5.8 Client portfolio

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Cliëntportfolio

Class preparation for the practical lesson

Everyone will prepare a class based on the case study detailed in the section below. You should bring this class preparation printed out to the practical.

How do you print a program?

Excel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfwMo6M1XzM
Google spreadsheets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xUnY3taj78
Apple numbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7WX0jXbJYM

Then, just like in Practical Lesson 4, we teach our classes to each other. One student coaches a section while the rest of the group participates in the lesson. During the lesson, everyone will get a chance to teach.

The students and mentors observe your teaching and evaluate you on: leadership, coaching voice, organization and structure, knowledge of energy systems and anatomy. Additionally, we review your class preparation in its entirety. As participants in each other’s classes, make sure you’re able to provide each other with a top (positive feedback) and a tip (area of improvement).

During your one-on-one feedback, the mentors may ask questions. Examples of questions are:

What do you do if someone indicates they have a back injury?
What do you do if someone cannot perform the exercise with proper technique?
Which muscle groups are we targeting with this exercise?
What regression or progression could you offer for an exercise?
In which energy system are we predominantly training here?
Why did you choose this work-rest ratio?
How can you see or hear that someone is training in the right energy system?
How do you coach someone who shoots above their anaerobic threshold while the intention is aerobic?
Why do you coach on power rather than heart rate in the anaerobic circuit?

We aim to train you to become a coach who is confident in front of a group. We achieve this by helping you make thoughtful choices in preparation that lead to a class. You will understand which movements you offer, what energy leaks are and how to provide instructions and adjustments to prevent them. This is how we test the theory.

During the lesson, we observe and listen to your coaching. Be clear, persistent when necessary, bring energy, be professional and don’t forget the social and enjoyment aspects of a class. Remember: you are the professor, the motivator and the trainer.

The case

You are teaching a group of trainers. They come from various disciplines, but all have experience with some form of strength training. You will be giving this lesson in the space where the practical lessons take place and you will have half of this space in which to hold your class (two classes must be given simultaneously).

There are:
– four squat racks
– Barbells
– Dumbbells
– Kettlebells
– Weight plates
– Resistance bands
– Rings
– Benches/boxes
– Cardio equipment (four bikes and four rowing machines)
– And much more…
Expect between six and eight people in the class. The ages range from 18 to 50 years old, and all participants can train for an hour and work in all energy systems.
It’s a new group, and we’d like you to come up with a way of helping everyone get to know each other better.
Ensure clear organization and structure for all training formats in which you as a coach have ample space to coach.

The goal: Teaching various movement patterns and designing a circuit training that focuses on the anaerobic lactic system.

Warm-up

This will consist of the following two components:

Start with a general warm-up in the form of a playful and simple introduction. Think of a warm-up where you are active for about five minutes, without any complicated elements. In addition to warming up the body and activating the sympathetic system, you also want to get to know each other in a playful way.
a. Consider sharing fun facts about yourself with a buddy or the group.
Specific – connected to one of the blocks from Key Component 1
a. We want you to mobilize muscles, activate them and practice a movement pattern from Key Component 1. This means you must perform at least three exercises.
b. Perform at least two sets (two rounds) per movement, so that you can go through the full coaching cycle. Quality of movement is also a priority in the warm-up.

Duration: You have between 10 and 15 minutes for this component.

In this warm-up, also start coaching lightly on conditioning: the heart rate may rise gradually and the client should still be able to breathe through the nose and hold a conversation. This way you introduce coaching on breathing and heart rate right at the start.

Key Component 1

You will create three combination sets (Block 1, 2 and 3), each with a different intention. During the practical lesson, you will teach one of the strength blocks. After the warm-up, you’ll do a maximum of one warm-up set, followed by at least three working sets.

Make sure to write out and explain all three blocks on your class plan form, including the organizational structure and didactic methods you plan to use.

Duration: Each block should take between 10 and 15 minutes. This includes introduction, explanation and working sets.

Block 1

Reps and rest: Choose what fits here. A small rep range is fine, such as 6-8 reps, but 2-8 is too broad. More rest is often needed when training for strength. Make sure the individuals physically and mentally recover between sets.

Intention: We are working on our strength. Neurological adaptation with submaximal to maximal weights. What works well in a group class and how do you deal with different levels? We want clients to be challenged to maintain movement quality, but still approach technical failure.

Block 2

Reps and rest: You choose what fits here. A small rep range is fine, such as 10-12 reps, but 6-15 is too broad. Make sure the muscles have recovered enough for the next set.

Intention: Here we’ll focus on hypertrophy. This is a morphological adaptation with submaximal weights to create a lot of fatigue in the muscle. How do you ensure that the right muscle gets maximally fatigued? What is achievable in a group class?

Block 3

Reps and rest: You choose what fits here. A small rep range is fine, 6-15 is too broad. No extra rest.

Intention: Improving movement quality in the context of the shoulder blade and controlling the trunk independent of the limbs in an anti-extension exercise. A plank is too easy, challenge yourself to choose another movement and learn to coach it perfectly. Which muscles move the shoulder blades and which joints influence the movement of the shoulder blade? You can go in many directions with this, justify your choices.

Key Component 2

You’ll create two circuits that flow into each other and have different intentions. We would like you to be able to explain, based on the theory, how you made your choices.

The class plan form should clearly show the organization, how you’ll monitor the work-rest ratio, how you ensure participants can maintain the desired intensity, how much volume you plan to offer and what your instructional guidance will be.

Duration: You have between 20 and 30 minutes for this circuit.

In addition to organization and technique, in these circuits you also deliberately coach on conditioning. Which signal you use depends on the energy system: for an anaerobic effort you steer on power and acidosis, for an aerobic effort on heart rate and breathing. Work out for each circuit what you coach on and why (think back to the ramp test and the thresholds from Lesson 4).

Circuit 1: Anaerobic lactic + core

We would like you to program a challenging 12-minute lower body workout, including a qualitative element that challenges the core. Ensure that this does not hinder the ability to optimally repeat the main stimulus. You have complete freedom to choose your own work-rest ratio. So choose two exercises: one to provide the lactic stimulus and one to qualitatively coach the core and recover for the next sprint.

Coaching on conditioning: this is an anaerobic, lactic effort. Coach on power and its decline across the rounds, and on the acidosis and recovery between efforts. Heart rate is not a good measure here: during a short, explosive effort the heart rate lags behind and says little about the actual intensity. Describe on your form how you see this and adjust it, for example adapting the pace or the rest if power drops too much.

Circuit 2: High-intensity aerobic workout with weights or bodyweight

Select five exercises and choose a rep range or time that ensures your goal is achieved. The use of cardio machines, running, jumping jacks and jump rope is not allowed, but all other movements are. The intention is for you to figure out how a workout with weights can train conditioning of the entire body, think of cyclical movements here. You can put a bit more emphasis on a certain part of the body. Don’t forget that the workout should be challenging and intense.

For this circuit, use CrossFit-style workouts as inspiration. Review the CrossFit workout chapter if you need to refresh your memory. Here’s what we’re looking for:

You should maintain a steady pace at a medium/high heart rate (75-90%) for about 15 minutes.
The workout primarily uses your aerobic system, but you’ll experience spikes of anaerobic lactic activity in specific body parts. This is why you have the option to focus more on particular muscle groups.
This is NOT an interval workout. You’ll switch between weight-focused movements and conditioning movements for different stimuli. While this may feel similar to intervals, there are no specific rest periods.
Keep the weights light—your focus should be on maintaining steady movement, proper technique and elevated heart rate.

Coaching on conditioning: this is a high-aerobic effort. Coach on heart rate and on breathing or the talk test. The goal is for the client to stay mostly between the aerobic threshold (LT1) and the anaerobic threshold (LT2), with the occasional spike at or above LT2 in the heavier sections. Without a heart rate monitor you use the talk test: if short sentences are still possible, they are in the right zone; if talking is no longer possible and acidosis rises, they are going above LT2 and you bring the pace back down. Describe on your form what you watch for and how you adjust.

Cool-down

Conclude the training session and offer three guided stretches to mobilize the muscle groups/joints that we have trained the most.

Duration: The entire lesson should not exceed 70 minutes in total.

Frequently asked questions about the case

Is it correct that we need to create an anaerobic lactic circuit?
Yes, that’s correct. In Lesson 4, you’ll find an overview of the energy systems. There you can find the work-rest ratio, intensity and volume specific to training this system. Tip: keep it simple and load this system specifically.
Do we teach the entire class?
No, we will rotate. You will prepare the entire class: you work out all the blocks and circuits, but you only teach one of them. We evaluate your full preparation, but you only coach one component. Which component will it be? You’ll find out when you get to the practical.
Does the playful introduction need to be active?
No, that’s not necessary. Playful can be interpreted more broadly. For example, think of activities where people get to know each other better by asking questions, or activities that require mental effort. It can also be active and physically challenging, the choice is yours. For inspiration, you can visit a website like this one.

What you can expect in the practical lesson

During the practical lesson, we will all be teaching again, this time based on your homework for this lesson. Each student will have at least one opportunity to teach the group.

Prepare your homework in such a way that you can provide an excellent group class experience to your fellow students as a coach and motivator.