Group X Files

Season 1 Finale! James Brown's words ring ever so true in the world of group fitness. Get up offa what thing? Your mat, your stage, your bike. Just get up and move through the room. Traditionally, many are taught to teach from the "instructor's spot" in the room, but so much is gained in connection when we move through our class. For this episode, I teamed up with SoulBody Fitness' Stacey Vandiver...

We are all humans. 100% of us, 100% of the time. But sometimes we expect superhuman things from ourselves and are disappointed when we fall short. We second guess ourselves. We don't always live the "fitness" lifestyle. We go through seasons of life just like everyone else. Our bodies don't always feel great. BUT we do love what we do, and we LOVE hearing from our participants. Let's be real here...

Think about your favorite brands (and maybe some that were your favorite but lost you). What is it that you love about them. What do they do just so darn well? What are they the master of? (Or, in the case of a brand that lost you, what did they do to drive you away? Did they lose focus on what their target audience and dilute their product?). While we want to diversify ourselves, we must start wi...

Those 2 words sound so simple, but we know that in reality they can be quite a task, a responsibility. But just like our participants choose to show up for us, we have to show up for them. Listen in to learn how to leave the world behind and shift your mood and mindset to be the instructor you were always meant to be when you walk in the studio.

Each and every one of us has walked into a studio and made assumptions about our participants based on appearances, whether we like to admit it or not. It is human nature. Our challenge is to look past those initial assumptions and get to who people really are and what they can really do. Age is one of the easiest factors we make assumptions based upon, but what if I told you age is not the limiti...

It sounds like the biggest contradiction, but in a world where perfection, whatever that means, is shoved down our throats, sometimes it is nice to know that you are welcome and accepted just the way you are. When people show up for class, we don't necessarily know their backstory for the day, so we need to give them the grace to be imperfectly perfect along the way, or risk being just another for...

Each and every class we lead should have a purpose. That purpose is not the broad "to get fitter," "to get stronger," "to improve my cardio." That purpose is a truly focused and tailored expectation of what the participants can hope to gain from the class. It is not what you are doing but why you are doing it. The more we program with purpose, the more intentional the workouts we provide are. The...

If we are not moving forward, we are falling behind. As cliche as it may be, it is true. Herein lies the challenge for directors and managers today. It is not our grandmother's GX but it also still very much is our grandmother's GX, as we have more active aging participants in GX than ever before. Listen in to learn how to best position yourself to accommodate those who have been coming for decade...

As instructors we tend to get sucked into tunnel vision when it comes to music, relying on our favorites and classics that we know our classes love. Music drives our classes, arguably as much as the workout itself. It is imperative as instructors that we do our best to turn the workout into an experience if we want participants to keep coming back, and one of the best ways to do that is with a ban...

It's a cliche, but the best way to lead is by example. Talk the talk. Walk the walk. Inspect what you expect. Leading a team means executing the tasks you ask of your team in an exemplary manner. If you are teaching, you crush your classes. If you are walking the club, you are tidying up anything out of place. You are saying hi as you pass people. You are engaging with members and staff. Listen in...

When we are teaching on a regular basis, we are tempted to re-invent the wheel to keep people engaged and keep "upping the ante," so to say. But what if we considered that a huge killer of motivation is not laziness, but complexity? If people are overwhelmed, they are less likely to continue to do something. Listen in for ways we can keep things accessible while also making them fun and engaging.

Setbacks and rejections are something no one looks forward to. However, as Group Exercise Instructors, we are subject to scrutiny from others. And our "sport" is not one of fastest to the finish line wins. We want to pursue new and challenging opportunities, but they also come with the potential for disappointment if we are not selected. Listen in to learn about setting expectations, focusing on t...

You want to be the person that members are immediately drawn to when they enter the studio, right? Aside from club-branded gear and a headset, how do you achieve this? Listen in and learn how to use your physical presence, verbal skills, and preparation to own the room each and every time you walk in to teach.

We have looked at the instructor why in prior episodes, and many directors still work as instructors too, so it is important to be connected to that why. But what about your director why? With all of the demands of leadership and working with a crew of part-time staff who come and go at different times and have different demeanors, why bother? If you want to get past the rush of January and lead t...

Our bodies are the most complex machines out there, and if we want them to perform with max efficiency and effectiveness, we have to respect them and care for them as such. Tune in to learn why it is so important to refuel, rehydrate and restore. What impact does each of these have on your body and your performance in the studio?

In today's instantaneous world, we have lost a sense of what it is to have to wait for something. However, we don't grow our skills as instructors overnight, nor do we become ace participants overnight. Instead, we have to bide our time and practice over and over. Only when we embrace patience and practice will we find progress. Listen in to learn how these three tie together to help us become the...

We may not think that people are listening closely to each word we say. And they likely aren't. But they hear what they want to hear, and perceive how they choose to based on their experiences. We can't know every person in the room and what they bring with them to each class, but we can do our level best to create a comfortable, inclusive space for anyone no matter ability, race, gender. Listen i...

One of the easiest things to find slipping further from our control is accountability among our team. We are pulled in so many ways that we don't worry about this other little thing. But then that other little thing continues to happen and other little things do, and the glass starts to shatter. Listen in to learn about setting expectations; communicating clearly, concisely and consistently with y...

Failure is the one thing most of us fear. But we don't realize it's also the one thing that gets in the way of us growing. When we learn to embrace failure as part of a learning experience, we free ourselves to try new things and ned up more successful than ever.

So many of us are told to get out of our comfort zones on a fairly regular basis, and, heck, we tell our participants the same thing to elicit change from them. What if we decided to cocoon deep into our comfort zone and really embrace it? How could our teaching and coaching be amplified by that approach? There are limits to embracing this comfort zone too, but come along and explore all the good...

In a world where everyone focuses on what's wrong, let's take the time for focus on what is right! Taking the time to acknowledge a job well done not only spreads positivity but also helps create connection and rapport among you and your team. The more we reinforce the good and let them know we truly see them the more open our communication can be and the more cohesive of a team we can build.

Imposter Syndrome. Every instructor worth their salt has been victim to this at least at some point in their career (some for much longer than necessary). Overcoming imposter syndrome happens in small ways without us really noticing, until we have that moment that makes us feel like we have "really made it." Listen in to gain some tips for understanding what imposter syndrome is, how it can impact...

Team building can happen in the smallest of time windows. Just as we ask our instructors to check in with their members and to remember and acknowledge things about them, we should be doing the same with our instructor teams. You would be surprised to see how far a quick check in with a team member can go in terms of building a rapport with them and thus working toward building a team with more bu...

Why are you here? Why are any of us here? Just kidding, we are not getting into existentialism, but we are looking at the different motivation styles and how that might impact how you connect with the participants who show up in your classes week after week. While there are many motivation styles, we can't cater a class toward just one style. We must adapt and adjust to connect on the spot. We don...

In this episode we will explore what happens when we stop making excuses and start doing more than the bare minimum. Yes, our members are more excited, our members come back with more regularity, and our class numbers increase. When all of these happen, we feel more energized for the tall task of leading group exercise and that passion shows to our members.