Where do I start?

I will start with my 'why'.  I am a fitness professional, but I wasn't always.  I have made my living doing various jobs and they were almost always a means to an end, the end being the paycheck at the end of the month.  After a second redundancy in 3 years and looming ill mental health, I decided to take the plunge and study for the Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification.  I had enough savings to see me through the perdiod of study and I would dog walk and do massage therapy to keep some income flowing.  That was November 2019.

Fast forward to April 2020 and I had just started my Level 2, had a few dog-walking clients, as well as some massage regulars and then the world shut down.  I had no job, no income, no qualification for my new career and now, no clients. 

I turned to yoga.  I had two 3kg dumbells and a yoga mat, some walking boots and a very large tangle of anxiety, plus a bad back (I used to go for a massage once a month when I had a monthly paycheck). 

I walked 3 miles every day through lockdowns and did yoga every day.  I managed to keep my anxiety quiet (er) by doing yoga and meditation and did what I could to keep myself going.  Level 2 was done and dusted by October 2019 with the amazing help of my tutor, as well as my fellow classmates, who I had weekly zoom study calls with.  

When the gyms opened again, I started attending classes every morning at 7am.  It kept me sane and it was nice to get out of the house and see people.  I attended a non-branded 'pump' class and the instructor was reading the choreo off a piece of paper on the floor.  I thought 'I'm sure I can do better than this' and I went home and signed up to the Les Mills Body Pump instructor course. 

I failed the assessment the first time and got in touch with a local instructor coach as per the Les Mills recommendation on the feedback form.  The local lady I got in touch with got me my first audition to teach a BodyPump class and got my foot firmly in the door with group fitness.  Everything happens for a reason they say! 

Nearly two years later and I am a freelance group fitness instructor, now qualified in Les Mills Body Balance as well as Les Mills Body Pump and I also teach 'Stretch & Flow', 'Small Group PT', 'HiiT' and 'Stretch & Strength' classes at a local gym in Hitchin. 

Group Fitness has been a steep learning curve for me and it brings me such joy to meet people and see them develop as they attend classes over a long period of time.  Group Fitness instructing was a huge distraction and that Level 3 qualification has been elusive so far, as discovering I am borderline Autistic explains the inability to focus on one thing due to the hyper focus on another thing! 

I am strategising on how to get that Level 3 in the bag and then plan to get my yoga teacher training out of the way before figuring out what happens next.