Our Stories
Group Fitness Instructors are not "JUST" someone who "gets paid to exercise." We change lives in emotional, physical and communal ways. We use our own bodies to teach, inspire and connect with others. We willingly roll around on nasty gym floors so that others can roll into their best selves. When we get hurt or sick, we have to cover the costs. Here are some of our stories.
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When A Concussion Leaves You Unemployed
Due to continued employment concerns, this blog is written anonymously.
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” - Sir Richard Branson, billionaire-entrepreneur-founder of Virgin Group
Group Fitness Instructors are the life of gyms. We connect with patrons on a personal and consistent level. We often have long-term relationships with patrons spanning years or decades. There are many individuals who come to a gym specifically to take classes and nothing more. Yet, as instructors, we are rarely treated as a valuable allies. Instead, we are often treated as disposable.
I got a severe concussion outside of work as a group fitness instructor, a few years ago. The first week, the doctor ordered me to avoid lengthy conversations, looking at screens, and I absolutely had to take work off. Hours after this happened, I let my employers know. No one helped me find substitutes. This is normal, but it was aggravating. After a concussion screens and stressful conversations are supposed to be avoided. This is tricky when you have to call, text or check on message boards to find subs for fifteen classes.
When I returned to work, it was a struggle. I modified workouts but the lighting, choreography, and many of the physical movements exacerbated my condition. Every day I would get home from work and fall asleep for hours from sheer exhaustion.
I went in for a follow-up examination. My recovery wasn’t moving along so they requested that I go into concussion rehab. Because of the severity of my injury, I was going to need to take 3 months off from most of my classes. The only ones I was able to keep teaching were seniors and, even then, I had to create modifications for the way that I taught. My class load was cut down to five classes spread throughout the week.
The County Recreation Center that I worked for said it was fine and to let them know when I was ready to come back. The City Rec wanted me to get subs for my classes. It was frustrating and aggravating my recovery. I was ready to leave the company entirely. When I expressed this fact, my supervisor finally agreed to take over finding subs for my classes.
When you search for subs no one is paying you for the time it takes to find subs through emails, calls, or group message boards. It’s usually your job to keep searching to find someone, no matter how sick or injured you might be. Failure to do so could result in losing your classes permanently or even your job. I wasn’t going to be working for a few months, and the company wasn’t giving me sick leave or any other financial compensation. It felt more than fair for the supervisor to take over finding coverage since they would get paid for their time searching for subs.
VASA, a large gym chain, handled my situation differently. Initially, I was expected to get subs, which I did. When my supervisor realized I would be out more than two weeks she took all my classes away. That meant I was no longer on the schedule. My classes were given to other instructors.
Many of those classes were during prime-time slots which I had worked hard to get. I was told I could stay on the sub list and remain listed as an employee, but there was no guarantee that I would get classes again when I came back. I would have to wait for an opening with the same notice as any of the brand new employees. Even though I had been teaching there for several years.
I was out of work for three months. My family made adjustments in our spending. We had to cut back on groceries, canceled cable, and any extra driving during that time. It was financially tight for our family during that time. We no longer had my income and also had additional medical bills from doctor’s visits and rehab to balance.
This was exacerbated by the fact that I wasn’t able to return to work full time. It took a few more months to steadily work my way back to my previous workload. In the meantime, we still had bills to pay and many things we had to put on credit cards just to make ends meet. It took me six months to earn the same amount as I did before my concussion. Most of the medical debt was paid off at the same time. It took an additional two years to get the prime-time class slots with minimal driving between classes.
Each gym, rec center, and studio handles injuries differently. The only time I’ve seen VASA work to hold onto an instructor’s class during a medical absence is during pregnancy. I’ve known other co-workers who lost classes after getting injured. One instructor only would have missed two classes and had coverage, but the supervisor still dropped their class and replaced it with something else.
Club owners and supervisors at most gyms are given paid sick leave as W2 employees. The messages they send down to the group fitness instructors and part-time group fitness supervisors feel out of touch when they aren’t experiencing the same hardship. This treatment is followed by meetings or emails demanding our loyalty. Even though the rules and policies at many of these gyms don’t extend the same consideration.
I love my classes and care deeply about the people in them. The other Group Fitness Instructors I know feel the same. We care about the patrons, but we shouldn’t be afraid to take time off to heal from injuries or sickness. It’s hard enough knowing we won’t be paid if we have to take time off for a cold, flu, or while waiting for a Covid test. It’s additionally stressful worrying about losing classes or having our hours cut back.
Treating Group Fitness Instructors better will elevate the gym experience for everyone. It will foster employee loyalty and the patrons will feel the difference. They will support the companies that treat their instructors well. It’s the perfect fit for everyone.
Group Fitness Instructors are the life of gyms. We connect with patrons on a personal and consistent level. We often have long-term relationships with patrons spanning years or decades. There are many individuals who come to a gym specifically to take classes and nothing more. Yet, as instructors, we are rarely treated as a valuable allies. Instead, we are often treated as disposable.
I got a severe concussion outside of work as a group fitness instructor, a few years ago. The first week, the doctor ordered me to avoid lengthy conversations, looking at screens, and I absolutely had to take work off. Hours after this happened, I let my employers know. No one helped me find substitutes. This is normal, but it was aggravating. After a concussion screens and stressful conversations are supposed to be avoided. This is tricky when you have to call, text or check on message boards to find subs for fifteen classes.
When I returned to work, it was a struggle. I modified workouts but the lighting, choreography, and many of the physical movements exacerbated my condition. Every day I would get home from work and fall asleep for hours from sheer exhaustion.
I went in for a follow-up examination. My recovery wasn’t moving along so they requested that I go into concussion rehab. Because of the severity of my injury, I was going to need to take 3 months off from most of my classes. The only ones I was able to keep teaching were seniors and, even then, I had to create modifications for the way that I taught. My class load was cut down to five classes spread throughout the week.
The County Recreation Center that I worked for said it was fine and to let them know when I was ready to come back. The City Rec wanted me to get subs for my classes. It was frustrating and aggravating my recovery. I was ready to leave the company entirely. When I expressed this fact, my supervisor finally agreed to take over finding subs for my classes.
When you search for subs no one is paying you for the time it takes to find subs through emails, calls, or group message boards. It’s usually your job to keep searching to find someone, no matter how sick or injured you might be. Failure to do so could result in losing your classes permanently or even your job. I wasn’t going to be working for a few months, and the company wasn’t giving me sick leave or any other financial compensation. It felt more than fair for the supervisor to take over finding coverage since they would get paid for their time searching for subs.
VASA, a large gym chain, handled my situation differently. Initially, I was expected to get subs, which I did. When my supervisor realized I would be out more than two weeks she took all my classes away. That meant I was no longer on the schedule. My classes were given to other instructors.
Many of those classes were during prime-time slots which I had worked hard to get. I was told I could stay on the sub list and remain listed as an employee, but there was no guarantee that I would get classes again when I came back. I would have to wait for an opening with the same notice as any of the brand new employees. Even though I had been teaching there for several years.
I was out of work for three months. My family made adjustments in our spending. We had to cut back on groceries, canceled cable, and any extra driving during that time. It was financially tight for our family during that time. We no longer had my income and also had additional medical bills from doctor’s visits and rehab to balance.
This was exacerbated by the fact that I wasn’t able to return to work full time. It took a few more months to steadily work my way back to my previous workload. In the meantime, we still had bills to pay and many things we had to put on credit cards just to make ends meet. It took me six months to earn the same amount as I did before my concussion. Most of the medical debt was paid off at the same time. It took an additional two years to get the prime-time class slots with minimal driving between classes.
Each gym, rec center, and studio handles injuries differently. The only time I’ve seen VASA work to hold onto an instructor’s class during a medical absence is during pregnancy. I’ve known other co-workers who lost classes after getting injured. One instructor only would have missed two classes and had coverage, but the supervisor still dropped their class and replaced it with something else.
Club owners and supervisors at most gyms are given paid sick leave as W2 employees. The messages they send down to the group fitness instructors and part-time group fitness supervisors feel out of touch when they aren’t experiencing the same hardship. This treatment is followed by meetings or emails demanding our loyalty. Even though the rules and policies at many of these gyms don’t extend the same consideration.
I love my classes and care deeply about the people in them. The other Group Fitness Instructors I know feel the same. We care about the patrons, but we shouldn’t be afraid to take time off to heal from injuries or sickness. It’s hard enough knowing we won’t be paid if we have to take time off for a cold, flu, or while waiting for a Covid test. It’s additionally stressful worrying about losing classes or having our hours cut back.
Treating Group Fitness Instructors better will elevate the gym experience for everyone. It will foster employee loyalty and the patrons will feel the difference. They will support the companies that treat their instructors well. It’s the perfect fit for everyone.
Hannah, Yoga Instructor
Photo by Harlie Raethel on Unsplash
1. At the end of 2018 I was in a car accident, the car was totaled, my friends and I were injured, and our party was found not at fault by the authorities, however; I suffered in my profession immensely. I had a severe concussion and couldn't teach for three months, then once I was able to be back in the studio I was pretty immobile. For one, I pretty much had to sit on a block and teach class 100% verbally with no demo's, which seriously affected my class numbers, reputation, and commission. Secondly, I still wouldn't be able to teach my hot yoga classes for another 2 more months because my brain injury couldn't with-stand extremely hot conditions.
I was not offered any kind of injury pay, medical insurance support (because my injuries were from a car accident and the other party would be liable for my medical bills once the case was settled... that means that I was still responsible for the medical bills until the case was settled or risk a loss to my credit), studio benefits, professional insurance support. I was not able to qualify for unemployment because of my contractor status at every studio, was quickly running through my savings, and had absolutely no support.
Not only were my regular classes and teaching clout affected, but my retreat business also wielded to a halt. I had to cancel two retreats and take a loss on deposits I had made on retreat properties. I bring this aspect up even though this has less to do with studios it still greatly affected my relationships with my students. I didn't have any kind of support through my private medical insurance, professional teaching insurance, or any other studio benefits, so I wasn't able to offset this kind of unprofessionalism in canceling expensive plans for my clients (who are my same clients from studio classes).
2. At one studio I was expected to show up 30 minutes before class to check students in and stay 15-20 minutes after class to clean and lock up. I was only ever paid for class, and not for the extra 45 minutes (to sometimes an hour depending) I was required to be at the studio.
At this same studio I was not able to find a sub for my class because I was sick with the flu after 3 days of searching and constant communication with the managers and other staff teachers. I was expected to teach class with a 100+ degree fever.
3. At another studio my permanent weekly classes were awarded and taken away with a few hours notice. I had been teaching a regular class there for 8 months, which the manager decided to give to another student who would teach for less pay. He gave me 12 hours notice and did not pay me for class.
At the same studio managers changed and under the new manager I was now expected to know that the schedule may or may not be accurate based on the information online. Without any verbal or written instructions I was supposed to know to confirm with the manager the accuracy of my scheduled classes. If I did not do this and missed a class I would be put on a 6 month probationary period where all of my classes would be stripped. I learned this expectation by missing class and being put on probation. I decided to quit instead.
I was not offered any kind of injury pay, medical insurance support (because my injuries were from a car accident and the other party would be liable for my medical bills once the case was settled... that means that I was still responsible for the medical bills until the case was settled or risk a loss to my credit), studio benefits, professional insurance support. I was not able to qualify for unemployment because of my contractor status at every studio, was quickly running through my savings, and had absolutely no support.
Not only were my regular classes and teaching clout affected, but my retreat business also wielded to a halt. I had to cancel two retreats and take a loss on deposits I had made on retreat properties. I bring this aspect up even though this has less to do with studios it still greatly affected my relationships with my students. I didn't have any kind of support through my private medical insurance, professional teaching insurance, or any other studio benefits, so I wasn't able to offset this kind of unprofessionalism in canceling expensive plans for my clients (who are my same clients from studio classes).
2. At one studio I was expected to show up 30 minutes before class to check students in and stay 15-20 minutes after class to clean and lock up. I was only ever paid for class, and not for the extra 45 minutes (to sometimes an hour depending) I was required to be at the studio.
At this same studio I was not able to find a sub for my class because I was sick with the flu after 3 days of searching and constant communication with the managers and other staff teachers. I was expected to teach class with a 100+ degree fever.
3. At another studio my permanent weekly classes were awarded and taken away with a few hours notice. I had been teaching a regular class there for 8 months, which the manager decided to give to another student who would teach for less pay. He gave me 12 hours notice and did not pay me for class.
At the same studio managers changed and under the new manager I was now expected to know that the schedule may or may not be accurate based on the information online. Without any verbal or written instructions I was supposed to know to confirm with the manager the accuracy of my scheduled classes. If I did not do this and missed a class I would be put on a 6 month probationary period where all of my classes would be stripped. I learned this expectation by missing class and being put on probation. I decided to quit instead.
Kristyn, Trainer and Coach
Photo by Jesper Aggergaard on Unsplash
As a Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Coach, our pay comes from providing the service directly and in real time. The majority of Fitness Trainers work at multiple locations, in order to make a "full time" living wage. It is very rare for trainers to work full time in one location, and therefore qualify for benefits, causing most of us to reach out to expensive statewide healthcare providers. This is the nature of the industry, unfortunately, and there are not regulations in place to protect us.
In the past 4 months, I have experienced a severe case of bronchitis, broken ribs, stomach flu, and a knee fracture, and was given no choice but to work through all of these setbacks. [A certain franchise gym] offers a staggeringly low amount of sick hours, one hour per every 40 worked. As an instructor, our hours are low as our focus is classes, and it is not proportioned differently for us versus hourly staff.
This should not be the price to pay and burden to bear for Fitness Professionals, just for having made this career choice.
In the past 4 months, I have experienced a severe case of bronchitis, broken ribs, stomach flu, and a knee fracture, and was given no choice but to work through all of these setbacks. [A certain franchise gym] offers a staggeringly low amount of sick hours, one hour per every 40 worked. As an instructor, our hours are low as our focus is classes, and it is not proportioned differently for us versus hourly staff.
This should not be the price to pay and burden to bear for Fitness Professionals, just for having made this career choice.
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