Introductions

This first post will serve as a bit of an introduction for anyone out there that doesn't know me. I am currently 25 and have been in the health and fitness industry for the past 3 years (more counting jobs I held during college). I graduated in 2008 with an Exercise Science degree from Anderson University, and after a brief stint in the commercial fitness world, I transitioned into my current role as a Health/Fitness Specialist and Fitness Center Manager through the National Institute for Fitness & Sport (NIFS). http://www.wellness.nifs.org/corporate-fitness-management/ I work in their Corporate Fitness Management department, so I am located full-time at a company called Dow AgroSciences in their on-site fitness center. http://www.dowagro.com/homepage/index.htm My job there is hard to define in a few sentences. I do a lot of personal training, which is offered free to employees of DAS--it's really a great system to offer this service at no charge because it eliminates the sales aspect of fitness, which most people in my field hate, and, quite frankly, aren't good at. A big percentage of my job is also leading group fitness classes. I currently hold certifications for indoor spinning and yoga, but my class schedule ranges from cycling to boot camps to stability ball strength classes. When I'm not training or teaching, I am doing health promotion. This is the behind-the-scenes work of coming up with creative programs to run on site, marketing these to the employee population, and just generally increasing health awareness in the form of flyers, email blasts, or larger scale events such as health fairs or 5K runs.

I love my job. As the years go on, I realize how lucky I am in three ways: having a job that utilizes the degree I worked hard for in college; having a job period in this economy; and being able to go to work with passion for what I do each day. Sure, some days, especially when the alarm goes off, it just feels like work. But the unique aspect of a job in the health industry is that even if it's small, I am directly impacting someone's life for the better. Immediate gratification.

I often wonder what I want my next job or career to be. The answer, truthfully, is I don't know, because after two and a half years in my current position, I have yet to get restless. Just when things are becoming routine, I'm presented with a new challenge or project or a new certification to work towards. The blessing of an exercise science degree is that it's broad enough to take you in several different directions, and I presently have my hand involved in many of these areas, all wrapped up into the same job. I guess it's my nature to move frequently and to have the next step mapped out, so the feeling of being in one spot for an indefinite amount of time, no matter how great it is, is odd to me.

Consider this blog my "next step." Putting all these thoughts into writing, discussing current trends in the exercise world, and just having "someone" else to talk to about my own fitness level other than my co-workers and clients. So thanks for listening :)