Grace Barkley

Fitness is my passion and my favorite thing to do. I was always active in high school (volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, etc…) but then I got married, had a child, and spent most of my time doing for my family. In 1999 I began a sojourn to get fit and healthy after realizing that with both my mother and father having had by-pass surgery prior to the age of sixty that it really wasn’t ‘if’ I became a heart patient but a matter of ‘when’. I lost weight, got in shape, fell in love with group fitness and when asked by the group fitness coordinator of the local YMCA in Sumter SC if I wanted to become certified to teach, jumped in with both feet! I have never regretted the decision and have continued to grow and branch out into different areas of fitness. I have been certified with NETA for Group Fitness since 2001 and AFAA since September 2007.  I have been Cycle Reebok certified through the YMCA program since 2003 and Spin® certified with Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. since October 2007.  In 2004 I was certified through PowderBlue for TurboKick™ and Piyo™. I retested in February 2005 and a made ‘Gold’ status for TurboKick™. On June 22, 2007 I completed the SpinPilates™ Mat Level I certification and in Feburary 2010 I was certified in CoreStep and took the AFAA Yoga Workshop.  I teach fifteen to twenty classes per week at different facilities and am fortunate to teach a varied schedule of TurboKick™, Step (single, double, tap, tapless, and beginner), Spin®, PowerHour (group weight training), and Piyo™ (a fusion of pilates and yogo). I have attended DANCE workshops in Charlotte NC and a TEAZED workshop in Charleston SC and incorporate these very fun, exciting and calorie blasting workouts into as many of my classes as possible.  I was certified through the YMCA Personal Training program in 2003 but I haven't had time to incorporate personal training into my schedule as I hold a full-time position as an office manager.