ICI/PRO Now Fortified With CECs!
Did you back up your iTunes Music files last night?
I did…. Well OK I didn’t, but Carbonite did for me. Like it does every night 
Good morning John. Every thing is backed up and secure
Could this happen to you? Video after the jump.
Superbowl, lazy days, and song suggestions
I talked John into postponing our teleseminar tonight (hope you got the email about it!) Threshold is just too important a subject to have a very small number of attendees on the call. I’d rather have an interactive discussion with you all than just me talking.
Please join us NEXT Sunday for the teleseminar, questions in hand!
I’m also planning to post a Powerpoint presentation on threshold which might clear up some misconceptions and confusions some of you might have about it, so keep checking back often.
So, what are YOU doing today? Are you a Superbowl fan? Here in Colorado it’s gray and chilly and a lazy day. We could use some of that snow you guys on the east coast have gotten. Care to blow it back this way?
We don’t have TV, so we won’t be watching the Superbowl in the Sage household (even if we did, I might only watch it for the commercials out of curiosity). I’m planning on jumping on my Spinner bike in the basement for a long Zone 2 (endurance) ride, listening to some new music I’ve gotten lately. I’ll share some of those new ones with you.
I downloaded the entire Vampire Weekend self-titled album from eMusic – there’s some fun stuff in there that will be making its way into my class playlists this month. (Warning – the song Walcott has some f-bombs, don’t throw it in a Spinning playlist).
Another indie group you might like is Gomez. The album How We Operate is on eMusic. The songs See the World and How We Operate are must-haves for your indoor cycling library. You might also like Cry on Demand.
I was searching on eMusic for a different version of The Race by Yello, and came across a fun album by this group (yes, the very same who did Oh Yeah back in 1979). The album is called The Eye and has a couple of unique versions of The Race and another fun song Planet Dada.
Someone sent me a fantastic song from BT’s new album These Hopeful Machines. The song is The Unbreakable and it’s really fantastic. I’ll be using it as a long warm-up (it’s 10 minutes), because it has a very gentle beginning the builds up, a fantastic rhythm throughout, and great lyrics. Very versatile, it can be a long gentle flat or a climb. Available on the regular sources. [eMusic has it but only full album download - lots of credits].
Enjoy the music! Oh and, enjoy the game! Try to limit the nachos and wings! 
ICI Podcast #85 – Finish Strong Training System From Jade Ng
Have you ever thought of creating a comprehensive training program for your members to help get them really fit? You want to incorporate many areas of the gym, not just your indoor cycling class; you want to do the research to make sure the program follows a stepped approach using proper training principles; you want to provide the participants assessments and educational and motivational material along the way. But the amount of work to put it together is daunting so you just never get there!
What if you could take a self-funded, turn-key program that has been proven to work, that will bring profits, teamwork, excitement and success into your facility?
Jade Ng from Finish Strong Training Systems joins Jennifer and me to discuss her turnkey program for fitness clubs. To help ensure the success of the 6-phase, 12-week program, FSTS provides training videos for instructors and personal trainers on the focus of each phase and how to teach the suggested classes. Educational and motivational videos are provided for the participants to help them stay on track. Both Dr Haley Perlus and Jennifer were invited to create some of the videos and training information, and they are honored to be a part of the program.
Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using iTunes or Zune.
Jennifer Sage joins 10th Annual Ride for a Reason to benefit Special Olympics
It gives me (beyond) great pleasure to announce that the state of Vermont will be welcoming Jennifer Sage to the 10th Annual Ride for a Reason indoor cycling marathon to benefit the Special Olympics on Sunday, March 21, 2010. The event will be held at the Sheraton in Burlington, Vermont.
Along with myself (STAR 3 Instructor Melissa Marotta, Vermont), Spinning Master Instructors Anthony Musemici (New York) and Angie Scott (Vermont), and STAR 2 Instructor David Means (Vermont), Jennifer will co-lead what will undoubtedly be an inspiring and invigorating six-hour endurance challenge. 150+ riders at last year’s event raised nearly $40,000 to support the athletes of the Special Olympics.
When Jennifer officially confirmed our invitation by phone, I nearly blew out her ear drum with shrieks of glee. It is an incredible honor to have one of my personal heroes up there beside me for a life event of such significance to me as a coach.
To join us all for the big event in Vermont, you can visit http://www.vtso.org/spinning_marathon.php
You can register for the full day (6 hours), put together a relay team to split up the day, or simply register for any number of hours you’d like to ride.
Jennifer’s east coast cameo will include Master Classes at several Boston area clubs. If you are interested in riding with Jennifer or would like to arrange for Jennifer to host a Master Class at your club, please contact her at jennifer@indoorcycleinstructor.com.
Hope to see many of you in the no-longer-very-frozen north!
Faster cadence on hills means less fatigue, more slow twitch fiber use
The Spinning and several other IC programs encourage a cadence range of 60-80 rpm when climbing. While I do think there is merit to climbing at slower cadences on occasion, such as drills or hill segments aimed at strength improvement at around 55rpm (or to simulate a reeeeally steep hil), for the most part I suggest cadences of 60-80rpm. (e.g. my audio PROfile Got Strength had a song of 55 bpm/rpm, but the purpose was gaining strength, and it was only one song).
I have one student who rides at a fairly low cadence, at times causing her to pull on her handlebars more than she needs to. Not excessive mind you, but time after time, I’ve noticed she prefers cadences in the low 50’s when climbing. I know she mountain bikes in the summer and that she would be much more effective if she could raise her preferred climbing cadence to the mid 60’s or more.
Our bikes are pretty tightly packed so it’s very difficult to walk around, and she always leaves early to get to work by 7:30 am so I haven’t been able to talk to her directly. But what I did today finally (hopefully) got through to her to speed it up a bit on the climbs. Some of the cues I have given to my class to help them focus on the correct cadence (often directed at her) include the following:
- I’m pedaling at about 65rpm, make sure you’re somewhere close to my cadence, give or take a few rpms.
- Look at my feet! If you’re pedaling much slower than me, you have too much resistance on!
- Hear the beat? It’s about 62 rpm. If you want you can use that as your guide for your cadence, but don’t be any slower than the beat of this song.
Monthly Teleseminar to answer your questions on threshold
This Sunday at 8pm EST we are planning to hold our monthly teleseminar. The topic is any question you may have about lactate threshold and field testing. This is very timely, especially as I continue to feed you with more training information on threshold, more science, more ways to teach your students about testing and threshold-based heart rates, modifications, training zones, etc. I can answer your questions by email or in the comments section, but what better way than to have an interactive discussion on a subject that is potentially confusing? This will be awesome and we really hope a lot of you will join us. I’d love to grow our teleseminar numbers each and very month and encourage you to call in if you’ve never tried it out.
However….there’s some eeensy-weeensy sporting event that decided to schedule itself that same evening*…
Now, we’d would prefer to keep it on schedule if possible, and aside from one person who has told us she’s going to a Superbowl party and cannot make it, we haven’t gotten any feedback even from our regulars about not being able to make it to the call due to the football game. So we’re leaning towards doing it anyway. You can always email me your threshold or field testing question and I’ll answer it on the call and you can listen to the audio later on.
On the other hand, if only 5 people are going to make it, it might be wise to postpone it a week. We’ve had some good turnouts the past couple of calls and this particular subject is very important to almost everyone (judging from the comments and emails I’ve gotten). It is one of the cornerstone’s of ICI’s philosophy of teaching.
What do you think? Speak up now or forever hold your peace! If we don’t hear from you, we will stay on schedule and will assume you’re going to join us this Sunday. But if by Sunday morning a lot of you let us know how much of a Saints or Colts fan you are, then we’ll put it off one week.
Either way, check your email sunday for an update and the call-in number. (By the way, the call-in number and code are the same every month).
* can you tell neither John nor I are football fans? Although I kinda like this guy Peyton Manning. You’d never know my brother is a well-known winning high-school football coach in San Diego!
You are invited to participate in the World’s Largest Indoor Cycling Event:
We will find out if 1,000 Spinning Indoor Cycling Bikes will fit in the Target Center
That was the heading of the email I just received.
It continued:
Life Time Fitness is holding a record breaking 2 Hour Spin class with 1000 bikes for the ride! The event will be held March 7th from 11am-1pm in the Target Center Downtown Minneapolis. CEO and Founder Bahram Akradi, along with 4 of Life Time’s top spin instructors, will lead you through what is bound to be a tough but fun 2 hour ride! During the ride you will have the BEST tunes spun by DJ Roberto Costa with various guest appearances that will keep you entertained throughout the ride. In order to participate in this record breaking event, you will need to wear a Life Time Fitness jersey. If you do not own one already, you can order one online or you can purchase the 2010 jersey from me for $49.95. (there’s always a catch; John) Look for additional details this week on MYLT.com. Your Group Fitness Department Heads as well as the General Managers of your home club will have sign up and jersey procurement information as well.
Please make sure that you reserve your space for this event AND spread the word!!!! (with 17,000 visitors a month I’m guessing I’m doing more than my share :)
I will update you when I know more….
I’m curious to know, who exactly are “4 of Life Time’s top spin instructors?” Nobody called me 
Don’t Run Me Over
If you have spent any time training on the road, you have thought this while riding.
I would also suggest adding a pair of hands, pressed palm to palm in prayer
Ten Easy Steps to Teaching Your Indoor Cycling Class About Nutrition – Part 2: Protein
Now that you have a good idea of how to teach your indoor cycling class about the basics of carbohydrates and performance, let’s move into the next logical macronutrient: protein.
You’d be surprised at the number of people in your class who have only a very basic understand of protein, and often simply think that it is derived from meat and should be eaten with dinner.
Begin your discussion of protein with an explanation of what proteins actually are: vital components of every organ and action within the human body, without which we would simply cease to function. In the absence of proper nutritional building blocks for protein, the human body will cannibalize it’s own lean muscle mass and organs, and experience a weakened immune system, poor performance, and inadequate recovery and fitness response. Proteins are comprised of amino acids – many of which the body cannot make on it’s own unless complete proteins are present in the diet.
But it’s a myth that you need to get your complete protein from meat.
LT, AT, VT, FT, MLSS, OBLA….I’m so confused!
You’ve heard of lactate threshold and anaerobic threshold, but have you heard of functional threshold? Ventilatory threshold? MLSS? OBLA? Do these terms only add to the confusion? There are about as many different terms to express what’s going on at this point as there are definitions to describe it! Even the experts do not agree on the one term that is most appropriate and useful, especially for the fitness industry.
One thing the experts do agree on is what is happening at this point:
Lactate Threshold is the point at which lactate accumulation exceeds the body’s ability to remove it (flush it out). As lactate begins to accumulate in the system, there is a concomitant increase in H+ ions, which is the cause of the acidosis and the inhibition of muscular contraction.
For an excellent overview of what is going on here, Len Kravitz, Ph.D., frequent presenter at numerous fitness conferences for the past thirty years and Professor at the University of New Mexico, wrote this excellent article on lactate and lactic acid.
Lactate Threshold (LT) is the term most widely utilized and accepted in endurance sports, Read more…
ICI/PRO Members Links- Did you back up your iTunes Music files last night? February 8, 2010
- Superbowl, lazy days, and song suggestions February 7, 2010
- ICI Podcast #85 – Finish Strong Training System From Jade Ng February 7, 2010
- Fully committed to the Life Time Fitness Triathlon February 7, 2010
- Jennifer Sage joins 10th Annual Ride for a Reason to benefit Special Olympics February 6, 2010
