Staying Motivated and Inspired in the Now Normal

When ‘social’ distancing becomes an ever growing term not only in our everyday lives but the ways in which we lead group fitness classes, it can be easy to lose momentum and motivation, or just not feel inspired.

As humans, we crave human connection, we want to feel a sense of belonging. As group fitness instructors, one of our jobs is to lead safe and effective classes where we can deliver not only the ‘workout’ but the magic behind it all.  The ‘feel good’ reward of connecting students, helping them relieve stress and feel part of something bigger. It’s what keeps us going and gets us up and ready to teach each day. The pandemic has provided us challenges, but our POUND® Pro community has adapted creatively and kept their students rocking in more ways than we could have imagined.

We believe the key to keeping your students motivated, encouraged, and inspired during the new year and the new normal is to give a little more kindness, love and opportunities to share:

• Be there for them. Whether you lead virtual classes or not, reach out to your students by phone, email, or social media to check in on them. Going beyond the class and truly being there for our students, showing them we care, treating them as family, will deepen those moments and not only lead to forever students but create relationships that will be lifelong. We believe mental health is just as important as physical health and for us to be there for our students, we need to focus on our mental state. Looking for ways to reset? Here some tips for a mental health reset.
• Spotlight a student on social media. This could be a post or even a story. Not only will this help build those bonds and human connection, it will keep your students engaged with you and your classes. Maybe it’s tagging them on social media, giving reasons why you love having them in class and having them respond with a reason why they love it. They feel seen, like they still belong, and loved. Building those relationships will encourage students to keep coming back!
• Provide a safe and secure environment. At POUND® we honor imperfection and celebrate NOISE. During these days, honor the feelings of your students. Give them a place where they can release some emotion while feeling safe, secure, and included. Maybe this is a virtual class, maybe this is during your intro or creating a separate time to share.
• Create some incentives or fun community challenges. We just finished our annual 12 Days of POUND, our engaging marketing campaigns are ways for us to give back to them, stay motivated, while giving away some fun prizes. It’s important to remember to keep your students accountable by providing them incentives to move each day.
• Be the example. It’s okay to feel and honor emotions, while also staying positive in-person and virtually, on social media platforms. When we sit back and see the good that is coming out of this year, the additional virtual connections gained, we can begin to see what is truly important to us. Choosing to highlight the positives will go a long way to keeping students inspired and ready to stay on path.

POUND® has transformed its training and class opportunities to support virtual fitness instruction in this new ‘socially distanced’ time.

• Virtual Trainings: POUND® now delivers the same training and experience as we would with in-person, virtually. Which takes away the need for travel and lets new Pros from all over the globe to certify with ease. Using a video conference platform to deliver content while maintaining connection and engagement in a virtual environment, these training experiences can be done in one or two day options from absolutely anywhere. We’ve witnessed incredible connections being made with new Pros from all over the world, who meet in training and become family as they go on to share the magic of POUND®. To find out more on our virtual training offerings, click HERE.
• Virtual Classes: For our Pros to continue to feel successful and to offer classes to their students, we have given them the opportunity to lead virtual classes. We’ve created meaningful content including  additional education and resources within our online education platform, the Label. If you’re an instructor that is getting started, here are 5 Simple Ways to Set Up a Virtual Studio.
• Virtual Master Classes, Workshops, and E-Courses: For our Pros to truly lead with success and for their students to continue to feel like rockstars, we’ve added additional learning opportunities in the form of virtual courses and workshops, as well as on-demand E-courses. Topics range from how to lead and promote virtual classes to ways in which to elevate your cueing both verbally and visually. We’ve also provided free master classes as a way to learn and grow from our ICON team.
• POUND Backstage: Backstage is an online platform and app, offering our community Rockout Workouts, on demand. There are 25+ videos with unlimited access to workouts including; full jam sessions, intervals, and targeted quickies! The music is different from our in-person or virtual classes which helps differentiate and create an at home unique experience – and a reason to do both!

ABOUT AMY WARD

Amy Ward is not only one of POUND®’s badass ICONs but she also works at POUND® HQ as the Pro Success Manager, dedicating her time to building relationships with Pros and helping them take their career and skills to the next level. Amy’s heart beats for not only POUND®, but for the people it has brought to her.

ABOUT POUND®

POUND® is a workout revolution and lifestyle brand that aims to change minds before bodies and use beat and alternative movement to launch people to new heights of self-worth, happiness, and human connection. AKA, release their INNER ROCKSTARS.

Turning workouts into fitness concerts and music into movement, POUND® uses Ripstix®, lightly weighted exercise drumsticks to transform drumming into a sweat dripping, full-body workout. Designed for all fitness levels, POUND® provides the perfect atmosphere for letting loose, getting energized, toning up and rockin’ out!

What started as two stix and an idea in Los Angeles, California is now a global fitness family of over 25k+ POUND Pros transforming lives in every corner of the world. You will find our instructors leading over 400,000 participants per week in over 100 countries.

FOLLOW US: @pounfit + @amywardfit