One of our first certified instructors, Arlethea Scott, shares her story of weight loss and working out in the way she truly wants.
The first time I "yo-yoed" in my weight, back when The Biggest Loser was just getting popular, my coworkers decided to start a Biggest Loser Club with the deal that each of us would lose 10% of our weight. A fellow (male) coworker tried to introduce me to the exercise machines—treadmills, ellipticals, and the like—which didn't go over very well. I started escaping to my closet in the mornings to run through a Tae Bo DVD before work, and (albeit reluctantly) kept using the machines during breaks. Along with changing my diet, I was able to meet the club goal.
A friend of mine introduced me to dance fitness at a local YMCA and I fell in love. Before, I had always though that working out meant lifting weights and running. I had been a dancer pretty much all of my life in church and college, so it was a great fit for me. I moved on to Zumba soon after, but my first classes were not very high in intensity, and the instructors' choreography did not match my dance style. But I liked the concept so much that I decided to become certified. I found a fitness family of instructors that shared my need for intensity and started attending their classes. But the lyrics of the music tended to be a bit more risqué than my spirit would allow. I was encouraged by my fitness family to create my own niche by providing a Zumba class with a Christian twist, and so, I started teaching.
By that time, I was closer to my weight goal and Zumba alone wasn't enough for that final push. Because I was teaching the class, my priorities and attention had go to my students while I was teaching. So I started doing Insanity, which was even higher in intensity. However, there was no dancing and I still had a problem with the lyrics of the music. I was also teaching sessions in schools by then, and I struggled with the idea of bringing that kind of music to the youth.
I saw Shazzy Fitness online about a year ago and liked everything they had to offer so much that I contacted the founder, Kristy, and asked her to consider giving live certification classes. I was certified in so many things, but Shazzy was the first to fulfill all of the "bullet points" I had been seeking out. I attended the August certification in Tennessee and now plan on teaching Shazzy Fitness in a studio affiliated with my church, I feel secure and satisfied in the fact that I can now teach youth and adult fitness with no hesitations or convictions.
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Are you or someone you know interested in joining the fastest-growing faith-based dance Instructor Team? If you're ready to share the joy of faith and fellowship through fitness, please contact us - we'd love to hear from you :)