Stage5 Indoor Cycling Instructor Certification Scholarship Program

We Want the Best!

Stage5 Cycling is looking for the best indoor cycling instructors in the country and we are willing to put our money where our mouth is. Starting in 2010, we will be searching for 10 scholarship candidates per city to receive our 2-Day / 14-Hour comprehensive indoor cycling workshop. Recipients only have to pay for the workbook ($30) and we will cover the cost of the workshop registration ($245).

Why Are We Doing This?

Our workshops and certification is in demand all over the country and we don’t have enough educators to meet the demand. Stage5 Cycling’s goal is 2-fold: (1) populate the country with some of the most amazing indoor cycling instructors and programs available and (2) find and train those exceptional instructors that can become educators.

[Tom Scotto and I discuss the qualifications Stage5 is looking for in ICI/PRO Podcast # 89 - John]

Read more…

Starting an Indoor Cycling or Spinning® studio….can it work?

By guest columnist Bill Pryor, owner of Spynergy Cycling Studios, and Spynergy
Consulting.

Stay tuned for my interview with Bill posting next week.

You’re passionate about fitness, you love indoor cycling and you may even be an outstanding instructor yourself. You recognize the amazing energy in a great class, and you’ve also seen a lot of poor or mediocre classes that frustrate you. Maybe you’ve wondered if a dedicated studio can make money?

Should you start your own studio? Great questions.

While not nearly as common as yoga studios, there are in fact a good many successful, dedicated cycling studios (and Spin® studios) around the country. We have worked extensively with a number of them, and in the right community, with the right model, these can be tremendous small businesses. There
is nothing more thrilling than waking every day knowing your decisions and actions are building a business, developing a community, making people healthy…….and generating a stream of profits!

Here is the first question we ALWAYS get asked. There is plenty of indoor cycling and Spinning® at gyms and health clubs in my area – why would people go to a new dedicated
studio?

Read more…

They Were In Shock – The Adventures of Creating an Indoor Cycling Certification

This post from http://www.stage5cycling.com/news/they-were-in-shock and has been re-posted with permission.

By Tom Scotto

You don’t want to continually warn people how hard your certification testing is because it always sounds like you’re just trying to hype things up. That was never our intention. We just wanted to give folks a heads-up that this may not be what they’ve experienced in the past. Despite the warnings and the strong recommendation to study and practice before taking the written and practical exams, some have hastily attempted the certification and failed. They were in shock! “How could I fail, both the written AND practical. I’ve been teaching at multiple health clubs for X amount of years. You must have made a mistake”.

Unfortunately, there was no mistake.

Who’s to Blame?

Is the written test too hard? No. Is expecting an instructor to be able to demonstrate their ability to teach too much to require? Absolutely not. So why would someone who has been teaching indoor cycling for years (some previously holding more than one indoor cycling certification) fail the Stage5 Cycling certification? Who is to blame?

It is NOT the instructors fault!

The blame falls on indoor cycling companies and health clubs. Indoor cycling companies have provided inadequate training and “certification” from the start and health clubs have allowed it to enter their facilities.

“Certification”

Historically, indoor cycling certifications have never been legitimate certifications. Participants attend a 1-day “orientation” and are awarded their certification because of their attendance. No exams, written or practical are required. Instructors are then considered qualified to teach 20 to 30+ people in a group fitness environment after just one day of training. There would be a shred of merit to the process if instructors were required to at least hold a personal trainer or group fitness certification. Then the indoor cycling certification would be considered an “add-on” to their existing knowledge and experience base. This is not the case. Anyone can take an indoor cycling certification workshop and then be considered a certified instructor.

Workshop Adventures

Because of the expectation that has been created over the years, a number of people get confused when they sign-up for our 2-day workshop. They automatically assume the workshop provides them with their certification. It takes them a few moments to wrap their mind around the concept that they will still have to take a comprehensive written and practical exam – on a separate date. The encouraging part is that instructors get it. Once you explain the value and the standard we are trying to uphold, they get excited and express that this is what they always wanted.

Resetting Expectations

Our goal is to recapture the value, expertise and pride in being a indoor cycling instructor. This can only happen if people obtain a legitimate certification. The expectation needs to be reset. For example, one expects to study, take workshops and sit for a challenging exam in order to become a personal trainer. This is the expectation that the industry has created. Take a look at the hours, cost and requirements of some popular health and fitness certifications:

Now let’s take a look at Indoor Cycling Certifications*:

*Based on information found on company’s website and email correspondence. Workbooks included.
**Schwinn now has a 2-day workshop, but only offered in Europe.

Who Will Stop the Maddness?

It should come as no surprise why indoor cycling instructors are not seen as equals to other certified fitness professionals. Personal trainers and certified cycling coaches spend hundreds of hours in study and practical application while an indoor cycling instructor (usually a person with a great heart and energy) can have no experience, take 1 day of training, with no test, and be considered certified.

Stage5 Cycling has taken a stand (and a huge investment) to bring indoor cycling to the level of other legitimate health and fitness certifications. However, until health clubs and compliance standards follow our example, very little will change. Regardless, we will continue to deliver the very best in workshops and certification for indoor cycling. We thank all of you who believe in our mission and have taken our workshops. And to the thousands of members who take our classes, we are forever committed to bring you Real Cycling, Real Training and Real Results.

You can learn more about Scott and his company Stage5 Cycling here.

071 ICI Podcast #71 – Indoor Bike Maintenance Expert Jeff Wimmer

Jeff Wimmer’s name came up during our interview with Johnny G last year. (I’ve been trying to get him on the Podcast ever since)

Jeff and his company StudioCycles is recognized by most of the Indoor Cycling Bike Manufactures as the expert when it comes to maintaining those poor bikes that are so often ridden hard and then put away wet.

Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using iTunes or Zune.
[audio:http://indoorcycleinstructor.com.s3.amazonaws.com/071_Jeff_Wimmer.mp3]

Let ICI/PRO be your “IV” and “Sieve”

A new member posted the most amazing comment on an indoor cycling forum about ICI/PRO that I would like to share with you. Below, I edited only a few misspelled words (I bet she was sooo excited she wrote so fast!) but you can see the actual post on Innercycling right here.

Funhog,
I have to say what you and John have started is nothing less than spectacular! I paid my yearly membership to the SPIN and got a few discounts on workshops and one Intro certification in 3 years. I just signed up with your new program and already suffer from information overload, more information is available to me now than I have time to digest. I will forever be a subscriber! Thanks so much, you are helping me beyond measure.

Thank you Blackdog for your comments. I wish I could express how happy it makes me feel to know that we are benefitting and helping other instructors like you. (Blackdog, email me if you are reading this).

We are so very grateful to all the instructors who have placed their trust in us by becoming a member – we will not let you down!

If you are still doubtful about the value of ICI/PRO, or still wondering why we aren’t providing all of this for free, please take the time to read the rest of this post – you might discover something you didn’t realize about us. We are truly a new concept in IC instructor training, and you’ll see what I mean about being your “IV” and “seive”. Read more…

ICI/PRO Platinum Members to recieve CEC’s!

Starting in January – ICI/PRO Platinum membership includes a credit to earn .2 ACE CEC’s.

Dr. Haley Perlus has developed an online presentation; Communication Effectiveness. This CEC eligible training is designed specifically for Indoor Cycling Instructors.

We will be offering these CEC’s to non-members for $65.00.

ICI/PRO Platinum Members will get them for free, as part of their annual membership.

You can join now with complete confidence and no risk. Here is our guarantee.

Your Satisfaction is 100% guaranteed, for the length of your subscription.

You will be continuously pleased with your ICI/PRO subscription or we will issue you a 100% refund, no questions asked.

Jennifer and I are committed to delivering the information you need to become the best Indoor Cycling Instructor possible.  We are confident that you and your class will enjoy and benefit from the; by-weekly Audio PROfiles, ICI/PRO Podcasts, Motivating & Educating Articles and monthly Tele-seminars available exclusively to ICI/PRO Members. If at any time during your subscription period we fail to deliver as promised or not meet your expectations, we will refund your entire current subscription cost.

More information is here.

ICI Podcast #64 – Master Instructor Janet Toussaint on how to sell endurance training to your class

One of the things that most excites me about the potential here at ICI and the technology we are tapping into, is that we have created a platform that allows us to seek out and interview some of the most progressive and experienced people in indoor cycling and bring them to you, our listeners and members. Where else can you hear interviews with the pros on subjects that help you grow as an instructor? (Except at an expensive conference once a year!)

We certainly do not know everything there is to know about indoor cycling, but we know how to seek it out and bring it to you. I have so many mentors I’ve learned from over the years who I would like to bring into the discussion at ICI. With every new person we interview, you will learn a different style, a different approach, or perhaps a new twist on something you haven’t considered.

Today we are speaking with Master Instructor Janet Toussaint from the Boston area. I met Janet eleven years ago in Santa Monica at a weeklong Master Camp for Mad Dogg Athletics. Janet had joined the Spinning MI team the year before I did (and left MDA two years before I did). At this camp, the entire MI team had to go on a challenging 40-mile very hilly outdoor bicycle ride with Johnny G; many of us still talk about that ride to this day. (Those were the days – Master Instructors were expected to have at least some cycling skills and experience!)

Janet was always one of my favorite Master Instructors and her sessions at WSSC were riveting; there was something about her gentle but powerful voice that made you want to listen when she spoke. It was the teaching style that I wanted to emulate as I developed my own style.

One of Janet’s expertises is teaching endurance. She ran the Spinning program for years at the Boston Athletic Club and not only got the instructors to buy into the concept of teaching a moderate intensity ride, but the large member base as well. Now that is a tough challenge when all they seem to want is high intensity all the time – I am sure many of you are faced with a similar challenge.

In January of 2003 Janet came out to visit me in Vail on a ski vacation with her son JP. When we weren’t skiing, I made her teach Spinning at my club! We were in the middle of a base building program at the time so I had her teach an Endurance workshop to my instructors. She had such a positive impact on our instructors and our program and I still use some of her special cues and metaphors that she used to motivate riders.

When you hear Janet’s passion, I am sure she will inspire you too!

John and I enjoyed this discussion so much that we decided to go deeper into the subject of endurance and scheduled even more time with Janet. For ICI/PRO members, we will offer two additional podcasts that you will receive in your Super-Secret iTunes feed. The next interview will go more deeply into the essence of teaching an endurance ride. Even more exciting, the second one will be  an audio PROfile on Janet’s own favorite endurance ride, The Endurance Connection, replete with her all-star cueing, coaching and playlist.

If you have difficulty coming up with motivational things to say in your endurance classes, you won’t want to miss any of these podcasts!

Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using iTunes or Zune.
[audio:http://indoorcycleinstructor.com.s3.amazonaws.com/064_MI_Toussaint.mp3]

IDEA weighs in on the safety of the Biggest Loser

Many of you came to ICI via my Funhogspins blog (and for that I am grateful). For those who were following my former blog last year, you would have seen my post entitled Open Letter to Jillian Michaels following an episode of the Biggest Loser in which I could not hold back my disappointment (some would say ‘disdain’) for how she taught a Spinning class on national television.

IDEA posted a lengthy article discussing the training techniques employed on the show in their September newsletter. It’s a great article – but be forewarned, you might need to get a cup of coffee (or glass of wine) before settling down to read it. You’ll need some time…

As a personal trainer I abhor their methods on the Biggest Loser, but this article does shed some light on the fact that what we see is only a tiny portion of what is actually going on. Nevertheless, it doesn’t release them from the obligation of sound and safe training which I don’t believe is the norm on the show.

At WSSC this past May, there were two past participants from TBL – they even got Spinning certified! I spoke to them at length in the bar one evening, and they had only great things to say about their experience on the show (but to be honest, and maybe this is cynical of me, I had to wonder if they are ‘paid’ to maintain that viewpoint). They did take my Moving Mountains session and had a great experience – they even said they stayed seated for most of the two-hour climb!

I thought I’d put this here to generate a discussion. What do you think of the methods used on the Biggest Loser? Do the benefits outweigh the negative aspects? Or is it the other way around? Have you seen the crazy “Spinning” led by Jillian? What do you think of that?

For more posts from my Funhogspins blog about the Biggest Loser, click here for the follow up letter I posted, and here for a response to some hate mail from a Jillian fan. Don’t worry – if she does some crazy moves again in the Spinning room, I’m poised to respond again. But this time it will be a real letter sent directly to the show, and this time I’ll send it as a representative for ICI, whose goal is safe and effective training in indoor cycling classes!

CycleOps Introduces Joule

In the world of Indoor Cycling 2.0, every bike would have a Joule.

Joule provides an intuitive and customizable dashboard for managing all the metrics needed to tell you what you’re doing during a ride. At any moment you can see power, heart rate, cadence, speed, time and other basic data.

Unfortunatly it only works with the CycleOps Pro 300PT

A USA Cycling Coach: To Jump or Not To Jump?

Tom Scotto is the Program Director for Stage5 Cycling Incorporated and a Certified USA Cycling Coach. Tom asked if he could contribute to the discussion and offer his perspective on if you should incorporate jumps into your Spinning / Indoor Cycling Class profiles. Tom was a guest on Podcast #34 where we discussed his Indoor Cycling Certification Program

In summary, jumps (as Spinning and Schwinn) define them, should never be
done on an indoor bike. There are some dangers and misconceptions that can
help instructors understand why this is not an appropriate technique.

Let me start by saying, as a USA Cycling coach, my perspective is very
real-cycling focused. Regardless, I’m not a big fan of distinguishing
between and indoor (non-cyclist) and a outdoor cyclist, both of whom may
take an indoor cycling class. Both are riding a bike which require similar
biomechanics and technique with a few adaptations (I’ll explain below). The
determining factor is the workout. A well defined, appropriate and
purposeful workout (with good music) will please any crowd regardless of
age, fitness or skill level.

I am in agreement with Jennifer Sage’s definition of “real” cycling jumps.
Dead on. My issue lies with the non-cycling (Spinning, etc.) jumps.

Read more…