Trying something new is always a little scary, right? Fear of the unknown, fear of potential “failure”, fear of doing something incorrectly, etc. And because of this, because of these fears, we often are held back from trying something new. It’s so much easier and more comfortable sticking with something we know, right? I get it. But the thing is- and I’ve talked about this a lot on B2B- always sticking to what we know and are comfortable with leaves little room for change or growth. These things happen when we get a little bit outside of our comfort zone and see all that we are able to do if we just try.

A perfect example of this for me is teaching fitness classes. Over the years I have grown so much as an instructor- whether it’s my cues, my interaction with the participants, the formatting techniques or even my own form, I sometimes feel like a totally different instructor when I first started… which certainly isn’t a bad thing, lol. However, this growth didn’t come from keeping and teaching the same class or classes week after week. In fact, sometimes I think those hold me back from becoming a better and stronger instructor because they allow me to get too comfortable. The classes tend to be mostly regulars so I know exactly what they can and cannot do and often find myself skipping through some of the different cues and introductions that I normally do because these members have been with me for many years and “know the drill” as I like to joke with them.

And this is exactly why I signed up to teach a class at Janji through MoveWith. While I knew there would be some familiar faces in the crowd, I had a feeling there would be people who were brand new or just newer to my classes, which changes things up drastically with regards to the way I teach/approach the class. I’m brought back to the basics- introducing myself, the class format, explaining some of the exercises in advance, giving more cues, etc. I want to make sure that I am addressing everyone’s potential needs/wants, and because I don’t know specifically what those things are, I need to give lots of variations, options, cues, etc., all with the hope that everyone gets what they want out of the class.

Out of the 14 participants in class last week, only FOUR had taken my classes before, meaning I was essentially teaching to an entirely new group of fighters. I LOVED THIS!!! It challenged me to be the best instructor I could be and I thrived off of their energy as we got to know each other a little better. During the warm up, I worked us through all of the punches, kicks, bodyweight exercises and general lingo I’d be using. I also had them set intentions so that they could have something to work for. Whether it’s to do the burpees, punch stronger or to just finish class, I feel very strongly about setting that intention so you can be fighting for something.

The class went better than I could’ve expected. Everyone was on fire and it absolutely fired me up as well. They were also such good sports when it came to navigating a very crowded room and even worked out down the hallway to get more space- serious dedication if you ask me!

I left the class feeling so grateful. Grateful to have been able to meet so many people. Grateful for the amazing MoveWith community. Grateful that Janji let us sweat in their awesome space. But most of all, I was grateful for the fact that I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new, because without doing that, I would’ve have been able to have such an amazing experience.

I challenge you to think of something that maybe you’ve been avoiding because you’re scared of the unknown associated with that particular thing, and then I want you to think about what it would be like if you tried/did it. If you think there’s any inkling of a chance that it could be a really good thing, then I urge you to try/do it. It might turn out even better than you expect.

Thank you to MoveWith for creating such a wonderful, strong fitness community- 2017 is off to a great start and I can’t wait to continue to meet more people through hosting more original classes. If you’re in the Boston area, I’m hosting another class on Wednesday, February 8th at 6:30pm at the Janji popup store on Newbury Street. You can sign up here. If you plan on attending, I’d sign up sooner rather than later because space is limited!

Also, I was featured on the MoveWith blog last week- check out this post to see what I had to say: How to put your fears behind you