It’s been a week since I started teaching BODYJAM classes regularly, and I’ve really been feeling the physical load. Even though I also teach BODYBALANCE (and this has really helped me keep loose and injury-free), I’ve yet to adjust to the amount of exertion two Jam classes a day requires.

I’ve started using the steam room inside the Fitness First locker rooms. Teaching Jam takes a toll on the voice, particularly since a majority of the clubs don’t have microphones in their group exercise studios. After my shower, I duck into the steam to allow my strained vocal chords to relax in the moist heat. My other body parts also thank me for this, particularly my thighs and back, since the heat soothes them and I’m able to stretch them further.

But sometimes, you have to ask someone to do the stretching for you. Just to take out the kinks in my body, I got a massage yesterday at Big Apple Express Spa in Robinsons Galleria. I never thought I needed them before I started working as a group exercise instructor, but in this line of work I’ve realized I’ve got to have them. Because treatments at Big Apple are priced reasonably (299 pesos for a one-hour full-body massage), I never feel like I’m splurging, and at the Galleria branch specifically I never feel like I’m wasting my money. I entered the treatment room with aching calves and thighs, a twinging lower back (which interestingly enough didn’t start from doing Jam and Balance), and a lot of stress. I exited feeling so much lighter and more free in my range of movement.

I’m going back into the group exercise grind today, but at least I know I’ve got somewhere to run when my muscles get all tied up. I think I’ll start doing this regularly.

Tags: Group Exercise, Massage

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