Zumba Instructor Certification & The Power of Not Having a Plan

This past Sunday, I spent some time marking off something on my Health Bucket List: becoming a licensed Zumba instructor. In order to do that, first I needed the certification. So I did that.

The class was a blast – Vicky (the training specialist) has been involved in Zumba since the beginning and she was amazing, and I had some great conversations with people in the class, as well as dancing (and sweating) my butt off!

That’s pretty much Zumba in a nutshell.

Before you get confused, let me clarify: No, I don’t want to become a fitness instructor full-time, and really not even enough to consider it a part-time job (I do have a pretty heinous / wonderful travel schedule which will complicate things, and I have a job I love), but I also didn’t want to regret *not* doing this. Not exploring it, and not giving myself a chance to move from “I could do that” (wishing / improbable) to “I can do that” (possible / attainable / able).

The comment I left on the class evaluation was very true: “Prima ero interessata, adesso sono convinta.” Before, I was interested. Now, I’m convinced.

I think exercise is really important to staying healthy, and the more fun you can have doing it, the more likely you are to return. For many people, that’s Zumba. Or CrossFit. Or running. I really enjoy Zumba (a perfect & pretty regular week for me is both my weight classes + Zumba) and I liked having the opportunity to lead others and teach what I think is a lot of fun. It’s a way for me to help spread the joy I feel when I hear those Latin rhythms without having to get up in da club (remember my Latin workout playlist? Even more to come).

Where will you teach? is the first question I hear.

The answer? I don’t know.

And that’s ok.

I’d rather learn how to drive by turning the key in the ignition, sitting in the driver’s seat, instead of looking at the car from the outside with my hand twitching by my side, yearning to open the door.

This goes back to a lot of my personal philosophy about life which I wrote quite a bit about on my tech-biz blog, “Stop Sabotaging Your Own Success: A Manifesto” – basically, we self-sabotage so much, and often it’s because we feel like we need to know the answers to everything before we start. Plotting out a beginning, middle, and end helps when writing a book (something I’ve come to learn), but it’s not always necessary when striving for something. A big secret you’ll probably learn is most of the people who are actually doing stuff are making it up as they go along: tweaking, refining, and reacting to the information and experiences they encounter along the ride.

What I do know is as of yesterday, my gym’s director knows I’m looking for substitution classes. I’m on their radar. My goal is to figure out a way to teach once a week or maybe just a few times a month, but enough so that I can actually have the whole classroom experience and go from “I’m certified to teach Zumba” to “I teach Zumba.”

And for now, that’s ok. I’m making it up as I go along.

At the very least, I know I can probably fill a room of my colleagues at our all-company meetup. Last year we did CrossFit, yoga, dance classes, and a run. I’m sure there will be room for this as well 🙂

Do you have a Health Bucket List? Here’s mine. Do you reach for a goal even without a plan?

Here’s a pic with me and Vicky – a celebrity moment I don’t usually take part in but I was proud and she was great! Note the photo blurriness – everyone was dead tired after the all-day class and hands were shaking 🙂

Me being silly waiting to pose with Vicky