Safety is the foundation of the SilverSneakers® Well-Balanced program. As an instructor, your ability to identify and manage potential risks is essential. Unlike one-on-one settings, group exercise classes require broader awareness and proactive planning to keep participants safe.
Minimum of Three
Instructor safety cues should be given at least three times per class, focusing on:
- Breathing
- Hydration
- Posture
- Perceived exertion
Breathing
- Cue for continuous breath throughout class with no breath holding.
- Encourage exhalation on exertion phase of exercise during resistance training to promote even blood pressure and discourage blood pressure spikes.
- Any verbal interaction and feedback that takes place with your participants will encourage consistent breathing. During your class, a fun and intentional way to encourage breathing is to ask your students to count down repetitions with you (i.e., 4, 3, 2, 1). An even better idea is to have them count down in another language, like Spanish, French or Japanese.
- Use restorative and relaxing breathing techniques during the Cool-Down and Final Stretch phase of class.
Hydration
- Give your participants at least three opportunities to hydrate during class. Consider giving even more water breaks if your class offers higher intensity options or if the weather is dry or hot.
- As we age, our thirst mechanism begins to deteriorate, so reminders to drink during exercise become extremely important for the older adult.
Posture
- Use cues that encourage upright posture like “sit tall,” “bring the chest up with shoulders back and down,” “lengthen the spine, reach the crown of the head toward the ceiling.”
- Encourage participants to sit forward on the chair without the support of the chair back when it is safe to do so. This simple forward body placement will encourage a more upright posture and higher engagement of core muscles. Removing the support of the chair back makes simply sitting upright a core workout!
Perceived Exertion
- Use the SilverSneakers Perceived Exertion (PE) chart, which is numbered from 1 to 10, in every single SilverSneakers class. Review it before class and use it throughout.
- This chart is an important tool for instructors, mitigating participant risk by assisting instructors to correctly monitor exertion levels as they teach. By using the PE chart with purpose, instructors can adapt the intensity level of movements and individual exercises more efficiently during each class.
- Make sure to review the chart at the beginning of class, or during your pre-class management, and create the expectation of feedback from your participants, so you can use participant feedback to teach your class safely and effectively.
- Ask your students to use the numbers or color zones on the chart for more effective communication.
- Avoid cues like “I’m a 5 on the PE Chart. What number are you?” as this will encourage your class members to mimic your exertion level, thereby decreasing the accuracy of their feedback.
Emergency and Environmental Safety
- Know the exit route and emergency contact of your facility.
- Ensure your exercise space is clear of clutter and tripping hazards.
- Chairs, weights, and water bottles should be stored under chairs.
- Cue safe retrieval of handheld weights or water: “Step to side, support on thigh, reach laterally.”
Class Size Management and Proper Footwear
- Add a second staff member in large rooms or when class size exceeds 30 participants.
- Consider a second class if the current one consistently exceeds capacity.
- Require athletic shoes, no sandals or flip-flops.
In the next lesson, you’ll learn some best practices, from intensity variations to clear cueing and effective demonstrations.