Training Team — Internal Guide
The trainer's field manual
Not for trainees. For the people who make them.
This is not about technique or format. It is about the mindset, the tools, and the standard you hold — so that every new instructor we bring into this world becomes the best version of what they can be.
The mindset: why you are here
Before anything else — before technique, before process, before any tool in this manual — you need to be clear on one thing: you are not here to be liked. You are here to make them the best coach they can be. Those two things are not always compatible. That's okay. We will always have your back.
Being liked
If a trainee doesn't like you because you held a high standard, that is not failure. That is the job working exactly as it should.
Making them the best
Every decision you make in training should be in service of that — not their comfort, not their approval, not avoiding a hard moment.
Those three words are the foundation. Honesty means saying the true thing, even when it's uncomfortable. Firm means you don't soften it or walk it back because a trainee is upset. Fair means the same standard applies to everyone, every time — no exceptions.
Protecting someone's feelings is not the same as protecting their future. You protect their future by being honest with them.
At the heart of this entire business is one thing: we are in service to the people in our community. We want every client to leave their workout with more than they had when they walked in. That mission starts here — with how we train our instructors. If you hold that standard in this room, it will carry into every room they ever teach.
The "why" — not feedback
Stop using the word feedback. Feedback is a negative term — it signals to a trainee that they did something wrong, that they are being criticized. But you are not only there to correct mistakes. You are there to understand their thinking, support their creativity, and train their brain. The word "why" does all of that at once.
Before you correct anything — ask why. It is the most powerful tool you have. Here's what it does simultaneously:
Sometimes their answer will show you something you genuinely hadn't noticed — a creative choice, a reason that makes sense. That's why we ask. It's not a performance of listening. It is listening.
When growth feels like support instead of rules — that's "why" at work. That's the difference between training their brain and just correcting their behavior.
Empathy is not a currency
You are an amazing coach only because at one time you were not. You have been through every stage of this training. You have received something that upset you for a full day. You remember that feeling. Good. Use it to understand them. Do not use it to excuse them.
"What you really need to remember is not the pain of receiving hard input — it's what you did in reaction to it."
That is who you are. You are not the same as someone who cannot take honest input — and that is exactly why you are the trainer and not still in training.
There is a direct correlation between how well an instructor takes honest input and how well they are going to perform. Learning to receive hard truths is a skill — and they will go through a rough patch developing it. A trainee not liking you might be a casualty of that process. That is okay. You are genuinely making them the best.
It is not your responsibility to manage their emotional reaction to honest input. Hold the standard. Let them do the work of growing into it.
Love as the driver
Love is the strongest currency in the world. When a trainee is frustrated, feeling down on themselves, or going through a rough patch — the love of wanting to help people has to be what carries them through. And when you are going through it emotionally as a trainer — that same love has to be what carries you.
That is exactly why we always ask in the interview: why do you want to teach? If the answer is self-centered, we already know they are not the right fit. That is also why hospitality gets focused on first in training.
Why do you want to teach?
If the answer is about them — their identity, their body, their recognition — that is a flag. The answer has to live somewhere outside of themselves.
Service before everything
If it is not in their heart to serve, it will never be in their class. Someone who doesn't serve the community won't serve their teammates either. That is also a DRIP fit issue.
At the end of our day, we want to close our eyes knowing that people left DRIP workouts with more than they had when they walked in. That has to be the main motive. Everything else is secondary.
"Now as a trainer of instructors — you get to serve even more people by helping the people who will do that when you're not even there anymore."
Red flags in trainees
Know what you're looking at. There is a difference between a trainee who is struggling and a trainee who is not trying — and the way you respond to each is completely different. These are the patterns that tell you which one you're dealing with.
One person's reaction to honest input should never cost the other trainees their training experience. Watch for this.
It usually surfaces in how they respond to clients in mock scenarios: are they coaching the class or performing for it?
Every trainee will need to hear something more than once — that is completely normal. The red flag is when the same note is given repeatedly and nothing changes, not because they lack the skill, but because they aren't engaging with the process.
Distinguish between a trainee who is struggling and one who is not trying. One needs more support. The other needs a direct conversation. Don't confuse the two — it is not fair to either of them.
Asks questions. Shows up fully. Responds to input even if slowly. Trajectory is moving — even if slowly. This is the job. Stay with them.
Same notes, no movement. Deflects, dismisses, or shuts down. Energy affects the group. This needs a direct conversation — and documentation.
How to handle difficult situations
These are the moments that define you as a trainer. How you handle them is how you model the standard — not just what you say, but what you do when it gets uncomfortable.
You are not alone in any of this. Document what you see. Bring it to the team. We make these calls together.
The DRIP — Training Team Internal Document · Not for distribution to trainees · Draft v1.0