Spin Teaching...tips, any regrets?

[velogirl]

You also have to remember that in terms of a fitness career- its a very physcially demanding job - and you have to think of what you will do (or may want to do or what your BODY will want to do) after working 5, 10 20 years...My good friend after 25 years of teaching cardio, has had a hip replacement. She loves what she does, would never give it up, but over time, this is what has happened to her body. she has been doing this FULL TIME for 25 years. This is different than taking on a couple of classes a week.

Han

Han, is there really a causal relationship there? My dear father had a hip replacement. He never did anything close to fitness in his life. So can I say that not taking a fitness class caused him to have a hip replacement? No, just like you can't say that your friend's hip replacement was caused by 25 years of fitness instructing.

If you are a good instructor/trainer/coach, you will take precautions to ensure that you don't damage your body (or your ears from the music). I know folks who have worked in the fitness industry for decades and they are fit and healthy.

Don't let the fear of long-term effects dissuade you from becoming a fitness professional. I think most would agree that the potential positive benefits far outweigh the negative impact.

Lorri

[han-grrl]

Actually, yes the hip injuries were due to years of teaching. But that's her body, and every body is different and will react differently. Even my body screamed for me to stop last year, with a ruptured ulcer. And i thought i was doing everything right. I didn't realize how hard I was pushing myself.

Don't get me wrong - I love teaching and training my clients, its absolutely rewarding. I am playing a bit of devil's advocate. I saw many people in my classes start the program (fitness and lifestyle management) because they love exercising and wanted to make a career out of it. I saw many of them not continue because the reality is as a fitness professional you have to create your own work. Its absolutely amazing when the work comes in, but it doesn't just fall into your lap. You need to take some crappy jobs sometimes to get some experience. Many of them found out that the world doesn't like to exercise as much as they do. That can be A LOT of negativity. I've heard my share of whining and complaining about exercise. But then you get the amazing clients - like the one I saw last week. Dropped 10% body fat, is leaner, doesn't suffer from back pain any more and is so happy she called me in the fall. An amazing feeling. Or the client that sends me a thank you note for helping her. It made me cry!

So the point is - a career in fitness is very fun and rewarding - your helping people get healthy - i mean what an awesome job - but there are aspects, like impacts to your health both physical and mental that can be challenging.

Be well
Han

[tulip]

I heard a radio program fairly recently about several gung-ho aerobics instructors who started in the 80s with the really high-impact aerobics (and shiny tights and legwarmers, no doubt), and kept doing it for hours every day, day in and day out over the ensuing decades. Frankly, they all seemed rather obsessive about it, not cross training, not taking breaks, doing it for 4 hours a day and more. Each of them have severe hip injuries, and some have had hip replacements. They are in their 40s and 50s now, way too young for that kind of procedure in an otherwise healthy and active person. Some are still bouncing around!

Bear in mind that aerobics have changed considerably over the past 25+ years. We used to do them on hard concrete floors in poorly-designed shoes with the belief that the higher we jumped (and jumped and jumped), the more in-shape we would get. Instructors were rarely trained in anatomy and physiology, something I would expect a personal trainer to be conversant in.

From an outsider's perspective, it seems like the fitness industry has evolved considerably. That's positive for the rest of us who rely on all y'all to help us get in and stay in shape, avoid injury, and get healthier. Thanks so much for all you do!

[velogirl]

I guess my question is this. Neither Han's friend nor Tulip's story are scientific control group studies -- they are anecdotal. Would Han's friend or the step instructors have had a hip replacement if they chose a different line of work? We don't know that.

Just because someone is a fitness instructor and they also had a hip replacement doesn't mean that being a fitness instructor caused the need for a hip replacement.

Being overweight can lead to the need for a hip replacement.

Auto-immune disorders (like RA) can lead to the need for a hip replacement.

Childhood injuries can later lead to the need for a hip replacement.

I don't have time to find this (but I bet Zen could). What is the percentage of adults over the age of 50 (or 60 or whatever) who has to have a hip replacement? I bet it's actually pretty high.

[tulip]

I guess my question is this. Neither Han's friend nor Tulip's story are scientific control group studies -- they are anecdotal. Would Han's friend or the step instructors have had a hip replacement if they chose a different line of work? We don't know that...

Anecdotal evidence can be quite valuable. These people are in their 40s (that's young, BTW), healthy except for their obsessive exercise behaviors over decades (like hours a day, every single day, no rest days--fitness instructors these days would not encourage this), no RA, not overweight (perhaps underweight). I would wager that experts here and elsewhere would agree that the methods used in the 80s--high impact routines with poor equipment, inadequate training and rest over decades--can also cause joint problems. Hell, I can't even run on a regular basis because of shinsplints, so I ride a bike and I swim when I can find a pool. Lots of people who do high impact sports have to ease up after years and decades of such impact--runners, basketball players, tennis players, iceskaters...Would their knees go out if they didn't play sports? We don't know.

I would add to Velo's list that obsessive, repetitive exercise over decades can also lead to physical problems. I don't think anyone here is blasting fitness instructors, far from it. Han is a fitness instructor. But we know alot more now than we did when the aerobics dance craze was going on. And thank goodness there are those of you out there who do know better and can instruct the rest of us on the right way to do things--on both ends of the scale.

[Crankin]

A most interesting conversation that mirrors my experience in the fitness world. I was one of those obsessive instructors in the eighties, leg warmers and all. Thankfully, I rarely did more than one class a day, I lifted weights, and I always took one day a week off. And, I was certified, in the first group of people who were certified by ACE. But before my gym put in the wood floor, I had horrible shin splints and plantar fasciitis. I also developed a bunion that is screaming to be fixed now. I taught for about ten years and got really burned out. During the time I was teaching, I weighed 90-95 pounds and was constantly being questioned about eating disorders. It was just over exercise and I was try to compete with the college aged girls I was working with (I was in my thirties).
What I found was the clients mirrored the kids I had in class in middle school. Some were grateful and appreciative, some seemed bored, and some complained all of the time. I was going to take the ACE personal training exam, but after really looking at the conditions of working in a gym, I've decided to go another route. I'm applying to a grad program in clinical mental health counseling; the program I will be doing is holistically oriented, stressing the mind body connection. I hope to work with people with eating and exercise issues, but not directly doing the training.

[han-grrl]

I'm not saying that being a fitness instructor will eventually require hip replacing. I said that is what happened to my friend. What I have seen is that teaching for a long time, does lead to injuries, no matter how much you try to avoid them. Good flooring, good shoes, yes they help, but over time, teaching 4,5,6 classes a day, which I know some people do, standing all day long. Yes that does play a role in fatiguing the body. and it isn't always obvious right away. Until suddenly something major happens, i have heard of perfectly healthy trainers suddenly throwing out their backs or trying to teach with a taped up sprained ankle, because if they don't teach, they don't get paid. There are no sick days with this job. Because we work on contract, and like i said, no sick days. So it can get hard.

Anyway, enough. Do i have any regrets being an instructor. none. i love it. I have learned a lot about running my business, the industry, i have met wonderful people, and have had wonderful mentors - which i do recommend, find yourself a mentor to help you through this process.