Just an observation....

I've taken Body Pump classes, and classes similar to them. I have taken Boot camps and other weight lifting classes...I have never had a buff instructor. They are all just average. It makes me feel discouraged. With all the classes they teach--and workout along with the classes, why don't these ladies look...how I want to look?? No definition in arms and legs....I see lots of buff ladies on Ripped Goddess, but they don't go into what exactly they do to get so ripped. I am discouraged from taking anymore Body Pump, etc. classes because, if the instructor isn't looking buff by now, then there is a pretty good chance that I won't and that I am just wasting my time:/ Just had to put it out there. Anyone else observe this? I had 2 really buff Zumba instructors--one said she got that way from years of Spinning class. Makes me even more confused:/

I'd just worry the most about yourself. Do you feel your muscles working when you are doing your body pump classes? I'm not sure, but I think body pump classes use weights. Are you using weights that are appropriate for your strength level? Are you getting the right nutrition to build muscle?

When I used to do rugby coaching the best coach I ever came across was a rubbish rugby player - too slow, too small, poor fitness and no great balls skills....
But his job wasn't to be a player - it was to be a coach.

The best and most knowledable PT in my gym looks the most average, he's fit but wouldn't win the "buff body on the beach" award.

The results you get are a mixture of lifestyle, diet, exercise and genetics so there are many "secrets" beyond which class you choose.

When I was a member of Slimming World, our instructor was bigger than everybody, yet she was teaching us about losing weight. Go figure :laugh:

This article add some perspective about those posters/magazine spreads of women's and men's toned bodies we admire;

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-dixon/weight-loss-secrets_b_3643898.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl5|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D348593

I have to continually remind myself when I look at my tiny little bicep that compared to 6 months ago it's a monster. I've worked hard and gotten results and know if I keep going and mixing my workouts up things will keep imrpoving.

As someone in the business I know that this is a common thing. Here's the problem and why you see so many instructors that are overweight/not as fit looking as you would think:

In a commercial gym, if you are an instructor that's how you make your money, unless you become the jack of all trades and work three or four different positions (I've done this, it's time consuming and it leads to burn out faster than you can even believe). Typically the instructor will be paid per class and it's usually to the tune of 20-30 dollars per class (yoga and other specialty classes can pay more) which sounds awesome, but if you're only teaching three classes a week that's only 60-90 dollars a week, which will NOT pay the bills if you're relying on this job for all your income. So, in order to make more money you pick up more classes.... I used to teach two or three back to back classes, or two or three classes within a day (5:30am, 9:00am, and a 5:30pm for example). The problem with this is 1) you're doing the same sort of exercise i.e. Zumba, BodyPump etc. over and over again which makes the exercise less effective calorie burners the more you do them (variety is the spice of life after all). 2) this can lead to overtraining- you become fatigued, start to lose muscle mass, try to keep up with the demands by eating more or drinking caffenated beverages.

The other problem that I've seen in many many instructors is that their class is the only thing that they do for exercise. Granted the workouts are good, but if you do the same thing every week day in and day out you'll plateau. Many times when we teach three classes in a day we're flippin tired and the thought of squeezing yet ANOTHER workout into the day is laughable. Eventually extra workouts get put to the side and you'll start to notice weight gain.

I've always been very aware of these problems and have always made sure to get my own workouts in on my own time so I can continue to see results and avoid weight gain. Although I enjoy many different kinds of exercise and have a hard time balancing things and fitting in everything that I'd like to do... but that's a whole different topic.

The last part of the puzzle is whether your group exercise director cares about your body and your health, or if it's more important to fill the spot with the class. My personal experience was the latter at a gym that I used to work at. There was a lot of pressure to cover classes when they needed a sub. My favorite was when I was already teaching two back to back classes (BodyPump and Zumba... both high impact, high energy classes) and the manager said to me, "well, you're already going to be here, couldn't you just teach the Butts and guts class too?" Nevermind the fact that I was already teaching two classes, had been in school all day and had subbed a class that morning at 5:15am.

So hopefully this sheds some light on your question.

Most of my yoga instructors are exquisite specimens. The other classes I take, much less so. There are a few exceptions. Of course I've seen doctors that smoke and nurses who are overweight so there's that. The main issue is can they teach well.

Also, keep in mind exercise is the key to fitness, nutrition is the key to weight loss. No telling what folks are doing the other 23 hours that they're not teaching class.