About Us
Contact
Fitness Professional Links
Link to Us
Site Map
Sign up for the Newsletter
The Challenge
Fitness Choreography, fitness music, and group fitness information for fitness instructors and personal trainers
Director Resources
Being a Fitness Leader
Formats and Class Planning
Career Development
Instructor Blogs
Message Board
Instructor Products
Virtual Tools for Your Facility
SPARK Program
Articles
Instructor Survey
Director Survey
Polling Booth
FREE Choreography
Downloads
New at FitClasses.com 

▪ Three new articles by Kelly:

  1. Virtual Tools for Your Facility - Using email and the Internet to communicate to grow your business..
  2. Creating a "Go-To" Website - How to use easy tools to serve existing customers and attract new ones.
  3. Pre-style vs. Freestyle - Pros and cons of pre-choreographed group programs

New kickbox choreography: Kelly's Blog 

▪ TurnStep Choreography - RSS feed of the latest submissions to TurnStep.com forums

· Pre-style vs. Freestyle was voted one of Fitness Management Magazine's top 10 articles of 2008!

 Kelly's BlogFrom the Creator of FitClasses.com 
Monday, 27 July 2009

Although I have practiced and taught yoga for about 8 years now, I have never gone through a formal certification process.  With my working vacation in the Mexican Riviera on the horizon I need to make sure I have all my paperwork in place.

I will be teaching yoga at a resort in the Mexican Riviera for a week and in exchange for my professional knowledge and experience I will get the week at the resort for free.  Not a bad deal.  I am really excited about taking the opportunity to spend time with my husband relaxing and practicing yoga. (more about working vacations at www.FitnessProTravel.com)

But I want to make sure that I have my certification nailed down in case there are any questions.  I would love to hear from the community on recommendations for Yoga certifications.  The optimum situation would be to find a great, reputable company that would want to barter a certification for advertising on this site.  That really would be a win/win, as this site gets lots of targeted traffic.

Leave comments below.  Even if I don't release your comments for posting on the site, I will still see them.  Thanks!

POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 09:16 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Thursday, 28 May 2009

I am starting the process of booking a working vacation through FitnessProTravel.com.  I am so excited about it!  I have worked with Suzelle in the past and she is really great.  Very helpful and hard working.

FitnessProTravel.com is a website where you can book working vacations at all inclusive resorts all over the world.  You get your vacation and stay at the resort free, all you pay is your air fare and an admistrative fee.  In exchange you teach a few classes at the resort for the other guests.  It's a really great deal.

Looks like I will be booking a trip for some time in Spring 2010.  Will let you know more as it gets closer.

In the mean time, check out the site at www.FitProTravel.com .

POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 03:34 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 15 April 2009

wow - I can't believe I started the new year with such good intentions - write an entire song out for you each week so that within 12 weeks I would have posted an entire kickboxing class complete with links to the downloadable iMix.

Well - it's April 15th.  I have been promising my own class a new CD and I refuse to bust it out (oh - I have it planned) until I have posted all the choreography for my January 2009 CD.  Problem?  I have only posted 4.  Looks like I have a lot of work to do this week.  Here is what I have posted so far...

 

Objective
Song Name
Artist
Warm up Krazy (feat. Lil Jon) Pitbull
Punches Boys of Freedom (feat. Arista) [Mike Rizzo Global Radio Edit] Dor Dekel
Speed/Jump Rope It's Raining Men The Weather Girls
Kicks Check Yes Juliet We the Kings
Speed bag/Jumping jacks Reach Out Hilary Duff
Contact work on torso bag* So What P!nk
Pushups and Abs I Like to Move It (Radio Mix) Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman
Uppercuts (option) I'm Your Man Wham!
Uppercuts Keeps Gettin' Better Christina Aguilera
Balance/Stability Blame It On the Boogie The Jacksons
Stretch Stay Sugarland
Stretch (option) Proud Heather Small

 

Look for the choreography for the speed bag song coming next - that one's a lot of fun.  And the Christina A. song contains the first set of blocks I have ever taught my class.  So that will contain some new information....

POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 11:26 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Today we logged 2107 on the FitClasses.com mailing list.  This is a big number for FitClasses - it represents about 5% of the estimated number of group fitness instructors worldwide.  Of course, I would like to have EVERY instructor on FitClasses, but all in good time.  This milestone is really something to celebrate!
POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 11:17 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 11 February 2009

First of all, I know there are a lot of instructors reading this blog (I watch my traffic using Google Analytics.)  Why aren't you commenting?  Using the comments button at the bottom allows us to open a discussion and learn from each other.  I would love to hear from you...

So - on to the main event.

It is February 11th and next week is the week you will start seeing major drops in your numbers.  Your new year's new members usually last about 6 weeks.

How do you extend the shelf life on those new years resolutions?  Here are my top suggestions.  Please leave comments to add your best ideas.

1. Learn everyones' names.  If you haven't already, you need to know, remember, and use every participants' name in every class.  That's right, by now these people have been in your class at least a few times.  Let them know you see them, you remember, and you care.

2. Learn something about each participant. Remember, you are a coach, a mentor, and a friend.  Be approachable, and further, be involved.  Try to remember what each person does for a living, or their spouses name, or how many kids they have, etc.  You will be amazed at how far this goes to keep your participants interested in you.  And guess what, you might even realize you are more interested in them...

3. Demonstrate their progress. Remind them of the things they are able to do now, that they couldn't do on January 1st. Whether it's zip up a pair of jeans, or touch their toes, make sure they remember exactly what they headed back to if they give up now.

4. Don't forget your old faithfuls. Don't neglect your core constituency.  Keep things fresh by learning new choreography and using new music, but keep it simple with options. See the links to the left for new choreography...

5. Foster a community culture.  Introduce your newbies to your best faithful participants.  You NEVER want your class to feel like a clique.  Foster a culture where your participants know they need to speak to new participants.  The best way to do this is to alway introduce yourself personally, face to face, to new participants before you start class - even if you are running late.  It's that important.

POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 12:15 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Tuesday, 10 February 2009

My newest t-shirt - "Spin Instructors are mean" with a frowny face.  Thanks to Buffy for the suggestion!

POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 04:17 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Tuesday, 27 January 2009

This is a fun oldie that everyone in your class knows by heart.  Give it a little jump rope and some speed feet and you have a rockin drill to ensure your participants hit their cardio peak.

Set up by giving each participant a jump rope.  They can use a pretend jump rope if they aren't comfortable with a real one.

I like to teach kickboxing with a mark on the floor.  Every participant puts a small + (plus sign) on the floor with masking tape.  We use this mark for foot placement during stances and for agility work.  The tape divides the participant's workspace into four quadrants (front right, back right, front left, and back left.)

------------------------------------------

It's Raining Men The Weather Girls - The Weather Girls - Super Hits - It's Raining Men by The Weather Girls
Jump rope/speed work - #3 in the kickboxing outline, also appropriate for any cardio peak in a mixed cardio class

Get the entire Kickbox - January 2009 icon here.

-------------------------------------------

Start with jump ropes in hand

INTRO: As the music begins, piano is low and builds; singer speaks ("hi, we're your weather girls...") - jump rope through the intro (40 seconds)

VERSE 1 "Barometer's getting low...": stretch through 1st chorus.  Release the back by doing windmills, complete active stretches for hamstrings by doing moderate forward leg swings.

CHORUS 1 "It's raining men, hallelujah...": speed feet combo.  Start at the front right quadrant.  Remember the movie "Flashdance"?  We are going to move our feet fast and in place just like she did in the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxOlKvvLXP8 - 30 seconds in you will see her doing what I am talking about.) So - you are going to do "Flashdance" runs but you are going to switch quadrants every 4 beats.  Front right quadrant for 4 beats (it's VERY quick), then back right, then back left, then front left.

BRIDGE 1 "God Bless Mother Nature...": pick up the jump rope and get going.  This will be the longest interval you do.  Speed feet and jump rope will only be together one time, so suck it up.  All the way through the second "It's raining men..."

VERSE 2 "I feel stormy weather...": stretch using active stretches and walk in place.  When they say "Rip off the roof and stay in bed..." pick up the jump rope again.

BRIDGE 2 "God bless Mother Nature...": jump rope

BREAK "It's raining men, YEAH...": active stretching

CHORUS 1 "It's raining men, hallelujah...": speed feet combo to the end

----------------------------------------------------

Remember - you are working to get heart rates up OVER the working tempo for short periods of time.  This will help your class increase their cardio vascular capacity and therefore teach their bodies to find their fat stores.

 

 

POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 04:25 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Just a quick note to provide a link to this new fitness instructor group on Facebook.  Looks like this one is going to be really active - it already has 16 members!

Facebook Fitness Instructors - Join today!  This is going to be a great place for sharing ideas.

POSTED BY: Kelly Coulter AT 08:04 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Kelly's Bio
Kelly is the owner and creator of FitClasses.com.  She has been teaching Step, Athletic Drills, Strength, Kickbox, Aqua, and Yoga for 15 years.  She also teaches the Athletic Drills, LIFT, and Step to Radio Play workshops offered through FitClasses.com
SUbscribe to the FitClasses.com newsletter
Subscribe
Email newsletter. Your privacy is guaranteed and you can unsubscribe any time.
Newsletter Signup
Give us your email address and we will send you the newsletter. You may opt out of the newsletter at any time by clicking 'unsubscribe' at the bottom of any newsletter you receive.

Email Address:
*
Verify image below:
*

Apple iTunes
The place to get information, FREE choreography, continuing education workshops, and fitness instructor apparel.
FitClasses.com
803-960-1768
Email

Apple iTunes

Over 2 Million Songs to Preview, Buy and Download at iTunes

Site Powered By
    BiggerSmarterDesigns.com
    The Easiest Do It Yourself Websites on the Internet