As the “Senior Group Fitness Instructor” here I insisted that John set me up with an ICI/PRO membership. Now I'm using it to take advantage of the Pearl Izumi discount program.
It dawned on me that I could do a bunch of Christmas shopping for my Instructor friends and our two daughters online. Abby (our college student) has already sent me links to a number of items on Pearl's site. She has committed not to repeating the “freshman 15lbs” and is quite particular about what she wears to the college gym. All I need to do is order them and I have one I can cross my list 🙂
Ladies (sorry guys this isn't for you) meet Brooke Freiborg from the Moxie Cycling Co. Brooke and her partner Deb Amorde have created a new line of women's cycling tops that I love and feel you should consider wearing for your next class – especially now that ICI/PRO Platinum members can receive a 40% off your purchase through our Instructor Discount Program .
Brooke was interested in getting some feedback from Indoor Cycling Instructors and what better place to find them than here. Two ICI/PRO members ( Colleen Mathews and Renee Shapurji) joined Brooke and I on the show to discuss the Moxie jerseys they were provided and they offered some wonderful insights to the unique needs of an Instructor who teach multiple formats.
Here's a little bit more about Moxie Cycling;
Moxie Cycling Company was born out of a need we identified in the marketplace. Since 2009, we have participated in RAGBRAI, the oldest and largest cycling touring event spanning 450 miles over seven days. In our inaugural year, we learned (the hard way) that seemingly simple cycling apparel has been built for very specific reasons. The technical design is more complex than just a yoga tank top or even a comparable tri-top. Lesson learned; we set out to make an investment in performance-oriented, yet stylish cycling tank top jerseys. We found nothing — so we did what any determined woman would do — we took it upon ourselves to develop our own jersey.
Our prototype became the inspiration for what is Moxie Cycling today. It is our mission to evolve the world of women's cycling apparel by placing a woman's unique needs at the forefront of cycling apparel design. Moxie Cycling believes women should never have to sacrifice performance, comfort or style.
Have you been teaching awhile? If you have- you know what it's like to get that ‘shot in the arm' that brings back a resurgence of energy and life to our teaching. I've experienced this over the last 23 years from conferences, workshops, inspiring podcasts, and other instructor's classes. In the last few months, I've been completely rejuvenated by bringing the fun back into my classes. I literally feel like I just woke up from a long winter's nap.
I used to be fun…and then I got real and now, I want to be real fun! Let me explain:
-I trained with Johnny G in 1996 (I know!) And back in the day we were taught to map out the ride with flats, climbs, standing flats, standing climbs and jumps. Then we were trained to add music and ‘feel the rhythm' throughout the ride with rhythm presses and tap backs. Nothing was scary, or contraindicated, and I don't remember anyone ever getting hurt.
-Then came Schwinn training in about 2000. I loved it! Bringing heart rate, cadence and load training to the table, Schwinn added a layer to Johnny's training, and gave us some metrics by which to measure exertion in our classes. Still no real mention of contraindicated movement- just more mindfulness towards leg speed, load and heart rate.
-8 years later, the ‘if you don't do it on a bike outside, you shouldn't do it inside' hit the indoor cycling instructor community. Militant in style, very few (if any) allowances were made for anything outside of flat roads and climbs. Even jumps, or lifts, were prohibited as dangerous and contraindicated. As a road rider myself, I bought into this theology and brought it into my classroom. As other instructor's classes packed out, my once full classes dwindled. Not looking back, I continued on this path of dogma for the next 5.5 years…how I wish I could get them back!
Here's why:
I like being a ‘fun' instructor! The people that stayed with me all these years tell me they missed me! Missed my singing, moving and feeling the music as a class. As an interesting side note- my music selection hasn't changed a bit, but I have people ask for my playlists now all the time! It's because we're moving and grooving to the music and having a blast.
Being a ‘fun' instructor is not for the faint of heart:
-Classes were much simpler as a ‘roadie only' instructor: I simply mapped out my road, matched great music to the cadence I wanted everyone to ride, had my class do a PTP about 15:00 minutes into class, added some good cues…and…done! Once I learned the science behind what I did, the hard part was done. I changed up my class profiles and added new music, but class was set.
-Now, I need to know all of the above plus the nuances of my music- every little nook and cranny, as we add fun and feeling to the basic framework of the class I described above.
-When does my music demand standing rhythm presses and, dare I say, tap backs?
-How will I break these movements down and coach them?
-When does the music back off and cry out for us to stay in the saddle and work endurance?
-How about jumps or lifts? Does my music push the beat enough so everyone can feel them and work together ‘tribally?'
-Do I know some words so I can sing or say the encouraging statements to my beautiful peeps?
-When is a great time to get off the bike, work the room, encourage individuals, coach and dance a little?
-How do I keep it all fun and still keep everyone mindful of their watts, rpm, heart rate zone, etc.?
A thankful spirit always promotes fun as well! I try to remind everyone to be grateful for bodies that work and respond appropriately and a great place to workout together.
Thank you for being part of the ICI/PRO instructor community. We appreciate you and wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Computers and cars fall into the same scary category for me: I depend on them, with little knowledge of how they work and how to repair them if when something goes wrong.
You may not know this- but I got very lucky (or chose wisely), as my husband John is quite a handy mechanic. Phew! The car part is handled. He's also is very familiar with PC's and his brother, Dan, is a Microsoft top-certified technician, so for years I had the computer part handled too.
Last January, I entered a ‘brave new world' and purchased a MacBookPro. Why you ask? The much advertised virus-free intuitiveness of Apple intrigued me, along with the fact that 90% of the people in my new office use and support Apple.
It was a relatively painless transition to MacLand mentally and emotionally. The physical hardware transition has been disappointing. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I'm underwhelmed by a track pad failure / replacement 7 month's in, and then keyboard failure two weeks ago while in Jamaica. (Sign??? Clue??? Do not bring your computer on vacation to ‘work occasionally')?????
We arrived home late Sunday night, and early Monday morning I was on the phone with Apple Care- which is the name for the premium service and extended warranty I purchased. (I won't even get started on the ‘premium service' call wait times..worse than the airlines in the 80'S)!
After confirming it was, in fact, a hardware problem, I made an appointment that afternoon at an Apple Retail store at the Rosedale Mall in St. Paul, MN- about 30 miles from my house. This was the only Apple Retailer that had a keyboard in stock, facilitating replacement in one stop. (I can't function at my job without my computer- so fast turnaround is critical to me).
Long story short- the “Genius Dude”- Chris, told me I had liquid damage which voided my original and extended warranty. He proceeded to tell me the Apple Retail Store policy requires them to send out any machine with liquid damage for thorough testing- to the tune of $750. It's called a ‘Deep Dive'. Isn't that quaint?
Wow! I know the Genius Dudes (and phone retailers) hear this all the time, but I can honestly and truthfully go to my grave knowing I never spilled liquid on my computer. I'm the only one that uses it, so the whole diagnosis was mystifying to me.
This sounds dramatic, but I was minutes away from biting the bullet and purchasing a new computer. In fact, Genius Dude- Chris, asked me to input my password so he could transfer all my information to my new computer. But wait….I can't type in my password, because my keyboard doesn't work. Chris grabbed a remote keyboard and plugged it in for me to type in my password. At that moment, the real genius (daughter Carly) looked at me and said, “Why don't you just by a keyboard for now and decide later what you want to do?” Why not indeed!
Later in the week, I decided to get a second opinion from MicroCenter, an Apple authorized dealer- but not an Apple Retail Store. The cost of admission was $40 for analysis and then we'd go from there.
Well….guess what? MicroCenter's Apple Level 2 Certified Technician- Mack, found no liquid damage what so ever and replaced my keyboard under warranty. Hallelujah! Vindicated! And here's the thing: Mack knew to look for damage (a large spot of coffee or hot chocolate per Genius Chris), as I'd been very transparent about the first diagnosis.
Ever grateful, but wanting to get to the bottom of what happened at the Apple Retailer, I braved the Saturday before Christmas crowds and trekked back to Rosedale Mall to enquire with the manager (or Apple calls them ‘Store Leaders'). I met Manager Hal Reynolds. I calmly (but firmly) explained what had transpired and showed him my MicroCenter paperwork stating no liquid damage. Manager Hal Reynolds would 1.) not acknowledge the opposing diagnosis, or 2.) apologize for anything. On the contrary, he told me he stands behind his technicians 100% and if they said there was liquid damage, there was liquid damage. In fact, he stated Mack at MicroCenter wasn't thorough enough to find it. Manager Hal then provided a supposed picture of my computer keyboard with the damage- procured from Genius Dude Chris, who happened to be in the store that day, but never came out to talk to me. (Carly and I had since been kicking ourselves for not asking to see it on Monday!) The picture simply reinforced to me something funky was going on- because even I would have seen that stain on my keyboard upon opening up my computer for analysis. All failed Apple parts go back to the manufacturer, so MicroCenter would not be reimbursed for warranty parts/labor had they missed this huge stain. I actually wonder now- does the Rosedale Apple Store have a MLCK (master liquid compromised keyboard) that the Genius Dudes switch serial number stickers on as needed? Perhaps the Rosedale Apple Store was over budget on warranty work for 2014? Hmmmm….
Mid conversation, Manager Hal promptly excused himself to meet with another customer, telling me he'd be, “Right back.” 15 minutes later, I was still waiting at the Genius Bar for Hal to be “right back”. Wow! I left the Rosedale Apple Store without talking again to Hal Reynolds, solidifying my vow to never darken the doors of an Apple Retailer again.
What I've learned and want to pass along: 1.) if a technician says you have damage of any kind, ask to see it immediately- especially if it voids your warranty 2.) always get a second opinion 3.) good luck getting any satisfaction from Apple Retail 4.) MicroCenter gets all my business from now on and 5.) there is NO EXCUSE for bad customer service.
I am still working on taking this up the ladder at Apple. It's simply not okay.
My hope is this post will save one of you from the same experience I had.
This week we are exploring How You Sound and in the spirit of learning about ourselves and our individual “sound”, I want you to do something….it will be easier for those of us that teach in a club setting, but hopefully those of us in a studio setting will be able to explore this as well. Please find the best STEP class (yes, they are still out there and wildly crowded) and go to it. By the best, I mean one where the participants would describe the instructor as, “easy to follow”.
The reason behind this is simple: a good step instructor has learned how to cue properly. Why? Because if they don’t, the results are disastrous in their studio…people turning every which way- into each other, into the steps, falling, getting hurt- you get the idea. If you are not a stepper, simply listen. How do they cue? How early? How late? A good cue typically is given 4 beats before the needed action. Any later and it is too late for the verbal cue to be carried out. Any earlier, and the action will most likely be carried out before the instructor wanted it to be.
Why is cueing important as a cycle instructor? I don’t know if you all are like me, but I like to know what is coming. In a broad sense, as in what we are doing for our overall ride, and in a narrower sense, as in what is coming up on the specific road and what the expectations are in the next few seconds. I personally get frustrated when cues are thrown at me and the movement is already in play.
One of the best examples of this is lifts, or jumps. Cueing to lift out of the saddle 4 beats ahead gives the rider time to prepare and the sense of satisfaction when they are ready and able to lift out of the saddle on time.
We have a large ride here in Minneapolis every year and it is classic…the instructor cues the lifts like this: “up, down, up, down, up, down” ad nausium and the ups and the downs come right on the beat of the movement. As I look around the room of 100’s of riders, no one is lifting or lowering at the same time.
This could all be remedied simply with good cueing.
Even things like, “In four counts we are going to get up out of the saddle and tackle this billy goat path, taking our heart rate up to AT”, or “in 4 counts we are going to add some load and pull out to the left, passing the rider in front of us”, give our riders confidence in us as their coach and instructor.
So, check out the group fitness step instructor…the GOOD one that keeps their class in control and rocking and rolling in an orderly fashion. Listen to how they cue. When they do it and how the class responds. I took it for granted until I had to start doing it because a good one makes it look really easy. In fact, we don’t even know they are doing it. You can be like that too with a little practice.
If you are interested in learning more about cueing check out Gin Miller's Blog. Gin invented the “Step Class” and you may find her articles on cueing helpful.
One more thing – When John recorded his class he found that he works too hard. I am going to figure out how to record on my Droid and I will let you know in the weeks ahead what I learn about How I Sound 🙂
