FEBRUARY SH1FT STAR: EMMA HARRIS

Meet this month's SH1FT STAR, Emma Harris from just outside of the Lake District in the UK. Emma is a SH1FT Instructor in all four formats AND now our newest full time team member at the SH1FT office. Emma originally found us in 2019 and loved the way our workouts incorporated functional movement. Join us in welcoming the newest member of our team!⁠

WHY WE LOVE EMMA:

We are so excited that Emma is now a part of our AWESOME team, both as an instructor AND as an administrator. What we love about Emma is her positive attitude and willingness to get stuck into any challenge that is thrown her way - nothing phases this woman!

Without further ado, meet Emma:

1. Tell us about yourself: 

I would describe myself as “outdoorsy” but I also love a good book! I have horses who I compete in both Eventing and Endurance Riding and have been lucky enough to represent England as part of the Endurance Home International team on 2 occasions.

I have worked in the fitness industry for almost 10 years now as Sports Therapist, Personal Trainer, Class Instructor, Club Manager and Tutor, Assessor & IQA. I qualified as a Human Sports Therapist 9 years ago and have since gone on to get my equine sports and rehabilitation massage qualification and have most recently completed a Post-Grad qualification in Strength & Conditioning.

I love being a part of the fitness industry and seeing how it has changed and how things come back around.  I enjoy being able to be part of someone’s fitness journey, whether it’s working with other fitness professionals or with my clients.

2. Where/how do you teach?

When we’re not in lockdown I teach in a local authority gym. However, since lockdown I have gone virtual and have utilised Facebook live, Zoom and several other platforms.  For me, virtual (on demand) will remain a part of my offering as I can fit it in around other commitments and my clients love being able to fit in sessions at home in their own time, many of them do my face to face classes as well.

3. What’s your favourite SH1FT workout?

You’re making me pick?! L1FT is probably my favourite in general…or M1ND. I have to admit L1FT #13, I love! However, I think for fun, I really enjoy SH1FT W1PEOUT (I mean who doesn’t love a Sushi Roll?!). SH1FT PR1SON BREAK really stands out recently, simply by putting your hands behind your head on a move such as a squat changes the demands of the move and just makes everything so much harder without people necessarily having to jump higher or move faster.

4. What's your favourite thing about SH1FT?

The group ethos, the fact that instructors share ideas and help each other, the way the SH1FT team listen to what the instructors are saying and make each instructor feel part of the company.  The Facebook group allows us to share our wins (and our bloopers!). As a class instructor, although you teach in front of a group of people, we are often lone workers, so having the group and being able to talk to people all over the world in the same situation as yourself, especially over the last 12 months, has been a big support, not to mention the way SH1FT responded with their Lockdown series!

5. What does 'fitness for life' mean to you?

You do not need to be the strongest, the leanest, the fittest.  It is about being able to do what you enjoy, whether that is completing Marathons, Iron Man competitions, or keeping up with your kids.  It’s about finding a sustainable and enjoyable way to be active regardless of where or how you do it.

6. How has SH1FT improved your life and teaching?

It has given me the confidence and ability to be able to go virtual, which has been a godsend this past 12 months. I have found a company that has the right balance of support, structure and freedom.  I am a huge believer that training should be functional so utilising the 6 degrees of freedom within the workouts, I love. You also need to have a love for it and enjoy it and that comes across with the releases (SH1FT AEROBICS: need I say more?).

7. What does diversity mean to you, and why is it important in fitness?

The people who take part in fitness classes come from a wide range of backgrounds, abilities, sizes, ages, ethnicity.  Instructors should also have the same diversity. We all have different skills and backgrounds that we can bring to our classes and people want different things from their instructors. It is good that they can have that choice. It encourages people when they see someone who’s more their age, their gender etc. 

Some people love coming in and being “beasted” in a class, others want encouragement. People need to be able to have that choice.  You don’t have to be a fitness model to be a fitness professional and it is great to see that this becoming more widely shown. However, I do feel that there is still progress to be made in this area. A lot of fitness instructors teach classes around families, other jobs and commitments.  We should be proud and embrace our differences as it brings us together with our passion for fitness.