Training and Development Manual

Training and Development Manual

Module 5

Fitness and Retention

Course Notes

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT MANUAL

MODULE 5: FITNESS AND RETENTION

SITE:______

EMPLOYEE:______TRAINER:______

In addition to the above training I confirm that the above named person has shown a suitable degree of competency in each area listed:

Signed:Position:

All Sections must be signed off and sent Kerry Anne Ramsay at the Northern Support Office together with a copy of marked examination papers.

Introduction

We are all working in the health & fitness industry. We can get so tied up with other aspects of the business (sales, staffing, cleanliness etc) that sometimes we can forget what we are actually here for.

The main reason that people join our facilities is because they want to make changes in some way to their health & fitness.

Throughout this section of the training manual we look at all of our systems in relation to the fitness side of our business. You may be reading this having already achieved level 2/3 in a recognised fitness industry qualification. If this is the case then you still need to complete this section of our training as there is lots of company standard information contained that you will need to understand.

1. THE FITNESS INSTRUCTOR

The public who use our facility will gain an immediate impression of the club through the presentation and quality of the instructors.All staff at the club should work together to achieve the desired result. We should be polite, well informed, able to communicate with the public and be smartly presented.

All of these factors will also improve staff morale as well as the standard of service for the clients; the end result will mean that we get more and happier members through the door.

Please ensure that you follow the guidelines listed below.

1.1Instructor Standards

Setting measurable standards for Fitness Instructors is a difficult task as many of the qualities of a good instructor are difficult to quantify. However, the impact that a good instructor can have on the atmosphere of a gym by virtue of their mere presence cannotbe overstated.

The benefit of setting standards for Fitness Instructors is therefore crucial.

A team of Fitness Managers and Fitness Instructors with one of the industries leading authorities in gym operations have collectively developed what they consider to be the most important instructor standards. These standards now form the cornerstone of our operational procedures. Implementing and monitoring these standards routinely will provide your gym with a competitive advantage and a reputation that will be hard to match by any other fitness operator. The standards should be displayed in your message file or staff notice board as a constant reminder of the standards you and the team should all achieve.

The 3d standards are listed over :-

1.2 Gym Team Standards

1AppearanceUniformSuitable trainers and socks.

Uniform bottoms, shorts, shirts and sweatshirt.

Name badge.

Note: Shirts should be ‘tucked in’ at all times. Clothes should be clean and pressed.

JewelleryFemales may wear small stud like earrings only, restrict these to two in total.

Nose rings and other visible facial piercing are not permitted.

A discreet gold or silver chain may be worn under the company shirt or sweatshirt.

A maximum of three rings may be worn. No ‘chunky’ types.

No wrist or ankle bracelets may be worn.

HairHair that touches the shoulder must be tied back and hair must be kept off the face.

ShavingMen must be clean shaven (except grown beards and moustaches).

2.TimekeepingAll instructors must arrange their

arrival at work so as to be ready to

begin work at the appointed time.

3.Gym CleanlinessInstructors are responsible for the cleanliness of equipment during their

shift. Relevant cleaning checklists must be completed by each shift.

4.MaintenanceInstructors must follow the correct

maintenance procedure and put signs on unusable equipment. The correct procedure for reporting a maintenance problem must be followed.

5.ContactEach customer must receive as a minimum three

points of contact, including an entry acknowledgement, from the staff on duty.

6.SOS ContactInstructors must make contact with

every person in the gym at the ‘start of their shift’ or at the first available opportunity.

7.PositioningEach instructor must position

themselves so as to see as much of

the gym as possible. Instructors may not leave the gym without getting cover or notifying the duty manager.

8.AwarenessAnyone entering the gym who does

not follow the usual ‘workout routine’ may be a guest, sales prospect, delivery man etc., and must be approached immediately.

9.ApproachabilityAll instructors must have a positive and friendly attitude with open body

language.

10.NamesInstructors must make an effort to

learn and use members and other users names

11.ConductEating, drinking, or chewing gum is

not permitted in the gym or behind reception.

2.THE INTERACTIVE INSTRUCTOR

‘Customer care on the gym floor’

A key step towards improving instructor standards is to engage in critical self-analysis. This is not always comfortable and you may not like the answers – and the solutions even less – but without this level of honesty you could be thrashing about in the dark without a clear direction to take.

2.1On a personal level:

Why don’t instructors make better contact with costumers?

• Customers may be offhand and rude to instructors
• Instructors may not know what to say or do
• Customers don’t want to be bothered when they are training
• Customers may ask something I don’t know
• Instructors have got other things to do like admin and cleaning
• The Instructors role is one-to-one consultations and writing programmes
• Instructors say it’s much easier to talk to people I know
• Instructors can’t be bothered

After recognising yourself, you must ask yourself

• Why did I become a trainer?
• What do I hope to get out of my job?
• What am I being paid for?

In a Nutshell it boils down to four things:

1. Attitude – as an instructor you must WANT to do it.
2. Training – you must know HOW to do it.
3. Accountability – it needs to be MEASURED.
4. Alignment – EVERYONE must buy into the process.

What the research tells us:

There is a link between customer contact, customer satisfaction and retention. In one company survey we established that less than a third of new members three months into their membership recalled being spoken to on EVERY visit and approx. 36% were spoken to RARELY or NEVER. Of these 36% half of these are more likely to leave than those spoken on every visit.

Comments from the customers include the following:

• Not enough staff communication to regulars; they only talk to each other or personal training customers
• Staff should be watching over members to make sure they are using the equipment correctly, especially the older people

2 points:

• Members want, expect and they value being acknowledged and spoken to on the gym

floor

• If members do get meaningful interaction they rate the service they get more highly and are less likely to drop out and cancel their membership

2.2What makes us different?

We recognise what customers need and want?

They need to feel important and appreciated.

• We find out people’s names and use them
• We introduce ourselves and invite questions at any time
• We take responsibility by following through on issues and do what we say we will
• We greet and acknowledge everyone who comes into the gym
• We have a positive and enthusiastic attitude and are genuinely interested in our members
• We make corrections and give coaching tips in a constructive and caring way
• We plan appointments so that we have a minimum of 10-15 minutes each hour to work the gym floor.

Whatever you give out, you will receive back from customers and members in multiples

A top tip is to change the language you use to describe “working the floor” during your shift to:working the floor, customer contact and interaction time

Rather than walking or floating around the floor there is a real purpose to the activity.

Interacting with customers must be given priority!

2.3Recognising different customers:

1. Special Care. Members who need more attention due to their needs e.g. rehabilitation, injuries, older members. These members need looking after
2. Athletes, Advanced Exercisers and Adherers. Members who instructors relate to best, they have good exercise knowledge base, train hard or compete in sport
3. Get-Fit, Tone-Up, Lose Weight (GETTULOW). Usually the general population who don’t have specific goals and targets, they know and need to exercise but their heart is not always in it. Plus they are poorly prepared for the challenges of adopting and maintaining regular exercise and may give up all too easily

The vast majority of customers (approx. 60%) will be ordinary people who find exercising regularly a bit of a chore and a struggle, plus they are out of their comfort zone in a gym environment.

Customers who would benefit from an instructors interaction do not make it easy because they often keep themselves to themselves and seldom ask for advice. Instructors need to adopt a proactive approach in order to help them.

2.4Communication

You Cannot NOT Communicate

Even when you think you are not communicating you are still giving out a multitude of messages and signals to those around you, e.g. messages come from your clothes, jewellery, piercings, make up, hair colour, hair style, posture, gestures, facial expressions, body language, grooming, hygiene, fingernails and perfume/aftershave. According to research 7% of a message comes from the words we use, 38% comes from the tonality of your voice and 55% comes from body language

Listed below are some common accepted interpretations of non-verbal behaviour:

2.4.1Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal behaviourInterpretation

Standing with hands on hipsaggression

Arms crosseddefensiveness

Hands clasped behind backofficious and authoritative

Hands in pocketboredom & disinterest

Hand to cheekevaluation and thinking

Touching or slightly rubbing noserejection, doubt and lying

Rubbing the eyedoubt & disbelief

Rubbing handsanticipation

Sitting with hands clasped behind headsuperiority and confidence

Patting of fondling hairinsecurity

Tapping of drumming fingersimpatience

Stroking chintrying to make a decision

Pulling or tugging at earindecision

Biting nailsinsecurity and nervousness

Open palmsincerity, openness and innocence

Tilted headlistening

Erect upright walkconfidence

BUT! .... Don’t jump to conclusions because it is important to be aware of context and clusters to help you to interpret body language, consider the situation and patterns of behaviour rather than to latch on to one thing.

The sweetest sound

All members like to hear their own name, but instructors can be bad at making this as a focus of their role, yet it’s very easy to make customers fell important just by using their name.

First Impressions: We all make judgements of people in the first 30 seconds on a subconscious level e.g. will I like you? Are you friendly? Are you trustworthy? Are you listening? Are you believable?

The professional greeting: you must make eye contact with a smile aimed at the customer, introduce yourself and use their name, have an upbeat tone in your voice, use a welcome phrase and a perfect handshake.

A name badge should always be part of the instructor’s uniform. Names matter!

2.4.2Verbal Communication:

Make your words count so that the receiver understands it.

Eyes: Normal eye contact - is about 5-8 seconds before you glance away and then back again, but be aware of cultural differences.

Information:

Think about trickle feeding the information that’s given to customers and use as many visual and verbal cues, e.g. when talking about muscle groups demonstrate visually where they are on yourself or on your customer if this is appropriate.

Use imagery that is relevant and appropriate to your customer.

Don’t overload your customer with coaching points; keep the information simple with positive feedback. Always give the positive feedback this enhances their feelings and gives them confidence, but the comments must be genuine and sincere.

You need to have the required technical expertise to do your job, but the real skill lies in transferring this information so that it is meaningful. In short relax your teaching approach so that it is more light hearted and memorable for your customer.

The feeling of trust and empathy you get with someone is one of the most important features of good communication, if not the most important.

Rapport with your customer is that sense of ease and comfort you get that allows for great communication. If you don’t build a rapport with your customers you will struggle to create a relationship with them, which in turn is going to make it hard to help them.

Conversation skills

Starting conversation -There are three parts to starting up and continuing conversation.

1. The Icebreaker or the greeting phrase, this is an acknowledgement or indicator that you want to have an interaction with them. E.g. Hi there, how are you today, good morning etc.
2. The opener, which is a follow up to the ice breaker; it needs to be none threatening and easy to deliver. E.g. had a busy day, how was your weekend, did you watch the football last night? Etc. or gym related topics; you’re training well, what you think of the machine, have you been a member long, have you tried one of our classes etc?
3. The secondary’s, this is a little more probing and specific than chit chat. E.g. are you happy with your progress, do you exercise outside the gym, what kind of help could we give you, how often do you train etc.

If you haven’t got the gift of the gab naturally and feel a bit shy with people, making conversation is something you will have to practice. You will get better at it and you won’t reach your full potential as a great instructor without the ability to strike up a conversation with customers you do not know.

2.5Interactions

2.5.1Positive corrections

Customers wish to be acknowledged, you have to be friendly and approachable, give customers appropriate advice, set them programmes to meet their needs and ensure they perform the exercises correctly on a regular basis correcting them if necessary.

You must believe that:

1. Customers want you to correct and coach them.
2. This is an opportunity to make a good impression
3. Your goal is to make your customers feel better about themselves than they did before you made the correction.

Approaching your customer;

1. The straight in approach, when you give direct instruction, is what they are doing is not as effective as it might be.
2. The concerned approach, you express concern that what they are doing may cause them injury.
3. The check first approach, when customers may be doing exercises that they may have been given by other health practitioners e.g. physiotherapists, doctors and Occupational Health referrals.
4. The ‘ask first’ approach, often customer’s especially new ones will get an exercise nearly right, but not quite. This is a great opportunity to give them information about muscle groups and what the exercise will do for them
5. The tip/suggestion approach, this is appropriate for pretty much everyone but especially the diehards who have been training before you were born. This may meet with major resistance and make them defensive, so offering a suggestion is a softer approach which they may take on board or not.
6. The flattery/experience approach, this is a suitable approach for the experienced exercisers who have a variety of training ideas from all sorts of sources e.g. body builders, magazines, the internet and other trainers.

Once you have built a rapport with your customers you are in a better position to offer suggestions.

2.5.2 Physical Contact Guidelines

In your role as a trainer you will get up close and personal with customers, unfortunately there is a small degree of touching.

The guidelines are, always ask permission, touching a clothed area is better than bare skin, touching below the knee, on the back, shoulders or the arm is usually acceptable, but make sure they are comfortable with it before you make physical contact.

Do not touch a customer’s head...

A top tip is coming back to someone after they moved from one exercise to another is very powerful. Your customer will be impressed that you noticed what they were doing and taken not of it.