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Before I was an ICI/Pro Contributor, or Master Educator, before I spent every weekend coaching whatever sport my kids were playing at the time, back in what feels like a different life I was and Ironman triathlete.  I spent close to 10 years in pursuit of that coveted Hawaiian Ironman spot, only to see my competition get faster and that spot get farther and farther away.  I may not have made it to the finish line in Kona, but the journey I took in pursuit of that dream has made me the person I am today.

People often ask me if I miss Ironman training and racing and I can honestly say I don”™t.  At that time in my life it was my identity, it was what I lived for.  Today I have a wonderful wife and two great 15 year old boys.  I would much rather be riding the lifts of Vail, with them, then base training for next year”™s races.  I may race again some day, but for the next few years I would rather focus on raising my boys, they are my identity, they are what I live for now.

The one thing I miss most about Ironman training are the long training workouts.  I loved to train alone.  There is no better place to find the answer to any of life”™s questions than on a 4000m swim, 5 hour ride or 3 hour run.  The rhythm and length of these workouts gave me a chance to quiet my mind and listen.  I don”™t know where the answers or ideas came from but they just came.  Many people call this Flow or being In The Zone.

Flow is a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, wellbeing and enjoyment in the activity being performed.  The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy while.

Many people find the flow accidentally, without thinking about it or trying, all the conditions of a workout magically come together and work feels effortless, time flies by and your body feels like it is working perfectly.  This flow state is like a drug, once you have had it once you want more of it.  Luckily, finding The Flow can be practiced and perfected.

[wlm_private 'PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']

The controlled environment of an indoor cycling studio is the perfect place to practice and  perfect finding the flow state.  I”™ve been incorporating one flow state song per class for the past few months and my riders love it.  When cueing a flow state song I ask my riders to focus on the beat of the music, or their cadence or the rhythm of their breathing.  They need to focus on something rhythmic and hypnotic.  The intensity needs to be below threshold, burning legs and lungs will pull them out of the flow.  The most important and probably hardest thing for an instructor to do during a flow state song is to BE QUIET.  Your riders need to focus on the rhythm of THIER bodies, the sound of your voice will pull them out of this flow state every time.

I have gotten more positive comments about this addition to my profiles then anything I have ever done.  I would recommend you add it in during one of your recovery songs, this way the volume or intensity junkies in your class don”™t feel like they are missing out on any of the “quality” of the workout.

If you listen to my recorded classes below, see if you can find any “Soul Cycle” influence, no I have not added weights.

The Power of 3 - "Find the Flow"

"I Lived" by One Republic

"I Am The River" by Foo Fighters

"Ghost" by Ella Henderson

 

A detailed set profile to print

 

The_Power_of_3_I_Lived_I_Am_the_River_Ghost

3 song harmonically mixed track, , to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.

 

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TrainerRoad Profile of the following classes.

Recording of me teaching this 3 song set in a class on a Spinner Blade Ion, Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download on PC or Download Linked File As on Mac. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.

 

Recording of me teaching this 3 song set in a class on a Spinner NXT, Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download on PC or Download Linked File As on Mac. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.

 

3 song harmonically mixed song AND video, to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download.

Enjoy![/wlm_private]

Dennis Mellon

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