The movewsarah and FIT mission

How FIT came together

For a long while I had a difficult time finding the connection between what I summarized

to be the three spheres of my life and practice: moving, making, and teaching (still looking for a synonym to complete my alliteration goals). I have a BFA in Studio Art, 9 years of experience in higher ed IT services, and a 600 hr Pilates teaching certification. I’m also a wannabe K-pop main dancer and cosplayer, but, that’s for another time :)

For a while, making moving and teaching felt separate from one another, or only pairable, not a united trifecta. It was not until I began teaching virtual Pilates classes during the height of the pandemic where I began to find clarity. I gained innumerable hours of experience teaching and learning in the (at the time) ad-hoc virtual fitness space: the successes, the failures, the experimentation, the newfound importance of community engagement, and the conceptions of more robust virtual studios.

What I discovered was that the online fitness space is ripe with opportunity and areas of growth where my three spheres connect and unite. I would eventually come to title this unity Fitness Instructional Technology, or conveniently, FIT

What is Fitness Instructional Technology (FIT)?

FIT is the exploration and application of technology interventions on online fitness classes in order to create deeper learning experiences, safer spaces, increase opportunity for businesses and provide clarity in an industry that lacks regulation.

FIT is multifaceted: it is an approach to online teaching practices and pedagogy, it is the integration and innovation of AV for pre-recorded and live-streamed content, and it is the design of positive user experiences around accessibility, deep learning, and challenging fitness culture norms for both instructors and practitioners.

The movewsarah and FIT mission

There is a desire by both fitness class instructors and participants for more and clear application around learning and engagement online. Instructors and participants should not see tech interventions or online classes as less than in-person experiences, or even compare them to each other; rather, we need to reframe and see the opportunities it can bring to individuals, to our clients, to our ability to keep something as important as exercise affordable and accessible.

In order to do this, the methods and services around access and engagement must be at an open enough level to meet participants where they are as best as possible. To get more buy-in from them to teach online and decrease their cognitive load, instructors need access not just to affordable and easy to use tools, but also need the training and resources to reference as they build their version of online classes.

I hope that movewsarah can be that platform and space for current and interested movement practioners and instructors.