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Group fitness instructors sit on their hands and are club owners qualified to train their team!

Last night we ran group fitness staff training, I asked the GFI to teach a track each sitting on their hands and not to tap their feet and two GFI had to close their eyes to teach the second half of their LM track – A fantastic learning tool for them all as a team and not an easy task. I think its important to know your music, understand musical interpretation,cueing,phrasing,blocks etc” Getting your class from A to B is a lot easier and less stressful when you know your music.Knowing your music allows you to keep control when speed humps appear.Like forgetting pre-choreographed programs.(or your GFM walks in to watch) UM yes this happens they’re called BRAIN FARTS and it’s ok to have them.If you forget thou just be great at pre-cueing your replacement move…..Great cueing comes from what? Knowing your music!But for gods sake don’t get up on stage and be a cowboy or cowgirl and try to wing it, this won’t make you special it just shows total disrespect. Yes Im saying its ok to forget choreography, its ok to have a bad day, you’re only human and nothing else. But please don’t waltz into class and say with a puffed up chest “I only learnt this sitting on the toilet five minutes ago” …like really – well shit you better be good!

How good or great you are is your choice. One class One chance – you’re only as good as your last class.

We discussed a vast and varied group of topics including “when you participate in another GFI class” and in this case in your own club. I am dead against participating GFI standing dead smack in front of the teaching GFI when they rock up to class. Any closer and you will be wearing their underwear,back off and let them do their class this is their time not yours.The class is for the members, go to the side of the room,back of the room or get on stage and team teach if you want to be noticed. I LOVE LOVE GFI who walk in and tell me “Im getting up” the door of opportunity opens when we become pro-active.

For some members stepping up to the front is taking the next step to feeling confident and secure within themselves and you just took that moment away from them by putting your ASS in the front row and behind you is a whole room of members with a little voice in their head going WHY? And yes we all know every club has their front row members, these people are your best members and best referrals and don’t ever forget it! If you don’t like them in the front ask yourself why and deal with it, if they get the choreography right when you get it wrong RECRUIT THEM!  Actually if your in the GF room in another GFI class how about you move around and network, sell the club that pays your wages and gives you free membership.

Some of the others areas we touched on were – “Different styles of learning” hence why the GFI sat on their hands! Changing your vocals because mono tone is out of fashion and repeating the same words over and over is lazy! Don’t forget the benefits of the why and what of the class format. If you don’t know the why and what of your class how can you sell it maybe thats why GFI repeat themselves they actually don’t know why and what!

Will they take away what they learnt and put it into practice? Time will tell and people vote with their feet. No doubt this is the thought of many club owners when they train their team. As club owners are we qualified to train our staff? You most certainly are, remove anybody who thinks differently.

Final topic – “Peoples perception and how we can’t change it as we’re never given the opportunity to know it” This is something we all know about and it really peeves me that we have to deal with this. As trainers we need to be self aware of who’s around us, how we dress in our workplace whether we are working or not and how we behave both in and out and of the club. In defence of all those that have been on the receiving end of the double P (like me) this is what I have to say. I feel sorry for those that judge others without knowing them because you just missed out on something amazing and life changing and that was getting to know me.

I don’t doubt my little blog today has given you some insights and perhaps you will take something from it or maybe you won’t, no matter what you decide to do, remember you may not be able to change a persons perception but you can change your choices and with that comes change.

Mel Tempest 🙂