Produced by | Huxiu Youth Culture Team
Author | Akko
Editor | Za Za County
This article was first published on Huxiu's youth-focused content account "那個NG" (ID: huxiu4youth). Here, we present the faces, stories, and attitudes of today's young people.
Who would have thought that the most frenzied fan scene in 2026 would be in a fitness aerobics room.
While men and women on the other side are preparing for the Olympics in Hyrox, a real-life version of "Obsession" is being staged in the gym on this side.
People trying to lose fat and gain muscle are all in tears: Stop making me look at these on low-carb days.
In one of the healthiest places in the world, a group of people who don't care about health have gathered.
When the autograph session of Japanese underground idols had zero attendees, group fitness instructors in domestic gyms had already become idols among the people.
So-called group class coaches refer to coaches who lead member classes at chain gyms. To put it crudely, they can also be understood as professional team leaders with a formal position.
In an era where young people are plagued by an average deficiency in qi and blood, a session of light and enjoyable group fitness classes has become an essential way for urban beauties and health enthusiasts to stay energetic.
But if you think everyone is just here to work out, you're being too naive.
There's a prevailing unwritten rule in the fitness community: whoever walks into the gym will automatically be considered a fan. Exercise relies on muscle power, while group classes rely on the instructor's charisma. The number of heroes emerging from a small room of just a few dozen square meters is enough to make you appreciate the diversity of species.
Here, the front row of group classes is like the back row of a classroom in one's school days, fostering small cliques.
First to approach us was the most striking presence in the entire room, respectfully referred to as the "Class Boss Big Auntie".
According to multiple eyewitnesses, they were mostly high-energy women born in the 1970s or 1980s who were extremely enthusiastic about close contact with the coach.
Before the class began, they had already sent out a scout to the training room, with the goal of occupying the golden spot closest to the stage. This hero often carried multiple water bottles to serve as placeholders for their teammates, forming a line to block the distance between others and the coach.
If you accidentally knock one over, you're done for. If you're lucky, you'll just get a friendly reminder, but if you're unlucky, you'll startle the witches and end up being surrounded by them in the locker room, with them poking you in the back and scolding you.
In addition to heroes with group attacks, there are also individual heroes with burst damage.
A group fitness enthusiast complained that they really enjoy taking a particular instructor's class, which features powerful dance moves with a great sense of rhythm, and is extremely popular among both male and female members.
She often saw a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup sitting in the front row of class, attending almost every session. Xiaolan also noticed that the woman would often hitch a ride with the coach to class, and her spare clothes and fitness gear were always stored in the coach's trunk.
This woman, in order to monopolize the coach, would often ostracize other women in the same teacher's class, attempting to prevent other females from getting close by assigning them to jump rope positions, leaving her classmates utterly astonished.
The TV show "2 Broke Girls" has an episode that talks about this very issue with gyms.
Lonely middle-aged men and women have finally found their community, where they can let loose and fight fiercely for their coach's favor.
The control room often refreshes, and there are also middle-aged Jiahaos with a dream of being the main character.
They are often lone wolves, dressed in ordinary quick-drying clothing, standing in the back half of the classroom or in a corner.
However, the warriors never complained about the environment, and they had their own way of attracting the teachers' attention. As soon as the music started, the big brothers would become completely absorbed in their own world. After exercising for a while, they would even make inexplicable panting sounds and excited roars, which were so frightening that people would take a few more steps back.
Each batch of students fell deeply in love, and even gave themselves different titles.
Those who supervise sign-ins by scanning codes before class and take turns recommending group additions after class are outstanding sales assistants; those who specially arrange exercise equipment and teaching tools for coaches on stage are rare and enthusiastic class representatives; those who shout loudly and ignore the gaze of other members during class are vibrant atmosphere groups.
The miniature policewomen commonly seen at cinemas and comic-cons also spawn randomly here. They have extremely high standards for the fashionable style and unified colors of sportswear, and will spontaneously organize the surrounding crowd to make purchases together. If you don't want to spend money, sorry, you've already lost the opportunity to join the organization.
Some people even go so far as to call the police during class due to the inconsistent spacing of yoga mats, in order to get closer to the teacher.
In addition to this, there is also the "Mystical Culinary Master" approach. Today, bring the teacher a cup of iced American coffee, tomorrow, make banana pancakes for the teacher, and also braise beef and stir-fry three dishes with a soup for the teacher. After one class, the coach is drunk and full, with a bulging belly, and only the students know about the spicy, fresh, and fragrant flavors along the way.
Some die-hard fans have even exhibited migratory behavior.
So-called migratory birds refer to members who follow coaches to different locations. Generally, a group fitness coach's teaching area is fixed within a certain region, but due to the relatively flexible scheduling of group fitness classes, some coaches may teach in multiple cities.
At times like this, some students, not wanting to miss out on time with their coaches, will take the high-speed train alone or in groups to different cities to pursue their love of fitness. Some people passionately write in their social media circles "be brave at least once in this lifetime", yet forget that essentially they are just going to another chain gym to attend an ordinary group class.
The coach's role here is like that of Bai Cheng's Da Yi from back in the day, attracting a crowd of people to chase after them. Bai Cheng's Da Yi at least beckoned with her hand, but the group class teacher's charm is probably just limited to updating official activity notifications.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the small group class classroom did not have a single safety zone.
Netizens summarize that the most suitable people for group fitness classes are those with face blindness or nearsighted individuals who do not wear glasses. Because blurry vision brings a sense of security, they won't be able to tell whether the instructor is male or female, and can elbow anyone next to them without emotion, never feeling drained.
You can guess that the emergence of die-hard fans has made some people miserable.
For instance, people like me who are originally intimidated by gyms.
Having mustered up the courage to enter the gym, the sight of the muscular men in the weightlifting area was intimidating, so I turned around and headed towards the aerobics room, only to be discouraged again by the different small groups.
Anqi was also one of them.
She never thought that taking a Zumba class at the gym would give her the same nervous feeling as walking into someone else's home for dinner. As a newcomer, she was still learning the steps, and her legs, which couldn't keep up with the rhythm, also made her a bit ashamed. For a 45-minute class, she spent 44 minutes unable to keep up with the rhythm, "like a gorilla begging for rain".
What made things worse for her was that the coach's footwork was completely blocked by the first row of members, making it impossible to see. An Qi counted and found that there were actually 7 people packed into the first row, making it impossible to stretch her arms and legs during the boxing exercise.
After one class, the narrow studio presented two completely different scenes. The back row, where An Qi was, was in chaos, with new members stepping on each other's feet. The front row, on the other hand, was peaceful and warm, with the coach and regular customers chatting and laughing.
After this experience, An Qi became even more withdrawn and decided not to sign up a second time: "I don't want to spend money to lie on someone else's warm kang."
There are also many coaches who cannot withstand such favoritism.
A part-time group fitness coach told me that having a fan base is a necessity to get people to attend classes, "at the very least, their follow-up can guarantee that more than three members sign up for each class, ensuring consistent performance."
She criticized that the recruitment threshold for group class instructors is relatively low, resulting in intense competition in this field. Being a coach is as difficult as being a hostess in Kabukicho.
Male coaches need to be handsome, tall, and eloquent, while female coaches need to be beautiful, with noticeable muscle definition. Apart from having teaching content that is attractive to new students, they also need to maintain relationships with old customers. They need to look good, be able to smile warmly at everyone, and be able to maintain customer relationships, sharing their attention equally in class and also being attentive outside of class.
After reaching this level, it's hard to avoid some members becoming die-hard fans, deeply entrenched in their own fantasies. Considerable effort is also required to maintain a normal social distance, preventing the formation of small cliques that block new blood from entering, making it a dilemma.
Even some coaches aren't immune to clique gossip.
Not all group classes can accommodate the enthusiasm of fans, and the classes where these things happen are somewhat legendary.
Based on the frequency of complaints, Zumba, Body Combat, and Body Pump can be ranked as the top three high-risk areas in the gym.
The reason is that they are musically dynamic, have simple actions, and are very friendly to beginners, making them a joyful aerobic exercise that keeps the heart rate between 120-140. After sweating profusely, one's face remains rosy, and they still have the energy to chat with others while rehydrating.
For anyone who has participated in HIIT high-intensity interval aerobic training or Hyrox training, it's clear why only those classes have romantic storylines.
If the intensity of the exercise is high enough, during rest periods, one can only pant like an ox. After one class, glasses fog up, and when standing up, everything goes black in front of one's eyes. The coach on stage shouting "hold on" and "do another set" doesn't evoke even a hint of admiration, one just wants them to spare themselves, and then, with aching limbs, escape this place of torment.
Some netizens commented, "Those who have the energy to socialize at the gym are the ones who will sacrifice their muscle mass and cardiovascular function."
You may wonder, with so many professions in China, why did I end up in a gym?
If you ask me, there's no profession in China more suitable for being a grassroots idol than a group fitness coach.
Not to mention, doing aerobic exercises multiple times a week, combined with mandatory anaerobic exercises, has already transformed their physiques into those of idol standards. As public figures in their local areas, coaches also tend to pay close attention to their image management.
From a professional perspective, judging by the occupational moral standards of an idol, it can also be found that their moral standards are extremely high on average.
For example, when interacting in person, he is extremely down-to-earth, almost never puts on airs, and will also not be aloof on stage; he arrives on time for every offline event, never stands people up, and is also the last to leave after class.
The teachers also performed well in the fan service segment, not only being skilled at interacting with fans and frequently praising and emotionally supporting members, but also being adept at creating exquisite response images.
It's rare to find someone who attends a fitness class and skips the photo opportunity. When coaches are already using PS and AI original designs, members also stay up late to perfect their posing, in pursuit of the perfect photo. It's a mutual effort.
The love for Coach is backed by a very important foundation: affordability.
With the sluggish development of national fitness programs, the threshold for joining group classes is similar to that of live streaming, where fans gather to support their idols. Compared to the tens of millions of yuan spent on K-pop fandom, group classes are a high-cost-performance, domestically produced form of entertainment.
At some chain gyms, group classes are included free of charge as part of membership benefits. Even at slightly more upscale venues like SuperMonkey or Lefit, they can cost only a few dozen yuan per session.
If you also consider buying the coach a drink, for less than 100 yuan, you can join the priority list and increase the rate of being called upon. Not to mention that it can also build muscle and burn fat, the explosive drumbeats and passionate screams can stimulate the sufficient secretion of dopamine and endorphins, making it a low-cost, high-return investment.
The price of a coach is determined by its amateur attributes, and no matter how hastily one spends money, it's impossible to overspend.
According to a member who has participated in chasing after instructors, the cost of round-trip tickets and hotel accommodations is around 1,000 yuan, and they also treated the instructor to a meal along with other members of the Zunba team. If you've ever chased after a real idol offline, you'll understand the value for money this price represents.
Some have astutely pointed out that when calculated by unit price, group classes are actually cheaper than going to a commercial KTV. Both offer the company of handsome men and beautiful women, a venue where one can legally scream loudly, and extremely high social attributes. When you do the math, it's clear which package is more cost-effective.
Teriyaki Sloth Burger
As someone who attends group classes at least a few dozen times a year, I can say that the content of collective group classes is not much different from following Pamela's videos at home.
There are basically two reasons people sign up for this gym: one is for the spacious workout rooms, and the other is for the atmosphere inside. When someone is exhausted from working out at home, they can just go to bed, but in the gym, with coaches yelling in their ears and members around them who are also experiencing a surge in heart rate and sweating, even the most apathetic person can get an adrenaline rush, and even if their waist is about to break, they can still get up and do another round.
In this space, the coaches are the primary drivers of the atmosphere. Many members have stated that the instructors' passion directly affects their mood. If the teacher on stage has an off rhythm or isn't loud enough, the aerobics experience is greatly diminished.
To encourage everyone's enthusiasm, coaches also guide participants' movements and rhythm one-on-one, much like teachers taking roll call in class.
In this shared space, a close one-on-one bond forms between each coach and every trainee. The open environment makes these emotional ties all the more nuanced—each person feels that, amid the vast crowd, they have finally been truly seen.
A 45-minute class satisfies various fundamental human needs, including the often-discussed sense of belonging, identity, and group hierarchy, all of which are constantly met in this gymnasium game.
There is no perfect answer here, and the size of one's voice determines the likelihood of winning. People boost their own confidence by suppressing other genres. The daily attacks and defenses also allow feelings of anger to constantly simmer in this environment.
An ordinary exercise studio spans only a few dozen square meters—a real, distinctly athletic space. It has never been a battleground for competition, yet people still sort themselves into hierarchies there. Members push themselves to the limit, seeking recognition and a sense of superiority within their limited circle, drawing on the instructor's favor and the gaze of those around them to achieve a fleeting moment of self-gratification.
Being overlooked in the wider world became the original drive to compete for recognition in the exercise studio. The more one lacks in real life, the more one seeks to claim something—anything—within those four walls.
In the comment section mocking group classes, one sarcastic remark reads: "At home, her husband doesn't cherish her and her kids are disobedient; she has few friends or close confidantes, so she can only compensate through external channels."
Ultimately, what people are fighting for is never just about a coach.