February 22, 2016

Life As A Master Trainer: What I Have Learned So Far

Life as a Master Trainer

I’ve always had an interest in instructing and mentoring.  I was deeply invested in being a Cheer and Dance team coach.  I lived for the big concert moments as a teacher, watching my students play their instruments with pride and joy.  I love teaching fitness classes.  And as a Master Trainer, I am now combining all those little worlds into something bigger than I had ever even imagined.

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The homework.  The planning.  The preparation.  The networking.  The outreach.  The partnerships.  The agreements.  The marketing.  The branding.  The conference calls.  The hours of work at night after an already 8 hour day in my career and two fitness classes under the belt.  There are sacrifices.  There are hours of missed sleeps.

But, with all of that comes accomplishment.  There is reward.  There is fulfillment.  There is a sense of self.  There is pride.  There is opportunity.   There is passion.  There is pure joy.  There is nothing I want to do more.

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Being an MT means helping people achieve their bucket list item of becoming a fitness instructor.

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It means pushing people beyond their physical limits and showing them what they TRULY can do when they put their mind and heart to it.

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It means helping instill a different level of appreciation for the human body and how it functions.

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It means helping teach the importance of community and family in a Group X classroom and how to create it.

Truly create it.

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Being a Master Trainer is more then just certifying instructors.  It’s days and hours of heart and soul. It’s walking into an 8 hour certification as strangers and leaving as a family.  It’s taking all of their fears, doubts and nerves and changing them to goals, accomplishments and excitement.  Each certification I learn more about myself.  I become more self-aware.  I reflect for hours and days following a certification on how I can make the next one even better then the last.  On how I can help these individuals who have just put all of their trust into little ol’ me to help make THEM the best they can be before they go out to the world and instruct their own classes.

Being a Master Trainer is far more then I ever imagined.

And to just think…

this is just the beginning.

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January 31, 2016

Mr. Miracle?

Remember when I was telling you about my back/hip issue?  And then remember when I stopped talking about it?  Because if you are like me, you want to just say “SUCK IT UP ALREADY… I AM SO TIRED OF LISTENING TO YOU”.

I get it.  I am tired of listening to me too.  I am tired of living with it more.

And I became more tired of having people look at me like I was being a baby when I attempted to explain it.

You know who you are.  You judgmental judgy McJudgersons.

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I still love you.

Some days I could suck it up and pay for it later.  Some days I could suck it up thanks to some magic pills.  Some days I couldn’t suck it up to save my life.  Right now I am back to the days where I can barely get in a squat, let alone a burpee.  Burpees are my JAM!  I WANT TO DO BURPEES!!!  I haven’t worked out all weekend trying to alleviate the irritation so I can do my Tuesday burpee challenge.  Oh, you crazy kids, stay tuned for that!

Anyway, I have focusing problems.  Back to it.

So, I saw a new Dr. on Friday.

We are going to call him Dr. Miracle.

Because I am going to believe in him and the miracle he is about to bring to my back/hip.

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His diagnosis:  Sacroiliitis

What is it?  Sacroiliac joint inflammation

So what?  It causes low back, hip and pelvic issues and often time leg issues.  Yo prego women… if you have this, it’s gonna suck even more.   Whew… I am good there.

Levels:  Sometimes the pain is minimal, sometimes it’s debilitating.  I have all the gambits.   Thankfully the day I saw him I was at the stage where I was unable to squat or pull my right leg up to my knee to cross it.  Like physically not possible.  Not painful and don’t want to do it… straight up can’t do it.

Stupid right?  Ya, I agree.  For three months!

Solution: An X-Ray guided anesthetic and steroid shot to the joint.

When?  THURSDAY!

Why not Friday when I was there?  INSURANCE

(Sometimes I really hate insurance…)

Who is excited?

THIS GIRL!!!!

My life revolves around being active.  Not being so active is Sucky McSuckerson.  I’ve got classes to teach, miles to run, weights to lift, burpees to complete, certifications to facilitate, chairs to sit in, Jeeps to drive, Harley’s to ride.   This girl is ready for that pain to disappear!

Cheers to Thursday and Dr. Miracle.

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January 17, 2016

17 Must Be My Fave

Here we are again on the 17th day of the month.   November 17th, December 17th and January 17th.  One post a month?  I’ve clearly lost my ambition. Nah… that isn’t it. I just have a few things going that have required me putting the personal blog to the side.   For now…

I am still here!  Will still be here!

But, I am going to shift some focus.

Some things you should know.

  1. I have a new website in the works.  It will be focused solely on the fitness side of the house.  From my current classes, to upcoming certifications among other things.  You can find it here: Live Fit Focused.  If you are reading this and have experience in website design, I am hiring.
  2. I am currently in a 12 week program called Level Up.  It’s an intense training program for Master Trainers that includes weekly evening conference calls, assignments and homework.
  3. If I thought I didn’t have spare time before, I really don’t now.
  4. I have a new Facebook page, which is a little weird for me.  BUT, in the interest of trying to keep my personal facebook page a little more personal, it was necessary.  We will see how it goes.  If you feel so inclined to provide support if you haven’t already (wow, I have super supportive peeps in my life) you can find it here.
  5. My career is still my career.  Someone recently asked me if I was trying to move into the fitness industry full time.  No, that is not my goal.  If it happens, then it will happen over time, but to say that is a vision or goal I have written down for myself, it is not.   I love my position at IWCC.   Honestly!
  6. With #5 said, if I could open my own fitness studio, I would do it in a heartbeat.   A goal of both my husband and mine has been to find an acreage in the country where he could move his business home base to and open my own studio on.  Ah, but all those things take a location and a shit ton of cash.  😉
  7. Life Lately:  Awesome!   Family, friends, holiday’s, new adventures, events and a life I love dearly!

Christmas 2015

I think we had 7 get-togethers.  Each equally awesome!   What better then spending time with those you love? 🙂

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Fitness Classes Galore!  Some with themes!

 

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Painting Parties with girlfriends

 

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Trips out of town to offer Master Classes!

 

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Hobby Trucks from the husband... I swear between he and Kyle, we have enough trucks to drive a different one every single day.   None of which are newer than 1980.  😉

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The last month has been great!

Cheers to a new year and all the blessings and frazzled days that 2016 will surely bring!

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December 17, 2015

Life Lately – A Whole Month!

It was exactly one month ago today I published my post on Solitude.   That is the longest stretch I have ever gone without writing something, even if the something was nothing.   So, what have I been up to in this last month?  A lot of awesome and not awesome.

Let’s start with the AWESOME!

Pre-Thanksgiving Christmas Decorating.

Yes, it went up a solid week Pre-Turkey Day.

Judge away.

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Dave’s Retirement.

After 43.5 years, my step-dad RETIRED from Eaton Corporation.   What a proud moment for us all!   Dave is a pure example of what hard work and dedication looks like.

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Thanksgiving

Lot’s of family at the Swanson’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Good food, drink and family fun.

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Thanksgiving at Gr’pa Goecker’s.

The best part? We got my DAD to show up to!   It was an early Christmas Miracle – it’s been a few years since he has attended.

Love that crazy man.

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And then… this happened.

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Iowa vs. Nebraska Game, Friday, November 27th – Lincoln, NE.

It. Was. FREEZING but Oh. So. AWESOME!

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We tailgated with a few friends while attempting to stay warm.    Clint had the right idea with his Carharts.   He looks like he is going to work, you say?  Ask him if he cared.  He was WARM!

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Was I warm?

Semi-warm pre-game thanks to cuddle time with the girls.

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…but NOT WARM mid-game.

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Seriously.  23 and breezy.   Whew!  But, totally worth it for that Hawkeye WIN!

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Chiefs Game – Sunday, November 29th

It was 7 degrees warmer than Fridays game, so it felt like a friggin’ heat wave.   The rain, however, was a bit of a damper on the atmosphere but not our spirits!   What a blast.

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I even ran into my Brother and Sis-in-Law!  They are legit Chief fans; as in not sure they have ever missed a home game.

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A successful run after TWO months of no runs (minus the trail run first of November).  I’ll get to that in the not-so-awesome section.

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Group Date – December 11th

A group of us went out on the town for a fun Friday night.   Let’s just say we all had a grand time.  Some more than others. 🙂

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Claire’s Birthday – Saturday, December 12th

Live music at Bogey’s West Bar and Grill for the birthday girls 35th closed out last weekends shenanigans!

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Oh – and I am now officially a Master Trainer for the INSANITY brand too!   TurboKick and Insanity certifications coming up in Omaha, January 23rd and 24th.   So freaking excited to train some new instructors in these formats.   Insanity is already at capacity – how awesome is that?!  It’s going to be a great weekend! 🙂

Can’t make Omaha?  Join me in Knoxville, IA in February! 🙂   Email me at jordan.pirtle@yahoo.com.

B2B_January_Certs

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So, what about the not so awesome?

Stupid back and hip issues.   On-going for years, but always self-correcting.   End of October I was nailed with incredible, debilitating pain, that even bending over to put my shoes on, or getting my toothbrush from the bottom drawer, was a painful process.  Heaven forbid I try to do a squat.  UGH!

Here we go…

  • 1 Chiropractor
  • 1 Orthopedic Doc
  • 3 Physical Therapists
  • 1 Massage Therapist
  • Laser Treatment
  • 2.5 weeks of ZERO workouts
  • 1 crabby girl who ate and drank her misery
  • 1 General Physician
  • 1 OB-GYN who listened to me complain because he’s been my doc for 8 years now and that’s just his thing to listen to crabby women (Thanks, Dr. Mark Carlson)
  • 1 MRI (again, thanks Carlson)

  • 1 Pain Specialist that injected me 8 times:

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  • …that left me with bruises that I still have (and have grown quite impressively) a week later.

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…And a partridge in a Pear Tree.

Am I better?  Yes.

Am I healed? Nope.

Can I teach classes again?  Yes.

Can I run again?  Tried once and it was a success. (see above)

Can I put my socks,shoes, pants on?  Not without some pain.

Can I sit comfortably?  Yes.

Can I stand comfortably?  I have to slowly get up and let my spine readjust for a second before I take off.

Can I do Yoga?  Nope – tried again and I just get stuck.

Will this ever go away?  Thinking no.

Thank goodness Champ gives me kisses to make it feel all better.

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Yes, I am better then I was a month ago.  I couldn’t hardly do anything.  Now I can.  The pain is still there but not nearly as severe.   Am I able to explain it well enough without sounding like a pansy?  No.  It’s hard to explain.  It isn’t just a sore muscle.  Trust me – I know what that feels like.

#duh

Sore muscles you recover from, warm-up and push through.  I am not an idiot (like some people were thinking)

It’s more than that.

Leaning over to pick something up isn’t just garnering a sore or tight feeling – it’s painful.  Sometimes it’s more than painful in the fact that I physically just CAN’T.   Period.  My body won’t go that way.   When I end my classes with stretches I have to support myself in every single move.

The best comparison is that feeling when something feels like it’s going to snap, or break, or pop out of place RIGHT before it happens.

That is what I feel like all the damn time.

Again, yes it has gotten significantly better.  I can push through it to a point.

(People are so over listening to me, I get it)

(Try living with it and then talk to me)

So, today I am back to a Chiro.  The day I had my MRI, I was feeling friggin’ fantastic, of course.  <insert eye roll here for me>  Like ready to go run a halfsy or rock an entire hour of Insanity with zero pain!  YESS!  But, as a result, the MRI showed minimal disc bulging in L4 and L5 but nothing else.  NOTHING ELSE.

The next day after said MRI?  I had to grab on to the side of my bed to even roll over and then had to push my legs over the edge to stand up.   My body just wouldn’t do what I needed it to do.  Period.

And that is my life.  Great one day.  A 150 year old woman the next.

You tell me!  

 

Tomorrow is our last day at work.  We are closed until January 4th.  I can’t begin to explain my excitement.   Lot’s of stretching, workouts, family time, pampering time, curriculum preparation for my certifications, fitness classes, learning new choreography, getting my diet back on track to drop these 10 gross pounds of extra garbage (thanks summer fun and my month of back depression) and whatever the heck else I want to do!  Bring it on!

 

Cheers!