fbpx Skip to content

How To Be A Sound Friend

As a group fitness instructor, you are the first line of defense when it comes to sound safety. Excessive noise can not only drive away customers but can also damage the ear drum.

Use the following tips to make sure you and your fitness facility are staying within safe sound-level parameters.

  • If your facility doesn’t provide a decibel meter, download a sound-level monitoring app such as Decibel Meter. Use it to monitor your classes, and stay below 90 dB.
  • Arrive early to class, turn on the music and walk around the room to check the volume. Often the instructor is behind the speakers, which point out toward the room, making it difficult to gauge loudness during class.
  • If your fitness facility doesn’t have a sound policy in place, talk to your manager about why this is so important—and about spearheading one.
  • Ask class participants to help you regulate the sound volume, and be courteous and accommodating when an attendee asks you to turn the music down.
  • Talk to your group fitness director about placing audio limiters on the sound system to keep everyone on the same page.

To read the full article which ran in the March 2014 IDEA Fitness Journal click here. You can also learn more about recommended safe volume levels here.


Lori Corbin

with 30 years experience in fitness and nutrition I am currently a nutrition/fitness reporter for KABC-TV in Los Angeles and also the host of CUSTOM FIT on the LIVEWELL network. I continue to teach group ex and have a small personal training clientele.

Related Articles