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By Rebecca T. Hingst
“One of the marks of true greatness is the ability to develop greatness in others.” –J.C. Macaulay
 Hours—not minutes—are spent selecting new music, planning and learning choreography to share with your faithful following every week. Yet as the workout begins, like a rerun film, so do your cues.
Coaching students through the squats, you scream energetically, “Deeper! That’s it! Chest up, abs engaged and knees over toes, you got it!”
You lead them up the hill with a piercing, “Push it! Breathe through it! Way to go, excellent form!”
To spice up the dance routine you yell, “Yeah, add your own style to it! Work it ladies, woo!”
While the enthusiasm is apparent, so are a few significant concerns: your students are already squatting to parallel, Molly and Sarah are riding ponies instead of flywheels in the front row, and while your dancing diva is breaking out the worm in the middle of your aerobic dance routine, you have just humiliated David in the back after calling him a lady.
Though it may sound far-fetched, as a group fitness manager, I can account for numerous occasions when this type of instruction has been observed: coaching the choreography instead of coaching the class.
A coach is defined as someone who acts as a trainer or tutor, giving instruction to an individual or a group on needed skills. Could you imagine having a tutor lecture you on subtraction when you are trying to learn how to add? The same goes for our group fitness students. Why coach a skill they are mastering when lacking skills are on full display?
A coach’s job is not to simply train a skill, but to specifically train skills that are needed by the individual or group.
In the group fitness room, there are several ways this type of coaching can be accomplished. If multiple individuals are performing a similar mistake, address the group. Perhaps it is the first time the class has scissor-kicked in a while, and more general instruction is in fact needed. Often times, there will be a majority lunging to ninety degrees while one or several others will be doing the duck walk. In such cases, making eye contact, calling them out by name—including “Ms. 110 Percent Pure Hottness” or whoever else wears their insignia on their clothing—and complementing an individual who is doing the correct version are simple ways to initiate improvements in those who are performing incorrectly.
Occasionally, there will be one student who has been using four risers since the step was invented and, no matter how hard you try, will not make any changes. This instance may call for pre or post-class interaction, where more time is available to provide explanation of the needed changes, why they are necessary and how they can be achieved.
 Developing student-specific coaching skills benefits both students and instructor. Before hitting the play button next time around, take a few seconds to glance around the classroom. What you find may be surprising, from both the class and yourself. Instructor dialect becomes more genuine and credibility increases as students gain more from their workout. Why? Finally the focus is on skills in which the students need training rather than those they have already perfected.
Remember who your class is for; if you want students to achieve their fitness goals, its time to teach them how to score! Improve with your class this season, starting one phrase at a time.
Rebecca T. Hingst holds a Bachelors degree in Dietetics and is a graduate student at Florida State University, studying clinical and sports nutrition. She is a group fitness director at Gold’s Gym University in Tallahassee, Florida, a health and nutrition writer, group presenter and spokesmodel for Scitec Nutrition.
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