Instructor Training Course

British Military Fitness Unit 7b and 7c Imperial Studios Imperial Road London SW6 2AG

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No copying or distribution in part or whole should take place without authorisation. Not to be transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners of this manual.

Disclaimer

Any exercises, programmes or workouts in this training programme should be used as part of a full and balanced exercise and fitness programme. It is the responsibility of the Fitness Professional to adequately screen any clients or participant’s suitability and readiness to participate in any of the exercises or programmes contained within this training. No guarantee is made that the content in this manual will always be accurate, as new research and updated theories will challenge and question existing ideas and principles. No responsibility or liability is accepted for any loss or damage suffered as a result of the use or reliance on the information within this manual and training.

Copyright © Military Fitness Limited 2012

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Contents

Topic Page Introduction

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Instructor positioning

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Correcting form

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Tempo differentiation

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High intensity interval training

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References

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Instructional Skills High Intensity Interval Training Course

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Introduction At British Military Fitness we believe in changing people's lives for the better. Our highly skilled military fitness instructors aim to motivate, inspire and engage you by keeping you actively challenged whilst having great fun. We deliver world-class fitness sessions suitable for any ability. Aim

To continually develop our instructors skills to improve and develop the quality of a BMF class.

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Apply the principles of good instruction

Demonstrate effective instructor positioning

Instructor Positioning

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Instructor positioning Instructor positioning is an important part of being a skilled instructor. By positioning yourself in the best place at the right time, you can make a difference to the quality of your classes. By being aware of your positioning, you can increase motivation, communication, and correct form to engage members more effectively. You can also control the energy of your class with your positioning and movement when instructing your members during an activity. An instructor who is on their toes, cutting around the group quickly, encouraging and correcting form will have a much bigger impact than an instructor who strolls around and doesn’t apply these qualities to a session. There are 3 main times when you need to think about your positioning during a class, these are: Explaining or demonstrating to the group Conducting an activity station Moving your group around the park Explanation and demonstration example 1

It is massively important that you position yourself correctly during this phase. This will ensure clear communication of what

you are trying to deliver and ensure members know exactly what they are doing. This in turn ensures they are fully motivated and will get the maximum benefits from the exercise. So in diagram 1, we have the group in 2 ranks. The positioning of the instructor will depend on the type of activity being conducted. For example, if you were conducting a partner exercise such as a shoulder press where one member stands behind the other facing the same direction, then position 1 would be most ideal. If the group were conducting an exercise where they need to face each other such as partner pulling, then position 2 would be best. Now to demonstrate the above examples you should adopt position 1 with the shoulder press. This will allow you to maintain eye contact with your group and ensure they understand the exercise. If it involves an exercise where the demo partner blocks your view of the group such as a lateral raise, then you would need to stand side on so that you can maintain good communication with your group. For an activity that involves facing each other, position 3 is recommended. This allows you to maintain good eye contact and communication throughout and keep good control of your group. Let’s look at a further example of positioning for briefs and demonstrations. This time we will look at a completely different formation.

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Explanation and demonstration example 2

To brief this group will require excellent positioning, briefs and demos. It will most likely involve 4 different exercises so it needs to be very slick. Position 1 will give a clear view of your entire group however you will need to be loud/clear to get your brief across and your demo might cause problems for the 2 farther away groups. Position 2 will be extremely difficult to communicate effectively to your group, as you will always have your back to at least half of the members. Position 3 could be quite effective if you can project your voice to the group diagonally across whilst maintain good contact with the group next to you To effectively demonstrate to this type of activity, you should not be prescribing more that one exercise to each group so 4 exercises max. Position 1 would probably not be the most effective position to demonstrate due to the distance from some members. Position 2 would be very visual for this formation however you would not have full eye contact with your members so it may not be communicated 100%.

Position 3 could be a highly effective position to take whilst demonstrating this circuit. You would need to move fast and be full of energy to quickly achieve this however it could be the most effective for the members. It also demonstrates the movement required on the circuit. To summarise, position 3 could be a highly effective method of delivering this circuit. Quick briefs and good demos will ensure the members know exactly what is required. Slick movement between each station would ensure this could be communicated fully within 30 - 40 seconds. Members conduct an active activity such as jump jacks or jogging on the spot during the brief/demo. Conducting an activity station Once the activity has started, your role quickly changes to motivator and coach. You need to cut around positively, encouraging your members to achieve maximum performance from them. You also need to ensure they are exercising correctly to ensure they minimise risk of injury and gain the most benefits from their training. Let’s run through a couple of scenarios and look at how you could move and position yourself during an activity phase.

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In Diagram 3 the red dots represent members on a baseline whilst their partner is running shuttles or relays, which is highlighted by the white arrows. The blue/yellow arrows are the movement the instructors could use to effectively position themselves. In the blue position you can cut up and down quickly with lots of encouragement and motivation for the runners. By then cutting around the back of the group following the yellow arrow, you can coach and correct member form on exercises. Note: This requires the instructor to be highly active and full of energy. To achieve this and engage with all the members in your group, this will require a lot of hard work.

Diagram 4 takes us onto a circle formation, which can be popular for many activities, including circuits, team games and relays.

Positioning yourself in a circle formation correctly is very important. If you get sucked into the middle, which can easily be done, then you lose line of sight of a large proportion of your group. If you go too static then you will struggle to motivate and coach all individuals in your group. They key to positioning yourself in a circle is lots of movement. Cutting around the circle quickly will ensure you have oversight of all your members whilst still being able to correct and encourage. Again, the instructor needs to be full of energy and activity to ensure that brushes off on the members. This will keep them motivated, working hard and ensure they get the full benefits from the training. Moving your group around the park Good positioning whilst moving the group around the park in very important. To just turn your back to your members and run off is negligent at best. You are there to motivate and encourage every member within your group and ensure nobody gets left behind. You must also ensure your movement activity is safe.

Looking at diagram 5, we have a group in a simple 2 files formation. Positioning yourself here can vary depending on the

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2

3

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size of your group. Position 1 is ideal for moving a normal size group of 12 - 16 around the park. Ensure you can easily look over your shoulder/run sideways so you can see all members in your group (this is especially important in the winter nights).

Position 2 is very good if you are in an open area and you are giving out activities on the move such as exercise and join the rear. The instructor needs to run backwards so needs to have good space awareness. This is a good position for the blues, as you can ensure nobody lags behind by rotating members to the rear or controlling the pace.

Position 3 can be useful if you find yourself in a position with a large group. This again gives you line of sight on your group and will ensure they can all hear any instructions.

Positioning whilst moving is crucial, we must consider the following:

Group size, Fitness ability, Terrain, Line of sight, Activities on the move, Safety

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Demonstrate good coaching and correction of bad form during a BMF class

Perform effective explanations and demonstrations of exercise activities

Coaching and Correcting Form

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Instructional delivery The actual delivery of your exercise prescription is the real nitty gritty of being an instructor. A great instructor can quickly give clear directions with excellent explanations, demonstrations and coaching tip. This will result in members getting 100% out of their workout, achieving better results and continuing to train with BMF. This 7-step process will help improve your instructional techniques:

• Directions • Explain • Demonstrate • Coaching points • Motivation • Correct poor form • Acknowledge

Directions Identify which exercise you are about to work on and describe how it is performed. Explain Explain the aim of the exercise, the benefits of the movement and the muscle groups being worked. Demonstrate Demonstrate the exercise movement, providing an excellent example paying particular attention to positioning, body alignment and good form.

Coaching points Back up the demonstration with 1 -2 main coaching point e.g. ‘keep the back straight, head up’. Be sure not to over complicate with too much coaching points and lose attention/cause confusion within your group. Motivation Use words of command to execute the exercise or activity. Use of voice is important so think about pitch, volume, speed and pauses. Also identify how many reps, duration the exercise will be carried out for and use countdowns or words of encouragement to keep motivation levels high. Correct poor form Position yourself so that you can see your entire group and highlight further coaching points if required. If certain individuals require further coaching, close in on the member and give specific coaching points backed up with positive encouragement. Positive encouragement Provide constant positive encouragement throughout and compliment hard work and effort as well as excellent performance and technique.

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Ideally to keep this simple and easy to remember, you can condense into 3 main areas: Explain - Identify, explain, describe Demonstrate - Movement, example, coaching points Action - Motivate, command, correct, encourage

Correcting exercise form Correcting exercise positions and form when you are teaching is hugely important to ensure that clients are exercising properly and safely. This follows on from providing strong instructions, clear explanations and quality demonstrations of the exercise. During the action/exercise phase you should be moving effectively around your group motivating, encouraging and also identifying individuals who are conducting the exercises incorrectly. This is where you as an instructor need to take action to positively correct the clients techniques and coach them to exercise correctly and safely. Position yourself so that you can see your entire group and highlight further coaching points if required. If certain individuals require further coaching, close in on the member and give specific coaching points backed up with positive encouragement. The practical elements of this course will cover the preparation and movement of a variety of exercises and how you can effectively coach and correct form by applying common principles to any exercise.

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Differentiation of abilities

Demonstrate the correct class tempo and intensity for all 3 ability groups

Demonstrate the ability to differentiate various abilities in the same class

Understand how to plan and adapt intensity levels for all abilities

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Differentiation of abilities One of the most challenging aspects of being a BMF Instructor is getting the intensity exactly right for each individual in your groups. Many Instructors excel at this and it is one of the key aspects that make you a great Instructor from the member’s perspective. However we do often get complaints that we didn’t work them hard enough which generally occurs when teaching mixed ability groups.

When working with a mixed ability group you need to be able to adapt your session and provide a multi-layered class. This means increasing/decreasing intensity and activities to meet the ability demand. For example, when you are teaching red/greens, the reds should be looking at all the extra volume of training the greens are doing and see a level to aspire to, a goal to aim for.

It takes more than just a couple of reps here and there to effectively differentiate.

Intensity levels can be varied through:

Exercise volume – amount of repetitions

Duration – longer time during exercise or less recovery time

Type of exercise – Progress and regress each exercise appropriately

Finally the content of these classes are massively important. So getting the balance of activities in your lesson plan is vitally important during the planning phase. This will ensure that each member is challenged appropriately and also ensure they enjoy the quality of product that we strive to deliver.

Here is a chart of a survey conducted with BMF members to see what elements they enjoyed most. The results show that our

methods are very fine tuned to our customers needs. By breaking the BMF session down into a series of 4 – 6 minute stations, this allows you to design a lesson plan that can accurately accommodate a balanced class that the members will love.

As you can see from the lesson plan outline example above, the majority of the lesson has been made of exercise-based stations however each one is separated by the other activities that our members enjoy. This model will guarantee excellent class variety, keeping it interesting and highly motivating.

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British Military Fitness classes are broken down into three different ability groups. It is vitally important that we challenge every ability group appropriately. Sometime you may have multiple abilities in your group, therefore planning, adaptability and flexibility are key. Here are some tips on how to challenge each group.

Remember you must differentiate between all ability groups at all times

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High Intensity Training

Understand the principles of HIT and how to plan in a lesson

Identify the benefits of HIT and what type of clients it is suitable for

Design and practice a HIT training routine

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High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

What is HIIT? HIT is a great method of interval training that results in fat loss. It is one of the most effective methods of increasing your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), increase your Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and burn lots of calories simultaneously. HIIT consists of alternating periods of high intensity (maximal efforts) anaerobic exercise with low intensity recovery periods (around 50% effort). (Perry, Christopher, Heigenhauser, George, Bonen, Arend, Spriet, Lawrence, 2008). As BMF Instructors and coming from a military background we have been utilising High Intensity Training for many years, this module is designed to identify the benefits, principles and methods of effectively planning this into a lesson plan. This will ensure maximum effect and a safe training environment for our members. Here are some of the benefits of HIT

Increases your metabolism for up to 36 hours after the session More beneficial for fat loss than aerobic exercise Increase speed and increase power Burn more calories and fat than longer duration endurance training Improves aerobic and anaerobic endurance

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Why use HIT? Studies have shown that repeated HIIT session 3 days per week over a 6 week period is a powerful method of increasing whole body muscle capacities to oxidise fat and carbohydrates in untrained individuals. As discussed above, HIT workouts can increase your metabolism for up to 36 hours after a session, this burning more calories post session.

As you can see on diagram 1, the metabolic rate increases dramatically during high intensity exercise, which will promote muscle growth and burn fat. If you want to change your metabolism, you have to increase muscle mass and increase your muscles oxidative capacity. Your muscles have these energy producing units called ‘mitochondria’ and this is where ATP are made and fats are burned (Norton). Other studies have shown that HIT can significantly lower insulin resistance and cause skeletal muscle adaptions that result in enhanced fat oxidation and improve glucose tolerance. (Trapp, Chisholm, Freund, Boutcher 2008) Anaerobic Energy System Anaerobic means ‘without oxygen’. The anaerobic energy system is what provides energy for up to 60 seconds. During the first 10 – 15 seconds the Adenosine Triphosphate-Creatine Phosphate Cycle (ATP-CP) uses up the phosphate pool, after which the body uses glycolysis and lactic acid to derive energy.

HIT  

Cardio  

AFTER BURN EFFECT

MET

AB

OLI

C R

ATE

High Intensity Workout

Traditional Aerobic Workout

Diagram 1

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Initially there is a small amount of lactic acid produced. During efforts taking longer than 10 - 15 seconds, a large amount of lactic acid is produced, which will challenge the muscles and Central Nervous System (CNS). Without adequate oxygen, the lactic acid will not be flushed from the system. Rest periods of 30 – 90 seconds will provide adequate recovery of the ATP-CP system and this should be relevant to the members ability. The principles of High Intensity Interval Training

Short duration, high intensity exercise, with short recovery intervals Full body exercises using sets or time Pushing through the lactic acid burn Utilising variety of combinations of sets Adequate recovery interval based on ability to replenish ATP and PC Integrating compound exercises into the workout Focus on the largest muscle groups

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The following points are important principles than need to be maintained to gain the maximum benefit from HIT:

1. You must maximise the intensity of each set – pushing yourself until failure or until you complete the set.

2. You must maximise the intensity of each workout – Use the full time available and complete as much volume as possible within the timeframe to gain the maximum metabolic effect and muscle retention.

BMR and EPOC Two of the most important factors in exercising to lose fat is increasing your BMR over the long term and increasing your EPOC after each workout. This will set you up to gain the maximum benefits from high intensity training. Basal Metabolic Rate Your BMR tells you how many calories your body burns when it is resting. Burning more calories at rest means you will lose fat faster, or gain fat slower if you are over eating. To increase your BMR all you need to do is increase muscle mass. This will help you to burn more calories over the long term. Published studies have shown that aerobic fitness has no correlation with levels of resting metabolism. Anaerobic training builds muscle mass, which will increase BMF. (Broeder, 1992), (Smith, 1997)

Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption EPOC describes how quickly your metabolism returns to your BMR after exercise. This is effectively the after burn effect and is also referred to as oxygen debt. As you can see in the diagram on the left, the metabolic rate is increased for up to 36 hours post exercise. This increased oxygen consumption is part of the recovery process and adaptation phase from a high intensity bout of exercise. This will include hormone balancing, replens of fuel stores, cellular repair and anabolism. Post-exercise consumption also replens your phosphagen system, new ATP is synthesised and aids the recovery of creatine levels. Lactic acid is also oxidised and EPOC also fuels the body’s increase metabolism from increased body temperature. (Saladin, 2012) When aiming to promote fat loss, we want to focus on workouts that will increase EPOC as well as BMF. As identified earlier, the ‘after burn’ effect from HIT is considerably more effective than aerobic training.

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Who can benefit from HIRT? For BMF’ers who are aiming to lose fat or minimise fat gain whilst trying to develop muscle, then HIIT should be a vital part of any lesson plan. HIT would be beneficial to the following types of people:

Looking to elevate their metabolism long term Maximise short term fat loss through resistance exercise Minimise fat gain whilst building muscle Aiming to increase aerobic endurance Aiming to increase anaerobic endurance Increase calories burn on a daily basis Athletes who participate in sports such as boxing, MMA, football, basketball and

need muscular endurance rounds of 5 – 10 minutes Looking to break performance plateaus

Who should avoid HIT? High Intensity Interval Training is pretty much suitable for most people however it always worth checking the following as good practice:

People who are not cleared by their doctor to conduct exercise

Excessive HIIT can slow down strength gains

Overzealous people, you need to recover between workouts. e.g. you cant use HIIT 3 - 4 times per week and strength training 3 – 4 times per week

Using these training principles, you can configure your HIIT workouts to create an endless amounts of workouts that will keep your sessions both varied and interesting whilst providing a highly effective training technique to your lesson plans.

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Designing a High Intensity Interval Training Routine

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References

Trapp EG, Chisholm DJ, Freund J, Boutcher SH . (2008). The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women. International Journal of Obesity. 4 (1), 32. Saladin, Kenneth (2012). Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function. 16th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. 425. Broeder, CE; Burrhus, KA; Svanevik, LS; Wilmore, JH . (1992). The effects of aerobic fitness on resting metabolic rate. The American journal of clinical nutrition . 4 (1), 55. Smith, DA; Dollman, J; Withers, RT; Brinkman, M; Keeves, JP; Clark, DG . (1997). Relationship between maximum aerobic power and resting metabolic rate in young adult women. Journal of applied physiology. 82 (1), 156-163. Perry, Christopher G.R.; Heigenhauser, George J.F.; Bonen, Arend; Spriet, Lawrence L.. (2008). High-intensity aerobic interval training increases fat and carbohydrate metabolic capacities in human skeletal muscle. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 33 (12), 1112-1123.