A few days ago, I posted a video on my Facebook page addressing the issue of making exercise corrections in a group fitness setting. It came after I saw a review about a gym wherein the person complained about how other participants were making mistakes and the coach wasn’t helping.
Now, that may have been a bad coach. It happens.
But there are other reasons concerning how and when we choose to make exercise corrections—and that’s coming from me, someone who is pretty serious about using good form.
It’s not always as simple as just walking over to someone, making the correction, and moving on. There are a lot of considerations I have to make when I offer assistance, and there are a lot of reasons why someone next to you is still making exercise mistakes even if I’m leading the class. If you’d rather read than watch the video, here you go. Plus this has a couple of things in it that I thought of after I made a video that was already long enough. 🙂
They Don’t Want Help
This is rare in a group training setting. Usually, people are there because they want assistance. But not always. Sometimes, they’re just there because they want a workout that’s already been planned. They want to be told what to do….not how to do it.
Sometimes I offer suggestions that are ignored. I never want to see someone performing an exercise incorrectly, but all I can do is show the person how to fix it and explain why what they’re doing may be dangerous. If they choose not to fix it, that’s their choice.
They’re Having Trouble Making Sense of It
Some people struggle to take corrections in the moment. They’re tired, maybe out of breath, and they really want to be working hard. It can be difficult for them to slow down enough to listen and make sense of what I’m saying.
In those cases, after trying to fix it in the moment, I often ask them to stay after class so we can go over it when they’re not putting pressure on themselves to get through those repetitions.
They’re New to Class
A class can be overwhelming for someone who is brand new. If they’ve never exercised before, they might do a lot of things wrong.
Correcting all of the issues would be pointless, because they’re unlikely to remember it all. It’s going to make an overwhelming situation even more overwhelming, and it may serve to discourage the new person from ever coming back.
My job isn’t just to correct mistakes: it’s to help people get started and keep going with a healthy fitness routine. Nitpicking is not going to serve that purpose.
I was co-teaching a yoga class once where I was the primary instructor, so I was leading the class. My co-teacher was going around and making corrections. For some reason, she fixated on one person, returning to her again and again. I watched with dismay as that person got frustrated and started to disengage from the class. The ongoing process of correcting was taking her out of the experience of the practice, and the same thing can happen in the gym setting.
For a new person, I’ll correct one or two moves, maybe more if they’re receptive and able to make the adjustments. I want them to feel successful and gain confidence. We have time to fix the rest of the errors as they move through their fitness journey.
They’ve Already Made Improvements
You might see an exercise gone wrong, but what I see is an exercise that is 10 times better than it was the first day the person came in. Form is about strength, flexibility, and body awareness. Sometimes, a form mistake can’t be corrected in one day, because the strength, flexibility, or awareness is not there yet. Over time, if the person keeps working on it, the form gradually improves.
Occasionally, a form correction is simply about not realizing what you were doing wrong. When people have good body awareness and when they’ve been exercising for awhile, it’s easier to make those corrections.
I worked with a teenage boy once who could not do a hip hinge. He couldn’t keep his back neutral. Even looking at himself in the mirror, he wasn’t able to make that correction because he had always bent from the waist and couldn’t figure out what it felt like to bend from the hip. I tried a variety of verbal and tactile cues. His parents were there with him, and they put their hands on his back and tried to fix it that way, which also didn’t work. I worked with him a little every time he was in class. And you know what? He’s improving. He’s not there yet, but slowly, it’s coming together. That’s success.
The Mistake Makes the Exercise Less Effective, But Not Dangerous
I’ll still correct those mistakes, of course. I want people to get the most out of the time they spend exercising.
But if I’ve already corrected three mistakes that could harm you, I might save the one where you’re swinging your arms in the bicep curls for another day. That’s a common mistake that’s unlikely to hurt you, it just makes your bicep curl less effective. Again, I have to consider how receptive you are to assistance and how well you were able to integrate the other corrections I’ve made.
I’m Working With Someone Else
I constantly scan the room and I try to get to everyone, but there’s still just one of me and usually lots more of you. That’s the nature of group training.
I address the most serious errors first. That might mean I need to go correct someone’s deadlift while you swing your way through those bicep curls.
I’ll make a mental note and try to circle back to you when you get to your next set, but something more pressing could present itself at that time, too. I’ve found that in most cases, it’s not very helpful to say to someone after the fact, “Hey, I know you’re done with that set, but next time you do those, try to incorporate this correction.” They nod about it, but unless they can practice it in the moment, they don’t always remember it by the time they’re ready to work on that again.
Remember: You Might Have Missed It
Can you really be sure a coach hasn’t already talked to the person who’s doing something incorrectly? Are you watching them the whole time, or were you maybe focused on your own workout?
You might look over and see someone doing something wrong, but the coach may have already tried to correct the issue, or maybe he or she is on the way right now.
I Missed It
It goes back to that one-of-me-lots-of-you thing. Yes, there is a possibility I didn’t see the mistake happen. I work hard to decrease the chances of that, but of course it will sometimes. Hopefully I’ll see it and fix it the next time.
Believe me: coaches want to fix you. 😉 It pains me to see someone do something with poor form, and helping them correct it is one of the most satisfying parts of my job.
If you’re a fitness instructor, do you agree? What goes through your head when deciding how and when to help someone’s form?
If you’re a fitness class participant, what goes through your mind if you recognize an exercise mistake in someone else?