Kangoo Jumps® Dance Instructor Training - February 7. 2016

Update!! This instructor licensing workshop has been rescheduled for February 7, 2016. New poster coming soon!

In the meanwhile, the 10 reasons (from my original post in 2015) are still valid, so enjoy the original blog post below. If you are interested in becoming a Kangoo Instructor, this gives you time to get certified as a Group Fitness Instructor first, if you aren't one already.

Ten Reasons You Want to Attend This Training!

10. You love to use your Kangoo Jumps® rebound boots yourself, and can't wait to share the euphoria with others.

9. Sunday, February 7, 2016 (new date) is a viable date for you to spend with a room full of other happy, jumping people. (New location too: Franconia Firehouse, Alexandria, VA.)

8. You jump with great enthusiasm and having the instructor discount on replacement parts would be brilliant. (The boots are well-constructed, and some of us just wear out t-springs, shells, and liners faster than other people.)

7. Being licensed in a specialty fitness format enhances your reputation and marketing, whether you are an employee, a contractor, or the owner of your own business.

6. If you are a fitness professional, the workshop (and other expenses to attend it) may be deductible on your income taxes. (Check with an accountant for details.)

5. This training counts for continuing education credit for renewing some other fitness certifications.

4. As an instructor, you will be able to help others achieve their fitness goals.

3. Roberson Magalhaes. Google the videos and see why. (International aerobic gymnastics champion - several times; co-owner and choreographer (with Leo Lins) at Chakaboom Fitness - watch their youtube videos; featured in the Kangoo Jumps DVDs Kangoo Power, Master Class vol. 2 and Kangoo Kickbox, Master Class vol. 2.)

2. You recognize that a low-impact workout with high-impact fun would be a great addition to your community, especially for the growing demographic of people with joint issues and for beginning exercisers. You will learn how to design choreography that is adaptable to beginners, competitive athletes, and every level in between.

1. You get to meet me and several other people who are as excited about rebound fitness as you are! (My peeps!)

If you want more specific details about the workshop, contact Kathleen as listed on the flyer. I'm available on Facebook (Loraine Says Jump) or by email if you have other sorts of questions (you know, the meaning of life, why we measure distance in minutes instead of miles in Northern Virginia, that kind of thing).

The Instructor Adventure Moves to Plan D

So, a few weeks ago, I had talked myself into believing I was OK with not renewing my Kangoo Jumps® Silver Level Power Instructor license. I could still teach the same classes, just not call them the official name. (See my earlier post about Plan B and Plan C.)

Ah, Plan D, how you snuck up on me. Someone offered to teach a licensing workshop in Northern Virginia, and I suddenly realized I really did want to keep that license after all. It's now the beginning of October 2015, and I am looking for a dozen people who want to become Kangoo Jumps instructors (or renew if they already are), so we can do this thing, before it snows if possible. (We need a minimum of six, but twelve would be so much more fun!)

The catch...to take the KJ instructor training, you need to already have a fitness certification from an accredited organization (e.g., AFAA, ACE). If you are a fitness professional already, and uncertain about adding KJ to your repertoire, take a class locally to try it, and let the euphoria of rebounding convince you. There are at least three locations in Virginia offering classes (Franconia, Lorton, and Lake Ridge), and possibly others in MD or DC. Ask me for details.

If you are interested, let me know so we can try to coordinate dates to make it convenient for as many people as possible. If you are in the Northern Virginia area and can offer a place for a weekend workshop (all day), please contact me too. Anticipation? You bet!

Plan B... or Plan C... and Window Shopping

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans," according to John Lennon. I am in the midst of switching to Plan B, or Plan C, and trying to remember that there are 23 more letters after that. In fact, I know several other people working their way through the alphabet this way. If a straight-ahead, linear path worked for everyone, we would have a lot fewer really interesting people in the world, and I tend to like the People of the Convoluted Path.

Three years ago I worked really hard to achieve certification as a Group Fitness Instructor, as part of becoming a licensed Kangoo Jumps® instructor. Two years ago, I got my official KJ license and started teaching classes using KJ rebound boots. Last year I renewed my GFI certification, which required money and continuing education credits. This year I am not renewing my KJ instructor license, although I will still be teaching music-based fitness classes using Kangoo Jumps rebound boots. I am not interested in attending the initial licensing class all over again (and having to fly somewhere to do it), nor submitting a no-edits, single-shot 11-13 minute video in a style I choose not to teach. This sounds like a simple decision, but it was not.

At the core of my decision is the belief that rebound boot classes should not be limited to those who are already fit and flexible. For the most part, those are not the people I want to reach with the delights of rebound fitness. I want the people who need that "up to 80% less impact" that these boots offer, who want high-impact fun with low impact on their joints. I want to make people comfortable with their own learning curve when they use these boots. More experienced jumpers who attend my classes are welcome to embellish the choreography I use, and they do. At the same time, other people choose to just "do singles or doubles" until they feel ready to follow the choreography, and I make sure they know that's OK too. "Keep moving and keep smiling, and we're all good!" If I were teaching 8-10 classes a week indoors, I would customize them for easier and more complex choreography, maybe even for musical themes, and would try to serve a variety of jumpers but not all in the same class.

Because of how I want to teach rebound fitness, I have never considered (at least not seriously) even applying at an established gym. I have taught in private settings (employees only) and in parking lots. For two years now I have been feeling "location lust" whenever I drive by a vacant storefront of a reasonable size, with good parking, and good food nearby (and a few other criteria). My current "plan" is to put more time into making this indoor rebound location happen. Hopefully before it gets too cold to jump outdoors! To make this profitable (can't pay a lease if it's not, right?), I am also interested in hearing from other instructors who would consider offering fitness classes there, offering health-related classes weekly or monthly, or even using the space for tutoring when classes are not scheduled. I am open to many possibilities to help pay for a place I can jump indoors in the winter. Find me on Facebook at Loraine Says JUMP and leave a message if you are interested in making this happen, as an instructor, location scout, decorator, investor, supporting member, or whatever else we need to make it work. Let's be indoors before it snows!

The Secret Behind "Effortless" Results

We've all witnessed amazing performances by people in the arts, athletics, academics, and many other areas of life that don't start with the letter "a." They make whatever they are doing look so effortless, almost as if they were born doing it. Here's the secret behind making something seem that effortless...EFFORT.

No, that can't be right. Do you mean if I put in enough hours practicing the right way to do something, I'll get better at it? Do you mean if I can identify my goal and the steps to get there, and I put time into working those steps, I can make progress toward achieving my goal? Do you mean I didn't have to be born the perfect weight, with the perfect skills, or start with any other perfect anything? I just have to work consistently (not constantly, mind you) and there will be consequences, which in this case are also called "positive results."

The babes in the front row of fitness classes who look like they could almost teach the class were once the beginners who wondered if they would last through the first class. They showed up consistently, they worked on their skills, and now they make it look effortless. Same for golfers, bowlers, gymnasts, spelling bee contestants, master teachers, Zamboni drivers, chefs, race car drivers, sculptors, musicians, and just about anything else you could want to become.

So, half the message today is set a goal, show up and put in the effort to improve specific skills, and good things happen. Nice. Motivational. Not enough.

The other half of today's message is for those who already did all that, or who are doing that currently. Please don't hide the effort it is taking you to get to where you want to be. Those who are struggling need to know you were not born perfect either. The education grad students in my family have learned that this is a "fixed mindset" vs. "growth mindset," this notion that you either are or are not smart, athletic, a good cook, or whatever else, vs. knowing that while you may not be good at something YET you could be better if you work at it.

This is part of why I kept (and will keep) posting updates about my recovery from carpal tunnel release surgery, and other things I have to work at if I want to accomplish them. I know that in public I will only use my left wrist to do the things I know I can (e.g., no heavy lifting, no strongly flexed or extended wrist) and it will look like an effortless recovery. NOT. I may not have an official curriculum of physical therapy for getting the flexibility and strength back, but I create many opportunities throughout the day to gently test and work through range of motion and weight-bearing activities. I identify the effort I need to make, and I make it.

I am currently reading a couple of different books that relate to all this. In Flow: the psychology of optimal experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says, "Although the flow experience appears to be effortless, it is far from being so. It often requires strenuous physical exertion, or highly disciplined mental activity. It does not happen without the application of skilled performance." (You know, flow, that in-the-zone great experience when you become one with the activity you are doing; yeah.) Then there is Brené Brown, in Daring Greatly, who says "Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance." The effort-making stage is us being authentic and imperfect, and if we can't accept that, we will never feel like we are "enough."

This week, think about some of the people you meet and ask yourself what effort they put in to make their results look so effortless, or what effort they could make to get past where they are stuck in a fixed mindset. Then spot-check your own life and congratulate yourself where you've worked hard to get where you are, and ask yourself what effort could make a difference where you feel stuck. (You knew there would be homework, right? At least I'm not asking you to write it down!)

Kangoo Jumps® Rebound Boots Demo at Wellness Fair, April 18 in VA

Kids know fun when they see it, and the Kangoo Jumps® rebound boots "try 'em on" booth was extremely popular at last year's Rose Hill ES Wellness Fair. We have more boots in smaller sizes this year (and still have plenty of adult-size boots for parents, staff, and random grown-ups).

Starting at 9:30 am, people can come talk with us, try on boots and wear them for a few minutes (in our marked off, supervised area of the gym), and find out where they can take classes locally. I hope to be able to let people know when the next instructor licensing will be offered locally, for other fitness providers who might be interested.

At some point during the Wellness Fair, a few of us will do a brief demonstration of rebound jumping, so everyone can see what you can do in these fabulous boots with a little practice.




Preceding the Wellness Fair, there will be a Kid's Fun Run at 8 am and a 5K Run/Walk at 8:30 am to benefit the Autism Society of America. If you are interested in this, you can find the registration form at www.fcps.edu/rosehilles. If you want to run in rebound boots and don't have your own...contact me and we'll see what we can arrange.

For my local followers who like to help out, I am definitely looking for volunteers to help get people (mostly kids) in and out of boots, supervise the enclosed jumping space, keep order in the line and answer questions, and be part of the on-stage demo. (I don't have a time for the demo yet; will post on Facebook and here when I do.) Whether you can help for a few minutes, or longer, "it takes a village" to make this work smoothly!

For any other instructors out there reading this, I have found that wellness fairs and similar demo opportunities are great opportunities for introducing people to Kangoo Jumps rebound boots. Five minutes in boots and they realize they won't fall, they really can balance, and it's SO MUCH FUN! Then it's up to you to keep them coming back for more.

Questions? Leave them here as comments, or find me on Facebook and ask, or if you know me then you know how to find me in person. I'm really looking forward to this event!

Snow Days and Birthdays and Death, Oh My!

This is a post about being prepared for the good and bad in your life, and whatever else comes along. Today is a snow day, next week is my birthday, and just over a month ago my youngest sister died. These don’t sound related, but they are.

January and February in northern Virginia we all play a game called Guess the Snow Days. There will always be some, they will not always match the weather or the weather predictions, and they will often be over- or under-prepared for by localities. With one of the nation’s largest school districts (Fairfax County), the school system is usually the trendsetter in calling a snow day, but some years they can’t win for trying. This is one of those years. On the home front, we were better prepared this year than usual. We now have six shovels at the house (with four people to use them) and one in each car, snow brush and scraper in each car, two snow-blowers (gas and electric), an ice chopper, and a leaf blower that we could probably use to blow snow off the cars. We have a kerosene heater, a propane camping stove, and a gas grill out back if the power goes out. We have a generator, for the coffeemaker and other important reasons. We live in a townhouse. Really, we are ready for some snow.

Next week I will enter a whole new demographic. I will turn 62, eligible to apply for Social Security. I feel somewhat less prepared for this than for snow, although I have seen this coming for a lot longer. I take better care of my body, spirit, and emotional health than I used to, although I am still not a great example to follow. (No, really; just ask me.) I was 10 when my mother died of a heart attack, and assumed for many years I would be lucky to see 50. Around 58 years old, I realized I was still here, and might have another 20 or more years to go, and if I wanted to keep doing anything interesting I had better whip this body of mine into a condition that would support those interesting things. I had dabbled in exercise before (weights, treadmill, Zumba, tap dancing) but in 2011 I got serious, partly because I found something that felt better than cookies and milk taste. I lost 45 pounds by going to Zumba, and later rebound classes using Kangoo Jumps® rebound boots, at Chakaboom Fitness. This was no casual fling, since by fall of 2011 I was attending as many as 12-13 classes a week. The classes were high energy, the instructors were easy on the eyes, and the camaraderie with the other students was amazing and supportive. In 2013, very gradually, the classes changed and it became easier to skip them sometimes, and eventually almost all I still attended were rebound classes. I was not the demographic they were aiming the classes at any more, and it just wasn’t fun for me like before. That’s when the struggle began. I started to gain weight back, and a snow shoveling injury started a year of less than optimal movement which made it even easier to skip exercise classes. (To condense the medical side of this, I should have started with the massage therapist, not waited 10 months to try that.) Apparently, I was not prepared for aging; I had just been lucky most of my life.

My youngest sister was also not prepared for aging. I suspect she did not expect to outlive our mother as long as she did either. She started smoking in her early teens, kept smoking after four minor heart attacks, and got her only exercise taking out the trash. Even when you know someone’s habits are going to get her, you are still not prepared for her to leave so suddenly or so soon. My preparedness take-away from losing my youngest sister is to stop procrastinating about being in touch with friends and relatives. I am turning an age she will never see, and that’s an opportunity I choose not to waste. I am trying to learn to cherish most of the moments I have left, whether they are days or many years. (Admittedly, there are some moments I am not cherishing, but I am at least trying to accept them.)

So as I turn 62 next week, there are some things I am looking forward to and some I am hoping to change.

• I want to return to sending letters on paper to one of my longest-known friends, Nancy, since she refuses to use Facebook and I still want to keep in touch.
• I want to start talking on the phone regularly with my second-longest-known friend, “Bean,” because I still can’t figure out how to get us in the same state again.
• I want to find something else to do that is fun-fitness in addition to the rebounding I adore, because too much of just one form of exercise is not a good balance for the body I happen to have.
• I want more time to sit on the deck and enjoy the beautiful flowers in my garden, both alone and with friends. (Um, but not until it’s warmer out there.)

I want to do, or stop doing, many other things, but I find myself typing and erasing them, so I guess I am not ready to share the rest of this list. Let’s just say 62 feels like more of a landmark birthday than 50 or 60 did, and we will see how prepared I can become for whatever life brings my way.