U-Jam Fitness Instructor Workshop!

This weekend, I did something completely crazy and out of my comfort zone. I took the instructor workshop for U-Jam Fitness, the cardio dance workout that I love.

Over the past few years, I've met some incredible people who are U-Jam Fitness instructors, and two of them in particular really encouraged me to take this workshop. I thought I'd take the workshop later in the year, but one was scheduled nearby this month and the trainer was the fantastic instructor who really ignited my passion for U-Jam back in 2011 - so I knew I needed to take this particular workshop.

It's a full two day workshop, which kicks off with an hour-long "Master Class" taught by the trainer and open to the public.  I was delighted that both of the instructors who nudged me to take the workshop were both able to attend!  What a great and supportive way to kick off this weekend!

After the Master Class, day one is filled with learning more about the fundamentals of U-Jam Fitness, including two "choreo jams" where the trainer broke down each song into the core moves and helped us fine tune every movement.  I've been doing these songs for five years, and I learned something new about each one - crazy!  One of the songs was designated as the one we'd have to teach the next day, so we spent a lot of time working on that one (and some folks stayed late to keep on practicing).

Day two started off with a written test covering the materials in the instructor manual that we had received after signing up for the workshop (and discussed during the first day).  After that, we all got to practice our class introductions and then do our "practical" exam of teaching that song from the prior day!  I had lots of fun with that.  Later on, we did two more "choreo jams" to master a total of four songs over the weekend.

However, this doesn't mean I am a credentialed U-Jam Fitness instructor yet!  I need to film a video of myself teaching three of those songs in front of a class of at least five students, and submit that video for evaluation.  Nerve-wracking!!  I hope to do this in the next few weeks, though we do have 60 days to submit it.

I had a great time at the workshop and learned a lot, and am now on my journey to become a credentialed U-Jam Fitness instructor.  Looking forward to seeing where this adventure will take me!