Proper preparation is crucial before instructing a fitness class. During a class, your mind has to concentrate on choreography, music, participant response, motivation, room temperature, entertaining, your body's response as well as reminding your students about proper technique and scheduling water breaks. A fitness instructor's multi-tasking skills must be high on his list of abilities. You can reduce two tasks by having your routine and music prepared before you step into the aerobic room.
Music
Music has the ability to increase the intensity level of your class. The American Council on Exercise reports that when athletes listen to music their endurance levels show a 15 -percent increase. Your choice of music should match the type of class you are instructing. For example, relaxing yoga music would not motivate a boot camp class.
Routine
Once you have chosen your music, listen to it while you have on your workout gear, the space in which to workout and an uninterrupted amount of time. The music beat and pace will guide your exercise selections. Immediately write down your routine, foot patterns and counts. On another day prior to your class, try your routine again and make any final adjustments.
Before Class
Your job as an instructor is to educate, motivate, provide a safe and effective workout and entertain. This means that you cannot bring any personal concerns into your classroom. Your focus must be on your participants. Since you already have your routine and music prepared, in the minutes before class introduce yourself to participants with the goal of remembering their names for use during class to motivate and praise students for their hard work.
During Class
A fitness class begins with a 4 to 5 minute warm-up. You will gradually increase the intensity of your class according to your allotted time. For example, when teaching a 60 minute class, peak exertion level should occur near 35 to 40 minutes. Follow the active phase with a 7 to 10 minute cool down and stretching session. You will have 5 to 10 minutes remaining for abdominal work, meditation, deep stretching or strengthening exercises.
After Class
After class, instead of packing up your music and leaving, remain available for a few minutes for individual questions and answers. You may use this time to discover personal goals that your participants have or other reasons they decided to take your class. Through learning more about your participants, you will be able to develop subsequent classes to help them reach their goals.
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