I'm a...

CKO KICKBOXING TRAINER! 

Remember when I became certified to be a personal trainer? Well, when I got home from passing the exam, Sal immediately told me to contact my kickboxing trainer at CKO. I've known him for years, first as their childcare provider, then as a kickboxing member, so it would have been easy for me to pick up the phone and give him a call. However, word travels fast, and he found out that I become a CPT, and asked if I was interested in becoming a kickboxing trainer. Truth is, it had been on my mind since I signed up for the CPT course and certification. 

Over the years, I fell in love with kickboxing, well maybe not just fell in love with, but I became addicted and obsessed over the way I felt during class, and the soreness of my body the days that followed. I told him, yes that I was extremely interested in becoming a kickboxing trainer, and the following week I found myself on the way to becoming just that. We had a few weeks of tough training sessions, that usually followed a kickboxing class I had taken. So not only did I leave sore from my class, I left bruised up from training. I didn't mind though, I loved the marks that it left me - it made me feel stronger, and like I could do anything I set my mind to. I got my form down, tested out the moves with pads and on the bag, practiced on the mic, and eventually made my own class. Before training my own, I did a warm up for another trainer's class, and then half of that same class the next week. Of course it was nerve-racking at first, but when you have that mic on and people are looking to you for their next move, those nerves just disappear and Jillian Michael's takes over your body. 

My family and friends have been nothing short of supportive. I knew they all believed in me, but having them take one of my classes, or better yet, having them buy a Groupon to take more than one?! That's such an amazing feeling, and I am extremely grateful for them.

It's now been a month since I've started training at CKO, and I could not be more proud of where I am today. When I'm training, I am screaming out the moves, with motivation, and challenging my class to really give it their all. That feeling you get when someone thanks you for kicking their ass, or mentions what a tough workout that was, is truly indescribable. Sometimes, when I'm watching my class, I smile, not because they're all sweaty messes on the floor (okay maybe partly because of that), but because I'm doing what I set out to do months ago. I'm using my certification as a personal trainer, and I'm instilling passion for fitness and wellness in others, helping them become stronger and more confident in themselves.

Set goals for yourself, and conquer them. 

Don't worry about what anyone else has to say about it.