Is Your Body Whispering… or Yelling?

Why Instructors Must Learn to Listen Before It’s Too Late

For most group fitness instructors, movement is medicine. It lifts our mood, connects us to others, and keeps us strong. It’s also the thing we’re paid to do, and expected to do, week after week, year after year.

But what happens when the very thing we love starts taking more than it gives?

It doesn’t always start with an injury or a medical scare. Sometimes it starts with whispers. That niggle in your shoulder that lingers a bit too long. The fatigue that no amount of coffee can fix. The stiffness that seems to show up earlier in the day and last longer into the evening.

Whispers are easy to ignore. Especially when you’re focused on giving your best to the people in front of you.

Until one day… your body starts yelling.

“I Thought I Was Just Tired”

We’ve heard countless versions of this story from instructors:

“I’d been teaching six classes a week, plus running my own training. I figured I was just tired from a busy term. Then one morning I bent over to pick up a mic and my back locked up. I couldn’t teach for three weeks.”

Or this one:

“I used to bounce back from classes no problem. But lately, I noticed I was sore for days, not the good kind of sore, the kind that makes you second-guess every move. I kept pushing through until my knee gave out during a squat demo.”

These aren’t isolated stories. They’re signs of a much bigger conversation we need to be having as an industry, especially for those of us in our 40s, 50s, and beyond.

The conversation is about longevity. And it starts with learning to listen.

Teaching Isn't Just a Job. It's an Ongoing Physical Demand.

Unlike other professions, our ability to earn a living is tied directly to our physical capacity. When our bodies aren’t well, when recovery is slow, joints are unstable, or energy is flat, our income, identity, and confidence can take a hit.

We’re not just teaching a class. We’re absorbing energy, projecting enthusiasm, demonstrating movement, adapting on the fly, and often doing it all while our own needs are sidelined.

If you’re not actively supporting your body’s ability to perform and recover, the cost accumulates quietly, until it doesn’t.

The Science is Clear: Recovery Needs Change With Age

As we age, the body’s ability to recover from physical stress is impacted by changes in muscle protein synthesis, inflammation regulation, and nervous system balance (Zemková & Hamar, 2018). What used to feel like a “big week” in your 30s can feel like a full-blown system overload by your 40s, unless you adapt.

Left unaddressed, decline is likely. But with the right approach, you can maintain — and even regain — strength, function, and energy.

Targeted interventions, such as strength training, prioritised sleep, nutrition that supports muscle and hormone health, and nervous system regulation, can significantly improve recovery and performance at any age.

Strength Training Is Non-Negotiable

If you’re still relying on bodyweight or cardio-based classes as your own workout, it’s time for a shift. Strength training isn’t a “nice to have” for instructors in their 40s+. It’s a non-negotiable tool for protecting joint integrity, maintaining lean muscle, and preserving metabolic and functional health.

A meta-analysis by Peterson, Rhea, and Sen (2010) found that resistance training in older adults improves strength, bone density, and performance in activities of daily living, with benefits extending well beyond appearance. For instructors, this means continuing to teach, move, and model great form without fear of injury or breakdown.

Internal Health Is an External Performance Issue

It’s easy to assume that digestion, immune resilience, or inflammation are separate from performance. But your internal systems are the foundation for everything you feel externally.

Gut health, nutrient absorption, and chronic low-grade inflammation affect your energy, recovery, and mood. As instructors, we often live in a sympathetic (fight-or-flight) state, high output, low rest. Over time, this constant drive can wear down systems responsible for immune function, hormonal balance, and cognitive clarity.

To teach well, your body needs to digest, detoxify, and restore just as efficiently as it moves.

Your Environment Is Talking to You Too

External stressors go beyond a packed class or a late-night playlist panic. They include:

• Disrupted sleep from artificial light exposure
• Endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in plastic water bottles and studio cleaning products
• Chronic noise and overstimulation from loud gyms or crowded studios
• Air pollutants affecting breathing quality during cardio-heavy sessions

We often accept these stressors as “just part of the job,” but their cumulative effect can lead to poor recovery, low-grade inflammation, and increased injury risk.

The truth is, longevity in fitness isn’t just about your body, it’s about the systems and environments that support it.

So… Is Your Body Whispering?

Maybe it’s the tightness that shows up after class more often than it used to.
Maybe it’s the voice in your head that says, “I can’t keep this pace forever.”
Maybe it’s just the low-grade dread of teaching when your own tank is empty.

These are not signs of failure. They’re signs of wisdom. Your body isn’t letting you down, it’s asking for your attention.

As Maya Angelou once said,

“When you know better, you do better.”

Now is the time to do better for your body, your career, and your future.

Ready to Teach Smarter, Not Just Harder?

Longevity by Design is a powerful virtual workshop created for instructors who want to stay in the game, and feel good doing it.

Led by Carolina Arias, this session brings together evidence-based insights and real-world strategies across:

✔ Strength
✔ Recovery
✔ Internal health
✔ Environmental resilience
✔ Mindset and motivation

🗓️ Saturday 8th November, 2–5pm AEDT
🎥 Can’t attend live? The workshop is recorded and yours to revisit anytime.
💰 $119 includes access to live + replay, and 5 AusActive CECs / 2 REPs NZ CPDs

👉 Join the Longevity by Design Workshop

Because moving well today helps you keep doing the things you love tomorrow, and for all the seasons to come.