{"id":14021,"date":"2026-02-05T10:16:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/?p=14021"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:16:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:16:41","slug":"how-to-deliver-a-group-exercise-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/how-to-deliver-a-group-exercise-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"From warm up to cool down: how to deliver a group exercise experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>From warm up to cool down: how to deliver a group exercise experience that brings people back to your studio again and again. <\/strong><\/h2>\n<h4><strong>Part 2 of\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Leila Neve&#8217;s new 5 part series on making group exercise classes work for you \u2013 and your PT business.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>We\u2019ve all been in those great classes that feel spontaneous and magical, and it\u2019s easy to think that the best instructors just \u2018feel the room\u2019, make it up on the spot and somehow everything flows beautifully for them.<\/p>\n<p>In reality, the instructors who look relaxed, confident and engaging aren\u2019t necessarily better at the job than you are, they\u2019re just usually the ones with the strongest frameworks behind the scenes.<\/p>\n<p>In my last blog I wrote about how we as group exercise instructors can develop and use a framework to help us create an inclusive and positive first impression. In this post, we\u2019re taking things one step further and creating a framework so that whether you\u2019re teaching HIIT, spin, Pilates or circuits, the goal is the same: participants should leave feeling physically <em>and <\/em>emotionally better than when they arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Frameworks don\u2019t make classes rigid or boring &#8211; they do the opposite. They help participants to feel safe and reduce your mental load, giving you the freedom to be present, responsive and human.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Why a framework matters (more than you think) <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Participants don\u2019t come to class just for the gains and PBs. They come for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Social connection<\/li>\n<li>Mental health improvements<\/li>\n<li>To create movement competence<\/li>\n<li>Accountability<\/li>\n<li>Confidence building<\/li>\n<li>Motivation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As fitness professionals we need to remember that not everybody loves movement and exercise like we do (I know, weird right?!) and not everyone has a social job or home life. Your class might be the only time that some participants have to themselves where they can socialise, let off some steam and feel as though they are achieving something of their own.<\/p>\n<p>Exercise may come naturally to us but throughout a class, participants are processing far more than just the exercises we\u2019re asking them to perform. They\u2019re constantly assessing how safe, capable and welcome they feel &#8211; even if they\u2019re doing it subconsciously.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What are we doing?<\/li>\n<li>Why are we doing it?<\/li>\n<li>How do I do it?<\/li>\n<li>How should I feel?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We do this job every day. We know that these questions are common and valid. But it\u2019s important for us to remember that a participant can often feel like the only person to be\u00a0struggling and can easily feel a failure. If we can address these questions before they arise, and repeat this throughout our session we can create and maintain that positive atmosphere which people will want to come back to.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Creating this framework is really easy and, as it can be applied to various scenarios, will become second nature in no time<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>First, think of how we can weave information and assurances into the warmup &#8211; chatting to your class as they perform their movements and letting them know what kind of session you have planned, how the session will run and how you plan to make the session inclusive is a great way to immediately put minds at ease<\/p>\n<p>Secondly you would look for opportunities to repeat this information through the main body of your session by letting the class know what\u2019s coming next, how many sets are left, when the next break is, repeat any different options etc.<\/p>\n<p>The cool down is another opportunity to create a positive experience and connect with your participants by acknowledging that they did a great job and letting them know what they can expect to feel after the class.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Have a look at the example below and have a think how you could incorporate this into your current group exercise offering:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"292\">Warm up<\/td>\n<td width=\"292\">Briefly explain how the session is going to run e.g. \u201ctoday we have a bodyweight cardio session &#8211; 40 seconds work, 10 seconds recover\/transition time\u201d Address injury\/ability concerns e.g. \u201cI know we have a couple of injuries in the room so I&#8217;ll be providing plenty of options. Keep your eyes on me and just give me a wave if you need anything\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"292\">Main session<\/td>\n<td width=\"292\">Let your participants know what\u2019s coming, what equipment they need etc. e.g. \u201cok let\u2019s head into round 1 &#8211; you have squats, deadlifts and walking lunges so grab your bar and your 2 kettlebells\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let them know where they are in their workload e.g. \u201ccome on team, this is your last set\u201d or a simple \u201c10 seconds left\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"292\">Cool down<\/td>\n<td width=\"292\">Reassure participants that it\u2019s normal to feel out of breath and sweaty and relate to how they feel e.g. \u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re all out of breath too!\u201d or \u201cdid anyone else feel those last squats as much as i did?!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let them know they may feel sore tomorrow and advise how they could deal with it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>This framework is a great tool on its own, but to really take your classes to the next level and make your classes the hottest ticket at your facility, we need to go further. Maya Angelou famously said \u201cPeople will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>\u00a0\u201cPeople will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel\u201d. Maya Angelou<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And this rings true for group exercise &#8211; people will forget that you asked the class if anyone had any injuries and people will forget that killer glute combo you came up with (once the DOMS have worn off) but they will always remember the instructor that made them feel welcome, who remembered that their child had been ill and asked how they were, who made them fall in love with exercise which helped them build their confidence.<\/p>\n<p>Participants will only be passionate about making sure that they can come to YOUR classes because of the way YOU make them feel.<\/p>\n<p>So whether you come alive leading a class or you would rather be anywhere else courtesy of a kindly hole in the ground opening up and whisking you away, I have a bonus tool to add to your framework which will help make your classes a more consistent, less energy draining experience for you &#8211; I like to call this tool my rolodex of happiness and it\u2019s a mental file that I have which is full of ways that I can raise a smile in class:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I love those trainers!<\/li>\n<li>Perfect squats over there! Seriously, I have zero notes!<\/li>\n<li>I see you lifting heavier than you usually do! Nicely done!<\/li>\n<li>Oo new hair colour? That looks great!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I pride myself on a great class playlist and if I hear someone say \u201cI love this tune!\u201d or they start singing along i\u2019ll start singing it with them and have a dance (please note that I am being VERY flexible with the word \u2018dance\u2019 here &#8211; it\u2019s a wiggle at best)<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important that you don\u2019t just think of a handful of stock phrases to use in every class. We need to build genuine connections and it\u2019s important that you be yourself; professional at all times, but still you.<\/p>\n<p>The rolodex of happiness is such a great tool to use when you have new people in your class who may be feeling a little shy. Being included in some lovely comments and words of encouragement can immediately make people feel relaxed and part of the team.<\/p>\n<p>So, next time you plan your classes, have a think about what you could include in your framework and some phrases that you could fill your rolodex of happiness with. I promise, once you see someone beaming from ear to ear because you like something that they wore or you told them that they\u2019re doing a good job, you will make it a priority in every other class that you deliver.<\/p>\n<p>Next time, we\u2019ll be talking about how we can use the time between the cool down finishing and the participants leaving to make their experience even better.<\/p>\n<p>Read part one of Leila Neve&#8217;s series on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/the-perception-feedback-loop-group-exercise\/\">making group exercise work for you and your PT business<\/a> on the FitPro blog.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13993\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/leilanevept\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13993\" class=\"wp-image-13993 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/author-blog-size-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13993\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leila Neve<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/leilanevept\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Leila Neve<\/a> is an award-winning personal trainer and group exercise instructor with\u00a0a BSc in Sport Science, specialising in physical rehab and motivational coaching. She is incredibly passionate about making health and movement accessible\u00a0to all, her black Labrador, Leonard, and pretty much anything covered in cheese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From warm up to cool down: how to deliver a group exercise experience that brings&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-group-exercise"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14021"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14044,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14021\/revisions\/14044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}