Turbo what? Kick Who?..

I figure since the Turbo Kick has become such a big part of my life over the last year, I need to give a little background for my friends and family that are not familiar with what it's all about. Otherwise, I will perpetually continue to get glazed over looks when I'm trying to explain in five minutes or less what is it that I've gotten so obsessed with lately - failing miserably at that, of course ;)

So, grab a cup of Tall-Non Fat-Macchiato and settle in for the story. Could be lengthy, ya know, I do tend to ramble on ;)

I have been working out regularly for about 6 years now. One of the biggest hurdles I always faced was getting through my cardio workouts. My cardio was mostly done on elliptical machines or a treadmill, with occasional aerobics video tapes at home. I was BORED out of my mind and had to force myself to do cardio every single time. I knew I had to do it, but I was kinda miserable. I needed something different, something new, something I could actually like (since I had to do it anyway)!

And then it happened. August 2005. Enter TURBO JAM and Chalene Johnson (aka Turbo Mother, Ms Thang, and many other affectionate nicknames ;)). Beachbody (a website we used to buy video workouts from before) started promoting this new cardio kickboxing workout that promised me oodles of fun while I burned tons of fat! Now I already tried cardio kickboxing classes at the gym by then, as well as worked out to a couple of kickboxing DVD's. I already knew that I liked that sort of workout. And now it was going to come with an upped FUN factor? I needed little more persuasion. When my tapes finally arrived, I was very excited to try them. I did the form and technique video - Learn and Burn DVD. And then popped in the Cardio Party I. From the VERY FIRST workout, I was simply HOOKED! The music was OFF THE HOOK! The moves were challenging and I could feel them working my ENTIRE BODY. And Chalene had such a great presence as an instructor, that I just LOVED LOVED LOVED doing it! That was definitely a first for me, to look forward to a workout like that. I got so into it, that being the Google Junkie that I am, I went searching for more info. And what did I find? I found that there is such a thing as TURBO KICK! Turbo Kick was the original workout created by Chalene and it was being taught as a group fitness class in gyms all across the US. After Turbo Kick has become such a huge success (The story of TK), Chalene created a version of the workout for home users and called it Turbo Jam. I read all I could find about Turbo Kick and was thrilled to find out that Chalene released a new workout, called a Round, every 2 to 3 months. And all these Rounds were being sold right at the Turbo Kick site! That was great news to me, as I easily get bored and am always looking to change up my cardio routine. However, I had quickly deflated when I realized that in order to buy those workouts I had to be a CERTIFIED Turbo Kick instructor! Darn it, I thought! What a bummer! I am not an instructor or instructor material for that matter! I have never taught any group fitness classes before and wasn't really ready to start. But then I figured that I don't HAVE TO actually TEACH Turbo Kick. I could just get certified so I can buy the workouts! Inspired by my own sneaky cleverness, I ordered a home study certification. There weren't any live certifications scheduled in Detroit Metro and I was kind of intimidated to go to a live one anyway. But then Powder Blue Productions (Chalene's company) scheduled a live certification for Turbo Kick instructors in Ann Arbor in December of 2005. After much deliberation, I decided to give live cert a chance...
Let me just say that it was one of the BEST days in my life! I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. I had soooo much fun! The day was packed with high energy, fitness spirit, great music and a feeling of belonging. Cheryl Godfrey was the presenter that day, and that woman simply ROCKED! She was kind, supportive, knowledgeable, powerful, energetic and FUN :). As of the end of day on December 3rd 2005, I was officially a certified Turbo Kick instructor! I was very proud of that accomplishment, though I had no plans of teaching. I bought a whole bunch of rounds and went on to work out at home to them. I also made custom mixes by combining sections from different rounds. So far, I own almost all of the rounds released and have made 8 custom mixes. I guess, you can say I'm really INTO this workout, eh? ;)
Fast forward to this Summer... I finally found a live TK workout in the area. It was SUCH a HUGE difference to work out in a live TK class, vs at home to a TV screen. I was having a great time now! But as I kept watching the instructor, I kept thinking that if it was me teaching I'd do this differently and that differently, etc... I knew then that I actually wanted to start teaching myself! Whoda thunk it? ;)
My gracious TK instructor offered to organize a practice class session that I could lead. I went for it! I practiced every day for two weeks, trying to memorize choreography and learn how to cue properly. I was nervous as hell, but immensely excited as well! Then the day came and I had my first class! I'll tell ya, it's much easier at home than in front of a live audience ;)! I did mess up a few times, but everyone was sweating at the end of it, and I think I saw smiles :). My TK instructor, Cassandra, said I did very well and that she was impressed! She also gave me several very useful tips. So, after that first class, I immediately started thinking how much better I can do next time. So far I didn't have another class yet, but I have decided that I want to start teaching regularly for sure! I have compiled a list of 5 local gyms that might be interested in hiring TK instructors and even picked up one job application. I'm very nervous about the whole thing, but I really want to do this. I believe it will be a very rewarding thing to do :) I'll keep you posted on when I finally start teaching!

Whew... That was a long story. And I really just scratched the surface of all the things Turbo. Hopefully, though, now people in my life can understand a little more about this Turbo passion of mine!

Signing off with promises of shorter posts in the future...