The view Brenda was missing while teaching

Spinning Instructor Brenda Moeske learned about Working Fitness Vacations on a Podcast I did with Suzelle Snowden from Fit Bodies Inc.

After talking to Amy last year at the ICI/PRO conference Brenda scheduled her vacation to teach for the week at Couples Tower Isle in Jamaica.

She sent this quick email when she got back:

It turned out to be a fabulous week!  I taught my last class (group fitness) class this morning.  I did group fitness at 9 a.m. and spin at 5:00 p.m.  I had some good classes!  My participants said I was missing a great view!!  They don’t have us teach on Friday afternoons and of course Saturday’s.  What an amazing experience!!  My husband has thanked me the entire trip and the hospitality has been wonderful!!!  We have already been on the website planning our next one!  Thanks again for letting us know about FitPro Travel!!!!  See you in a week!

Amy and I have both taught at Couples Tower Isle a number of times. It’s really a beautiful and romantic place.

Do you have a low cost Working Fitness Vacation planned for this winter?

See if you qualify, create your free profile, pick your resort, schedule your flights today.

That's me and my old boss/friend Craig Andrews. Can you tell we aren't in Minnesota?

This place rocked! Great beaches, excellent food and a fantastic workout gym. I was done teaching by noon each day which was a real treat for me and John

We traveled with three other couples and they loved it as well. I will have more about teaching on a working fitness vacation at Secrets St. James and Secrets Wild Orchid soon.

Click here to schedule your working fitness vacation in Jamaica or other Caribbean location.

I started some great music and got them marching.  From that point, I used all physical queuing and very basic movements in the beginning. Oh, I would verbally count down with my physical counts, as they knew English numbers from 1-8 and 8-1.  As we got comfortable with each other, I added more complex choreography on top of the basics and started to “layer” a bit.  As the group picked up the choreography, I would clap and give encouragement physically and smile……a lot.

The same people came back Monday through Saturday, with a few new people each day, so I was able to get quite complex with choreography by the end of the week.  I would review what we had done previously early in the class and then add new elements each day, so they would leave feeling successful.

At the end of each class I made sure to have a towel for each participant and made eye contact with each one of them.  This was my way of letting them know I appreciated them coming and that they had done a good job.  I also tried to put away each of their equipment while they were stretching after I cued them, so they were ready to leave after we were done stretching.  I always said “thank you” to each one of them as well, as this is a pretty universally understood word.

I used the same basic principles in the aqua classes I taught at this resort and they were the biggest classes I have ever had on my working vacations….between 50 and 70 people each day.  The resort entertainment staff would put on a house mix of music for me to use during class and the guests loved it because it was a mix of German, French, Italian, Spanish and American house dance music so everyone was happy!  It was a blast.  If the resort you are teaching at has an overhead stereo system by the pool, see if the staff has some music they will play for you during your class.

Trust your physical cueing skills and think big.  Over emphasize your physical directions and ability to convey what you want the guests to do.  They will do it!

Indoor Cycling Instructor Association

The very first step is to create your free profile at Fitness Pro Travel.

And then it really boils down to three things: how, when and where…

How … am I going to book my airfare? Frequent flier miles, an airline fire sale, use a companion ticket, see if there are charter flights available, just take the easy route and pay for it, etc?  I start to research all of these options.  This can take awhile, especially if I am looking to use FF miles.  I look at various dates and destinations, identifying weeks and time periods that require the fewest FF miles, or have the lowest rates.  (Remember, most of our contracts require Sunday to Sunday arrival/departure).

When…once I have identified the best times to travel (best for me being the cheapest)  I start to narrow down my choices based on what works best in my schedule.

Where….when I have chosen the week(s) of travel and the destination(s) (sometimes I can find great airfare or FF miles that work to more than one destination for more than one week that works in my schedule), I go to www.fitnessprotravel.com and research resorts that are available the weeks I can travel.  There is a lot of information on the website itself and links to the resort sites.  This is when I  get really excited because things start to come together.  The fitnessprotravel website is pretty up to date, but Suzelle does ask that you wait for confirmation before you book your flight.

With some patience and the commitment to hit “confirm” when you find a flight and resort that works for you, you can make a working vacation a reality!

Please feel free to e mail me with questions.

We are traveling with two other couples this trip. Secrets gave them a great deal for their week long stay (less than 1/2 their rack rate) for being connected with us as the traveling fitness pro.

Update: We booked our flight using frequent flyer miles (50,000 each) so the airfare was only $136.00 (taxes) total for John and myself.

Look for our review when we get back in February or see about going there yourself. The first step is completing your free profile and submitting your qualifications. Second is picking your resort for the week.

I hear that a lot.

Actually, you can’t teach in the nude, so take a sigh of relief!   When we are working, we are considered part of the staff and staff must be clothed.  (When we are not teaching, we are guests, with full guest privileges, so what you wear then is up to you

Now, will your participants be nude????  Uhm…pool classes on the au naturel side of resorts- most definitely.  And I have found these classes to be a lot of fun.

How about your other group classes? I have never, ever taught a Spinning class, or any other group fitness format where anyone was not clothed.  Really.  It has never been a problem.

Questions or concerns about traveling to the Caribbean on a Working Fitness Vacation? Email me amyjo@groupfitnessradio.com