Imagine for a moment a beautiful cake, decorated to perfection with delicious chocolate ganache drizzled on top and decadent swirls of buttercream. I would love to serve you this cake so I take a beautiful china plate with ornate markings in one hand and with the other I squish it into the cake while the decadent frosting, ganache and layers of cake fill my hand and make their way under my finger nails and instead of slopping this masterpiece onto the plate I take this handful of deliciousness and stuff it into your mouth.
Not what you were expecting, was it?
So what exactly does this information have to do with group fitness? Nothing. Obviously we just like cake (UpBeat certified instructors - notice the double meaning of CAKE here??). JK, JK - it has EVERYTHING to do with group fitness!
As a group fitness instructor, you are a wealth of knowledge, constantly learning information on mechanics behind movement and how the body works as a whole. At UpBeat Barre we give you the tools, knowledge and information to create a masterpiece of a fitness class - much like the beautiful cake. However, the presentation is KEY! You wouldn't take ALL your knowledge and stuff it down your participants throat, would you?? No, you would take a beautiful china plate and carefully cut a small, decadent piece from the cake, plating it with a few raspberries and chocolate drizzle and serve it to each participant with a silver fork. Serving the information in this way is much more palatable and enjoyable.
How can we apply this information? Let's take the UpBeat Barre Choreography Instructional as an example. Within the instructional as well as the full choreography we give form tips, cueing helps and things to note as the instructor. However, not all of the information we provide within the instructional needs to be relayed to your participants. This information is your knowledge base, your whole cake - to help YOU serve your participants the piece that is the most palatable.
Information that enters the brain is an interesting thing. When we receive information that we are excited about our brain triggers a share response (coming from hormones and chemicals released in response to the information received - it's all scientific really) - and when we share the information, neurons within the brain connect pathways to memory and include the senses to solidify the information. Just remember that our brains compute this information in a step by step manner - we don't eat the whole cake at once.
What else can you apply this CAKE analogy to within your fitness instructing? Tell us in the comments below.
Want to learn more about UpBeat Barre and our signature CAKE method? Take a training! We'll fill you to the brim with delicious CAKE!!