How do you deal with new instructors who are arrogant and cocky?
I work at a university fitness center and run into this problem all the time. I call it “I can ride a bike, I can teach a group fitness cycling class” or “I can do a bicep curl, I can personal train anyone”. It is a fine line trying to encourage the students, but at the same time making them realize there is SO MUCH more to learn. How do you tame that cocky and arrogant attitude? The continuing education for these newbies just stops because they know it all. As an educator I am up for some ideas.
I admit that I was (and even now give the impression that) somewhat arrogant and cocky initially in the fitness industry. I start off coaching and found it necessary to project an Alpha Dog attitude with my team. It carried over into my fitness instruction for a while as well. But with time and experience I found myself being able to turn it on and off as necessary. And after being presented with situations for which I had no clue on how to safely proceed, I realized that I needed to choose to either get educated or refer to those that are educated. Luckily, I was realizing this when a few physicians in my area were looking for someone to assist their post rehab clients. They taught me a great deal and directed my continuing education so I was not wasting time of fluff courses.
New instructors in fitness are not unlike any other profession. Those that are too cool for school will not last. I try very hard to practice what I preach and lead by example. And in my CEC courses, I encourage instructors to find errors in my process. It helps them become better students. And it helps me become a better teacher and student myself.
Today I have issues with appearing arrogant (or maybe I just am arrogant) when it comes to fitness professionals who follow the latest sound bite or news story and don’t take the time to research the information. I have no patience for this type of instructor. And I often can’t hold my tongue when I hear one parroting things like “stretching is unnecessary” or “these supplements will give you the body you are looking for”. I take being a fitness professional very seriously. I expect other fitness professionals to do the same.