As the voices behind many Charlottesville workout classes, these four University students have the spotlight on an unconventional stage. While juggling academic and extracurricular involvements, these students also work part-time jobs as instructors at local fitness studios. Whether on the bike, mat or reformer, they empower students and Charlottesville residents on their fitness journeys.
The Charlottesville workout studio scene offers a variety of choices for clients seeking group fitness classes. This lively and social option for staying active, fueled by mutual accountability, has become a popular option for Charlottesville locals and University students alike.
While all genres of group fitness generate plenty of customers, each type offers a unique environment and structure. In a spin class at Pūrvelo, participants are met with a concert-like atmosphere, featuring a combination of cycling, strobe lights and occasionally dancing from Bree Bonner, Pūrvelo instructor and fourth-year Batten student. According to Bonner, her coaching job allows her to combine her passion for exercise with her interest in performance.
“I feel like this is a really good way to combine my interest of singing and dancing and also exercise,” Bonner said.
Meanwhile, Helen Allison, Pure Barre instructor and fourth-year College student, leads a mellower, classic-style class. Here, she teaches a low-impact, high-rep curriculum and fosters a calming atmosphere for participants, focusing on their’ headspace while playing tranquil music. She said that the mental focus of Pure Barre sets it apart from other types of workout classes.
“[Pure Barre] is the one workout where I've really understood the whole mind-body connection thing,” Allison said. “With other workout classes, I feel like I'm constantly thinking about the workout itself, rather than being able to escape.”
Through coaching, these instructors develop leadership skills in addition to adaptability as they lead classes of varying size and energy. Einmon Tha, Hot Yoga Charlottesville instructor and fourth-year Batten student, noted that this job requires her to accept that no two classes will look or feel the same.
“Teaching has taught me how to lead a room,” Tha said. “Specifically, yoga has taught me how people's energies can really vibrate off of each other … I've taught so many classes [and] no class is exactly like another class.”
With all of the nuances of teaching group fitness, SJ Lloyd, Solidcore instructor and fourth-year Batten student, said that taking such an outspoken role requires determination, practice and, oftentimes, stepping outside of one’s comfort zone.
“It's hard for me to go into a room with 17 other people … and hype myself up to be able to talk for 50 minutes straight,” Lloyd said. “I'm not a super extroverted person ... I felt like this would be such a good way for me to practice speaking more outspokenly and loudly.”
In addition to self-assurance, these instructors say that mentally preparing to coach takes time and energy, especially considering the detailed choreography they must memorize — and sometimes, create — before each class.
At Pūrvelo, Bonner is responsible for choreographing her classes, though she said that she largely improvises at times. She plans her classes around an upbeat song — at the moment, her favorite is “Hard” by Rihanna — then pulls from her dance background to fill in the rest of the class.
Conversely, Solidcore provides Lloyd with a rotating set of choreography focused on different muscle groups for her to memorize. While the layout of each class is predetermined by the company each week, the choreography is pulled from a finite list of options.
Other studios, like Pure Barre, innovate the class layout on a regular schedule. Each week, Allison memorizes 50 to 60 minutes of new choreography for two different class types. As with the confidence that comes with practicing coaching a large group of people, the ease of memorizing choreography has increased with practice for Allison.
“At first, memorizing the choreography was really hard, taking me hours and hours before each class, but now I'll usually give myself about an hour the night before a class, and just sit down and drill the choreography,” Allison said.
At Hot Yoga Charlottesville, Tha writes her own choreography, creating sequences personalized by muscle group and focused around a “peak posture” — or key yoga pose — to work up to during the class.
To properly plan for and facilitate their classes, coaches are required to complete extensive training. To become certified as a yoga instructor, Tha endured a 200-hour training program through CorePower Yoga. Through Solidcore, Lloyd spent eight hours each Saturday and Sunday last spring semester in training sessions to become certified.
With skills honed from the training process, Lloyd said that instructors must use their judgment to identify the needs and boundaries of their students during each class. She emphasized that there is a limit to what each body can handle, and it is up to the participant to recognize and respect those limits.
“[I’ve learned] not to be perfect all the time,” Lloyd said. “I think [Solidcore] is such an effective workout, but it only is effective to the extent that you're not pushing your body to a dangerous place.”
The class time, as Bonner noted, is each student’s personal time. Attending a workout class is an opportunity to spend selfish time — investing in one’s well-being, unhindered by distractions.
“Not everything is about looks and you don't earn anything from going to workout class. It's just for you,” Bonner said. “It's your 45 minutes or an hour … I've tried to emphasize that this is just your time for yourself.”
Despite the time commitment and daunting responsibilities, the coaches said that the drive for teaching comes from connections built in and out of the studio. These instructors have seen their communities come together in remarkable ways. Upon the breast cancer diagnosis of a Pure Barre instructor, the studio has recently hosted fundraising events to support her in her battle.
The Charlottesville workout community empowers each other through the momentous, trying times of life, as well as the day-to-day. Each class, though only around an hour long, is an opportunity for students and instructors alike to spend time bettering themselves.
According to Tha, practicing yoga is a lasting journey with applications throughout every stage of life. From coaching students through postpartum strength training to helping a new client pick up yoga later in life, she said the experience has been rewarding and meaningful. Tha said she will continue teaching yoga throughout her life, as there is always room to deepen the practice of yoga.
“My dad's always told me that learning is a lifelong journey, and I think that holds true,” Tha said. “Within yoga practices, there's always, always room to continue learning.”
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