When I first started teaching Spinning classes, one of the instructors that I team taught with had a ton of feedback for me regarding who I am as an instructor. Sometimes, when you hear you got a ton of feedback and notes, it might seem like a bad thing. As though the reason for the copious amount of notes is due to being bad. However, that was not the case. This time, it was about seeing my potential and wanting to pull it all out right away.

Anyway, a lot of the feedback was regarding showing who I am as a person. Making it known in that short time of guiding people in their ride just exactly who I am as well. Sometimes that can seem hard to do when you don’t want to talk too much. It is as though if you don’t talk, then no one will know you are. And it is important in classes to just shut up at times and let the members do what they need to do.

In trying to figure this out, I asked my “friends” on Facebook to tell me how they’d describe me to someone who didn’t know me. I got hardly any responses which leads me to believe one of two things, neither of which is good. Anyway, it was on to another way to “find out” who I am.

Yes, I can sort of show who I am in the music selections that I make, but sometimes people do not pay attention to the music to know that I chose a particular song because there is a lyric that says something I want the class to know. For instance, I have one song where the singer says “head up, head up keep holding your head up.” That is something I might say occasionally to people to make sure the head is in a neutral position. Of course, it was only recently I realized this was a line in the song and that it just so happens to fall in a place where I might say this to people in class because they start to get tired and let form go.

Or the other song titled Sweat where the singer says, “I just make you sweat” and this is one where I knew immediately that it was being said. I actually chose that song for that reason so I can have an opportunity to possibly joke that if you aren’t sweating by now, then perhaps you need to work a bit harder if you came to sweat and get a good workout.

However, in my brief time as an instructor, I have seen that some club locations make it easier for me than others to show who I am or at least who I possibly am. Part of this is just that some club’s have members who are very interactive. Those members are not shy about saying they like something or don’t like something. And while that can be intimidating, I truly appreciate it. Then there are others who just don’t say much so you are never sure if you are doing what those members need. But after class those same people will let you know how things went. And I also appreciate this as well.

Both groups and all different types have a way of just making me work so much harder to make sure they have an excellent workout with me. I am sure eventually I will figure out who I am. And hopefully whoever that person is, she really is able to connect with participants and have them coming back for more of my personality and classes.