I went to the gym on Wednesday, looking forward to returning to Spin class after a week off. After a lot of trial and error I’ve found a good teacher and a good class that I really enjoy. I was surprised when I went into the Spin room to find a substitute teacher. Boo. I tried not to be too negative about it, despite the fact that the sub looked like a Barbie doll and was wearing full makeup (even blush). My first thought was “dammit, I’m totally not going to get a good work out tonight.” This was not the case, as I soon realized.
Barbie (I have no idea what her name was) basically skipped the warm-up period and immediately instructed us to set the resistance at “8 out of 10.” Seriously? I did as instructed but it was probably more like a 7 out of 10 for me (I was worried about aggravating my knee). Barbie proceeded to bark at us to increase the resistance about every 20 seconds or so until we were essentially biking up a mountain.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to sweat and I love a challenge AND I place value on my workouts depending on how many calories I burn but……this chick was intense. Despite her wildly unrealistic expectations of our abilities, the workout itself was pretty good. We did a very fast interval routine of VERY challenging standing climbs then back in the saddle for about 30 seconds, then back up standing again. I LIKE those types of routines but this chick was nuts!
She said things like “Let’s get our heart rates to 205!” And then she went on a long rambling tangent about how if we were older than her (“like over 40”) than we shouldn’t do 205 but that she “wasn’t 40.” Um, okay. Then she told us that we needed to challenge ourselves to do “15 out of 10” in resistance. Eventually I ignored her recommendations and just did the routine but at a resistance I knew would not cripple me the next day (it’s important to tailor your workouts to your own abilities and know your body). My heart rate was steady in the 160’s –which is pretty high for me.
Like I said, I liked part of the workout and I love being challenged. I feel like the instructor was a little….off. Her tone was super grating. I would use the word “shrill.” She reminded of me of Parker Posey’s character in the movie “Dazed and Confused.” Remember her yelling at the freshman in a shrill, shrieking voice? Yeah….
The sub instructor reminded me of her. Her tone was really off-putting and I found that it annoyed me as the class went on. She would bark things like:
“COME ON!” shrill
“GO! GO! GO!” shriek!
“You can go FASTER THAN THAT! PUSH IT!” meow!!
I don’t think I am adequately illustrating just how “whiney/nagging girlfriend” her tone of voice was. Instead of being encouraging or inspiring, I found that it was obnoxious and I was just begging for the class to be over with. I didn’t feel positive about her or my time spent there–even though I burned a crapload of calories.
After class I asked another gym-goer what she thought of the substitute. The girl was super nice and she just laughed and said, “Um…she’s not the worst I’ve ever had but….” Yeah….
Oh well. They can’t all be naturals, I guess. If I had any words of wisdom for Barbie, I’d say tone is everything. Less nagging/shrieking girlfriend and more cheerleader “you can do it!” She had a good base but needed to tweak the workout to fit the abilities of the people in the class. Oh, and warm-ups are nice. 😛
Gym Stats:
Time: 1:30
Calories Burned: 704
(Those numbers include about 100 calories from running 1 mile on the treadmill and doing ab workouts.) When I got home, sweaty and sore, Michael was preparing a feast for dinner! I don’t know what inspired him to do so, but dinner rocked. He made French Onion soup from scratch (healthified by skipping the bread and only using 1 slice of Swiss cheese for 70 calories).
And we split a cut of steak. I added some raw broccoli and Light Ranch dressing to mine because I was so hungry I felt like I could eat everything in sight.
I made it through the day without eating ANY candy from the Candy Room at work and was feeling really positive about breaking my habit. 3 days in a row, go me! For dessert at home I had one serving (200 calories) of chocolate. It was from the giant chocolate bar that Michael got me for my birthday. 🙂
It hit the spot and was the perfect amount of dessert. I savored every single bite and still had about 200 calories left for my day.
QUESTION: Have you had negative experiences with fitness instructors? Did you leave the class? Stay and suffer?
Sarah
Wow, I’m picturing your experience in my head and wondering how she was even certified to instruct anyone!
I have to click with the instructor to really enjoy a class and want to go back. I had a yoga instructor earlier this year, who was okay, until he started trying to get me to take a small piece of carrot cake after yoga class (EVERY CLASS!) and made me feel guilty about it. I started just taking it and throwing it in the bushes when I was out of sight. It was completely ridiculous so I just decided to find another class I could actually enjoy without fear of carrot cake being foisted upon me.
Lisa Eirene
Wow! That is so bad. I would have a huge problem with a good pusher at a fitness class! Glad you found something else!
Amber
When I used to do spin classes I remember the instructor would make or break a class! I had an amazing instructor in my old city that I just loved and would go to her classes 3-4 times per week (this was before I started running). I’ve never had a spin instructor as good as she is so I’ve kind of dropped off of going and do most of my spinning at home now that we got a spin bike!
Lisa Eirene
Good instructors make or break a class for me!
Lauren @ Sassy Molassy
Yikes, she sounds just a wee bit insane. I’m often disappointed when a sub shows up for class because it just throws you off and the class isn’t what you expected. I really dislike when instructors act like they are trying to dominate you because hello, that is not the point. The point is to maybe push you, instruct well and inspire the class to keep going. Your dinner looks tasty.
Lisa Eirene
Domination is not the point, or belittling! It should be encouraging!
Carly D. @ CarlyBananas
The only class I’ve ever walked out of was a bad spin class. The instructor didn’t do a warm up, started with standing sprints and basically kept us standing for the first 10 minutes of class. I thought my legs were going to break from the strain. She also said anyone with their resistance below 10 was LAZY. That was it for me. I totally walked out. And the instructor made a snarky comment as I was leaving.
Lisa Eirene
That is AWFUL. Did you report her to the gym?
Karen@WaistingTime
Yes. And I’ve always just sucked it up and stayed. I don’t have the balls to walk out!
Lisa Eirene
The only reason I didn’t walk out is because I didn’t want to have to suck it up and make my own workout! 🙂
Lisa
Was she serious about the 205 heart rate?! I think the highest I’ve ever seen on my monitor was like 193, and I thought I was going to die. I’m with you, I definitely want to be encouraged and not just yelled at and made to feel like I’m not doing enough.
Lisa Eirene
YES she was serious about 205! I was shocked. I didn’t think that was a good thing for a lot of the people that were in that class.
Lori
I have never taken an exercise class before. I kind of wanted to try some, but the times never worked out for me. The gym I am at now doesn’t offer classes, but that is fine by me because it is only $99 for the year!
Lisa Eirene
Wow! $99 a year is AWESOME.
Katie Squires
Yikes, she sounds pretty awful. Can’t say I like that she seemed a little insulting and perhaps not safe…there is a reason for warming up. (you can certainly handle it, but perhaps other’s in the class needed that)
But you did get a great workout and killed it!
I am guilty of leaving class…I take a friday yoga class and its already a mind game for me because you don’t burn many cal’s…I have to tell myself there is a healthy purpose to the yoga beyond calorie burn 🙂 So one day when the usual instructor was replaced with another one who is famous for her slow and gentle approach I left…I didn’t feel like I was getting anything from it and could use my time better in the gym.
I felt guilty after, rude, perhaps I should of stuck it out and challenged my mind to do that workout 🙂
Lisa Eirene
I’m totally with you, Katie. I know that yoga is good for me and that I definitely NEED it (especially as a runner) but it’s SO hard to make myself do it. I have to be in pretty bad shape to go to yoga. I’ve also been known to leave a yoga class early because I’d gotten enough stretching out of it and wanted to go.