Classroom Protocol

Before I say what I did this morning, I wanted to mention the classroom culture of group exercise fitness. It is typically women who take the classes, unless the exercise class is cycling or yoga. In cycling and yoga, the workouts are more self-controlled because in cycling you are the one in charge of the resistance gear, not the instructor, and in yoga, it is often your decision for how many body parts you want to lift off the ground and hold or sometimes for how long you hold that position. I believe, because these both are self-controlled, they’re more popular with men. Prior to the beginning of class, you can easily tell the cliques. In the back are the friends who sometimes show up, in the front are the ladies who tend to be in better shape, are always in class, they start warming up by stepping side to side, and wear cute (sometimes just weird) and different exercise clothes every day, and then there are the people who don’t know anyone and stand by themselves looking the mirror awkwardly, unsure of what to do. No matter what clique, they always are talking about how they ate that brownie last night and hate themselves for it or the weather. In class, never talk unless told to by the instructor, or else, trust me, you will get an awful glare from the front row. If you’re in the front row, people who are in the back are probably looking at you if they can’t see the instructor, so try and keep up. The next unspoken etiquette rule, though it is often broken and is a huge pet peeve of mine which unfortunately happens often, is to not go directly in front of another person so they can’t see themselves in the mirror and don’t get too close to them so you hit them while exercising. All I can say is that it is extremely obnoxious and people should learn to not do it. Once the workout starts, everything relaxes and people begin to have fun.

Today I went to a cycling and sculpt class, planned out my zumba class moves, and of course, saw all of you today at the Hawken School meeting!