Chris Bourgeois

I became a group fitness instructor when I was pulled from the front row of my instructor's step class. She saw in me something that I didn't see at the time. I had just started exercising, was the mother of 3 and had never participated in group fitness regularly before. I have lost 55 pounds over 3 years and have been at the same weight for more than 8 years. I have seen the plateaus and felt the frustrations that many feel and continue to enjoy finding new challenges for myself, my students and my clients. Now, fitness has become an integral part of my life - it isn't what I do, it is who I am. I love the dynamics of group fitness - the energy of the group pushes us, encourages us and challenges us like nothing else. I believe that if we have fun while we are working out, we will continue to be committed to regular exercise, so I try to make my classes interesting and fun, catering to the students that are in front of me at that moment. I pride myself on planning a fabulous class and then tossing those plans right out the window if I look out at the crowd and know that my plan will have to wait for another day. I know that because I came from the other side of the mic I have the right perspective when it comes to balancing having fun and challenging ourselves. One of my favorite quotes is: "I believe...that you can keep going, long after you think you can't." My goal is to open students' eyes to what they can accomplish if they just ask their bodies to try and give themselves time to learn!