5 tips for new Group Fitness Instructors

Starting out as a group fitness instructor can be overwhelming. Instructor Corinne Blight shares her top tips to help you get a running start – and stay at the top of your game.

KEY POINTS

• New group fitness instructors can do a number of things to improve class delivery and business success
• Proactively seeking out feedback from colleagues and participants can help identify areas for improvement
• Filming your classes and watching them back will allow you to identify other strengths and weaknesses in your class delivery
• Work to create a real community of regular participants, using both in-person and online methods
• Continually work on learning new skills and finetuning your existing ones
• Always remember to have fun, because participants will thrive when they see that you get a buzz from teaching them.

How lucky are we that our job as group fitness instructor is to excite and inspire others to lead happier, healthier lives?

I’ve been working in the fitness industry for almost eight years now, but when I first started out as a group fitness instructor I had a lot to learn!

Life’s a learning curve, and I’m continually picking up new skills and tips in the field of group fitness, but since I got started, a number of key lessons have greatly impacted my success.

Whether you’re brand new to teaching classes, or have been doing so for a while, I hope that the following tips will help you improve both your class delivery and your business success.

1. Get regular feedback from a mentor and/ or your members

My absolute number one piece of advice for anyone teaching group fitness is to not be scared of feedback. Repeat after me, ‘feedback is my friend’. I’ve been fortunate to be mentored by some outstanding Group Fitness Managers and instructors. The fact is, we’re better instructors when we’re given feedback from experienced mentors. Ask your GFM to attend or watch some of your classes and to tell you frankly what they think you can improve on. We all have room for improvement. Don’t be discouraged by perceived criticisms: take the feedback on board and use it to create a focused plan of improvement.

In addition to seeking feedback from industry colleagues, at the end of classes you can also ask participants to share their feelings about the class you just delivered. To encourage honest feedback, you could even set up a system that allows for anonymity. This has the added bonus of reflecting positively on you, because it lets participants know that you really care about their class experience.

2. Film and watch yourself teaching classes

I know it can be scary watching yourself back on video after teaching a class, but in order to keep improving, you need to know what your technique looks like and how you sound on the microphone (if you’re like me, you may be guilty of talking a lot!). 

Invest in a phone tripod, and set it up somewhere discrete where it won’t interrupt any participant’s view and film your class from start to finish. A day or two later, review the footage and make notes about what you think did and didn’t work. The process can be cringe-inducing, because we are our own worst critics, but it’s very effective. Take time to note things you may want to say more succinctly or moments in your class you can use to create more excitement among your participants.

3. Create a community!

One of the best pieces of advice I learnt in a group fitness instructor course was to work hard at creating a strong community with your participants. You’ll be amazed at how loyal your regulars will be when they feel like they truly belong to your unique tribe.

In addition to fostering a friendly atmosphere, making eye contact and getting to know (and use) people’s names, a great way of doing this is to create a Facebook group or Facebook Messenger Group where you and your participants can virtually ‘hang out’ and stay connected. Take pride in your community and share tips, tricks, motivation and advice. For instance, you may share your favourite post-workout smoothie recipe or take class photos at the end of classes to share on these platforms, along with congratulations to participants for showing up to class and investing in their wellbeing.

If you’re an online group fitness business, then you need to dedicate time to elevating your online presence beyond standard Facebook or Instagram profiles. Take time to carefully interact with your group’s members on these platforms, building trust and rapport with them. You’ll find you develop a very loyal member base that won’t want to miss one of your classes.

4. Keep learning and finetuning

As group fitness instructors, it’s our job to keep our members inspired, safe and excited about their workouts. In order to do this, it’s essential to commit to regular learning. One way of doing this is to tap into the expertise of those in your professional network.

Do you have an awesome GFM or fellow GFI who is an expert in cycle? Ask them to spend an hour each week for a month teaching you about the program. Maybe you have a friend who’s a Pilates instructor? Ask them about the intricacies of the core and the deep pelvic floor muscles. Keep learning and growing and your members will keep doing the same with you.

Formal professional development in the form of courses and workshops is also very important, and with numerous online options available, keeping up with the latest developments and skills can be pretty affordable and convenient (Network, for one, has lots of online courses). Personally, completing my Nutrition Coaching certification has been an incredible addition to my fitness skillset. Having a depth of knowledge about nutrition and its place in creating strong, healthy bodies has given me an additional layer of credibility and enabled me to share information on healthy eating with my clients. It’s also helped me grow my business beyond teaching group fitness classes, and I now also deliver workshops in the corporate health realm.

Other ways to keep learning and growing include attending other classes to learn new ways of cueing workouts, and shadowing or team teaching with instructors in your gym or community to get more experience and exposure. Learning about other modalities that aren’t directly related to the classes you deliver, but which contain information and skills that can complement your instructing, is also very valuable. I found that doing a mat Pilates course gave me a greater understanding of the core and its role in exercise than any previous training I’d done. Never stop learning my friends!

5. Have fun with it!

If you take off the pressure, just have fun and relax, you’ll find your participants will do the same. When you put too much pressure on yourself to say and do everything perfectly in your class, it will show. You’ll perform better when you relax and just trust in yourself and the preparation you’ve done for your class.

Remember, you’re teaching group fitness classes because you love it. Your participants want to see you enjoy yourself. So, if you mess up a grapevine or a dead row count, don’t beat yourself up! Most likely, your members won’t even know (except for the really regular front rowers, you know who I’m talking about!).

I’ll say it again: we’re so lucky that our role is to make people fall in love with exercise. Being a group fitness instructor is incredibly rewarding, exciting and fun – and there’s so much support out there for you, so don’t be afraid to ask for it. Enjoy the ride!

Corinne Blight

Corinne is the Founder of Limitless Fitness & Nutrition, an online and live group fitness community on a mission to make fitness fun and energetic. As well as being a group fitness instructor, Corinne is also a personal trainer, Pilates instructor, nutrition and health presenter and nutrition coach.

limitlessfitnesnutrition.com.au / instagram.com/limitless_fitnessandnutrition / facebook.com/corinneblightlimitlessfitness

• Bio

Network

Network is an education subscription service that offers a broad range of upskilling courses for fitness and wellness professionals. Established in 1987, Network has played a pivotal role in the continual evolution of the fitness industry.