3 Things You Shouldn't Do As A Group Fitness Instructor

Sohil Farahmand
Nov 9, 2015
2 min read

Becoming a certified group fitness instructor is not a difficult process, and in fact, anyone can get certified. But not everyone knows how to deliver a great service. From a business perspective, a group fitness instructor is in the business of providing a service. Like any service based industry, there are those with superior service and those with "crap" service. Ultimately, people buy from those who provide them the best possible service. In order to be competitive in the fitness industry, group fitness trainers must compete on the basis of the quality of their service. Group fitness instructors often put a lot of effort to give their participants a great experience, but often do things that undermine all their efforts. The following are 3 things that I've seen group fitness instructors do that hurts their credibility.

Negative anecdotes

Never tell your class a story or an anecdote that provokes negative thoughts or feelings in the participants. The participants are not there to hear you vent about an experience you have had in your life. It is very annoying to come to a group fitness class as a participant and have to hear the instructor whine and complain. If you are going to share an experience with the class, it has better have a purpose such as to motivate, encourage, educate, enlighten, or make them laugh. Your job is there to pass on a positive influence to them.

Talking too much

If you like talking a lot, you need to make sure that you are clear, loud, and to the point. There is nothing more annoying than having an instructor babble on in an incoherent way. Imagine listening to a radio station in different language. That's essentially what you will sound like.

Forgetting the basics

Basic things such as introducing yourself, describing what the class is going to be about, asking if anyone is new to the class, reminding the class to drink water, reminding them to breath, doing a proper cool down and stretch, providing options to incorporate all levels.