Now that your overarching video content strategy is in place, you’re ready to create your video workouts! You’ve mapped out what you want to create-so choose a few to start with and let's dive in!
Remember: it’s not just about creating a great video, it’s about creating great content. What you say, teach, and offer is just as important as the tech you use.
At this stage, you’ll be storyboarding your video, applying both content and technical best practices to your videos, and then producing the videos into a final product.
Keep reading for more strategic and tactical tips to create a great video workout or class!
Strategically Plan Out Your Videos
Start by creating a consistent structure for all your videos. A familiar dow helps clients feel at ease and sets expectations.
Here’s what we recommend:
1. Include an introduction where you lay out what viewers should expect. Brief them with the basics of what’s coming, including:
- The workout duration (especially for live sessions)
- Format overview
- Equipment needed
- Floorwork or high-impact elements
- Cool-down/stretching
- Remind them to grab water to stay hydrated!
2. Next, move into the workout. It might feel a bit awkward at first to talk to a camera instead of clients, like you normally do, but try to retain all your regular training tactics to give your viewers an experience that’s as rich as an in-person one!
- Speak slow and naturally
- Stick to your usual training style for authenticity
3. Lastly, offer a clear conclusion that includes a thank-you to your viewers. For videos being shared as marketing or distributed for free on social media, leave them with a strong call to action. A good call to action will send viewers to your website, your Trainerize.me page, your social media accounts, or to a designated landing page. For paying clients, a simple “Talk to you soon!” will work fine.
Implement Effective Training Tactics
Use these pro tips to share your expertise, support your clients, and offer viewers the optimal at-home workout experience:
Offer Modifications:
For each exercise or movement, offer your viewers some options for movements, depending on their energy level and ability.
Example: “We’re going to start off here at level 1: holding our squat, keeping our hands at our chest, and stepping one leg out at a time. Tap, and then back to center. Tap, and then back to center. At level 2, you’re going to add a double arm fly. Every time you step out, your arms will raise, then everything comes back into the center. If you’re ready for level 3, you’re going to come with me to a full jumping jack.”
Remind Them to Modify for Injuries:
Even through video, you can support your clients’ in their efforts to listen to their bodies. Try highlighting potential stressors on their bodies, and offer workarounds to handle them. By saying these out loud during the workout, you’re not only normalizing how they’re feeling, but you’re also helping them recognize and address any potential issues.
Example: “If you’re feeling this in your neck or traps, try refocusing to use your back to power this movement. If you’re still feeling it in your neck and traps, drop the weights, they’re not working for you. Stick with the movement.”
Example: “You might be having some low back tightness or stiffness. Right now, with all of us sitting so much, it’s a common issue. Listen to your body and decide if this is discomfort from working the muscles or if it’s pain and you need to modify the move.”
Example: “Maybe you have shoulder issues or old injuries and this is too much for you to hold for this long. If that’s the case, hold for as long as you can before it starts to hurt and then drop your knees to take the pressure off your shoulders.”
Offer Tips on Form:
It’s probably not news to you that your clients come to you to improve their form, increase their workout efficiency, and protect their bodies. This still applies for video workouts!
As you lead the workout, highlight any common mistakes associated with the movements and offer pointers on where they should be feeling it.
Example: “While in a high plank, we have a tendency to dump our weight into our wrists. Instead, see if you can shift your weight distribution; focus on pushing down through the fingers, grounding the knuckles down into your mat”
Make Moves and Join In:
Hear us out! We know this is probably a departure from what you’re used to, training in the gym or via Trainerize. But nothing creates a “we’re in this together” vibe more than getting sweaty with your clients during these video sessions.
You don’t have to do every single rep with them, but the effort will be noted! Feel free to pause as needed to give insight (it can be hard to explain the purposes of a movement while sweating it out). You can also pause to demonstrate modifications, or to show the difference between good form and poor form.
Example: “Keep that going, you’ve got 10 more. Right about now, your left glute should be starting to burn. If you’re sitting low enough, you’ll also be feeling it in your quads”
Count it down:
When appropriate, help pass the time by giving your viewers some indication of progress and how far they have to go! Count off the reps or sets to help your viewers stay motivated. You can use:
- Time stamps (“Just 1 minute to go, keep it up!”)
- Buzzers (“And that’s time! Good work, have some water.”)
- Landmarks (“This song is almost over, push to the end!”)
- Reps (“8 more, 7, 6, 5…”)
Apply Video Creation Best Practices
It’s also important to apply best practices to all your videos, across the board. Sure, you could learn these things over time, but why not level up with our pro tips from the start?
Start small:
Video is a big undertaking (if you’ve made it this far in this guide, you know this!). So start small. Having ten 15-20 minute videos is better than having three-hour-long videos at first. Get your library going in the beginning and go from there!
Keep it evergreen:
You might know about this from your content marketing efforts (blogging, email, social media): how do you balance between capitalizing on trends, seasonality, and important dates while also developing video workouts that can last? What’s more important: timeliness or longevity?
Think of it this way: identify the timeliness of your channels, and tailor messaging accordingly. Here are some examples:
- Social media: timely.
- Email: timely.
- Website: timely.
- Blog content: evergreen.
- Video content: evergreen.
When creating video workouts, prioritize evergreen content: it’ll give the videos a longer shelf life, it’ll allow you to re-use and repurpose them, and since it’s already targeting your niche audience, it’ll still resonate.
Then, you can tailor any promotional messaging to capitalize on trends or seasons.
Example: Say you’re creating a video workout series that is targeting quads and glutes. This might be really helpful for your clients who like to get out into the mountains during the summer, as cross-training for hike season. But rather than calling the video series “Hike Season Bootcamp,” choose more generic naming and styling. Then, in social media, you can use the hike season timeliness to draw urgency to the workout… you can even tailor your graphics to speak to that seasonality, while leaving the video itself more generic.
Act like you’re coaching in person:
This might go without saying, but try to make your video experience feel the same as it would IRL (internet speak for In Real Life”). Talk to your viewers like they’re really there with you, and make it as personal as possible! The best video trainers are the ones who can extend their personality through the camera and make clients feel like they’re part of something real.
This is especially impactful if you’re doing the movements with them!
Example: “Are you feeling this right now? I know I sure am!”
Use inclusive language:
As much as possible, try to use generic terms, inoffensive terms for any potential audience. This is not only the new normal for community and communication, it’ll also ensure your video remains evergreen over time as language shifts. Consider inclusive, gender-neutral terms, and avoid any racial or insensitive terms. Try phrases like the following:
- “Ok, crew, let’s do this!”
- “Are we ready, team?”
- “Welcome, friends!”
- “Hello folks!”
- “Good morning, Sunday!” (for live sessions)
- “People, we are about to get that heart rate up!”
Stay positive and encouraging:
Give regular praise and encouragement, and acknowledge when the movements get tough in a positive way. Give your viewers kudos for showing up!
Example: “I know it burns, but you’re nearly there!”
Keep it fun:
Keep things light-hearted, and don’t be afraid to joke around a bit.
Example: “Phew, who came up with this idea? Oh right, it’s me. Keep it up, team!”
Create Videos That Are Functional and Beautiful
Congrats! You’re ready to actually create your videos. If it feels like you’ve been planning for ages, that’s a good thing—it’ll pay off at this stage, trust us. Of course, the highest possible quality video is the goal here, but the actual content of your video workouts is more important! So if you’ve skipped ahead to this stage without planning out your classes and workouts, head back to Part 1 where we cover everything you need to know about creating video workouts.
#TZTIP: For more details on how to choose your video equipment, set up your space, or manage your video audio, check out our “Everything You Need to Know Guide” to Filming Live and On-demand Video Workouts
Pre-production:
Start with prepping your gear! Choose your camera (even a smartphone will work!), and acquire a tripod or stand. Consider microphone options (this might be where your smartphone won’t do the trick), such as a lapel mic. For lighting, try to use indirect, natural light that doesn’t cast shadows. Avoid facing the camera towards the light source and instead have it face away.
Establish the frame. Select whether you’ll shoot in landscape or portrait. Test to establish the best location for the camera, microphone, and lighting. If you’re planning on making many videos, consider adding some tape to the floor for the location of these items for easy setup.
Then, design your space. Start with a tidy, blank canvas. Then, add visual interest, like a plant, some candles, or a celebrity dog (we’re looking at you, Benji!)? Or perhaps leaving your blank canvas blank is your preference, and that works too.
Lastly, test your setup. Is the audio echoing? Is the lighting inconsistent? Is everything focused?
Shooting:
Once you’re ready to start shooting, it’s essential to a) stay organized, and b) prioritize continuity. With workout videos, it’s totally fine to shoot in one continuous clip—as long as you can stay “on” the whole time. If you make a mistake and can’t recover naturally (as you would in an in-person session or class!), feel free to make cuts and edit it together. But be mindful! Editing is a massive task and you may regret committing to too many cuts. If you do need to add some quick cuts, be sure to start and stop the recording at that point so you have an easy indication of where edits are needed.
Pro continuity tip: Never move your tripod until you’ve gotten all the shots you need from that angle.
Post-production:
In the editing phase, you can do as much or as little as you like! Elements like titles, captions, intros and outros, and music can all add to the experience, but they aren’t essential. However, consider that intros and outros can be re-used and tweaked for all your videos.
When editing clips together, decide if a quick cut is acceptable (it may cause you to “jump” into another spot) or if you should add a transition to smooth it out.
Consider accessibility and permissions too—are closed captions a good idea? Do you have the rights for your music?
So that’s how to create killer video classes and workouts—simple, right!? In all seriousness, video doesn’t have to be super complex. All you need is good visuals, clear audio, and effective training to make a killer workout video. Up next: get paid. Learn how to monetize your video workouts in Part 4 and how to market your video workouts in Part 5 of our on-demand video guide!
