From Great to Extra-Ordinary!
By Biray Alsac
What makes a great instructor an extra-ordinary one? While there isn’t a golden answer to this question, there are certainly things every instructor should do. For extra ideas, you can learn from other successful colleagues and fitness professionals around the world. Last week I was an invited guest at FitnessTurk 2008, a conference for fitness professionals based in Istanbul, Turkey. In my down time, I attended a session facilitated by Lawrence Biscontini, an international presenter and extra-ordinary instructor, himself!
I thought it might be useful to share three interesting notes I took away from his lecture on becoming an effective fitness professional. For me, they not only were inspiring, but served as great reminders on how a little bit of effort can go a long way (even if that means going halfway across the world)!
1. Change ‘hands-on’ training to ‘hands-off’ training. Physical interaction with your members is often encouraged and helpful in making adjustments in their form. However, physically moving participants into a desired position may not be the best way to correct their technique. For example, let’s assume a member is in a push-up position and her hips are hanging too far low to the ground. Avoid cueing to ‘lift hips up’ (which might be too vague) and pass up the temptation of pulling her hips up, yourself. Instead, put your hand above her low back and suggest she lift her hips until it touches your hand. This is helpful in improving kinesthetic awareness and teaching a member how to enter into a move properly.
2. Communicate with positive statements. We often hear how using positive statements can be helpful in communicating and reinforcing messages. We are reminded that negative cues like “don’t do this…” should be replaced with “try this instead…” One statement we hear group fitness instructors often use at the end of class is “Did you get a great workout today?” Although this may not sound negative, a simple turn of phrase can make this sound more approachable. For instance, “Did you get the workout you needed today?”
3. Thank your members with a ‘Group Hug’. We love our members and appreciate their attendance. Of course, we should always thank them for coming. But a more inclusive way to send off our classes might be by embracing them with a verbal ‘group hug’ (as Lawrence referred to it). By using the names of several members in the room, you can express gratitude by saying “From Suzie on this side, all the way to Carol in the back, to Joe over here in the front – I thank you all for coming.” Wow – now isn’t that better than just a plain “Thanks for coming to class”?
Many thanks to Lawrence for his stimulating ideas!
Regardless of how long you’ve been teaching group exercise classes (or whatever country you’ve been teaching in, for that matter), these simple tips can always make a difference with your members and keep you staying extra-ordinary!
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Read more from Biray at:
http://www.FITTmaxxInstitute.com
“Fitness and Interactive Technologies Together”
http://www.BeFitWithBiray.com
“Follow Biray’s blog on fitness and technology”
http://BeFitInTurkiye.blogspot.com
“Join Biray on her summer tour of Istanbul!”
http://KixKayamanu.blogspot.com
“The Adventures of Health & Fitness Correspondent in Second Life”
Tags: biray alsac, coach, fitness instructor advice, FitnessTurk, group fitness instructor