Instructor's Physiques???

sahara

sahara

Cathlete
Good morning everyone. I was wondering how many of you rely on an instructor's physique for motivation. I recently bought a CIA video. I was very excited about receiving it. I put it into my laptop to preview it and was surprised to find myself disappointed to see that the instructor was a bit on the heavy side. I looked at the cover again because I thought that they had sent me the wrong DVD. The picture on the front of the video shows a slim and toned version of the instructor but when I popped it in, she was a good 20+ pounds heavier.

I have tried but I just cannot get motivated to do this workout and I feel as though I was deceived. If there was a picture of a heavy woman on the cover, I likely would not have purchased this video. I am somewhat ashamed of myself for feeling this way because I have several heavy people in my life that I love dearly but none of them are fitness instructors so I don't have the same expectations of them. If you're going to talk the talk then you should walk the walk, so to speak. I always appreciate videos that include heavier people in the "class" but I've found that I can't appreciate a heavy instructor. I guess I've always had this bias since I often comment on how so many coaches are unfit yet they expect their players to be fit.


Tracey
"Do or do not. There is no try." -Yoda
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
 
I agree Dorothy. A person can be overweight and still be incredibly fit. Just recently my husband gave a presentation about injury prevention for marathoners and walkers. Some of those marathoners would probably be considered overweight, but they can still run marathons! And I've known some really thin people who are just plain weak and out of shape. So weight has nothing to do with fitness.

Carolyn
 
This is interesting. I think if an instructor is brand spanking new to the industry with no reviews to go on, her or his physique would have an impact on whether or not I bought their workout.

However, if someone had a good reputation for putting out good, solid workouts, or was involved with a person or entity that did, the physique wouldn't matter. One person who comes to mind that is fit and has a great reputation in the industry, but doesn't have the ripped, 3% body fat physique, is Gin Miller.
 
I must admit, I sometimes wonder how effective an exercise program is when the instructor looks like they have gained an appreciable amount of weight (as Gin Miller did between Intense Moves and Extreme Step, for example), but there are many reasons for weight gain.

I might know the CIA video you're refering to: I've seen earlier workouts by the same istructor, and she definitely seems at least 20 pounds heavier in the more recent one(and she wasn't 'skinny' by any means in her other workouts). I almost didn't recognize her. It just made me wonder what the cause of the weight gain was. Post-partum weight? Illness or injury? Getting into bad eating habits?
 
I know what you mean Tracey. The reason I work out is so that I will not be 20 lbs overweight. If I'm working out to an instructor who is, it triggers the thought in my head that she is a professional at this and she still can't get the weight off. It's a demotivator for me. If my goal was just to stay fit then it wouldn't matter as much, but since weight loss is the goal, I would tend to want to watch someone who is fit and "trim". It's kind of like going to a hair stylist who has really bad hair. Doesn't give you too much faith in what they will be able to accomplish with your hair - although they might be the best stylist there is.
 
Although it might not bother me to see an instructor who is a bit overweight, it would bother me to see: 1) an instructor who GAINS weight over time, 2) an instructor who looks very different than the cover photo. The second seems like false advertising to me.

I do prefer to workout with fit (both strong and lean) looking instructors, but I work out to people with a variety of body types.

I don't buy many CIAs, so I have no idea which instructor you're referring to, so I won't comment on that!
 
I like my instructors to be inspirational. They will not inspire me if they don't have a great physique. It doesn't mean they're not fit, it just means they don't motivate me. Cathe is a great example of someone who's motivational just by her looks alone.

I have the same issue w/the trainers at the gym, especially considering clients pay $60-75 an hour for them. There's an implication that if you do what your trainer instructs you to you'll get the same results as her/him. If she/he doesn't appear to be good shape, then it's very difficult to take them seriously.

I remember I was at one of those real down & dirty gyms once & this guy behind the desk, who was not only in bad shape but was just plain fat, I mean this guy was shaped like a beach ball & must've weighed in at 350+ lbs. I vividly remember him sitting on this stool & not moving the entire time I was there, probably b/c he couldn't. He was trying to correct my form when I was doing tricep kickbacks & I just couldn't help myself, I laughed in his face. :eek:
 
For me, the instructors help motivate me and give me something to work towards. I feel like if I do their workouts (like Cathe) and of course eat right I'll look like that too (not exactly of course). You know how Cathe says in her workouts to concentrate on the muscle that your working and picture how you want it to look? That's what I try to do and it certainly helps working out to an instructor that has that look. I just know that for me, if the instructor needed to lose weight, it would be hard for me to feel like the workout was going to help me achieve my goals.

Ashley
 
It depends....not everyone can look perfect no matter how hard they work but they are still fit, if not more fit than others. At the same time, I am really not interested in working out with someone who is clearly out of shape. I once took a yoga class from a woman who was simply obese and I just couldn't get into it. She taught another class, "Yoga for Round Bodies" which could be very beneficial for someone overweight just starting out who doesn't need to be intimidated.
 
I think it is a natural thing to expect your instructor to look good .. fit .. afterall you want to know what they are telling you to do is going to work.

I have been an instructor for over 20 years .. although my body has changed over the years .. I have remained the same weight for all these years .. (it blows my docs mind) .. I will say the older I get the harder I have to work at it .. and no my body does not look like a 20 year olds .. but I am 40 and not delusional. I think if I were to gain a lot of weight and not be able to get it off I would not feel comfortable teaching .. I mean .. for instance .. just my PMS bloat week I feel so self concious - feel like everyone is staring at the huge bloated gut.

On the other hand .. my fill in teacher is a bit overweight .. but can run circles around your average person .... and I have two friends that look heavy .. they are a larger frame .. but can kick anyone's butt in step, weights and kickboxing .. they are fit .. VERY fit .. so ????

For me personally .. on home videos I would expect the person to look the part. Gin Miller .. whom I have met at a workout camp .. is EXTREMLY fit .. she is bigger b/c her career started w/body building and she puts on muscle easily .. the videos do not do her justice b/c in person she is AWESOME .. no fat .. just big muscles!

.. and side note .. I am not a fan of the CIA videos .. they are decieving and most are not safe!!
 
>Just because someone is a bit heavy, don't assume they are not fit. I am 15 pounds overweight, but run circles around many skinny people.<

I understand that heavier people can be fit and this may seem shallow of me but, everything is about perception. It doesn't matter if she "is" it. From my limited perspective as a viewer of the video, she doesn't "look" fit and I don't find that motivating. I'm about 15 pounds heavier than I'd like to be too. If we thought being heavy was attractive, we wouldn't diet and exercise.

>One person who comes to mind that is fit and has a great reputation in the industry, but doesn't have the ripped, 3% body fat physique, is Gin Miller.<

I don't consider Gin Miller fat. I think she is very much in shape even though she doesn't have the typical aerobics instructor's body.

>I might know the CIA video you're refering to...It just made me wonder what the cause of the weight gain was. Post-partum weight? Illness or injury? Getting into bad eating habits?<

I purposely didn't say who she was because I really don't want to make this personal. I would have had this reaction no matter who it was..even Cathe. I've tried to rationalize with all these scenarios too and it just makes me wonder why she would record a video before she was back in shape. Don't most instructors get back in shape before they record a new workout? And then to put a skinny picture on the cover? It's just not very professional and I cannot take her (or anyone else) seriously as a fitness instructor if they appear to be out of shape.


Tracey
"Do or do not. There is no try." -Yoda
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
 
Just thought I'd chime in and say that Gin Miller is the most jacked person I've ever met in my life. Her biceps scare the crap out of me! There's not an ounce of fat on that woman!

But I agree with most of you that how the instructor appears does have an effect on how motivational I find them to be. It's a shame that we rely so much on appearance....


Allison
 
Tracey, I feel the same way. I want my intructors in my workouts to look very fit. I also know that one does not need to look fit to be fit. But, I need the motivation. There's some saying out there geared towards Personal trainers like-- "if I don't admire your abs, I can't listen to your advise." Or something like that.
 
Some instructors go to extremes to get back in shape for videos, so I really don't use them as my chief source of inspiration should I decide I want to buy one of their workots.

Cathe is very inspirational, but she, for the most part, maintains that physique. And she is honest about her training regime prior to filming.

The only thing that turns me off is if an instructor is too thin, with very skinny arms. There are a couple of instructors who market videos who look like they'd blow away if a fan blew on them. I would never buy a circuit or weight training workout from them because I want to see muscle tone. I have a thin build myself and building muscle is my main motivation to workout.
 
Just for clarification - I hope no one thought I was implying that Gin was fat. I just used her as an example because she has a more muscular physique that's not that of your typical aerobic instructor. The uneducated first time exerciser might confuse that with being heavy.

I looooooove Gin. She's the instructor that got me into interval training. I'd love to take a class with her in person.
 
Gayle ..

<<<<I looooooove Gin. She's the instructor that got me into interval training. I'd love to take a class with her in person.>>

I love her too .. she cracks me up ... and is an unbelievable instructor! Her form is perfection.

The workshop I went to . . Atlanta Mania .. was a while back . . it was an instructors workshop .. she started the workshop off by saying "Ok .. to get this right out in the open I weigh 148 pounds and I look this way b/c I started off in bodybuilding.. " .. AWESOME!

.. one of the classes were the fit ball .. and this is before the fit ball was really mainstream .. I thought I was going to die on the freaking ball .. never knew something that looked so easy could be made to be so hard!

And she also taught us interval training .. and told us first off to drop to one step .. the interval training part lasted a total 3 hours .. and I was about to pass out!!

That was an awesome weekend .. and she is a phenominal instructor. I also met Joy Poultry - Gay Gasper - and others .. they were all gracious and I learned so much at that workshop. But Gin .. my favorite .. I laughed as much as I worked out with her!

The most important thing I learned from her .. she made us list our top 5 different types of exercises we like .. starting w/the most favorite and ending w/the least .. she then said .. to take #5 - the least favorite and work on it until it become good at it .. b/c it is more than likely what you need more than anything. (mine .. running .. less than a year later ran my first 5 k) .. :7
 
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