get educated. why knowledge is more powerful than how much you can bench press.
It’s chill, guys, I’ve only had the most epic weekend ever. Honestly, what an awesome time all around. On Saturday, I got to teach my first Spinning® Class and it was everything. It felt completely natural up there on the bike and I had a great time rocking out with the class. The energy was great, the ride was challenging, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I got a lot of positive feedback following as well, which really was awesome to hear because being a sub ain’t easy. I’ve got three more classes coming up in the next two weeks, so if you’re in the Central Jersey area, let me know and I’ll hook ya up!
On Sunday, after getting to spend an amazing Saturday night in Philly with some of my BBG girlfriends, it was up and at em for the BBG Philly Meet-up. The BBG Philly Meet-up happens once a month and it’s epic. This month was especially amazing for me because I got a chance to lead the workout alongside some of the best ladies. The workout was difficult for sure and the 90 degree heat added a little extra struggle, but there were smiles on every single persons face through the pain and it made it fly by. I wouldn’t have traded Sunday for the world.
Planning the workout for Sunday was a bit of a challenge. I knew that I wanted to do something that was tough, but modify-able to suit all fitness levels. I also knew that in meet-ups past, the workouts had been a little more haphazard and I wanted to keep it true to what I know makes for an effective workout. I think education is extremely important in fitness and often overlooked.
These days, image is everything. We are inundated with pictures on Facebook, Instagram and the like with some fitness-celeb-want-to-be hocking the workout they just did promising you’ll get their results too if you just follow what they’re doing. They are spewing information left and right, but they’ve got no substance to back it up. Just because someone looks the part does not mean you should take their word as gospel.
There’s a reason I became a NASM certified personal trainer and I went out and got my Spinning® certification before I taught a class, I never wanted to give someone an answer to a question without knowing with confidence that I was correct. I studied hard for both of those exams and passed them easily my first time through because learning is important to me. You can tell the difference between people who know what they’re talking about and those who don’t. That’s why I get irritated when people teach classes or create workout plans when they don’t have the certifications to back it up.
You wouldn’t hire a doctor without an MD or a lawyer without a JD, but you’ll willingly go to someone’s class who you’ve only seen pictures of on the Internet because they have a lot of followers? That’s silly. Chances are, they’re just doing what they think is good and it very well might be, but they could be missing out on crucial aspects that could prevent you from maximizing your workout or could lead to injury.
Take for instance a very prominent Soul Cycle trainer that’s often touted as a semi-god on Instagram. Well, I attended one of his classes a couple of weeks ago and was shocked to see how uneducated he was. He had us doing extremely risky moves on the bike like one armed push-ups while standing, which is a hugeee nono if you’re a good instructor. One false move and you’ve got a liability lawsuit on your hands. He also went around and upped people’s resistance, another huge no. Too much resistance at a fast pace can easily blow out your knees and you never know anyone’s limits.
Don’t get me wrong, there are Instagram famous fitness celebs that are certified and you can tell. Kayla Itsines, Lauren Gliesberg, and others have the knowledge to create quality plans and lead workouts based on science. You can read the NASM textbook and compare it to either one of their guides and they fit to a T. The same cannot be said for others. There is a lot of information on the internet that makes people think that because they’ve read a series of articles, they have the qualifications to make recommendations to others.
I don’t think everyone has to get certified to educate themselves, but if you are truly interested in leading others and giving your opinion, you should have the credentials to back it up. If you are just someone who enjoys working out and going to classes, there’s no need to dole out the cash for a certification, just make sure you are getting reliable information from credible sources when you need questions asked. If you in anyway want to teach a class or offer personal training services, you best believe a certification should be in your future, I don’t care how many followers you have.
you get out what you put in. why practice makes perfect in fitness.
While fitness makes up a good portion of my interests today, that hasn’t always been the case. I’ve touched on me being a music major before only briefly, but it’s a big part of my past. I went on a pretty cathartic walk this weekend in my favorite forest preserve and it got me thinking: music and fitness aren’t all that different. If I want to reach my goals, I just have to use similar tactics.
There were many parallels I found between singing and exercise. There were physical limitations to both. I could only sing so many hours in a day before my voice gave out and I could only workout for so long until the work became more detrimental. Both rely on rhythm for success whether it be the cadence of your run, the tempo at which you’re lifting weights or beats in the music that allow the singer to convey a specific emotion. The most important similarity between them to me is that you get out what you put in.
I’m here to drop a truth bomb: if you workout regularly and you eat right, you’re going to see results. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule and you may think you are one, but before you go telling me I’m wrong tell me you have actually adhered to every single guideline placed in front of you and never strayed. The unfortunate fact of it all is that we’re human and this isn’t the easiest thing to do, but fitness, like studying music, thrives on consistency. If you practice your scales everyday, you will eventually nail them. It just takes time and patience. The more you practice and work towards your goals, the better you’ll get.
It’s just that time and patience thing that gets us when we’re talking about fitness. We want it now. We want to be better, be stronger, be faster, be fitter, but we’re not willing to put our time in to do it. A great pianist does not get to be great by sitting down at the keyboard three times a week and only playing the easy pieces. Just as the professional bodybuilder does not get in shape by working out occasionally while eating the cheapest, fastest food available to them.
This isn’t something new. It’s just fact. In college, they used to harp on us “practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect”. And you know what? They weren’t wrong. Focus on your form when you’re working out to make sure you’re doing things the right way that are going to benefit you the most. Do your research.
But they “perfect practice” people weren’t entirely right. You have to play those wrong notes and have those kind of sucky workouts to know what to change to get better. We learn from our failures and the quickest way to find out how to do something right, is *spoiler alert* to do it wrong first. Don’t be afraid to fail or to try new things. If every musician who ever missed a note quit after, we’d live in a pretty silent world. And if no one tried new things with composition, there’d be a lot more organ music around and a little less Britney Spears.
So, my main take aways from what my walk taught me. Whether it be singing, fitness, or something else entirely: you get out what you put in. Work for what you want. You can never really get it unless you try.