A FITNESS JOURNEY, FULL OF HEART AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Written by: Bailey Bernknopf

When I was younger, I had a heart condition that prevented me from performing even moderate physical activity. So, it’s quite ironic I grew up to be a fitness instructor.

My entrance into the fitness world was through dance. I danced at ViBE Dance and Fitness Studio in Thornhill between ages 7-18. I loved dancing, but due to my heart, I couldn’t handle more than one class a week – I was always exhausted after an hour. At 13, I was offered a job as a dance assistant there, my first ever job, and first experience instructing movement. At 14, I had heart surgery to correct my condition – which meant more energy, and more dancing once I fully recovered!

Throughout the rest of high school, I was given more responsibility as part of the ViBE faculty. In grade 12, I began taking the Zumba class that followed my weekly hip hop class. I quickly picked up the choreography and the instructor’s cues – I was so used to assisting dance in that environment, I became the unofficial Zumba assistant, too. My instructor suggested I get my Zumba certification, and I was intrigued. After a bit of thought, I figured I likely wouldn’t find a job as an 18-year-old Zumba instructor, and decided to continue enjoying being a participant.

In my first year at Laurier, I took Zumba weekly, again mastering the choreography and cues. The instructor there also suggested I get certified in Zumba and mentioned that the Recreation department had a mentorship program. If I got certified, I could be her mentee, start teaching in a controlled environment, and receive constructive feedback.

The mentorship option made the decision for me. I loved Zumba, and now felt more confident in my abilities, and that I would have a potential job at Laurier post-certification.

I got certified in June 2014, completed my semester-long mentorship that fall, and by January 2015 I had my own weekly Zumba class at Laurier. I continued to teach into my third year and took on some extra bookings for clubs and committees. During one booking, I was asked if I could lead some strength exercises instead of Zumba. I had to tell them that unfortunately I couldn’t because I was not certified to teach anything more than Zumba.

I recounted the situation to my coordinator, and she encouraged me to get certified as Fitness Instructor Specialist through CanFitPro. She explained that with my dance background, and anatomy knowledge from the health sciences program, I could bypass the course, take the written exam, and then do a practical exam.

I had never envisioned myself progressing to a more generalized fitness certification, but everything she said made sense. I was really excited at the possibility of learning more and broadening my instructing abilities. Five months later I was certified to teach all group fitness, and I added high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and bodyweight bootcamp to my repertoire.

I graduated at the end of that year and headed to UofT for a Masters and applied to work as a Group Fitness instructor there, too. I was hired at the beginning of my program and, while I have since finished the Masters and started in Medicine, I still hold a position there today.

Most recently, I was the only dance fitness instructor teaching for UofT online between April and August 2020. While it was weird to transition fitness online, I think it has made a big impact on current and future fitness. It saves time and money to workout in the comfort of your own home, and – my favourite part – you can shower immediately post-sweat. It also precipitated me starting my own business, Bailey’s Beat, part of which is offering virtual fitness classes!

Overall, my path in the fitness industry has been shaped by encouragement. I would not be the instructor I am without other instructors and friends empowering me to take the next steps and applauding when I do. I think we need more of that in our lives, not just at the gym or in a fitness class. It could change someone’s life. It changed mine.