Aggressive Instructors

[YourFace]

My usual gym has closed it 's classes for the next 2,weeks, so I went to a new leisure centre last night. I go spinning all the time and am pretty good at it.

Instructor last night (young female, i'm 44), kept shouting things out like....you don't stop or you don't sit down until I say...in an army major style. It wasn't aimed at me...or anyone really, but I find that shit so annoying. The class was crap anyway, but even so, the child inside me wanted to stick two fingers up and sit down, though physically I didn't need to.

My usual instructors put together really clear, all over body workouts, never shout but do encourage. I've come on loads, really thrived.

I just don't get the boot camp style. I'm going to body conditioning shortly. I'm not as good at that, if they start shouting shit like that, it would make me want to give up.

Does anyone find this sort of style effective? Why do they do it? It seems so silly.

it doesn't work for me, either. maybe you can laugh at them?

Some people respond positively to this sort of motivation. Some are like you (and me.)

It's lazy poor instructors, the good ones don't need to behave like that

I personally hate the rah rah cheerleaders. "You can do it!" Fuck off.

Horses for courses innit?

"Awesome guys!"

Doesn't work for me! I don't go to a class to be yelled at even if it is "in a group!"

I'd personally just not go back for that timescale and maybe find another gym nearby.

I remember with fondness my kickboxing instructor shouting, "it's not fucking boxercise" when we weren't up to his standards. Happy days.

I quite like the boot camp style and things like British Military Fitness are v. popular so I cant be alone. However, I think as with all training "styles", some pull it off better than others. Some can't pull off the "basic training" style whilst others cant do the "believe, achieve" style. It's also about balance- the BMF stuff is very "2 ranks, 2 files- too slow, everyone run round that tree and back" but they're not actually going to stomp your face into clapham common if you fail a push up

I love it. Boot camp style or just trainers making you work hard.

But if it doesn't work for you then that's it. If somebody were to tell me 'yes, you can do it. I believe in you. Just a bit more' I'd probably be super irritated. But that's just me.

High Five!!!

I went to an insanity class who had an instructor like this, it was so bloody hard I went so red I thought my head would pop off, I was with my cousin and she looked at me and we started to giggle at how red I was, the instructor shouted at us that if we could laugh we were not working hard enough! I was tempted to shout can you not see I'm about to keel over from a heart attack, never went back

Yes I do. I love it. Makes me dig in deep and push harder.

Just because it doesn't work for you, doesn't mean you should knock it.

I'm terrible with either style!

Bootcamp just makes me feel like a petulant teen wanting to nip behind the bike shed for a cig, the 'yay! Go you!' style makes me feel like I'm a five year old learning to tie my shoelaces.

Id like a class where they just told you what to do nicely, corrected you nicely if you were doing it wrong and didn't have shit 1990s techno music playing constantly.

I love boot camp.

When I was a teen my trainer made us run until we vomited, wouldn't want it like that.

But somebody screaming at me? Idk. It just activates some kind of hidden reserve in me. Loud music with a beat is also great.

But I can't do yoga. It's not that I dislike the mediation aspect. I actually do meditate.

But yoga makes me so aggressive and restless. It makes me want to scream or put a fist through a wall...😕🙈🙈

I guess it must work for many, or they wouldn't do it. I went back to the same class and she shouted the same commands at the same point of the routine, which suggests a lack of imagination.

My usual class instructors behave exactly as clashcity suggests she would like. I find it really effective. I suppose I go to classes with the view that I am going to try my hardest, without being sick anyway, as I just don't want to waste my time going. I find being in a class motivating, as I'll look at who is doing the best and think if they can do it, so can I.

I have been to military boot camps. I don't remember either instructor shouting at us. I did an 8 week programme. The guy was also a boxing coach. I remember feeling scared before the first one, that I would be screamed at/humiliated if I didn't keep up, but they just didn't do that at all. They did do lots of telling you what the benefits of how different activities would be and that was helpful to me, as I would think I wouldn't get them, if I did do it right/try hard.

Maybe it depends on your fight or flight response? If someone shouts at me, I want to run away but many people will fight, so perhaps for those people a shouty instructor is the best kind.

I'm with you op! I love gym classes and boot camp ones, but I prefer it if instructors inject a bit of humour / positivity into things rather than just barking instructions. Horses for course I guess though.

I was in actual boot camp. They did scream and humiliate.

I would only do pushups when they were watching. As soon as they turned their backs, I'd stay on the floor, watching for them to turn back around.

I quit karate classes as a teenager because the club got a new instructor who was like this. I had no problem with the club being serious/disciplined, but shouty people putting me down is extremely demotivating. I have a physical disability which affects my co-ordination so I'm never going to excel at physical activity, but someone shouting 'you aren't trying hard enough' or 'even the beginners are better than you' just makes things worse. To be fair, the comments were directed at a group of us and not me personally, but it still wasn't okay. The previous instructor had been very encouraging of everyone.

I've never taken an exercise class as an adult but if I ever did, I definitely wouldn't put up with anything like you describe in the OP!