Three Things Thursday: A 2014 mantra

I had the glow. After three workouts and a weekend in the gym, I was definitely glowing. But as I left the gym Sunday after our Les Mills launches, I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

It was a feeling that said: You are not good enough.

Part of the magic of the launch is presenting the workout with other instructors, and the two instructors from the north gym are top notch. They know what they are doing, their timing is great and they just had it - the charisma. As I left, all I could think about was that I wanted to be just like them when I grow up ... because I certainly didn't feel like I was.

I felt it, too, yesterday as I left my class. While there's some other things stirring in my life that are affecting my confidence, I couldn't shake that I wasn't them. And I know I'm not them but you know what I mean. Driving home, dwelling on my lack of "them," I realized the difference. Those instructors have swagger. S-W-A-G-G-E-R. I have ... well ... a shit load of insecurities.

At a recent "Brownies with the Boss" at work, the CEO talked about swagger and how our company's mission for 2014 should be about owning our product. To own it, we would need to be enthusiastic, confident and have swagger. I think he had five or six items total but I was too busy eating my brownie on the floor because all the seats in the conference room were full.

Note: I've requested Fruit Salad with the Boss but it was rejected as they didn't think people would show up for melons. Obviously, though, they show up for brownies.

Back on track: While the talk was a bit too go-getter for me, I did find value in it for me and think it translates beyond the office and into the gym and on the road.

>>BE ENTHUSIASTIC<<

Gym translation: I love Les Mills. Seriously, I do. I love the music, the choreography, the workout. I love the way my body has changed since I began taking the class and changed more since teaching it. The question is whether I show my participants know much I love Les Mills. I need to smile. I need to talk positively about the program and the gym. I need to cue about the changes we're making throughout the tracks.

Running translation: When you tell people you are training for race, say it with a smile. Talk about how great the course is how and how much fun it will be. You don't need to talk about how crappy your 20-miler was or how you pooped your pants on a 7-mile run. Few people will ever train for a marathon if that's all you talk about.

>>BE CONFIDENT<<

Gym translation: Confidence has always been and probably always will be a struggle for me. It's something about the fat girl who never escaped when I lost weight. However, time and time again, people have told me that they would never know. They see me as the fit girl. And I need to own it. I need to walk into the gym and know that I know the choreo. If I flub, I flub and move on. If I give a cue or say something, I need to use my voice and not just say it.

Running translation: We don't always have perfect workouts or training cycles but we need to own the work we do. When we show up to a starting line, we should smile, stretch and seed ourselves. We should not be cowering in the portable bathroom, trying to swallow upchuck because we don't have faith in ourselves. If someone asks us how we feel, we say I'm excited to go. I'm ready! We don't say, "Ho hum. I sort of want to throw up again."

>>HAVE SWAGGER<<

"Swagger is a combination of motivation and self belief, resulting in a state of mind where you truly believe you can achieve anything you put your mind to." [source]

Gym translation: If I don't believe that I'm as good as the other girls, I am not. I need to believe that I know what I'm doing, show that I know what I'm doing and have fun doing it. Easy, right?

Of course not. It will take work. I liked this piece about improving confidence and swagger, as it advised two things:

• Assess where you are. Example: I need to work on timing and engaging the participants.
• Take action. Example: Practice makes perfect. Make an effort to follow along with training DVDs once a week and look up during class.

Running translation: Same. Be honest with yourself, do the work and believe in it. Go to a starting line like you belong in the front.

So 2013 might have been the year to make shit happen but 2014 is the year to earn my swagger.

Time to glow: Launching Les Mills

Every part of my body hurts. My triceps, my shoulders. My back and my chest. My glutes burn as I type this, and I can feel the soreness radiate from my quads. I even have the bow-legged hobble. It's as if I ran a marathon this weekend ... and yet I didn't log a single mile.

Rather, my weekend was filled with squats and lunges (800+ and 200+, respectively), jabs and crosses, mermaids and mac raises. There were bicep curls and almost 300 reps targeting my triceps.

For me, my fellow Max Fitness instructors and our participants, it was time to forget about sweat ... and it was time to GLOW.

The two Max locations with Les Mills licenses teamed up to launch the latest releases for BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT, BODYATTACK and CXWORX. For those of you unfamiliar with Les Mills, the company releases new music and choreography every three months and instructors/gyms are encouraged to make the new material an event. The launch parties often have themes, back-to-back classes that are free to members and goodies for those in attendance.

Our theme was "Forget about sweat, it's time to glow," and we made about it glowing from the inside out. I had healthy breakfast bar and Nuun for the inside, and on the outside, the instructors wore bright colors, glow bracelets and these amazing shutter shade classes. It was such a blast.

Oh, and there was the "glow" from a good workout. I presented three tracks from BODYPUMP 88 and took the classes for Combat, Attack and a sample of CXWORX on Saturday at the north location ... and then did it all again on Sunday at my home base. Hence all the reps. One day was brutal as I woke up sore Sunday but two days was insanity.

Thankfully, Mark came to the Bodypump class on Sunday, and it gave me a nice boost. I was hoping that he'd stay for some of the other classes, as he'd really like them, but he thought 88 was tough and enough for one day!

Jerk.

If you are unfamiliar with Les Mills, here's a bit about the classes:

• BODYPUMP is the original barbell class that focuses on high repetitions and low weights to build muscular endurance. 
• BODYCOMBAT is a Martial Arts-based workout that’s designed for individuals looking to boost cardio fitness and benefit from total body conditioning. 
• BODYATTACK is a sports inspired cardio workout that builds strength and stamina. This dynamic, high-intensity program is designed to cater to a wide range of fitness levels and ages. 
• CXWORX is a 30-minute personal training inspired strength workout. CXWORX trains the muscles of the trunk that stabilize the spine and transmit load between the upper and lower limbs.

I really liked all of the classes and had a moment where I wanted to get certified in all the things, and I was a bit bummed we don't have the programs at my location. I think a few of my Pumpers thought the same thing! Hopefully, I can make it to the other location for the classes ... if only to take them on fresh legs!

On a side note: I totally thought I was going to go for a leisurely 6-mile run Sunday afternoon to shake out the legs -  mostly for the sake of miles. I am so funny, I am. I had the post-marathon hobble as I walked to my car. I am pretty sure my fitness can survive a week of just two runs.

How was your weekend? Do you take any Les Mills classes?

Welcome to the Jungle: 8.4 things about BODYPUMP 84

To say I was nervous might be the understatement of the century.

Saturday morning, I was scheduled BODYPUMP Release 84 by myself and, for the first time, I felt completely unprepared. When I teach a new release, I try to know it so well that I can hear a different mix of the song on the radio and give Miles the cues as we drive. Obviously he doesn't do two-two squats while in the car seat.

The music in this release, though, has had some trickier beats and transitions, and I just don't feel like I've gotten it. The release also has some new innovations that use plates (front squats, hammer curls with a twist) that require Les Mills' SMARTBARS or plates that can be easily held, and our club doesn't have those. I've had to rehearse with the bar and practice along with the background folks on the master class DVD. It doesn't help that the time I would have normally spent rehearsing has been devoted to cross-training or running because I don't want to get up early.

But if I've learned anything in the past six months as an instructor, I have learned that you have to be confident and make it work. And that's what I planned to do.

As is often the case, I quickly learned that I had worried for naught ... mostly because no one showed up.

I had pre-written this post under the notion that I would have taught the release twice, done it a dozen times and feel like I could give a few thoughts. Fairly. I thought of scrapping it and getting uber whiny that if I want to take some big steps toward becoming a fitness professional that I should be able to pack a BODYPUMP class but I figured I'd save the "It's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to" card when it's a bit more warranted.

So here are my thoughts on 84. If you have taught it or done it as a participant, I'd love to know your thoughts!

1. While I'm a bit sick of Adele - she's been featured on the last three releases - I totally dig the squat track. It's two big sets with a mix of bottom halves and holds that really build tension. I went heavy on legs last week (but nothing I hadn't done before), and I was sore until Wednesday.

2. I was never a big fan of Guns n Roses. When they were popular, I was still young enough to be grossed out by Axl's nipple ring and thought Donny was definitely better than Jordan. And, as of this release, still not sure I'm sold on them and "Welcome to the Jungle." The song just doesn't flow for me, and the last set - with five super slow presses, a set of 2/2's and 16 singles - is enough to make you get out a bush knife and hurt someone.

3. Triceps. Love. Seriously. It makes me want to say "Scream" all the time. (Big thanks to Usher for signing off on the track.) I also like that it includes a new move, the row to kickback, which is more functional and targets that back a bit more.

4. Biceps are dumb. Well, the song for this track is. There's very few lyrics for me, as an instructor, to key into it and I think the techno sound gets repetitive as a participant. I might like it more if we had plates to perform the hammer curl with a twist but we don't. I will say that it burns the heck out of my arms.

5. They need to call the lunge track "Legs, Part II." You do more squats than lunges, and the releases have been that way for the past three. I do enjoy that there's only one set of jump squats so it's easier to execute proper form for the second set of lunges.

6. With the exception of triceps, this might be my favorite track. I really like the music ("Welcome to the Club") - it has a fun beat and catchy lyrics. And every time I hear "Open up the door, Mr. Frankenstein," I smile and secretly wish that there was a Halloween theme release. Who wouldn't love to do squats to "Thriller"? Wait, that song is like 123 minutes long. Nevermind.

7. Abs. Holy abs. I have been working on my core but the 16 walking planks at the end have me on my knees. Literally.

8. Eff you, Nickelback. ("Lullaby" is the cool-down song.)

8.4. If you live in northeast Indiana and want to try the class (for free-ish), shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do. A little sumthin-sumthin, you know. Since you are awesome and read this far.