Feedback of Fitness Professionals with different educational levels in resistance training classes

The present study aimed to characterize and compare pedagogical feedback behavior in group resistance training classes among fitness professionals with different educational backgrounds. The study sample consisted of 20 fitness professionals with up to two years of experience, divided into two groups: professionals holding a bachelor’s degree in Sports, Physical Condition and Health from the Sport Science School of Rio Maior (n=10), and fitness professionals with a a Specialist Technical Course in Physical Exercise (n=10). Video analysis was conducted using the Fitness Instructor Feedback Observation System in Group Fitness Classes (SOFIF-GFC). The results obtained showed significant differences in the emission of feedback per minute, with the group of graduate fitness professionals emitting significantly more feedback per minute and in the breathing categories, of the Content dimension, and feedback cycle, of the Monitoring of Practice Consequent to Feedback dimension. The findings suggest that the type of academic training has a more pronounced impact on the quantity of feedback delivered than on the way it is delivered.