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Since I moved, I’ve gotten to broaden my work out horizons and take some new classes, different workouts, and try some disciplines I’ve never gotten around to (I took hip hop cycle a week ago and my “area” is still not totally recovered) .

As part of my gym membership, I got a free health assessment/personal training session. I knew it was just going to be a sales gimmick, but I went anyway, hoping that a trainer would correct my form on things like squats and lunges where I’ve been having so much knee pain lately. It started with him asking about my fitness goals, why I joined a gym, etc etc. It was totally scripted and geared toward someone insecure who had never been a gym member (or at least hadn’t been for a long time.) Once I think it was finally clear to him that I’m not unhappy with how I look, he started to go on about body fat percent like I hadn’t heard any of it before. Once we got into the actual workout, it was hard, and he had me do weight training things I’d never done, but he didn’t once correct my form and spent half the time watching a female bodybuilder lift. I guess I had always thought that trainers were as much for counting reps and teaching new moves as they were for correcting and motivation. (Needless to say I did not sign up to train with someone four times a week for the low low sum of $500 per month.)

I compare that with the group classes I’ve taken – all the Les Mills teachers in my Charlottesville gym were The. Best. I loved every single one of them were extremely engaging and took the time to help, to fix form, and motivate.

This weekend, a new friend invited me to the hot yoga studio where she teaches. By the end of it, I was so sweaty that I was sliding all over my mat and falling out of poses, but it felt great. I never really thought yoga was something I would enjoy (aside from restorative, which, let’s face it – is more “naptime” than active) and I really didn’t think that anything would stop the racing thoughts I’m so used to now.

Both the training session and the hot yoga class have gotten my mind thinking hard again. Ever since I started taking group classes, I’ve known I want to teach someday. But I had never seriously considered personal training. After having a bad experience, I’m starting to consider it more and more – like there are probably a whole lot of people I can connect with and help without making them feel bad and helping to empower them, whether their goal is weight loss or something else.

Do you prefer group ex, personal training, or just working out by yourself? What do you think would make a great teacher?