by Colin Aina
Yes, we all have favorites. We also have idiosyncrasies that lean us toward certain things over the another. We also like who we like and sometimes our unconscious and conscious bias keeps us away from others. Unfortunately, this is very prevalent in our line of work.
Often, women come to the gym and mention that they prefer to work with women only. Unfortunately, men can be creepy and intimidating. The leading cause of death to women throughout our existence has been men!!
"I'm afraid of Colin".
"I've heard Kim’s classes are hard".
"Kerry is scary".
and so on…
You may also be afraid to train with a certain person or attend that person's class based off of what others have said. BUT that shouldn't get in the way of why you have made the commitment to yourself to get fit. A "scary" person's class on a particular time and day may be the only option available. We know that varying training and working at different intensities is crucial to getting in shape. Staying with one person and getting overly comfortable with the way that person works will eventually lead to your fitness' demise.
Think about that person that does their 30-minutes of cardiovascular exercise at the same intensity. At the onset, that person will see results, but once the body adapts to the routine, the amount of calories burned and the effort needed to complete the given intensity will decrease and the body adapts (that's called getting in shape)!
I’ve always heard gymgoers’ complaints about being afraid of certain people and it could be rooted in someone’s bias toward that person…unconsciously or not. Let’s not kid ourselves, some men are intimidated by a female coach and don’t like having a woman tell them what to do. Women are sometimes very weary of male coaches for a whole host of reasons. Your aversion could stem from the way a person looks…we ALL make assumptions on a person based on their looks before a single word comes out of their mouth. You may not like the music that a certain coach likes…if you’re worried about the music, you’re not focused on your workout and just looking for something to complain about. I despise the pop music that is on the radio, but if I want to take a coworker’s class at a certain time and it just so happens that Alicia is teaching, I’m not going to let that deter me!
Truth be told: No one has ever died from taking any one person's class (I think). I've also yet to have someone tell me, "that was a tough class, I wish I hadn't done that!" There has been blood spilled I the gym..but ask me about it when you attend my next class.
