As a fitness enthusiast and athlete I love taking different classes to change up my fitness routine. Over a year ago I joined ClassPass (affiliate link which saves us both $30) which has been life changing. I have tried so many different workouts and visited a wide variety of studios. Today I’m talking about those times when instructors fall short… the times when they aren’t at their best…. So let’s discuss my 5 biggest pet peeves of fitness instructors. (And no I’m not a fitness instructor or personal trainer, just sharing my expertise as someone who loves exercise). As a pretty serious gym goer I think these issues only get worse as you progress down to the notice level… which is why so many people end up injured. Let’s put these fitness instructor pet peeves to rest so we can all have better and safer workouts. And be sure to share your biggest pet peeves of fitness instructors with me in the comments as I Think Out Loud….
- No stretching post workout
This is an easy one and actually has happened to me twice in the past two weeks. Maybe this seems pointless to avid gym goers who know how to cool down on their own, but even though I am well aware of that I hate feeling rushed out the studio. If my heart rate is 140+ I don’t want to immediately run out the door and drive home. Stretching after any exercise is absolutely essential. Why can’t instructors carve out 3-5 minutes at the end of their hour class for some stretches? If you can give us a tough warm up, you can certainly make sure we have a good cool down.
- Spinning class jumps (that are less than 8 seconds)
This one is specific to spinning instructors. I’m a triathlete and I’ve taken my fair share of spinning classes from my local gym to the couture studios that are $40/class. I’m all for doing jumps and getting up out of that saddle but if you are having us do 2 or 4 second jumps all we are doing is jerking our bodies back and forth. It’s like bracing on a roller coaster ride, not exercise. When you are going forward and back so quickly it’s almost impossible to maintain solid form (which can lead to back pain) so please make those jump counts longer!!!
- When instructors are too focused on their workout
You are not getting paid to work out, I am paying you to teach me how to work out (or at the very least motivate me)! And as a paying customer you should be focused on me, not yourself. Yes, please demonstrate the moves but make sure the class is performing them correctly. Treating your class as your workout for the day is wrong and unfair to anyone taking part in your class, too often I see form suffering or exercises being completed incorrectly because the instructor isn’t watching the class.
- Not demonstrating the exercises fully
So this is pretty much the opposite complaint of what I just said but sometimes this happens too. Last week I was in a boot camp style class where the instructor just listed the exercises on the white board and told us to let him know if we needed any demonstrated. Some people are too embarrassed to admit they don’t know or think they know the correct name of an exercise but end up mistaking it for another one. Please just demonstrate everything- and for more than one rep please.
- Music/Sound
If I can’t hear your instructions, the music is too loud. Feel free to ask the class about the volume if you’re uncertain but it’s really hard to speak up to tell you it is too loud. On another note please don’t sing out loud on the mic. I will totally admit during a workout if my favorite song comes on I sing along under my breath, but no one can hear me so unless you are the next Whitney Houston try to keep the singing to yourself. (Side note: music taste is totally subjective but I love when there is a variety of genres played!)
ClassPass has been awesome for discovering new exercises and workout classes… as someone who generally works out solo it’s nice to work out in a more social setting and change up my workouts. I will probably be a member to end of eternity because it’s such a good deal (I pay for the 5 classes at $55/month- which is a steal since most of the classes I take are priced at ~$20/class).
I was not compensated or asked by Class Pass to write this post- just inspired by my membership and the diversity of classes I’ve taken. Do you take any fitness classes?? What sort of classes are your favorite!? I love boot camp style workouts but lately I’ve been obsessed with barre! What are your biggest pet peeves of fitness instructors??
