Disruptions in Group Exercise: How Instructors Handle Music Requests and Maintain Class Energy

Ladies and gentlemen, until you’ve been a new instructor and stood in front of up to 60 people to teach a fitness class, you have no idea how much pressure that is. It takes time and experience to get comfortable in that setting. Eventually, you get comfortable and with that comes confidence.

That being said, you are not immune to external influences as an instructor. If you are teaching a class that lacks energy or doesn’t seem to be having fun, that can throw you off your game. Similarly, if during the middle of a class a participant complains about your music choices or something else, that can also disrupt your focus. Staying in the zone during class is a fine art and a delicate balance. I’ve seen many instructors get flustered because of external factors like difficult participants.

Most recently, I had one woman say, “More Latin music man, more Latin!” I said no problem, I’ll do that. Which means that the following week I’ll add another or two Latin songs, but I’m not going to change my playlist in the middle of class to accommodate one person. I don’t take requests during class.

My playlist is set and planned out for one hour, in a pattern designed to work you the way I intend. Some instructors wing their playlist and ask, “What do you guys want next?” I don’t have time for that, and I know everyone will want something different. I know my groups and plan my playlists accordingly based on the specific group preferences. Individual preferences are honored on a best-effort basis.

Anyway, I told her I understood, then the next song came up, which happened to be another English song. I could feel her eyes on me, but I tried to ignore it. As I said, I can’t edit my playlist in the middle of class; it doesn’t work that way. But I will add a few more Latin songs for next time.

I had about 60 people in the class who were having a great time and I wasn’t going to let one person affect the experience for everyone else. I could tell she was upset and it bothered me a bit because despite my best efforts, she was distracting me. I did my best to focus on the 60 happy people. This participant got upset because I didn’t change the song and left the class early. I didn’t acknowledge her leaving or look in her direction, though I could see it from my periphery. There was only one song left, but I guess that was enough for her to leave. So, have a nice afternoon.

When I got home, I reviewed my playlist and I honored her request by adding a few more Spanish songs. My playlist is a blend of music from different styles and places. I don’t only play Spanish music. If I see her in my next class, great, she’ll get her extra Spanish songs. I do try to make everyone happy. But as participants, you have to understand that we can’t just stop and change things for one person on the fly. Please be considerate of the instructor’s situation in front of so many people. Sixty people happy, and one person who wants something else—who do you think will take priority?

My advice is to save yourself the frustration. If you have music requests or ideas, please see us privately after class. If you shout something out during class, I’ll smile, nod, and keep doing what I’m doing. Like I said, 60 versus 1—the 60 win. Sorry.