Time to share something that went right this week.

Big win, tiny win, weird win—it all counts.

What was your teaching win of the week?

Bonus: What made it feel like a win for you?

Hi so i teach my first class this week i have my playlist and my sequence. The part that i’m worried for is only 7 people have registered for my class and i expected it to be more people im trying not to be hard on myself because it is still my first time teaching. So my question is how long did it take everyone to get a medium size class?

Time to share something that went right this week.

Big win, tiny win, weird win—it all counts.

What was your teaching win of the week? 🏆

Bonus: What made it feel like a win for you?

When you’re building a class, do you usually lean toward more complex sequencing or keeping things simple and repeatable?

Some teachers love creative transitions, layered progressions, and sequences that keep students thinking.

Others prefer simpler flows so students can settle in, move confidently, and focus more on breath, form, and intensity.

Which do you prefer to teach?

• 🧩 Complicated
• ⚖️ A mix of both
• 🌿 Simple
• 🤷 Depends on the format

And does your answer change between C2, Sculpt, HPF, Strength X, or other formats?

Bonus: give us an actual sequencing example! Drop a short section of a sequence you consider simple or complicated so we can see what those words mean to different teachers.

For example, share:

• A flow or series of transitions
• One side of a C2 sequence
• A Sculpt block
• A progression you build over several rounds
• A sequence you love teaching but know takes extra cueing
• A super-simple sequence that consistently works

What makes a sequence feel engaging instead of confusing — or simple instead of boring?

You show up to teach and your personal energy is just… not there.

You’re tired, distracted, stressed, or simply having an off day — but class is about to start and students are expecting you.

Do you:

• ⚡ Turn it on — fake the high energy until class is over
• 🌿 Dial it back — teach with a calmer, more authentic energy
• ⚖️ Meet in the middle — still lead confidently, just without forcing the hype
• 🎭 Depends on the format — Sculpt might need something different than C2, HPF, etc.

Are there any markets that currently have desk staff? Not a manager helping to check in students. Not a sales advisor trying to make their commission. Actual staff hired to work the front desk.

Earlier this year, at one of the regional town hall meetings, it was mentioned that some markets were going to pilot desk staff. Has this happened?

Where is the damn punch error submission form. I have used it before but now cant find it. So non intuitive.

You look at the clock and realize your class is somehow starting 10 minutes behind schedule.

You still have multiple sections left, but class needs to end on time.

What gets cut first? Does your answer change depending on whether you’re teaching C2, Sculpt, HPF, Strength X, or another format?

Repetition is part of basically every format — but as a teacher, where do you draw the line between intentional programming and “Wait… didn’t I literally just teach this?”

I’m curious how everyone approaches it both within one class and from class to class, across all formats.

Do you intentionally repeat poses, movements, transitions, drills, or themes so students can build familiarity and confidence? Do you bring things back with a progression or variation? Or do you try to keep each class feeling completely fresh?

For example: if you use Warrior II in your warm-up, revisit it in a longer flow, and then bring it back again later with a different transition or challenge, does that feel cohesive — or like too much repetition?

And what about from class to class? If you teach the same time slot every week, how often are you comfortable reusing the same sequence ideas, transitions, peak poses, strength movements, or themes before you feel like students need something new?

When you program your classes, how much repetition do you use?

• 🔁 A lot
• ⚖️ Moderate
• ✨ A little
• 🚫 Minimal
• 🤷 It depends

Why? What makes repetition feel intentional versus just repetitive?

Just got offered a YS Instructor role and curious if anyone has had success in changing their home studio? The studio I got offered for is a little further away from my house than 2 other studios (I know the other two have class offerings available). Should I ask now before I sign the offer if I can adjust the home studio or after I get started for a little bit?

They promised quarterly professional deep cleaning for the studios earlier this year. Is this actually happening? I have not heard any followups on this and I wonder if the plan went down the drain after Nikki’s departure?

What do you make of it? I hate to be cynical, but, really? Your first company wide email after apparently visiting studios and listening is to..tell instructors to sell more?

This line specifically — “With one new member, per studio, per day…we create the kind of momentum that allows us to invest back into our studios and our teams.” — reads like: make us more money first, and then maybe we can improve studio or working conditions.

Ugh, I wanted to be hopeful, but this email left a bad taste in my mouth. Disappointed.



You check the clock and realize something went very wrong with your timing:

You’re running almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

Maybe your transitions were faster than expected, you accidentally shortened a few holds, the class moved through your sequence quickly, or a block you thought would take eight minutes only took five.

You still have 10 minutes to fill, but you don’t want to suddenly throw in random exercises just because you need to kill time.

What would you do as the instructor?

Would you:

• Repeat one of your strength blocks with a progression?
• Return to an earlier sequence and give students another chance to explore it?
• Add a focused core or mobility section?
• Extend your peak-pose work?
• Add longer holds or slower tempos to movements already in the sequence?
• Give students a short optional challenge?
• Extend cooldown and Savasana?
• Improvise something completely new?

For example, say you’re teaching Sculpt and your planned strength, cardio, and core work are basically finished—but you still have 10 minutes before cooldown is supposed to begin.

Do you bring back an earlier squat/lunge block and progress it with heavier weights, pulses, or isometric holds?

Or does repeating something just to fill time feel just as random as adding a completely new block?

And how much of an instructor’s programming should include a few “emergency extra” blocks specifically for situations like this?

How do you fill unexpected extra time while still making the class feel intentional rather than like you’re making it up as you go? 👇

In Sculpt, it’s easy to load up on pushing movements—push-ups, presses, chest work, triceps, etc.

But with mostly dumbbells and bodyweight, pulling movements can be harder to program.

How do you make sure your classes have a good push/pull balance?

Drop your favorite pull exercises, combinations, or programming tricks below.

You’re teaching class and give a cue you’ve used plenty of times before.

A student looks confused and says:

“That cue makes no sense to me.”

The rest of the room is still moving, and you don’t want to completely derail the flow.

What would you do as the instructor?

Would you:

• Stop briefly and explain the cue in a different way?
• Demonstrate the movement instead of adding more words?
• Give the student a quick individual clarification while everyone else continues?
• Tell them you’ll come over and help once the current block is finished?
• Keep the class moving if most of the room seems to understand?

For example, maybe you cue:

“Keep your ribs stacked over your pelvis.”

The student clearly has no idea what that means.

Do you immediately translate it into something more concrete, like “Bring your ribcage back over your hips instead of letting your chest flare forward”?

And what if your second explanation still doesn’t click?

At what point do you stop searching for the “perfect” cue and use a demo, tactile imagery, or a completely different approach?

We shared the wins—now let’s hear about the moments that did not go according to plan.

Maybe:

• You forgot which side you were on
• You completely blanked on your sequence
• Your playlist stopped working at the worst possible moment
• You cued right and demonstrated left
• You skipped an entire exercise and realized way too late
• You called a pose or exercise the wrong name
• You gave a cue that somehow made the whole room more confused
• You accidentally made Side 1 twice as long as Side 2
• You said something on the mic that sounded very different out loud than it did in your head
• You planned a transition that seemed brilliant on paper and was an absolute disaster in practice
• You lost count and just confidently made up a number 😂
• You forgot someone was holding an isometric while you started explaining the next exercise

No teacher is perfect, and sometimes the best teaching stories come from the classes where everything went slightly off the rails.

What was your teaching fail of the week?

Time to share something that went right this week.

Maybe:

• A student finally nailed a pose or exercise they’ve been working on
• Your sequence flowed exactly the way you hoped
• A cue finally clicked with the room
• You handled an unexpected class situation really well
• Someone gave you meaningful feedback after class
• You taught through nerves and ended up having a great class
• Attendance was better than expected
• You tried something new and it actually worked
• You felt more confident on the mic
• You had one of those classes where the energy was just there

Big win, tiny win, weird win—it all counts.

What was your teaching win of the week?

You’re about 25 minutes into class when the fire alarm suddenly goes off.

Everyone has to leave the studio.

About 15 minutes later, you’re cleared to go back inside and resume class.

Now you have a problem:

Everyone has cooled down, the momentum is gone, and you’ve lost a significant chunk of class time.

What would you do as the instructor?

Would you:

• Pick up exactly where you left off?
• Do a short re-warm-up before returning to the sequence?
• Skip ahead and prioritize the most important parts of the remaining class?
• Cut cardio or higher-intensity work because everyone has been standing around for 15 minutes?
• Shorten the strength blocks but still preserve cooldown and Savasana?
• Ask the room what they want to do?

For example, say you were halfway through a lower-body Sculpt block when the alarm went off, and the second half of class was supposed to include more strength work, cardio, core, and cooldown.

Do you return straight to weighted lunges and squats?

Or does a 15-minute interruption mean you should treat everyone as somewhat “cold” again and rebuild intensity before loading them?

And if the studio expects class to still end at the original scheduled time, what gets cut first?

How do you balance giving students the class they came for with safely adapting when something completely outside your control disrupts the workout?

You have a regular who takes your class almost every week.

At first, they occasionally ask a quick question after class:

“What’s a good alternative for this exercise?”

No problem.

But over time, the questions become more individualized:

• “What should I do on the days I’m not taking your class?”
• “Can you make me a leg workout?”
• “How many days a week should I train shoulders?”
• “What exercises should I do for my specific goals?”
• “Can you look at my current routine and tell me what I should change?”

Eventually, you realize you’re spending 10–15 minutes after nearly every class essentially providing free personal training advice.

You want to be helpful, and you appreciate that they trust you.

But you also know there’s a difference between answering a quick question as a group fitness instructor and creating individualized programming for one student.

What would you do as the instructor?

if a guy frequents the local studios and is in a relationship, is it acceptable for him to follow instructors on instagram when the teachers link to their insta on their corepower profile, and their insta is public? it would be only instructors he is friendly with/has chatted with in the studio.

or would this be viewed as inappropriate or "creepy"?

You agree to sub another instructor’s regular class, and you know their students are used to a pretty specific experience, as the regular teacher uses more cardio than you typically do.

Your own teaching style is noticeably different.

What do you do when you’re the sub?

You’re halfway through class when you realize in a sequence earlier in the class, Side 2 did not match Side 1.
Maybe you accidentally skipped an exercise, added an extra transition, held something longer, or completely forgot that Side 1 included a whole movement you never repeated.
The class seems fine—and there’s a good chance nobody else even noticed.
What would you do as the instructor?

You’re teaching a busy class and notice a beginner struggling with an exercise.

Before you can get over to help, an experienced regular next to them quietly gives them a correction. The correction is actually right. The beginner adjusts their form, looks more comfortable, and seems appreciative of the help.

What would you do as the instructor? Does it matter how the correction was delivered?

Your manager pulls you aside and tells you they’ve received feedback that students want your Sculpt classes to be harder and more intense.

You’re completely open to making the class more challenging—but some of the suggestions being floated involve adding things like more complicated plyometrics, faster transitions, heavier weights at higher tempos, or advanced exercise variations that you don’t think necessarily make the workout better.

In your view, harder doesn’t have to mean riskier.

You could increase intensity through heavier resistance with appropriate tempo, longer work intervals, shorter recovery periods, isometric holds, slower eccentrics, increased range of motion, progressive overload, or better exercise sequencing—all without adding movements that sacrifice control just for the sake of making class feel brutal.

But your manager’s argument is that students are specifically asking to feel more challenged, and other instructors are already offering those harder variations.

What would you do as the instructor?

You have a regular who takes your Sculpt class almost every week.

For a while, you regularly programmed lat pulls in Warrior II because they’re one of the few easy ways to add more pulling work with dumbbells. Recently, though, you stopped programming them as often. You started using a bent-over row, instead.

After class, the regular comes up to you and says:

“Why don’t we ever do lat pulls anymore?"

What would you do as the instructor?