Group exercise has been on my mind a lot lately. I have a lot of thoughts running through my head about the fitness classes I teach and the direction to go in to grow as a fitness instructor. I feel like I’ve become a little too comfortable with my teaching style. I’m teaching the same two classes a week to the same exact people, and I feel like I’ve become stagnant and BORING. Please someone tell me otherwise? Don’t get me wrong, I love my Tuesday/Thursday 6am total body crowd, but I am definitely in need of a little change or jolt of new energy or something. My certifications are due to renew in a couple of months, so I’m hoping that some continuing education classes will help snap me out of this funk. However, it’s hard to feel like I can’t grow while working full time because I simply don’t have time in the day to take anything else on. I just refuse to run myself rampant anymore with dipping my toes in too many things at once. Not interested.
In thinking about myself as a fitness instructor, I also started reminiscing a bit about the classes I used to teach and my old style. I mean, Step and Sculpt at Providence College was the very first group exercise class I ever taught, and my Thursday morning class at the Y used to be a lot of random cardio combinations thrown together with some light weights here and there. I had no idea what I was doing, and I know some of you remember what I’m talking about. Shudder! There are also a couple of major mistakes I made back in the day when I was a less experienced fitness instructor. If you are a beginner to teaching group ex, I hope talking about these can help you!
1. Using class as my own workout.
Gah, I did this for YEARS! People constantly tell me how lucky I am to be a fitness instructor because well, I get paid to work out! And back in the day, I would agree. I used to DO my class WITH my class for its entirety (so selfish!), but over the years I’ve learned that while on the clock as an instructor, your own workout should be the last thing on your mind. Some might say that having an instructor who does the workout up there with everyone can give the class a more energizing vibe, but a good instructor should know how to keep things high energy and motivating while ensuring a safe and effective environment for class members. I still always demonstrate the moves before making my class members do them, and I definitely still join in for some reps or sets here or there if I sense people are losing their oomph. The majority of the time though? I’m walking around, making corrections, or getting right down next to someone if I think they need a little extra push. This makes for a more personal experience I think! And then I do my workouts later, on my own time… and I get more out of them.
2. Not trying exercises on my own first.
When planning my class formats, sometimes I’d think of an exercise combination and just incorporate it into my class without trying the moves on my own first. This resulted in a lot of confusion and moves that often worked better in theory than in actuality. This mistake isn’t a huge deal if the exercise just ends up being awkward (everyone simply gets a good laugh), but it’s definitely a bigger deal if the exercise ends up being unsafe in any way. Not good. I was humbly reminded of this last week during Halloween class when I planned on everyone doing a move using the bosu that definitely seemed better in my head at home. As I demonstrated it, I felt mortified that I would even think to have class do such a thing, and I switched my plan on the spot. We all mess up, but I definitely used to make this mistake much more often during my earlier teaching years.
3. Not reading the crowd well.
I mean this in a couple of different ways. First, not reading the crowd sometimes meant that I wasn’t paying enough attention to class member reactions (see #1) to tell if we were doing too much or too little of something or if an exercise was too hard or too easy. I used to just stick to my class plan without deviating from it, and that’s never a good thing. I’ve learned to become much more flexible to change things on the spot if they just don’t work. I also would never take it as a reflection of my own instruction methods if members couldn’t understand something I was cueing. Couldn’t they just fix their form? What do you mean they didn’t know what I meant when I told them to split up and then do that thing over there? I never thought that maybe what I’m asking them to do is just more complicated than it needs to be. Over the years, I’ve learned that if a class member doesn’t understand something, whether it’s how to do an exercise or what’s coming next, it’s usually because I’m not communicating as effectively as I could be. People are different types of learners, and not everyone is going to understand audio cues. Take instructing your class to pay more attention to hip hinging for example. That’s enough for some, but there are others who need to see the hip hinge, and some people need to feel the hip hinge. Maybe telling someone to not let their knees hit your hand as they try a deadlift or kettlebell swing is what will get them into the correct position, not you just yelling at them.
I’m sure I made many more mistakes, and I’m not saying I’m the perfect instructor now, but these are three ways that I feel I’ve grown as an instructor over the years.
Your #1 sounds like a similar thing I did when I was a Weight Watchers leader.
I didn’t make time to attend meetings I wasn’t leading….and surprise, surprise, I stopped following the WW plan and the weight came back, and then some.
The only group ex class I’ve taken in the past year has been spin and I’ve liked the instructors because their cues are ON POINT and they know the beat count for every.single.song.
The only other classes I’ve taken in the past few years have been hot yoga and there are the REALLY good instructors and the ones that try too hard by telling jokes or personal anecdotes while we are hard at work trying to hold a pose. PLEASE DON’T. (<—aluthough I think I would like this if it were like any other class)
Great post. #1 is a great tip for anyone teaching anything, whether it’s fitness or writing. When you stop focusing on what you’re getting out of it, your students get your best instead of you holding some of it back for yourself. The best fitness instructor I ever had started the workout with the group, but spent most of the time bouncing from person to person, correcting our form and helping make adjustments.
Oh my gosh, Athena, this post is great! (And here comes a long reply…) EVERY instructor (of anything really, not just fitness) has been there before. Being the new one, not knowing HOW to teach, but more just demonstrating their ability. It’s embarrassing to think back about those times, isn’t it? Eeek. That was my problem when I first started! I hated being the center of attention, but decided to go out on a limb and try teaching. The first few months I was so terrified all I did was stand at the front of the room (facing the mirror instead of the class, no doubt) and count. All I said were numbers (and of course names/cues for the next move). But no encouragement, no pump up sayings, no cheering of my students, and definitely no walking around to make sure people were doing things correctly! No wonder some people hated my classes! The owner pulled me aside and asked that I take a few of his classes and learn how he motivated them. I’m really thankful they didn’t fire me, and took a chance that I’d improve, because teaching classes is now SUCH a passion of mine.
I’m sure there are plenty of other areas where I need to improve, but I know I’ve come a long way. I love walking around the class like you do and making sure everyone is keeping their form and do the exercises correctly. Motivating others motivates ME as an instructor. It’s thrilling to get the class pumped! Thank you for such a great post, Athena. Loved this one. Great advice for new instructors out there, too. 🙂
I agree with you totally!
My best instructors are the ones that always start each exercise with the class. Then walk around to be sure each and every person is performing it correctly. This is especially important to students who have been in the class for a very long time! We sometimes are not even aware that we aren’t doing something correctly. I always appreciate the encouragement to do a little more than I think I am capable of. There are also the times when I am tired, not feeling well, or something is on my mind. An understanding of an off day is key without any pressure to keep up. The worst is one who is barely paying intention to the class, not offering advice, and more concerned with their own workout! I never return to that type of class.
Funny….as I reflect on this. I have been with you at 6AM since the beginning (love you boo)…I think you have evolved for sure (remember your old warm ups, or how much you’ve pushed us to increase our weights, or animal themed classes). I think we all have. When I go to other studios now (fancy ones, too) I do think you have an edge. I also think certain class formats are better for certain instructors (not everyone can teach spin, yoga, circuits etc.. and be perfect in all). There is a maturity/experience you have that I really appreciate. Your classes are always a good workout. If I am not sore/sweaty, that is on me because you put it out there. Don’t be too critical..but I also love when you mix it up. Best part of course is the people we sweat with at 6AM 🙂
Totally agree on this!! I cringe thinking back to my earlier years of teaching, but at the same time I love seeing how much I’ve grown and evolved. The only workout I do with the class is kickboxing, but only because of the combos… they tend to get lost if I stop 😉 Otherwise my goal is to instruct and coach and see the need to walk around to encourage, correct form, push them, etc. I always do the first few reps with the class (otherwise they tend to be completely lost and take their sweet time getting going) and I will do the last few reps with them, too, since they tend to need a push to keep going. Reading the crowd is incredibly important and I’ve had to change my class format on the spot so many times because of this!
Athena, you are a great person.You “mark” your self for the things you do and after analyse them you getting better. You are a unique instructor,I am sure, because of your article. Thank you for that. Kisses from Greece.