In the fast-paced world of fitness, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has gained immense popularity for its efficient and effective workouts. If you're a fitness studio owner looking to expand your business by offering HIIT workout classes, one of the most critical decisions you'll make is hiring the right instructors. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of finding and hiring the perfect HIIT instructors to help your fitness studio thrive.
Benefits of HIIT
What is HIIT? HIIT incorporates several rounds that alternate between bursts of high intensity movements to significantly increase the heart rate to at least 80% of one's maximum heart rate, followed by short periods of lower intensity movements.
Short Intense Workouts for Busy Members
Today, time is more valuable than ever, so we want our workouts to take up minimal time without hindering the benefits. HIIT enables busy people to boost their exercise endorphins and get a sweat on without taking hours! Typically, workouts can take an hour or more, but HIIT workouts usually take 30-45 minutes, and can offer a full body workout. HIIT sessions can be done early in the morning, during your lunch break, or to destress at the end of a long day!
Build Muscle While Burning Fat
The opposite to HIIT is known as LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) cardio. LISS can burn calories, but at a much slower rate. It involves exercises such as walking. HIIT, on the other hand, is shown to promote fat loss while also maintaining muscle mass. HIIT stimulates what is known as ‘The Afterburn Effect’ which means that once you finish exercising, your body continues to burn calories for up to 24 hours.
Increase your VO2 Max
What is your VO2 max? VO2 max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen your body can absorb and use during exercise. This is a method of measuring your aerobic fitness levels. Improving your VO2 max will improve how well your body uses oxygen, meaning that you can do exercises more efficiently and get less tired doing them!
Importance of Instructors
Your instructors are the face of your fitness program, and they play a significant role in motivating and guiding your clients. Here are a few reasons why having the right instructors is essential:
- Expertise
HIIT workouts require a deep understanding of fitness principles, exercise techniques, and safety protocols. Quality instructors can design effective workouts that yield results while minimising the risk of injury.
- Motivation
HIIT classes are intense, and motivation is key to keep participants engaged. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable instructors can inspire clients to push their limits and achieve their fitness goals.
- Retention
Satisfied clients are more likely to continue attending your classes. Exceptional instructors can create a positive and welcoming atmosphere that encourages clients to return for more sessions.
Hiring Process
Hiring new trainers involves a range of processes such as deciding on the main responsibilities of the new trainer, how you will compensate them, how you will select suitable candidates, the interview process and more.
Job Description
First up, you must create a job description to excite the best instructors. Here you should include some information about your studio, the daily responsibilities that the instructor can expect as a part of the role and any skills, certifications and experience required to be considered for the role. Be sure to also give an indication of benefits instructors will receive such as pay, bonuses and any other extras. Be sure to mention the role to people in your personal network, post it on your website and social media and use websites such as LinkedIn and Indeed.
Review Applications
There are a number of key qualities to look out for when reviewing applications. You should look for instructors who are approachable, encouraging, confident, engaging and passionate about the fitness industry. Remember it is important not to discredit applicants with less experience. Often it turns out that young, motivated trainers are excited to start their career. Of course this depends on the studio but it is always worth speaking to some people with less experience as they have a fresh outlook on the industry.
Conduct Interviews
The key to conducting a great interview is making the candidate feel comfortable, this can be done by setting up a comfortable environment where the interview will be conducted (if a candidate struggles to find the interview location they will arrive stressed!), open with some small talk and straightforward questions and tell them a bit about yourself and your studio.
Next Steps
After the initial interview stage, you can take a number of steps to ensure you choose the best candidate. You may wish to conduct a second round of interviews with some of your favourite candidates to further narrow down your options. Conduct practical demonstrations with the candidate where you can see how they work with with clients. Check references that the candidate has listed. This is an important step to ensure they are credible and you can find out more about how well they will fit with your studio. Offer the job to the best candidate and outline key terms such as hours to be worked and pay terms.
In summary, providing HIIT classes for your members is very important as it is a popular workout today. There are a number of benefits to HIIT workouts and the best way to maximise the benefits for your members is by providing them with the best instructor. If you do not yet have a HIIT instructor, be sure to post on jobs boards and use your network to find great candidates. It is important to look for qualifications to ensure they can safely and effectively run the class!
