After 18 weeks of being a PE teacher to the world, Joe Wicks is delivering his last lesson today.

I, for one, am thankful to him. Not only have I lost weight during lockdown as a result of his lessons, but I also feel fitter than I’ve ever felt before and ready to take on anything.

Now that it’s all over, it’s worthwhile thinking about what real-life teachers can take away from Joe’s lessons that will make us better teachers for September.

What teachers can learn from Joe Wicks 

1. Repetition, repetition, repetition

One of the great things about the workout was the constant repetition of moves that Joe used throughout.

Many might see this as being a bit boring -- in fact, some comedians joked about the fact that Joe himself must get bored by his own routines. 

But, if you are learning something new, repetition is key. Keep retrieving that learning and, after a while, it will be embedded in your memory.

After eight weeks or so of following his videos, I was able to do my own routines, because I had secure knowledge of what I was meant to do. This means Joe has done his job perfectly, because he is no longer needed.

2. Modelling

At the beginning of teaching something new, it’s important to model what you expect to see. Joe did this at the start of his sessions and then reminded us sporadically throughout the weeks. We knew what was expected of us and that made our performances better. This is certainly an area that I will be focusing on more next year.

3. Stretch and challenge

As the weeks progressed and Joe knew his army of watchers were getting stronger and fitter, he started to ask more of them. He would have shorter rest intervals, he would throw in progress checks and even end with a five-minute abs finisher. He was always pushing to get the best out of people and had high expectations for everyone doing his workout.

4. Look after yourself

At one point during the 18 weeks, it was clear that Joe was in a lot of pain after falling off his bike. Despite wanting to carry on, he understood that he couldn’t and so replaced himself with his wife, Rosie.

This is an important message for teachers. Of course, we want to always be there for our classes, but sometimes you’ll see teachers stagger in who are clearly not well enough and this is not good for them or other members of the school.

Look after yourself by handing over the reins and giving yourself the chance to get better. This should be much easier after lockdown - now that all teachers are tech wizards providing good cover lessons should be a piece of cake.

5. Energy

One of the key characteristics that Joe brought to the table was his huge amount of energy.

Admittedly, he was only doing this for one live lesson each morning, but the impact of his enthusiasm was that you felt energised, too. His positive messages throughout the sessions really encouraged you to carry on.

He was also not afraid to show a lighter side, with his David Brent mannerisms and the use of phrases like “silly-billies” during his routines.

Plus, he mixed his lessons up a bit, throwing in randomisers, such as “spin the wheel” or “higher and lower”. Some might argue that these are the qualities of “edutainment”, but I see them as a way of pressing the “refresh” button.

Sometimes, we can take ourselves too seriously, and Joe never did this. Learning should be enjoyable and it is important for teachers to have the right energy. That doesn’t mean you have to be an extrovert whilst teaching; I’ve seen plenty of teachers bring a quiet, authoritative energy to their classroom, and the students loved it.

It might seem odd that a non-teacher can be a good role model for teachers, but in the case of Joe Wicks, we can definitely take some CPD lessons from him. And if we can all end up with abs like Joe in the process... well, that would be a bonus as well.

Gavin Simpson is the head of economics at Dame Alice Owen’s School in Hertfordshire. He tweets at @MrGSimpson