UPDATE: App developer Dave Norfleet is available to answer your questions posted below as a comment.
Schwinn Master Trainer Julz Arney showed me an interesting iPhone app when we met at IHRSA. She's been using this app to build her class playlists and was really excited to show it to me.
I'm very tempted to use it (instead of Spotify) simply for the class count-down timer and numbers that are big enough to read with my 52 year old eyes!
Similar to ClassBuilder, MyFitnessDJpro is the creation of developer / Indoor Cycling Instructor David Norfleet.
David's app is available in two paid versions:
- MyFitnessDJ - $0.99 includes the count-down timer and you can select from a catalog of cues.
- MyFitnessDJpro - $9.99 gives you the option to create your own cues like what's shown here.
You can also select different background colors to help you instantly understand your intended intensity. If you want , you can add multiple cues to each track and insert them at specific times. It's very entertaining to watch each new cue you've added, pop up right when you've set it - which could be set a few seconds before your change, giving you advanced notice of what's coming next.
This feature could be very helpful when you're trying to communicate a new theme or training objective in your class. Repetition goes a long way toward understanding. Having a number of reminders (to reinforce a specific / new concept) could go a long way toward keeping your message clear, and on point, without feeling you need to bury everyone with details in the first 10 minutes of class.
The pro version also includes an email playlist function, that you could use to fire off your music to an interested participant. David has also included an option to purchase and download some of his favorite playlists, if you need some external music suggestions.
Very cool.
If you found ClassBuilder too complex, time consuming or confusing - and yet you would like to be able to quickly add some easy to read notes to your iTunes playlist, MyFitnessDJ could be worth a look.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
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Synchronicity! I have ClassBuilder and found it too complex (though I loved the idea that I might some day project the ride on the screen). So, I don’t use it. I use MixMeister on my laptop. I like the beat mixing capability and the audio waveform (I’m a “visual” kinda’ guy and use it for cuing changes in movement). It doesn’t look like they will support the latest Mac operating system and it’s kind of quirky on the Mac, so I won’t be able to use it if I upgrade. I had just started looking at DJ software so I could beat mix (playlists sound SO much nicer). So MyFitnessDJ looks great. Now, if it had audio waveform and SIMPLE beat mixing capability, I’d pay twice as much! Maybe in a future version David? I’ll download this right now and give it a try! Thanks!
An interesting world we live in. Reading Paul’s comment made me realize that when plying our craft, we all use technology in different ways that help us deliver our best class.
To date, Class Builder has completed me as an instructor and it keeps getting better. It can be time consuming depending on what one is trying to do for a specific class but no more so than using other Apps or Application on a laptop. It is all a matter of what we feel we need to get the job done and that is why I’m commenting.
It would seem to me John, that ICI has the opportunity to work with a developer to work with or survey the several hundred instructors/members to explore the common methods they use to teach a class.
For example, plying my craft without knowing the bpm of each track or having a countdown timer – I can see – is a showstopper for me. For special classes I like having the ability to cue at just the right moment, for effect.
Yet the thought of spending time using simple beat matching software (I actually have MixMeister) or watching the waveform as a sort of tele-promter has never entered my mind. A good idea let me add.
I will give this app a look because – like Paul’s comment – I may learn another way. Who knows I might even like it.
It seems to me that technology in the spin class is not up to speed with what it should be.
I see pros and cons with all apps being used. Some are too complex while other lack in flexibility or specificity.
I use ClassBuilder and Mixmeister on my iPad(the perfect cure for tired eyes). And I have to confess my love/hate relationship with both. While it is a lot better than CDs it still isn’t a great solution. Building a class is overly complicated and time consuming, not to mention that it allows us to have cues that fall outside the song length.
Nitpicking aside, I am a much better instructor thanks to both tools.
I also took a quick look at MyFitnessDj and it seems to be overpriced when compared to ClassBuilder.
There is a big opportunity here for the right tool at the right price, but so far I see no takers.
I bought the class builder app (the most by far I’ve ever spent for an app) I liked the idea and was super excited to use it. It was very time consuming and at the end of the day I would rather be spending my time finding new music and jotting down cues on paper rather than toiling through with cues, times, energy zones….I wanted to love this app but for me simple is better. I want to bring my class awesome music and an awesome rode and a lot of times I will deviate from my original plan based on feedback (verbal and non verbal) from my class. It’s very empowering to deviate from a set plan although I do appreciate having a plan in hand.
Does the APP remember the cues for each song for later use or do you have to re-enter the cues every time you use a song?
Cue’s are part of the playlist, not the song. So yes you would need to add a new cue each time you use a track in a specific playlist.
I wasn’t sure so I played with the app this morning to check.
Interestingly the cues are tied the the track when it’s in a playlist – meaning if you move a song (change the order) the cue moves with it. I’ll check with Dave to understand more.
You can recycle a track/cues combo in another playlist by copy/pasting the track. Tap & hold > copy a track in the first playlist, then tap & hold > paste the track into the second playlist. Be sure to add at least one new track in new playlist from your iPod library so you’ll have a place to paste.
Hope that helps.
Can you import a whole playlist and then add the comments/cues afterwards?