A Post for my Fellow Group Fitness Instructors: Information to keep us teaching for years to come!

I was compelled to write this blog post because after writing a status on Facebook about Group Fitness Instructors and over training and weight gain, I received a lot of feedback from fellow instructors wanting more information since this topic isn't covered and there isn't information about it. Many instructors are battling constant weight gain, injuries, and a myriad of other problems and don't understand why.

I had to learn the hard way that 

GROUP FITNESS SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR WEIGHT CONTROL.  

Many of us teach because we love the energy of teaching, but I think many of us also do it as a means to stay in shape and the truth is that as instructors we need to:

EAT, TRAIN AND BE IN SHAPE TO TEACH

NOT

TEACH TO EAT AND BE IN SHAPE

Let me start by saying this is not an attack on Group Fitness or the instructors.  I love group fitness because I think it serves a great need by making exercise tolerable and even enjoyable for people.

As an instructor I can tell you that the community we build in group fitness, the stories we hear, the transformations we witness, and just the energy of working out in a group is incredible.

However after seeing group fitness instructors and participants become injured, deconditioned, and overtrained, I have come to a new position on Group Fitness.

Instructors should not be using Group FItness classes for weight control or as their own workout.  They should also limit their ACTIVE TEACHING classes to no more than 3-4 week (depending on the class of course).  Instructors also should be training and eating as an athlete would to keep themselves in condition and stave off injury.

Participants should vary the classes that they take.  Most commercial gyms are helpful in this regard.  They offer high volume weight training classes such as Bodypump, sport conditioning classes such as Bodyattack/Boot Camps, Cardio Classes, and mind/body classes.  Participants should also challenge themselves in classes and not simply go through the motions.

As an instructor and as a gym regular, I see the same people and same instructors in class from year to year and in many cases each year the people and the instructors either look the same or gain more body fat.  If you look at many instructors who teach lots of classes each week, many don’t look like it.  

Teaching Bodypump in 2012

I teach one class a week now and I look far more athletic than when I was actively teaching 9-10 classes per week.  As a matter of fact, as soon as I got involved with Bodybuilding and started letting classes go, my body composition began to change.

Why is this?

Chunky Aerobics Instructor Syndrome 

World Renowned Strength Training Coach Charles Poliquin coined this term because he noticed that aerobics instructors had high levels of body fat despite teaching aerobics classes 3 hours a day.  He found that the body quickly adapted to all of this training and the instructors would maintain high levels of body fat despite training for 3 hours a day which is equivalent to a professional athlete.

Why does this happen?

Your body loves adaptation.  Your body loves to adapt to whatever it is that you’re doing, so that it can be more efficient. This is helpful for muscle memory and performing tasks more easily and efficiently.

However this isn’t the best news when it comes to fat loss.

With adaptation comes the law of diminishing returns.  As I coach my clients, as your conditioning improves and your body ADAPTS to your training

For example

Jane does a Zumba class for 60 minutes and burns 200 calories.  She continues to attend this class for 3 months and she becomes better conditioned and Zumba is starting to get easier.  After 3 months, Jane may not burn 200 calories, she may burn 150 calories because her body has adapted to the training.

I have known Group Fitness Instructors who teach the same class for 150 years.  Is there anything wrong with this?  

No, but their bodies have adapted to that type of training and most aren’t burning nearly as many calories as they think they are because their bodies have ADAPTED to that type of training, but I imagine they are eating the same or more since their bodyweight has begun to climb upwards.

As an instructor I was so frustrated that I was doing all of this working out and gaining weight. I figured the more I did, the more I would lose. Eat less/Move more right?

WRONG!!!!

As soon as I ate more and moved less, my body fat began to drop.

I'm going to keep saying it: DON'T USE TEACHING AS A METHOD OF WEIGHT CONTROL! IT WON'T WORK!!

If you don't believe me, then look around you or look at yourself. You've been doing it for years and things are getting worse. Get off the teaching too much train and try something different.

In my next blog post, I will be discussing some strategies and solutions to get things back on track.