Today’s early morning Spin class was a fun ride.  I can’t share the profile, though, because I had to make it up on the fly.  See, I was all set to have my regulars pound out a grueling 80-92% max ride using various flavors of jumps and very little rest the entire class.  To my surprise, however, a group of the early morning weight lifters decided that they would try Spinning out today.  With it being the start of the holiday weekend, we were missing quite a few which put our numbers at 5 newbies and 3 regulars.  The obvious tilt in the experience scale required that I switch things up and give everyone an easier ride than expected.  Yes, I was catering to the new folks, but in this situation, how could I not?  But what if those five new gentlemen had walked into my class of 20 regulars?  Now we are looking at a situation that reflects a more common occurence.  So how do you do it?  How do you satisfy the strong ones while encouraging the beginners?   In the words of a Girl Scout song, how do you “Make New Friends, but Keep the Old?”

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Are you seeking to improve your performance as a Group Fitness Instructor? Whether you just stepped out of your ACE certification workshop or you have been teaching since the days of thongs and leg warmers, you have strengths and weaknesses as an instructor.  Here, I offer you the A-B-C’s of growing from an average instructor to a great instructor. 

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I read an article a couple of weeks ago by a local yoga instructor that basically said most yoga instructors would teach for free if they could - they only charge money for their classes because they have to survive.  I laughed a little bit, even though I understood where she was coming from.  It would be really nice if we could all exist happily doing whatever our hearts enjoyed and didn’t have to worry about things like mortgages, sales tax, or groceries.  However, the reality is, we aren’t a socialist state (yet) so you are going to have to earn some money to pay your bills and buy your stuff.  If you are like me at all, then you want to make the greatest amount of money in the shortest amount of time so that you can spend the other waking hours of your day enjoying the other parts of your life that make you happy too.

First off, let’s ask, is it really possible to make $100 per class that I teach?  Actually, yes, it is.  Just ask Billy Blanks.  He’ll laugh at you because he makes thousands per class.  Do you have to be Billy Blanks to command that kind of money?  No. Do you have to put some effort and thinking into doing it?  Yes, but it can be done, so let’s roll up our sleeves and come up with a game plan.

The first question you need to ask yourself is, “Who will pay me $100 for an hour of my time?”  There may be a gym out there willing to pay you that kind of hourly rate, but you have to be the lifeblood of their organization.  If your classes are busting at the seams and new people are coming in droves to join the club because of you then, yes.  See your boss for a raise because you deserve one.  The highest I’ve seen a club pay one single instructor, though, was $50 for one class, so if you have your sights set on bigger numbers, you’ll need to think bigger.  Note:  There are pros to remaining an emloyee of the gym, e.g. someone else does your accounting, you don’t need your own liability insurance, and it is easier to get a sub if you need to leave town or have an emergency.

Who else will pay me $100 an hour? Try thinking like a personal trainer.  If you are highly skilled and have excellent tutoring skills, you could offer private lessons in whatever you do best.  With privates, you charge whatever you want and keep the entire amount.  However, if you are using the club’s fitness room or their equipment for this endeavor, you may be charged rent or required to abide by their payment rules for personal trainers.  Still, if you market yourself right, you can command high dollars for your valuable time.  If not $100, still more than the $18 you are charging now.

 Let’s extend the idea of one-on-one instruction to the increasingly-popular, small-group “exclusive” classes.  Similar to private lessons, you market yourselves to individuals who pay to take your “class”.   These exclusives focus on a topic that isn’t readily addressed in general fitness classes.  By charging a group of five people $20 each to be in your class, you earn $100 for the hour — genius!  But what would make a person want to pay $20 for a fitness class?  Again, think a little bit like a personal trainer.  They want advice specific to a need or a want they have.  You could provide a 6 week running clinic for new runners in the early spring.  You could offer functional training workouts to prepare members for ski season.  You could hold a “Bikini Boot Camp” in the pre-summer months.  If you are an expert in a field, you could offer highly-advanced classes for the members who like what you offer and want to get better than the general levels can offer.  Or, you could offer a series of classes geared toward individuals with any special need or goal.  Have I got your mind churning yet? 

So now that you have the idea that you are potentially worth more than $20 per class, I want you also to think bigger than that.  Are you worth $200 an hour?  $2,000 an hour?  You are only limited by your beliefs about your self worth.  Steve Pavlina, who I quote a lot in this blog, had a great post a while back about this: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/11/how-to-earn-10000-in-one-hour/

 The possibilities don’t end there, but this post will.  Get out your brainstorming pen and your notebook and go to town.  I know that you have enormous potential and I am excited to hear what ideas you come up with!!!

It is only fair that I follow up my post about making money from the internet with a post about making more money doing what you love.  After all, it is why you are here! We all recognize that Group Fitness isn’t a high-paying profession, but there are ways you can turn the tables in your favor and generate more money for yourself, your family, and your employer.   This is going to be the first in a series of posts that are dedicated to helping you literally make the most out of teaching.  We’re going to discuss some very basic approaches here that really come down to how to find the best gyms for your bottom line.  Then, we’ll look at some “out-of-the-box” ways to command more money for your time.

Economics 101

First, let’s start with basic economics.  You currently earn $X per hour teach 2 classes per week at ABC Fitness Club.  The easiest thing to do would be to take on more classes and sub as frequently as you can, thus increasing your salary proportionately.  The limits to how much you can make in this structure are your time constraints, and the number of classes you can teach in a week (AFAA recommends no more than 12).

The next economic lesson is to go where the money is at.  Check into every gym and studio in your area, find the one where you will bring home the highest dollar amount per class and start teaching there.  Be careful with this one.  If you live further away from a particular gym, it may not be worth the gas money.  Here is an equation to help you determine your costs for comparison.

First, determine your net rate for ABC Fitness with the following:

Distance (in miles) round-trip to ABC DIVIDED BY the gas mileage of your car (miles per gallon) MULTIPLIED BY the cost of gas ($ per gallon).  Subtract your result from the rate ABC Fitness pays you.

Then, perform the same calculation for the second gym and compare the two numbers to decide which is more profitable.  Here is an example:

I work at East Shore Health and Racquet which is literally across the street from my development.  Their highest pay rate is $22/class.  I drive a gas-guzzling SUV that gets 18 mpg (shame on me, I know, but we can’t afford a new car right now)  and gas in Charleston, SC today is $2.67/gallon.  Meanwhile, EcoFitness in Mt. Pleasant is 14 miles from my house, so 28 miles round trip and they pay $25/class.  My math looks like this:

22 - (.25/18*2.67) = 21.96 net rate at ESHR

25 - (28/18*2.67) = 20.84 net rate at EcoFitness

You can see that on paper, ESHR is the place for me to work, especially if gas prices continue to climb the way they have.  However, for roughly a dollar difference, I benefit simply from having the flexibility of teaching more classes in more places.  Do the comparison for yourself to make sure it is worth the commute.

Improve your Hourly

The next best way to increase your salary is to get paid the highest amount per hour that you can.  Many gyms offer incentives for their instructors to seek out continuing education.  The gym benefits from having more qualified and knowledgeable instructors and you get a raise for each workshop or certification you earn.  At two of the gyms where I teach, instructors receive a raise of $1 per current cert above your base group fitness cert and CPR and $.25 - $.50 for workshop attendance.  If your gym does not currently offer such a program, bring it up to your director and see if you can arrange to have it implemented.

Another way to increase your hourly rate is simply to ask for a raise.  Be prepared to show your director or the owner exactly why you deserve more money.  If you are certain that you add value to their club then go for it.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you take this step:

• Have I been a loyal team member and employee of this club for long enough to establish that I am committed?
• Do I regularly teach my own classes, arrange for subs in advance, frequently sub for others, and take all necessary steps to get coverage in emergency situations?
• Do I go above and beyond the call of duty in matters of customer service?  Do I assist my students in ways that extend my role as a fitness instructor?  Do I perform tasks that help out the club or the members, even if they are not listed in my job duties?
• Do I consistently have high attendance in my classes?  Do I have a strong reputation as an excellent instructor?  Do students beg for more of me?
• Are there any examples of exceptional work on my part that warrant an increase in pay?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you have a case for asking for a raise.  As a Group Fitness Director, I would not hesitate to arrange for an increase for you if you regularly exceeded my expectations and were a proven asset to my program. If you cannot answer yes to these items, do not despair.  We’ll have another post in this series detailing how you can.  Then, take a few months to improve your performance in any or all of these areas and approach management with your request.  Just make sure you are prepared to keep up the good work!!

Perky perks

Sometimes, it isn’t just the pay rate alone that makes it beneficial to teach at a club.  You might consider taking a cut in hourly rate to teach at a club that offers excellent perks to its instructors or staff.  I worked at a club that only paid $15 per class to teach, which sounded like peanuts at first!  However, they hosted continuing education and certification workshops regularly at the club that I was able to attend for more than 50% off in many cases.  This often amounted to the equivalent of $100-$200 bonus in my pocket everytime I went out for a workshop.  I would have to teach 20 classes at a higher-paying gym to cover the additional cost to me.  No thanks!  Here are some other perks to keep an eye out for:

• Complimentary membership for you and your family.  It makes sense that you get a membership and that your kids can stay in child care when you teach, but some gyms have a “minimum classes per week” policy before you are allowed to work out there.  Also, check into whether or not your spouse can have a membership and whether or not you get free childcare when you are there to work out as well as teach.  This can easily add up to the equivalent of $100 per month depending on the gym.
• Discounts on merchandise.  If your gym has a boutique of items you can get at a discount or cost, you could end up with a significant savings on items you need for teaching anyway.  Find out what you are entitled to at a gym when you apply there.
• Discounted or free services.  Similar to the boutique, find out if you can access other services at the gym for a reduced rate.  My favorite perk was the complimentary 30 minute massage I received every 6 months at one health club where I once taught.  Now I can have free unlimited tanning, free smoothies after teaching, half-price personal training, and access to a pool, sauna and hot tub.  Unfortunately for me, I don’t actually use any of these services, but if I did, they would be like free money since I’d no longer pay full price for these things.
• Health care.  You might have to go to one of the bigger chain clubs to have access to health care, and you might have to work a minimum number of hours per week to qualify, but in today’s world, you can’t afford not to look for a club where this is an option.

These are the most basic lessons in our quest to improve our salaries as Fitness Instructors.  Tune in for more information about how to outperform your bosses expectations so that you qualify for raise, a step-by-step guide to approaching your boss about the raise, and some out-of-the-box ideas on how to earn $100 or more per hour of your time as an instructor.

See you then!

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” - Eric Coffer

This winter provided me with absolute proof that you truly reap what you sow, especially when it comes to how you treat your students. There was a period two months ago when the temperature dropped significantly enough to entice my warm-blooded, South Carolinian Spinners to sleep through their 6:00 am workouts. Not that I blame them all that much — when it is cold, I’d prefer to stay under the covers as well. But, as the instructor, that was not my option, so I’d drag myself out of bed, slog myself to the gym and sigh with great resentment over the ever-shrinking number of bikes in my room. Where is everyone? I grumbled aloud, causing the students who were there to grumble along with me. Pretty soon, I was down to only two grumbling students. It seems that my negativity over what I wasn’t getting out of class (namely, an audience) was pushing my remaining students out the door one by one.

Never underestimate how your attitude will affect the people who come to your class. I did, and it nearly cost me my entire class. Fortunately, I picked myself out of my funk and got things turned around. I am proud to say the class is again full after two dismal months. While I can’t take credit for the nice weather helping folks get on over to the gym, I can tell you how I took my lemons and made lemonade. These simple tips can save your class or be the difference between being okay and being amazing:

1. Be grateful. Count each blessing that comes in your door and let them know how much you appreciate their presence. Try not to just be thankful you have students. Be grateful for their health and their willingness and their lives. Be grateful for your own health and abilities and the opportunity to interact with these people in a positive way. If you aren’t sure of the difference, you might check out what Steve Pavlina has to say about gratitude. Once you’ve stated the thought, “I am grateful for each of my students and their health and their fitness,” then treat them like you are grateful. Show them extra courtesy, provide as much personalized attention as you can, and go the extra mile to give them added incentive to always be in your class. It starts by acknowledging your gratitude, then sharing it with everyone.

2. Be excited. From the moment you enter the room, overflow with enthusiasm for the class you will teach. Leave the traffic, the kids, the fights, the drama or whatever is riding you… leave all of it in the car. Get in the habit of feeding yourself motivating thoughts as you walk from your car/subway/bikerack to the fitness room. Imagine you are like the football team awaiting their burst on to the field to the tune of ACDC’s “Thunder”. If that isn’t your speed, then carve out a minute or more to sit and meditate before you arrive so that your heart and mind are clear of clutter and you can genuinely be glad you are there to teach. Your excitement will be contagious, so “Fake it Till you Make it” if you have to!

3. Keep the comments to yourself. No matter how horrible your day is or how sick you feel, resist the temptation to unload it on your class. Chances are, they won’t even notice you skipped out on the extra riser, or slipped in a minute late. Just plaster on the biggest smile you can handle (fake if you have to) and get started! No matter what, keep the negativity to yourself and channel it into your workout. At the end of class, you can always explain or take responsibility for your behavior if it is necessary, e.g. you showed up very late, or you just didn’t deliver a solid class. They’ll appreciate knowing after the fact, without it festering through the whole class. If you find that you MUST say something at the outset, try to phrase it in the most positive words possible. If you get on a rant, your emotions will spread like a toxic spill.

4. Say “Thank You.” Don’t forget to thank them for coming before they walk out the door. Even the ones who try to sneak out early can be turned into die-hards when they sense that you are thankful they came and stayed for whatever length. Take time after your class to interact with your students, learn more about them, and encourage them to keep trying. The personal touch can make all the difference in getting someone who is non-committal to commit to your class.

It really is true that you reap what you sow. I learned the hard way by alienating my entire early morning Spinning class. You can prevent this by simply counting your blessings and sharing your gratitude with the students you do have.

Check out some of my posts on similar topics:
Making a Strong First Impression

Presentation is Everything

I’m really not sure why everyone isn’t a group fitness instructor.  After all, getting paid to exercise is a pretty sweet gig.  Plus, you get free access to health clubs, and you are guaranteed to get at least one work out every week.  If a lifetime of staying in shape sounds good to you, then you might be ready to consider being a group fitness instructor.  But how do you make the transition from participant to leader?  The first step is to identify whether or not you truly are a good candidate for becoming an instructor.  Here, I’ve provided a mini quiz to help you determine if this is your path.  Answer each of the questions honestly, then add up your scores at the bottom.

1. My friends and family describe me as:

a. Sweet, sincere, patient
b. Energetic, upbeat, positive
c.  Laid-back, relaxed, unaffected
d.  Intense, aggressive, fierce

2.  You are 45 minutes into your studio’s “Total Fitness Boot Camp Challenge.”  You’ve already done lunges to the point that your legs are on fire.  The instructor is now telling you to do jumping jacks for three minutes straight.  You:

a.  Grab your water bottle and take a breather.  You have 30 minutes left and you need to pace yourself.
b.  Jump with the best form you can and then allow yourself to rehydrate before moving on.
c.  Start jumping.  You aren’t sure if your feet are moving, but you’re pretty sure you’re still waving your arms.
d.  Do your jumping jacks double time and wonder why the rest of the class can’t keep up.

3.  Your “Total Fitness Boot Camp Challenge” class is over.  How are you feeling?

a.  Relieved that it is over and ready to reward yourself for sticking through it.
b.  You have a smile on your face and a strong sense of accomplishment.  You might even be ready to go again!
c.  Oh great.  You left after the jumping jacks.
d.  You can’t believe that class only lasts 75 minutes.  You head to the weight room to start your chest workout.

4.  When it comes to your rhythmic abilities, which group of people do you most identify with?

a.  Fred Astaire
b.  Usher
c.  Patrick Swayze
d.  Bozo the Clown

5.  In your spare time, what types of activities do you prefer to be doing?

a.  Reading a book, knitting, talking to a close friend
b.  Socializing with friends, being out and about, meeting new people
c.  Playing video games, listening to music, hanging out with friends
d.  Playing sports, working out, keeping up with nutrition
e.  Spare time?  Who has spare time?

Now that you have collected all of your answers, it’s time to review what you picked.

1.  What is your dominant personality type?  Fortunately, there are no wrong answers to this question.  In fact, all personality types can be great instructors just by bringing their own dynamic to the class.  While most instructors tend to be and little more B and D, many new students can be intimidated by too much energy or aggression.  It takes a good blend of positive energy, compassion, sincerity, and physical strength to be an excellent instructor.

2. Even if you answered A or C, you may still have what it takes to become an instructor.  However, an instructor needs to not only be able to complete a class, but to perform the workout while talking and smiling.  Additionally, many instructors teach multiple classes at one time.  If your endurance and stamina are low, start working now to increase your physical fitness.

3.  This is similar to question #2, but the biggest thing here is to identify how much you enjoy working out.  If you don’t feel vibrant, even to the end, you may not be a convincing leader of the class.  It will be the parts that are the toughest where your students will need your encouragement.  If you aren’t able to give it to them, you won’t be a very successful teacher.

4.  As long as you didn’t answer “Bozo” you are in good shape.  You do not have to be a dancer, however.  You just have to be able to feel the music, keep the beat and help your students find it as well.  As a friend to watch you march to the music if you aren’t sure you are rhythmically qualified.

5.  Again, there are no wrong answers here, as long as you are committed to your class.  When you start teaching, it is your responsibility and obligation to be in class every week, barring emergencies and well-planned leave.  You don’t get to call out sick at the last minute the way you can at most jobs, because coming up with a replacement is stressful and difficult.  Plus, your students won’t return if they can’t trust that their instructor will show.  In addition to being at your class, you must be able to set aside time to prepare for your class.  You can save time with this by keeping a notebook, as I have discussed in a prior post.

Think it over.  If you are still interested in becoming an instructor tomorrow, I’ll tell you how to start shopping for certifications.

Happy Workouts!

Before I became an instructor, and I was simply in aerobics class (back when it was still called aerobics) my least favorite parts of class were the warm up and the cooldown.  They were boring, contrived and very unhelpful.  And probably unhealthy too, looking back on trends we used to follow but now avoid completely.  I would often show up late and/or leave early just to avoid this painful part of an otherwise great workout.  Later on, when I became an instructor, escaping the elements I disdained was no longer a choice.  In fact, my AFAA workshop really put the fear of lawsuit in me.  Even though I hated it, I squeezed in the bare minimum required of each and rushed to get to the “good stuff.”  You know what I noticed?  Many of my students were showing up late and leaving early.   Some were showing up, leaving early, and never returning.  I told myself that they just couldn’t hang, my workouts must be too tough or they were just too stuck up to know a good class when they were in one.  I thought I was all that.  And then, I got “shopped.”

You might be familiar with secret shoppers.  Disguised as a regular customer, they enter a store, restaurant, or other business and critique the service  These people will tell your managers completely honestly how they felt about you and the service you provided them.  Fortunately, my performance wasn’t completely unmeritorious, but the bottom line was that I was denying my students of the opportunity to get excited about being there, and I wasn’t giving them a good reason to want to come back by the end.  Performers know that as long as you have a strong start and solid ending, that your audience will more likely remember you favorably.  The audience and your class are less likely to remember what happened in the middle as they will the first and last impressions they received. 

Make a Strong First Impression

I decided to start putting some thought and effort into my warm-ups.  I choreographed them, lengthened them a little, and reminded myself why they are so essential to having a good class.  And it was an improvement, but it still lacked something.  It was still contrived and forced and it felt very fake.  Even though I was working harder on them, I still wasn’t providing my students with any reason to be excited that they came to my class.  This may be an issue that you are facing as well.  What we need, as instructors, to try to accomplish in the first 5-7 minutes of our class goes beyond elevated heart rates and lower back stretches.  We need to inspire our students to give 100% for the next hour.  We are there to help them forget about the rest of their worlds and forget that they “have” to be there to reach their goals.   Making a strong first impression will be one of many steps you’ll take to reach your students and help them fall in love with you as their instructor.

But how on earth do you do that?  I have tried a variety of methods, and taken workshops that explain how you are supposed to do it.  Reading Group Fitness publications and taking those courses are certainly a great start to finding the method that works best for you.  Here is one more idea you can try to motivate your class:

Forget about your perfect 32-beat mix that you just bought from John Sines.  Pick the one or two GREATEST songs you can think of for getting excited about something.  What do they play at sporting events while the teams are warming up?  What do you hear in car commercials?  What makes you want to drive your car faster or run harder?  Think on this and audition as many songs as it takes to find the most inspiring songs you know.  It doesn’t matter if they are newly played on the radio or everybody’s favorite song.  As long as *YOU* love it, you will create an energy that will show on your face and will be contagious to the room.  They’ll be inspired because you are inspired.  Play this song as loud as you comfortably can, being respectful of your students and also mindful of their tastes.  I do not recommend “Smack My Bitch Up” for your middle-aged Evangelical Christian group.  But here are a few that I enjoy, in no particular order:

“Smack My Bitch Up” - The Prodigy 

“Pump It” - Black Eyed Peas

“Kernkraft 400″ - Zombie Nation

“Heart Full of Black” - Burning Brides

“Do You Love Me?” - The Contours

“You Can’t Stop the Beat” - Broadway Cast of Hairspray

Now that you have the greatest song imaginable, what do you do with it?  Simply put, HAVE FUN.  Of course, you’ll want to think along the lines of the class you’ll be teaching, but the idea here is to just let loose and get excited — like a party starter.  For my step, kickboxing, sculpting and dance classes, I almost always have a good booty shake before we get started.  People love to dance, even if they think they hate it or can’t, so in between the leg curls, and the step touches, I use a little twist or body rolling or whatever fits the song and the company.  When there are men present, the idea of using a loose structure of “moves” that have no set choreography is an excellent idea.  Just get them moving without concern for ”steps” or “the beat.”  I’ll even make my guys shake their tushes with abandon.  But if wildly gyrating with your class doesn’t sound like a good first start for you, then pick a move that really gets you going.  It can be a walk/jog around the room while you provide streams of encouragement or a series of squats and punches that just seems more fun because the song is inspiring.  Whatever you choose and however you format it, your success will boil down to two main elements:  The song you pick, and the energy you exude.

Once I started doing warm ups that I found fun and interesting, I recieved a much more favorable response.  Your students want to enjoy being there, and they want to enjoy you.  Take advantage of your opportunity to make a good first impression and keep your students coming back for more!  Even better, your managers will be impressed with your numbers and I can almost guarantee that your secret shopper will give you A’s in the warm up department.

Sometimes, you just don’t want to teach.  I love group fitness, and I truly enjoy my classes, which include a variety of formats:  Spinning, Step, Body Sculpt, Dance…  But I also have a full-time job as a web developer, and I have family, so I can be spread a bit thin.  I guarantee you have been there too.  But what to do when it is less than an hour till go time, and all you want to do is get in a car wreck so at least you’ll have a valid reason not to show?

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You know without question that presentation is everything.  You dress the part.  You buy the trendiest music.  You execute each move to enviable perfection.  But without stong delivery skills, you may still fail to “win the hearts and minds” of your students.  Here are a list of simple presentation techniques that you can use to make sure you get your message across loud and clear.

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The most essential piece of gear I have in my arsenal of fitness paraphenalia is not my CD case, it’s not my foam roller, and it is not my heart rate monitor.  It is so simple and yet so often overlooked by many professionals who seek to improve their performance in any arena.  The most essential item I have and which I keep by my side throughout the day and by my bed at night is my fitness notebook.  That’s right.  A spiral bound “Fat Book” that fits nicely in my purse or gym bag and holds a ball point pen snugly enough that I rarely find myself hunting for a writing tool.  Paper, plain and simple. 
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