Our First Time
If there is one thing we love, it’s seeing new faces in the studio and sharing our love for fitness, wellness and this beautiful community.
But we know that it can be a little intimidating to try something new. While we all understand that we need to step outside of our comfort zones in order to learn, grow, and become our best selves, actually taking that step can be a little scary!
So this week, we thought it would be fun to rewind for a moment - to take a little trip down memory lane back to when your favorite Vibe Guides were just starting out! So we asked them to share their memories of their first ever fitness classes. Did they love it right away? Did they know that it would lead to so much more??
Let’s find out!
For co-owner and Vibe Guide Kristine, group fitness has always been a family affair. “My mom's class was the first class I took - I learned from the best! She used to have her own studio and taught old-school Jane Fonda-style dance aerobics. The first class I taught was subbing a step class for my mom. I don’t think I was even certified yet, and I had no notice or practice. I think I did the same combination on the step over and over for the full hour. But getting thrown into it without having time to think probably worked out the best for me. I was 17 though and teaching all adults! They were good sports about it. At least I was on the beat of the music!” Talk about trial by fire!
Power Fusion and Barre Pump Vibe Guide Tara’s journey to fitness classes took a different route, but unknowingly provided an early connection to our studio! “Although I danced, I didn’t really start taking fitness classes until after I had my kids. I always kept up with some sort of workout regimen, but did my own thing. I decided to try different formats at the Y. I tried Kristine’’s cardio dance, Barre Fitness and PiYo. I loved them all because they made me feel stronger. After a month’s worth of Barre classes, the instructor asked me to take over the class because she had to stop teaching and care for her elderly mother. On a whim I decided to get certified!” And we are so glad she did!
The hints at future-Vibe connections don’t stop there! Classic Barre, Barre Pump and 305 Fitness Vibe Guide Lucy shares part of her journey to group fitness: “I don’t think it was my first ever fitness class, but I do remember my first Zumba class. I was laughably bad at it and the teacher faced away from the room into a mirror, so for about 3 months I paid $7 a class to stare at this woman’s butt. Around this time our very own Jen M got her Zumba certification, came to class and taught one song: Sia’s Cheap Thrills. As a result, my quads still tremble in terror when I hear that song.”
But it’s not all fun and games - sometimes the path to group fitness if filled with trial and error and even the occasional mis-step! Power Fusion Vibe Guide Christy’s path had few bumps in the road. “It wasn’t my first ever fitness class, but my first post-second-baby fitness attempt was an at-home cardio kickboxing format with HIIT training days. As a mom of two young kids, I took advantage of the HIIT classes because they were shorter. I didn’t follow the suggested program at all and just did HIIT! It was extremely hard on my body and resulted in a bruised fibula and a partially torn quadriceps tendon. After a lengthy time resting it, as well as some time just trying to do my own thing, PiYo was released and it was the perfect program for me. Eventually I pursued my certification and here I am choreographing Power Fusion with an awesome team!
Never would I have imagined myself being a fitness instructor until that program. I’d probably still be trying to figure out what worked for me if that program hadn’t come along!” And we are so grateful that Christy's path turned out as it did!
Also interesting to bear in mind is that we each come to group fitness at different stages of our lives! Co-owner and Vibe Guide Dr B shares part of her story. “Sandra Goes’ Zumba class at the Y was the first ever fitness class I took. I didn’t know it was a fitness class, I thought it was going to be a partner-less Latin dance class; I had taken a salsa class series before, but I was the only one who came in single, so I ended up dancing with the instructor (which was good) and rotating with the husbands (not so good). Anyway I had no idea what I was walking into with Zumba. At some point everyone was doing the samba step (Sandra is from Brazil), and I could not for the life of me figure out what they were doing. It would take me another couple of months to get it. I was winded most of the time, having no cardio endurance, but I fell in love!! On my drive home I called my husband and said ‘if I can just take these classes for the rest of my life, I will be happy.’ I had no idea that day and that class would change the course of my life. That was 10 years ago.” Proof that you never know the impact a single person or experience can have on our future!
For Power Fusion Vibe Guide Jess, her experience with fitness classes began much earlier! “The first fitness class I took was a step class at a local gym and I LOOOOOVED it (after I learned not to fall off!). Technically, though, the first class I took was right in my living room - “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” with my mom and Richard Simmons back in the 80s. Those songs (and moves) are still ingrained in me. Power Fusion Round 6?!”
You never know the impact those early experiences will have!
For Classic Barre, Barre Pump and 305 Fitness Vibe Guide Jen M, fitnesses classes were love at first sight. “My first fitness class happened to be a Zumba class. I danced all my life growing up, so that WAS my fitness and I didn’t really go to other classes because that was our strength training! But after high school I struggled a lot with finding something that would maintain that same intensity of training for me. I lost a lot of myself in straying from a physically demanding schedule. I also was curvier / more athletic, so I had trouble feeling like I belonged in a ballet class. Enter Zumba and I was hooked. I took one class and said 'I’m gonna teach that class.' Signed up for my certification and little did I know I’d be so addicted to fitness and training and learning more that’d I’d also go for 6 more certs after that! But the rest is history. I found my place in fitness and was able to turn my strength into becoming a leader and using it as something that helped others reach their goals and find the confidence to be themselves and feel stronger while doing it.”
But… was it love at first step for everyone?
Studio Operator Alena had a very different path to discovering her love of Group Fitness! “My first fitness class was a hiit/strength class with my lacrosse team in middle school. I HATED it. I had always worked out on my own, so having someone yelling at me was not fun. I thought I was never going to make it through. I kind of decided group fitness wasn’t for me at all after that class. After a few awkward Zumba classes at my dance studio in high school, and then a long time away from group fitness, I found Vibe, and the rest is history. I had always associated group exercise with the competitive atmosphere of dance classes, and never thought they could be anything but that until I came here.”
I hope you were as entertained as I was to see how all of these different paths have lead to where we are now! We are so proud to have these amazing, unique, and motivating fitness professionals guiding this community through even more fitness and wellness journeys, creating the experiences for generations to come!
So share with us in the comments below - how did your journey start, and how can Vibe Vault Fit help you take it to the next level?
