I believe in giving credit where credit is due and I first heard of this group from Tom Scotto. We were together in Colorado in December for the Cycling Fusion Summit Conference. Tom was graciously showing us how he put together his play lists and I was furiously jotting down his bands of choice!
With play times between 4:26 and 7:25 and BPM ranging from 64 to 92, every single track is usable and wonderful for class. I especially like this CD because there are three great flat road selections. The group is The Crystal Method and this week’s CD is Vegas. The flat road tracks are: “Bad Stone” 5:10, BPM 90, “High Roller” 5:30 BPM 90 (my favorite) and “Trip Like I Do” 7:34, BPM 92. “Comin’ Back” at 5:39 and a cadence of 72 is my favorite climb tune on this CD with a cool vocals and a nice out of the saddle feeling at 1:30.
Check out the YouTube video of the re-release of the 1997 “Comin” Back” with Trixie Reiss on vocals:
iTunes Quick Tip – Sharing iTunes Music Between Computers
Amy has a bunch of music on her computer and I do as well. In the past to move music from her computer to mine I needed to burn a CD or use an external hard drive to transfer music. But not any more.
If you have multiple computers, on the same network (connected via wireless or Lan hard-wired), iTunes will let you share music between them in two ways;
You can play music from another computer.
You can transfer music from another computer.
The difference is whether or not the computers share the same Apple ID.
Computers on the same network, but with different Apple IDs, can listen to each others music.
Computers on the same network with the same Apple ID can listen and transfer music between them.
There's a good chance you already have an Apple ID – that's what you (or your kids) use when you purchase music from the iTunes store. To turn on Home Sharing go to the Advanced Tab > click on Turn on home sharing. You will see a page that looks like this where you need to enter your User Name and Password and then click Create Home Share:
With both computers on and connected to the Internet you will see a new listing for the Shared Library:
Click on the Shared Library to see all the music. Clicking on a track listing will only play it. To transfer and save the song to your computer you can highlight one or more songs and drag it to your Library or highlight and click the Import button in the lower right hand corner. I prefer to create a separate playlist and drag selected tracks into it.
P. S. Don't tell Amy that I have been stealing her music 🙂
I see a big part of growth (both personal and professional) is being willing to take risks in your life. When I first started the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast there were probably a hundred reasons why it was a bad idea… but I chose to ignore them.
A little over 60% of ICI/PRO members are women. Does it make sense to include content here that only applies to them?
As an experiment Amy has written an article about another passion in her life. It's one that she feels is very applicable to the presentation skills she needs to teach an engaging and effective Indoor Cycling Class.
Let me know.
John
————————————————————————————————————-
“Do you really wear lipstick when you teach?”
Amy's alter-ego as a Lancôme makeup artist
My answer to that question is yes.
Always.
There are a number of reasons why, but it truly started years ago when a member asked me, “are you feeling okay?” I felt great… but apparently didn’t look it 🙁
After class, I looked in the mirror and tried to be objective. What had she seen that would cause her to ask me that? There staring back at me was a harried mom of two young children who had rushed out of the house with her hair scraped back in a ponytail and not a stitch of make-up on, in the dead of a MN winter. I looked rather, well, cadaver”ish” if I do say so myself. It wasn't the face of an instructor who looked well prepared for her class, even though I really was – having spent hours the night before putting my ride and play list together. It was then and there that I decided I wanted to look as well prepared for my classes as I actually was.
Flash forward a few years…my kids are now 20 and almost 17. I still love teaching and I also love my job as a make-up artist. My passion for helping women use make-up to enhance their natural beauty may have started that fateful day at the gym. I do not go into class in full make-up artist regalia. But I do take just a couple minutes to apply a bit of mineral foundation- it is long wearing and water (read sweat) resistant, a little bronzer and blush (remember, I live in MN and am MN pale) and some relatively tame lipstick. I stay away from the “Burlesque reds” while teaching. I also make sure to put lotion on my Minnesota dry – flakey legs. That’s all I do.
Then I feel ready to teach.
I was in a training session a long time ago that described teaching as being “on stage”. I couldn’t agree more. This little make-up regimen prepares me for my own “on stage” time. I think of it as putting my best “work-out” face forward. We are in front of people, usually with some sort of lighting on us at some point during the class and a darkened room. Actors/actresses would not think of going on stage without make-up. I wouldn’t either anymore. I feel more confident with a minimal amount of make-up on and it helps me communicate the fact that I am well prepared, inside and out.
John and I had the opportunity to take a Saturday cycle class at the Scottsdale Life Time Fitness this past weekend. I always learn so much when I take another instructor's class and this was no exception. It was a super high energy class with a very interesting playlist- consisting of YouTube videos…David Bowie (one of John's favorites), Pat Benatar, Poison, Brittney Spears, Usher, you name it. What a great idea! I also picked up some great cueing verbage along the way.
But what really hit me came after class was over. We liked the class, and the instructor, so much that we wanted to talk with her when it was over and possibly interview her for ICI/PRO (we haven't been turned down yet!) She was busy talking with people after class and had others waiting, so we (along with two members) just hung out and waited….and waited….and waited…you get the picture. The two members left and then finally we did to when we saw she wasn't going to disengaged herself from the original people she was talking to.
The “take away” from this is that we need to be very aware of who is waiting to talk with us after class and manage our time so that we can acknowledge each of them. We never know what opportunities await!
Hi ICI/PRO members. Amy here with my first attempt at a Friday Favorite, so please go easy on me.
Believe it or not, one of my favorite ways to try new music and listen to new bands, is to go to the library (I know, right?) and surf through the CD’s on the shelves. Not only does it force me to grab unusual artist’s names, but also CD titles that I would probably never take the time to peruse on the web. Then I listen to them in the car and download them onto my computer at my leisure . Best of all, it’s not $.99 a song, it’s FREE and I can save my money for another new pair of shoes! (Sorry guys, but it’s the truth).
One of the bands I have grown to love from this experience is Mute Math. I know many of you already use them because they have come up a few times on the Top 210 list Barbara is compiling, but for my virgin experience here, I am going to highlight my current favorites from this band off their self-titled CD MuteMath:
“You Are Mine”4:44: I am listening to it as I type this and it “gets me” every time. It is ethereal and gripping and I use it as a recovery, almost flat, road in the middle of my ride, after a hard climb. RPM:76
“Control”4:39: I love this song for climbing. RPM:72. I have my class stay in the saddle , and then get out to climb when the music surges at 2:12. I cue to “stay relaxed, breath and drop your shoulders”, when the music quiets at 3:05 and hit it again at 3:20.
“Reset” 5:26: I am stoked about this song! I needed a completely instrumental song for a video I am shooting this week and this is it baby! RPM: 90. The absolute perfect warm up song, because we do a lot of talking in the first few minutes of our class and it is nice to not have to talk over lyrics.
Other goodies on this CD I just haven’t used yet:
“Stallout” 7:10 RPM 88
“Noticed” 4:30 RPM 84 Energetic flat, with some room for load building
“Plan B” 4:47 RPM 64
“Break the Same” 6:00 RPM
100 Feels like a good sprint, break away to me
“Picture 19” 5:26 RPM 76 Nice easy does it climb
So, there you go. Not bad….8 really good, not just adequate, tunes off one CD. And you can reserve it FREE at your local library, or just download the 8 great tracks and not get any shoes. Enjoy and remember…. go easy on me.
