Since my last blog post I have been to my placement twice.
On one of my visits I took ‘fit for life’ classes at thePEAK for the first time, I was worried as I had not worked with this class before. The classes are usually taken by my mentor, so I felt like I had big boots to fill. Once I started taking the class I calmed down and it was fine, I think my experience personal training and coaching came into play here. After the class everyone was friendly and said thanks and well done.
My second visit was to Kippen parish church where I helped staff with an ‘Otago’ class, this focuses on strength and balance and the participants are mainly the elderly or those with injuries. I had to drive out there myself, so I was worried about getting lost and being late. My maps on my phone took me to the wrong place I had to jump out of the car and ask where the hall was, this is out of my comfort zone slightly. I have never done this before, I quickly realised I was overthinking a simple task. I ran into the hall with 2 minutes til starting. The staff member didn’t know I was coming, which was awkward but he was welcoming, I already had worked with him before so I just followed his lead. After the class the participants have a coffee morning which was nice to get to know them and what their impairments were and learn about living with them.
After this class I followed the staff member to our next class in Fintry which was a ’lower limbs’ class. This class focuses on strength mostly which is something I am interested in and that particular class was new to me. I found it interesting and it had a large variety of ability, I thought the class was planned well and I could see progression routes I would take If it was my class. After the class the staff member had a 1:1 supervision I would have liked to stay and watched but I didn’t ask as my mentor had not said anything about this, maybe I should have just taken the initiative.
I think these classes are a great addition to communities as they are very far away. I have attached photos to show how rural these areas are.
Great to see that your coming out of your comfort zone. I also like the sound of the classes which is mainly for elderly or injured! – Amy
It is great to see that you are getting to do a range of classes and gain experience in teaching them. It looks as though you are really enjoying your placement.
Natalie