Lift The Bar

Teaching classes are often forced upon gym instructors or PT’s in gyms or encouraged within LTB as a method of lead generation.  Both of these completely overlook two very important points: 

1. Teaching classes require a different skill set to 121 PT. 
2. The most important people in the class are the attendees. The class is about them and what they want, not you. 

The good news is that, like most skill sets, it is one you can develop if you put the effort in. 

If you are not familiar with classes, I’d recommend attending them.  By trying out different instructors and class formats you’ll learn what you like and don’t like as an attendee, as well as what other attendees like and don’t like.  This information will give you a far clearer understanding of how to be an awesome instructor than anything I write, but in the meantime here are a few pointers. 

Plan The Class: 

It sounds obvious but knowing what you are going to do will not only give you confidence if you are not used to teaching, it will also help demonstrate you care. Unless you are very experienced at classes, your participants will be able to tell if you are making it up as you go along and, whilst you may think that’s a great skill (and it is certainly one that has its place), it’s not a key skill class attendees or potential clients are looking for. 

If it's not a class you normally take then there can be different challenges to planning.  If you don’t know what kit you will have available, either find out or plan for none. If it’s a class format you aren’t familiar with then You tube and Google can come to the rescue for inspiration.  Think about timings, allow time for transitions, water breaks, warm up, cool down, getting kit out and putting it away.  It’s amazing how the little bits add up.  Have a back up plan for if the timing goes awry. A time flexible finisher or an optional track that you’ll use or skip based on timing can help and avoid on the spot panic.

Ultimately your aim is for attendees to leave feeling accomplished and like they got what they wanted from the class.  That may mean getting a sweat on and a raised heart rate from a HIIT class or a burn in their abs and glutes from a legs, bums and tums class. It might be feeling relaxed or more mobile after a Pilates class or like they’ve pushed themselves harder in spin.  Think about what the attendees want to get from the class in question and aim to create that feeling.  

Show You Want to be There: 

In a class setting, you are a showman, you set the energy level, the motivation and the fun. 

If you don’t want to be there and let it show, you will sour the whole class experience. 

You may have to take a class you participate in, like spin or Zumba. In this case, the majority of people will take their cue on how hard to work from you.  If you are only giving it 75% effort, then expect to get only 50% back. 

On the occasion that it is a class you instruct rather than do with the class, like Circuits or Pilates, then you set the tone by the background music, your tone of voice and choice of words. A bored timekeeper in the corner doesn’t add positively to anyone’s day.  

However you feel about the task at hand, put on a show and make it a positive experience for your participants.  

You Need to be Able to Multitask:

The key technical skill for running classes is class management.  That is, the ability to be able to scan a room full of moving people, identify and grade any potential issues, and then deal with them all appropriately whilst keeping the main class flowing and on time. You can’t spend ages getting everyone’s technique perfect and you can’t give one individual all your attention.  

As you get used to a class you learn the potential sticking points in terms of both the exercises and the attendees. You’ll also get more experienced at addressing the different types of issues.  All of these things help speed the process up until it becomes second nature. Until you get to that point, class planning is your friend. You can choose movements less likely to cause confusion, preempt potential issues by incorporating learning time – maybe in the warm up, or organise the class so you can give slightly more attention to the trickier elements.

Planning allows you to identify potential issues before they occur and avoid them. If you don’t know the class, err on the side of caution and have a selection of back up plans in your head for if you need to make changes on the fly. Include methods of changing intensity as well as exercise modifications for common issues. 

Keep it simple so you can manage the competing demands on your attention.

 

Show Your Personality 

You don’t have to try to be someone completely different. There will be some class formats and styles that suit you better than others. Embrace your strengths and weaknesses and find a style that works for you.  Choose music you like, assuming it’s appropriate to the style of class, and don’t be afraid to be yourself, albeit a positive, energetic and smiley version of yourself! 

Group PT

This isn't just for commercial gym and leisure centre classes, the same things apply if you are running group sessions in a personal training facility.  

Whether it is large group or small group you still need to be present and switched on.  It is easy to get comfortable with people and programmes, to find yourself sat down watching and decide it's not worth getting up to tweak something because they'll have moved on by the time you get there, to get caught up in conversations and not realise the group member isn't exercising or that others in the group are stuck, ready to move on or in need of attention.  The key to make sure you are as present and focused as possible for every session regardless of how many people you have or how familiar they are with the session.

Because it's group personal training it involves a higher level of coaching than a circuits class would but you still need to be aware of what everyone is doing, able to prioritise potential issues and keep everyone on track.  

You also still need to bring your best to every session and ensure you lift the energy levels in the room.  

However you do classes it's worth spending a few minutes asking yourself if you are bringing your best and if there's anything you could do differently to improve the experience for your attendees and yourself.

 

Our classes guide is a great download for helping you set up your classes.  Not a member yet?  You can get access to all our resources on our 2 week free trial.