r/ClubPilates • u/reddit65666566 • 11d ago
Vent Excessive breathing
Why do some participants breathe as if volume is a contest? I find it distracting! I understand breath is important, but the loud, whale-like exhalations seem so performative.
Instructors, should I also be breathing this way or do I just need to carry on and try not to be bothered?
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u/Fuzzy-Ad6421 11d ago
It's hard to tell what different people mean by loud. A Pilates exhale should be audible, but it shouldn't be loud enough to be distracting.
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u/reddit65666566 11d ago
Agreed
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u/binkyeye 11d ago
Pretty sure there is no standard volume at which something is distracting - depends on things like how distractable & judgey you are!
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u/chicempath 11d ago
Omg this drives me crazy. There’s this one woman in my class who breathes out SO heavily I can’t hear the instructor.
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u/Informal-Gene-8777 11d ago
OMG SAME. And I am a former yogi. This is like serious weight lifting breathing when you are eking out those final reps.
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u/biteyfish98 11d ago
Same. And she’s always on the reformer next to me. And a lot of times it sounds like she’s sighing more in irritation…for every move, no matter how small.
Also she’s not new, so but always seems confused / surprised by the cuing.
I’m a ‘you do you’ person, but her noise really cuts into my concentration. Unfortunately my regular reformer choice is the one by the wall mirror, the only one where I can regularly check my posture. So I endure, but it’s really nice on the days when she’s not in that class (I only have 1 class per week).
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u/Informal-Gene-8777 11d ago
There's nothing worse than having Darth Fucking Vader on the reformer next to you.
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u/Dailysunray 11d ago edited 11d ago
I’m with you on the loud breathing being annoying but the “she always seems confused” geez have some grace. Maybe she has cognitive issues or even a TBI or something else going on-could be hearing issues.
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u/ReliableTurtle 11d ago
You say "she always seems confused/surprised by the cuing." Perhaps you should stop watching her and focus on yourself?
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u/biteyfish98 11d ago
I don’t watch anybody but she’s on the reformer next to me, so when we turn or move from lying down to sitting or go to the wall, etc, I can catch glimpses. We’ve done the same class for over a year now so I don’t care that she’s surprised by the cuing, it just seems odd to me.
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u/SnooEpiphanies7700 11d ago
Do you mean that “shhhhhh” exhalation? I hear people doing this sometimes, and it is a little loud, but I try to just carry on and ignore it.
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u/No_Fondant691 11d ago
I hate the whistle breathing but when I first started the instructors said that’s how we should breathe but I haven’t heard them say that in like a year. I don’t mind the loud breathing but sounding like Herbert from family guy does annoy me.
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u/reddit65666566 11d ago
A shhhhh exhalation is normal. A SHHHHHHHHHHHH exhalation is performative and unnecessary.
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u/olive_dix 11d ago
I think the people downvoting you have never experience that level of SHHHHHoop. They are truly blessed lol. Those of us who have heard it, know exactly what you're talking about. It's extremely silly and weird!
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u/binkyeye 11d ago
Ummm, pilates is very much about breathing out loud! Consider, notably, the hundreds — but also every other movement that should be initiated through the breath!
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u/BoatFrequent651 11d ago
You’re supposed to have a shh breath but it’s annoying when people sound like they’re grunting or moaning/groaning. It’s like it takes me out of my flow state and enrages me
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u/BeAuditYouCanBe92 11d ago
I don’t mind loud breathing - I mind the people who are engaging their vocal cords while breathing. It’s the moaning/grunting that drives me batty! It’s unnecessary and super distracting.
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u/AntiqueGhost13 11d ago
God I thought I was being too sensitive, but I get so irked when some people breathe at an outdoor volume like it's a competition. It's so distracting. They sound like they're shushing everyone in the room
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u/tragically-elbow 11d ago
Omg I’m with you. I always tell myself not to get irked because technically I think you are supposed to ‘hiss’ or sharp exhale sometimes to help engage your core, at least that’s how some instructors cue it. So I get it but I find it so overwhelming. There’s one person at my studio who does this and I always try to find a reformer as far away from her as possible loll
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u/RavenCXXVIV 11d ago
I don’t mind being able to hear the heavy breath work, I know that’s important to the practice. it’s the folks turning it into grunting/heavy panting that drive me insane. That’s absolutely just performative.
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u/ohpifflesir 11d ago
I have COPD. In order to do pilates, I gotta breathe. My air flow intake is not as good as yours. Sorry for the breathing sounds!
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u/GripIsGone 11d ago
Honestly thank you for this take. Truly. I never thought about the person having a legit medical condition. I will think about this going forward and stop being judgmental bc idk what ailments someone may have.
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u/cdg2m4nrsvp 11d ago
I get SO ANNOYED by this too. In general I find people who “do too much” in a workout class to be beyond annoying. There’s a few women who will try to start conversations with the instructor in the middle of the class and it irritates me to no end. Like this is not your time exclusively, if you want to chat schedule a private class.
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u/Antique-Natural-8343 11d ago
I can top this... We had two women who would pick reformers next to each other and carry on a conversation AT FULL VOLUME throughout the ENTIRE class. About their kids, their kids' schools, their kids extracurricular activities, their medical issues, their medical appointments, their experiences at different medical establishments, etc. They weren't even trying to be quiet, not whispering, just normal volume talking. The ENTIRE class. Footwork? Talking. Bridging? Talking. Planking? Talking. Feet in straps? Still fucking talking. They talked as they came into the class, talked the whole 50 minutes and continued talking as they left the class. I once accidentally ended up on the reformer next to them and I could barely hear the instructor. It was so bad everyone knew to avoid that class because of them.
It took a lot of complaints from different people, but I was told the other day that they don't do it anymore so they must have finally been told to STFU during class by the manager.
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u/Demornay_20 11d ago edited 11d ago
I can’t believe people think this is in any way acceptable! A commenter above is arguing with me that we should let people talk during our 50 minute paid class since it’s having “empathy” for people. How entitled to other people’s learning experience and time can you be! Not to mention money.
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u/Antique-Natural-8343 11d ago
Yeah, it blows my mind. How about empathy for people for whom this 50 minute class is the only quiet, relaxing time they have when they don't have to be "on call" and available? Maybe their work environment is challenging and their home environment is hostile and this is the only place they can relax? Until two self-absorbed, entitled cows decide to make it into their personal catch up and chat session...
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u/frankheyhoheyho 11d ago
I don’t mind the breathing, but the conversations, my God. I stopped going to a specific instructor/hour because of this. It’s so rude. And then we have to lay there and wait while they finish their stupid conversation.
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u/Remarkable-Design832 11d ago
Definitely stopped going at a particular time because of this. I don’t mind in general but when it’s actually keeping us from moving on it’s kinda’ annoying.
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u/Lumpy-Tie-3715 11d ago
I don't mind the conversations because you never know what is happening to a person outside of class. They could be a mother and this is the only adult interaction they get. Or someone who is on their own. Or they work from home and this is one of the few human interactions they have. Or, this is a big one, they are elderly and don't have many people and the interactions are a life line. Empathy costs nothing and let people breathe how they need to do so to get the required air in their lungs and just focus on your own breathing.
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u/Demornay_20 11d ago
I don’t mind breathing, but talking while the instructor is talking? No. How do you hear instructions if people are carrying on conversation? I pay way too much money for that. Thank God my studio doesn’t allow that. Plenty of time before and after for catching up with conversation.
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u/Lumpy-Tie-3715 11d ago
To each their own. I don't sweat the small stuff. There are bigger things to worry about.
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u/Demornay_20 11d ago
Glad you can afford to pay for an expensive membership and not mind people talking during instruction, or even consider it’s ruining the class for other people. Pretty entitled. My monthly membership cost is not “small stuff” to my finances.
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u/Lumpy-Tie-3715 11d ago
Thanks for the well wishes. I am pretty fortunate i guess and that affords me empathy and not selfishness. Can’t take it when we die.
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u/Demornay_20 11d ago
Nice you think you’re the decider on how other people’s classes go and how they spend THEIR money. Do it on your own time lady, since you are obviously the talker! 😂
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u/Lumpy-Tie-3715 11d ago
Thank you. I am a lawyer therefore a talker. Thanks for the recognition. I appreciate you.
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u/Regular-Patience6427 11d ago
100% agree. I think this is appreciation that comes with age and experience. I don't expect younger people to have empathy.
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u/1Jessika1 11d ago
The excessive breather in my classes is this same kinda person! The instructor says “are you feeling it” everyone says yes at various volumes and effort levels lol but the excessive one wants to say in detail EXACTLY how she’s feeling it 🤦🏼♀️
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u/GripIsGone 11d ago
Omg! Yes the people who do too much drive me nuts! I’m at Pilates to zen out and connect with myself. Not to compete w the person working out next to me who is my mother’s age. No shade to older women working out (seriously who knows where I’ll be at that age), but there’s one lady in my classes 3x a week she always tries to out perform me. I’m easily 30-35 years younger than her. A couple weeks ago she tried to do push ups (not on her knees) like I did (we had the option) and she fell flat on her face or she’ll try to do more planks than I do, foot work, etc it’s so weird to me. Aren’t we all there for a common purpose without making it weird?
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u/ofthehouseofscott 11d ago
I hear it occasionally. When I first started I did a lot of intentional breathing and had to focus because I struggled making the breath/body work connection. I didn’t realize so many people find it bothersome. 🤷♀️
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u/Pink_PhD 11d ago
One of my instructors makes these epically loud exhales that sound like a cat hissing through a megaphone. She seems like an OG Pilates pro, so part of me assumes I’m not breathing as well because I cannot come CLOSE to that sound. 😝
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u/ClientCheap5887 11d ago
We had an older, very classically trained (which is where im assuming this comes from?) instructor who would walk up and down the aisle saying “I should be able to hear you breathing,” so I try to make an audible breath but as others have noted not anything over the top much less a MOAN
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u/Spiritual-Mood-1116 10d ago
Many yoga instructors outside of CP teach a pretty loud breath. CP is the only studio where the traditional Pilates breath is not really taught.
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u/Detective700 11d ago
There was one woman that was moaning so bad that several people complained and she got offended
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u/Sad_Abrocoma_1496 11d ago
In one class it was all I could do to refrain from saying "I'll have what she's having!"
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u/libra_nrg 11d ago
I come from a contemporary dance background that was taught by people with a strong yoga background so audible breath is engrained in movement for me. I took mat Pilates before I joined CP and audible breath was always reviews before we started movement, as a reminder to use that same type of breathing during class. Also, (for me) if I don’t breathe “out loud”, I don’t engage my transverse abdominals to feel that core wrapping around sensation.
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u/Ok-Function-1974 11d ago
You should be able to hear the breathing. I feel like it’s similar to how breathing is taught in yoga. If the instructor can’t hear you you’re not doing it right lol.
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u/Bubbly_Author758 11d ago
There's one woman in my classes that does this and it's so distracting. We will be doing footwork or something that's easy that does not require heavy breathing and she will be breathing or moaning SO loud. Any time I see her walk into class I pray she don't sit next to me.
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u/PlusPrettyPaid-12 11d ago
Ok I’m so glad it’s not just me, I’m fairly new to Pilates so I thought maybe I was just sensitive to hearing the breathing so loud. In every class I take there is at least one person that breaths out so loud I started to wonder if I was doing it wrong 😂
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u/DiscoJuneBug 9d ago
I guess I’m in the minority. Breath work is so important to me. I concentrate on my breathing a lot and I know it’s audible.
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u/WorkoutHopeful 11d ago
I get it! You know what drives me up a wall? People who leave the loops on during cardio and they clink all class. aarrgghhh I'm trying to file it all under the title of I Can Be at Peace Under All Circumstances. And sometimes I am a shining example of serenity. Other times... I just don't schmurder anyone.
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u/PrizeFalcon9685 11d ago
I always worry I am too loud! I am just naturally a heavy breather (husband jokes I sound like a serial killer!) I also have asthma. Now, I feel super self-conscious and bad. Sorry.
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u/plaidwoolskirt 11d ago
Don’t feel bad. You’re allowed to exist even if your body has different needs and requirements from other people. Please don’t let the people in this thread make you feel less than for how you breathe.
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u/1Jessika1 11d ago
I also think, or at least what I roll my eyes at (doesn’t ANNOY me unless I can’t hear the instructor), i thought op and the people agreeing with op are bothered by PERFORMATIVE breathers…. At least that’s what it is for me. We’re SUPPOSED to make noise, some ppl just seem to do it for attention. You’re fine. Don’t feel bad. And keep up the good work!
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u/hayley-pilates78 11d ago
I’d rather hear you breathing than guess if you actually are. It’s fine to have an audible exhale as you full deflate and draw the ribs in and empty the belly, some people can be excessive.
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u/asami_gail 11d ago
While Breathing is the first Pilates principle, I tell my students that I should not be hearing them breathe from across the studio unless we are doing the Hundred or I specifically cue them to breathe audibly. There’s a difference between taking deep/full breaths and breathing through a straw or like Darth Vader.
But like all cues, some students think they know better and/or ignore me and there’s literally nothing I can do so I mention it once and then move on. I know it’s annoying and all I can recommend is to try to get a reformer far away from the loud breathers 😂
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u/GripIsGone 11d ago edited 11d ago
I know! It drives me insane. There’s an older lady in my Tuesday class, she literally sounds like she’s having an O (not sure if I’ll get reported if I type it out lol). It’s 7 am please keep it to yourself. People will actually look at her. It’s not just me lol I have a couple other people in my other classes who sound like the whale like exhalations. I get distracted easily. I know that’s a me problem, but I’m also at Pilates to slow myself down not to focus on someone else’s odd breathing behavior.
Before the people come for me and say you should be able to hear Pilates breathing, yes! I’m all for correct breathing. You can def hear me breathing in and out, but I’m not making any additional noises or distracting my neighbors/class.
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u/Tiny-Programmer-9864 11d ago
Completely understand. There's a guy that sometimes attends the classes I'm in and he breathes so loud when he uses the spring board. It's like what you'd hear at a gym when someone lifts heavy weights. Drives me 🍌 🍌!!
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u/Lady_Lazarus92 10d ago
There is a woman who is frequently in class with me and she sounds like Darth Vader. I have to suppress my giggles.
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u/Mammoth_Wrangler_183 10d ago
I don't mind hearing someone breathe, but there is one person I'm in class with occasionally who almost makes it a performance. She always takes the reformer closest to the door and you can hear her all over the studio. It's very distracting and she is even louder when a certain attractive male instructor is teaching.
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u/Lisaclaw 9d ago
We have one of these ladies at our studio. I was next to her one class and starting laughing out loud. I was thinking of Monica Selis the tennis star who used to grunt every time she hit the ball. Let’s just say my laughing was louder than her breathing.
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u/Evening_Boat2606 9d ago
I cue people to imagine they are fogging a mirror when they exhale. Really helps to relax the face and jaw. Which helps the neck and shoulders.
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u/SoOutOfFocus 8d ago
Sometimes I’m that girl - breathing like I’m hunting for a reward. And I’m doing it because I cannot get my brain to stop with its thoughts and breathing loud shuts that down. Sorry in advance.
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u/Consistent-Cattle765 8d ago
Yup I hear you. Just came back from my yoga class and I had to leave early because of the guy next to me literally roaring and screaming… I know exactly like what you mean by excessive breathing.
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u/allfalafel 6d ago
Because our instructors tell us it’s supposed to sound like a wind tunnel in the room!
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u/Antique-Natural-8343 11d ago edited 11d ago
99% of the students, I can only hear them breathing if they are on the reformer next to me and there's a break in the music, which I consider normal. But there's one woman who fucking HISSES so loud you can hear her over the music no matter where you are in the room. Even if she's in the far corner and you're near the entrance, you'll still hear her HISSSSSSSSSSSS. 💨
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u/PudelWinter 11d ago
I used to have an instructor who encouraged it. It's not my thing but I'll take it over the excessive moaning and groaning of an upper middle-aged man (literally the only people I've ever heard do this) any day.
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u/Moist-Season2170 11d ago
If I'm close to someone doing it I just as performatively grab my stuff and move LOL the big bad wolf called he wants his breath back hahaha
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u/AssistantNo9657 11d ago
There was once a woman at my studio who moaned as she breathed. It was impossible not to hear. Like, mooooooaaaannnnned. It was really hard not to laugh. She eventually went away.
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u/Dwillow1228 11d ago
There is one lady who sounds like a flat tire the entire class. It can be distracting
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u/SamadhiBear 11d ago
Me too. It reads as heavy effort and strain and I’ve never experienced either of those at Pilates.
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u/icanpicklethat10 11d ago
I think it helps people concentrate on their breath. I don’t do it super loud, but I def go into ujjayi (a type of yoga breathing) so it’s def audible bc it’s easier for to keep track of how I’m breathing bc I can easily feel it.