"Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End"

Semisonic (1998) sang, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Gabriella and Troy sang, "This is the start of something new." I'd say these folks nailed it! Sometimes we view starting fresh as a negative thing. Honestly, I'm excited!

Today was my Spinning Instructors Training here in St. Louis. I arrived at 7:45 AM, ready to ride and ready to take on a full day of learning. Just like any training, you have to go through the motions and "review" the things you already know. I'm sure for legalities and logistics, the Master Instructor had to discuss the things that felt monotonous or silly.

Now, I can set anyone up on their Spinner (stationary bike for those who don't know. Spinner is the brand.) successfully! I could also teach someone how to set up their Spinner, which is the most important part. Just like being in a classroom, I will not do your work for you but will give you the tools necessary to do it yourself. There is so much that goes in to being a Spinning Instructor, or as the Master Instructor put it today, the Spinning Coach (I like the way that sounds!).

You know how Spinning Instructors make it look so easy in class? They just plug in their iPods and away they go! Well, the music and movement decisions they make are much more calculated than that! They have to decide which of the five energy zones (Recovery, Endurance, Strength, Interval, & Race Day) they wish to focus on for that ride. Instructors need to decide what their purpose is and take the group population into account. They then have to decide the plan for meeting the goal they have for the class that day. What movements are going to help to meet that goal? After thinking about all of those, they create a Profile, which is the sequence of movements (it comes with specific symbols, so serious!). After all of that is decided and created, the music comes in to play.

For me, deciding what music to play is the best part! Music's purpose in a Spinning class is to create a fun environment where the riders can make an emotional connection to the atmosphere and their bikes. It should help the riders get lost and find a rhythm; and of course is fun and helps us get into a groove and sweat our butts off! Since music is the final thing to plug in to the mix, it fits my motto in life: Save the best for last!

So, as I sit here and reflect on things, I realize that not having a full time teaching job is not the end of the world. I now have the opportunity to become passionate in other things. I have the time to develop that passion. I have the energy (boy do I have some energy!?). I realize how blessed I am to be in a position to explore other things and won't take that for granted.

Becoming a Spinning Instructor is going to be a blast! I am super excited and it's just the beginning! I am closing the door on teaching children for now (this definitely will not be forever!) and moving in to teaching adults to persevere through the difficult times. As Semisonic put it, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."