Instructor Guide
Before & After Class
How you open the room determines how they train. How you close it determines whether they come back.
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Arrive prepared
The 15–20 minute window
Arrive at least 15–20 minutes before your class. This is not optional padding — it is the time you need to prepare yourself, the studio, and the experience. New clients are directed to arrive 10 minutes early and often do so.
Arriving with enough time is how you greet clients on your own terms. Arriving rushed means the room owns you from the start. Arriving prepared means you own the room.
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Connection before the door opens
Check the roster. Celebrate milestones.
Before class begins, check your roster for milestones, birthdays, and first timers. These moments are the easiest connection opportunities you have — and they cost nothing but attention.
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Before the first move
Own the room
You are the leader the moment clients walk in. Do not hide behind the mic, the music, or your setup.
Move through the room. Make eye contact. Speak first. Most clients will not approach you — they are waiting for you to approach them. Imagine someone paid $35 to attend a stranger's party in a new space, alone. How would they want to be welcomed?
Confidence is not something you wait to feel. You give it by showing up confidently, even if you have to fake it at first. The room will follow your energy before you say a single word.
3
Connection before movement
Names
Connection starts before movement. You are responsible for learning names — especially of clients you do not know.
Introduce yourself to anyone you do not recognise. Ask their name. Use it at least twice during class. Names are not optional — they are one of the most powerful coaching tools you have.
Write names on a post-it before class. Mentally rehearse them as clients arrive. The effort of learning a name communicates more than most cues.
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Welcoming atmosphere
Welcome new clients like guests in your home
DRIP instructors are the host of the studio. In addition to the welcome card waiting at their mat, every new client should be personally greeted by you and given a brief rundown of the space — the same way you would welcome a guest at a party in your home.
No one should feel like they're crashing a party they weren't invited to.
A new client who feels hosted will come back. A new client who felt invisible may never return — and will never know what they were missing. The welcome is the first class they take. Make it count.
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Safety is clarity
Injuries & Pregnancies
You must ask about injuries, pregnancies, and anything that needs to be considered before class begins. This is non-negotiable — never assume, never skip it. This can be done individually while greeting clients as they arrive, or on the mic to the whole room.
Script example
"Before we start — injuries, pregnancies, or anything I should know about today?"
Pause after asking. Give people time to respond. The pause is part of the ask.
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Clients train better when they know
Set Expectations
Before class begins, clearly communicate what this class is and how it works. Clients train harder when they know what they're walking into.
Do not name the muscle focus. We train bodies, not body parts. Naming a focus narrows how clients show up — they will conserve energy for what they think is coming instead of giving everything now.
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You are in control
Starting and ending on time
You must start class on time. Every time. You do not wait for people — you are in control of the room, not the other way around.
The exception is a new client arriving close to the start. If you see someone arriving in the final minutes, take 60 seconds to greet them, get their name, and cover injuries before you begin. That moment protects their safety and sets them up to train with the room rather than behind it.
Starting late tells the room the schedule is flexible and your time is negotiable. Starting on time tells them you are serious, prepared, and ready to lead. The clients who are already there — on time — deserve that respect.
Ending on time is equally non-negotiable — and that means finishing at the right time, not early and not late. Ending early shortchanges the clients who paid for 50 minutes. Ending late runs into the next instructor's class and their clients' time. Both are unacceptable.
Know where you are in the class at all times. If you are running long, the cool down is where you adjust — shorten the stretch, trim the savasana, or adapt the final moments of class so you land exactly on time. The workout itself is not what gets cut.
Shorten the cool down — the stretch, the savasana, or both. The working blocks run their full length. The cool down is your adjustment lever. Know this before you need it.
Do not end early. Use the cool down fully. Add breath work, hold stretches longer, give the room the full time they booked. Finishing early is not a gift — it signals that you ran out of content.
The incoming instructor and their clients are counting on you to finish when you said you would. Your end time is someone else's start time.
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Connection — the wipe moment
Hand them their wipe
After class ends, go to the wipes station and hand clients their wipes. This is one of the most important connection moments of the entire experience. It is your opportunity to reach everyone you did not get enough time with during class, reinforce belonging, and build loyalty in 10 seconds.
Talk to everyone. Make one more connection with every person before they leave. This is not optional — it is part of why they come back.
Praise their effort, their rhythm, their progress, or their confidence. Ask how they feel. Talk about something completely unrelated to the workout — human connection matters. Say goodbye to every single person.
Invite them back. People love a personal invite. It tells them they are wanted in this room specifically — not just any room. That specificity is what builds loyalty and fills your classes.
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Studio — presentation standards
Own the studio like it's yours
Cleaning up after your class and helping the instructor before you is part of your tiered and level pay. Our clients and fellow instructors expect an immaculate studio — and clients love to see you cleaning. It is what sets us apart from everyone else.
We intentionally do not keep front desk staff. We believe instructors should own the studio as if it were their own when leading a class. That ownership extends beyond the class itself.
To be a DRIP instructor means being committed to the highest studio presentation standards. An immaculate studio is not a nice-to-have. It is the standard.
Plan to stay 15 minutes after completing your class. This time is expected. Use it to:
You are partners in crossover. The outgoing instructor engages with outgoing clients while keeping the studio in immaculate presentation. The incoming instructor focuses on the needs of incoming clients. Communicate as a team. Ask for help when needed.
Communicate with the next instructor — in person or via Netgym — about any unfinished responsibilities before you leave. Never leave them without a handoff. We are a team.
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Communication & housekeeping
The reminders
Please reference your location-specific housekeeping checklist before and after every class you teach to ensure you are meeting all presentation standards.
Communication is everything. A team that communicates well never leaves the next instructor in a difficult position — and never leaves a client with an unresolved experience.
The Standard
The 15 minutes before and the 15 minutes after are not buffer time. They are the work. The opening builds trust, safety, and conditions for hard effort. The close builds loyalty, connection, and the reason they book again. An immaculate studio is not a detail — it is the statement that we take this seriously. Own every part of it.