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| by Betsy Hockaday |
Having been in the fitness industry for over ten years I believe that there are three key areas to being a successful group fitness instructor under which everything else falls under: PROFESSIONALISM, PERSONALITY AND TECHNIQUE PROFESSIONALISM 1) Get Certified- One of the most important steps in becoming a group fitness is instructor is to get certified. While there are many certifying organizations, the two most widely recognized are ACE and AFAA : www.acefitness.org
Once you are certified certified as a group fitness instructor, it would be to your benefit to get additional training or certifications in more specialized areas such as spinning or kickboxing. You can do this either through attending additional certification workshops or fitness conferences such as: www.ideafit.com Teaching Pilates or Yoga can be the exception to the rule. Because they are so specialized, getting an additional certification is a must. In some cases, it may even be possible to get a nationally recognized certification in Pilates or Yoga and not get a group fitness certification. This will be determined by the company you want to teach for. www.stottpilates.com It is to your advantage to stay as up to date as possible. This will not only allow you to improve, but will make you more marketable and keep you at the top of the game. Another less expensive way to keep up to date and get ideas is to buy fitness videos. Some great sites to try are: www.ciavideo.com Some excellent examples (and some of my personal favorites) of technique, cueing and personality are Christi Taylor, Cathe Friedriche, Kari Anderson, Mindy Mylrea and Andre Houle. 2) Act Professionally - Always remember that as much as you may love teaching, this is a business. - Show
up to your class 5 - 10 minutes early. You never know what to expect
when you get there. Also, you can't start your class at 9:30 if you're
running in at 9:29. If the class starts at 9:30 then start at 9:30 otherwise
you'll make the members crazy. As a group fitness instructor you will either be hired as an independent contractor or as an employee. If you are hired as an independent contractor you will need to purchase insurance coverage (please contact your certifying company for information or see www.ideafit.com). Also, as an independent contractor you will be responsible for paying 100% of the social security and taxes on the money you earn. If you are classified as an employee you may still want to purchase insurance coverage. In this situation, the company you work for will pay 1/2 of your social security and the necessary taxes - please see your accountant for more details. 3) Dress professionally - I can't
tell you how many times I have heard fitness coordinators remark on
the appearance of their staff! Remember that when you teach, you are
not only representing yourself, but the company you work for and fitness
in general. Here are some of the things that coordinators have discussed
when choosing what to wear: PERSONALITY Personality is a huge part of teaching. What you do, say and look like makes a huge impact on your class. I recently took a step class from a girl at a resort who stepped on the wrong beat the entire class and had 28 and 30 count combinations. It drove me nuts ~ but her saving grace was that she obviously had a plan and she had a great personality. If she made some changes in her technique (stepping on the correct beat and doing 32 count combinations) she would be fantastic. The best rule to remember is to be yourself and be genuine. In many ways,when you teach you are giving a part of yourself. It is that part plus good technique that will keep them coming back! A couple
of hints: TECHNIQUE There are so many aspects of technique but there are three very important ones that I would like to cover - music, cueing and building combinations There are many companies that make great aerobics music. The three that I recommend due to the fluid transitions between songs and the ease in hearing the phrase and the beat are: www.powermusic.com In order to teach you must understand music. The first rule is to know which is the correct beat to step on. For example, if you listen to a song, you can hear counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. When teaching step, if you are starting with a basic right, you will want your right foot to step onto the bench on count 1 and your left foot to step on the bench on count 2. Do not step on the off beat of the music or you will drive your class crazy! The only exception to this rule would be with syncopations. That's a whole different conversation!! The second
part to understand is that combinations are 32 counts. If you listen carefully to good aerobics music, you can hear that they have designed the music in such a way that you can hear the "top of the phrase" (#1 count of 32). This is the spot that you want your combination to start. Then the music and your combinations will flow and feel right ~ you can really tell the difference. If you get off the phrase, don't worry, find a spot where you can throw something very basic in for a few counts and then start again at the top of the next phrase. Now having said all of that, there are some exceptions to these rules. Generally speaking the exceptions to the rule are in spinning, Pilates and Yoga. If you get certified in one of these specialties, discuss with them how to use the music in your class. When you are cueing, there are two types to consider- verbal cues and visual cues. Verbal cues are what you say. Visual cues are body language such as pointing or showing part of a combination. The majority of your class members will be visual learners. This will affect what you do in several ways. When doing basic or intermediate combinations it is fairly simple to breakdown the pattern in such a way that they can follow you through your verbal cues and you never have to stop to preview something. When adding something more complicated or new it is often easier if they can see you do it before they try it. For example, when I have something new or tricky coming and I know that a verbal cue won't be effective, I put the class in holding pattern with a simple move such as a basic, turn step, or over the top. I then demonstrate that move at full speed and then half speed exaggerating my movements (often I just show it at half speed two or three times depending on how crazy it is such as with a syncopation). I have found that my success rate with this technique in introducing new, complicated or dancey moves is much higher. Other visual cues can be directional pointing, hitting the leg of your next lead foot and looking in the direction you're going. Verbal cues can be tricky. First, if you're using the microphone, speak distinctly and enunciate your words carefully. If you don't speak clearly and say "V" they may think you're saying "knee". When first starting out, keep your cues as short and direct as possible. Cue the move first - "repeater" then cue the type - "3 knees". Your cue would be "repeater three knees". Would it be okay to say 3 knee repeater? Yes, but they are going to hear the first word and may not catch the last. Would be okay to just say "repeater"? Yes, but what type of repeater? The first couple of times you do a combination you may want to say "repeater 3 knees". The 100th time you do it, and you're sure they know it, it would be fine to just say "repeater". Sometimes you may also want to cue the lead leg or the number . For example, you may cue "Up lunge back 4" or "Turn step right foot". This is why it's so important to have a plan. If you have a plan, you will know where you are, where you're trying to go and how to get them there. After awhile, they will get used to how you cue. You will notice that your regular attenders can "read" your cues easily and the new ones may take a little time to catch on. When do you cue? You don't want to cue too early or too late........!! You've got just a little bit of wiggle room. I usually cue 2 - 4 beats ahead of the next move depending on how long my cue is ~ there's that fine line that you will get with practice. Also, don't assume that once you've done a combination a few times that they are going to remember all of it. Cue every part every time. You can shorten some of your cues If I'm doing a basic right followed by a step knee lift this would equal counts 1 - 8 . If I want to cue "V step right foot" starting just between counts 5, 6 and finishing at about 7. If I want just a V step, I might cue just a bit later between about counts 6 and 7. Practice your timing and see what feels right to you. You might even want to ask another instructor or a good friend to come to your class and give you feedback. Building and breaking down combinations are very important. First, go into your class with a plan. When you get there, however, recognize that you may have to change your plan dependent on the skill level of those that show up. My goal is for a minimum 90 - 95% of the class to be able to follow me at all times. This means that my cueing and organization has to be extremely strong. If less than 90 - 95% are following me, then I have to quickly reassess and possibly make some changes either in my cueing or my combinations. Sometimes, I might take everyone back to a simpler more repetitive move to get everyone on the same page and then start again. On occasion, I will throw a combination out completely. When creating combinations, you have several different options and techniques (see article "Building Your Choreography in Blocks of 32") such as the pyramid technique, layering technique and so on. Research the methods, try them out and see which ones you like best. I have found that watching the techniques in videos by Christi Taylor, Mindy Mylrea, Cathe Friedriche and Kari Anderson. Take special note of when they cue, what they say, how they build their combinations and how they give options. A few things to remember. When building 32 count combinations usually you want to start them on your right lead and then end them so that the next 32 count combination starts on a left lead. When doing your combinations in class you can do one of two things. Do combination #1 starting on the right lead and then repeat that combination on the left lead then move to combination two and do the same and so on. Or you can do combination #1 right lead, combination #2 left lead, combination #3 right lead, combination #4 left lead and so on. This is called weaving your patterns. How many combinations should you do in a row? That's more of a personal preference. Some class members love it when you start from the top every time. Others hate it and get bored. Usually I will teach an even number of combinations such as 4 or 6 in this order: Teach
combo 1 I will then repeat 1-4 a few times or weave them a few times. Then I'll move to combinations 5 - 8. On occasion, at the end of the class I'll do 1 through 8 starting at the top. Best of luck to you! Should you have any questions. Please let me know! Always remember that you can have such a positive impact on peoples lives. Betsy
Hockaday |
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