Identity Challenged...

When you ask me what it is that I “do”, I enthusiastically tell you that I teach fitness classes. “Oh!” you respond with your own zeal and you follow-up with (at least) four questions: “Yoga?” “Pilates?” “Zumba?” “Bar?” Somewhere during my four negative responses, you will already have moved on to the appetizer table or to a more cooperative guest at the party. How do I define what it is that I “do”? I am an active aging advocate, a certified personal trainer, a group fitness instructor and a weight management coach. I help women to lead more active healthy lifestyles. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz…

My fitness classes include major muscle and joint warm-up exercises, full-body strength training, flexibility, balance, and cardio intervals. I do not believe in “routines”. My classes require your full attention while your favorite music from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s provides the continuity and the encouragement to sing along. I offer colorful dumbbells, stretchy tubing, bouncy 4-square balls, orange cones, thigh-busting gliders and mystery monster bands. How the heck do you condense all of that into one catchy buzzword? Last Spring, I began using the word “Blast” which I thought captured the outbursts of laughter and the fun that fills my classes. “Blast” could also describe the brief but effective fat-burning cardio intervals during our strength training segments. But, “Blast” became the past when I expanded that buzzword by a factor of 3 to become “Group Personal Training”. This opened up a nasty can of worms because I went into my personal trainer mode and soon realized it was impossible to give twelve vital women the individual attention they required within a one-hour class. I once used the mission statement from when I became ChezFit: Home of Functional Fitness, “providing exercise techniques that mimic movements from life’s everyday activities”. This created another setback when individuals registered for my classes anticipating services from a physical therapist to help them return lost function due to injury and/or illness.

Not willing to succumb to defeat (yet), I then returned to my personal active aging mantra: “Training your body for life…” It isn’t as renowned as “Pilates” or as universally recognized as “Yoga”, however please just take a minute to realize its unique essence and significance.

I can hardly wait for you to ask me again what it is that I “do”. My response will be, “I train my body for life and I train others to do the same.” I hope you will then stick around for a while and ask me more about my life’s passion. Better yet, I hope you will consider trying out one of my classes.

---LuAnne Kalman teaches Baby Boomer Fitness classes in Portola Valley and is evaluating venues in Los Altos and Palo Alto for her unique program.