Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Eleven participants attended the first HIGH Fitness class last Thursday morning, with a similar turnout showing up for Monday's morning class.
Class participants moved to the groove as they got their sweat on during last week's HIGH Fitness workout class.
The Great Hall of Royal has been bringing new entertainment and events to the community since 2019. The venue has played host to celebrations both large and small, and now it's hosting a brand new fitness class led by local resident Rachel Thomsen.
Thomsen is a busy mother of three and farm wife. As if that wasn't enough to keep her spinning, she is also an avid health and fitness entrepreneur, owning her own LLC called The Charged Life. She directs the masses on her Facebook page with uplifting posts and educational tidbits in all things health and fitness. She also uses the social media platform to get her audience comfortable and workout-ready in the ZYIA activewear she sells and team-manages.
Being the go-getter that she is, Thomsen recently decided to check one more thing off of her personal and professional wish list: Fitness instructor.
"I had wanted to be an instructor for years, but I hadn't ever found a format that I really loved enough to teach," said Thomsen. "Somehow I stumbled onto a HIGH Fitness instructor's Instagram account and decided to follow her. I watched her videos for months and finally decided I wanted to get certified."
Thomsen hit a few bumps in the road trying to get her classes up and running, one large hurdle being the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I was scheduled for an in-person training last April, but that was moved to being virtual due to Covid," she said. "I was officially certified last July, but due to all of the social distancing guidelines I never got any classes going. I had been taking virtual classes for the last nine months, so the very first class that I taught (last week) was actually my very first in-person HIGH Fitness class ever."
Once pandemic regulations became more lenient, Thomsen decided it was time to go for it. She started searching for the perfect class location, gained social-media interest and feedback on class times, then hit the ground running with the instruction of her first class.
Two sessions have been held thus far on June 10 and June 14. Attendance was excellent for both dates, with return participants attending each class along with new faces arriving to see what the buzz is about.
Classes are a mix of cardio, aerobics, plyo, Zumba, yoga, high-interval training, dance and more. Each song on the playlist brings a new beat with new moves to keep things interesting and fun. Thomsen is at the forefront of the class, directing participants in easy-to-follow moves that can be done as intense or low-intensity as one desires, offering high-impact or modified low-impact moves.
HIGH Fitness classes are offered at The Great Hall of Royal for no cost during the month of June. Classes are Mondays and Thursdays from 5:30-6:30 a.m. There will be a brief pause June 28-July 2 before things restart on July 8.
