Apparently the hardest part of Technique Tuesday is saying Technique Tuesday.
We put a camera in front of Cloud, ask her to introduce a couple of movements, and suddenly we have enough material for a blooper video.
Start the intro. Nope. Start again. Get a few words out. Laugh. Try one more time.
If you haven’t watched it yet, please do. I am absolutely going to give her a hard time about this.
Watch Coach Cloud’s Technique Tuesday bloopers on YouTube
But I also want to say something about the person in that video.
Cloud is a great coach. And getting through an introduction without restarting has very little to do with why.
When you’re looking for a personal trainer in Baytown, it’s easy to judge somebody by what you see online. Does their video look professional? Do they sound confident? Can they explain everything in one clean take while pointing at words that pop up on the screen?
Those things can make a good video.
But when you’re standing in front of a client who doesn’t understand what you’re asking them to do, you need more than a good intro.
You need to communicate.
Can you explain the movement in a way that makes sense to that person? Can you notice when they’re confused, even if they haven’t said anything? Can you try a different cue instead of repeating the same thing louder?
That’s coaching.
A video keeps going whether somebody understands it or not. A coach gets to watch, listen and respond.
Maybe you demonstrate a squat and the person gets it right away. Great. Maybe the next person needs you to break it down, adjust the setup or give them something different to think about.
You have to meet the person in front of you.
That’s what I value about Cloud. She cares about the person she’s working with. The point is helping them understand and giving them something they can do, then building from there.
And yes, I’m biased. She’s Cloud.
I’m also a coach, and I know there’s a difference between being able to perform a movement, explain a movement to a camera, and teach a person how to do it.
Those are separate skills.
You can watch somebody demonstrate an exercise perfectly and still have no idea how to make your own body do it. That’s when having somebody beside you helps.
Somebody who can say, try this. Let me see that again. How does that feel?
That conversation matters.
For a beginner, it might be what makes the difference between asking for help and quietly deciding this gym isn’t for them.
Nobody wants to feel embarrassed because they didn’t understand an instruction. Nobody wants to be the person holding up the class. And when you’re already nervous about starting, even a small moment like that can feel big.
I want people at BayWay CrossFit to feel comfortable asking questions. That goes for our CrossFit classes, personal training and Train With Cloud ladies classes.
You aren’t supposed to arrive knowing everything. Teaching is part of what you’re coming here for.
Honestly, that’s another reason I like this blooper video.
You get to see Cloud working through something that isn’t coming out exactly how she wants it to. She restarts. She laughs. She tries again.
That’s familiar territory in a gym.
You try a movement and it feels awkward. You forget what comes next. Your coach explains something and you need to hear it another way.
It’s okay. We can work with that.
If your coach can laugh at herself over a video intro, hopefully you can give yourself a little room to be new at something too.
We make Technique Tuesday videos because we want to help people learn. Sometimes that means sharing a useful demonstration. Apparently sometimes it also means sharing every possible way an introduction can go sideways.
Cloud, thank you for giving us both.
And for anybody watching who is looking for women’s fitness classes or personal training near Mont Belvieu and Baytown, come meet her in person. Ask questions. Tell her what you’re working toward and what you’re nervous about.
You’ll get a much better idea of the coach she is from that conversation than from counting how many takes this video needed.
I think Coach Cloud is the best. The bloopers aren’t changing my mind.
They are, however, staying on the internet.