The Doctor’s Office
The story begins a few years earlier – when I was around 18 years old. I was a waitress, just out of school ready to explore the world. But then I got sick – I mean really unwell! I had no energy, couldn’t drag myself out of bed in the morning – and fell asleep the second I got home at night. My weight plummeted with no real reason as to why.
This went on for months, before I finally went to my local GP. After a few blood tests, I was told I had an “overactive thyroid”. I am still so grateful for the doctor I saw – as the initial response wasn’t “here’s some pills”. Instead he told me, “You’re young – if I put you on pills now, you’ll be on them forever. Go and try some exercise.”
The BODYPUMP Class
What a wild idea – I’m exhausted and he wants me to exercise?? I wasn’t much of a sportsperson (believe it or not!) I’d done a bit of swimming in the past but that was the extent of it. As you can imagine – I wasn’t thrilled about the idea.
I had a friend who had started going to a local gym where she had been attending a BODYPUMP class. I figured – if she could do it, I probably could. I remember walking into this busy room – everyone had bars and weights. I really had no clue what I needed, so I followed the lead of my friend.
Then… the music started. (Music was my favourite subject in school – I would spend hours playing the keyboard and was the most decent grade I got.) I love music! So already, I was in. I was moving this bar to the beat of the music. The instructor – Karina – was amazing. She had this big infectious smile on her face and wow was she lifting some heavy weights! But she wasn’t big and bulky, she was toned – and I was so inspired by her. Not only that, she made me feel welcome.
The Addiction
I’m not going to lie – the next day hurt like hell! It was a joke in the café I worked in – I couldn’t bend down (or get back up!) My legs felt like lead. Apart from the pain, I didn’t feel any different. But – I loved that class, the atmosphere, the music, the instructor! So I went back… initially I did 2x BODYPUMP classes a week for a few months.
It was like a miracle – I felt 100 times better. I had more energy, and I’d put that weight back on that I’d dropped – I felt strong! Now my confidence was up, I tried some of the other classes they had to offer. BODYATTACK and BODYCOMBAT – they also had some freestyle step classes. I loved them all!
Every night when I finished work, I’d head to the gym and see what class I could join. At that point, I had no real agenda – the classes were fun, inspiring, I was moving to music and I felt better in my everyday life. It was a big win!
The Instructor Course
One of the instructors, Fiona – she was awesome. Her face was surrounded by her big red curly hair (which she always had down – how she managed that I have no idea). She was so super fit, bouncing around in BODYATTACK and her freestyle step was so much fun. Fiona told me a few times that I would make a great instructor. How kind of her – but I had absolutely no idea how to even start.
At the age of 20, I travelled around the world – I found some of these BODYPUMP classes on my travels – how cool! I was confident to join them, because I’d got used to them at home. I also did a bit of boxing. When I returned home at 22… I didn’t know what to do with myself. I fell back into the same jobs and same routine of going to classes.
Fiona kept encouraging me to go and do my instructor qualifications – so I found an “Exercise to Music” Level 2 course. It was over a 10-week period in Edinburgh. I hadn’t studied since school, so the anatomy and physiology theory work certainly didn’t come easy to me.
On the first day, we spent 2 hours… wait for it… finding the beat of the music. I remember thinking how strange that we needed to practice this. Then came the practicals of learning how to safely choreograph a routine, speak whilst teaching, give options so everyone felt successful, correct technique with a group and finding the confidence to stand in front of people.
And I couldn’t believe how naturally it all came. I could hear the changes in the music a mile off, which made the routines easy to put together and teach. In between the practical weekends I found some willing participants and a sports hall and practiced my aerobics routine. I loved it all.
I got such a buzz from working out with a group of people and seeing their happy faces. I sat my theory and practical exams and couldn’t believe I was now an Aerobics Instructor. What a confidence boost! But it wasn’t aerobics I wanted to teach – it was BODYPUMP! The class that got me falling in love with group fitness.
The LES MILLS Love Affair
But here’s the thing – there were a lot of BODYPUMP instructors back then. So I phoned Les Mills (cause back in 2010 – we phoned people!) The next upcoming Les Mills Training course was for a programme called BODYSTEP and it was in London – the very next week!
I’d never heard of this class, but I’d tried Freestyle step and really enjoyed it – bonus – no one around the area was teaching it. So off I went – I’d never been to London. That in itself was an experience.
Les Mills Initial Module Training for BODYSTEP was a 2-day training followed by a practical assessment. Day 1 – we began with the trainer taking us through the Masterclass. Holy heck – what IS this class. We moved fast, on, over, around, there were “ponies” “gallops” “over the tops” – speed steps, party steps. I was LOST! Everyone else knew the routine – HOW? (These folks had been doing BODYSTEP in their local gyms of course.) There was also a lot of laughing, smiling, JOY! I LOVED BODYSTEP already. But how was I going to teach this?
We were all given a DVD, CD (kids – this was our iPod) and notes so we could go away and learn a track to teach – THE NEXT DAY! For the rest of Day 1 – we drilled all the moves, over and over again. By the end of the day, my calves felt like they’d been pulled out of my body, run over and placed back in. But no rest – as I had to learn a 3.30 minute speed step track.
I got the towel from my hotel bathroom and placed it on the floor as my “step”. For the next 6 hours I repeatedly did the speed step track, I listened to what the Spanish man cued, I followed his moves and then learnt it precisely.
On Day 2 – I delivered my speed step track perfectly – I’m pretty sure I repeated the Spanish man’s cues word for word – probably with an accent.
I then had 8 weeks to learn the whole routine, practice it with some participants at home and film myself teaching – when I became a certified LES MILLS BODYSTEP INSTRUCTOR.
I loved teaching this class. I got 4 classes on the timetable at obscure times including a Friday morning breakfast step club. Over the next 6 months I repeated the process with BODYPUMP and BODYBALANCE… closely followed by BODYATTACK, CORE and BODYCOMBAT. I was HOOKED!!
I was a different person at the front of a fitness class. Confident, strong, leading. I loved the music – I loved pushing myself to memorise choreography.
The Great Depression
Fast forward to 2013 – Life was great – I was young – I now had a career in the fitness industry – taught about 20 fitness classes a week, along with gym shifts, I was out most weekends socialising and back to it Monday morning.
Then my world crumbled. My mum was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and didn’t finish the year with us. She was 54 and my best friend. She was also one of my most regular fitness class participants (I can still see her up the back of my BODYSTEP class with her bestie Morag, laughing and having a great time). I was given time off work, I spent that time in the pub or asleep.
I won’t get too deep in here – but one day I woke up and decided to go to a class. I wasn’t ready to teach, but I joined in a BODYATTACK class. For 55 minutes, I forgot about life outside, I forgot about my grief and pain. I sweated, laughed, got some happy endorphins in my body.
And that was it – Group Fitness saved my life for the second time.
The Home of LES MILLS
After a few months of being back at work and teaching my beloved classes – I decided to get a change of scene. Where better to go than the home of Les Mills – Auckland City, New Zealand.
I already had some links with the gym over there – Sarah was the Gym Floor Manager – she had been my friend and mentor since training me in BODYBALANCE a few years earlier. She welcomed me with open arms. There were so many familiar faces that I had watched on my DVDs religiously whilst learning my different programmes. I still can’t quite believe that I got to teach BODYSTEP with “Mr Step” as my mum called him and be there for the 100th BODYSTEP filming.
My health and fitness knowledge was upskilled and after a year out there, I finally came home.
The Pandemic
Along came my wee girl in 2016 – Abigail. Life changed forever again. From a health and fitness perspective – I now had a new empathy for parents (or anyone for that matter) running in late to my classes. The fact they make it at all is a miracle!
As an instructor I am immensely grateful to those who take time out of their busy day to join me for a class – not for me, but for themselves.
I also spent more time upskilling my anatomy knowledge. I wanted to have a better understanding of the Pelvic Floor in particular and how it affects the rest of the body (and vice versa). I worked for a GP referral charity and ran a falls prevention project with the local Physiotherapy department. I learned SO much from my colleague – also Katy. She inspired me to keep on studying and I did my Level 4 Pilates and Postural analysis training.
I have literally worked with the fittest of the fit in Les Mills to those with multi-conditions and preventing people from falling over. I am fascinated by people and want to help people be the strongest versions of themselves.
I became a trainer for LES MILLS to train others to love the job I love!
Then 2020 hit – and you know what happened there!
The community centre I worked for closed its doors to prevent job losses. And when they reopened, something was missing… Group Fitness. (Apparently it wasn’t cost effective… but that was never a reason I taught group fitness!)
The Happy Wee Health Club
When the second lockdown was announced, my friend Karen and I got together for a playpark playdate with our young kiddies. We decided our community wouldn’t survive another lockdown without… well, a community!
We put together a 2-week, free Facebook group called “Locked Down with Katie and Karen.” Every day we did 2 x 30-minute GROUP FITNESS workouts! They consisted of a 6am BODYBALANCE class and a 6pm BODYSTEP/BODYPUMP/BODYATTACK workout.
They were all delivered on Zoom. We also hosted “Miracle Mornings” where we meditated, journaled, read and shared our gratitude. On Friday evenings we had our famous COOKALONGS – we all bought the same ingredients and cooked a meal together – virtually.
We knew EVERYTHING about our members – what the inside of their houses looked like, who they lived with, their pets…
Our 2-week group wasn’t enough – we carried on after the 2 weeks and created a membership club with 80 sign ups overnight… renaming ourselves “THE HAPPY WEE HEALTH CLUB.”
When Lockdown was lifted… we quit our jobs (that had an income!) for… well, no income! Because something was more important! We travelled around the village halls – with a laptop for those who weren’t ready to join us in person, we had bought weights, bars and steps with the memberships we had and brought them with us.
By the end of 2021, we had leased a building! Over the past 4 years we have poured our hearts and souls into renovating this amazing space for our community. Which is now home to over 50 Group Fitness classes per week (all of which are still streamed), Spin classes, a strength-based gym, physios, massage therapists, Bowen therapists, Kids ballet, art classes, gymnastics.
My wee Abigail is now 9 and loves a bit of Group Fitness herself. She has rhythm and enjoys the energy of a BODYSTEP class and the calm of a BODYBALANCE class. How cool!
The Last Thought
Group Fitness saved my physical health and mental health on more than one occasion. It has been my constant over the past 20 years, through the highs and lows.
I often think to myself “Where would I be today if that doctor hadn’t suggested exercise?”