"OH wow look, Joy is working at another gym!"
It's no secret to me that people wonder why I "gym-hop" - it doesn't bother me that people think this. However, I do find it interesting that people don't see the value in switching up an environment.
Let's go through my gym history shall we:
When I moved back to the city after my undergrad degree from Acadia, I started working as a personal trainer and coach at Blended Athletics. This was never in my plans, rather there was an offer on the table and I took. A gym where at the time I adored and thought very highly of the business plan and coaches - why would I not want to be around that?
Next, World Gym - a fairly new gym, different than what I am used to (e.g., bodybuilders) but yet coaches who I knew I would learn from. My time was short here but it was an environment I felt the least comfortable in. The discomfort of the situation made me ask many questions, learn new ways of doing and it taught me I did not know enough. I gained tremendous respect for the team and valued the coaches and their different training styles.
From there, I went on to ProEdge to focus running my own business while completing my Master's. I did this for a few reasons: 1, to have flexibility in my schedule; 2, to see if personal training was a path I really wanted to take; 3, to see if I could even run a business successfully on my own and 4, because it was also supporting a friend (Chernise aka the BOSSS).
Since decreasing my personal training hours substantially, I now coach classes at MoveEast and run my own TeamTraining once a week at BATLX.
So what, like five gyms in 5 years? Yeah, looks suspect.
I have no problems with what I did because I was continually evolving. I was trying new things, figuring out what I liked and how to be really good at it. Each gym and their staff taught me something that I took to my next placement.
Now, take away the gyms and replace them with anything: positions within a company, different companies, firms, courses, dating etc. Not so weird eh?
Learn and move on.
If you are the smartest person in the room you are in the wrong room.
I'm not saying I was the smartest in the room by any means, but there's a point where things are no longer serving your situation. I have never been one to just sit there and remain stagnant. I learned and moved on. I kept the most impactful parts, remained a student and when my questions kept growing, I sought out answers.
I'm not suggesting doing what I did. I get it does look bad, it is selfish and feelings can get hurt. I simply suggest you challenge your skills.
Thanks for reading.