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Motivating the Masses
Tips for Eliciting Greater Performance from your Students
By Mark Grevelding
It can be fair to say that not all aqua fitness participants exercise to their full potential. While some students churn up white water with their efforts, others barely make a ripple. The slackers are often unaware of their lackluster performance, believing instead that they are working admirably. Consequently, that leaves it up to the instructor to make these students aware of their vast opportunities for improvement.
As instructors, we rely on our motivational cueing skills to jump start sluggish students. On my journey as an instructor, I have picked up a few strategies for stimulating lackadaisical students. Allow me to share some tips for inspiring the uninspired, encouraging the listless and resurrecting the lifeless.
According to the AEA Aquatic Fitness Professional manual, motivational cues should encourage students to act in a positive manner, both physically and mentally. Students should feel positive about their bodies' capabilities and feel empowered and inspired to challenge themselves within safe boundaries and without the stress of competition.
Motivational cues typically will involve directives for increasing intensity, as well as elements of providing feedback and educational awareness. Developing strong motivational cueing skills requires practice and patience just like any other aspect of teaching fitness. Yes, the student needs to own their fair share of the effort, but a good instructor can inspire class participants to work harder.
When I teach workshops, I often joke around and tell instructors that I am giving them a homework assignment. The assignment is to write the word FORCE on a piece of paper. Force is the one word that best defines the Law of Acceleration, which involves applying maximal effort against submerged resistance in all directions. Aqua lovers refer to this as "working the water." Under the word FORCE, I tell the instructors that they need to write down 20 words, phrases or adjectives that best describe effort. In my classes, I am constantly exhorting my students with an array of forceful words. Some of my favorites include: push it, pull it, work it, move it, rock it, use it - dig in and give it energy, enthusiasm, effort, muscle, grit, pride, life, liberty and justice - make waves, white water, foam, froth, bubbles, turbulence, tsunamis...and so on! Having an arsenal of empowering words at your command keeps your students motivated and working hard.
Positive feedback is also a wonderful catalyst for eliciting optimal performance from your students. However, the feedback should be somewhat specific, such as "Great job at pushing and pulling the water with your arms," as opposed to just "Great job." Feedback also works very well when specifically directed to an individual student. Everyone likes to be complimented. The person receiving the compliment always perks up when you direct positive feedback their way and everyone else comes alive and starts working harder because they want to be complimented too!
Motivation equals education. Students perform movement more effectively when they are aware of the reason behind the movement. Educating students on muscle/joint actions provides more of a mind & body connection. For instance, if you are performing a movement that involves elbow flexion and extension and you hold up your arm and point to your tricep, you will see everyone's eyes light up because they better understand the purpose and they can very much appreciate the purpose!
Aside from strictly using cueing skills to inspire students to pump it up, there are other techniques that I have also found useful over the years. Programming selections and presentation techniques can also make a big difference in energy output. An interval style class is one way to help students identify what it is like to work hard. This type of formatting typically features work and recovery cycles. For instance, you might work at steady-state aerobic levels for a period of three minutes and then work with all-out effort for one minute.
A more loosely defined style of interval programming might involve mixing choreographed combinations with intensity drills. This is my favorite style of teaching. The choreographed combinations usually feature a more steady-state energy output and the drills or free style segments provide an opportunity to switch to a more intense burst of activity.
The key to making the work cycle or intensity drill effective is to time it or count it down. If a student knows there is an end to their suffering, they will push themselves to the bitter end. If you don't let them know the end is coming, they will conserve their energy to meet the needs of a prolonged assault. Get them to work at all out effort for 30 seconds and they will develop a better awareness of what hard work really feels like. Over time, this awareness will eventually lead to better overall performance during the entire length of the class.
Another tactic I use for encouraging maximal effort is to execute a lot of movements at Impact Level II or neutral position. In neutral position, there is minimal, if any impact on joints which allows for more aggressive power moves, leading once again to enhanced performance.
Speaking of enhanced performance, an instructor's performance or lack there of can also affect the effort your students put into the workout. This is particularly true if you teach on deck. Obviously, if you are on deck it is impossible to perform the same workout you are teaching your students in the water. This would be exhausting and dangerous. However, even if we are doing low or non-impact demonstration on deck, we still need to show the effort required to work in the viscosity of water. We refer to this as exaggerated performance; demonstrating arm and leg patterns that reflect resistive movement and exhibiting facial expressions that convey effort and determination.
Students will mimic almost anything you do and therefore it is important to demonstrate the movements as they would feel in water with resistance in all directions. If you don't show resistance, it is likely they won't use resistive force. The only way to adequately convey this resistance is to practice in the water. Study the movement and analyze how it feels while you are in the water and then convey that experience with exaggerated performance on deck.
Facial expressions can also be used to show resistance. If you are trying to convey hard work, select a facial expression that reflects this. When I am teaching, I usually have an arsenal of facial expressions, each with a different meaning. I unleash my determined look, focused look, confident look and my ready-to-drop-dead from all out force look. When I convey my tired and sleepy look, this is a warning to my students that I am not happy with their effort and that they will pay dearly for it.
Yes, teaching is a performance. During my first few years as an instructor, I used to get annoyed with the students when they would act like zombies in class. It never occurred to me that it was my job to raise the living dead too. I thought I was supposed to just get them in shape, but if they are not motivated to work hard then they probably won't see results. If they don't see results, they'll stop coming to class and if they stop coming to class they'll never get in shape.
We do get better at motivating the masses with practice and experience. Motivational cueing skills improve as you get more comfortable with your students. Trial and error helps us to develop strategies that produce more effective workouts. Continuing education exposes us to new ways to create fresh challenges for our classes. The journey is ongoing and there is always more to learn about motivating your students to work harder.
Stay motivated and stay tuned for AEA's new day long program being offered in Fall 2008, The Art of Cueing, which focuses on practical applications to develop & enhance cueing techniques, motivational strategies and deck instruction skills of the seasoned aquatic professional.
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Fit Motivation - What's New in 2008?
New workshops, CEC Home Study Programs, Working Weekend Vacations with Mark and much more...
Take a Working Weekend Vacation with Mark
In March 2008, I will be teaching AEA's Aqua PiYoChi & Fit Motivation workshops in Myrtle Beach and Baltimore. Treat yourself to a mini working vacation and submerge into a full weekend of shallow water programming that includes aquatic mind & body, choreography, kickboxing and strength training. Refresh your motivation, re-invent your classes and earn 12.0-14.0 AEA CECs at one of these exciting weekend events.
March 7-9 - N. Myrtle Beach, SC - North Myrtle Beach Aquatic & Fitness Center
Friday evening, March 7 - Studio Fitness Mixes (2 hours - land fitness)
Saturday, March 8 - AEA's Aqua PiYoChi - (7 hours)
Sunday, March 9 - Liquid Hi/Lo, Liquid Flex & Flow and Fluid Strength Combos (three workshops -total of 6 hours)
Enjoy all the excitement, sights & shopping of Myrtle Beach at a quieter time of year. Off-season rates for ocean front rooms are simply too good to pass up! Please contact me for special hotel rates or deals affiliated with the host location.
March 29-30 - Baltimore, MD - Maryland Athletic Club - Harbor East Location
Saturday, March 29 - AEA's Aqua PiYoChi (7 hours)
Sunday, March 30 - Liquid Hi/Lo, Liquid Flex & Flow and Combat Aqua (three workshops -total of 6 hours)
It doesn't get better than this - the Maryland Athletic club's newest location in Baltimore's trendy Harbor district is physically connected to a Hilton Hotel! Catch some late afternoon shopping and evening dining at some of the Harbor District's well known restaurants. Please contact me for special rates at the on-site Hilton Hotel.
* Both of these events are currently available for registration. On-line registration and registration forms are available at www.aeawave.com
Need CECs? Order up 3.0 right now!
Can't make a workshop? Please consider a DVD instead. Fit Motivation's exclusive line of Visual Choreography Notes - come complete with DVD, written notes and the suggested Dynamix Music CD! AND NOW...select DVDs come with CECs too!
In 2007, I introduced my first home study program for the H2O Choreo to Go /Fluid Strength Combos DVD. If you are currently in need of CEC's, this DVD and Home Study are available for 3.0 AEA CECs.
Visit the Product page on this website for details.
In 2008, two more CEC Home Study Programs will be available for 3.0 AEA CECs each:
- 6/1/08 - Liquid Hi/Lo and Liquid Flex & Flow DVD & Home Study is available
- 9/1/08 - Deep Leverage & Suspended Strength DVD & Home Study is available
Five NEW Aquatic Fitness workshops in 2008!
In 2006, Fit Motivation introduced Smooth H20 Transitions and Deep Core Challenge. In 2007, it was H20 Choreo to Go and Fluid Strength Combos. This year, we are breaking records by introducing five new workshops - three new shallow workshops in the Spring and two new deep water workshops in the Fall.
Liquid Hi/Lo - naturally, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create a new shallow choreography workout. H2O Choreo to Go was a big success this past year and it featured my favorite mixture of add-on choreography combined with high intensity drills. Liquid Hi/Lo will highlight the choreography style known as "layering." Teaching to multiple fitness levels is the most important skill a group fitness instructor can learn.
This workshop will include base combinations that start out simple, featuring low impact cues and grounded moves and then progressively become more challenging as higher intensity options are offered for each move in the combination. The more advanced modifications include lots of rebounding, turns and suspended moves - appealing to a younger & fitter crowd.
Liquid Flex & Flow - if you are a seasoned instructor with a few years of experience under your belt, you are probably bored of teaching the "same ole" strength exercises in class. In 2007, Fluid Strength Combos featured creative body conditioning ideas utilizing noodles and foam dumbbells. Instructors seemed to really like the fusion of Pilates & yoga inspired movements with the creative strength exercises.
In Liquid Flex & Flow, I tried to keep some of the yoga & Pilates inspired elements, but chose instead to highlight drag equipment, such as webbed gloves, ankle fins and Speedo's new Hydro Resistance line of upper & lower body cuffs. Obviously, many facilities do not have drag equipment, but the beauty of drag is that the same routine can be performed without equipment, paying closer attention to body placement and surface area to maintain intensity in the routine.
This class features explosive muscle mixes that go from static yoga inspired poses, to dynamic and grounded movements. Grounding the power moves keeps the workout intense but safe on joints.
Aqua Cardio Blast - Tara is hard at work creating this new workshop after making her big aqua debut in 2007! This past year she took on a new job as the group fitness coordinator and Tween Center Director at the JCC of Greater Rochester. She now finds herself in a situation where she needs to develop energetic programming designed to capture the attention of a younger audience.
The obesity epidemic is taking a big toll on teens and young adults and we need to offer them a safe and effective environment to pursue a commitment to a more active lifestyle. Aqua Cardio Blast will reflect this theme with fast paced choreography that features lots of power and travel, yet utilizing the buoyant properties of water fitness for less joint impact. Most importantly, the workshop highlights the importance of the "fun factor" and teaching with enthusiasm.
Deep Leverage - (Fall 2008) will likely follow up where Deep Core Challenge left off - with lots of exciting new add-on combinations for choreography fans. The routine highlights progressions of short and long lever moves, providing an interval style workout with exciting & challenging fluctuations in intensity levels.
Suspended Strength - (Fall 2008) will feature total body strength training combinations with equipment such as noodles and foam hand bars and there will also be a special emphasis on ab/core training in the deep.
Host Fit Motivation Workshops in 2008!
If you are a director or coordinator and interested in hosting workshops, please contact me ASAP as there are still available dates for Spring 2008. Hosting workshops is a great way to bring education directly to your instructors at a discounted cost. There are also several hosting options.
If you are looking strictly for continuing education
workshops, you can book through Fit Motivation and we'll
take care of all promotion, travel and trainer expenses.
Occasionally, we do "closed events" or mini conferences
where a facility pays trainer expenses and fees and
there is no charge to instructors at the location.
info@fitmotivation.com
AEA Certification
Fit Motivation is also affiliated with AEA and Aquatic Options Education. As a training specialist for the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA), I can also book events through AEA - specifically their Aquatic Fitness Professional Certification Review & Exam, along with other specialty programs. An AEA certification or day-long program can also be combined with Fit Motivation workshops for a full weekend event.
Aquatic Options
Are you interested in learning more about how to safely teach to special populations and post-rehab students? Please consider hosting a day long Aquatic Options certificate course. This professional certificate course will demonstrate how to create inclusive aquatic fitness programs for de-conditioned individuals and those with post-rehab or medical conditions.
Tara is a training specialist for Aquatic Options and she is still booking weekends for Spring 2008. The Aquatic Options day-long program can also be combined with Fit Motivation workshops for a full weekend event.
KPH Master Classes - Splash for a Cause
Splash for a cause in a fun aqua class designed to showcase the power of water and the limitless opportunities for shaping up in the pool! Please inquire about offering a special master class for your club members.
Designed to generate interest in aquatic fitness classes while benefiting a good cause, KPH Master Classes are dedicated to the memory of Kim Huff, AEA Executive Vice President, who lost her battle to cancer in July 2007. The KPH Fund raises money for ovarian cancer research and provides scholarships to help women in need. Special "awareness" zipper doodles are also available at the master class for $10. Your members will enjoy a workout that is guaranteed to invigorate the mind, body & soul!
For more information on the KPH Fund or to donate, please visit www.aeawave.com
Making a Difference
If you have an inspiring story about an instructor who goes above and beyond or a student who has experienced "miracles" in the water - please contact me because I am still collecting stories and I will eventually put this magical collection to good use!
Wishing you a year filled with success, health and happiness!
Stay Fit and Motivated!
Mark