WEBVTT

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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I know it's hard to imagine.

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But did you know that some
people don't like group fitness

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classes?

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For as much as we love the
energy and connection of groups

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moving together for
a common purpose,

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from the outside looking in,
it can seem pretty scary.

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To those who've never
tried it or those

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who've had a bad experience,
I'm Angie Miller.

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And today I want to
share some of the reasons

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that people don't like
group fitness classes

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and what we can do to make
it a better experience.

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The number one reason
I hear that people

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don't like group fitness
classes is they're

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afraid they'll stand out.

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A friend of mine stopped
going to a kettlebell class

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because it felt like the
instructor was always

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correcting her form.

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And she hated
feeling singled out.

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Another friend doesn't
go because she's

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afraid she won't
be able to keep up.

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And she doesn't want
everyone looking at her.

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Fear of standing out is real.

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Some people want to come
in and test the waters.

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But they don't want to be
singled out in any way.

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So what can we do?

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First, we can let participants
leave with their dignity.

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Unless they're going to injure
themselves or someone else,

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we really should avoid
singling them out.

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Second, we could take time
to talk to new participants

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after class.

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It's hard to catch them before
class because usually they

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sneak in at the last minute.

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But it's really important to
encourage them afterwards.

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Compliment something
they did well.

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Answer questions and introduce
them to other participants

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so they feel connected.

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No one likes to be new.

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But everyone loves to
feel like they belong.

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The number two reason
that men especially

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don't like group fitness classes
is they think it's all women.

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We know that this isn't true.

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But we also know that some
classes can be female dominant.

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For some men,
that's inspiration.

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And for others,
it's intimidation.

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But what adds to
this stereotype is

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what we cue is if we're
only speaking to females.

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So the solution is to
remember that words matter.

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When we cue, we want to avoid
gender specific language,

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phrases like, let's
boost that booty,

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or get rid of those muffin
tops are female driven.

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But what's worse
is they perpetuate

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exercise as something to make
us look rather than feel good.

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Instead of using cues
that focus on body image,

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wouldn't it be better if we
use positive cues that focus

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on form and motivate
participants

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to feel strong inside and out?

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The number three reason that
people say they don't go

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is they're not coordinated.

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We know that even with
all the popularity

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of non-choreography
course classes,

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there's still a lot of
classes that require us

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to move our feet to the beat.

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So the solution is
choreography free classes that

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don't require coordination.

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And we should make sure that
our descriptions specify

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to left feet welcome
or choreography free

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to emphasize that
coordination is not

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a requirement for success.

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So I'm Angie Miller.

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I'm really glad you
joined me today.

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I hope you'll
continue connecting

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with me on social media.

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On Instagram, I'm
AngieMillerFitness.

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And on Facebook and
Twitter, I'm AngieMillerFit.

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Keep doing what you love
and loving what you do.

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I'll see you next week.