that encouraged me to go back to school and pursue a career in medicine. I still work out on a regular basis, but I gave up training and teaching early this year to gain more direct patient care experience. It's been a long, long road so far, and I still have three more years to go, but boy, what a ride! Every step I've taken -the music, the fitness, going back to school- has gotten me to this point. Nontraditional, yes! Boring...absolutely not!