Do you Bike to your Cycling class?

Amy "The Senior Group Fitness Instructor" off to teach her class in a very old Spinning Jersey. Note the Schwinn Logo on her sleave.

When the weather is nice, do you ride your bike to the club and then teach your Indoor Cycling class?

Just curious…

Indoor Cycling Shoes, What’s your recommendation?

When a student asks what they should purchase for Indoor Cycling Shoes, what do you recommend? Do you have a place to send them? Does your club sell Indoor Cycling Shoes?

An easy decision to make…

Well actually it was a non-decision

I received this notice today via email -

Dear Carbonite Customer,

Your Carbonite Online backup subscription for your computer JOHN-PC is scheduled to automatically renew in 7 days. When you signed up for Carbonite you selected automatic renewal billing which provides uninterrupted backup protection.

You do not need to do anything! Carbonite will automatically charge the regular subscription price of $54.95, to your credit card, ending in 6941, in 7 days. Once the payment has been processed, we will send you a separate confirmation email/receipt.

I can’t tell you, after two hard drive failures, how comforting it is to know everything on my PC is backed up. Not just once a month, but every night. And I do nothing but sleep while it happens. You can try it for FREE  here.

What’s your favorite ANGRY song?

Not ANGRY like; “I want to punch your lights out!” More like; “there comes a time where you want to turn the pedals with anger.” I like to use songs that communicate this type of intensity in my class when I’m looking for a very focused, very determined effort.

Here is a good example of what I mean:

Do you have other suggestions? Leave them as a comment so we can build a list for others to use.

Spinning ® Indoor Cycling Instructor Class Profile Time Length Calculator

Whenever I solve a problem for myself I stop and think, “I wonder of other Indoor Cycling Instructors have this same problem”. So I make a video to show you what I’ve done. Let me know in the comments if this was helpful to you. Here is the link to the free online calculator.

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.

Read more…

ICI Podcast #82 – Meet Ben Greenfield our newest ICI/PRO Team Member

Ben Greenfield is our newest ICI/PRO Team Contributor. Through his new RockStar Triathlete Academy, Ben has promised to help me with my training for the three Multi-Sport events I have committed to this summer.

Besides all of his education and experience as a competitive endurance athlete Ben is an Indoor Cycling Instructor just like us. He knows how to use a Spinning Indoor Cycling class to train for competitive endurance events and how to build a class that focuses on training (what I call Indoor Cycling 2.0). You can learn more about Ben here.

Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using iTunes or Zune.

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Update: I’m joining Ben Greenfield’s Triathlon Rock Star Triathlete Academy as I train for my first Triathlon. John

Do You Wear Cycling Clothing When You Teach Spinning?

[NOTE: This post is recreation from a recent post that evaporated into the Twilight Zone or into cyber-purgatory. Read the explanation here. If you wrote a comment via the email link - it does not show up here - it too went into the Twilight Zone. At the end of this post, I will cut and paste a few of the comments and then let the rest of you who commented on the last one repost your comments if you feel like it - I'd love it if you would - whether you agree with me or not. Thanks for understanding.]

Nashbar and Performance Bike are both having end of year sales right now on all their cycling products. It’s a good time to stock up on cycling shorts, jerseys and cycling shoes for your indoor cycling classes.

Don’t wear cycling shorts, jerseys or shoes?? Let me have a little word with you…

You are a professional instructor and coach. I believe that as coaches we should project an image of professionalism and practice what we preach. Read more…

Are you comfortable with silence?

Shhh!

Do you talk too much when you are teaching?

I’ve encountered this subject for many years as I’ve trained instructors around the country. Instructors have told me they feel uncomfortable with longer periods of silence, especially when the students look up to them with big eyes as if they are waiting to be told what to do next. They want to know how long they should wait after giving an instruction to the class before they should speak again. How much is too much talking?

There are no hard and fast rules, but in general, a good indoor cycling coach doesn’t need to say that much during the ride itself. She has honed her skill in giving specific direction, and has trained her students to trust her and to ride without her commands for long periods. This is the case where less can mean more.

In most group exercise classes where movements and combinations change at a rapid pace, near-constant direction from the instructor is needed to guide students through the workout so they know what is coming next, and in some cases, so they don’t bump into each other. Instructors who start off teaching these types of classes first, then transition to indoor cycling are most likely the ones who have difficulty shaking the need for constant banter. They are used to their students needing their continual direction or motivation from one moment to the next.

Indoor cycling is different. First of all, in most instances, movements should not change at a rapid pace. Sure, there is the occasional standing surge on a hill or big-geared flat road that might last only 5-15 seconds, or perhaps a brief sprint here and there, but in general, you should be riding the indoor bike very closely to how you would ride it outside, without constant changing of positions.  (And by the way, that goes for whether you ride a bike outside or not). 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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New Organizing Music in iTunes Video

Your certification didn’t teach you this so I will. If you like to use music to encourage specific pedal cadences, check out this new video on how to use a tap-to-the-beat counter. Here is the link to get it for Windows Users.

You can find the other 5 free videos over at http://www.mixmeisteracademy.com/using_itunes/

Sneaky Little Tricks to Blow Up the Size of Your Class

by Barbara Hoots
Do you dream of teaching a kick-ass class in a packed studio with unstoppable energy? Follow my FIVE BEST TRICKS ON THE PLANET and I guarantee your dream will become a reality.

1. Volunteer to Be a Guest Speaker.
Last week I spoke to a local civic club on the benefits of group exercise and physiological effects of endorphins. While my
presentation was not specifically geared toward indoor cycling, I seized the opportunity to distribute free Spinning® passes and now
have six new students in class! Most civic, social, or religious organizations in your community are desperate for free guest speakers! Volunteer to give a presentation on the benefits of exercise and reap the reward – a full class!

2. Use Your Body

Read more…

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…

To Jump or Not to Jump: That is the Question

By Jennifer Sage, Master Instructor

In June, an article appeared in the ACE newsletter citing five movements in indoor cycling that were considered contraindicated and intimidating to students. Luciana Marcial-Vinson of Mad Dogg Athletics and Spinning was interviewed for the article along with a Master Instructor for Schwinn, Julz Arney.  NOTE: The article being discussed was published earlier this summer in ACE Certified News and is available only to ACE Fitness Professionals.  ACE denied my request to make the article available to you. John

Jumps were listed as one of the 5 “common mistakes” in indoor cycling, decried by Julz as a “dangerous and intimidating” move that should not be performed in an indoor cycling class. When interviewed, Luciana had no idea that jumps would be included in this list of contraindicated movements. As a result, because jumps are one of the five core movements taught in the Spinning program since its inception, it appeared that Spinning was in contradiction with its own teachings. Calls and emails flooded Mad Dogg Athletics and were also directed to many Master Instructors as well, from some very confused instructors. Luciana had to scramble to write a position statement in the Spinning newsletter soon afterwards that the Spinning program does not consider jumps as an unsafe or contraindicated move when properly performed.
Read more…

Freshen Up After Your Indoor Cycling Class

For those of you without showers at your studio, these will make you more pleasant to be around.

Fresh Start are body cleansing washcloths you carry in your gym bag. I saw these this morning at a big event ride in my neighborhood.

I know of a lot of you teach a noon spinning class and then run back to work. Trust me, your co-workers will appreciate you using these.

Schwinn Triple Link Pedal Removal Tool

If you have ever tried to remove the shoe clip from these Schwinn® Triple Link Pedals, then you know exactly what I’m talking about!

“Can you help me take these off? Always 2 minutes before class starts & leads to:

• Bruised knuckles
  
• Broken finger nails – 1/2 of us instructors are women
• You look incompetent and uncoordinated in front of your class
  

Don’t get me wrong. Having the flexibility to use SPD / LOOK cleated shoes or regular running shoes in an Indoor Cycling Class is great….

BUT DID ANYONE USE THESE IN A CLASS AFTER THEY DESIGNED THEM?

In a past life, before becoming the host of the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast, I was a mechanic who loved tools. OK I still do, but the point is that any job becomes easier and safer with the proper tool. So whenever I was fighting (or watching another Instructor or member fighting) with these pedals I would think “there needs to be a tool to remove these things.”

So I Invented the Red Pedal Tool – Patent Pending

$39.97 and Free Shipping!

Visa – MasterCard – PayPal

Check out this video to see how easily it works!


In stock and ready to ship!

Stainless steel construction, lifetime guaranty and made in the USA!

The perfect addition to your studio!

Red Pedal Tools are now available for $39.97

FREE SHIPPING to anywhere in North America.

$10.00 SHIPPING to just about anywhere else!

International delivery available – email me for a quote John@indoorcycleinstructor.com

Visa – MasterCard – PayPal

Your Satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. If your new Red Pedal Tool fails to meet your expectations contact me and I will issue you a 100% refund + cover the return shipping costs – no questions asked. If it fails during normal use I will replace it No Charge.

Please contact me for bulk purchases or to use your company check – john@indoorcycleinstructor.com

Patent Pending – Deep Breath In, LLC

I need your help getting this information to your club owner or manager. Please this email this link now with a note saying how much better your class would be with the Red Pedal Tool.

http://www.indoorcycleinstructor.com/audio/Red_pedal_tool.mp4

Do you wear cycling clothing when you teach Spinning?

Nashbar and Performance Bike are both having end of year sales right now on all their cycling products. It’s a good time to stock up on cycling shorts, jerseys and cycling shoes for your indoor cycling classes.

Don’t wear cycling shorts, jerseys or shoes?? Let me have a little word with you…

You are a professional instructor and coach. I believe that as coaches we should project an image of professionalism and practice what we preach. Read more…