"Group Ex vs. P.T.": Clash of the Titans

It seems everyone’s got something to say about what group exercise and personal training is, or is not. There are those who are die-hard “Group Ex” people who don’t like either personal trainers or personal training, or both. The same can be said for Personal Trainers; many eschew group exercise classes and blatantly boast about having never taken a group exercise course. From where I sit, this sounds like sheer insanity…

Why? Because regardless of the modality, both group exercise and personal training are essentially designed, from a health and wellness perspective, to address the same thing- the human body. To argue over which presentation is better, is akin to arguing over which burger is better- the Big Mac or the Whopper; is there really a difference? In fact, the most financially successful fitness professionals that I personally know teach BOTH group exercise AND personal training. They essentially recognize that they ultimately serve the same purpose- to better our clients and improve their quality of life…O.K. Earnest, if what you say is true, how did this conflict enter the fitness industry consciousness, that Group Ex. and P.T. should be separated?

Ever hear of “Divide and Conquer”? Most warring factions use this technique to weaken the resistance of its adversaries. It goes something like this:

Step 1- An Invader observes and identifies potential differences within a unified community, then classifies those differences into groups- group 1 vs. group 2.

Step 2- The Invader goes to group 1 and says that group 2 doesn’t like some differing aspect of group 1 and that group 2 has begun to actively either sully the reputation of, or is actively working against, group 1. The Invader may even provide some minimal shred of evidence to support this claim.


Step 3- The Invader goes to group 2 and repeats the same process, providing minimal evidence.


Step 4- The Invader separately approaches groups 1 and 2, and secretly gives allegiance to their cause, supplying them with tokens of support, tokens that work to the detriment of the opposing group.


Step 5- The opposing groups use the tokens to destroy each other, ideally leaving a disorganized, unstructured aftermath.


Step 6- The Invader, stating that it is for the betterment of the now divided community, implements a new organizational structure, a structure that typically gives the Invader a dominating percentage of community control.

Result: The once unified community has now been divided and conquered towards the benefit of the Invader, and the detriment of the community.

In the fitness community, we are beginning to experience a trend where corporations, which are largely not comprised of fitness professionals at the Executive and Senior Management levels, are creating and implementing organizational structures that benefit their financial bottom lines, but often work towards the detriment of the fitness professionals who execute the product services, i.e. Group Exercise and Personal Training.

Most fitness professionals will tell you that it is either extremely difficult, or extremely tiring, due to hours devoted, to earn a living solely within our field. We either cannot earn the monies deserved for the work demanded of the position- think fitness facility management, or we have to work at multiple locations, a direct conflict-or-interest, to garner either enough classes or client’s- think Group Ex. and P.T.’s.

As a thought, perhaps the Group Ex. vs. P.T. conflict did not begin within those factions. Maybe that pseudo-conflict began when large corporations sought to exploit our industry for its immediate financial gain, an exploitation that has worked to our detriment as fitness professionals.

Am I advocating a “Fitness Revolution”? Hmm, flattering idea, but I think not. I do however believe that there should be some unified fitness community existence, and it would appear that it should perhaps begin with continued education about group exercise and personal training, what it is and what it isn’t, from a peer-reviewed perspective.

Earnest L. Hudson, Jr.
MS, CSCS, CES, PES
Anatomatrix Fitness
http://www.amatrixfit.blogspot.com/
customerservice@anatomatrix.com