WaterWorks - Diary of an Instructor

Having passed module training for WaterWorks I have now been unleashed on the pools of Eastbourne! I can't describe how chuffed I am when people ask about WaterWorks, what is it all about and how the course was, for me to be able to tell them that I trained on WaterWorks One and am one of the first 50 Instructors :D

The time to teach my first class has arrived, its a lunch time class, which consists mainly of ladies from the erm...older generation. Being very talented at ignoring the feelings of nerves I was surprised at just how nervous I was when it came to 5 to 12! I've been removed from my comfort zone of the Studio and placed on poolside. Prior to this class I have only practised the WaterWorks choreography in my bedroom so I would be lieing if I said that I felt prepared. To teach in such a hot room, with no mic, with an audience in the jacuzzi and seniors who have been doing aqua for years gawping at me from the pool was daunting to say the least, but the moment that Cher kicked in all my nerves disappeared to be replaced with my confident Instructor head.

Before doing WaterWorks I had never even participated in aqua aerobics before, perceiving it as a bit of a namby pamby workout, created for old people, and I am ashamed to say that I thought the Instructors I had seen teaching were lazy for not carrying out all of the moves with the participants. I can now admit just how wrong I was, there in no way in this life that you could perform all of the high impact choreography throughout the whole class...(try it out, see how long you can do spotty dogs for!)

The class went swimmingly :) It was great fun to teach, and was an amazing workout for not only my participants in the water, but also for me aswell. The ladies all kept up with the choreography easily and understood which direction to go at which point. They enjoyed the mix of track types such as conditioning and cardio, and commended the amount of options there are to raise or lower the intensity of the moves.

As standard procedure goes, I of course had to get in the water for track 5 :) Not only did it really help to control the class and what direction they had to go in, but it also woke the women up a bit, there were smiles all round, they all found it really quite amusing. Boy did I need to get in the pool to cool down buy that point too! (Top tip for female WaterWorks instructors teaching this track...don't wear a a normal bra under your top...wear a sports bra! Mine just soaked up all the water, and needed a lot of squeezing out...also to my participants amusement)

Overall the feedback from class number one was all positive
-Nice to do a different routine
-New moves they haven't done before in aqua
-Fresh Instructor (ie I still get excited when I get to teach classes, and apparently they can tell that!)
-Good having different tracks to do different things
-Working to the music helps the keep up as in other classes the music just seems to be on in the backround
-One lady in particular liked the punching in track 3 ALOT
-The use of dumbells was also enjoyed by the ladies, as the only equipment they normally use is woggles, it had been such a long time since the dumbells were used that I had to give the club notice so that they could get them out of storage!

The time in the class absolutely flew by! I loved it and the aqua ladies seemed to aswell!

For more info on WaterWorks click here.

Check in at the same time next week to hear all about my second class!

Best Sports Bra EVER!

I came across this bad boy in Sports Direct a few days ago. I didn't yet own a pink sports bra so I figured it would be a good investment at £10.99, absolute bargain!

After wearing it in the gym I took it off and chucked it on my bathroom floor before getting in the shower. I left my dirty washing on the floor until the morning (naughty I know). When I picked it up the next day it was inside-out (not to my knowledge). I was confused to say the least and just couldn't figure out when I had bought this new black sports bra.

When I took it out of the wash it was the right way round again. I didn't remember putting this bra into the wash and was again confused, where was the random black one? Eventually realisation hit me like a truck....I unknowingly bought a reversible Sports bra! AWESOME!

WaterWorks

I have recently been on a course to enable me to teach WaterWorks aqua, the pre choreographed to music answer to aqua aerobics.

WaterWorks is the effective total body workout where you are immersed in a fun environment and can choose your intensity level. WaterWorks provides a new concept 45-minute aqua class to appeal to all shapes and sizes.  All our instructors are fully trained and supported; ensuring that WaterWorks is FUN and WORKS!

 It was a two day course where we learnt
-what is essential for teaching a WaterWorks class
-about the strucure of the class
-the break down of all the moves
-tips on learning the cjoreography
-the properties of water and why WaterWorks works!
and so so much more

Taught by Jenny Jolliffe herself, it was a fun and inspirational two days which really helped me to realise how good a workout aqua aerobics can be. With a blend of music from Cher, to Justin Timberlake to Sting, there is music to suit everyones tastes, and with simple yet effective choreography it is easy to keep up with the routines.

Water Works is a 45 minute class featuring 9 tracks from a warm up, to speed, to conditioning, to power peaks and aqua running, it is an extremely fun and enjoyable workout.

If you see WaterWorks advertised in a pool near you I would highly recommend trying it out, you may surprise yourself!

For more information on WaterWorks, click here

I just want to say a massive thankyou to Jenny for being so great on the course, and to herself and Damon (founder directors) for creating WaterWorks. I love it!

Congraduation!!

(stolen from awesome film Eclipse!) Team Edward if your wondering:)

A massive well done to Jason Day BSC who has passed his degree (Bsc honors degree in Sport and Exercise Science with Physical Education)  and achieved an awesome 2:1!!!

                                   Congrats boy :) I'm very proud of you

                                                                                     xxxx

Fitness frocks 2

Although not the most practical workout outfit, I am quite a fan of this one!

I couldn't resist this short sleeved NIKE hoody when I saw it on sale in JD sports at only £14.99. These shorts are a simple cotton pair from, Primark (with chafing potential!)

Their a bit short to for me to wear at the gym, but could be good for dance practice or stretching

Old old Puma trainers. I've had them for years but can't bear to part with them!

Ignition, Super Quartely workshop

At the beginning of this month (June 5th) myself an hundreds of other Les Mills Instructors gathered at the K2 centre in Crawley for the Super Quartely Workshops. Every three months, each BTS programme releases new choreography and music especially for Les Mills Instructors to learn and deliver in their own classes, so we all attend quartely workshops to get a taste of the new chore from a participants point of view and for the opportunity to be taught by the best Les Mills Presenters.

It was an absolutely fantastic day, I loved every minute of it!

I started at 8.30 with Body Combat. This was the most insane experience EVER!

504 people participating in Body Combat in one room is mad! Body Combat 44 was absolutely off the hook, with my favourite track being track 7 Muay thai! Joint programme director Dan Cohen was but one of the presenters on the day which was amazing!

9.45 brought the new release of Body Balance. I don't actually teach Body Balance myself but I love going to the classes. I don't find the new release as hard as the last one, but I still love it! One of the presenters was Sarah Norman who taught my Body Jam module (my very first Les Mills course!)

11.00 was time for Body Pump 74. Wicked release. Enough said! Favourite tracks are between Triceps and the killer lunge track! Three awesome presenters for Pump, Niamph Mcguirk, Dan Cohen, and Shaun Egan.

12.15 was where it all went wrong. Body Attack. I LOVE Body Attack. I don't teach it but I find it so much fun! It is exactly what it says on the can...an attack on your body!! It was bonkers, I went full pelt and am sure that I almost went into cardiac arrest! This is me and my pal Nik after Attack. Hour number 4. Done.

I then had a much needed break to consume as much food and free lucozade and I possibly could!

14.45 was Body Jam time!! and omg programme director Gandalf Archer himself taught it! It was soooooo good, however, I realised whilst toe tapping that my new NIKE trainers I bought especially for Body Jam were too big and are actually quite a hinderance. But they look cool so I don't care :)

16.00 was my 6th hour of classes, my legs felt like led, I was hungry, tired, light headed, on the verge of moody (that is what happens when I'm hungry) a million and one reasons to go home to bed, but nope, I soldiored on and off I went to Body Step 80! I have to admit, I do prefer 79 (im so sorry for saying that) I'm just not a huge fan of the 80s themed music. Don't get me wrong though, I still think its fab :D I didn't bother with 2 risers just the one...check me out stepping !  >>




I then spent the next few days out of training with a strained calf I couldn't run the Race for Life the next day, I also could'nt walk it! I had an exercise hangover for about 4 days but it was so so so so so so so soooooooo awesomely awesome! Next one is beginning of September in Sheffield. I can't wait to do it all again!

A massive thanks to all the presenters who made such a great day for us and to all the staff at Fitpro who organised the event, and kept us on track throughout the day. Without them the day would't have been able to go ahead. Kia Kaha!

Query...I want to loose weight, should I just do cardio cardio cardio?

No!

Cardio is great for loosing weight and for burning fat if you are working in the correct heart rate zone,

but a mixture of cardio and resistance training, and a healthy diet is the best combination if you want to drop the pounds.

Resistance training boosts your metabolism (the rate at which you burn fat and calories), which means that you will be burning more fat and more calories at rest! You need to keep mixing up your workout programme every 4 - 6 weeks to keep your body guessing to enable yourself to continue speeding up your metabolism and maintaining it.

20 minutes of resistance training 3 times a week is sufficient to gain the results that you need. This is not a substitute for cardio exercise. Try combining it with 30-40 minutes of to gain optimum results. Worried that resistance training will bulk you up? Click here to find out what you actually have to do to 'bulk' up.

If you are unfamiliar with resistance training just drop me a comment or an email at barrettsfitness@googlemail.com for some help and advise on what to do in your gym programme.