The success of the group class instructor – what counts more?

At the end of the day, it is an investment in your business and you should be able to take it down to numbers such as the frequency of group classes plus comments from the participants, activities and the commitment level presented to you and other staff members. Most of these elements can be easily tracked and monitored in Perfect Gym management software. While considering whom to hire, you may often jump into a question or a thought: what is more important – the know-how or the personality. There is never one straight and simple answer but I have tried to check who is described as a successful instructor. On this basis we can build our standpoint on this subject.

If we think of a successful group class instructor he/she should definitely have recognition and enjoy the respect in the fitness industry and among clients. In order to earn it such an instructor has to be patient and work hard towards this goal. He/she will know he/she is going in the right direction as he/she receives positive signals from the club management, customers etc. Another thing that comes with time is a chance to appear on an international fitness arena.  What is more, a successful instructor should be recognizable and well-known in the local industry thanks to being active in club’s  different initiatives such as workshops, open days, boot camps etc. There is no high standard work without proper qualifications and professional training. Right now it is even harder as new emerging trends – equipment, type of classes, routines, exercises and many more enter market rapidly and if an instructor does not progress he/she will oversleep it and stay behind. Gym managers also appreciate trainers who are versatile as it is hard to hire someone only for 2 hours per week and pretty often there is the need of substitution.

And what traits of character should a perfect group class instructor have? Definitely this person must be communicative and open to people. All in all, this is a very social job and it’s all about being around people.  He/she should also have the ability to establish warm and good relationships with customers as this is crucial due to motivational aspect. Members enroll to specific classes mainly not because of the type of training that is performed, but because of the instructor. The better the relations between a group and a trainer, the better effects of the workout. The better fitness results, the more satisfied customers who want to come back. This is why a coach should always leave his/her problems outside the gym door as it is all about the right atmosphere. Customers always think about it on the first place, later come professional attitude and preparation for the training. An instructor has only one chance to make a good first impression. What also matters a lot  is the charisma. A group class trainer has many roles as at the same time he/she should be a leader, a friend, a psychologist, a physiotherapeutic etc. But definitely he/she has to have a character and that something. Being a great leader means he/she has a power to motivate members to go beyond their limitations and reach out for their fitness goals. When people feel this extra boost, again, they want to come back for more.

As you can see it is never black or white, rather something in a gray-scale when it comes to answering such difficult questions, but whenever hiring or assessing a group class instructor I would recommend to observe such a person during training, see customers’ reactions and take the  personality as a deciding factor.