Aerobic instructor

I have struggled with my weight since I was a young child. I was overweight throughout my childhood as well as my first two years in college. When I was in my third of college a girlfriend and I decided that we were going to go on a diet and that we would include exercise. We did not have enough money to join a gym so we decided to join a community education class. These classes were offered at a variety of times and were inexpensive. We thought we could find a form of exercise that we would enjoy and that we would be able to continue doing once the classes were finished.

This was in the late seventies when aerobic exercising was becoming very popular.  It seemed like every movie star past and present was becoming an aerobic instructor. Many of the community education programs followed the various routines that these stars had out. The class that we joined was advertised as a beginner’s class to aerobics. My friend and I had been friends for years. We had gone through high school physical education classes together and we both were laughing that we could not believe that we were paying to put ourselves through something we both disliked so much. On the way to the first class we assured each other that this would be different than high school phy-ed.

We were shocked when the aerobic instructor walked into the room. It was the woman that was our high school physical education teacher. She walked to the front of the class. There were fourteen women taking the class and we were in the gym area of an old junior high school that is no longer used. She smiled when she saw my friend and I. She said that she had seen our names on the class list. She said she was happy that we were doing some form of exercise. My first thought was that I would stay for this first class and not come back. We started the class with the aerobic instructor in front and displaying all the different types of moves we would be making. She laughed and joked and was very patient. I could not believe this was the same woman that would yell and scream at us in high school. She was the only teacher I had ever been afraid of and as an aerobic instructor she was great.

After class she asked my friend and I where we were living and we found out it was close to her apartment.  This was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted many years. Our phy-ed teacher turned aerobic instructor was a fun sensitive woman. She admits that she hated teaching high school and that is why she decided to teach adults through community education. She is very good with adults and a great aerobic instructor. 

Aerobic systems

Getting back into shape after being overweight for a long period of time or after giving birth to a child can be quite demanding and tedious. There is generally a long way to go at this point. If your main concern is excess fat, then your primary focus should be cardio and aerobic systems. It's often easier to wait one the weights. I say this only because once you begin weight training; you will start putting on pounds. Granted these are muscle pounds, which are great. But, tackling cardio exclusively in the beginning can be the most efficient route. Shed the extra fat and then proceed to the strength building. It's a process.

About a year ago, my wife finally decided to crack down and discard her extra body fat. She has given birth to three children; therefore it's only natural for her to have gained a few extra pounds. While she used to weigh around 110, she now weighs in at 128. At 5'4" this isn't that bad if you ask me. Her basic goal is to get back to 110. She immediately wanted a personal trainer. He had her start with cardio aerobic systems and light weight training. She really enjoyed the strenuous workouts and felt good about what she was doing. Unfortunately a few weeks down the road she hadn't dropped any weight yet. Hmm, what could be going wrong? She was dieting properly and consuming plenty of water and sleep. By now she should have shed about five pounds. Then we realized she was gaining muscle. This is when I spoke with a female personal trainer. She informed me that she was in the exact same spot my wife is a few years ago. For her, aerobic systems were the core of her training at that time. It was all about diet, rest and cardio. No weights, period! After all, heavy cardio regimens are what suck off the excess fat. Once she had hit her target weight loss, she added a weight training routine for Toning. Well, at this point my wife swapped personal trainers and began a new regimen consisting of aerobic systems and cardio. Over the next couple months she regained the figure she was looking for.

Much comes down to your goals. Obviously if you're looking to drop weight, you should think along the lines of aerobic systems. If you're wanting to pack on the muscle, weight training is right up your alley. But either way, don't forget the proper diet!