It is always nice to see new faces or a newbie to our group exercise classes. Some of these newbies come to your class without knowing what to expect. They aren’t the fitness-savvy kind, and are simply overwhelmed by the different Fitness Workouts Program available on the schedule.

We as instructors, love these people. Hmm…Both yes and no. Yes because it gives us an opportunity to create a wow experience that will hopefully motivate them, make them enjoy the class so that they come back for more.

And sometimes No because your present students may already be at a certain level and it’s sometimes difficult to tone down the intensity of the class just to suit the new student.

You will try your very best to guide him/her but a simple movement can be something very big to that student. Well at the end of the day, you still want that new student to enjoy your class, so you have to put in an extra effort to give him/her this wonderful experience.

These is what you may expect from your new student:

• don’t understand or follow what you are saying.
• unable to follow the moves even if you are guiding them standing by their side.
• very poor coordination.
• doing their own moves, doing it too fast or too slow.
• very shy or simply standing there refuse to try that particular move.
• finding the moves too hard to follow.
• kept looking at the person beside them even though you are trying to guide them.

Let’s consider these 5  points to motivate these new students and hopefully they may turn out to be your long time follower.

1) Patience – We need lots of patience when come to new student, give them alittle more attention. Sometimes we have a tendency to expect them to follow our instructions, but not everyone can do that if it is their first time to the workouts program.

2) Use layman terms to explain the exercise terminology. Our fitness ‘language’ may sound foreign to a first-timer. For instance squeeze your Quadriceps to lengthen your legs, they may not know what’s Quadriceps.

3) Use words that relate to situations from everyday life that they can identify with, or visualize in their mind, such as: “stand tall and reach out to the stars above” or “expand your lungs like a balloon.” Be creative!

4) Encourage them, “you are doing just fine”, “keep trying, you are looking good” Give them a great smile, or simply a good thumbs up for the good work.

5) Offer modifications for programs like Yoga, Pilates and etc. Show them an easier option and when it gets easier, progress to a full version!

6) Start a conversation with a newcomer before or after a class. Before the class you can verbally tell them what to expect, and since it’s their first class, let them know that they may feel alittle awkward at first and it gets better after a few more lessons.

 After the class, check with them how’s the class and encourage them to keep coming.

Unfortunately, some new students just can’t follow or find the workouts program too tough and may leave the class half way. It’s ok, don’t get dishearten. Turn your attention to rest of the class. Focus on the 90%-10% rule. There are bound to have students (10%) that can’t follow your class.