When developing your programs early on in your instructing career, put in as much detail as  you can – planning is the key!

  • Make sure you have considered both modifications and extensions – this will ensure that  everyone in your class is being catered for.
  • Don’t include too many new exercises into one class, this will potentially just confuse  participants – drip feed your new ideas.
  • Allow enough time for participants to settle into a movement/exercise – jumping from one  exercise to another too quickly won’t allow the participant to get maximum benefit from  the movement e.g. increases in heart rate or developing the required co-ordination to  perform the exercise.
  • Adversely, don’t leave participants doing an exercise for too long – this may result in fatigue  in specific muscles and/or boredom.
  • Where possible, hop in the water and run through your exercises – see if they flow and also  get a feel yourself for just how difficult they are…or are not.
  • Practice demonstrating your exercises in a mirror – is your technique sound? Consider what cues you will use for your exercises – verbal and physical.
  • Work in all of the different planes of movement – it’s very easy to have a heavy focus on the  sagittal.
  • For older clients, keep in mind the daily functional movements they regularly use and build  your programs around these.
  • Keep a balance of short and long lever work.
  • Incorporate movement/traveling into your program – don’t allow your clients to get glued  to the spot!

Julie Stevens