I would like to start a discussion and invite other instructors and participants to chime in with their experiences about taking over an established class vs starting a new one. And would love some POV of the participants too! I mainly wonder, if my experiences listed below are common, or rather uncommon.
So, my experience with taking over BA is as follows:
I became a BODYATTACK instructor in early 2025, and had a weekly switch with another colleague. One week was theirs, one was mine, and every now and then, or during events, we would team teach. But after a few months, they kinda stopped, and since then, for about half a year, I have been the sole BA instructor in our area (no pressure). I noticed the group thinning a bit. Some were there just for the other instructor, or some didn't like me, maybe some stopped showing up to the gym all together, all valid reasons. Sicne then though, I did manage to get some new regulars, which is amazing!
Also in early 2025, I got a CORE license, and started a new class.
This one, being mine from the start, felt much better. I had a much better overview of who the regulars are, and why they keep coming back. This is my favorite class so far 🙂
Recently, I took over another CORE class, to mixed results.
This one was thankfully a bit more transparent to the participants, because one week, the instructor announced "You're with this guy as of next week because (reasons)". Now I immideately noticed that a couple of regulars completely stopped (I used to be a participant prior to doing the class, so I roughly knew the roster). But let's say about two thirds stayed, which made me happy.
I am about to take over another CORE class, in a different gym this time, and i'm kinda terrified. Mainly because I basically don't know anyone there, it is a smaller gym, and I fear that no one shows up.
And lastly, I plan on starting another BA calss in that other gym, and on one hand, I am excited, because the gym has a lot of people of my age, who might get excited about it, and also I love BA very dearly. However, I am scared that the room size might be too small, and that their poor audio will not go well with the loud BA music, plus the lack of a mic.
TL;DR:
- What do you guys think of taking over others classes, compared to starting new ones?
- 4 of my experiences.