Learning by Discovery

Give an adult a microphone and, perhaps alongside a dollop of panic, their primary thoughts might be centred around talking, or signing, into it. And in most cases, they won't know what to sing or say, so it'll likely be mostly silence, eventually punctuated by a variation on 'hello..'.

Give a child a microphone, and for the next 10 minutes the room will be filled with farts, race cars, laser beams, songs, screams, burps, horses, monsters, thuds, scratches, squeaks, birds, animals, weather, explosions, and a broad range of accents, tones, volume, and joyful gobbledygook.

Unless, you hand the child the microphone after demonstrating how to sing or speak into it, and teach them how to do the same. That way, when the child is an adult, they will be able to pick up a microphone, hold it proficiently, stand the right way, and deliver a speech or song with clarity, confidence, and competence.

Lovely.

Unless, the audience aren't all that interested in songs and speeches, but would really love to hear some fart noises. I recently delivered a workshop to a group of fitness professionals, and set them the task to come up with as many exercises as they could (that didn't include standing bicep curls, tricep push downs, face pulls, lat raises, or chest presses), using a duel sided fully loaded and fully adjustable cable station.

Zero.

That's how many they came up with. After watching them fruitlessly, but certainly enthusiastically, take to the task (the whole while not even touching the kit once) for a full 6 minutes, I interjected. I offered encouragement, but also reassurance, and before long, one of them had come up with something that none of us in the room had ever seen before.

As educators, sometimes our job involves telling or showing or explaining things, but sometimes it requires things to be felt, experienced, and critically, discovered. The goal, perhaps, is informed, but independent thinking.

The fitness industry has become skilled, highly skilled, in creating the most amazing exercise environments, filled with the most amazing exercise equipment, but it has also become poor, extremely poor, at creating even perfunctory educational environments, filled with screens and solitude and presenters - all of which are good and fine, but have minimal impact without teachers and time and investment in face to face learning.

And the blast radius extends far beyond a low score on creativity at a cable station. As fast as gyms are opening, gyms are closing (ok that might not be actual science but a lot of gyms are closing), and as fast as new exciting equipment is designed and manufactured, that same equipment is later being removed, and in some instances discontinued.

People connect people to experience, to equipment, to environments, and to other people. If we don't invest in people, through education, learning, training, and ongoing development, that connection is weakened, or even lost.

Something that has excited me this year is one of our leading, premium gyms, investing in face to face education for new fitness professionals. Supported by online learning, quite rightly, but with more physical contact time (more than almost any other training organisation in the country), in the classroom, on the gym floor, with real teachers, and as part of an actual cohort of fellow students. A meaningful, life altering, shared experience.

Maybe in 2025 we will focus a little less of our time on being clever, and a little more on being good. Because where clever means more apps and screen time and presentations, good means more gyms, more cool kit, more exciting spaces, more members, more clients, more engagement, more retention, more revenue, more success, more impact, and a world with more gorgeously healthy, socially connected, and mentally resilient people.

It's surely, win win from every which way you look at it, and for everyone (please feel free to point out the flaws in my halcyon vision), whatever their personal and professional aspirations, but we must be proactive (normally I'd have a sneaky mention of CIMSPA at this point but it doesn't seem fair during the festive season) and not rely on those in positions of responsibility, hoping they will hold themselves and others to account and raise standards and promote a culture of education and encourage excellence and whatnot anytime soon.

Get your teams together regularly to discus, explore, share, and brainstorm. And if you're investing in new kit, or a new space, or a new training proposition next year, invest in the face to face learning that will give you the best chance of being successful, and sustainable.

Let's bring back independent thought, and learning by discovery. Let's raise the game. Let's be magnificant.