For years I have taught classes that were physically challenging to participants but when I started to bring more than the Physical Dimension of Wellness to my classes, MAGIC HAPPENED.
Dr. Bill Hettler, the co-founder of the National Wellness Institute (NWI), created a model named, The Six Dimensions of Wellness, in 1976. His idea of Wellness was not merely just the absence of disease, but living a life in which you become more aware and make decisions towards a more successful existence.
The dimensions from Dr. Hettler’s model are;
Physical
Social
Intellectual
Spiritual
Emotional
Occupational.
These 6 Dimensions when fully obtained can be thought of as a wheel, the more full your wheel is the better life may be, the less full the wheel is the harder life may be. Knowing this as a Fitness Professional, I made it a point to bring more than just the Physical Dimension to each of my classes and saw an improved mood and performance from members.
Below are a few ways to implement some of the Dimensions of Wellness into your classes and getting your participants to living more successful lives!
Social Wellness: I start each of my classes by having participants near one another introduce themselves and share their goals with each other, during the Warm-up. This really creates a sense of community and connection that might not be there unless you initiate it to happen.
The first time I tried this in class there was a silent pause and a look of hesitation of those in the room. I quickly followed up my request by sharing a stat that I read in Forbes Magazine, stating that those who share their goals with others, are 75% more likely to accomplish those goals than those who do not. This lit the fire and soon my classes were celebrating each other’s successes and helping hold each other accountable.
Physical Wellness: During the class it’s crucial you create a sense of connection with the body, whether it is Heart Rate, Perceived Exertion, or simple stating where and what they should be feeling. This help will get your participants engaged and understanding what’s happening PHYSICALLY rather than just going through the motions.
Whenever you get a chance during your classes, tell your participants exactly what they should be feeling so they know they are accomplishing the goals you have set.
For example, when I am teaching a Standing Attack Drill, I will prep the class by saying, “think of the word ATTACK, it’s strong, it’s powerful, and it’s aggressive! If you attack with those words in mind, your legs will start to warm, your breathing will become heavy, your heart rate will rise and when you finish this attack, you will be breathless and that much harder to beat! Let’s Roll!”
Your riders will now be able to connect with physical signs and feedback from their own bodies, which will be a great way to keep them engaged and working hard no matter if they are a beginner or a well-seasoned athlete.
Emotional Wellness: Towards the end of classes, I usually have a track where I give full control to the riders. I have a set directive for the drill and try to evoke an emotional attachment to their work effort and goals. I will ask again and again, “Is this the best you can do? Is this as hard as you can work, if so KEEP GOING, IF NOT MAKE THE CHANGE! BE BETTER!” I try to create a sense of pride and worthiness to their work and show them not just how PHYSICALLY strong they are but EMOTIONALLY.
This is all about song selection and coaching. The best example I can give that I use in my classes is the song, Breakn’ a Sweat by Skrillex & The Doors (Zedd Remix). The drill is simple; it’s a seated climb up the hill that scares you, the one you can BARLEY make it to the top of, the hill that when you get to the top, you feel victorious. The gear choices are up to you but the RPM’s must never go below 65. Ever rider will have a different idea of what this hill looks and feels like. It then becomes the instructor’s job to coach their team of riders up this hill and make them believe every second of the way that they can do it.
Spiritual Wellness: Finally at the end of class, during the Cool-Down, I always have participants turn to their neighbors and give them a good-job or some words of praise for their work. The Cool-Down to me has 2 parts to it, first to bring recovery and relief to the body through a controlled ride and stretches, and second to feel a strong sense of pride for the effort and work they did during class.
As soon as the last beat drops and the work part of the class is over, I always tell my class to turn to their neighbors and commend them for their effort during class. I also always make sure that the song or songs that I use for Cool-Down provide motivation or inspiration, like the song, I Lived, by One Republic. The lyrics talk about taking chances and, my personal favorite, OWNING EVERY SECOND! As the leader of your class, assure your team of riders that the effort they put in is one they should be proud of and feel good about.
Since the implementation of these techniques I have seen a steady retention and full classes. When you start to introduce these Dimensions into your classes, be authentic and go in wholeheartedly, and you too will see MAGIC HAPPEN!
There was an interesting question asked at one of the Facebook groups;
If you were to tell a New Instructor to master one thing as an Indoor cycling instructor . What would it be ?
There were a plenty of great responses that included; learn musicality, cuing, be prepared, be yourself, project confidence/control your class (very important) and other suggestions that focused on education. All important for sure. Mine was short – Smile. Pretty simplistic I'll agree – but when you consider that your ability to connect with the riders in your class is crucial for building and maintaining a full class, regularly smiling at people can really add to your overall presentation.
My response was directed at a long running frustration I have. Over hundreds of classes I've taken or observed, I've seen very few smiling Instructors. Lot's of serious Instructors. Instructors who scowl, grimace and a few who look bored… but not many who offer a genuine smile. Sure you'll find pictures of smiling Instructors posted on Facebook or instagram > they're smiling because that's the natural response most people have when having their picture taken. On the count of three I want everyone to Smile. One, Two, Three…
You can make me feel good [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 like it when someone smiles at me. Do you? Dumb question, of course you and everyone else I know enjoys a smile. A warm/real smile communicates an enormous amount of goodwill, acceptance and affirmation between two people. Who can forget a smile from someone of great importance? Maybe it was a crush you had in highschool. When he/she smiled at you it validated you as important to someone else. Or maybe you received a smile from a person in authority that said “well done” and boosted your self confidence in a way words never could?
Why so serious?
I do tend to see Instructors with super serious faces. You know, that stern face that conveys concern as they scan across the room. Realising many of us take our role as that of a concerned watchdog, I get how it's important to be watchful of everyone.
I few years back Cycling Fusion ran a contest to find great Instructors. There were quite a few videos submitted, each demonstrating different/unique Instructor styles. Watch a few minutes of the video below to see if you have the same reaction I had > Keith's “persona” is very intense – nothing wrong with that. Can you see how his class presentation could be improved if he just smiled occasionally?
Consider for a moment you're a participant. Better yet, you are a brand new rider – this is your very first class. So there you are, riding along and feeling pretty good about your success so far. Then you happen to raise your head and see the Instructor looking directly at you with a super serious face…
Why is she looking at me like that? Crap. Am I doing something wrong? I mustn't be pedaling right… are my hand in the wrong place? Sit up straighter… yeah that's it, I need to sit up straighter. Oh good, she's looking at someone else now. She can tell I'm not very good at this…
The goal is to mask your concern/focus/intensity with a friendly & inviting smile.
Pick someone to smile at, using your eyes
In this article about eye contact, I described an Instructor who looked at everything in the studio, but never at me. Or it at least felt that way. He would get close to looking at me; above my head, to the left, right and at the floor. Never once did he make eye contact with me… and it was kind of creepy.
Notice in the video where Kevin looks while he's teaching? Straight ahead and somewhat down, at a place just in front of him, right? It doesn't appear to me that he's looking directly at the riders… and he's certainly not making eye contact with anyone. How do I know that? Because most people's expression will change when they connect with another person who's across the room. There are riders facing him, but I don't see any reaction that shows he's connecting with any of them.
What to do?
We've encouraged Instructors to record the audio of their classes. So they can hear exactly what their class hears.
Are my cues clear?
Am I talking over and/or competing with the lyrics?
Do I talk too much?
Not enough?
What tone do I use?
Does it communicate energy and various emotions – or am I monotone, without any vocal inflection?
Listening to your class presentation can identify any issues/weaknesses. Just like improving your fitness (if you can measure it… you can improve it) being aware of small things that detract from your presentation is the launching pad for improving your presentation skills.
Moving beyond audio, I'm thinking your class presentation could be improved if you were to film yourself. Then you'd see;
Am I smiling?
What's my expression when I'm not smiling?
Am I making eye contact?
Does my face show a reaction of connecting with others?
Do I scan the room? Or focus in just one place?
It doesn't need to be anything fancy – only you will be watching this. Most phones have excellent video capabilities. You could probably craft a simple stand using a chair and a folded up towel. Get there early, set up you camera, turn it on and then hopefully you'll forget it's running – remember everyone smiles when they know they're being filmed. You want a candid video of the real/natural you.
Important note: try to resist the natural self-criticism that comes from watching yourself in a video. You're only looking for signs of connecting with riders and projecting positive vibes. Unless the class you teach is filled with experienced cyclists, your participants aren't nit-picking how you're ride the bike.
Was it just me, or did that last Instructor never make eye contact with you, either?
Amy and I were both participating at a teach-back assessment a few months ago, for Life Time's new Evolution Signature Indoor Cycling format. There was a handful of Instructors trying out and we all assumed the role as a “participant”, while we waited our turn on the Instructor bike.
It wasn't only you John, was Amy's response. That guy looked everywhere but directly at me… At first it was a little weird – his focus kept switching from the floor > ceiling and then at alternating walls on either side of the room. After a while I felt kind of dismissed,by how he seemed to purposefully avoid directly looking at me 🙁
Amy and I discussed our experiences with the guy, in the car on our way home. We both felt like he had all the right words = technically he sounded like he knew what he should be saying. But he had ZERO connection with his riders. Now I know this was probably an extreme example, but;
How effective are you at making eye contact with your riders?
If I came to your class, would you look at me?
Would I see you making eye contact with others in a meaningful way?
Take a moment and reflect back on your last class. How many people do you remember connecting with?[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']
Johnny G is a master at connecting with his audience of riders. Watch this short segment of him presenting. Pay particular attention to how he scans the faces in the room.
Make connections the objective of your class
I've featured presentation coach Alexa Fischer here in the past because she is a master communicator. She has a new blog post that expands on the video below, where she explains:
For me, winning over your audience has nothing to do with seeing everyone in their birthday suits. It has everything to do with making a genuine connection, in the exact same way you would when you meet a new friend in a cafe. In today’s video, I share my surefire strategies for keeping my audience engaged.
As the late, great Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
The same is true for when you are on stage.
Click here to see Alexa's other video > and by all means, join her email list. She's sending out good stuff every week that I find very helpful.
Look up here at Me… not the video!
If you frequently play video in your classes, you're probably creating a connection problem with your participants. They are focused on the big screens, not you. For some of your members that will be OK for you to be an unseen narrator, while they watch what's happening on the video.
But many riders won't. They need you to make them feel important, if only for an instant, where you connect and flash them a quick smile or some other acknowledgment.
Random thought: does it make sense to whiten your teeth? Would your smile be more impactful, especially to those riding way in the back, if it was whiter/brighter?
So how do you get people to pay attention, so you can connect with them, when you're playing a video?
Check your lighting.
Maybe it was because I was a little self conscience, but early in my teaching career I wouldn't turn on the stage spotlights. I normally kept the studio lights down low. But over time (and watching other Instructors teach in the same room) I learned that I retained people's attention longer, if they could see me clearly. Having two focal points in the room, #1 the screen(s) and #2 YOU, should help direct your riders attention.
Make a change
Did you see how Johnny G maintained the room's attention, by asking them to sit up? How about suggesting in your next class, “this is a good time for a water break / toweling off.” Then watch what happens. Catch people following your lead and reaffirm those who do with a nod or a tip of your water bottle.
Ask questions
It's very natural for people to turn toward the person asking a question. Why? I think we instinctively do this to try and gather more information. I feel open ended questions (can't be a Yes/No response) work best. If you really want to get eyes up on you, ask a question that references something that needs to been seen to be understood and then point/demonstrate without giving any additional cues until you have their eyes-forward. Maybe something like; is your pedal stroke smooth like this? Then demonstrate the action while scanning the faces of the room for recognition.
Bring up the room lights
If you have a really dark studio, bring up the room lights for the cool down. It's here when you can really try to connect with each rider – or – try and develop a surrogate; have everyone turn, face each other and congratulate their neighbor!
