Meet Tiffany
At Studio ME we don’t have a front desk, we aren’t large studio and the only positions we have are coaches and instructors (and me of course). When Tiffany first reached out to me I wasn’t sure what I could offer her so I had her come in to try some classes and get a feel for our community to see if it was even a place she was interested in joining or becoming part of. Our community is pretty awesome but it’s not for everyone.
Well she did just that! I think her first class was Shockwave express with Siri….LOL. What a GREAT introduction. Members will understand the sarcasm here.
There are SO many fitness instructors that are “certification chasers” in that they take every certification they can. Not that that’s a bad thing but a lot of those certifications are all choreographed programs where you have to pay a licensing fee and on top of that follow their program to the “T” and that is so NOT what we do at Studio ME. These certifications, while good, take the creativity out of the instructor. The instructor just teaches someone else’s class, a class that they didn’t design, a class that is the same for anywhere from 4-6 weeks before it’s changed. Same music everything…. BORING! Just because you have all the certifications in the world doesn’t mean you are good at what you do.
Tiffany was a breath of fresh air for me and the studio. She wasn’t exposed to all that noise in the industry. She is an athlete. Someone who knows the value of hard work to get results. Before bringing her on we spent a lot of time together teaching her the ropes of Studio ME and our equipment. After she felt comfortable she finally taught her first class which was Total Body Row. It was a 7am Monday morning class… Little did I know that she’s not a morning person…ha…but she did great! We soon had her on the schedule teaching a few classes and in no time at all she branched out into teaching the style of training she does on her own and we called it Strength Circuit" now StrongXTREME.
It’s been so fun watching Tiffany come into her own as an instructor and she has helped so many members focus on their own strength training while hitting some PRs. She’s a great addition to our team and we’re excited to watch her continue to grow as a coach at Studio ME.
Now let’s learn a little more about her…
Tell Us a little about how fitness has played a role in your life?
“As a child starting at age 5 my dad signed me up for every sport available through community ed. I was a natural athlete and highly competitive. When I wasn’t playing sports in a league, I was playing flag football, riding bikes or playing “horse” with he neighborhood boys. In 5th grade I led my team to win 1st place in the slow pitch league tournament. It had become too easy, I was the pitcher and was hitting home runs every time I was up to bat. I then joined fast-pitch, played and trained all year long. I was 3rd vase and typically the 4th hitter at bat, and if you know anything about softball or baseball, that’s a good thing. I played all the way up until my parents moved me to a new high school when I was 16. In my adult life it took me a while to rediscover my inner athlete. Around age 25 I started running and lifting weights, and by 27 I felt like I found my inner athlete again. Now at 32 I take a balanced approach to fitness. I workout 5 days a week and incorporate lifting weights and cardio. Without sports growing up, I would never be who I am today. It taught me how to work in a group and cheer on your teammates.”
What made you want to become an instructor at Studio ME?
“I had just moved to Minneapolis the year before starting as an instructor at Studio ME. I finally moved my career into the city and cut back my hours and gained more free time due to the amazing lack of a commute. I got bored and lonely fast. I didn’t know too many people in the city and found myself spending all of my time at the gym, so I figured I may as well get a job at a gym and make some friends with similar interests (health and fitness). I emailed Megan and asked her if I could fold her towels, haha. Megan informed me the Studio was small and she currently was in charge of folding the towels. She then asked if I had ever considered teaching group fitness. The answer was No way Jose! I had never even attended a group fitness class in my life and I have massive stage fright so there was no way I was going to do that. Some how some way she convinced me to give it a try and here we are today!
What is your favorite exercise that you program into your classes and why? Deadlifts! I love them because the require a lot of focus and keep you really aware of your body and the mind muscle connection. They’ve done wonders for me personally in my every day life, specifically they’ve transformed my overall posture and kept my back pain at bay from repetitive strain I incur while cutting and styling hair in my day job. We can also have a little more fun moving up in the weights with the move. So many of the members have started with 30-40 pounds and after lots of months of practice have gradually moved all the way up to consistently lifting over 100lbs and that has been one of the coolest things to witness as a coach.”
What is a fun fact about yourself that none of the members know?
“I feel like the members that I’ve had the chance to interact with know me pretty well! If it was someone new coming to the studio I guess I’d want them to know that I’m a mother and I eat a plant based diet. I can relate a lot to what it’s like to be a busy parent with a career and a more difficult meal plan. A more fun fact is that Im actually a very talented artist and someday when I have time I’d love to get back into painting. Also I’m currently writing a book that may or may not take me a lifetime to finish!”
Keep us updated on the progress of your book Tiffany. We are excited to learn more and read it!