How fit should a group fit instructor be?

S

SaraFit

Cathlete
I lost 100 pounds previously and unfortunately have gained about half back. Before I gained it back, I had looked into getting certified, mainly because I wanted to teach hula hoop classes (which is how I lost the last 40) and thought the certification would be helpful in finding places to teach or space to rent.

So I've been thinking that this time I definitely want to do it because it'll help keep me on track and working out but I realize that I would not go to a fitness class taught by someone overweight. I've never been to a gym and imagine most if not all instructors are in great shape. I did meet a pt once who I loved and she was not overweight but wasn't super lean and was working on losing weight herself; I think it made her very approachable and real. Obviously you need to be able to keep up the intensity of the class but how fit are instructors expected to be? Is there a different expectation for those hired at gyms vs those that teach on their own?

Maybe a better question is not how fit, but how thin?
 
SaraFit said:
I lost 100 pounds previously and unfortunately have gained about half back. Before I gained it back, I had looked into getting certified, mainly because I wanted to teach hula hoop classes (which is how I lost the last 40) and thought the certification would be helpful in finding places to teach or space to rent.

So I've been thinking that this time I definitely want to do it because it'll help keep me on track and working out but I realize that I would not go to a fitness class taught by someone overweight. I've never been to a gym and imagine most if not all instructors are in great shape. I did meet a pt once who I loved and she was not overweight but wasn't super lean and was working on losing weight herself; I think it made her very approachable and real. Obviously you need to be able to keep up the intensity of the class but how fit are instructors expected to be? Is there a different expectation for those hired at gyms vs those that teach on their own?

Maybe a better question is not how fit, but how thin?
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I care much more about how FIT someone is over how THIN they are. I kinda get annoyed that people assume that overweight folks cannot be fit. JMO
 
"Like you walk your talk"

That's how I think a PT/Group Fitness Instructor should look. I think it gives more credibility to what you say to your clients. To me it's sort of like going to an overweight doctor who tells you to lose weight.
 
Hi Sarafit.
I am certified in group fitness and personal training. I remember reading an article back when I first got certified polling GFIs about their body composition. If I remember correctly, the average was around 20% BF, which is not crazy low, but definitely below average. Funny thing is, the majority of those polled felt like they actually needed to lose weight.

For me personally, I think an instructor needs to look (and of course BE) fit. As was posted above, they need to look like they "walk the talk".
 
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As much as I hate to say it, I think how you look as a fitness instructor is as important as keeping up with the class. Not that you have to be a super model or 10% body fat, but you should look the part.
From my personal experience, I go to church with a couple ladies who teach fitness classes (bootcamp and spin), and they could both stand to lose a good 40 pounds AT LEAST. They are forever giving me fitness and nutrition advice (simply because we share the same interest, I suppose), and it irritates the crap out of me! I know it shouldn't bother me, but I feel like they are being hypocritical, even though they keep up with their classes. They are obviously not living all the principles they teach. I think this is part of the reason their clients love them: they all need to lose significant amounts of weight, too, and they don't feel intimidated by the instructors since they all look the same. I think the instructors should be a little intimidating! :D

I have worked with trainers in the past, and I want my trainer to have an enviable physique or at least something that is pretty dang good. It gives credibility. I was buying paint the other day, and the girl mixing my paint was a pretty big gal. She was struggling to get the top off of a can, and we were laughing about it, and then she said, "This shouldn't be so hard for me. I'm a personal trainer!" I was totally shocked. She was total flab, no definition, maybe 25 lbs overweight. She might be the best trainer in the world, but I would never think of hiring her or attending a class with her.

I hope this doesn't make me sound mean or judgmental. I hate to admit that this is how I feel about this. Sometimes looks really do matter.
 
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I guess I take the opposite view.

An instructor who is super lean, super fit and can do any and every move can be off-putting. You don't want to intimidate people who are very out of shape and overweight. You want them to join your class and see you as approachable, to see their own fitness journey as do-able.

An instructor is a facilitator. You are a role model but that doesn;t mean you have to be perfect. You do not have to be at your goal weight to be able to teach fitness classes. You need a good routine that you can comfortably teach, some moves to challenge the more advanced and some modifications for the less advanced and newbies.

You don't have to be Cathe mark 2. Who is?!?!?!

Clare
 
I am impressed by anyone who can teach a tough class that gives a great workout. I also like for the instructor to be working out along with me. I couldn't care less how the instructor looks.

ETA: In the above, am strictly referring to group fitness instructors and not personal trainers. I don't think I'd be turned off by an overweight personal trainer (I've been there and I know it can be hard to get back in shape), but I have yet to see one.
 
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As someone who has lost 70lbs, become both a group fitness instructor and a personal trainer, and gained a few of those pounds back, I also take the contrary view.

The super lean, ultra fit physique is very hard to maintain if you're trying to have a healthy, balanced life. I sustained a disk injury in my lower back a few years ago because my expectation to work full tilt with my classes 12 hours a week, demonstrate exercises with my personal training clients, and work to foster my own physical goals was unsustainable. I was forced to take everything down a huge notch and lower my expectations of my physique, for the sake of both my physical health and my other-life balance. Do I know what I'm talking about when I tell other people how to lose weight, become healthier, and look better naked? Absolutely! 100%! Am I willing to make the sacrifices and lifestyle changes necessary to get that way again myself? Absolutely not! But I still know how to put together a tough workout, how to cue it extremely well, and how to motivate every person in that room to challenge themselves to their own personal limit.

Why do we put such high expectations on instructors and personal trainers? How many glorified and haloed coaches do you see in mens' professional sports who look more like an overweight couch potato than an athlete? It's a nasty double standard.

Eating disorders and body image issues are rampant amongst female physique competitors, trainers, and instructors. The image of the "healthy" female is to have a level of body fat lower than most women can reasonably sustain. Keli Roberts was a keynote speaker at a fitness retreat I attended two years ago, and has a personal journey that moved me to tears. Her story is one of extreme pressure to look super thin (she began professional modeling in Europe at a very young age), which led to a life of heavy drug use and mental illness. She eventually recovered from these challenges after finding her way into the fitness industry. She speaks very powerfully about the poor body images of many, many women in the fitness industry and coping with those pressures.

Just over a year ago, primarily because of my degenerating body, I began working a full time job that has me sitting in front of a computer all day long. I also have two children still in elementary school that are active in extra-curricular activities, am working on completing my doctoral degree in my "spare" time, am trying to improve my French (it will greatly help my career path), workout 6 days a week in my basement (thank you Cathe!), and instruct 2 evening fitness classes a week. I would also like to refresh my piano skills and am considering taking lessons in the fall. I find it the height of gall and judgement, not to mention rude and disrepsectful, for any one of my class participants to dismiss my classes as ineffective or "not good" simply because I am at 24% BF rather than 18%. They do not know the stresses and time challenges I face in my "real" life, and have no right to sit in judgement of my physique. I am very good at what I do; I have excellent motivational skills, and a vast amount of knowledge and experience that leads to routines that are intelligently designed, balanced, and leave the participants feeling successful. THAT is how an instructor should be judged.

So, to summarize my rant: NO, please do not apologize for how you look, or limit yourself because of it. If others are going to judge your class based on your personal BF level, then they are the ones who are going to miss a great opportunity, and it is their loss. Do not wait until everyone else has given you permission to do something you want to do. There will always be naysayers; focus on your goal, ignore all the Negative Nellies, and go for it!
 
nkhansen1 said:
As much as I hate to say it, I think how you look as a fitness instructor is as important as keeping up with the class. Not that you have to be a super model or 10% body fat, but you should look the part.
From my personal experience, I go to church with a couple ladies who teach fitness classes (bootcamp and spin), and they could both stand to lose a good 40 pounds AT LEAST. They are forever giving me fitness and nutrition advice (simply because we share the same interest, I suppose), and it irritates the crap out of me! I know it shouldn't bother me, but I feel like they are being hypocritical, even though they keep up with their classes. They are obviously not living all the principles they teach. I think this is part of the reason their clients love them: they all need to lose significant amounts of weight, too, and they don't feel intimidated by the instructors since they all look the same. I think the instructors should be a little intimidating! :D

I have worked with trainers in the past, and I want my trainer to have an enviable physique or at least something that is pretty dang good. It gives credibility. I was buying paint the other day, and the girl mixing my paint was a pretty big gal. She was struggling to get the top off of a can, and we were laughing about it, and then she said, "This shouldn't be so hard for me. I'm a personal trainer!" I was totally shocked. She was total flab, no definition, maybe 25 lbs overweight. She might be the best trainer in the world, but I would never think of hiring her or attending a class with her.

I hope this doesn't make me sound mean or judgmental. I hate to admit that this is how I feel about this. Sometimes looks really do matter.
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no offense meant to anyone....but I AM TOTALLY ONBOARD with this!!!
 
jacmar said:
I care much more about how FIT someone is over how THIN they are. I kinda get annoyed that people assume that overweight folks cannot be fit. JMO
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THANK you. Going by the BMI, I'm 20 lbs overweight and yet I can do all of Cathe's workouts and Insanity without modifications and without extra rests. I also can match Cathe on most upper body sections on most DVD's and even exceed her weight selections on lower body work.

And I've lost over 120 lbs and I think I look damn good in light of that: it's the last 20 that just won't come off no matter how hard I try. Not everyone who is overweight neglects to practice what they preach - a lot of us work nonstop at losing without success so that's not hypocritical.
 
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The way I see it, nobody is saying overweight folks can't be fit. I think what some are saying is that if they want or need motivation for losing weight and getting in shape, they are more likely to go to someone who looks the part.

I can understand that. I don't think you can even compare something like an overweight football coach to a fitness instructor. The football coach is trying to get the players to win games, not lose weight or shape up their physique.

I completely agree that looks don't define how fit or accomplished someone is in the fitness world, but if I'm looking for a person to teach and motivate me in managing my weight and/or getting fit, I wouldn't necessarily go to someone who doesn't appear to have the qualities I'm looking to attain.

And for what it's worth, I'm not trying to discourage anybody from achieving their dream. I'm just trying to explain that I can see why someone would feel this way.
 
UNLVCrjChick said:
And I've lost over 120 lbs and I think I look damn good in light of that: it's the last 20 that just won't come off no matter how hard I try. Not everyone who is overweight neglects to practice what they preach - a lot of us work nonstop at losing without success so that's not hypocritical.
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Oh, I know! I really do! My comment was about the two women I mentioned. I KNOW they don't practice what they preach, hence my use of "hypocritical."

I work extremely hard, and I eat extremely clean, and I still look mostly like crap. I get it. I would love to be a fitness instructor or trainer and nutrition coach, and many friends have urged me to do so, but I know that my outward appearance does me no favors. I don't look like the work I put in, and I've been training for almost 20 years. I just don't have a body that responds. 99% of people looking for a trainer or instructor don't care about the reasons for my body type, they just see that I don't look like the ideal fitness buff.

I don't think you have to look like a fitness model to be an instructor or trainer, but most people will seek out someone whom they aspire to look like. That said, if you have a desire to be an instructor or trainer, no matter what your body type, DO IT! Don't let anybody else's opinion stop you from doing something that you love!
 
Hi Sarafit,

Short answer: A fitness instructor should be ft enough to teach his/her class without plopping over halfway through. That's it!

Longer answer: Yes, some clients are going to go "um, she doesn't LOOK like a fitness expert" and not give you a chance, but others WILL give you a chance because of your credentials...and if your class is good, that's all that matters to your clients. I've been an instructor for 5 years at 2 different rec centers and I've seen instructors of different shapes/sizes/fitness levels and people would go to their classes based on what those instructors had to offer.

If you know what you're doing, know how to keep a class engaged and have the energy and strength to work it out with them and still keep a grin on your face as you cue them, then that's all there is to it and you have nothing to worry about.

Again, clients can be judgmental in a myriad of ways- I've had people come to me after my classes saying they did NOT expect a tough workout b/c (a) I look small/weak (b) I'm quiet (c) I'm a Muslim and wear a headscarf <yes, really lol> (d) I wear Hello Kitty.... :rolleyes: ...and were pleasantly surprised that they got their butts kicked! :cool: and honestly, there's nothing you can do about them. They'll either walk away or they'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I say, if you feel confident about your skills, then go for it!!
 
I am thoroughly enjoying this thread. What a fascinating topic.

Here are my personal thoughts/opinions. It is undisputed that fitness comes in all shapes/sizes. There is no doubt in my mind that people of all shapes/sizes/BMI's, whatever, can indeed be excellent & knowledgeable fitness instructors. I think it is all about whom YOU feel comfortable training and motivating you. There is no right/wrong here.

With that said, not to sound judgmental or shallow (please do not take offense), I would want MY trainer to have visible muscles. I want to see toned legs/glutes, somewhat flat stomach (perhaps not a 6pk, but not a flabby stomach), kick a** arms with shapely shoulder's, bulging biceps, toned triceps, and a back that makes me jealous when he/she does pull-ups. He/she does not necessarily have to have 10% body fat or look like Cathe, Jillian, or Bob (although I wouldn't complain) but those visual aspects are what I would be looking for in a trainer, along with knowledge, expertise, strength, endurance, and of course a desirable personality. I want the entire package baby ;)

Natasha
 
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I think is completely depends on the clientele base you are looking to create. Some people, as mentioned here, won't be interested because you won't offer what they are looking for. It's not just about the tough class, or the quality of instruction. It's also about the motivation and understanding. No offense back to you FiddleFit, but one thing you'd be lacking in my mind is the true understanding and the useful help for those clients who have the equivalent of your busy schedule and STILL want to achieve a super high level of fitness. It's possible. Really freaking hard, but possible. You choose not to do it. That's FINE. But that's not helpful to me, personally. If I can find someone else who chose my path, that would be a better match for me.

Others, however, find the uberfit, thin instructor to be out of touch with their personal lives and don't feel they can relate, and would be more comfortable with someone who looks like them. I think there are a LOT of clients out there looking for this - more so than the former I described, I actually believe.

If you want to go for it, go for it. You'll find your base if you work hard enough for it.
 
nkhansen1 said:
As much as I hate to say it, I think how you look as a fitness instructor is as important as keeping up with the class. Not that you have to be a super model or 10% body fat, but you should look the part.
From my personal experience, I go to church with a couple ladies who teach fitness classes (bootcamp and spin), and they could both stand to lose a good 40 pounds AT LEAST. They are forever giving me fitness and nutrition advice (simply because we share the same interest, I suppose), and it irritates the crap out of me! I know it shouldn't bother me, but I feel like they are being hypocritical, even though they keep up with their classes. They are obviously not living all the principles they teach. I think this is part of the reason their clients love them: they all need to lose significant amounts of weight, too, and they don't feel intimidated by the instructors since they all look the same. I think the instructors should be a little intimidating! :D

I have worked with trainers in the past, and I want my trainer to have an enviable physique or at least something that is pretty dang good. It gives credibility. I was buying paint the other day, and the girl mixing my paint was a pretty big gal. She was struggling to get the top off of a can, and we were laughing about it, and then she said, "This shouldn't be so hard for me. I'm a personal trainer!" I was totally shocked. She was total flab, no definition, maybe 25 lbs overweight. She might be the best trainer in the world, but I would never think of hiring her or attending a class with her.

I hope this doesn't make me sound mean or judgmental. I hate to admit that this is how I feel about this. Sometimes looks really do matter.
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I have to agree with Natalie. I have no wish to be a trainer myself, I just love to workout, but I want the trainer to be someone I aspire to look like. I lift weights and do cardio for a reason--I want the person I am looking to for guidance to espouse what I strive for. I would have a hard time taking anyone seriously who doesn't look like they are in shape.

I'm editing this to add--I mean no offense either. My opinion might be shallow, but I think it is shared with the masses--otherwise why would Jillian Michaels, Cathe, Tony Horton, Shaun T and a dozen other fitness trainers be so popular? Not because they are pudgy--but because they look the part.
 
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SaraFit - I read through this entire thread and while some people prefer an extremely toned instructor others don't. This tells me that there is a definitely a market for an instructor like yourself. I say go for it!

Personally, I could see myself going either way. An extremely toned and fit instructor could be motivating but it could also be intimidating -- especially for beginners.

I used to have a neighbor who was a plus size woman and she taught aerobics at the local YMCA. She said her classes were always full and she really enjoyed doing it. I would venture to say that when leading a class, your personality and knowledge would count for almost as much or more than your physique. This is one of the main reasons why I have a ton of Cathe DVDs and not a single Denise Austin one. Even though physically they are somewhat similar (Cathe is definitely more muscular), IMO Cathe has a much better demeanor and on screen presence than Denise does.
 
My favorite two step instructors, when I used to go to the gym, did not have the look of the stereotypical group instructor. They both had a little more on the bottom, but they taught a great class and had tons of energy. I always wanted to get into their class.

How will you feel a year or ten years from now if you don't go for it? Will you wish you had gone ahead and taught the class or will you regret that you didn't just because you aren't "perfect"?

I say go for it if you really want to do it!

Good luck and let us know what you decide. :)
 
A bit off topic, but this thread has reminded me of something that happened at my gym. You might know from some of my other posts how much I love my spin instructor because she kicks butt...I mean KICKS. SERIOUS. BUTT.

Anyway, one day after class, the person next to me who usually works out with one of the other spin instructors commented that she couldn't believe that "that fat girl" almost killed us. She walked away before I could tell her "that fat girl" wasn't fat, but was 6 months pregnant! :)
 
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