Dear DM,
How is it that my Bodyjam Instructor at my gym is slightly on the chubby side? Then there was another Bodypump instructor (she’s no longer in the country now) who looked like a walking pork chop. With the amount of exercise they get (multiple classes per day), shouldn’t they have a fantastic body? That makes me wonder… am I wasting my time with these classes?
BodyJammed
Even the King of Twist wasn't chubby
Dear BodyJammed - I love your nickname. :-)
Firsty- I’ve never really been a fan of group exercises classes, but that’s just me. I’ve always been someone who has lousy hand-eye-leg coordination - so having me in a group exercise class would mean certain disaster.
Group exercise, ‘Group X’, or ‘GX’ as they are sometimes called - are a fantastic way to make your workouts FUN. And we all know that when something is fun to do - we end up sticking to it, and eventually forming a habit. GX classes are also a great way to ‘force’ you to be doing your exercise long enough (as compared to being on a treadmill, where you may get bored after 20 minutes and call it quits).
So why doesn’t your instructor look as good as she’s SUPPOSED to be?
In fact, this same problem exists among many personal trainers too. I’ve seen clients who look fitter than their trainers - and the same can be said for those in a group exercise class.
Why?
Well, I’m 99% convinced that the problem lies in what he/she eats. Unbalanced meals, poor meal timing, breakfast skipping, and the typical Malaysian’s dilemma of ‘Mamak Culture‘ all play a role in what you eventually look like. Guys, don’t expect to look like a greek god if you can’t even stomach vegetables, and girls - you won’t get those Jennifer Aniston arms if your diet consists of cookies, chips, and cakes are your primary source of carbohydrates.
In fact, I tell all my clients who train with me that the success of their program really does depend on how much they’re willing to change their eating habits. Be it for weight gain, or weight loss - we are what we eat. Great nutrition is the foundation of a great physique - and when I say ‘nutrition’, I don’t mean stuffing yourself with every vitamin on the shelf, or with hyped-up bodybuilding supplements.
For example, if one were to end up with a lousy Personal Trainer who thinks that Fried Rice + Fried Chicken is an excellent post-workout meal (I actually had a personal trainer from the club which I workout at suggest that to me. In fact, he asked me to have 3 plates of it a day), then chances are high that you are screwed.
Many people lack the knowledge of what simple and good nutrition is - Personal Trainers included… and that is another problem altogether.
Consider the following about our gastrointestinal system:
Did you know, that there are more neurons in the small intestine than in the entire spinal cord? And that it is the only system in the body that has its own, independently operating nervous system, called the enteric nervous system.
Also - there are over 400 species of microbes living in your gut, totaling over 15 pounds of mass and containing more bacteria than there are known stars in the sky.
So if our bodies allocate this many resources to one particular system, it must be important don’t you think? We need to start treating our food intake with care if we wish to see results - weight loss, muscle gain or just general health.
On another note - there ARE GroupX instructors who have awesome physiques as well. Those of you reading this… you know who you are. *wink*
Your friend and coach,
DM
P.s - speaking about chubby instructors, Fitness First is having their annual Miracle 2009 event - see their website for details.
Read also:
{ 1 trackback }
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Could not agree better. When you master your diet (healthy diet), you’re pretty much 50% - 60% there to a good and healthy physique
some of them are on steroids…and think that they are huge. But they are nothing but a bunch of fats on bones.
correct me if i’m wrong, but doing too many classes may probably end up burning more lean muscle than fat, as fat is the ‘last resort’ component that the body will burn. i used to do back-to-back classes from combat, then attack and top that with step and it just doesn’t do a thing. even a les mills instructor in a newspaper interview warned about doing back-to-back classes, which is what instructors end up having to do. i still do classes as i love them but i only limit them to three days in a week.
You can train your body to burn fat as an energy source. A lot of people forgot to take fat into their diet.
By mean of fat, i really meant good fat. oil such as olive, fish…
A lot tend to overeat on bad carb. bearing in mind there are big and huge differences when one eat high GI or low GI carbs.
and no, you don’t need to carbo load if you are just doing classes. I’ve seen gym goer packing up on food before class…
Dear Bodyjammed & DM;
I really can’t help myself when I read DM’s status on FB just now. It is so happen that one of the instructors mentioned in Bodyjammed’s complaint teaches BODYJAM, who really reminds me of my best friend who also teaches BODYJAM and was on the chubby side when she first starting out :)
This dear friend of mine is one of the best Jammer ever known, has awesome dancing techniques & great teaching skills BUT the only problem was, she’s too chubby.
Compared to a naturally skinny person like me (I only gain serious weight when I’m pregnant), being a chubby Jammer was indeed very hard for her. There were cases when some management people didn’t favour her just because her physical size and shape. Sometimes people just loved to abuse her verbally & emotionally just because she’s chubby. She never complaints & she always say this to me, ‘I know I’m fat. So if they wanna call me fat, go ahead and call me fat cause I AM fat!’
But she finally took PT in year 2008 because she realized that one has to look AT LEAST fit & healthy if one is involved in the fitness industry. She’s lost lotsa kgs eversince and looks damn good now. She is still curvy and looks ‘chubby’ in certain bodyparts but she really takes good care of her body now. Her new eating habit is way healthy & different compared to what she normally eats 5 years ago. She is stronger and fitter too. Oh did I mention that she still continues her regular PT sessions up to this date? ;)
What I’m trying to say is, it is preferably for a person to look healthy & fit if he or she is working in fitness industry. I say preferably, NOT complusory. Why? Because I still have friends whom Bodyjammed may labelled as ‘porkchops’ which can do BODYATTACK with a breeze and participate in multiple marathons annually without fail.
All in all, please DO NOT simply label an instructor by the way she or he looks. You’ll be amazed at the level of their fitness & their physical strength actually. I can guarantee Bodyjammed is not half as strong as some the ‘porkchops’ instuctors around. I’m positive that Bodyjammed can’t even execute BODYJAM and BODYATTACK at 100% range of motion rate even when Bodyjammed is so much slimmer than these so-called ‘chubby’ instrcutors.
Question is, why do I feel so offended? Simple. Because I’m a BODYJAM instructor who happen be friends with some ‘chubby’ but competent instructors all over the world. One cannot help but to judge a chubby instructor of course, but try not to be too judgemental up to the point of calling /labelling these people ‘porkchops’. A person may be slim but are is that person REALLY healthy?
Indeed, just because someone is chubby doesn’t mean that she’s not athletic. I remember this chubby girl when I was in high school who could throw mean punches and make powerful highkicks. No surprise she’s a Taekwondo black belt.
However, I have to say that if you are in the fitness industry, and you are making a career out of being a fitness instructor then as shallow as it seems, looking good is a must.
DM’s right. Diet plays an important part; an area I’m sorely lacking right now.
Eric - in that case, I guess one needs to know where to draw the line.
stupe: Yeah… we’ve been through this to know it works. Unfortunately, most people will still never give up doing their endless crunches and eating poorly. I just spent 20 minutes yesterday talking to a friend who spends about 30 minutes everyday doing every abdominal exercise known to man. I failed to convince him.
The Bodyjam Instructor: Didn’t mean to offend you - I was merely re-using the words in the email I received. I agree with most of the things you have said - and yes, I have seen for myself that one’s appearance is not an indicator of their fitness levels.
BUT, echoing what Aizan has also said - when one is made to be on stage, lead a crowd of fitness enthusiasts (each with their own motivations and issues and goals) - looks do matter. He/she will be judged for how they look.
Would you frequent a dentist who has bad breath and the worst set of teeth you have ever seen? Would you send your child to an English teacher who can’t even speak proper English himself? I believe the same applies to a profession in the Fitness Industry.
I always tell people - the fitness industry in Malaysia is still at its infancy. Health clubs are very relaxed here - you don’t even need to know CPR to work as a Personal Trainer. One health club chain here has a country-wide fitness manager that not only looks like a pork chop, but looks like he swallowed the whole pig. But he has excellent fitness levels, teaches some high intensity classes - heck, i think he can probably outrun me on an endurance run.
Notice also that you’ll never see an unfit model on a BodyJam/Bodypump, etc new launch poster. In fact, notice how they airbrush/highlight/play with contrast just to ‘highlight’ their physiques. Why? Cos looks matter, unfortunately.
Some people are lucky - they just have the physique to be in the industry without having to try hard. But for the rest of us (me included - I personally shed 45lbs over the past 15 months to look the way I do today), we have to do what it takes to look good.. if one can’t even have the discipline and the ability to improve oneself - how then can he/she pass that on to a student/client, and expect them to do it? I’m human too - I have weaknesses - I love my Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, Ice Cream, Cakes - and I hate to do my cardio, but I made my choice - the choice not to compromise. And if I can do it, so can anyone else if they are serious enough to pursue this path as their career.
As an Instructor/Personal Trainer - I believe that we are called to lead by example. So yes, besides being healthy - we have to look healthy as well. So when it comes to us Fitness Professionals, unfortunately - your question “A person may be slim but is that person REALLY healthy?” just doesn’t apply as much.
Aizan - your diet aside, you can start by putting the ciggies away :)
I on the other hand am also against skinny instructors and PT too. There was one particular PT in FF who was SO skinny, I think I could lift him up with ONE arm. And yet there he was yelling at his clients to give him another sit up, life another set of weights. I just don’t get it.
You are not selling so much of your skills when you’re an instructor in a GX class. Its 90% physique and 10% skills.
Cos when I join a GX class and I am a regular, more often that not, I already KNOW the moves. I just need someone to MOTIVATE me. If that person is unfit and chubby, or unfit and skinny, there goes my motivation hidden underneath the fats or the ribcages of the instructors.
J - u hammer the nail right through this one!
I guess there’s so many ways we can look at this one.
But definitely the package and the skills all goes hand in hand. I know i for one would not opt for a dentist with bad breathe, and so on. lol.
Or we could motivate ourselves and train on our own?
If we are going to be too fussy that is.
Interesting comment regarding the posters for Les Mills classes, Phillip Mills recently stated at a seminar I attended that the newest posters will not be so ‘aspirational’ probably in response to research that shows that people’s biggest fear in attending a health club is ‘physique anxiety’, meaning they are afraid they will stand out because they are unfit and overweight. Our superstar instructor at the club I manage is a middle aged average looking passionate knowledgable fit strong personable hero who is filling her classes so often we are having to expand. Having staff who look like your potential clients makes the centre much less intimidating. Yes looks matter, but not always in the ways you think!
the body is an amazing piece of machinery… once it gets into a routine it compensates and adjust to the routine. .. the same with an instructor. If he/she has been doing the same exercise routine for some time the body will adjust to expend as little energy as posssible .. hence the body shape which is less than pleasing.. and as DM pointed out.. diet plays a big part too…
Dear DM,
This post reminded me of a gym I used to go to in 1U. After I’ve signed up with them, I realised I was duped that the trainers are all professionals when I chanced upon some of them in the steam room with their beer bellies. Boy, that sure pissed me off as I’ve paid good money to get into shape. My trainer was not fat at all. In fact, he had a sickpack though not really that muscular. He made trained real hard at first but he was non-commital after the 2nd session. He was always late and at one time made me wait for 2 hours. I was really disappointed but I told myself to continue training by myself. The truth is although I’ve gained muscle mass, there was little improvement on my waist. Overtime, I lost motivation as I don’t know who to turn to to get me on the right track. All I knew is to get something I need to pay money and get a trainer. But wih so many insincere trainers around, I got fed up and stopped training. I had no money to go trainer shopping. My salary is 2.3 k per month. DM, for people like me, is there really a cheaper alternative? I realise both good and bad trainers price are not cheap and so are the gym membership fees. For people who are not well-to-do and not that knowledgable about fitness, what can we do? I’m 27 years old and currently not trainning. My muscles had since shrunked, lol.
Khoo, there are a lot of fitness websites out there (DM is only one of them ;)).
Like you, I’d prefer to have a personal trainer and when I have the cash to spare I do intend on hiring one that’s worth the money. But also like you, I don’t have the cash to spare right now so an alternative, I check out online fitness magazines to get ideas on how to vary my exercise routine.
Having no cash to hire a trainer should not be an excuse you make to yourself to stop exercising. The internet has made it so much easier to research on health and fitness. All you need is a little bit of time and effort to sift through the many information available.
Aizan,
Thanks. I know I’m not being fair to myself, lol. Do you mind giving me some pointers?? I live in Kota Damansara. Been trying to find an affordable gym where I can go to regularly. I work in USJ 1. All I do to stay fit is jog around during weekends, walk up and down the stairs of my office. My muscles seem to loosen a lil and not as toned and hard as they used to. An alternative that I’m contemplating is to get adjustable DBs to train at home. My right shoulder got injured before. So it’s kinda risky training by myself. The best is I don’t have to spend much and still get the benefits. Anyways, thank you again.
Hi Khoo. If I’m not mistaken there’s a TF in Taipan USJ. Is that near your workplace? Sorry, I’m not too familiar with USJ. Haven’t been there for ages.
I assume you’re a guy so I don’t think the websites I frequent are any use to you as they are more woman-specific. But http://www.menshealth.com looks alrite. You might wanna get advice from a professional PT about what kind of exercise is OK for you since your shoulder’s injured. You don’t wanna aggravate it.
Hi Aizan,
Oops… I thought u r a guy. So sorry. Yes, I’m a guy. My workplace is 10-15 minutes from taipan. Yes, TF is there. My colleague works out there. But after much consideration based on my past experience with CF, I bought myself a set of adjustable dumbbells and looking for an adjustable bench and have started working out again. That plus jogging should do the trick i guess. Hmm… thanks for the info. There a girls-only gym near my place in dataran sunway kota damnasara. if you’re living near there, perhaps u might want to check it out.
Hmmm… I have a suggestion. Rather than purchasing an adjustable bench (I think it’s about RM300 ++), why don’t you buy yourself an exercise ball? It’s far more versatile. You can do a lot more exercises using an exercise ball compared to an adjustable bench. And it cost a lot less.
Friendly for the pockets and friendly for your body. Cool, huh?
p/s I’m not interested in going to a girls-only gym. What’s the fun of the gym if you can’t check out the hot guys? ;)
Good suggestion, thanks. yeah… i was thinking about exercise ball after i checked the price for an adjustable bench, RM299 from fitness concept. Good quality though, they let me test it out, hah. I’m be checking out exercise ball, they come in sizes, don’t they? Err… which size to choose?
Thanks a lot again, you’ve been a great help.
p/s i know what u mean… haha. I’d rather check out girls too when working out, makes me pump harder…lol
The size of the exercise ball that is suitable for you depends on your height. I can’t recall off-hand the range of height vs. the size of the exercise ball. But what I know is that the size recommended for each height range is usually printed on the package (I checked out the Reebok exercise ball at fitness concept. hehehe..).
No worries, Khoo. Always glad to be of help :)
can you suggest a very good gym in the damansara perdana area. Or at least close by that has very good aerobics classes. Thanks
Leave a Comment