Cool Stuff and Random Observations From IDEA

Here are some of what I came away with from IDEA.   I do plan to expand on some of this with Jennifer as a new Podcast episode soon.

• My biggest takeaway from the entire conference… I saw approximately the same Threshold Power (240 watts) on the Schwinn AC Performance, Keiser M3 and CycleOps Indoor Cycles. I know it isn’t exactly scientific, but I took classes on all three power bikes and I was encouraged to see they all read similar power. This Threshold Power squares with Cycling Fusion’s Power Charts that predict ~ 1.2 – 1.6 watts per pound for a reasonably fit cyclist – I’m 160lbs x 1.5 watts per lb = 240 watts.
• Does the “F” word belong in your class? How about a conference session? I talked with an Instructor who was very upset about the language used in a Saturday 7:30am session.  I’m digging into it more…
• Based on many of the Instructors I saw here in Southern CA  you can never be too fit, too thin or too tan
• I have a bunch of short video Interviews, including Paco Gonzalez who will be presenting at our October conference.
• If you ever get the chance to attend any training where Jay Blahnik is the presenter… GO!
• Everyone needs a profile (Instructor and/or Club-Studio)  on IDEA Fitness Connect . IDEA launched Fitness Connect this weekend as the largest fitness professional directory, connecting more than 16 million consumers to more than 100,000 fitness professionals with credentials verified by the top 14 fitness certification bodies. Completely free and you do not need to be an IDEA member.
  

  Your profile on these sites coming late in 2010

  I have already set up mine (and the two clubs where I teach) here.

• TRX is going to take over the fitness world… it’s only a mater of time…

More to come.

I need help from our Italian readers on this one

The music in this video is fantastic, but I can’t figure out who does it. Can you help?
Yes, I’m a closet motorcycle fan. Take a listen and tell me this wouldn’t be fantastic for your class…
I found a one minute sample here but I want the whole .mp3

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Armstrong and Team Radio Shack are using the Zeo at the Tour de France

You heard about the ZEO back on Podcast #86 and now Lance Armstrong’s Radio Shack Pro Cycling Team is using the ZEO to measure and hopefully improve the quality and amount of sleep each rider is getting.

Michael Bruno Now Owns Both Star Trac and Schwinn

Michael Bruno Acquires Star Trac

From http://www.bryankorourke.com

Consolidation in the fitness and wellness equipment business continues as Star Trac, a global leader in the commercial fitness industry, announced today that Michael Bruno and Star Trac signed an agreement whereby Bruno will purchase the controlling interest in Star Trac’s parent company. This will strengthen the company’s ability to provide the product innovation, quality, reliability and customer service that have been the Star Trac brand legacy since 1988. The parties expect to close within two business days. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Bruno, a highly respected fitness industry veteran for more than 20 years, also has holdings that include Stairmaster (which Schwinn is a part, John) based in Vancouver, Washington and Land America, a manufacturing firm in China that builds high-end consumer and commercial fitness equipment. His reorganization plan for Star Trac focuses on company continuity and aggressive streamlining.

Here is the official Press Release from Star Trac

Michael Bruno is also the CEO of Fit Dragon International, LTD., a British Virgin Islands company that purchased the assists Schwinn earlier this year.

I wonder what is going to happen with this?

Schwinn is pushing hard to get their Schwinn AC “Authentic Cycling” Performance cycles with power ready and Star Trac has yet to introduce a bike with power. Will we see some co-branding of the Schwinn cycle as a Spinner cycle with power in the near future? Will there continue to be two brands?

More on this as it develops.

Vote For Ironman For Kids – BATTLE. BREATH. BELIEVE.

ICI/PRO Member Bonni Barocas has asked for our help securing a $20,000 grant for this charity she is involved with. It doesn’t cost you anything other than a minute of your time.  Watch the video and then click the banner to vote for Ironman for Kids.

IRONMAN FOR KIDS passionately seeks to raise awareness for Trisomy, a chromosomal disorder. Through various sporting events and programs, we strive to educate those that have never heard of trisomy, while also being a support group for families living with the disorder, helping to give them a vibrant voice in society. A chromosomal disorder is not a death sentence but a rewarding challenge to embrace compassion, love, and hope for a unique little life.

IronMan for Kids from Carlos Maestas on Vimeo.

It’s Jennifer’s Birthday today!

I won’t tell you how old Jennifer is (I only know because we born less than two months apart) so don’t ask

Be sure to wish her well in a comment below!

IndoorCycleInstructor PRO in Iraq!

ICI/PRO member David Pineda is in Iraq with the Army National Guard. He and I have emailed a few times in the past few months. He contacted me last night through a Facebook chat and told me he had just taught my Loop de Loop PROfile! There! In Iraq! And they loved it! Do you know how COOL this is? How good this makes me feel? They’re Loop de Looping it in Iraq!!

(OK, I just used my yearly quota of exclamation points…)

He says his motto is Keep it Real, and after a rocky start, the students are starting to gravitate towards that. It’s been a tough battle because the previous instructor knew nothing about teaching or cycling, and classes were full of nonsense. But David is now making a big difference, expanding the number of classes and having a great time doing it. They have 28 bikes (when they’re all in working order) and he’s now brought the class from 2X/week to 3X, and from an average of 8-12 people to over 25!

A little background. When David first arrived in Iraq about 6 months ago, there was one instructor who was leaving. David had never taught, but he was a cyclist, so he was the only obvious choice if they wanted the classes to continue. What is so cool about David is that he took this very seriously. Since there was no way to get certified, he began doing online research, because he wanted to make sure he was doing it right. He found my previous blog Funhogspins, then the link to ICI and to Keep it Real and contacted me back in December for teaching advice. He jumped at the opportunity to join ICI/PRO to learn more, and since then he’s made amazing strides with is own self-education and with his classes and students.

Here is one of his emails to me: Read more…

Show up early and often

Moderate-intensity activity was defined in the study as walking or hiking, jogging, running, bicycling, aerobic exercise or dance, use of exercise machines, yoga, tennis, squash, racquetball and swimming. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

That’s my answer whenever someone asks me; “how many Indoor Cycling classes should I be taking each week?” And now there is a new study that confirms this, particularly for middle aged women.

From the LA Times – Women should exercise an hour a day to maintain weight, study says
The recommendation is aimed at women who don’t want to diet but do want to avoid gaining weight. Some experts say to take it with a grain of salt….
The 60-minute-a-day recommendation, released online Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., is aimed at women of normal weight who don’t want to diet but do want to avoid gaining weight over time. Most Americans gain about 1.5 pounds a year between age 25 and 55. Read the rest here.

You may consider sending this to the people in your class along with your class schedule.

More Signs Of Spring

7:00 AM Monday 3/15/10 I caught the ice melting with my iPhone!

ICI Podcast #90 – Jennifer is back from Down Under and an interview with the Founder of eGreen Revolution

Jennifer Sage is back from Down Under and we discuss a few of her experiences in New Zealand.

Then is my interview with Jay Whelan, Founder and CEO  of The Green Revolution™. His company has created a product that generates usable electricity from a Spinning Indoor Cycling bike.  Or as they say: connects health + energy + environment by turning human effort within the health club into usable energy.

One big advantage of this product is how it adds a Power Meter to the bike, saving a club from needing to upgrade to keep up with the change to Indoor Cycling 2.0

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

A new definition for “Spin Cycle”

Here’s an idea for someone interested in opening a Indoor Cycling Studio who’s looking for additional income. Start a Green Laundry service with washing machines using Pedal Power!

Cyclean, The pedal powered washing machine.

I can just hear the fussy customers, “I want that guy with the big legs washing my load!” More pictures after the jump…

Read more…

Indoor Cycling apparel – how can it be improved?

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Mavis Ho about a study she is doing on indoor cycling clothing. She saw my post about the benefits of wearing cycling clothing in an indoor cycling class and realized that this is the perfect market in which to ask her questions! Anytime I find out about a survey or study being done in our industry I want to do whatever I can to help out – will you take a couple of minutes to answer this survey? The more people we can get to answer, the better – large sample sizes are important with surveys such as this. If you have a mailing list of your students, please send it to them as well. It’s not just for instructors – it’s for the general indoor cycling population.

Here are the details about the survey as presented to me by Mavis:

Mavis is getting her Master’s Degree in apparel design at Oregon State University. The purpose of the research is to establish design criteria of indoor cycling wear that meets the needs of highly committed and casual indoor cyclists. She chose indoor cycling is because she believes every sport has its particular clothing designed to be functional and to make that sport easier and more comfortable.

Though indoor cycling is viewed as a substitute for road cycling, the conditions (environmental condition) and participants are not generally the same. The questionnaire is comprised of three major sections: demographics, personal value statements and indoor cycling wear design preferences.

In the cycling clothing needs segment, respondents indicate the attributes and elements of indoor cycling wear design that are preferred. This is your chance to tell the makers of indoor cycling clothing what YOU prefer in your attire! Click on the link below to go to the survey.

Indoor Cycling Wear: A Needs Assessment Survey

Please forward this to everyone you know who takes indoor cycling classes, instructors and students alike.

Thanks for your help!

Signs of Spring

A sign of spring as I walked away from my class this morning!

Life Time Fitness Sets New World Record for Static Indoor Cycling Participants @ 1052

That was fun, being part of a New World Record for Static (their word) Indoor Cycling Participants. The official total of 1052 was certified by a representative of the Guinness World Records, who was on site to observe, at the end of the 2 hour class.

What an undertaking and to pull it off with only 4 weeks from conception to World Record.

Here is some video I shot while I was there.

Up Date: Here is a second video taken by another participant. If you pay close attention, at the 26 second point, the camera captures yours truly (I’m in the white hat)

Indoor Cycling World Record – History

Tomorrow I’m participating in a new world Indoor Cycling World Record attempt that will take place in Minneapolis at the Target Center. Billed as The Ride Of a Lifetime and is sponsored by Life Time Fitness. (my employer) 1,000 participants are registered, with many on the waiting list!

I did a little research as to recient attemps and they are:

• January 9, 2010 – 600 participants road in the Life Time Fitness “Ride of a Lifetime, in Houston, Texas
• September 18, 2009, 450 cyclists participated in a static cycle class in Galway, Ireland (no link to be found)
• March 23, 2009, 418 participants took part in an outdoor cycle ride at the Life Time Fitness center in Plano, Texas
• February 21st 2009 – 412 cyclists pedaled into the record books this week at Esporta Health Clubs’ annual conference in Gloucestershire.
• August 14th 2008 – 354 Indoor Cyclists break world record at Can – Fit Pro conference in Toronto.
• February 28th 2008 – 323 cyclists at Esporta Health Clubs’ annual conference in Gloucestershire.

So why 1,000? I’m guessing Life Time Chairman, CEO and President, Bahram Akradi is just sticking the flag way down the beach, to an almost unreachable point, essentially ending the back-and-forth.

Video coming tomorrow.

Life Time Fitness – The Ride of a Lifetime Indoor Cycling World Record Attempt

Looks like they are close to making have made their goal of having One Thousand Indoor Cyclists at this event!  Updated 2/4/10

I just saw an email that, as of this morning, they have 925 riders registered. It should be a lot of fun and I’m guaranteed a great parking spot at the Target Center – I’m helping to unload trucks and wheel bikes into place, starting at 4:00am Sunday morning.

If you plan to be there let me know so I can say hi!  Posted by John. For some strange reason my blog doesn’t know who I am anymore

Half Moon Sets Off Spinning® Programme

Our very own ICI/PRO Team Member Barbara Hoots announces;

First Officially Licensed Spinning® Resort in Caribbean

(I know how hard she worked and all the hurdles she overcame to make this a reality. I’m very proud of her + it’s going to be a great place to teach! Info about teaching here in exchange for an all-inclusive vacation HERE – John)

Find a hammock for after your class...

From their press release:
Rose Hall, Jamaica (February 2009) – Half Moon, the luxury resort located in Rose Hall, Jamaica, has teamed up with internationally acclaimed STAR 3 Spinning instructor Barbara Hoots and Mad Dogg Athletics, developers of Spinning® to offer guests the popular cycling-inspired Spinning® classes. This will make the luxury resort the only Caribbean resort to offer this popular fitness programme.

Equipped with 10 custom-designed Spinner® bikes and state of the art sound system in specially-designed Spinning studio, guests of the 400-acre resort can choose from three unique tours that invite them on a virtual experience of Jamaica.

The programmes Climb to Blue Mountain, No Problem Tour and Adventures in Negril were developed by Spin veteran Barbara Hoots and feature specially created soundtrack to inspire and energize riders.
Read more…

So what’s coming next?

I have two new interviews coming over the next weeks that I feel you will be interested in hearing.

1. Learn how you and your class can create usable electricity, from your Indoor Cycling bikes, that can power your club. I interview the founder of egreenrevolution.com about connecting health & fitness with the creation of clean renewable energy.
2. The authors of “Perfect Breathing – Transform Your Life One Breath at a Time” join me to discuss how to integrate the most powerful techniques for managing stress, boosting performance, improving health, and increasing emotional intelligence into your personal and professional life, allowing you to more effectively deal with every challenge you face.

Introducing MixMeister Express 7

MixMeister Express 7 is now for both PC and Mac – but you still can’t use AAC Audio files of any type. Students of the MixMeister Express Academy learn how to convert their files from AAC to MP3 in lesson #1

Yep, it’s $70.00 but that’s better than the $200 Mac users needed to spend for MixMeister Studio. Existing users can upgrade for $19.99.

It’s a whole new install so you can keep MixMeister 6 installed and start over with version 7.

I have been playing with for a few minutes and the first cool new thing is it will import a playlist from iTunes. I have always preferred to build my playlists in iTunes instead of MixMeister so I see this is a big improvement.

I will have my full review soon and I will be making changes to the MixMeister Express Academy to reflect the new features.

2010 Ride of a Life Time Fitness Registration

I'm planning to ride this. Are you?

Life Time Fitness is planning an Indoor Cycling world record attempt on March 7th 2010 in Minneapolis MN.

Here is the link for more info on how to register so you can join me there.