11/11/2017
Do you coach with high energy?
Have you ever noticed that some days there is a different energy or vibe to your gym or classes? You may have one class in particular that is “low-energy” in comparison to your other classes. What about your early morning class? Obviously those that have just gotten out of bed at 430am to get to your class aren’t going to be as alert as your clients in your afternoon classes. But can we influence the “tone” or “energy” in our classes? The answer is an unequivocal yes! I’m going to talk about my struggles to not let my own issues come between me and my job, as well as some other strategies to really ensure that you’re making your clients’ hour the best hour of their day!
I’m not one to be able to hide how I’m feeling. People have said throughout my life that “I wear my heart on my sleeve” and I agree wholeheartedly (see what I did there ;-)). When I first started coaching group classes, it was a difficult time in my life for me. I had a baby on the way, I was struggling with some personal issues that I wont bore you with. I was exhausted from working 80 weeks trying to build the Cave up to a world class standard, Like any “tough guy” I thought I’d be fine. Well, I wasn’t. I felt a lot of emotions that were new to me and this, unfortunately, carried over to my work. I didn’t know how to not bring my feelings to work with me. This is something I struggled with for a good few months while I got my s**t together, that I’m sure influenced the initial success of our gym (and not in a good way). After a lot of self-assessment, and talking about my feelings, things started to improve. I realized that my feelings had no place being in my work. Everyone has things going on in their lives (“everyone is fighting their own battle”) and no one was coming to our facility to see if I was having a bad day. Of course, putting a fake smile on was impossible for me to do as well. The end result was facing these issues, looking myself in the mirror, and coming to terms that I needed to start loving myself again. Sounds easy on paper, but it’s one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. This translates to your own inner peace that you can carry with you in whatever role you have in life.
I know a lot of like minded coaches have struggled with these issues and I wouldn’t wish these feelings on anyone. Sadly enough, a lot of people do not take the necessary steps to address how they are feeling. Luckily for me, I was almost forced to. To be honest, if I didn’t own a gym I may not have been able to really look at myself in the mirror and say “things need to change”. Owning the gym and dealing with people on a daily basis brought these issues to the surface and forced me to dive in headlong. Long story short, my inner happiness changed my coaching. It changed my ability to ensure I was the best version of myself for each class. Overall, we all deal with setbacks. It’s really about how rationalize these set-backs and not let them control our healthy-side.
As coaches, we are 100% capable of turning our class into the best hour of someone’s day, where they can forget about all the other troubles in their lives for 45 minutes. I’ve always thought that it is a must for a coach to be able to leave their own troubles at the door. No one is coming to your class to deal with a coaches s**tty attitude. Your athletes are depending on you not only to ensure they are receiving the proper guidance and coaching, but also for you to be able to motivate and inspire them. How much you can squat or deadlift or how many qualifications you have means nothing if you cannot motivate and inspire your clients.
So what are some strategies for ensuring your clients are getting the best of you on any given class of the day?
1. Leave your problems (and ego) at the door. Again, no one cares if you are having a bad day. We are in the business of inspiring, not intimidating.
2. Be approachable. This goes hand in hand with number one. If you bring your problems to work you certainly won’t have an approachable disposition.
3. Smile! My partner used to always give me s**t and tell me I’m too serious. She was right and smiling more is something I really had to work on and practice. Try it more, and I promise you’ll be happier from simply doing so.
4. Break the ice. Come up with creative games to start off the first 5 minutes of your classes. One I really love is simply getting everyone together and making sure everyone knows each others name. Sounds simple, but it really changes the comfort level of a class.
5. Be confident. Speak with conviction in your voice that you know what you’re doing.
6. Be loud. Coaches should never be whispering. In most cases, you’ll have a group of people it gets very easy for someone to not hear what you’re saying and lose your message all together.
7. Start your classes on time. Don’t fall into the trap of waiting for people to show. You’re running the show here, not your clients. If your class starts at 5:30, start your class at 5:30.
In short, I am by no means the model person when it comes to customer service in the sense that I have trouble hiding my true emotions, but I made it my objective to ensure my clients were getting the best I had to offer. Your clients being comfortable in your facility is paramount. This type of thinking starts at the top and will carry over to your staff if you lead this way. Never accept “low energy” from yourself or your coaches.
Enjoy your weekend 💪🏽
