It's Been A While

So recently I went through my security clearance review and during the investigation quite a few people were contacted. I knew they would attempt to talk to certain people at "that facility" and was prepared for that. My clearance came through perfectly fine as nearly everyone who really knows me or works with me could validate the required information and could recommend me. Now I certainly know I'm not perfect and definitely have flaws that need some work, but to blame my blog for causing damage to "her" life??? (It definitely wasn't my blog that cheated on her husband). All I did was post things that happened to me and my opinions (as the blog stated). How could that be "totally not true?" Anyway, that's all in the past. I'm guessing that her testimonies were mostly ignored as she couldn't even specify when she became the coordinator or provide specific details on what she said. It was obvious that she still has it out for me as she even went so far as to say that the dates and times of my posts would be during work hours for the federal government... (once again spouting things she knows little about... Was I working that day? Was I on a billable contract? Was I traveling? Does the server that hosts this blog use my local time or it's own time (if it's in a different time zone/country?)... Well, I guess "haters gonna hate" is a good slogan here! Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff was "he said, she said" and led to many unfortunate things... I know this didn't happen only to me so I believe that insecurities/competition was a big part of this. I've never worked at a fitness facility where instructors "competed" with each other. It's always been teamwork and learning from each other... Oh well... I'm not sure why talking to members outside of work is a bad thing when all I was doing was letting them know my teaching schedule (via my web site or emails or just saying something on the way out of the facility about my next class) but this was brought up in the interview. Most instructors "self-promote" and I don't see anything wrong with that. Well, it was nice of her to say that I taught a good class and that the members liked me a lot. I do appreciate that one nice thing that was said! So, hopefully that will be the last time there is any "interaction" at all... glad it's all over and glad I didn't have to rely on that place for my real income as several of us might have ended up in padded rooms! haha j/k It was (and still is) something that I love to do but when the negatives outweigh the positives, it was a good time to move on. I suppose I learned a few things from the experience and that will help avoid situations like that in the future.

Not Family Friendly At All

I wanted to add a new blog entry to even further illustrate the fact that this facility is only concerned about money and doesn't care at all about anything else.

A legal-type person contacted the upper management to ask why they offered "her" the fitness director's position even after knowing her husband had accepted a job in another state. The CEO wasn't available but the next person in line was. His response was that they knew it would keep her in West Virginia and they didn't want to lose Boot Camp (or the money it brought in). They offered her the position knowing full well it could destroy a family and it actually did.

I would say that's unbelievable but after everything else that went down, it's actually easy to believe -- sad but true.

Money Money Money

Ok, so now that people are experiencing things for themselves, instructors are starting to question lots of things. It has become harder to find subs for classes as well as fill all the class time slots. I was told that an instructor didn't show up for his or her morning class and a member stepped in to cover the class. Now I hear that there is a time slot open and no instructor to cover it. This member (again kindly offered his/her services to cover the classes. This person was told that he/she needed to be certified. Now, this is certainly a good idea (for a change). This person was told that he/she needed to pay for the certification and would be given a free membership at the facility. Sometimes the facility will pay for certification, sometimes not.

However, all instructors at that facility (in the past) never had to pay for any kind of membership. However, here's the kicker... He/she was told that he/she would NOT be paid for the classes taught... He/she would only have the membership fee waived... WTF? Are you serious? They want a certified person to teach classes but not get paid? Just when I think things couldn't get any more absurd...

Responsibility for your own actions???

One thing to remember about all this (as I posted in a previous blog entry a while ago)...

Had things been allowed to play out normally when I put in my resignation, this blog probably would have never been created. I tried to do the right thing by meeting with the CEO and give plenty of notice when I resigned. I didn't want to cause any scheduling problems and just wanted to say goodbye to everyone and end of as much of a positive note as I could (and "get the hell out of dodge"). Instead, the coordinator decided the night before my early morning class to just take away all my classes and let me know via an email. They tried to keep things quiet and hide what was really going on but I'm not the type of person to let that happen when I'm wronged. I tried to contact the CEO and see if he really wanted things to go down like that but he never responded so I began the blog.

It's a shame things happened as they did and they certainly could have been prevented. I recently found out that the previous coordinator was given all kinds of hell for hiring me (4 years after the fact) because of this blog. I put in 4 years of teaching and brought in clients, helped keep clients, had well attended classes, and went out of my way to offer up special classes of all kinds. Never once was I told I was doing a bad job or needed to work on something. Then, after I felt I was treated wrong (after resigning) and spoke out about it, the former coordinator was reprimanded for ever hiring me... Uh, what the hell??? I wish people would take responsibility for their own actions and not blame others once in a while! Perhaps the management involved in all this should take a step back and look at how things were handled and realize that not everyone will be a passive quiet mouse!

Going their separate ways

Well, I thought it was time for an update so here it goes... A while ago, there were lots of comments posted on my site concerning the immoral, unprofessional actions of the fitness director. Obviously, people had seen things and heard comments about her activities with her business clients and were upset about this.

First, let's go back a little further. I was given some information and permission to use it on the blog by the fitness director's husband. For those unaware, a while ago, the husband got a great opportunity for a job which was in another state. At this point, the fitness director was an aerobic instructor and personal trainer. Soon after his acceptance and the beginnings of moving, the facility decided to offer her a promotion, knowing that he had accepted this new job. Obviously, this illustrates the character (or lack thereof) of the people running this facility. Why in the world would they try to tempt her to stay and break up a family of many years? To me, this is the typical "shadiness" that goes on there.

Anyway, she was promoted to aerobics coordinator and then fitness director. Keep in mind that she accepted this position so that doesn't say much about her character with regard to family values as far as I'm concerned. Soon after this, people start talking for various reasons. Many people saw her going into her office with one of her male boot camp participants and closing her door. That definitely started to raise some eyebrows. Then, when people overheard the male bragging about his sexual adventures with her, that set off some alarms. This was all inside the facility - just imagine what went on outside of the facility... Uh, on second thought, don't do that! (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.. hahaha) Actually, people did comment about seeing her "out on the town" and being very very "friendly" with someone...

So, that's when people started putting the comments on my blog. Obviously, people were angered about her actions and spoke out on it. I'm not married and I didn't know her husband but it bothered me as well and I could only feel bad for him. He didn't deserve this. As he told me, they had been together for nearly 20 years and he loved her very much. So, she was throwing all this away to stay in town with this promotion... Is this "The Love Of Money" or something (someone) else? Several people said that they didn't believe she would do anything like this but then in the same comment said that IF it was true, she should stop this immediately.

Well, the divorce proceedings have begun so the doubters can now be believers. It's very unfortunate but I wish the husband the best. I'm glad people stepped up for what is right and encourage anyone with any information to help the husband to feel free to email me or post something on the blog. I know he checks the blog from time to time as does the upper management at the facility in question.

For this facility to be aware of even the possibility of this unethical, unprofessional behavior and not to address it in some way really says something to me and I hope it says something to others too!

Safety Dance :)

Since I left "the facility whose name shall not be spoken," I've been teaching at several facilities and having a blast. I've met some old familiar friends and quite a few new ones too. Sometimes, class members come in with something wrapped (knee, wrist, etc.) up or let us as instructors know of some kind of injury. That's great because it can help us provide a safer workout for them and give more options to continue to get an effective workout while that injury heals. One thing that several instructors have noticed is that many of these injuries have come from taking a Boot Camp class at the "nameless facility." As we look into how the injury was caused, most of the time it could/should have been prevented.

It still amazes me as to the unsafe/contraindicated exercises that are performed all over the place. When we as instructors teach classes, we are teaching to the general population which includes people of ALL fitness levels. Our classes should be designed to be safe and we should be able to give plenty of options during the class. This is much different from a sports-specific training. For someone doing training specific for basketball or soccer, perhaps running backward would be an excellent choice for those athletes. This is really not the case for a general group fitness class. Perhaps a slower, more controlled backward walking lunge would provide similar benefits without risking the safety of class members.

As the cold weather has arrived, some of us have heard nightmare stories about running up icy stairs outside. To risk a member's health and safety is beyond me, and this should set of some alarms as to how credible/knowledgeable an instructor really is. A certified/trained instructor should know better and the paying members rely on the instructor. As I've said before, I would suggest first and foremost, use common sense. If you're getting dizzy in class or members are getting some kind of injury, really consider the instruction and exercises going on in class. Ask other members and other instructors about exercises and certainly don't forget about the World Wide Web! (Google is your friend.)

Please keep in mind that there's always a chance of injury but with great instructors, that chance should be minimized!

Keep working out and Happy Holidays!

Point Made and Calming Down Period

I recently had a talk with my lawyer buddy and he told me not to be worried about the comments. This is because others made the comments and that I did everything I could to remove them in a timely manner. Therefore, everyone can relax and evaluate the situation in their own way. I guess those that commented got their point across (at least for now). Having said that, if you missed all the drama, topics were raised that concerned various inappropriate personal and professional behaviors.

I do want to point out that there were one or two comments saying that they couldn't believe that the person in question would be doing such things. However, in the same comment they said that if this person was doing such things that she needed to stop. So, even then there is some doubt or they would have chosen one side.

Anyway, I really had no idea of all the people reading this blog. I never expected the fitness director to be following the blog but she has. I figured that I was getting away from her and out of her work life and that she wouldn't want any part of mine. I guess I was wrong about that in a big way! Don't you think that it's "sweet" that she still wants to be a part of my life?

Obviously when I left to get away from the "bad juju" and unprofessionalism and drama, I had no idea that it would continue to escalate to where MANY people felt the way I did (or even more so as evidenced by the numerous comments). Only time and actions will tell if things change but either way, be sure that someone will keep everyone up to date :)

Just remember these sayings: "The Truth Is Out There" and "People Are Watching"