Instructor Guide
Cueing & Coaching
Cueing
Cueing tells people what to do — the where and when of the body in space. Clear, simple, immediate. It holds the room up and keeps movement correct.
Coaching
Coaching is how you get people there. It goes deeper — building understanding, confidence, and long-term growth. It is the reason people come back to your class.
Instructing the where and when
Cueing is about giving clear, specific, timely instructions during movement. It helps with technique, timing, and safety. It is often reactive and moment-to-moment — adjusting in real time to what you see in the room.
People want to do what you are saying — they will follow you. If cues are too fast or too complicated, clients feel unsuccessful. Cueing is what holds the room up and together. When clients move correctly, the energy in the room follows.
Cueing makes people feel supported, so they have space to push themselves. They will trust you in the most challenging moments and follow you into levelling up.
The 3 M's — Mechanics · Muscles · Motivation
Instead of talking continuously to fill space, focus on the progression of your coaching. Follow the Mechanics → Muscles → Motivation ladder — and take time in between to observe the room, watch what clients are actually doing, and offer real-time corrections.
This shifts you from filling space with words to intentional coaching that changes how clients move and feel. It creates a natural build of energy — clients first get their body in position, then feel the work, then get pushed mentally. A crescendo of effort that leaves clients feeling both challenged and successful.
Set up and form
Starting position, alignment, range of motion, tempo, and what stays still vs what moves.
"Feet hip-width apart, soft bend in the knees."
"Slow on the way down, controlled on the way up."
Mind-muscle connection
Direct attention to the muscle working and how to maximise tension in it.
"You should feel this in your glutes and hamstrings."
"Feel your core lift and your shoulders stabilize."
Push them past the limit
Once they are in position and feeling the work, coach them past their breaking point.
"Stay with it — you've got 10 seconds."
"Strong finish — last few reps."
Example — any format: Mechanics: "Feet hip-width, hips back, chest tall — load through the heels." Muscles: "Feel your glutes loading at the bottom — that's the tension you're looking for." Motivation: "Strong finish — last five, make them count."
Mechanics in detail
Where the body sets up. Alignment and stance. "Feet hip-width apart." "Hands at shoulder height." "Neutral spine, soft knees."
How far to move. Direction and depth. "Lower until your thighs are parallel." "Full extension at the top."
Speed and rhythm of movement. "Slow on the way down, explosive on the way up." "Two counts down, two counts up."
What stays still while something else moves. "Keep your hips square." "Shoulders away from ears — no shrugging."
Go over class equipment
Before class begins, take a moment to orient clients to the equipment they'll be using — especially new clients. This reduces confusion during movement and means your cues land immediately rather than getting lost in setup.
Point out where everything is and how it works. Adjustments, resistance settings, grip positions, safety features. Any format-specific terminology they'll hear during class.
A client who is confused about their equipment cannot follow your cues. Getting orientation right before class means your cueing does its job — and clients feel capable from the first rep.
Internal cues
Internal cues direct attention toward specific muscles, joint position, and sensory feedback. They create mind-to-muscle connection and are most effective for learning new movements, correcting technique, and muscular targeting. In every move, name the muscle and how to maximise tension in it.
Learning new movements — correcting specific technique — muscle recruitment — beginners or anyone coming back from injury.
Can cause overthinking in high-speed or dynamic movements. In advanced movers, too many internal cues during performance can actually get in the way.
External cues
External cues direct attention to the outcome of movement — something outside the body. Research shows external cues generally boost performance by allowing more automatic, fluid movement. They are superior for speed, power, balance, and agility, and promote better long-term skill retention.
Performance and power — speed and agility — experienced movers — any moment where fluidity matters more than precise positioning.
Less effective for learning complex or highly precise movements — particularly with beginners who need to understand form before performance.
Beginners benefit from internal cues to understand body position. Experienced movers perform better with external cues. Lead with internal to teach — shift to external to push.
Timing
Make your counts actually match
We count by time, not reps. Accurate countdowns build trust. If you cue 10 seconds and hold for 25, you lose the room — and their confidence in you.
Anchor the class to time
Tell clients when they reach halfway, the last 10 minutes, and the final minute. The end of class is what people remember most — make it count.
Cue early, not late
Give the next cue before clients need it — not as they're already mid-movement. Anticipatory cueing keeps the room smooth and confident.
Use of names
You must use every client's name meaningfully at least twice per class. Most of the time it should be used to model what you want — praising and directing in the same breath.
One name per cue. Use a different client's name for each cue in a sequence. This avoids the filler word "she" and spreads your attention across the whole room.
Instead of: "Ashley has her arms long, she is lifting her core, she is moving slowly"
Say: "Ashley has her arms long — Lucy is lifting her core — Tanya is controlling the tempo."
Cues to avoid
Getting people past their limits
Coaching goes deeper than instruction. It builds understanding, confidence, and long-term growth. It is how you guide clients through discomfort, sharpen technique, and help them discover what they are truly capable of.
People can take workouts anywhere. They come back for your coaching. Your coaching is what gets people to their goals, builds loyalty, creates community, and separates DRIP from every other option they have.
Your role
The mind gives up before the body. When clients are closest to their physical breakthrough, that is when they want to quit. Your job is to bridge that gap.
Cueing speaks to the body. Coaching speaks to the mind. When you combine both, clients access their strongest output, deepest focus, and most meaningful progress.
Cue early. Observe continuously. Coach hardest at the breaking point — end of a set, final interval, the moment clients start shaking, slowing, or checking out. That is where coaching matters most.
Motivation — how people push
Start coaching with what motivates you — this attracts like-minded people. Not coaching the way you like to be motivated is failing your clients and will drain you as an instructor.
Attitude
People train to feel better — stronger, clearer, more confident. Coach to how they want to feel, not just what they are doing.
Learning
People are motivated by understanding. Use anatomy, corrections, and context to teach why a movement matters — not just how to do it.
Achievement
Everyone in your room is there to achieve something. Acknowledge effort in real time. Praise progress, not perfection.
Acknowledgement
Being seen matters. You must say every client's name meaningfully at least twice in every class — no exceptions.
Accountability
Hold the room to the work — without judgment. Be supportive no matter how they are performing. Both things are true at once.
Temporariness
Anchor intensity to time. "This is where we are. This is how long. This is what it should feel like right now."
Context
Context creates buy-in. When clients understand why, they trust you — and push harder. Sell the work. People rise to what they understand.
Corrections
Corrections should make clients feel coached — not called out. Use what you actually see in the room, not a memorized script.
Cue corrections to the whole room — even if only one person needs it. Use a client with great form as a positive example. Hands-on corrections are always consensual — ask first, use a light directional touch.
If you let someone repeatedly do something incorrectly, you are letting them down. Correction is connection. Clients are craving it — even when they don't know it.
Moving through the room
Ground down — pick a spot, watch each client, then move to them with intention when a correction is needed. Always position yourself where clients can see you and meet your gaze if they need your attention. Never coach from behind the room.
The touch standard: You must meaningfully touch a client at least twice per class. Touch should be intentional and corrective — not decorative. Always ask for consent and follow up: "Does that feel different?" "Can you feel where that changed?"
Coaching to avoid
Your coaching determines how hard the class feels, how connected the room becomes, and whether people return. You are not there to perform. You are there to lead people through something meaningful.
Cueing & Coaching Quiz
18 questions covering everything on this page. See how much you know.