To think this gym instructor is a bit of a prat

[BlowDryRat]

I go to various exercise classes at my local gym: spin, yoga, Body Combat, Body Pump etc. I've been going along to a new Body Pump class but I'm thinking of stopping because I don't like the instructor.

He seems to hate people putting equipment away between tracks while others are getting a drink/changing weights. This means that he mixes up the tracks from different Body Pump releases so no one knows what equipment they'll need for each track until he tells them. This is fair enough, but:

• He doesn't use a mic and the music is really loud, so I can't hear him even if I'm at the front.
• He randomly stops doing the moves midway through a set, leaving us to carry on on our own. If you're not familiar with Body Pump, it's weight-lifting to music so there are different moves and combinations all the way through a track. It's very quick and easy to get lost if you're not familiar with the track.
• He laughs at and mocks people who get it wrong, pulling "dumb" faces at them.

If you're going to make people guess what to do then it's inevitable that they'll occasionally get it wrong. I just don't like being left to guess, especially when I get mocked if I don't guess right.

He has a core of groupies who have been going for a while and they have good banter, but as an incomer I find his style pretty poor.

YANBU: He's a prat.
YABU: Instructors shouldn't need to baby everyone and you should pay better attention.

Prat

Erm... stop going?

In my BodyPump class we have a strict rule about not putting equipment away during the class. Apparently someone managed to drop a weight on someone once!

That's what I said I was thinking of doing. I like Body Pump and have had classes with a range of instructors, each with their own style, but think this guy is actively poor. It's a shame though as this classes fits perfectly with my only evening free from driving the DC to their clubs.

He laughs at and mocks people who get it wrong, pulling "dumb" faces at them.

he's a prat and I would complain to the gym

I think that's fair. It would be fine if he told everyone not to do it, or to continue to mix up the releases. It's just the expectation that people should magically know what to do on tracks they're not used to that is a bit pants.

That's why I hated Body Pump though, all that faffing about with equipment. I would hate someone mocking me.

I wouldn't go his class twice. He sounds a prize prat.

I'd complain to the gym if he's mocking people - that's going to hit their class numbers and deter people from going.

It annoys me when people put things away mid class. Mainly because they inevitably haven't finished doing it before the next track starts, and I object to people carrying heavy weights over my head whilst I'm lying on the bench!

YANBU to not like him. YABU to expect to like all exercise instructors. The whole point is that different instructors appeal to different people.

So the solution would be
a) announce at the beginning of the class what to do/not do

Or

b) chop and change tracks randomly and mock people

I’d complain to the gym about them not supplying a mic/batteries however if this isn’t the case then contact Les Mills and make a complaint to them about the individual.

Putting equipment away during tracks is really annoying, dangerous and very rarely helps the class finish in 55 mins. He may have had enough with the attitude of class members and handling it badly by mocking them.

The gym doesn't supply a mic to any of the instructors. Everyone else brings their own, except for quiet classes like yoga. It's a big gym with multiple sites.

I wouldn’t go anywhere near an instructor who mocks people…

I've been doing pump for 20 years, I'd contact Les Mills. You need a good instructor for pump, someone who will correct technique and support you. You're paying for this.

Well, quite. If it was a smile with eye contact to acknowledge that I'd cocked up and it was ok, that would be fine. It's more "FFS" in tone though, e.g. sticking his tongue under his bottom lip, dropping his weights loudly, shaking his head etc. It comes across to me as aggressive and unpleasant.

Complaining to Les Mills sounds a bit drastic.

He sounds massively unprofessional. I’d complain to the gym first, rather than Les Mills.

DH is a gym instructor. This guy doesn't sound like my kind of guy (or DH's), but I do know that they are constantly trying to balance the needs of all the punters. The one who is putting stuff away is irritating the others, who will then complain afterwards. especially annoying if the instructor has said upfront not to do it.

Pick a class with an instructor you like. I went to a Zumba class - the teacher is very nice, very popular. I couldn't even get through the warm up. She was NOT my teacher!

That's probably not the only reason he mixes the tracks btw. If you're teaching multiple classes a week it's incredibly boring for the instructor teaching the same release of 10 tracks or whatever every class for 12 weeks. Most LM instructors I know and the ones in the instructor groups I'm in teach the new release for a few weeks and then mix in old tracks (for all the LM concepts, not just pump).

He does sound like a bit of a dick, but does he only do the mocking thing at his regulars, or at new people too?

He’s the very reason why lots of women are too anxious to try exercise classes. The fear they will be mocked. I do one to one and group training sessions and both the male trainers I work with are so supportive and encouraging, even when I cock up a set I’ve been shown 1000 times. If they ever mocked me I’d be gone, and probably put off forever.

He does sound like a bit of a dick, but does he only do the mocking thing at his regulars, or at new people too?

Everyone, although the regulars get it more.

I think I'll stop going and pop a note in the suggestions box to say why. Any ideas on how to word it so it's not too savage?

Making fun of people for get it wrong = prat

But I’ve never been to a body pump class where people put equipment away between tracks and quite honestly it would piss me off. You just get your weights and bar ready at the beginning and put it away at the end.

Really???

Yanbu. IME body pump teachers can be really shit. Almost all of them I've dealt with are crap at welcoming new people and let them struggle. Don't tell someone to whack their weights up when they haven't got a clue about correct form or the routine. The music is shit too. I only tolerate it as it does me good and I've done it for 20yrs. I swear I could do better than some of the teachers.