Real Talk: What It Was Like Pivoting Into Virtual Training as a Fitness Professional
Three weeks ago, our whole work scene changed in the blink of a violent sneeze. COVID-19 shut down the state of California faster than you could say, “Don’t touch your face!”.
Making the Decision to Close
Our coaching team came together on Tuesday, March 18th at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, poured a shot (some of us 2 shots) of Bulleit Bourbon, and toasted to our last day coaching group classes for the foreseeable future. It was sad: we love our jobs and we love our athletes. On Wednesday, our 13,000 sq. ft facility was empty and quiet with no fans buzzing, no laughing, no weights slamming, no heavy breathing, or timers buzzing. The apocalypse was upon us.
Preparing for the Inevitable Shift Online
We had mentally begun preparing for this over the previous weekend, as we knew that at some point gyms would be asked to close. We needed to be ready to serve or clients and community when that happened. Our team hunkered down, grabbed a paddle, and was ready to work to keep our ship afloat. I think I completely blacked out from March 19th through March 27th. I have no idea what happened in what order or who made what happen, but our team might as well be The Avengers.
Everything It Took to Migrate Online
We moved our ENTIRE business online in about 3 days.
- We built a brand new business model in 1 week, and then our amazing bosses turned around and shared that plan with other business owners to help them weather the storm.
- We filmed a month’s worth of bodyweight home workouts, for 2 different levels of athletes, with restorative sessions, too.
- We rented and/or sold equipment, and personally delivered equipment to our members who couldn’t leave their homes.
- We even built equipment to help meet client needs!
- We live streamed a free-to-anyone community workout fundraiser on Facebook to help a local family, and we raised over $1000 via GoFundMe.
- We built a social media page exclusively for our Gymnazo community.
- We started hosting live workouts on Facebook and Zoom for free, posted challenges like #ShowMeYourSweat #NazoKicksCovid to keep people motivated, and we posted comedic relief “Questions of the Day” that got members involved.
- We hosted virtual Happy Hour and Cocktail Making 101.
- We began streaming a daily live morning show to interact with our members, and they absolutely love it. What we really did was create a support community and a sense of normalcy during chaos.
- As of Monday, April 9th we were honored to offer our clients 82, yes eighty-two, live virtual classes per week. I have never been so proud of our team.
In the Beginning I had my Doubts About Virtual Training
I know that I’m lucky to have Gymnazo as my employer. I knew that we would have a plan and we would execute. I knew we wouldn’t just shut our doors, dust off our hands, and say “see you in two weeks,” but this doesn’t mean that it was easy. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have uncertainty or doubts or sleepless nights because I was so stressed. I have always been a coach at heart. I coached youth soccer long before I coached adult fitness. Because of that my job has always been up close and personal. So how the hell am I supposed to do this virtually? I’m a fairly private person and now if I work from home I have to open up my home for people to see. Am I comfortable with that? I’m also a normal, overly self conscious female who hates hearing her own voice or seeing videos of herself on social media. The first time I heard myself on a video I wanted to apologize to every person who has ever heard me speak. The first time I saw myself on a 70″ high definition, flat screen TV, I thought “I need to stand as far away from the camera as physically possible.” This was beyond anything that I wanted to do, and I was so uncomfortable doing it.
The Truth About Becoming a Virtual Coach Overnight: It’s Not Easy at First
How was I supposed to put that personal touch and feel into coaching through a damn TV or computer screen? How was I going to provide the quality and service virtually? Survive or Die. Those were my choices, and I absolutely hate to lose. So, I spent the better part of 3 days turning my garage into an acceptable, low budget filming studio and home gym. At work, we set up our little filming pods and slowly started coaching some classes on Zoom. Those 70″ flat screen TVs were so we could clearly see and coach 12 clients at one time. As it turns out, the hardest part of virtual coaching is teaching technologically challenged people how to get set up, and this is not solely referring to “old people” or Baby Boomers (I have, unofficially, become a Tech Support Specialist for Zoom). The first few sessions had their snags and hang ups: no audio or no visual or both, app crashing, learning how to navigate timers, lighting, equipment modifications, slow streaming, and more.
The Silver Lining of Virtual Training & What Surprised Me About It
But, then it eventually got easier. I was getting more comfortable in front of the camera. We worked out most of the glitches, and we knew how to better prepare for our sessions. Seeing familiar faces and smiles, hearing laughs, and interacting with people that I missed so dearly was amazing. Coaching multiple clients through a screen was, almost, easier than in person. I can see everyone at the same time. I was correcting form faster and I could really see movement better because I didn’t have other visual distractions moving around. The highlight was hearing that we were helping lift spirits and making someone’s day. I realized that we were getting a special look into the homes of our clients- our extended family- and their families. By the way, the pets are probably my favorite. The cats ruin everything and the dogs just want to lick faces anytime we’re doing push ups. But, in all honesty, the best part of this transition has been hearing that we are helping people survive. They’re surviving depression, anxiety, loneliness, being stuck at home, being stuck at home with kids, their husband, their wife, losing a job, losing a family member, or worse. Hearing that we are helping people through a screen without giving any high fives, fist bumps, or hugs makes every frustrating technical difficulty, every 12-16 hour day, every sleepless night, every 4:45am wake up call, and every other mishap totally worth it.
Looking Back, I’m so Proud of What We Accomplished
If this seems like a lot, it’s because it is. This was not easy and this is probably the short list of Gymnazo’s accomplishments over the last 3 weeks.This took a lot of (wo)man power and effort, but it’s not impossible to do solo. Call your clients. Let them know just how much you care. Get set up with basics and then let your expertise shine through. This will take some grit and determination, but it can absolutely be done. We had that. Not one person on our staff balked or even batted an eye when it came time to transition. It was quite the opposite in fact. I’m privileged to work for Michael and Paden, and I am honored to work with our member service team and my fellow coaching staff. Find your team, even if that’s just you! To quote an anonymous Navy Seal, “You don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to your level of training.” We are coaches, mentors, and trainers. It’s in the job description and title. The only thing left for you to do is start.
Leave a Reply