Finding your exercise love

I headed to the gym this morning for a Cross-Trainer aerobics class. For the first time since October, I felt excited to be going to the gym for a workout.

That's when I re-discovered my love for aerobics. Yes, I am starting to enjoy running, largely due to the fact that I am now able to start and more importantly finish a run. However, the prospect of a run does not excite me anywhere near as much as the prospect of going to an aerobics class.

For the last few weeks I have been thinking and re-thinking through whether I should become a Group Fitness Instructor in addition to Personal Training, or just do Personal Training only. There are various arguments to support both options. Today I realised that if I love aerobics so much, I will probably love teaching it, especially because I am presented with the unique opportunity to be the very sort of instructor that I love.

In my entire aerobics-class-attending-career (this being my 8th year) I have come across five instructors - Chris, Rachelle, Carol, Jenelle & Cheryl - that I think are outstanding, in each her own way. I want to be a combination of all of them ~ excellent choreography combined with an amazing ability to teach, combined with the ability to challenge, inspire, and push (!) people to work hard during a class.

For all those of you who have made New Years Resolutions to exercise more, a word of advice: find something that works for YOU. Yes, you do need discipline to maintain an exercise routine, but you will find it so much easier to achieve if you ENJOY what you are doing! I first discovered aerobics in 2000, and ever since then have gradually moved onwards and upwards in my fitness levels and subsequently my personal goals in this area of my life.

Had I not discovered this love, I might never have started the journey. If you want to start your journey, start by finding out for yourself what you love (or could love) to do. Experiment! Try something new! Don't allow yourself to be intimidated. I could barely keep up with the instructors commands in my first aerobics class... and that was a beginner's level class. But I enjoyed myself, kept going, got better, and loved it the more I did it. Did you know that there are new types of fitness classes being invented every year? So don't be afraid to think out of the box. Or you can ask me for ideas!

Running regularly helps me to maintain my fitness and train myself to be disciplined, because it's something I find difficult to do. But aerobics is what keeps me passionate about exercise in general. In this day and age, our sedentary lifestyles mean that it is not an option for us to not be active. So find your niche, your passion, your love... and do it!