When lockdown hit, fitness professionals, like so many other small business owners, watched the immediate shut down of venues with horror as we feared our hard-earned client base would just vanish overnight. In the dark days of spring and early summer 2020 nobody knew what to do, how long this would last and what the world would look when normal life returned.
What to do? Do I try online? What about those clients that don’t want to or can’t do online classes? How do I keep contact with my amazing FitSteppers and Pilates people? Is my one-to-one personal training and Pilates business gone overnight?
Suddenly, previously unknown to me video-conferring software, Zoom, became my daily obsession! How to set it up, how to get the sound to sync with movements, how to play music and be heard speaking at the same time! So many problems and so many other fitness professionals muddled through with it too as if our livelihoods depended on it...because they did.
I started off with online chats to keep the class connected and a casual ‘push back the chair and let’s see if I can do this’ approach - and it worked. I quickly added a full-on free FitSteps class allowing clients to dance in their living rooms and kitchens. This then grew into providing online Pilates once a week, then twice a week and then a third class each week!
In an exciting twist for me, online FitSteps and Pilates classes also allowed me to have new clients from far afield, including USA, England, Scotland and Southern Ireland as well as reaching new local clients!
As the months ran on, I tried new classes, including going back to teaching Irish dancing (after a very long break from it!) and a new All Ability Pilates course that moved from beyond traditional mat Pilates and focused on a theme rather than weekly progressions.
I even did some event classes, like fundraising for NI Children’s Hospice and putting on a Belfast Pride class as well as taking part in an LGBTQ online health fair in partnership with Here NI.
But here we are in September and while things are still in flux there are very positive moves to returning to normal. Gyms and some community venues are back open again. Grids are marking out where you can stand to dance or place your mat, hand sanitisers are at every door, online bookings are a requirement, as is still remaining 2 meters away from everyone - mask or no mask. With the recent spike in rates of infection it’s hard to know whether things will be rolled back again a little or whether these are just controllable anomalies that are localised and containable.
So, I was faced with a decision this month. Do I go back to in person classes straight away or hold off? Is there a benefit for my clients in staying away from face-to-face for now? If I don’t start back will I lose everyone I managed to hold on to during lockdown? What if someone got sick? What if I got sick?
As you know, I have chosen to stay - for now - with the online classes. A few things I have realised:
While I miss the face-to-face social connections, the online ones while different can still be as life-affirming and sanity-maintaining.
A jive in the living room/kitchen is just as energetic and calf-burning as a jive in the community facility. Also there’s no hiding behind the superstar dancer in front of you as Zoom lets me SEE EVERYTHING!!!
The convenience of not having to leave the house when the weather is nasty or the dark evenings start to roll in! This one works both ways for clients and instructors, you know!
While social interactions are wonderful, we are all still being told to limit our contact with people not in our household. While I too miss seeing everyone, I can handle chatting over Zoom for now!
Pilates online for me as an instructor is fantastic as I can clearly see any errors at ground level via the video link and easily provide adaptations by ability. For clients there is a massive benefit in being able to relax and listen and still get your workout.
Therefore, online it is...for now. I have set up the next 6 weeks of online classes to get us through the start of autumn with no decision made yet as to what will happen after Halloween - perhaps a mix of face-to-face and online if I can, if the regulations allow and the spikes in infection have calmed down.
I’ve also created an exciting new Total Body Workout 4 week course which will bring together cardio, strength and flexibility into one class - which is something I haven’t been able to do with clients for a couple of years now and I can’t wait to get started with it next week!
I know online isn’t the dream for everyone. For those of you that just can’t wait to be back to face-to-face, I hear you. I do too. For those of you that just want to keep going with your online Pilates, FitSteps and try the new classes I keep throwing at you, I can’t wait to be back next week!
Take care of yourself, take time for your mental health, keep moving and I’ll see you all very soon.
Susan
Comments