Posts from — September 2007

We’re still discussing the AFAA Primary Group Certification workshop.  You can check out the prior posts here:  Post 1 and Post 2.  In this post, we’ll get into what happens the day of the workshop.

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This is the second post in a series discussing the AFAA Primary Group Certification.  In this post, we’ll examine steps to take before the Workshop, including registration, studying, getting your CPR and checking in. 

<<Read the previous post.

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A week and a half ago, I went to the APEX event for AFAA to recertify my Primary Group Certification.  A friend of mine had indicated interest in becoming Group Exercise certified, so I recruited her to come along, since a normally $299 certification only costs $99 during the APEX weekend.   Can’t argue with a deal like that.  So she and I set off from our homes in Charleston, SC to attend the Charlotte, NC event.  If you don’t count the ordeals we suffered, such as getting lost because Google Maps didn’t mention one of the roads necessary to find our hotel, or the fact that the hotel appeared to be on fire when we arrived, the trip and workshop made for a great weekend.  I especially enjoyed having my “newbie” friend with me, because it allowed me to experience a different side to mentorship.  It is one thing to coach a client or a student in your class, and another thing entirely to help that person become a coach or teacher.   After observing the experience from the perspective of someone totally brand new to the certification game, I realized that a step-by-step guide would probably be of help to more than just my friend.  So here is the start of a series of posts meant to help you get the most out of the AFAA certification process.
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If you’ve been lacking in motivation, or if you’ve been making up excuses for why you haven’t acheived the goals you’ve set for yourself, here is the kick-in-your-ass you need:  Gym Jones.  He’s harsh, but he’s pretty dead on.   And the before and after pictures are remarkable!

It isn’t hard for me to distinguish between who are, in my opinion, the really excellent instructors, and the ones whose classes I’d rather pass on.  The instructors who stand out above the rest are the ones with a message and purpose for every single class they teach.

As the fitness industry has evolved and expanded to include all types of movement, the mind-body principles of yoga and Pilates have begun to spread to other forms of exercise.  Even before they called it the “mind-body” connection, athletes could tell you about “the zone” or that place of mental clarity where they excelled in their sports.  They could also tell you about “the wall” or how their performance suffered as a result of distraction or negativity.  It is inarguable that a person who has cleared their mind to focus on their workout will most certainly attain greater results than a person who attempts the same workout with a bad frame of mind.

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If you have ever tried and failed to get your heartrate monitor to work with your underwire bra, I have the answer.  Yes, even while working out, I like to lift and separate, so I wear underwire under my sports bra for a more feminine look.  However, the wire prevents my heart rate monitor from picking up the signal of my chest strap.   So…..  I scooted the chest strap around, and moved the sensor to my back.   The signal is back to perfect.   It doesn’t stay up quite as well, so you’ll have to tighten and tuck to get it to stay.

Hope that solves a dilema for you as well!