Krankcycle at IDEA – Interview with Mike Michaels

I participated in a Krankcycle orientation yesterday at 501Spin in Minneapolis. Part of the training used the Suunto Fitness Solution I will be talking about it on our next podcast but wanted you to see my interview from IDEA.

Jennifer and I are going to school July 10 & 11 in Denver – Can you join us?

Are you in the Denver area? Jennifer and I have been so impressed with Tom Scotto that we are both taking his 2 day Indoor Cycling Instructor Workshop. Here are the details and if you are in the area we would love to ride with you.

Indoor Cycling Instructor 2-Day Workshop
Date: Sat , Sun   7/10/2010 - 7/11/2010
Time:  9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Location:  Breathe Denver
2033 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO – (303) 297-3005 – www.breathedenver.com/ This 2-day (14-hour) intensive workshop provides practical knowledge and experience with today’s cycling training and teaching concepts for the indoor studio. This is “hands-on” training and includes 6-8 hours on the bike so come prepared to learn and ride. This workshop is taught by a Certified USA Cycling / Stage5 Elite Cycling Coach / Master IC Instructor Cost: $275.00 Workbook Included. Download – Sample 2-Day Workshop Agenda

Here is the link to reserve your spot. Scroll down to find the Denver July 10-11 workshop.

Up -Coming Stage 5 Indoor Cycling Instructor 2-Day Workshop

Indoor Cycling Instructor 2-Day Workshop
Date: Sat , Sun   6/5/2010 - 6/6/2010
Time:  9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Location:  LifeStyles Fitness Center
Workshop Location: LifeStyles Fitness & Spa 200 S. Lindsey Lane, Bolingbrook, IL – (630) 739-1705 – www.bolingbrookparks.org This 2-day (14-hour) intensive workshop provides practical knowledge and experience with today’s cycling training and teaching concepts for the indoor studio. This is “hands-on” training and includes 6-8 hours on the bike so come prepared to learn and ride. This workshop is taught by a Certified USA Cycling / Stage5 Elite Cycling Coach / Master IC Instructor Cost: $275.00 Workbook Included. Download – Sample 2-Day Workshop Agenda

Why is Sally Edwards dressed up as a couch potato?

To demonstrate the point that inside every “couch potato” is a Triathlete.

I found this interview video of Sally Edwards very entertaining and motivating. I have forwarded it to my Indoor Cycling Class participants. Click the link or the picture to watch it

Cycling Specific class review – Stage5 Cycling class

I spent this past weekend in Boston and Vermont. Thankfully the previous week’s deluge had passed and I was blessed with great weather. I headed east for several reasons, one of which was to meet with Tom Scotto of Stage5 Cycling to learn more about his certification program and how I (and ICI) can get more involved. I also went out to be a part of the instructor team for the 6-hour Ride for a Reason fundraiser in Burlington, Vermont on Sunday. That was a fantastic experience, but I’ll write about that in another post.

I had the great fortune of taking one of Tom’s classes. He teaches at multiple facilities; this one was at Fitcorp at the Harvard Medical Center. I have to say that it was one of the most cycling specific classes I have ever personally taken, one of two classes actually. Yes, in 13 years of taking Spinning classes, even at WSSC, I’ve not experienced a class quite like it, not from Josh Taylor, not from Johnny G, not from any “Spinning” instructor. The other one was a class (not a Spinning® class) I took 10 years ago from Dave Scott, elite triathlete and coach and 6-time Ironman world champion. But Tom’s class was amazing in every way – he has a unique skill of coaching that transcends almost anyone I’ve ever heard. Read more…

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…

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.

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.

Livestrong Indoor Cycling Bike

I just found this, but it may be old news to you. I’m not sure if it’s club quality but it’s sure nice looking. Here is what Lance says about Livestrong fitness equipment:

Read more…

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.

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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…

Additional question about Keiser’s M3

Spinning – Star Trac Bike with Power? OK so when?

Ok, so Schwinn has introduced their new bike that includes magnetic resistance and Power indication (Watts readout) and are rolling it out at this year’s IDEA conference. Jay Blahnik is heading up their programing. (Yes, I’m working to get him on the Podcast…)
So where is the Spinning – Star Trac bike with power and watts? Or for that matter LeMond’s?
I have a hard time believing that Mad Dogg / Spin Fitness would cede this ground to their competitors. Indoor Cycling 2.0 is going to happen, with or without Spinning’s involvement. It will be fun to watch it happen!

Gene over at Global Ride has a whole studio full of new Keiser M3’s with power and he is leveraging all that information in a way that is increasing his participants fitness and enjoyment.

ICI Podcast #48 – Master Spinning Instructor Jennifer Sage @ WSSC!

Master Spinning Instructor Jennifer Sage joins me to discuss the World Spinning and Sport Conference. Jennifer describes her experiences and talks about some of her sold out sessions.

Jennifer is planning to post much of the music and class ride profiles she used during the conference over at her site http://funhogspins.blogspot.com/

Here is the information about my new Red Pedal Tool we discuss.

Please sponsor me on this years MS150.
Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using iTunes or Zune. Here is a Step by Step Video that shows how to subscribe.

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I’m not mean…just a little intense!

Amy found this hat on a Group Fitness Instructor site and thought some of my participants would want one.

Most Remote Listener Contest Winner

Congratulations to contest winner Judith Buckley!

Judith is a Spinning Instructor in Saudi Arabia where her husband maintains fighter jets for the Saudi Air Force! She wins a set of epicRIDES DVDs, courtesy of www.epicplanet.tv

I’m planning to interview Judith in the very near future. I’m very interested in hearing about the unique challenges faced by an instructor in a country that puts such severe limits on women. Here is an article from Reuters she passed on to me that illustrates what women in places like this face. Saudi Arabia clamps down on unlicensed female gyms

ICI Podcast #46 – Master Spinning Instructor Jennifer Sage is off to Italy!

Jennifer is off to Italy to ride the Giretto!

I had the chance to get an update as to her training and preparation for her participation in this year’s Giretto, a Livestrong fundraising event that is riding the first five stages of the Giro d’Italy ahead of Lance and all the other pros. ( They will be lucky to have Jennifer leading the way!) Here is her page at Cycling Fusion where you can support her in exchange for all the value she brings you as an instructor, through her Spinning Training and very informative blog.

We also discuss how to prevent a disaster with your computer by ensuring that it’s properly & consistently backed up. Here is the link to the page I created with links to all the services I use: http://www.indoorcycleinstructor.com/backup

If after listening to this you are thinking, “I wish I had a Brother Dan to fix my computer” you can. The guy is a magician with PC’s and can dig out and fix any problem you have, do it remotely so it doesn’t matter where in the world you live and he charges about 1/2 what you would expect from many of the computer stores.

You can email my brother Dan – dan@indoorcycleinstructor.com
Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using iTunes or Zune.Here is a Step by Step Video that shows how to subscribe.

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Spinning RideBook of class profiles

The Spinning RideBook is difficult to find at spinning.com. Here is the link:

http://www.spinning.com/spinning-shop-spinner-bikes/spinner-accessories-7320.asp