Instructor Newsletter 23 July 2015

At the IDEA conference last weekend there was a lot of sessions
on predicting the future of health and fitness.

 

I was also invited to an Apple presentation on how Apple Watch, Apps
& the internet going forward will impact the industry as we
know it.

It was all fascinating.

It feels like we are on the verge of technology, fitness, tracking & data  all coming together to provide new products & services which will impact
all of us.

Expect to see more integration between technology, workout tracking and analysis as wearable tech (like Apple Watch) will be come more popular.

The explosion of Health & fitness apps is evident  as more and more people use apps like My Fitness Pal, Runkeeper, Strava etc, to monitor how many steps they take in a day, food consumed, runs & cycles they do.

These apps are creating useful data so the user can track improvements and monitor progress.

Many forward thinking US Health Club operators are seeing the benefits are putting beginner workouts online so newcomers can try new workouts and classes at home before committing to a membership or signing up for a class.

Aside from tech, Globally, fitness education and basic training has changed hugely and appears to be lacking in fundamentals.

With the rise of the one day certification in a particular branded product or class we are seeing less “all round” Group exercise Instructors entering the market & health clubs across the globe are struggling to recruit Instructors who can teach a wide variety of modalities that do not include a branded class –  Our beloved Step, HiLo and even basic body conditioning classes as we know pre HIIT are not attracting new Instructors to teach them. This is pretty evident in the UK as well & overseas its the same.
Timetables and Schedules across the world are all very samey.

Operators are only now realising they need to create their own classes and bring training back in house to get the competitive edge.

Having said that, Mind Body classes including all forms of Yoga & Pilates are booming.  Training courses are in high demand, again, our own Fitness Pilates courses are constantly fully booked, with local classes reporting waiting lists and  consistently booked all year round.

“Recovery” classes are also on the rise. 45 minutes Foam Rolling classes, myofascia release and fusion classes continue to grow in popularity & I took part in some beautifully restorative & meditation sessions that really were fabulous.

It goes without saying but Indoor cycling is still HUGE. There are full classes all over LA. Training courses everywhere in all styles.

It was a fabulous convention and I highly recommend it. Its a truly
fabulous experience although the jet lag has hit me hard today!

Heres my LA VLOGS

New Rachel Holmes VLOG_001 New Workouts, Spiralizer & Periscope?

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Greg Sellars Workshop This Saturday in Derby 9 – 530pm

Be Your Best YOU.

I’m really looking forward to Gregs workshop this Saturday
and you can still bag a place and really get in on the ground floor
with this style of coaching.

Greg will be sharing comprehensive systems and strategies for you to implement on yourself and with clients.

& the whole day will contain tons of useful & practicable  information.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR SPACE

https://www.choreographytogo.com/workshop-booking/greg-sellar-your-best-you-workshop/

 

 

Do you feel guilty for taking time off? – By Kelly Reed-Banks
With schools breaking up this week, we are well into summer holidays and I am jetting off to Turkey for 2 weeks on Monday and part of me can not wait as this is my only holiday this year, I’ve worked hard all year right up to the wire and now I am really ready to lay by a pool, soak up the rays, read a couple of good books and actually spend some time with my hubby!!!
But the other half of me feels a little guilty for taking a holiday!!!! WHY?????

I feel guilty for leaving my brilliant class participants who come to my community classes as I have cancelled all classes for 2 weeks including KSFL online and live fitness camps and I know they are gutted there are no classes or support groups for 2 weeks. I also feel guilty for leaving my online learners for 2 weeks as I know that during the holidays lots of learners like to get work complete while they are having a bit of down time too – am I alone here or do you feel guilty to for taking time off?

In the past I use to get my community classes covered as I didn’t want to let my community business stop, I was scared that they might go down the road to someone else and then not come back!!! Maybe I’m a little more laid back now or a little more comfortable in my own ability but experience showed me that actually class numbers dropped anyway and a lot of people didn’t come just because it wasn’t me!
So rather than possibly loosing money from paying a replacement instructors as well as hall hire while I’m away, it’s just easier to stop all classes for the time I’m off, but then does that put excess pressure on us as self employed instructors to not take time off?

Those of you that are self employed will always struggle to take time off as while you are taking time out, you are not getting paid – this is the same in every profession so what do we put in place to counter act this?
For me I work part time at college so during the holidays I am still getting paid 3 days a week – thank goodness!! This was one of the reasons why I went back to work at Cambridge Regional College but for other instructors who are solely self employed – what do you do?

I strongly believe in the importance of keeping your work/ life balance but sometimes it’s a struggle! With smart phones, IPADS, etc it’s hard enough to ‘turn off’ work when you are at home but what about on holiday?
Do you make a pack with yourself or the people your with for no social media/ emails/ work etc? Or do you stay online everyday while your away so you are not met with a mammoth inbox when you return?

I would love to say I will turn off all devices and have a complete break but I doubt this will be true!!! – So am I actually taking a holiday??? I hope the answer is YES!!

So am I on my own here?
Does anyone else feel guilty for not teaching?
Do you stop your business while you are away?
Do you get cover for your community business or do you cancel classes like me?
and finally do you turn off your ‘work’ while you are away or do you still check emails/ twitter/ face book etc?

As always, I love your feedback so message me – kelly@choreographytogo.com
Tweet me – @kellyreedfitness
Facebook – Kelly Reed-Banks

Have a great couple of weeks and I’ll see you when I get back (hopefully a little more tanned!!!)

Much Love Kelly xx