Monday, September 28, 2015

Things You Think About When Giving Up a Gig

I really appreciate all of your comments and Facebook messages in response to my surprising thoughts on fitness and pregnancy. As the weeks tick by, I've been thinking a lot about surprise #3 in particular: my decision to teach my class until I'm about 7 months and then make way for a sub until post-pregnancy. If you haven't read it, go ahead and click over here so you know what I'm talking about.

I'll wait until you're done.

Back? Great!

This post on Becoming Supersonic by Kristi was super timely - she offers tips on how to "exit gracefully" when giving up a group fitness class. She offers some tips I've thought about and others I haven't... like having the person who's taking over your class do some preview songs before you leave to ease the transition.


I don't want my students to feel like I'm ditching them, and I know I could teach longer if I really wanted to so I worry that they might think that, too! But, I know in my heart that I have too many things to get done before now and my due date, and I'm not physically or emotionally able to give 100% to my class.

Since I'm planning to go back to teaching this same class when I can in a few months (and because my gym is being SO generous to offer me that option), my exit here is definitely a "see ya later" and not a "goodbye forever". Even still, here are a couple of things I'm thinking about:
  • How will I keep in touch with my students while I'm gone? It may not be necessary, but I would love to stay connected to them. I might give out my email and Facebook info at my last class so we don't lose touch.

  • How should I create my last playlist? I think I should take requests, but I always have an established playlist ahead of time so I have the right balance of songs, amount of time, etc. (see my thoughts on playlist creation here). I think I'll ask for recommendations the week before and try to get as many in as possible.

  • How many new songs should I come back with? Typically, I'd have about 6 new songs over a few months' time... but if I'm out maybe I should come back and do familiar material for a couple of weeks so we can get used to each other again? Maybe that's something I can ask for opinions on before I leave, too.
Anything else I should be thinking about as I head toward my maternity leave from teaching?

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