Should I say something?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Should I say something?
13
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 12:54pm

I do the boot camp/cardio class on Mondays. The instructor has been a trainer for a long time but an instructor for half a year or so.






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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 2:09pm
i think you should do exactly what you'd do if you WEREN'T an instructor and the same thing happened. in that class you are participant and you should feel free to give constructive criticism to the instructor if it's affecting your enjoyment of the class or the effectiveness of the class for you. if it were me i'd tell her what my experience of her class is, but i wouldn't "lecture" her on 32 count, etc. i'd say something like "sometimes i feel awkward following the exercises when they are off beat or off phrase. i think the class would flow better if we followed the music phrasing, especially that part that was more choreographed." i would tell her just like you told us, as if she knew exactly what you were talking about with counts and beats and phrases. if she doesn't know what you mean by off phrase or whatever, she can ask you or she can go look it up. then you aren't being a know it all telling her all
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 2:21pm
With some instructors I wouldn't hesitate to do that. I'm worried there might be an ego thing if I approached it, especially because she kind of acts like a BTDT mentor to me (though I don't really look at her as one...). She's a nice person, I don't want to make it seem like she's not, but I don't know how she'd take it from me and I don't want to cause ill feelings. She would definitely listen to more experienced instructors.

Jean,






Avatar for soleilune
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 5:14pm
In a lot of Bootcamp classes the music is just meant to be motivational background noise, not for keeping time. Could this be the case here? If not you should approach her as a participant if you don't feel comfortable doing it as an instructor. Just mention you enjoy the class but you feel the timing is awkward. Has she been trained as a group fitness instructor or is she just a trainer that's crossed over? I mention this because they are very different things (I'm sure everyone knows I have strong feelings about fitness pros doing something they aren't properly trained for) and if she's not trained as an instructor, you as an instructor are doing her a service by speaking to her. Even if she is trained she's really not much more experienced than you as an instructor so then you're a peer of equal standing offering feedback (remember the rule for giving feedback - start w/ a positive statement & end w/ one). It doesn't really help her to go around her to a superior and if it were me I'd be insulted that you didn't speak to me first.
Soleilune
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2004
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 5:30pm
Hi, folks, lurker here. Can I put in my .02? I can not stand to go to a class where they are off beat or they are not on phrase, I too feel completely lost and wrong, BUT... most of the folks in my classes don't hear the phrase. I can attend so&so's class and think it is horrible (sorry, bad choice maybe, but) and SuzieQ may love hers and mine. What they will notice is yours flows better. They may not know why, but we do ;-)! I have worked with alot of folks that don't "get it" when it comes to music's 8's and 32's, and they are great instructors. They just haven't figured out the music part yet, and may never. I remember one day it just hit me... been doing it ever since.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 5:32pm

The class is a cardio mix--sorry I called it boot camp because it used to be boot camp. She does a lot of kickboxing so there is some choreography and we're off the count. For example, one move was walk up for 4, knees, side step back for four, jumping jacks. But, she started us on the second count somewhere in the middle of the 32 count phrase so we're just off the whole time.






iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 5:36pm
Hi!





iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2004
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 5:38pm
Yes, I have! I am Michelle. Thanks for remembering. I can relate to your post. Like fingernails on a chalkboard...LOL! I have been lurking for some time, I should post a little blurb about myself.
Avatar for soleilune
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 10-26-2004 - 5:58pm
If it's a cardio-type class w/ choreography then timing is definitely an issue. I personally can't do a class led by an instructor that can't keep time. 32 count phrasing isn't a big issue for me because it can be a matter of creativity for some instructors, but not keeping time is a whole other story. Up here instructors are trained to 'hear' the music and how to use it, but learning the theory is one thing, making use of it is another. Some folks, as the saying goes, "got no rhythm". Some participants don't care and sometimes the instructor cues so well it doesn't matter if they're off beat, but for most people it's difficult and frustrating to do one of these classes. Speak to her Jean, as a participant & a fellow instructor. Not one of us, no matter how good we become, is ever perfect. Constructive feedback is important to increasing and maintaining the quality of our classes. Most participants are not only uncomfortable voicing negative feedback but often feel there's no point. You, as an instructor, know better. (As an employee of that gym you may even have a responsibility here.) If you do it diplomatically she should take it in the way it's intended. If not that's her problem not yours & she's in the wrong line of work.

Good luck & take care.

Soleilune
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Wed, 10-27-2004 - 9:49am
if she's ace certified as a group fitness instructor, she should know about 32 count phrasing -
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-15-2004
Wed, 10-27-2004 - 10:39am
Just thought I'd throw my hat into the ring and illustrate Sol's point about trainers not being trained to teach and vice versa... When I was prepping to sub for that boxing class a while back, my instructor was talking about the beats per minute (128 or something). I just looked at her blankly and told her I had no idea what she was talking about. She seemed surprised and said "You don't hear the count?". Nope, I don't. :) Been doing that class for 5 years and I have no concept of beats per minute. I would be ill prepared to say the least to start teaching anything....

Kel

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