coach vs. participant

The age old debate as far as teaching styles go.  I see it discussed at the fitness chat boards I frequent and see it played out in gyms around me all the time. As group fitness instructors we *generally* tend to fall into 2 camps (of course grey areas, extremes, and combinations of both DO exist):

1. The instructor that teaches as a hobby, 2nd job, to get paid while working out, or to get a free membership.

2. The instructor that teaches as an occupation, as a coach, a leader, and a motivator.

I've been in the 2nd group for a long time, although in the beginning when I was new and learning my craft I probably leaned more towards the first group. Today I teach fitness for a living and on average have 20 classes a week. Without the luxury of my coordinator's salary that I had in Houston I find I *have* to teach this much to make a decent wage  I'm not rolling in dough by any means but it is good money to do something I truly LOVE. When I first started teaching 6 years ago I had a full time position in a neuroscience lab and I taught fitness on the side. I started with a couple of classes a week at my neighborhood community center and then at my busiest I think I was up to almost 9 classes a week on top of my 40 hours at the career job. Back then, adding yoga to my teaching repetoire really broadened my opportunities.

Now that I'm doing so many classes (and as my sole income source) I'm forced to be more of a coach rather than a participant, and truly I have embraced this style of teaching. In my opinion, there is no need for me to beat myself up and go 110% for my members when it's not about my own personal workout anyway. I am there to motivate, inspire, and lead. I am being paid to give my members a good workout. Not the other way around.  I teach water up on deck and I never get in with my participants. For one, they would not be able to see what my feet are doing and two, it would immediately make me focus on what I was doing instead of what they are doing. I teach yoga from my mat *and* from all around the room. I'm almost 100% hands on with adjustments and form pointers these days....teaching at the yoga studio has really helped in that regard. I remember my first yoga class where I did the entire workout with them, glued to my outline at the front of the room..knowing the second I stepped off my mat I'd forget my whole lesson plan. I've really evolved since that day.

I tend to lift heavy in my barbell classes but I don't do all the reps with the class. I generally will start a set with them and then put my weight down and move about the room to check on form and help people. Often times I have so many students that I'd never get to see the folks in the back row if I *didn't* make the effort to move around.  On the other hand, kickbox and step classes are much more participatory because I find people need that visual feedback of what I am doing in addition to the verbal cues that I give. However, once I've taught them all or part of a routine I do tend to step away from the front and continue cueing and let them work alone. I remember in the beginning if I had to reach down to tie my shoe everybody would stop in their tracks and stare at me, even though I continued to cue. It was definitely a factor of me "doing" too much with them all of the time.

I took a cycling workshop a few years ago from an amazing master instructor. I still remember what he said that day. "As long as you start a song on the bike with the class and finish the song on the bike with your class, they will never really notice that you were off and milling around the room during the entire middle part of the song".  It's true. And you'd be amazed at how much harder somebody will work or how they will correct their form or sit up a little better when you get off your bike, off your step, or away from your mat and near their space. Being able to make that eye contact or just give them a personal "c'mon you can do it" or "try this instead" works wonders.  

The debate comes in to play when instructors from both camps above disagree on the subject. I'm totally generalizing here but on the farthest ends of the spectrum the "hobbiests" say the motivators are lazy and the motivator/coaches say the hobbiest instructors are teaching for all the wrong reasons. I've seen it play out a few times over the years from both sides of the issue. I've seen cycling instructors give incredible workouts without ever getting on a bike. I've also seen cycling instructors so zoned out into their own world they don't notice that 1/2 of their class is red faced and gasping for air, unable to keep good form and do what they are being asked to. Or the step instructor that goes balls to the wall up front trying to teach a combo that nobody is getting but yet continues to hammer away at it doing their own thing without any regard for the flailing people around the room. How about the bootcamp guy that comes dressed in street clothes and drinks a diet coke while barking orders to the crowd. Or the pilates instructor that says "we're doing LOTS of leg lifts because I ate too much ice cream last night".  The anonymous poster on Turnstep that says "If I'm not doing the workout with them I have no idea how intense it is". And most unfortunate of all, the retired instructor who can no longer teach due to chronic overuse injuries they developed over the years by teaching too hard, too much, or all of the same thing.

I do think there is a happy medium. You don't see personal trainers "doing" the workout with their clients. You don't see football coaches out there particpating in the drills, or olympic athletes swimming along side their teachers. It really shouldn't be so much different for fitness instructors. By coaching more than doing I can demonstrate, lead by example, motivate, and instruct in classes day after day while having enough energy to get my own workouts in and keep myself healthy, fit, and injury free. A good "example" for my students.  The balance comes in because I manage to "do" enough and "coach" enough in equal parts so that my students know I *could* hang with them jack for jack, rep for rep, and pose for pose without me having to be a 'show off'. Another way of doing this is by giving them options to work harder, yet choosing the easiest option for myself so that nobody ever feels left behind...letting some of the front row monsters lead the way into harder territory.  I also never ask of my students something I won't do myself.

So, what kind of fitness instructor motivates you?