First Impressions

By definition, you literally only get one chance to make a FIRST impression. So, how are you doing on that? Is yours one to remember? In a positive way? When we fail to make a good first impression, we spend so much more energy trying to make up for it than if we would have just made the effort in the first place as we should have. Listen in to learn the little things that go a long way in making a solid first impression.

It's that time of year when we either set some race-to-the-end-of-the-year or let all unmet goals slide until the new year kicks us back into gear. Goals are only as good as our intentions in executing them. But how can we execute them if we don't know specifically what we want, have a way to measure them, make sure they are achievable, that they are relevant, and that they are timely. A vague goal is nothing more than a vague intention, which will go exactly no where. Instead, when we get to the true root of our intentions and craft them into strategy, with accountability, we stand to be heaps more successful. Listen in for tips on how to help your participants craft SMART goals and how you can create your own SMART goals for your career as a fitness instructor.

We are taking on 100 from several angles today. As we just celebrated the 100th birthday of one of our group exercise participants, I got thinking about how we can approach 100 ourselves, from a perspective of longevity in teaching but also how we can keep our members looking forward to our classes on their way to 100. It comes down to joy. We have to have it, and we have to help them find it in the movement we share with them. Listen in to hear more about how to keep it 100 all the way to 100!

We all strive to be the best we can for our participants, but what really makes their experience? Jump in to learn about cultivating the ultimate GX experience (and learn about those non-workout elements that greatly factor in) so that you can be the instructor who people come back to over and over again, not because your classes are the hardest or anything like that, but because you are the complete package. You see them. You connect with them. You bring awesome music and vibe. You plan a great workout. You adapt that workout as needed. You are practically perfect in every way!

Welcome to Season 2 of The Group X Files! We are starting this season with a little "back to school" jitters, what with adding a video component this season. Do I look ok? How's my hair? My make up? My fit? OR we could just embrace being ourselves and letting the messy show through every now and then. Polished chaos, perhaps? Listen in to learn something about self-reflection, the impact video-ing your classes can make on your teaching, and how to choose a theme song that really exemplifies who you are.

Season 1 Finale! James Brown's words ring ever so true in the world of group fitness. Get up offa what thing? Your mat, your stage, your bike. Just get up and move through the room. Traditionally, many are taught to teach from the "instructor's spot" in the room, but so much is gained in connection when we move through our class. For this episode, I teamed up with SoulBody Fitness' Stacey Vandiver. Listen in to learn more about getting up offa that thing!

We are all humans. 100% of us, 100% of the time. But sometimes we expect superhuman things from ourselves and are disappointed when we fall short. We second guess ourselves. We don't always live the "fitness" lifestyle. We go through seasons of life just like everyone else. Our bodies don't always feel great. BUT we do love what we do, and we LOVE hearing from our participants. Let's be real here together, kind of dashboard confessional style.

Think about your favorite brands (and maybe some that were your favorite but lost you). What is it that you love about them. What do they do just so darn well? What are they the master of? (Or, in the case of a brand that lost you, what did they do to drive you away? Did they lose focus on what their target audience and dilute their product?). While we want to diversify ourselves, we must start with becoming the master of just one thing first. What is the one format you want to master? That you want people in the club to be like, "oh, you want a good ________ class, you've gotta go to (insert your name here)!" Listen in to learn about how to deepen your mastery of one format and how that can really impact the member experience for your core group of constituents.

Those 2 words sound so simple, but we know that in reality they can be quite a task, a responsibility. But just like our participants choose to show up for us, we have to show up for them. Listen in to learn how to leave the world behind and shift your mood and mindset to be the instructor you were always meant to be when you walk in the studio.

Each and every one of us has walked into a studio and made assumptions about our participants based on appearances, whether we like to admit it or not. It is human nature. Our challenge is to look past those initial assumptions and get to who people really are and what they can really do. Age is one of the easiest factors we make assumptions based upon, but what if I told you age is not the limiting factor in determining level. Function and ability are the limiting factors. Listen in to learn more about keeping all ages moving as equally and successfully as possible.