Overweight fitness instructors

VelveteenArabian

Does it turn you off from a class to see that the instructor is overweight or obese? Speaking about group fitness.

On a message board I'm on, there are a lot of instructors complaining they can't get work because they're overweight and should be given a chance because they can "bring it" as well as anyone else.

Am I mistaken in that:

- it turns people off to see a heavy fitness instructor, which makes them avoid the class which makes gyms unhappy
- the instructor is believed to be working out extra to practice so it looks bad for the format to have an overweight instructor (admittedly I would question if the format is effective at improving fitness or helping with weightloss)


Sure anyone can lead someone else through a rigorous workout but isnt there's more to it than what the instructor can tell you to do? All of my instructors are skinnier than me (not a difficult achievement there, LOL) so I've never had firsthand experience with this.

markrichtsspraytan

Personally I wouldn't like taking a class with an overweight instructor for a few reasons. If they are very overweight, it may be difficult to see the proper form with which you are doing something. This would be especially true in a class like yoga where it's more important to see how the instructor is positioned. It also does not represent the workout in a positive way. If the instructor is overweight but experienced enough with the workout to lead it, then he or she has not seen results after a long time. It might be because of their eating habits, but you don't know that, and it may reflect negatively on the efficacy of the workout.

Many people also want to see their instructor as inspiration and a goal to work towards. In high school, by biology teacher had a PhD in the subject, but my chemistry teacher knew just the basics and could barely answer anything beyond what the textbook said. Which one do you think people respected more and were more willing to learn from? The biology teacher of course. Similarly, if you have a fit fitness instructor, people will be more likely to listen to them and learn from them.

As a final note, it may be distracting to some people to have an overweight instructor, but that is neither here nor there. I suppose some might think it would be equally distracting to have a very attractive instructor or one with odd hair color, etc.

rosebette

I belong to a Y which caters to a wide variety of ages, sizes, and levels of fitness. There is one strength training instructor who is somewhat overweight, but she was obese a few years ago and lost a lot of weight and gained a lot of muscle. She is very strong and one of the toughest instructors. I find her inspirational to many members because she really worked hard to get the body she has, even if she doesn't look like Jillian Michaels. There is also an extremely overweight yoga instructor who is incredibly flexible and graceful.

ElliottTN

Kinda like going to a dentist that has bad teeth? Maybe like asking a fat doctor about weight loss?

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

It makes no difference to me. I have met many overweigh fitness instructors who have superior endurance and strength compared to me, so I learn from them.

ShibaEars

If this was asked a couple years ago, I would have said yes, it is a turn off to see an overweight instructor.

There is a female trainer at my gym who I would say is at least 50+ lbs overweight. I've done a couple of her spin classes though, and let me tell you, she is a machine! I know she's doing high resistance, and has lots of hill climbs & sprints thrown in and never sounds winded. I haven't worked with her one on one, but I think she does power lifting with her clients.

If I walked into a class now and the instructor was overweight, I might be a bit dubious, but I would give him/her a chance. They might really know their stuff and have a good fitness level. Maybe, like me, their diet just isn't where it should be. If I like the class and can push myself to get a good workout, how they look doesn't really matter. I've done other classes with "in shape" instructors and they were awful classes.

summertime_girl

Personally, it says to me that the trainers can't even get fit with their workouts. How do they expect participants to get fit? Nope, no overweight trainers.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Yes, it's definitely an industry where first impressions are important and before we even know someone's ability, the natural thing is to judge on appearance (right or wrong). Like someone else mentioned, it would be like seeing a dentist with bad teeth. That being said, now that I understand that being thin does not necessarily equal being healthy or fit, my attitude on this has changed.

Edited for comprehension

cwolfman13

I have yet to figure out what gyms these are that people are going to...I have never seen an obese group fitness instructor...and none of the trainers at any of the three gyms I've been in over the last couple of years have looked particularly out of shape or anything. There was one strength coach at my previous gym who wasn't super lean, but well within a healthy BF%...but he was also a power-lifting/strength coach and wasn't so much concerned with 10% BF and all that. One of the PTs at my current gym is sitting right around 17% right now, but he's at the end of a bulk cycle..

I don't know...maybe people are just going to ****ty gyms or something.

p_emmel5

Turn off from taking the class? No.... but unfortunately I have a personal bias that would set the bar so much higher for them, than a fit instructor, that they may never be able to obtain it. My bad I know, but if I am eating right and working out I expect the same thing from the "fitness" instructor leading the way. True there are large folks, like ShibaEars mentioned, that can flat out bring it but in my very limited experience they are few and far between.

Strength coaches are an entirely different matter. Some of those big ol folks can throw iron around better than a forklift.

dbmata

Kinda like going to a dentist that has bad teeth? Maybe like asking a fat doctor about weight loss?

You live in a town with two dentists.
One has good teeth, the other has bad teeth. Which one do you go to?

dbmata

I guess it would depend on the "fitness".

Jazzercise, zumba, tae-bo... stuff like that, yeah, not going to listen to an overweight instructor.

Lifting, powerlifting... I'll listen to anyone with legit credentials, training, and proven history.

h7463

IMHO, it all depends on what you are training for, as long as the instructor is competent, knowledgeable, certified, experienced....
I have trained track and field before, and there are no skinny rails in shot put...., 100m dash on the other hand....
A previous poster mentioned an overweight swimmer. My first PE teacher in swimming was VERY heavy, but she swam like a fish, and she had enough endurance to drag our a$$es across the pool and back, just to make a point...so you never know....
If I'd be handing over a lot of money to a trainer to get me into a bodybuilding/bikini/figure/physique competition, she'd better have a few decent competition pictures to show for herself...but I still don't expect her to be as skinny while she trains me...after all, she'll have to eat to keep her own muscles.....

nilbogger

Assuming there are other benefits to exercise besides getting thin.... no, I wouldn't be turned off by an overweight instructor.

jambo101

Personally, it says to me that the trainers can't even get fit with their workouts. How do they expect participants to get fit? Nope, no overweight trainers.

Perhaps the particular overweight trainer was in the past twice the size and due to healthy lifestyle change is now fit enough to be a trainer.

bigblondewolf

I honestly think it depends on the workout. For a cardio-based exercise, I'd probably question whether or not the workout was any good if they were doing it on a regular basis and weren't seeing any results. But for weight training I would probably overlook the extra weight as strange as that sounds.

JackieLivingHealthy

What if these trainers have medical issues that prevent them from losing weight easily? PCOS, thyroid, etc? You never know what is going on in a person's life.

No_Finish_Line

I was watching one of those extream weight loss shows and they coaches were going to get certified to be a zumba instructor.

All it took to get certified was one class. You can't really tell from tv, but it basically looked like she attended a zumba class just like any person going to the gym and right away they have thier cridentials


if thats all it really takes to be an instructor, then there is a real chance that if that instructor is over weight, they may not really know more about fitness then you do.

I guess it depends on the class. if its zumba, who really cares, your probably not going to hurt yourself and all they really have to do is take you through the work out.

if its a class with weights or plyo where form matters, i'd beware of those that don't look like they know what they are doing.

ninerbuff

Personally I wouldn't like taking a class with an overweight instructor for a few reasons. If they are very overweight, it may be difficult to see the proper form with which you are doing something. This would be especially true in a class like yoga where it's more important to see how the instructor is positioned. It also does not represent the workout in a positive way. If the instructor is overweight but experienced enough with the workout to lead it, then he or she has not seen results after a long time. It might be because of their eating habits, but you don't know that, and it may reflect negatively on the efficacy of the workout.

Many people also want to see their instructor as inspiration and a goal to work towards. In high school, by biology teacher had a PhD in the subject, but my chemistry teacher knew just the basics and could barely answer anything beyond what the textbook said. Which one do you think people respected more and were more willing to learn from? The biology teacher of course. Similarly, if you have a fit fitness instructor, people will be more likely to listen to them and learn from them.

As a final note, it may be distracting to some people to have an overweight instructor, but that is neither here nor there. I suppose some might think it would be equally distracting to have a very attractive instructor or one with odd hair color, etc.

So a powerlifting or strength instructor should only be lean a ripped? Personally I'm a bit overweight right now (by about 15lbs) but am much more respected and have a sales numbers than many of our younger and more fit trainers. Why? Because I get results for my clients.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Raynne413

As long as the class is fun, I don't care if the instructor is heavier. If it is something like Zumba, I don't expect my instructors to be experts in nutrition or fitness, I just expect them to lead the class and make it fun.

Now, if it is involving weights, I want them to be informed enough to be able to correct bad form and keep me from getting hurt. LOL