I know for some of you, you never thought the day would come that you would choose, or need to, deliver Personal Training or your fitness classes on Zoom. But, here we are.
For many of us in the fitness industry, it was the difference between no income and being able to pay your bills until we were allowed back out in the world (if you made it back!). Since the dust started to settle though, some have chosen to continue to offer sessions online as it’s just so damn flexible.
Although there are plenty of platforms out there you can use to deliver live fitness classes, it seems that Zoom is the one coming out on top right now. Using my experience of Zoom, along with that of Carly (@projecthb) and some nuggets from the Facebook group I run, I’ve put together what you need to know to get yourself set up and ready to deliver your fitness classes on Zoom.
If you have any more specific questions, please feel to leave a comment at the bottom of the post.
What is Zoom?
Put simply, Zoom is a video communication platform. It’s like Skype / FB messenger / Whats App… but on another level. A more professional level to start with.
Although you do not need an account with Zoom to attend meetings, you do need an account to schedule and host meetings.
You can download the Zoom app / software onto a laptop or mobile device (iOS and android).
Getting Yourself Set Up On Zoom
Setting up an account on Zoom is pretty easy. You just need an email address (prob best to use a business one) and a decent picture.
Once you’ve registered you can find your Personal Meeting ID under the Profile tab. This is a link you can use for on-demand or ad-hoc “meetings”.
Zoom Basic vs Zoom Pro
I know for many of us, paying out for another service is something we’re trying not to do, in order to reduce our outgoings but there are some benefits to upgrading to the Zoom Pro account.
| Zoom Basic (free) | Zoom Pro (£11.99/mth/host) |
| up to 100 participants | up to 100 participants |
| 40 mins limit on group meetings | Meeting duration limit is 24 hrs |
| Unlimited number of meetings | Unlimited number of meetings |
The Zoom Pro account comes with added features including (and not limited to):
- Personalised meeting ID
- Additional admin controls (i.e on chat etc)
The main benefit for Fitness Professionals in upgrading is the meeting duration (unless you want to run just 30 minute classes with minimal buffer of time on each side).
A pro account is on a rolling monthly contract so it can be cancelled if/when you decide it is no longer required leaving you with access to the basic features. Zoom seem to email out quite often with a discount if you pay upfront for 12 months too.
Other things to consider:
- Have participants completed a PARQ before attending?
- Is your music licence free?
Get Participants Set Up On Zoom
As mentioned, participants do not need to have an account on Zoom to be able to attend your sessions. They do however, need to have downloaded the app to their laptop or phone in advance of the session.
Make sure you educate everyone as soon as you can to download the software; consider running a set-up session so everyone can test it out and you can show them around and explain how the fitness sessions will run.
Taking Payment For Your Sessions
If you’re not already set up on a booking system like TeamUp, Fitune or BookWhen then the easiest way is probably to use PayPal. This does come with its own pros and cons in regards to fees payable and disputes that can be raised.
Another option is to have your participants deposit directly into your (business) bank account.
Practice, Test Run, Practice, Test Run
If you’re new to Zoom and to teaching online then there would be no harm whatsoever in scheduling a test run with friends / family to get some practice and iron out any technical kinks.
This is also a good opportunity to test out your equipment, your space and sound.
At the very least, you will need:
- laptop
- music source (i.e phone)
- a Zoom account
- speaker
- an external mic (would be really, really handy)
- Carly uses the Blue Snowball microphone*
If the webcam on your laptop isn’t very good, then you could upgrade to something like the Logitech Brio, which has been a popular choice.
FAQ & Sorting Your Sound
This partly comes down to personal preference and partly to what you are covered for on your insurance. Many of the insurance companies (but not all) are stipulating you must be able to see your participants while delivering the session.
Carly has been capping her dance fitness classes at 40 attendees, Mum and Baby classes at 15 whilst other fitness sessions (e.g HIIT) are between 20-30. Having 100 people in your session with the need to see them is likely to make your computer crash.
Well, yes, yes you can. But it doesn’t mean you should. Based on feedback, a laptop is recommended; the screen is bigger, and the camera is better. A laptop will also give you more control over the set up.
Carly shared with us that she connects a microphone to her laptop and plays music through a speaker which is connected to her phone [phone + speaker > mic into laptop].
This set up has worked well for her dance classes. For more technical classes she uses a head mic through a speaker [headset & phone through speaker > mic into laptop].
The sound set up that I recommend and now use is with a mini USB mixer, a head mic and phone for music. I’ve had lots of great feedback since upgrading.
Carly suggested having a fiddle with these settings: mute and stop video > audio settings > advanced > suppress persistent / intermittent background [disable these].
If you are using computer sound only, make sure you select the volume of music (on your device / music software) you want before you share the meeting invite as once you’ve shared it doesn’t register whether you turn the volume up or down. (tip from @aedancefitness)
Yup. There’s this one Carly shared to make sound coming out of your laptop (so running in the background on Spotify) come out sounding good quality via the zoom meeting, to participants: [share screen > basic > share computer sound > advanced > music or computer sound only]
Don’t bother. But if you don’t use a password you have to use the waiting room facility which I actually like for added security and when you let everyone it, it reminds me of opening the doors to the studio!
Mute them. Put everyone on mute in the meeting and have this set up as the standard in your settings. You can also choose to allow whether they can unmute themselves or not. That’s your choice.
Try using your phone to launch the meeting then signing in via your laptop and muting the sound or don’t join the audio on the computer. Let me know if you have a better solution!
This is your own choice, but you should consider the fact you need an income, the costs of upgrading to a pro account on Zoom, value for money of participants and the fact some people are completely without income right now. I’ve seen fitness professionals charging from £3 up to £10.
Again this is your own choice, but really, no-one should be working for free. There is lots of free fitness content out there but there is no one out there who is quite like you! If you’ve already built up an audience and community before all this, they will likely want to keep supporting you.
Yup, sure is. Sign in. Go to Account management > Reports > Active Hosts: choose date range, scroll to the right till you see Participants and click the number for the meeting you are looking for.
Time To Deliver Your Class!
Class is scheduled for 6pm. Are you excited?!
First of all, you need to ensure that all your participants have access to the Zoom session by sharing the link with them. You can either use your Personal meeting ID or you can create a unique meeting ID for each class.
To generate a unique meeting ID, start a new Zoom meeting around 30 minutes before the start of class (with video off, music on) then email the link to participants. Let them know during the sign up process when you will be sending out the link so they look out for it.
My set up using Gymcatch now creates a meeting ID when I create the class in my schedule. The link is accessible via the booking made and I can also choose when they get access and for how long.
Once participants have all joined the meeting, all that’s left is to do is a quick intro and then jump straight into your session. I like to turn off the waiting room once I’ve started class so I don’t have to keep running up to the laptop to let latecomers in.
Keep an eye out on your channels before the session incase anyone has any questions or trouble joining the meeting. Zoom also has a chat function; I imagine everyone will be too busy sweating to use this but you could potentially utilise it for a few minutes at the end if anyone has any questions.
A recent Zoom update added some emojis which I’ve found handy to check in on everyone, especially those whose cameras may not be working. A quick thumbs up lets me know they’re doing okay and keeping up!
If you have another camera (like a GoPro) or even another human being hanging around, set it (them) up to take a few snaps during your session so you can use them later for promotion. Or you can set up a webcam in addition to your inbuilt camera to allow for different angles.
You should also consider creating an on-demand library of online content which can help you to generate more revenue without any additional work.
Encourage participants to take snaps of their own to share on social media which they can tag you in too! User generated content is always handy to have and use at a later date.
TL;DR – How to Host a Fitness Session on Zoom
Host a meeting with video on > open application > join with computer audio (sound through computer ) > invite participants > copy invitation > send email with the link
Optional Recommended Equipment List:
- Ring light with phone holder
- Wireless microphone system
- Set of 2 soft boxes
- Anker bluetooth speaker
- Blue Snowball microphone
- Logitech Brio webcam
I couldn’t end this post without using the word unprecedented… so there it is. I’ve shared my own exact zoom set up for teaching on Zoom in a separate post which I’ve kept updated whenever I’ve made equipment changes.
If there is one thing that has kept us going through the last however many months, it’s the willingness and ability to innovate. It doesn’t have to be forever and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune… but…
You’ve got nothing to lose by jumping in and giving it a go, right?!
Elle
Found this post useful?
That’s great news! You can support me by leaving a comment, sharing with your colleagues, giving me a shout out or buying a me coffee…
Hi Elle, really good job 🙂
I have an issue, I’m doing dance lessons and I need to share with my students the music during our Zoom Session. I’ve bought some fantastic bluetooth headphones, they perfectly work, but when I open my Zoom they stop doing that, I cannot hear nothing except the voice of my students. May you have some tips for that ? Thanks a lot 🙂
Hey Costanza, if your Bluetooth headphones are directly connected to your laptop, you need to open your sound mixer settings on your laptop and make sure all the applications are playing through the headphones and make sure your input (voice) is going through them too. Takes a bit of fiddling about sometimes. If you click on the little arrow next to mute button (in a meeting) I would start there and test your mic and speakers and see what it’s using. Hope this helps!
I have never tried to teach via zoom , I know I need to start but I am terrified
You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but it’s nice to be able to connect with people in some way! Any questions, check out the ‘zoom and fitness instructors uk’ on facebook. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessonzoom
HIII!
Finally…(better late than never ey?!) plucking up the courage to give this a go. Done ONE (!!) IRL class since qualifying, hence my reluctance to essentially start my first (ever!) regular class..online! But here…we go?!
This has been so helpful and I appreciate you sharing your advice and insight… THANKYOU!
Make sure you let me know when it’s scheduled! (I won’t come to the first one unless you say i can lol cos I know it can be off putting having friends there)… AM EXCITED FOR YOU!!
Thanks a lot Elle, your sessions are awesome. You are keeping us healthy and fit hey, big up.
thank you 🙂
Hi this has been very helpful and i am not tec savy so I am actually super stressed about teaching my classes over zoom. So I thank you so much for your time. My biggest stressors is that I still am unsure what is the best wireless mic to use for my PC and zoom . If I want to wear a wireless microphone headset which one could you suggest? There are so many different things on line I am very confused. Sincerely Sandy
Hey Sandy, hope you found yourself a mic! I upgraded to a mic myself a few months ago. Got mine from Sound Dynamics, but Amazon have a few good options too. The main thing is using a mixer to get the balance right between voice and music! Any questions though, lemme know!
Hi Elle,
Thank you for your valuable info. I am teaching 40-minute fitness classes for now, as I didn’t want to pay a monthly Zoom plan until I feel like I have it down smoothly. I am using a Lenovo laptop, which I place on the floor so that my participants can see me standing and also when we get down on the floor. I am totally not tech-savvy at all, and am finding using Zoom to be a huge learning curve for me, as well as completely frustrating! Right now, I am trying to figure out how to get my iTunes music (I’ve read that I have to play my music from the laptop you are using Zoom on) to play during my class. I know how to share the screen, go to Advanced, choose computer sound only, then click share. Then I get stuck trying to get to my iTunes app to bring it up so that I can click on a playlist. I feel completely lost!! Any ideas? Thank you!! Deb Abrams
Hey Deb, trust me, it’s been a learning curve for us all! …I’ve mostly been avoiding music (( just play on a speaker if I feel I need to for the mood) but I’ve just seen a way that might help. Firstly, getting the Zoom subscription gives you more time to set up, and takes the pressure off a fair bit. Then you can log on early and sort everything. I’ve seen someone suggest that in iTunes you go to File > Open Stream URL > enter your zoom meeting ID in that box and your participants will be able to hear your music directly. Let me know if that works and if you need someone to test it on, I’d be more than happy to jump on to try and help 😉
Thank you so much
you are most welcome!
Thanks so much for this advice. I’ve done several Pilates sessions on Zoom and they have generally worked well although my camera position has been the main issue. I’m going to try using my phone as a camera as you’ve suggested with the laptop showing participants
Hope you got your set up sorted Jan!
Lot of good info here, … but a couple of BIG issues with it:
1) A word or 2 that acknowledges that getting the right stuff “in a hurry” is darn hard!
2) Try as I might, I’m not sure what your use of the > symbol means in the all-important section on making sound work.
It could be you’re referring to Zoom menus … or it could be a VERY crude way of saying what gets attached to what.
If you’ve done this and it’s gone smoothly, PLEASE recognize that that is the furthest thing from normal. I’ve seen other blog posts and videos that boil down to this: “Zoom wasn’t meant for a Zumba Class.” It’s not like using a screw driver to open a paint can – everybody does that. It’s like trying to bang a nail in with that same screw driver – SO un-ideal as to be painful.
Hey Mike, thanks for the comment!
1)Do you mean buying the right stuff? Personally, I had everything I needed already, the only thing I had to source were lights and they came on next day delivery through Amazon.
2) oooh when I use the “>” it’s my short hand to represent a sequence of steps. So yup, steps to take / Zoom menus.
When I wrote the post I hadn’t done a class on Zoom yet, but have since run a few sessions and NOPE, my first one did not go smoothly! Carly (in the pictures) actually jumped on to help me get set up after a bit of a sound issue. But I think the thing that has made it easier for me is omitting music (so far) and being used to (being a consumer of) this kind of content. BUT, absolutely agree, it isn’t the norm for the majority, but I would stress, if someone doesn’t feel comfortable delivering sessions in this way, then definitely don’t! It is very tech heavy, whereas Facebook and Instagram are much simpler! Thankfully, this situation is temporary (albeit with no clear ending right now!)!
(p.s also, who knows what our new normal will be. I wonder, if there were blogs in the days someone decided to try using a knife to open a paint can, and they wrote it in a post, if someone would say “it’s not normal!” lol …even if opening a paint can with a knife is intuitive, where do we get that intuition from? As now using smartphones are intuitive… a new normal is always on the horizon!)
Thank you for the information and support. I trialled a class and I have a delay on the sound on my laptop around 3 seconds ahead of participants.. any thoughts? The visual is fine no delay just the music from the laptop and my mic
Hey Dee, it could be don to your internet connection? Be as close to your router as possible, try connecting with an Ethernet cable. It could also be the Zoom servers struggling at busy times. Is your mic connected to your laptop?
If it’s a class that is not set to music, I just don’t use music and tell participants to have their own playlists ready! Hope this helps.
This was invaluable thank you so much ??
Thanks SJ! Will keep an eye out for your sessions… hopefully can make one although not sure I have any dance ability left in me these days lol x