Am I doing this right?

I know it’s Labour Day, but as an entrepreneur my work tends to ignore the calendar. I saw that a local fitness studio was offering an open house for her bungee fitness program today so I jumped at the chance to leave the kids home with Daddy and see what it was all about!

Studio Fitness in Victoria (www.studiofitnessvictoria.com) is the only studio offering bungee fitness in Canada (!) and it won’t be long before fit pros across the country have people raving about this style of workout. As I was watching the instructor, Justina Bailey, help people into the harnesses and coach them through different exercises, the importance of properly educating clients came up over and over again.

Have you ever attended a workout class where the instructor re-positioned your hips or cue you on proper pelvic tilt? I hope so, but sadly I know that not everyone doing squats has their knees where they should be and even that not every runner is exercising in the most efficient posture. So, why are so many folks doing things incorrectly?

Even if your clients aren’t asking “Am I doing this right?”, they’re wondering. Clients don’t want to feel like they’re asking a stupid question. Many clients walk into a new class expecting themselves to already be experts. They feel like they should already know what a neutral pelvis feels like. 

I once attended a Zumba class and didn’t even break a sweat. I walked away feeling like something was wrong. Something was! The instructor wasn’t at the top of her game in assessing and responding to the class and I was too shy to speak up.  Not anymore…I want an effective workout so I ask questions and I seek out instructors who are tuned in to what every participant is doing in class. Are you assessing your clients? Are you tuned in to what your clients are doing? Are they doing things right?  

This need for education presents an opportunity for your business to grow and for you to establish yourself as a leader in your field. Maybe you need to hold workshops on proper pelvic position or clinics on proper running gait. Perhaps you need to limit the size of your classes or hire another fit pro to help you assess clients’ position. Try connecting with physiotherapists and rehab specialists to reach a new client base, and these specialists should be connecting with you to ease their clients back into safe, effective activity. The opportunities are out there! So, if no one in your class is asking “Am I doing this right?” you need to ask yourself  the same question.