Something that's bothered me for a long time is the cookie-cutter mold that seems to run rampant in the fitness world. You either have to be a cardio bunny or a weight lifter. You can't Crossfit if you're a body builder. You're either a personal trainer or a group fitness instructor. I know a few people who go in a few directions but for the most part, it's like you can only be one thing. Well, I want to break those stereotypes. I want to dabble in everything. Of course my heart will always lie with body building because that's how I got started, but a close second comes by way of Zumba. I was introduced to Zumba classes by friends last September. The treadmill and elliptical had become boring forms of getting the cardio in, so I wanted to shake it up. And that's exactly what happened! I met two beautiful and amazing instructors who have since become friends. Both have inspired me over the months and brought out something in me that I'd forgotten about: Confidence. I remember walking into my first few classes nervous and not knowing what I'd gotten myself into. But a few weeks passed and there I was at the front of the class, shaking it like nobody's business. ;) Shortly after the new year, my friend Ana(also my instructor) told me that there was going to be a Zumba certification class in Guam. I had planned on getting licensed when we got back to the states but the opportunity was presenting itself now, so I signed up.
The day arrived and my friend(also getting licensed) picked me up and we talked as we drove to the studio. Both of us were incredibly nervous but excited at the same time. We had no idea what, or who, we were walking into. Parked at the studio we gathered our things and made our way into the tiny room that would be our office for the day.
Our training started off with an intense master class that had us dripping in sweat. The studio only had one aircon unit and a couple fan. The doors were opened because the 90-degree Guam heat was cooler than the room itself. Let's just say I had no problems blowing through my gallon of water that day. After the master class we sat down to discuss all the how-to's and what-not-to-do's.
After a lunch break we were back to experiential learning, running through all the basic Zumba steps and how to combine them together to make a routine. This was probably my favorite part, seeing everyone's different styles. I even got complimented on my lunge form. ;) And then the class was over. It was graduation time. The day itself wasn't all that bad but the heat was killing me. I was so ready to get out of that room!
So now it's time for you to laugh. As if a whole day of Zumba wasn't enough, somehow my friends convinced me to join them at another master class the same evening. I was nasty, though. Stinky, sweaty, you name it. But there was no shower at the studio. What's a girl to do? I went into a local shopping mall bathroom, stripped down, wrapped a towel around myself and proceeded to bathe using the sink and a bottle of soap. I got some interesting looks. Pretty sure they thought I was a homeless person. But man, it felt good to get some of the grime off! Anyway, my friend picked me up and we went to dinner before the master class. Yeah, it was bad. Bad, bad, bad. I ate way too much and ended up feeling sick the rest of the night. But we did the master class and it was alot of fun, other than feeling like I was going to explode. Our ZES called up anyone who had done basic training that day, so we went up on stage and helped lead a song. Okay, it was more like standing there going, 'WTF is this woman doing?' I'm pretty sure it was meant to freak us out. But hopefully I held my own...at least I think I did. That's me in the pink pants and our ZES, Madalene Aponte, in the front. She's truly amazing.
So, in closing, I don't want to be just one thing. I've always been a sort of jack-of-all-trades so why should this be any different. And I want to say 'Ana and Belkis.' Thank you for bringing out my moxie. Thank you for cheering me on. And thank you for inspiring me. I love you both.
