Exercise groups - big con

[footpainhell]

I'm getting so fed up of these stupid exercise groups that keep popping up in my area.

They are marketed towards mums usually - buggy friendly classes. They are usually free to attend.

Some are boot camp style classes.

I'm not totally sure the leaders have any qualifications.

Anyway here's the catch, every single one of them the leader will post lots of positive posts on Facebook and you guessed it... are selling Herbalife or similar when you dig a little deeper.

There are literally hundreds of them round my way.

Aibu to ask what qualifications these people have to teach group fitness? It's all a con right? To get your details so they can sell u some crap supplement.

No, you can ask them. I have to show my certifications any time I go for a gym job, and I would never be offended if an outside client asked me. If they are not certified, they're most likely not insured, which is a big deal.

(and no, tons of exercise groups are not even remotely cons, and I'm sure most of the instructors are qualified, it might just be your area)

I knew you would be talking about Herbalife! Such bloody con artists the lot of them!

You need to be certified to do run a fitness class. It’s a year (September to June) long course and includes work experience. My son is doing it next year and another year to be certified as a personal trainer.

An exercise class will need insurance, and if marketing to a particular demographic e.g. new mums, appropriate training for the needs of that group. For a licenced class such as Zumba, the minimal training is doing the training for that franchise, but many instructor will have significantly more detailed sports/ anatomical training behind them.

Buggy fitness is a popular concept because it overcomes the hindrance of childcare while exercising for a group that has a significant desire to get back to fitness.

Not charging beyond taster sessions sounds odd. At the one I went, there is occasionally some support for "mumpreneur" type businesses, some totally legit, some aloe type stuff, and if you're not interested, you just shuffle off afterwards. If some of these come and go purely to sell rubbish MLM type stuff, then they may well not have the training, insurance or even permission to use public spaces that they need. My instructor has to pay "rent" to the council and submit risk assessmements.

Certainly not all classes are dodgy though!

Herbalife can sooooo do one.

There used to be loads of these in my area. But the local personal trainers/boot camps got really annoyed and started pointing out to everyone they were not qualified trainers. The reason they don't charge for classes is because they are not qualified or insured. And all were associated with Herbalife and the like so to get your free classes you also had to be subjected to the selling and marketing they do.

It's really dangerous as not being qualified personal trainers/gym instructors can do all kinds of damage.