As Group Fitness instructors we are very passionate about our jobs and personal health. We are individuals that definitely “talk the talk” and “walk the walk.” We pour our hearts and souls into our classes for our members because we truly believe in what we do.

So since we are walking the walk and talking the talk, we definitely listen to our bodies as health and fitness professionals right???? You would think. We LOVE fitness, but unfortunately most of us overdo it. Sure we are all in pretty good shape and our bodies thrive from our healthy lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean we are immune to injuries.

How many of us have been injured?

How many of us ignore the signals but teach anyway?

We all do it because this is our passion.

Group fitness instructors perform with participants, plus we practice and prepare for classes, which in turn can lead to major injuries that we do not address.
Overuse injuries occur from exercising too much and too often without giving our bodies adequate time for rest and recovery. We teach a lot and we train hard.
We always show up for our members. No matter what. Doesn’t matter what kind of injury you have or even what kind of day you are having. We are motivators, and we do it for them, every single class.

Does this mean you should stop teaching? No of course not. But it might be time for all of us to realize that our bodies are only capable of so much. We should come to terms that rest can be productive for our body, not a waste of time, especially in our industry.

Continue to inspire others, but also be the role model of self care. When we take the time to recover or to reassess how much or what programs we teach, it will allow us to be stronger long term for our members. This will in turn enable us to continue teaching for years to come, which we all want.

This is what we do. We live it, we breathe it and can’t imagine a world without it. So take a moment and pay attention. Your body is like the quiet talker, with the most important thing to say.

Listen to your Body