Body Pump Part Deux

Last month I wrote a post about my Les Mills Body Pump initial training http://sharonsherryfitness.blogspot.com/2011/05/pump-it.html . On Friday, I filmed my video to send to the assessment board for full certification. In theory, I really had until early August to do this, but with summer here, I wanted to get this done before vacation and my daughter’s fourth birthday. Also, now that school is out, I want my daughter to have a fun summer instead of watching me learn choreography.

As with the initial training, you can either receive a grade of pass, pass withheld (meaning you need your Group Fitness Manager (GFM) to help you where you fell short and then sign off), or a resubmit (meaning you need to record again and submit a new DVD).

To prepare, I team-taught some tracks during other instructors’ classes for a few weeks. That was great practice, and it also allowed me to receive honest feedback from the certified instructors. I learned one track at a time, and then practiced my track again and again. As the filming date moved closer, I spent most of my time (and any free minute I had) memorizing the choreography. I just watched the release DVD again and again, then played only the music and tested my knowledge of the choreography. My next focus was learning all of the required cues to say during the class. Practicing correct form was easier. I am a certified personal trainer, so I know correct form, but I needed to remind myself so that I did not get too caught up in the choreography.

I have to say that timing/tempo is the trickiest for teaching this class. That is why I spent so much time making sure I had the choreography nailed. I didn’t want to have to think about that plus the tempo. In Body Pump, the class must be fun and entertaining, so they do not want you to count beats and reps. You need to be able to ‘feel them’, relying on knowing the music inside and out. The music is really the key to the success of this class.

On top of all of this, I had to make sure I look like a ‘role model’ (i.e. using the heaviest weights I can manage), keep the transition between tracks smooth, introduce each track and demo moves, and ‘look the part’ (i.e. look fit, confident, and wear either red or black). Wow, this is a lot to think about!

So, to prepare for this I bought a brand new Flip camera to make sure everything was perfectly recorded. My wonderful husband took me to Lululemon and bought me a red top and black capri tights which I proudly wore in my video. Then of course I blow-dried my hair and used velcro rollers only to pull it back into a ponytail. I then added waterproof mascara and eyeliner. Come on, I was being filmed! (Yes, I am a bit vain…)

My husband took a vacation day to film the video for me, and my GFM put together a class of participants for me. I am very thankful to everyone who made this happen.

So, the big question is ‘how did I do???’ To be honest, I don’t know! I will send it in and see. Honestly critiquing myself, I saw quite a bit of mistakes.  I had mixed emotions that day. I was so relieved and happy to have it done and completed and proud that I remembered all of the choreography and cues. But then later, I was a bit down and even in tears when I started focusing on what I did not do right. I know that I was off on some of the timing, I added an extra rep at one point, I started the next set of exercises a measure too soon, and to top it all off, I lost form on the lunge track at the end. I taught a Spinning class in the morning before the filming, was practicing all week, and also running sprints all week to relieve my nerves. My legs literally just gave out.

Then after the tears, I had a change in my mindset. OK, I was not perfect, but who would be as a brand new Body Pump instructor? I was comparing myself to the Program Managers in the release DVD. They have been doing this for years, plus they are part of the development team. Of course I am not going to be anywhere near as great as they are. So I decided to think about what I did right. First of all, every single mistake I made I corrected immediately and went right back on tempo. I said every one of my compulsory cues, plus quite a bit of execution and motivational cues. My transitions were smooth as were my set ups for each track. I kept my energy high and motivating. With the exception of just one mistake, my choreography and form was right on.

So, I decided to burn my DVD and I am sending it out tomorrow hoping for the best. Trying to get the video from the Flip to the Mac to the DVD is a whole other story that would make a great post if I had an I/T blog. I added a small clip from my video below, the entire DVD is over an hour though. So, the worst-case scenario is that they will ask me to re-submit. I will gladly do that if necessary, but I was not about to toss this one since it was not 100% perfect. In accepting that I will never be 100% perfect, I am proudly stating that I am 100% human.

Have a balanced, embraced, and self-accepting week.

XOX

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