“A good coach will make his
players see what they can be rather than what they are.”
– Ara Parasheghian
A coach is an individual who is involved in the direction,
instruction and training of a sports team or individual (Wikipedia). Successful coaches can become as, or even
better-known than athletes as they are often seen on television or heard on
radio programs and, therefore, become the “face” associated with the team
(Wikipedia). Coaches have often had
successful athletic careers in the sport they coach and are passionate,
educated and experienced individuals at the sport they represent. When I look at the most successful Group
Fitness instructors around it is because they coach rather than instruct their
classes. Group fitness has evolved! It is no longer about bouncing around a
studio in lycra, and the instructor is not there for people to merely mimic
moves or ‘perform’ for the audience at his/her feet. The fitness industry has become more educated
and just as personal trainers have to cater to individual needs – whether it be
fitness goals or rehabilitative requirements, the Group Fitness Leader must not
only step up to meet individual needs, they must adapt their skills to address
multiple personalities and requirements.
If you
think back to the origins of Group Fitness during the Baby Boomer era it is not
a pretty sight – there was Lycra, headbands and leg warmers, instructors didn’t
need any qualifications aside from their ability to press play on a cassette
player and string some random athletic moves together. Moves weren’t based on any sports
kinesiology, merely on feel (I think it was Jane Fonda who told us if you sit
on the floor and walk forward and backwards with your butt cheeks you would
lose weight off this area!). Then the
dance influence started to feed through and aerobic choreography got
complicated! Suddenly we were turning
and moving to all directions of the room, and there were multiple moves given
their own special name that you apparently had to remember and the aerobics
instructor would have their back to you (a necessity if there was any hope of
you facing the required direction!). It
probably wasn’t until the late 1990’s that instructors realised ‘hey, we are
here for our class members!’ and so many of us turned around to face our
participants. Progress, yes! True connection…. Possibly not… Many instructors believed that being there
‘for’ the class meant ‘entertaining them.’
So we became performers – showing off our natural talent and flare for
musical interpretation! Group fitness
went from the fad that packs a room, to the energetic dancers training room, to
the ‘all about me show’ that you were allowed to move to. No wonder aerobics class numbers were
dwindling!
Thank you
to the late 1990’s – 2000’s for the concept of Group Fitness! Many people join sporting teams for the
camaraderie and the high you feel competing with other active individuals;
group fitness has bottled that and made it an optional daily occurrence; you
can box for fitness and fun, cycle alongside your mates, out-do your fellow
classmates in a plank challenge offered in an abdominal or core training class
and jump higher than ever before in a plyometric based high-impact
workout. It was Les Mills that really
latched onto this idea of bringing sporting camaraderie into the gym and the
aerobic studio; RPM allows you to ride along with your mates to inspiring
music, you can build strength and endurance in such programs as Pump and
CxWorx, find empowerment and discipline with Body Combat and Body Balance and
do explosive plyometric training for fitness and power with Attack and
Step. Although there are still some
niche programs such as Jam and Sh’bam that allow for the fun aspect of dancing
around the Group Fitness Studio, this is no longer what the studio represents. Research has been done and education has been
given. The Group Fitness studio is now a
goal orientated place to enter where you can be coached to change your posture,
your fitness level and your life! All of
this you can do alongside your friends.
There
are many aspects that make a good coach; knowledge, interaction, connection,
the personal touch and accentuating the positive (The Group Fitness Coach – Peggy J. Gregor). Good coaches are educated on their sport;
they speak and direct teams according to their education in the game and their
experience on the field. This is the
case with the Group Fitness arena. The
best cycle instructors understand the mechanics of cycling and have spent time
on the road. They understand that music
provides a cadence that helps set a pace to challenge fitness results and they
know to structure a class based on an authentic road ride, drills that
challenge you and make any rider more bike fit and coach perfect cycle posture
for energy efficient riding and safe technique.
Pilates and Yoga professionals spend years perfecting their disciplines
through constant (and usually expensive!) education courses so that they
understand human kinetics to educate the general public on postural balance and
core strength. A true ‘yogi’ practices
their discipline daily as well as coaches it because they live and want to
share the values of the program, they don’t merely instruct ‘flexibility.’ The Group Fitness coach understands that
pressing play and feeling the music isn’t enough. Group Fitness is a good forum to educate the
public on better fitness and a more balanced life.
A
coach realises that talking at his/her team doesn’t get results- interaction
and individual connection is required for all team members to reach their
common goal. A personal trainer may have
a variety of personalities in his/her client base and approach each individual
differently according to their needs, imagine the Group Fitness arena! All those personality types requiring
motivation! The ‘aerobics instructor’
may have encouraged groups to mimic moves, the Group Fitness Instructor may
have performed to his/her group, the Group Fitness Coach adapts his/her teaching
to be inclusive and suit a variety of personalities and needs. The shy wallflower in the back corner may
need assurance that all will be well and they are in a safe, friendly
environment while the gung-ho gym-junkie front and centre may need a list of
challenges barked at them and an energy level set above and beyond. A true coach finds common ground for everyone
by addressing each person at some point, choosing moments in the class to suit
individual needs and taking everyone on their common journey; to achieve
fitness results.
The personal touch is when a coach
goes above and beyond; they remember names, details and build not just rapport
but relationships with individuals in the group fitness arena. They may come to class early and leave a
little later just to talk to class participants and answer questions. The coach aims not just to build a successful
class but to build a fitness community.
This is when the Group Fitness coach becomes most valuable to health
clubs; they become more in tune to member needs and develop member loyalty
because of the fitness community they have created.
Good
coaches accentuate the positive (The
Group Fitness Coach – Peggy J. Gregor).
An important part of exercise prescription is perfecting technique;
however, nit-pickers who constantly dwell on technique faults do not run
successful classes. It is a hard line
between acknowledging successes and wanting someone to perform better by
perfecting technique, but a good coach will find the middle ground between
encouragement and improvement. I have
been to classes where instructors have prided themselves on being the technique
‘Nazi.’ I have never seen a reaction of
gratitude to this teaching style. No one
wants to endure a session on what they are doing wrong from start to end. We gain motivation to improve by hearing
about what we are doing right and ‘now here is how we can do better’. A good coach realises, connects, commends
and then offers improvement. A good
sports coach recognises strengths and weaknesses in a team of players, so must
the Group Fitness Leader.
For
all of us who entered the Group Fitness arena to move to the music we are in
for a pleasant surprise! In the hands of
a good Group Fitness Coach we are going to leave the studio more educated and
self-aware than when we entered the room, we are going to feel as though our
needs have been met and that we have become a part of a fitness community. The shift from 'aerobics classes' to group
fitness training has revolutionised the industry; we don't just mimic and move
to music, we learn about the training, focus on technique and bettering
ourselves and do it with our friends, much like how a sports team trains.
Sporting camaraderie can be found in the group fitness arena as we gradually connect
and relate to those participating around us.
Group Fitness is now about an experience and personal development; a
good Group Fitness Leader will make sure that we leave the studio feeling good
about what we've been a part of and what has been accomplished.
