I love hearing comments like; “I'm giving it everything I've got!” when I'm off the bike, working the room. I asked for their Best Effort and they are delivering. The only thing left is handing out their ribbons 🙂
So what makes for a great Best Effort track? My personal belief is that it needs sound very powerful when played LOUD and has a building intro to give riders a chance to get set. That's pretty much it. Cadence RPM is open and of course you'd want it at the length you intend.
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Samples — Malbec is perfect for that last three minute/Big Finish/Best Effort. Nice 20 second intro before a big hit @ 93RPM to send you on your way. Then there's a quiet section, a minute into the effort, where you can question everyone with:
Is this really your best effort? If not add it now and hit the Stage button again to re-commit.
Here's an interesting mashup your class might enjoy.
I'm a huge believer in the concept of including a “Best Effort” in every class I teach. “Best Effort” as in; what is your sustainable power over 3-4 minutes? The reason is simple – I want every participant, in every class I teach, to have an understanding of their estimated threshold wattage. Why? Because when I teach with power (always) I feel knowing where you should be is super important. It makes my cuing much more understandable to even the first-timer. I can then ask for efforts Below/@/Above threshold and there's no confusion.
And I'm not the only one doing this. In his upcoming Audio Class Profile, Master Educator Dennis Mellon uses these “Best Efforts” for exactly the same reason 🙂
But my regulars would get a bit bored if I did the same class every week, so I mix up how we do these… Climbing, Fast Flats and occasionally we'll even do them out of the saddle! Regardless of the cadence or position, these are very popular (OK, sometimes I get a few groans) with my class. Throw one in at around the 20 mark, and then as the “Big Finish” at the end of class – except during round two your expectations are for even a BIGGER “Best Effort” as a close.
A fun “Best Effort” takes the right music and I'm providing a few remixes from Instructor/DJ Peter Gonzalez, better known as Peter G, that should work nicely for you to add in to your next playlist.
65 RPM “Best Effort” track – at 4:37 you'll start with the first spoken lyric and ride for 4 minutes.
Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate Monitor Strap works with ANT+ and BLE devices and consoles.
I'm thinking this new Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate monitor strap could be the best I've ever tested – for a bunch of reasons that include removing what I feel has always been one of the biggest objections to wearing a HR strap.
Despite all of our collective efforts explaining the benefits of training in specific heart rate zones, we're lucky if we have 30% of our participants monitoring their heart rate. I know that some classes are better than that, but based on all of the surveys I've done in the past that's about where we are.
Why?
If I put on my salesman's hat, I know that people don't buy a product or service for lot's of reasons. Salespeople call these objections. If you want to make the sale, you typically need to remove or minimise the prospect's objections; who in this instance is our class participant.
So what are the often stated objections?
No interest – it's almost impossible to sell anything to someone with no interest.
Too expensive – for relatively lowpriced objects like an $80 HR monitor, the selling price objection is often masking some other issue – or – means the prospect isn't seeing enough benefit.
Too complicated – do the manufactures of HR monitors actually use their own products? Setting the typical Polar watch is needlessly complicated. I've gotten to the point where I refuse to help people set their HR watches before or after class because I can't get sucked into a 30 minute project where, more often than not, I'll fail. See #5
Too confusing – as an industry, with all of the branded zone based training systems, we've made heart rate training impossibly confusing for new participants. IMO if you're talking about anything more than three zones based on thresholds, you've lost many of your club athletes. See #5
Too stressful – It's stressful to me when I'm offered a coupon the grocery store, good for my next visit. Why? Because then I'll have to remember the coupon the next time I'm there – which I won't when the cashier asks me; “do you have any coupons?” Our members aren't any different than me or you: getting to class on time is stressful enough. I don't need the added stress of remembering my HR monitor… finding both of my shoes is tough enough. See #8 for the source of even more stress.
Willful ignorance – face it, there are people in your class who want to believe they're burning 1,000 calories in a 45 minute class, where they don't break a sweat. You'll never sell these people on any form of performance measurement (these are the peeps who cover their power console so they can't see their wattage) unless you're running a special on unicorn spit detox syrup.
Uncomfortable – the old versions of hard plastic HR chest straps were very uncomfortable. The new soft straps are an improvement – but they are still not pleasant to wear. Many women won't even think of wearing a HR strap for anatomical reasons. Then there's the other type of uncomfortable as in; “I'm not comfortable opening my shirt to put this strap on, with other people around” 🙁
Unreliable – how many times have you found yourself thinking; IS THIS THING ON? Is the strap battery dead? Maybe I need some additional spit on it? Do I need to shave a horizontal stripe across my hairy chest to get this thing to connect? Wait, who's BPM am I seeing here?
That's 8 realistic reasons why you see so few people wearing a HR strap. The new Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate monitor strap addresses many of the objections I've listed above:
Not complicated – the HR watch is the source of most of the confusion. No watch = no confusion. The RHYTHM+ pairs easily with any bluetooth device (iPhone / Android) using any fitness App that has a HR function. It also pairs with ANT+ monitor consoles found on the Schwinn AC, FreeMotion S series and Spinner Blade Ion. Sorry – the RHYTHM+ doesn't connect with the Keiser M3.
Removes a little stress – It's so small that I can tuck it into my shoe. So if I find both I've also got my HR strap 🙂
Super comfortable – just slide it onto your forearm. Because it uses optical sensors it doesn't need to be moistened and it's not affected by hairy arms. And no one will feel embarrassed when they put it on.
Better reliability – there's a little red light that shines when it's on and it comes with a USB charger.
You'll find more info about the Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate monitor strap here.
The more I teach the more I find that the simplest profiles are the most popular. I often put together simple profiles and I'm always worried that my participants are going to be bored, but the longer the intervals and the more I repeat each set the more they love it. This gives participants more and more opportunities to understand the set and perfect how they perform it. When you combine a simple set with the science of anchoring time and effort, the shorter the interval the higher the output or the longer the interval the lower the output, it makes for a challenging and very personalized workout. I have also found the if I'm not taking the class on a “journey”, but just doing an interval based class my playlist only needs to be a mix of high energy songs, there is no need to try to match riding position or RPM with the music, just rock it!
This week I'm sharing with you a profile I used this week in most of my classes. It starts with a 5 minute warmup where I increased the intensity, wattage or HR ever minute. After a minute of recovery we did a 6 minute interval where we rode seated with a RPM of 80-110. If we were riding on bikes with wattage we remembered our average wattage at the end of the interval. If wattage wasn't available but participants had HR monitors I had them take note of either their average HR for the interval. If average HR wasn't available I asked them to take their best guess at their average HR. If the only option was perceived exertion I had riders remember the gear or resistance they were were working with and the feelings in their body like their breathing and burning sensation in their legs. After a minute recovery we rode for 4 minutes but this time we rode with an RPM of 60-80 and at a higher wattage, gear, HR and/or perceived exertion. After a 1 minute recovery we rode for 2 minutes while standing at an rpm of 60-80 and an even higher wattage, gear, HR and/or perceived exertion. After a 1 minute recovery we repeated the 6,4,2 minute set again, taking a 1 minute recovery after each interval, but this time we rode the 6 minute interval in a seated position with a RPM of 60-80, the 4 minute interval standing at 60-80rpm and for the 2 minute interval we sat between 80-110prm. After another 1 minute recovery we we rode for 6,4,2 minute interval for a final time. This time the 6 minute interval was ridden in a standing position at 60-80rpm, the 4 minute interval was ridden seated between 80-110prm and the 2 minute interval was ridden seated between 60-80rpm, taking 1 minute off between each interval and trying to increase the wattage, gear, HR and/or perceived exertion with each interval.
Finally I finished with a tabata interval of 8 X 20 seconds at max effort and 10 seconds recovery. If done properly output, wattage, gear and/or rpm will drop throughout the interval. I tell my class the output will drop but effort should not.
New Power of 3 Mix, 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.
Endurance Coach and Author Grant Molyneux joins us to discuss his book Effortless Exercise
and its importance in actually enjoying exercise, while building aerobic fitness & endurance, vs. dreading the thought that it is time to thrash yourself on the bike yet again.
Wouldn't it be fantastic if you felt great every time you exercised — every step of the way? What if you could consistently experience the bliss of the runner’s high or the flow of a perfect swim stoke and benefit from all the positive health benefits of exercise without any of the downside of pain and injury. Imagine what your life would look like if it became effortless to maintain your ideal weight, play with your kids, climb a mountain or participate in a triathlon on any given day, at any given age.
If you answered a resounding “Yes!” then effortless exercise is for you. Whether you’re a beginner or wanting to win an Ironman triathlon, the principles in this book apply to anyone seeking a deeper experience of exercise. Come on a journey into the Zen state of exercise that will transform your training and help you to achieve more with less. The ideas in this book will help you to go within for a deeper, richer experience that creates sustainable fitness and peak athletic performances through meditative flow states. Fundamentally you’ll discover the pleasure of exercise and be drawn to move every day because it feels so good to exercise this way.
I'm curious to hear your responses to this. Grant makes a great point how the pendulum of “conventional thinking” tends to swing back and forth… Long and Slow works best – no, wait. HIT is what will make you fitter, faster & thinner.
