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ORGANISE GREAT INSTRUCTOR TRAINING

We recommend that you constantly up skill your teaching team towards mastery. Achieve this by implementing an external training calendar
(e.g., Les Mills) and an internal training and assessment plan. The result will be a team of energised and committed rock stars, who keep
classes full and business booming. It doesnt matter how good your programmes are; if your instructors are mediocre and de-motivated, your
class attendances will drop. The document will summarise the best practice on training instructors so they can maximise fitness experiences in
class and thereby help GF attendances to grow consistently. The Goal Commit to quality and excellence through the continual up-skilling of
your instructors to achieve teaching mastery and, ultimately, attendance growth.

Training: improving the quality of the experience

Recognise that the instructor is the product in your members eyes they are a major part of the GF experience you are offering.
Training allows you to clearly communicate how you want the product to be delivered and increases the likelihood of members receiving a
consistent experience that either meets or exceeds their expectations. This encourages greater member retention due to the loyalty inspired by
strong instructors. It also encourages word-of-mouth referrals, as members talk to family and friends about the great fun they are having
working out.

Training: creating a culture of constant improvement and excellence

Training helps you to create a winning culture one of constant improvement. We all know that if you are standing still the world will pass you
by. If you decide to stop developing your people, your business growth will slow and you will find it harder and harder to respond quickly and
effectively to changing market trends.

Training: improving teamwork

A consistent commitment to training usually creates better team spirit among staff members. They can share their experiences and draw on a
united perspective from which to meet challenges. Les Mills modules bring the benefits of team culture to life for participants. The result
instructors operate as programme teams in their facilities and work together readily to deliver world-class experiences to members every time.

GF manager: leading by example

As nearly all GF managers teach, your training system must be one YOU can embrace with passion. Your enthusiasm for training will be a
powerful example for your team to continue up-skilling. You must lead by example and create a culture where training and assessment are
viewed as opportunities to improve, rather than a response to lack of skill or weak results. This will create a further benefit of attracting and
retaining a team of instructors who like to constantly develop in an environment where everyone receives consistent training and assessment
to maximise their performance. Another upside of this philosophy is that those instructors who dont accept this training approach will
inevitably leave of their own accord.

Attributes of a great instructor

Les Mills has identified five key elements of instructing:

Les Mills assessment and ongoing assessment overview

We recommend you assess your instructors every six months. Assessment
provides the checks and balances to our training system. It is a way to compare
the development of our instructors against the Les Mills standard of competence
and to help create well-rounded instructors who aspire to improve their skills.
More specifically, assessment provides a measure of quality control and enables
you to monitor whether each programme is represented appropriately. Applying
the assessment system can help to ensure that instructors achieve high standards
and participants in turn receive safe, effective and enjoyable classes with great
results.

When training instructors, it is critical to play to their strengths. A great instructor does NOT need to excel in all five of the Key Elements to
achieve mastery.
Effective ongoing assessments the concept of being critically reviewed is threatening to most people. All feedback should be communicated
in a clear, positive and caring manner. Your analysis of each instructor must acknowledge both their natural style and strengths. It also needs to
highlight what is being done well and what needs ongoing attention in the Key Elements of Choreography, Technique and Coaching.

The power of instructor self-assessment

Self-assessment provides a foundation to assist instructors with fulfilling their potential. For example, an instructor may perceive they are only
average at coaching, yet the GF manager believes that they have improved significantly. Without understanding this difference in perception,
a critical opportunity would be missed to improve an instructors confidence in their skills. Using this knowledge will allow instructors to have
greater confidence in their abilities and so continue to develop towards mastery.

Organise great instructor training recommendations for existing instructors

Maximise your teams strengths by never allowing them to become stagnant as instructors. Building a team of rock star instructors means you
will need to encourage your team to keep developing their teaching skills after initial qualification and provide opportunities for them to grow.

Recommended framework for continuing education

For more information on training, please contact Club Solutions on +44 (0)20 8586 7332 or at lesmills@fitpro.com

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GF manager should encourage instructors to attend all Quarterly Workshops

and ensure the quarterly education material is integrated into each release.

GF manager should stipulate that instructors attend no fewer than three

Quarterly Workshops each year.

Instructors must attend a minimum of two new-release practice relaunch

classes per programme and help out backstage/front of house at relaunch.

Instructors should work towards team teaching in a relaunch class for

maximum on-stage impact at each event.

improve fitness and form. A challenge is outlined in each of the Programme

Manuals.
GF manager must undertake one six-monthly videotaped assessment and
document feedback/action plan using the Assessor Forms.
Role-model instructors should mentor/buddy new recruits/instructors. In our
experience, this helps both the teacher and the pupil to improve their skills.
GF manager should organise an annual in-house seminar to inspire the instructor
team. For example, this could be an external speaker and a brainstorming session
on improving connection and fitness magic.

Ideally, instructors should participate in no fewer than three classes per

fortnight in the programmes they teach. This will help them to stay in touch GF manager should create an in-house library of educational resources to foster a
culture of continuous development (e.g., fitness and health-related DVDs,
with the experience of being a participant, rather than being entirely
magazines, books and internet access).
immersed in the role of being centre of attention on stage.

Instructors must participate in a monthly Programme Challenge to

GF manager should work to foster team spirit through monthly DVD nights where
instructors watch a fitness-related DVD and then discuss the DVD while enjoying
some food and a few drinks.

Instructors going to the next level ... Encourage instructors to attend the Advanced Instructor Module (AIM) and the Group Fitness
Management (GFM) seminar, where they can further develop their skills and understand their role in creating successful GF. The GFM seminar
provides greater understanding of how the GF department operates and how they contribute to its growth and success within your facility.
We dont have the budget for educational resources/training. How can we encourage continuing development in our
instructor team?

Time and creativity are necessary in creating internal training initiatives. Money is not. For example, team training and individual training
sessions are powerful ways to create team spirit and foster commitment to excellence in your instructor team. Add to that in-house assessment
every six months and this is another very powerful way to document each instructors path to mastery. The investment again is time, rather
than money. It is also possible to access other resources at little or no cost (e.g., borrow a DVD from the local community library [if copyright
allows group viewings] and watch it with the team on an education night). Or, use your facility managers network to invite speakers in to talk
to the team for which the cost will be only a few drinks and nibbles. Of course, the biggest investment will relate to new-release resources and
attending the Quarterly Workshops. Many facilities around the world expect instructors to pay for new releases and Quarterly Workshops
themselves. Despite this, instructors are keen to attend the workshops and always want the newest release resources each quarter.
You can encourage this enthusiasm by rewarding selected instructors for their performance/contribution by paying for their new release
and/or attendance at the Quarterly Workshop. Instructors will enjoy the friendly competition to win this reward. To inspire greater
commitment to attending Quarterly Workshops, you could also invite a couple of instructors to talk about their personal highlights of attending
workshops at the beginning of team practice sessions of new releases. Their passion and excitement is sure to be infectious. Lastly, do not
forget the use of trade-outs to subsidise travel costs. Many facilities offer local travel agents a free membership or two and in return enjoy
cheap or free flights for a certain number of journeys. This can be the difference between some instructors attending Quarterly Workshops or
staying at home.

I have a large team of instructors. How do I assess them all given my time constraints?
Appoint head instructors for each programme to maintain efficiency and sustain regular assessment of larger instructor teams. This means the
GF manager is in touch with every aspect of the programme and also has more sets of hands and eyes to help with development. Often, head
teachers do not require extra weekly pay for this role as they thoroughly enjoy contributing to the future of their programme. Popular and costeffective ways to reward head teachers include paying for a Quarterly Workshop, their quarterly release or a giving them a free membership for
a family member or friend. Its critical that GF managers choose head teachers carefully. They must share the same values and priorities for
the programme or there will be conflicting messages given to the programme team. This requires the GF manager to be very clear about the
head teachers role. In our experience, this should be to:

Develop the existing team, so that they deliver the best possible fitness experiences to members
Set targets
Facilitate attendance growth

While head teachers may input on recruitment for their programme, they are not responsible for sourcing teachers. This is the managers job.

What is the most effective way to set standards for my instructor team?
A manual encompassing these areas communicates clear expectations of behaviour and performance, so that the whole instructor team has a
united understanding of how the department operates. Recommended areas to cover in your GF Instructor Manual would include:

GFs vision, mission, values and goals

In-house training framework and commitment to continuing education

Required attendance frequency at Quarterly Workshops and any other external training

Approach to target setting and management of underperforming classes

GF marketing calendar and instructor involvement in planning and implementing events

Head teacher structure, if relevant

Class set-up and preparation
Dress
Pay

For more information on training, please contact Club Solutions on +44 (0)20 8586 7332 or at lesmills@fitpro.com