Tag: group x tips

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How to Make Those Holiday Group Fitness Classes Special

Woman on stability ball in one of her group fitness classes

Most gyms turn into ghost towns on holiday weekends. And while my fellow fitness fanatics are salivating at the idea of having an entire gym to themselves, holiday weekends are a lot harder to navigate as Group X instructors. That’s because group fitness classes are typically smaller and chances are there a lot of new faces that aren’t familiar with your teaching style.

Although participants might be wishing they were somewhere on a beach instead (and let’s face it, you probably are, too), you want to make sure you provide a positive experience for folks that showed up to your Group X class. So, here are a few suggestions to help make those classes on holidays or holiday weekends extra special for participants.

Play themed holiday music, with a twist

Most of us have probably been to group fitness classes that played Halloween or Christmas workout songs. But, who really likes the “Monster Mash” or “Frosty the Snowman”?

Instead, put an extra twist on your themed playlist. Maybe play only holiday music from the 90s or tie in a specific genre. For Memorial Day, play only songs with a memory theme, like “Memory” by Sugarcult or “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor (so good!). You could also do only beachy songs, like “The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley or “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper. Another idea is keep with a holiday theme, playing Madonna’s “Holiday,” or “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO.

As the self-appointed queen of themed spin rides, I’ve created many holiday-themed spin routines and playlists. Here are a few to browse:

Teach everyone’s favorite exercises, choreography, etc.

If you’ve been teaching your Group X class for a while now, chances are you’ll know which activities are members’ favorites. Especially on a holiday weekend where things might feel a bit slower, get the class excited by doing the moves they look forward to. What’s great about this is it’s so easy to do — just plan a jam-packed class full of favorites.

Use equipment other than the dumbbells

When classes are full, instructors often have to stick with dumbbells or other popular equipment with enough to go around. In a smaller class, you’re able to use the equipment in limited supply, like stability balls and the BOSU. And if you’re still short on equipment, consider a circuit or partner drills that have members using the items for a portion of the class.

Do activities that take up more space

When Group X classes are busy, you’re not always able to cue the moves that take up a lot of room, because you don’t want everyone to hit each other. On holidays when you might have extra room, you can teach exercises that take up a lot of space (think: roundhouse kicks or frog jumps).

Don’t be afraid to take an extra few seconds to explain a new move before having participants jump in and try it. Those extra seconds will be worth it, because participants will be more likely to succeed at the new exercise and have fun doing it.

Next time you teach on a holiday or holiday weekend, remember to make it fun for yourself and your participants. Even if your long weekend turned into a staycation, you might as well make the most of it by giving your group fitness classes a stellar experience.

For more tips and tricks, check out the group exercise ideas page.

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4 Details to Tell the Substitute of Your Group Fitness Class

Outdoor group fitness class with a sub

I’m leaving today for a week-long vacation in Hawaii! Before I could let myself daydream about dipping my toes in the sand with a margarita in hand, I needed to make sure all of my group fitness classes were covered in my absence. As I’m sure you know, the biggest hurdle is finding a substitute for each class. If you want to make sure your participants have a great experience while you’re out, you’ll also want to consider giving the sub a heads up about certain parts of your class once they agree to teach it.

Here are a few details you may want to tell the sub before they teach your class.

  1. Are there any members with special limitations or needs?

It’s a nice courtesy to tell the substitute if any members have special circumstances. For example, I used to teach a class with a pregnant participant. It’s nice to tell the sub about this, so they can make sure to avoid exercises in supine positions.

If the majority of your class has bad knees or wrists, and you usually work around it, I would make sure to tell the sub.

  1. Do you have any ongoing group goals or activities?

Sometimes I like to do a push-up challenge in my class, with each week working towards a set goal of pushups. If you have a weekly activity, you can let the sub know, so they can incorporate it into their lesson plans.

  1. What’s the overall vibe of the group fitness class?

Are members laid back and relaxed? Do you have a boot camp teaching style? While the sub doesn’t have to mimic your style, it’s nice for them to know what the members are used to and may expect.

  1. Anything else they should be aware of?

While it’s nice to tell your sub how great the group fitness class is, it’s much more helpful to give them a heads up about something that may catch them off guard. Do you have participants that get mouthy? Can your members get territorial of their class? Usually instructors are quick to say how wonderful their class is, without providing any useful insight. I’d much rather you share tips to what your members are looking for, so we can do our best to provide an optimal class for everyone.

Next time you have a sub, think about what information you can share that would be helpful to them. If they have a good experience, they’ll be more likely to come back to your class again. I’m off to Hawaii, but I do have posts scheduled in my absence next week.

Also, if you’d like to check out more tips and tricks articles, check out the group exercise ideas page.

Hope you enjoy your week, and aloha! 🙂

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Say Goodbye to Burpees or Any Group X Activity That Doesn’t Serve You

Michelle-Doing-a-Burpee-in-Group-X-Class

Burpees are good for you. They’re a great way to work a bunch of different muscles at once and get your heart rate up. But, here’s the rub: they’re not very fun.

What they don’t tell you is that you can still achieve fitness results in your group exercise or fitness class without ever doing them. A burpee is a high intensity interval that engages your legs, chest and core. Instead, your class can do squats, push-ups and an interval, all separately. You’ll achieve similar results without doing the dreaded burpee.

While it may not be burpees, we all have that one activity that we don’t like to do. For me, just the thought of partner workouts makes me break out in hives. Do you have an exercise that you really don’t like? I’m giving you permission right now to never teach it again.

This doesn’t mean that you can take out key elements of a class, like the warm-up or cool down. But, you can tweak your class to fit your style and preferences. If you’re not a fan of a choreographed, dance warm-up, then do jumping jacks, planks and squats to get warm. That’s what’s great about fitness — there’s more than one way to achieve desired results.

Here are a few important questions to ask yourself before you throw away a particular activity.

Is there another way I can achieve the same results?

If you can work the same muscle groups and/or get similar cardiovascular results with a different exercise, there’s no need for you to torture yourself by doing activities you don’t like. For example, seated, upright rows with a band and bent over rows with dumbbells both work the back muscles and are very different from each other.

Is it necessary for the class format?

There are some elements of a Group X class that come with the class format territory. Don’t like choreographed warm-ups? Then you probably shouldn’t be teaching UJAM or Zumba. Members will show up to a new class with expectations based on the class name and description. You’ll want to make sure your lesson plans match what is listed online and on the schedule. So, if the description mentions intervals, you’ll want to include them.

If you don’t feel like your teaching style matches what’s listed on the schedule, ask your manager if you can change the description to better match the class.

Does my class like it?

Last but not least, if your Group X class likes it — and it’s safe — you’ll likely want to add it to your plans, even if it’s not your favorite. If you don’t love the exercise, think of ways to tweak it, so that you can still enjoy the activity. If your class begs for burpees, maybe you can turn them into a competition, include them in a circuit or give folks two interval options (burpees or squat jumps, for example) to choose from. That way, you can find a way to make the exercise your own and still give participants what they want.

It is important to recognize the difference between disliking something because it’s challenging and disliking something for another reason. We all know the feeling of enduring an intense exercise and fighting against the thought of quitting. There are plenty of activities your class may hate at the time, but once it’s over they’re thrilled they stuck it out. This isn’t permission to go easy on your class and get rid of every difficult exercise. This is permission to chuck the group exercise activity you don’t like to do and not feel guilty just because it’s popular or trendy.

For more Group X advice and lessons learned, visit the group exercise ideas and tips page.

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3 Factors to Finding the Right Group X Workout Music

Michelle-listening-to-group-X-workout-music

Workout music is an instrumental part of a group exercise (Group X) class — pun intended!

If a group fitness class was a cake, the music would be the frosting. It’s not the most important element of a class, but it can be someone’s favorite part of the whole experience. When picking out your songs, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind in order to create a playlist everyone loves.

Here are three important factors to choosing the right songs for your group exercise class.

Time of day/week for your class

The same playlist won’t work for your 5 a.m. Monday class, 10 a.m. Saturday class and 6 p.m. Thursday class. For example, weekday early morning (say, 6 a.m.) classes tend to be retired or working professionals. And most of them (yourself included) probably just woke up. Steer clear of rap or anything with an unsettling or particularly loud beat.

Your participants

For the most part, you’ll know when your participants like your songs. Sometimes they’ll sway to the beat or start mouthing the words to themselves. When a good song comes on, you can feel the energy in the room as the class starts to push themselves harder.

When you start teaching a class, try different genres of music to see how your class responds. Once you determine what your class likes, you’ll want to create playlists featuring a wide-range of genres and popularity, with an emphasis on their favorites.

If you’ve tried a lot of different genres and still aren’t sure what workout music your class likes, feel free to ask your participants directly. Be specific. You can say something like, “I tried something new by playing, ‘The Boys Are Back in Town,’ did you like that song? Should I play it again?”

You!

At the end of the day, you need to like the workout music you choose. The people in your class will feed off your energy and if you don’t love the song, they’ll notice.

If you play a song and the participants start complaining about your song choice, Schwinn Master Instructor Shannon Fable recommends responding, “Ok, I absolutely love this song, so this one is for me. If you don’t like it, you can just shut your ears for three minutes.” That way, you can still play the songs you like and casually remind the folks in your class that you have to cater to a lot of different tastes, not just theirs.

A great group exercise playlist successfully combines the preferences of you and your participants with the class environment. Once you have a sense of everyone’s music preferences, you’re well on your way to creating the best playlist for your audience.

For more music ideas, visit the workout routines and playlists page.