When students walk out: Why trauma informed instruction matters to successful fit pros and how you can make it work for you

You’re subbing and there you’re at the front of the room. Finally you get a chance to show what you can do. The music’s rockin’, you’ve got your sequence ready to go, and you know it’s gonna be a tough workout. Not just tough but killer, like anyone who comes to this class is gonna get their ass kicked. And isn’t that what everyone wants out of fitness?  And then the unthinkable happens.  Someone walks out.

It’s crushing. What happened? Are they injured? Did they have an emergency? Did you cause it? That’s our Work IN today. How to read the room as a sub and still be yourself as an instructor. Why trauma informed instruction matters to successful fit pros and how you can make it work for you as you establish your professional credibility.

As a part of my mission to bring a legacy of resilience through movement, each month you can join me for a hike on the bike trail followed by a free trauma informed vinyasa class back at the studio on Main Street. Go to savagegracecoaching.com to see the calendar and join my newsletter, Yoga Life on Main Street, to stay up to date on all the latest studio news, events and gossip. And now… on to this week’s episode.

It’s time to stop working out and start working IN. You found the Work IN podcast for fit-preneurs and their health conscious clients. This podcast is for resilient wellness professionals who want to expand their professional credibility, shake off stress and thrive in a burnout-proof career with conversations on the fitness industry, movement, nutrition, sleep, mindset, nervous system health, yoga, business and so much more.

I’m your host Ericka Thomas. I'm a resilience coach and fit-preneur offering an authentic, actionable realistic approach to personal and professional balance for coaches in any format.

The Work IN is brought to you by savage grace coaching, bringing resilience through movement, action and accountability. Private sessions, small groups and corporate presentations are open now. Visit savagegracecoaching.com to schedule a call and get all the details.

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Transcript

You’re subbing and there you’re at the front of the room. Finally you get a chance to show what you can do. The music’s rockin’, you’ve got your sequence ready to go, and you know it’s gonna be a tough workout. Not just tough but killer, like anyone who comes to this class is gonna get their ass kicked. And isn’t that what everyone wants out of fitness?  And then the unthinkable happens.  Someone walks out.

It’s crushing. What happened? Are they injured? Did they have an emergency? Did you cause it? That’s our Work IN today. How to read the room as a sub and still be yourself as an instructor. Why trauma informed instruction matters to successful fit pros and how you can make it work for you as you establish your professional credibility.

It’s about you…sort of

There is nothing worse than having someone walk out in the middle of a class. Well, maybe if they come in, see you there and then turn right around and walk out before you even start a class. But I’d rather have that than people walk out after a class has started.  In both cases you know it’s about you sort of.

On the student side: People come to group classes with certain expectations. They expect a format based on the class description. They expect a certain instructor. A certain style of music maybe. A certain group of people in the room with them. A certain atmosphere. They walk in the door carrying all their own baggage and reasons for being there. They want to lose weight, change their body comp, socialize with friends, manage stress, punish themselves for the brownies or feel strong and confident in their own skin or just turn their brain off for an hour and let someone else tell them what to do. 

Change anything about those expectations without warning and it’s going to have an effect. 

When I sub for other instructors I prefer to let classes know in advance. Now I prefer for people to self deport so to speak ahead of the class. Back in the day I used sub all the time, too much actually, and I would say yes to classes that weren’t really my thing and because facilities were desperate to cover the classes and they didn’t care. I remember once I covered a step class on a sunday morning. And to set the stage, I’m not nor have I ever been a step instructor in the traditional sense. So I would do a step sculpt class with basic step choreography and light weights with some kickboxing whenever I had to cover those classes.  This woman walked in and saw me there setting up and explaining class and she said “Oh no.” turned around and walked out. Now I’m not gonna lie, that hurts. But I get it because people who go to a traditional step class like the choreography, they want the dance aspect and the cardio piece. They don’t want weights. This lady knew she wasn’t going to get what she was looking for from my class on that day. I prefer that than have someone walk out in the middle of a class when there could be something really wrong that I couldn’t help with in that moment. 

On the instructor side:

Probably one of the most challenging things to do is to find good subs so you can take a break without quitting completely. But being a good sub is a skill that is under-appreciated in the fitness industry. 

We have talked about subbing as a skill for successful fit pros on this podcast in the past in episode 84-87 in season 2

Let’s touch on some of those skills and maybe expand on them here.

1. Awareness: know who you are as an instructor. And if you’re new and don’t know yet then decide who you are for now. 
2. Set your boundaries around what you will and won’t be available to teach. It’s ok to say no. And if you absolutely have to cover a class that you don’t know how to do, then change it and be clear about it. More on this in a moment.
3. Communicate & connect with the students. Communication is vital to holding space for your students. If you’re new to them, you need to help them feel comfortable with you and your style. Your intro is step 1 to co-regulation as a part of managing their expectations for your time with them. 
4. Holding SPACE- this is the gold standard skill for all instructors but especially good subs. This is an understanding of the somatosensory effect of any fitness format on the nervous system and how to use trauma informed principles to enhance the student experience. 

The first 3 may seem obvious. But the 4th is something that gets completely ignored. If you are covering a class for someone else out of the goodness of your heart or in the hopes that it may lead to getting your own class on the schedule, this skill of holding space is what will make or break your success.And if you are leading classes that people walk out of there is a reason why. Could be lots of reasons, not all of them have to do with you. Could be something they ate, could be they needed to leave early and didn’t tell you, you may never know why and we might not have control over what they don’t like.  But many times we do. 

Some things that we control that might trigger people to walk out.  

Things to think about when you’re setting up your space to lead.

• Style of music Tempo
• Volume of music Maybe I’m just getting old but there is nothing more irritating than having the music so loud that I can’t hear the instructor. Not to mention the fact that my watch now taps me whenever I’m in a loud environment. 
• Volume of your voice, can they hear you?
• Fans/temperature of the room
• Lighting 
• Choice of equipment 
• Proximity/spacing crowd of people
• Energy/attitude 
• Positive/negative cueing
• Lack of options
• Pace of class too slow/too fast
• Recovery resistance/no recovery

What you might notice in that list (not by any means exhaustive)  is that these come in through the somatosensory system. Our senses. And because of that they are all things that can trigger sensations of threat or safety within the body. 

This is why trauma informed instruction is the gold standard. We aren’t only working the body. Mind and body aren’t separate. They are one and they are made into one through the nervous system.  Basically it’s learning how to read the room and to respond to what you see, feel, hear appropriately and give your people more evidence of safety. Next episode we’ll pick up this topic with exactly how to do that and make necessary adjustments on the fly to help prevent the walk out. 

On the management side:

There are 2 problems that I see in facilities when it comes to instructor management. 

The first is the subconscious belief that instructors are a commodity. In other words we are interchangeable and anyone will do. I get that. From a management side we want to be able to deliver high quality classes to our students.  

The second problem is a failure to manage student and instructor expectations  and maybe harder to change , when it comes to who is at the front of the room.  There are some gyms that purposely rotate instructors so no one ever knows who’s leading the class. This happens in places like the boxing gyms. Personally I don’t like that. As an instructor you never know where you’re going to be when. I get why they do it though. They don’t want students to get too attached to any one instructor or class time. They want all classes to be filled. But that also says something about their classes, they’re all the same, and all instructors are interchangeable. 

On the other hand, students tend to imprint on instructors, and some instructors encourage that, to the point that they won’t show up for anyone else. This is a guru mentality and happens in many different formats, not just yoga. Management might not care about that but we should as instructors because it can create a toxic environment. And it makes it even harder to get subs for these instructors. This is where managing expectations comes in.

Give up the “substitute” label

Many if not all fit pros start out as subs in some capacity. It’s an important way to transition to new formats and build experience in the fitness industry. It’s a great way to get to know students in your community but it can also be difficult if you aren’t already an instructor who has a strong sense of self.  Stepping up to the front of a room as “just a sub” can make fit pros feel like they have something to prove right out of the gate. And that can change the entire experience for both the fit pro and the students in the room. What if we let go of the label of “substitute”? It has a connotation of being less than. And that already sets that fit pro up for failure if they are hoping to get a permanent gig out of it. 

What if instead of substitutes we called them “guest instructors”. That has a totally different expectation associated with it doesn’t it? I much prefer being called a guest instructor. It tells students that this person has something new and special to share with them. It definitely feels more valuable than “sub”.  

Guest instructors now have the freedom to be themselves because there isn’t an expectation that this will be just like Ericka’s class. And the facility no longer has to provide exactly the same format either which opens up other possibilities. 

It’s a  simple shift in language and mindset that could go a long way to changing the way we see ourselves as professionals and how students see us as an integral part of their health care.

Whether you’re a fit pro or fitness enthusiast, coaching athletes or soccer moms, connecting the dots for your personal health and professional wellness can be daunting. You don’t have to go it alone. Head over to savagegracecoaching.com/theworkin you’ll find all the show notes for this and other episodes plus lots of free resources including a link to book a 30 min fitness success strategy call with me.  And of course I’d be ever so grateful if you would take a moment to like and subscribe to this podcast wherever you’re listening. 

Until next time, stop working out and start working in