Christian Noni wants to hire you as an Instructor at Revelry Indoor Cycling and Fitness. But there's a catch to his interview process… he's looking for Instructors / coaches who've experienced inspiration from fitness, who have seen the light.. the proof.. (whether it be weight loss, winning a triathlon, or even had a wild twist and that’s how they met their wife or husband) and who lives to share and pass that torch in their classes.
I've been asked multiple times; “John can you help me with a problem I have hiring Instructors?” “I've never hired anyone before, what's the trick to bringing on only great Instructors who will fill the room?”
Great question. One that I really didn't have an answer for, before this interview with Christian Noni. Christian is the Fitness Director at Revelry Indoor Cycling and Fitness. One of his responsibilities to recruit, hire and train the Instructors who will make their studio successful. He has a wonderful way of interviewing potential Instructors… Listen to the interview to learn exactly what he's looking for from and then how they plan to train each new Instructor to bring consistency to all of their classes, regardless of who's teaching.
Christian's mentor is the excellent educator Lawrence Biscontini. If you haven't yet, I would highly suggest that you listen to both episodes of the interview we had with Lawrence:
Good stuff and these two interviews probably rank in the top ten of all the interviews we've ever recorded 🙂
Here's my interview with Christian.[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
I'd love to hear if this helps you to select better Instructors. [/wlm_private]
Master Trainer Cameron Chinatti from Stages Indoor Cycling joins me to offer suggestions on how you can solicit constructive feedback… and then what to do with it once you receive it.
Cameron's handout begins:
Dear _____________________________________________
As a fitness professional, I take every opportunity to improve my craft to better serve each and every one of you. In addition to the time and resources that I voluntarily dedicate to learning new exercise formats and methodologies, I also strive to improve myself.
My current self-growth project is entirely dedicated to being an effective “cue-municator”. I recently completed a cutting-edge indoor cycling course and one of my assignments is to fully understand and embody my strengths – not only as an instructor, but also as a person. If you are willing, please share your helpful, honest feedback.
[wlm_nonmember]
Cameron's handout is reserved for ICI/PRO members. We offer monthly and annual subscription options:
I love to share these short videos from communication expert Alexa Fischer
Picture this… You’re the new guy. It’s your first day. Your heart skips a beat as you enter the front door knowing that everything is new. New people. New desk. New job. Sigh. Now go ahead and switch roles. You are sitting at your desk, clasping your favorite mug, surrounded by the lovely pictures of your family on the wall. At once you notice the new guy heading into the conference room for an orientation meeting. That’s the moment you decide that you’re going to make that guy’s day. No need to wait for an awkward moment in the elevator or a meek hello at the water cooler. You are going to do what you wish others had done for you on your first day of the job.
Here’s how to be a hero to the new kid on the block. Kindness wins every time.
For over 13 years, until about a year and a half ago, I was in an athletic performance program that was progressive and periodized. Phases 2 and 3 involved some seriously difficult trainings. I was in the habit of eating what I called my “no-bonk breakfast” because it got me through even the toughest workouts without an energy crash.
Since then, nutrition trends have shifted, as they tend to do. So I thought I’d present the No-Bonk Breakfast in its original form and offer a few variations for those who would prefer those.
Here’s the original. It starts with oatmeal, although you shouldn’t eat that first, by itself. Cook it with water and cinnamon (for the glucose-stabilizing effect). If you’re feeling hardcore, you can open the refrigerator and find some protein, like chicken, from last night’s dinner and eat that while the oatmeal cooks. If not, stay with me for Plan B.
Plan B: Once the oatmeal is done, add a scoop of high-quality protein powder. This can be unflavored whey protein or a raw, vegan vegetable protein powder — or a combination of the two. (Other types of protein powder, like soy or brown rice, can also work. It’s a personal choice, although I find brown rice protein powder tends to upset my stomach.) Don’t cook the oatmeal with the protein powder, since heat can destroy amino acids. Add it to the cooked oatmeal.
Then add a wholesome fat. Examples might include raw, organic coconut oil; raw almond butter; cashew/macadamia butter (I gave you easy instructions for that over the holidays); walnuts, or another option that appeals to you.
If you want, you can add some fruit, such as ¼ cup of berries and/or ½ to 1 teaspoon of probiotic yogurt.
Okay, that’s the original breakfast. Many gluten-free readers will object to oats from that perspective. Instead, you can try exactly the same recipe using quinoa. Because quinoa is often a lunch or dinner item, people assume its seasonings need to be savory, but there’s no reason at all you can’t use cinnamon and fruit, if you wish.
Another gluten-free way to go is with brown rice. You might even try sweet potatoes. I’ve discovered that sweet potatoes and cinnamon make a great combination.
Some of these alternatives won’t lend themselves to blending with protein powder, so here are two suggestions: mix the protein powder in a cup with water and drink it first, then eat the rest of your breakfast, OR go back to the original, “hard-core” idea and eat some leftover protein from dinner while heating up your rice, sweet potatoes, or quinoa.
Whatever you decide, this will be a great pre-class or pre-ride meal, but do not have it immediately before the workout.
It’s a good idea to eat as soon as you get up in the morning. One sports nutrition expert advised us to wake up, use the bathroom as always, then immediately go into the kitchen and eat. That’s not only good advice, but somewhat radical, since it’s uncommon.
The worst thing to do is take care of everything else first — pack your gym bag (or get your cycling gear together), walk your dog, update your Facebook page — and then eat whatever you find before you run out the door. Doing that forces you to settle for the “grab-n-go” — whatever you can eat while driving, while cycling, while walking, or what-have-you. It also means the food won’t be available during your training because it will still be in your stomach.
So the No-Bonk plan is: a) wake up early and eat right away, so your food is more accessible when your body needs it; b) eat one of the above breakfasts that combines protein, complex starches, and healthful fats. Fruit is optional. Portion sizes are up to you. Judge your own calorie needs and what you can handle comfortably.
The right breakfast and the right timing should help you get through a tough class or a tough ride without an energy slump. Please let me know how this works for you.
Do you really know when your class music is at exactly the right sound level?
That it's not too loud so it's unsafe… but not too quiet that you miss out on the energy?
How about the level of your microphone… is it adjusted so your voice and cues are easily understood by your class?
I only know one Instructors on the planet who can answer this with, YES John, I do know when my mic and music volume are adjusted correctly – our very own Jennifer Lintz. That's because Jennifer teaches at a studio where they've spent $766.00 to purchase one of these soundear noise meters. In this article she discusses teaching class with it hanging in the back of her studio. She only needs to take a quick peek and watch the color changes to know when everything is adjusted properly.
Image from http://www.soundsafety.com.au/
$766.00, for something you could live without, is what my buddy Randy would call “Stupid Money”. To be fair, the SoundEar appears to have been designed for use in hospitals, where the intent is keeping noise levels very low.
Continuous understanding vs. checking once or twice a year 🙁
Do you still do this in your class?
Over the years I've seen infrequent requests from GF Dept Heads saying something similar to:
We're getting complaints about music levels in some classes!! Please check the sound levels in your classes!! I have a sound meter in my top drawer you can use. I'm also going to make spot checks of classes to check and see that you're under 100 decibels – which is our company policy.
How does checking my sound level today help me a month, week, day or even 20 minutes from now?
I can't help comparing an annual sound check to the good old days when we checked our pulse with fingers and a watch. This gave the illusion of doing something important, but it's a worthless exercise when you compare it with the understanding you get from a Heart Rate monitor that display BPM continuously. If my HR is too low, I can increase my level of effort, and then wait, check again and adjust as necessary.
The typical fitness studio sound system includes a bunch of knobs that will change the sound levels. Where I teach there are 5 ways I can adjust what my class hears:
Master Volume Knob
iPod Volume Knob
Mic Volume Knob
CD Volume Knob
And the volume level slider on my iPhone
+ don't forget how many tracks play at a different volume
All those knobs effect how loud the music will be in class. Making a mark on the Master Volume Knob (as often suggested) ignores all the other settings that will over ride the Master Volume Knob. I need a meter that tells me the correct settings to make for the best class experience.
You don't hear… what they hear
In most studios there's what I call a cone of silencer, that looks like this:
What sounds perfect to you on the instructor bike can be deafening to riders in the front row. The only way you can truly understand what your class is hearing, is to get off and walk around the room.
So I propose building a Fitness Studio Sound Meter that looks like this prototype
Why in the clock?
Every fitness studio (if it doesn't already) should have a clock hanging on the back or side wall, so the Instructor can easily know the time. I feel it makes perfect sense to incorporate the sound meter where it's plainly visible while teaching.
Visible to you… but discrete
I've already test marketed this idea to a few dozen Instructors and Studio owners. The one negative concern expressed was not wanting participants focusing or judging you based on their watching the sound meter. So our design features small LEDs that are very easy to see in any level light.
I have a saying; “my ideas always sound good… to me“. The purpose of this campaign is to find out if my idea sounds good to you 🙂
I'll be posting more details and a link to Indiegogo campaign tomorrow (Sunday 3/30/14)
Spinning® Instructor and music expert Chris Hawthorne provides our latest class profile that uses the four cornerstone movements in the Spinning program®:
Think of this profile like a square track. You will be taking your riders around the track four times. The first time around the track, each movement will be given 4 minutes. The second time around, 3 minutes. The third time around, 2 minutes. Your final lap will be 1 minute per movement.
Each square, or corner on the track is a ‘cornerstone’ movement:
Square One = Seated Flat (80-110 RPM)
Square Two= Standing Flat (80-110 RPM)
Square Three= Seated Climb (60-80 RPM)
Square Four= Standing Climb (60-80 RPM)
This to me is one of those profiles we all need to have in our “back-pocket” – and it will be perfect for a less experienced Instructor to use to teach a great class. As Chris says during the recording, her participants appreciate her simple & predictable profiles. Combined with her excellent playlist, Chris and I feel your class will enjoy Four Corners.
