Well, I managed to not write a blog post for over a month! Completely unintended, I kept thinking ‘oh I should write soemthing’ but a mixture of being ill, tired, busy and having no idea what to write all conspired to stop me! So today I decided to follow the idea that you should juts write about what’s happened in your day.
Yesterday I taught two HIIT classes. I really like HIIT. It’s my own class so I can play around with the format to keep it interesting and make the focus whatever I want. I tend to keep 80% of the class weight based with a little cardio and core added in.
The thing I like about teaching HIIT the most is that, for a class that sounds and looks scary at first glance, it can actually be really inclusive. You’re working to your maximum effort, with weights challenging to you, you want to get to that point where you need a rest- that’s not a failure. Understanding these points as a participant can be freeing and allow you to just go for it the best you can, without fearing comparison judgement.
There’s also something liberating and great for people’s confidence when they complete a tough class where they felt challenged. Over the weeks I love watching people improve in technique, start to push their weight selection and best of all look so much more confident in their own ability, enjoying the feeling of being challenged and not shying away from it because they’ve gained that confidence that they can do more than they first thought.
I also love how with these classes I can go round and coach people and give them advice personal to them, making the workout suit their needs. Classes where everything is strictly coordinated are great but sometimes that limits the time you can spend really connecting with the peole in frnt of you.
As an instructor this is one of the most rewarding parts of the job for me, seeing people feel good during and at the end of a workout, setting up frot he class with confidence because they know what they’re doing when they were really nervous the first time they attended. This is what exercise should be about, doing things that leave you feeling positive even if they’re challneging at the time.
If you’d like to try a class but you’re worried it looks to advanced or you couldn’t keep up just go and give it a go. There are always multiple options and modifications in any class and instructors are there to help you adapt things as needed to enjoy the class. Often the class might look intimidating because of the loud music, fast pace and regulars knowing the normal format so looking like they know what’s coming (which is intimidating when you’re not sure) but if you relax and go with the flow you’ll find it’s nowhere near as scary as it first seemed.
Heather Sherwood Fitness 