Group Fitness Substitute Etiquette

Today I went to the Woodbury Equinox for John Kocaj's pureMUSCLE class. We were all set to begin when the spin instructor called in with a flat tire and John was asked to cover her class. Thankfully Steve Ramirez had shown up to be a student in pureMUSCLE and he graciously volunteered to teach the class instead. Steve kicked my ass in METCON3 yesterday and he kicked my ass again today. I am so sore, it hurts to laugh let alone move.

Steve incorporated a lot of yesterday's moves into today's class. He's a great instructor but I don't think this is how pureMUSCLE usually goes. Unfortunately, a few of the regulars got uppity and scowled throughout our workout. Two people left, and that's their prerogative, but really? You can't try something else for one day?

This isn't the first time I've seen bad behavior when a sub takes over a class. And I admit, I've been guilty of it myself. Yes, it sucks when you show up ready to take your regular (and maybe favorite) class, and an interloper is running the show doing something that doesn't fit the norm. I used to get so mad when I expected to spend an hour cardio kickboxing with Yves, jumping in the air, and showing off my hinge kicks, only to find some woman telling me to stand in place doing roundhouse kicks for an hour.

If this happens to you, you have some choices to make. You can either leave immediately or you have to stick it out the entire time. Do not scowl at the instructor or try to make them feel badly. Do not make knowing looks at your fellow regulars or roll your eyes at them. The substitute is not your regular instructor and you shouldn't expect him or her to be. I think it's better when the substitute owns the class and follows his or her usual style. You're going to get a really great workout (hopefully - sometimes the instructor is way out of his or her comfort zone - such as when a spin instructor is taking over a boot camp class for the first time) and it's in your best interest to dedicate yourself to the workout you are given. When a substitute tries to be something he or she is not, everyone is unhappy.

I've been wearing my Micro Tubes 100fit cross trainers a lot.
These are still available on the KSwiss website.

My shoulders are shot from yesterday and I could not do push-ups to save my life today. I had 10 lbs, 8 lbs, 5 lbs, and 3 lbs weights today and ended up having to use each set. We did pyramid bicep curls and at one point the 5 lbs weights were going to make me cry.

Day 2 of September Health Month is going well. If only I can avoid fried food, alcohol, and ice cream for the rest of the day.