I decided, very foolishly, that the INTERMEDIATE step class at my old gym would be appropriate for my very FIRST group exercise class. I thought my experience as a cheerleader would help me pick up the moves quickly. WRONG!

I could not keep up during the warm-up, let alone when the actual class started. I awkwardly flailed my limbs around, oh at least 4 steps behind the class, until I eventually decided to bow out and finish my workout on the stairclimber in the cardio room - that I knew I could do!

Thankfully, I took classes that were more my level at my present gym and love going to classes when my schedule allows!

yes, because my friend had knee dislocation during aerobics class. we were just warming up and she never had any problems before, but when it happened she was in the hospital for 24 hours and had to go general anaesthesia. it was a very bad experience, ever since she can only cycle or swim, no impact exercises or it happens again.

also a few times i felt i was too weak and out of shape for the level of the class I was attending, I felt nauseous doing some abs exercises but I stuck with it.

I've taken a couple of Pilates classes where I felt the teacher had no idea what she was doing and I was just wasting my time, I stuck it out. There is one unbearable Spin instructor at my gym and I wanted to leave to bad, but I did not want to be rude. Some people are not qualified to teach classes.

kind of a mix of two stories above.... I took a step class with an unexperienced and pretty lazy instructor, and it WAS an intermediate step class because that is my level, and it was laughably easy. I just wasn't sweating, I wasn't working hard, and I left.

there was one time I had mistakenly eaten too much before a very challenging strength training class. I knew if I kept going, I would probably throw up, so it was best to just leave.

When I was fitness newbie, i came at the high intensity step class thinking "the harder the better". In just ten minutes my face turned red and arms started shaking. I felt dizzy. So I stopped doing excercises, said sorry and walked out of the class.

One time I left when I was not feeling good at all, and there was no way I was going to be able to finish the class. Another time, I did leave at the very beginning of a class when a sub showed up, and I knew from experience that I didn't like that particular teacher. I felt a little bad (a lot of people ditched), but I knew I would get a better workout on the elliptical.

i almost threw up a few times but i stuck with it

Of course - I don't have a lot of time to spend at the gym, so I need to use my time effectively. If the class is not a good match for my needs (ie they're just doing strength moves when I need to do cardio) I will walk out. If the instructor is a pro, they shouldn't take it personally.

There's a spin teacher at my gym who plays the WORST music ever. It sounds like a car wreck - it's a screaming mess. I just couldn't take it one day and left. I love music that motivates me, and hard rock does that, but not when someone is just screaming. Now I refuse to take that guy's class.

My cardio dance teacher had a sub once whose sole group exercise experience seemed to be as a cheerleader/dance team participant. She spent the whole class slowly teaching us a 2 minute combination. I burned about 84 calories during the class, as opposed to the +/- 400 cals I burn in my regular class. I wanted SO BADLY to leave, but I was in the front row, directly behind the sub and it felt awfully rude to do that.

yes. my pilates instructor died and my school didn't inform the class.

i showed up at 6:45am and the replacement instructor told us about the accident. i was shocked and horrified. i adored my pilates teacher. furthermore, the new instructor said she was teaching us yoga for the rest of the year. you can't replace level 3 pilates with level 1 yoga! i politely told her that i forgot my water and left before the class began.

I used to teach step aerobics, so I'm very picky for those classes and if I don't like the instructor's energy or her commands I just walk out. I don't gain anything but frustration by staying in - so I would rather just step on the treadmill and continue my workout there. I know we all have off days, so I'll give the class another try, but I won't subject myself to disappointment for an hour unnecessarily.

I once walked out of a yoga class because the usual instructor was out sick and the replacement instructor knew nothing about yoga. She was the intermediate/advanced pilates instructor and was under the impression that yoga and pilates were similar enough that we should be able to keep up. She was clearly as unhappy to be there as we were to have her there and about half the class ended up walking out.

As a fitness instructor, I take it personally when someone just ditches out. I have a water break at the 30 minute mark (half time!) and that is a good place to leave if you want, and also an opportunity to just let me know "This class was too hard for me" or "I need to get going" or something. As for subs, I tell me class, if possible, ahead of time so they know there will be a sub.

A friend and I decided to try a step class at our gym. There was no indication that this class was anything other than beginner because it did not say "intermediate" or "advanced" on the schedule. We got berated by the instructor after about 15 minutes for not being able to keep up because "this class is not for beginners", so we left after being humiliated in front of the whole class. The weird thing was the gym didn't even offer a beginner step class, this was the only one!

I have never walked out on a class, even though there have been a few I wish I had! Once I had a horrible sub for my yoga class, it was the most boring hour of my life! The sad thing is that now she's my friend! And my gym offers Zumba, which is really popular, but only twice a week, so the classes are jam packed! I don't like being in a class with no breathing room, but I enjoy Zumba so much that I just stick with it!

It was awhile ago and I was just getting into exercising so my endurance level was really low. I went to a high intensity cardio class and almost passed out!

No, but sometimes when I was super tired, I thought about it LOL.

I've only walked out of a couple classes when I couldn't stop coughing and had trouble breathing because of it in water aerobics. I love the class too and always felt so bad for leaving in the middle and I haven't been back since July.

There were a couple other classes that I wanted to walk out of, like a cycle class with a sub who was sooooo boring! I could barely hear her, hardly any motivation and the music sucked. I only stuck with it because the class was at 545am and I got up at 420 just to get a damn bike. And another cycle class at a gym closer to me but I don't like the bikes and the instructor was a sub. . .

If I'm trying something new, I generally try to stick through the classes to see if they pick up but if it lacks that spark for me, I go for something else.

If you're a yoga instructor for a beginner's yoga class, do NOT try to show off your human pretzel skills to everyone there to feel good about yourself. B/c, from experience, no one will show up the next week.

I've left a class because the teacher was very harsh in his corrections to other students and I couldn't stay and support his tyranny.

Yea but only because I had to leave early. I'll still go to a fitness class even if I can't stay the entire time--working out for 45 minutes is way better than skipping the entire workout just because I can't stay the full hour.

I walked out of a spin class, the teacher was playing the worst music - jazz and country, not something I want to workout to! I wasn't getting anything out of the class and my heart rate had barely risen while usually I'm dripping in sweat.

I took a class called Cardio Gymstick, which turned out to require a lot more dance-like ability than I possess, despite my best efforts. In other classes where this is a problem, I don't worry too much about it because there are so many other people -- but there were only four other students in the class. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to leave ... but I didn't.

Even better, once I forgot to bring a sports bra to change into and ended up trying to get through a class that contained a lot of spirited jumping around with only a regular bra. Just my luck, the underwire popped through the bra and began to make a break for it. I dropped my weights and ran out of the room ... but I decided to just pull out the wire and continue the class ... while moderating my own jumping.

I've walked out on classes several times. If it's too crowded, or the teacher is a horrible substiute I don't feel bad at all. Yesterday we had a new teacher in our kickboxing class and the class was teaching for her, she kept screwing up and saying OOPS and SORRY and I left early because I wasn't getting a workout since Iwas so distracted by her incompetence. I also leave early if I do two classes back to back, and I need to pick up my son from daycare.

I've only done it once and it was because it was a new class I hadn't done before. I hadn't eaten enough to compensate for the intensity and I almost fainted. That was the only time I had to leave a group class

Yes - I took a spin class with an instructor who clearly had no idea what he was doing and thought that screaming at the class was a good motivational tool. I wiped down my machine and got the hell out of there.

Every week I leave my pilates class a couple of minutes before the instructor ends, so I can get home and have dinner on my normal schedule. She and I are friendly and I've explained the situation to her, so she's totally fine with it. Basically she always goes over the hour long class, and I can't commit to those extra five minutes or so, because frankly I'm a busy woman!

Exactly why I prefer to exercise alone!

I go to a gym where it's totally okay - there are bikes and ellipticals all around the room and you can switch from the to the class and back at any time. That's great for trying out the activities.

katieb- i had a bra malfucntion several times too which caused me to flee from the spin bike to fix it. My sports bra had hooks and snap buttons in the back but somehow the hooks disdlodged and then the buttons snapped and out popped my boobs.

Luckily, I usually wear a big and loose t-shirt so I could make it to the locker rooms unnoticed:) It happened twice in one class and two other times in other classes. I put it back in place and returned to my bike to work out at a lower intesity.

It was a TKB class at 24 hour. The sub was terrible! Look lady, I don't wake up and take a 6 am class to take breaks and let my heart rate rest more then I let it spike. I get up this early to kick my own butt! I walked out. And then she was there the next week too, so I walked in and walked right back out.

There is one instructor I am not fond of because I can't stand her screaching when she prompts/cues the class on the next move or tries to motivate. And she also does the steps as though she is on crack, or a fast forward DVD. I tried to stick it out once, but that voice! Therefore, whenever she subs for my regular instructor I peek in the room, and if it's her, I quickly make a run for the treadmills.

I normally don't ever walk out of a class, I feel that it's just too rude. But I tried a Everlast Shadow Boxing class at 24hr fitness, thinking I could learn the moves like I did for their fun Kickboxing class... except this teacher moved SO fast... leaving no time for beginners like myself to catch up or catch on... I had to leave and spend my gym time doing something more productive than standing there with a puzzled look on my face.

Only once. I had never taken this instructor's class before. I was so upset to find out her music was terrible, her voice very irritating, and her class not challenging at all. I know it's up to me to work hard during the class, but if the instructor is doing nothing, I may as well go do cardio by myself because I'll work harder and have enjoyable music. I felt really terrible about ditching so in the future I've always make sure to ask about the instructor's style to avoid being rude.

I once attended a Taebo class at my gym with my sisters. What we didn't know was that it was a very advanced class with a guest trainer from Brazil. All of the trainers from the gym where there.. and me ad my sisters. The class was so intense, and the trainer obviously saw that I was not keeping up and came to me over and over to make me punch him, I apparently didn't do it right so he got pretty frustrated with us. When my face had turned a shade of purple I gave up and we fled the scene. That was pretty embarrassing.

i've walked out of a cycle class once. i wanted to try the class because she was/is a really popular instructor and it's hard to get into her class. i left halfway through because all she played was 80s hairband songs (which is why the class was packed full of women who obviously were groupies during the 80s) AND she kept the lights on!

now, i'm a cycle instructor myself and i do NOT feel bad when someone leaves because i don't want anybody wasting their time in my class. if my music isn't your style, then please find an instructor who has your style of music. everybody's tastes are different, and there's bound to be an instructor with your style of music. not many people walk out of my classes, though.

i'm also a TKB instructor, but not many people walk out of that class since all the music and the choreography is basically the same for each class.

I've walked out of several for various reasons:

1 - the class ran over the time designated and I needed to be somewhere
2 - the teacher didn't know how to teach and seemed to be more interested in watching herself than noticing that the class couldn't follow (latin impact)
3 - I was just too exhausted (2nd class in a row)
4 - I just wasn't coordinated enough to follow and was tripping over myself (step)
5 - The teacher talked about his band breaking up after it was ruining marriages, at the same time my relationship ended because my musician fiance was screwing around with groupies

Never have. I take a Zumba class every week and I love it, even though I'm the most uncoordinated person in there. There is one woman in our class who walks out between every dang dance number to run to the water fountain and I know it shouldn't bother me but it drives me crazy. All I can think everytime she pops out and back into the class again is, "Do you have something against water bottles, lady!"

There is a yoga teacher at my gym that is very full of herself (loves to look at herself in the mirror) and tells people to sit down - not even child's pose-if they can't do a series or pose. She offers no modifications and I've seen many people walk out frustrated or embarassed. I took her class before, by accident and refuse to step foot in it if she's subbing for my favorite teachers.

I never take group exercise classes..lol!

I am a group exercise instructor. I have been blessed to have full classes and whether I'm subbing or I'm teaching my own classes, I give 100%. I have walked out of group x classes when..
a) the instructor does not acknowledge my presence..ever
b) does not ask if anyone is new, does not show ANY alternate moves
c) does not motivate....goes through the motions...Technically great but boring..or...doesn't KNOW the choreography...
d) does not keep the beat
e) makes it SOOOOO complicated that only the "front" row gets it...STEP died because of NO TAP, non-stop, complicated choreography. MOST people didn't get it and they got frustrated.

I teach Body Pump, Body Step, Body Combat, Step, TKB, Sculpt, Interval, Boot Camp, Pilates and Yoga. I LOVE my job and I take from some great instructors, but will not stay in a class where an instructor reads off notecards (foul) and doesn't connect with his/her students...
Stay fit!!