Instructor Guide
Accessibility — everyone together
For every format. Every room. Every level.
Adapting to a class does not mean changing your entire plan or making it easier. It means making the experience accessible — so every client can rise to what you designed.
What accessibility actually means
You may need to cue at a different level. You may need to break down complicated work. You may need to build things more gradually. None of that changes your class. It changes how many people can be in it with you.
Making it easier
Lowering the standard, simplifying your vision, or designing for the least experienced person in the room. That is not accessibility — that is just a different class.
Bringing people with you
Coaching in a way that allows every person in the room to access your class at their level — and rise toward the standard you set.
"No matter what room you have, teach a class you love. But your job is to bring people with you."
Know the room
Review your roster before every class — especially when you're new. Over time, you'll learn each client's level. That knowledge helps you choose the right work, the right complexity, and the right intensity arc before you ever walk in.
Check the roster. Introduce yourself. Notice who's new, who's experienced, who might need more attention or more challenge.
You'll develop instincts. You'll read the room faster — and adjust complexity, pacing, and intensity in real time without being caught off guard.
No room is the same twice. Bring a plan. But stay present enough to meet the actual room in front of you — not the room you expected.
As you grow, you'll develop instincts that allow you to amplify or simplify in the moment — without losing the integrity of what you designed.
Create emotional safety
People adapt best when they feel safe. When clients feel judged, watched, or behind — they protect themselves. They hold back. When they feel safe, they push themselves naturally. Your job is to create that safety before you ask for effort.
The pace of the class is a guide, not a requirement. Every client works within what their body can do today.
Sitting out a set, taking a break, or going lighter is not failure. It is self-awareness. Honor it publicly when you see it.
This room is not competing. Everyone is working toward their own version of the same moment. Protect that.
The words you choose either invite people in or quietly tell them they don't belong. Choose words that open the door.
Inclusive language invites effort without forcing performance. It gives every client permission to be exactly where they are — while still asking them to show up fully.
Technique first
Proper technique is what makes intensity adjustable. When form is strong, advanced clients can add power, beginners can stay safe, and the room can stay together — all doing the same thing at different levels.
Technique is what allows everyone to do the same class — at their level. It is the great equalizer in the room.
Celebrate effort
Acknowledge effort across the entire room — not just the people working hardest. When beginners feel seen and successful, they come back. When advanced clients feel challenged, they stay loyal. DRIP is built on both.
They are watching to see if they belong here. When you notice them — by name, for a specific effort — you answer that question. They belong. They come back.
They need to feel pushed, not just included. Acknowledge when they go for it. Challenge them publicly. They stay because you see what they're capable of.
You are building a room where everyone feels like they earned something today. That feeling is what creates loyalty — across every level.
Offer options — without labels
The moment you say "here's the modification" you have separated the room. Some clients hear that as: this is for people who can't do the real thing. That is not the culture we build here.
Frame choices as equal paths, not easy vs. hard. This keeps every client included without drawing a line between them.
"For those who can't do the full version, here's a modification…"
"You've got two options here — both are the right choice depending on where you are today."
Options presented as equal give clients agency instead of a label. They choose what serves them — and they feel good about that choice either way.
Anchor intensity to effort
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is one of the most powerful tools you have. It unifies the room across fitness levels — because it anchors intensity to how something feels, not what the numbers say or what the person next to them is doing.
RPE allows every client to be in the same moment — even if they are at completely different levels. That shared moment is what makes the room feel like one thing.
The standard
Everything in this guide comes back to one idea. Accessibility is not about lowering the bar. It is not about making things comfortable. It is about coaching in a way that brings every person in the room to the bar with you.
It's not changing your class to match the room. It's coaching the room so they can rise to your class. Everyone rises together.
The DRIP — Instructor Guide · Accessibility · All formats
Adapting to a class does not mean changing your entire plan or making it “easier.”
It means making the experience accessible, so every client can rise to what you designed.
You may need to cue at a different level.
You may need to break down complicated work.
You may need to build things more gradually.
No matter what room you have, we want you to teach a class you love.
But your job is to bring people with you.
You never want to be the only one doing what you are cueing.
You can’t just do it.
The point is to get everyone to do it, together.
You won’t build a following if you aren’t bringing people with you.
KNOW THE ROOM
Review your roster before every class, especially when you’re new.
Over time, you’ll learn each client's level. That helps you choose the right work, complexity, and intensity arc.
As you grow, you’ll develop instincts that allow you to amplify or simplify in the moment—without being caught off guard.
CREATE EMOTIONAL SAFETY
People adapt best when they feel safe.
At DRIP, there is:
no pressure to keep up
no shame around sitting or slowing down
no comparison culture
When people feel safe, they push themselves naturally.
Use inclusive language
“If you’re ready…”
“When you feel the beat…”
“If this is yours today…”
This invites effort without forcing performance.
TECHNIQUE FIRST
Proper technique makes intensity adjustable.
When form is strong:
advanced clients can add power
beginners can stay safe
the room can stay together
Examples:
“Relax the shoulders.”
“Hips back.”
“Drive through the heels.”
Technique is what allows everyone to do the same class—at their level.
CELEBRATE EFFORT
Acknowledge effort across the room—especially newer riders.
When beginners feel seen and successful, they come back.
When advanced cleints feel challenged, they stay loyal.
DRIP is built on both.
OFFER OPTIONS (WITHOUT LABELING THEM MODIFICATIONS)
Frame choices as equal paths, not “easy vs hard.”
This keeps clients included without separating the room.
ANCHOR INTENSITY TO EFFORT
Use Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to unify the room across fitness levels.
Examples:
“You should not be able to speak right now.”
“This should feel like the hardest push you’ve had all class.”
“This should feel like an 8 out of 10.”
This allows every client to be in the same moment, even if they are at different levels.
THE STANDARD
Adaptation is leadership.
It’s not changing your class to match the room.
It’s coaching the room so they can rise to your class.
Everyone rises together.