I know your all anxious to find out how this weekend went, and since Craig is busy at his real job - I will have to fill you in. (actually he is still duct taped in the back of the van...)

As promised - we made only ONE bathroom stop. Plus - a GIRL mapped out the route on how to get there and Craig had his doubts - but we made it in less time than if we would have taken the route he thought was best. (I'm grinning wildly here).

So we arrived safely and at 7am Saturday morning we were all decked out in our New Town Fitness t-shirts and headed for the Towson College rec center. It was huge! Great place to hold a 1/4ly. Lots of floor space, big cycling room, and plenty of bathrooms (although we did run out of tp pretty quick). No food on site, only drink machines. We all brought loads of energy food items so that was not a problem. And besides - time in between classes were pretty short and not alot of time to eat anyway - that is if you took all the classes!

The first class was Body Attack, which we all liked (except Craig!) but don't think we will ever get it at our gym. Kylie (from Flow/Jam) taught along with two others. Then you could do RPM or take BodyCombat, Craig and I did RPM along with a few otheres from our group. Steve R. (can't think of his last name...sorry!) the guy from Pump taught that along with Anthony. All the girls kept talking about how hot Steve was - except me! I behaved! Great class. Can't say anything regarding Combat because I did not take that.

Next - I did BodyFlow. Kylie was fantastic! And the new stuff is great too. I loved how they spent about 45 minutes before each class giving instruction on the new moves. It was very helpful.

After a 30 minute break came Pump training and then the class taught by Steve and Susan, plus two other women. It's hard to say what I think about the music because it was so loud the music sounded distorted. And that being my fourth class I was starting to zone out! It was hard to understand the cues and I couldn't see the stage from where I was at so had to just watch Craig.

I find it interesting that they are now pushing iPod use for our music. There was a time when we were not allowed to download/copy their CD's. I guess thats progress. We do use our iPod all the time, It's great when trying to put a playlist together for Pump and it's all right there. No searching endlessly through CD's!

Unfortunatley I did not get to take Step because my shoulders were not feeling so great so I just watched. It looked pretty good. And Body Jam...well...lets just say I would need a few drinks in me before even attempting it! It did look like fun - but what was more fun was watching others!

So - over all it was a great 1/4ly. It was cool meeting the 'top' trainers and being with all the other instructors who have a passion for fitness. Sadly - there was a downside. I was very disappointed in the behavior of some of the instructors. We ran into several that were very rude. During Body Attack - I left my spot before we were to go down on the floor for abs and when I came back someone placed themselves on my spot! Of course it was very crowded so I had to move off to the side - away from our group I was with. Then I'm trying to watch the instructor in the middle of the room and someone else comes and stands right in front of me. Putting weights away was a frenzy. I stood holding my weights standing in what I thought was a line to put them in the boxes and everyone is just rushing in front of me. I'm not an aggressive person but I did have to say something to the person who did it to me last!

During step - our group got to the front to set up their benches. They were pretty close - or so they thought. Another person came and set up in front of them - so close that her bench was touching the stage! Are these rude instructors the 'Prima Donnas" I hear about? Please - if you are an instructor and attend one of these quarterlys - don't leave your manners behind!! Is this the kind of behavior we want in our classroom? Treat people the way you expect to be treated. I know we get excited about being there, hearing the new music, trying new programs, meeting world famous instructors - but there is no need to loose control! Treat fellow insructors with respect.

I almost forget - we also received CEU's for attending! I believe there are 6 which is great when your a personal trainer and trying to collect CEUs for PT renewal! Not a whole lot of clothing but they did have some. No guy stuff however.

There - I think thats it. I know Craig does a more thorough job but at least you got the basics! Go to the next quarterly - it's worth it!
Photos courtesy of Arlene Harris