If you've ever had an idea for a new, fitness related product or service? Dream about building a company around your new widget and then selling your company to a larger company? If that sounds like you, you'll want to listen to this interview with fitness entrepreneur Sara Shears. Sara invented the Ugi ball to help her personal training clients train more frequently. After years of effort, she was able to sell her company Ugifit to Mad Dogg Athletics.
Rather than trying to explain Ugi to you – watch this short video to see it in action.
http://youtu.be/GxkBlo44XPA
Listen to Sara explain some of here entrepreneurial journey below.
I met with Sara at WSSC and took one of her 30 minute classes. It kicked my ass and the whole time I was suffering through Sara's class, I kept thinking how Ugi could be the perfect strength and balance compliment to a small boutique's cycling class.
Interested in training to teach Ugi classes? Here's the link to their website where you can find a certification training near you – or how to host a training at your club or studio. I'd love to know what you think about Ugi…
I'm hearing from Instructors outside of the USA who are switching from Spotify, over to Deezer.
Hi,
I have had Spotify for a long time now and have created lots of different playlists. I have recently just converted into using Deezer, however, it would be much easier for my Spotify playlists to be on Deezer instead!
Is this possible? If so, how do i do it?
Thanks
Cydnie.
Cyndie we created an ICI/PRO playlist conversion tool for just this occasion đ
Here's the steps to convert your Spotify playlist to one Deezer can play.
Step #1 Open and log in to Deezer in a new tab – clicking this link will do that for you. Note: Deezer is different from Spotify in that Deezer is a web application, vs. Spotify, which is a program that you install on your computer. Yes I know that Spotify also has a web version… I never had much luck using it and suggest you install the full program if you want to run Spotify on a laptop.
Step #2 Clicking this link will open our conversion tool in another tab. Scroll down the page and you should see that you're logged in to Deezer and a Please enter Spotify URI dialog box like this:
If you don't see this click the Log into Deezer link or refresh the conversion tool page.
Step #3 In Spotify, Right Click the playlist you want to convert and select Copy Spotify URI.
Step #4 Back at the conversion tool, Paste the URI you copied and click Convert. It will look like this:
Step #5 Success! Click the link to see your new Deezer playlist đ
A few notes:
Despite a lot of programming time, we weren't able to get Deezer to carry over the name of the playlist from Spotify. Renaming the Deezer playlist is a snap using the edit option shown below.
Check your new Deezer playlists for accuracy > differences between each service's music library and Meta Data = not every playlist will convert perfectly.
Any other questions?
Feel free to contact us like Cydnie did – we're happy to help.
So I'm sitting here putting together my class for tomorrow and I stumbled on this great track that I'm going to use as my playlist's intro-track. I wasn't looking for one, it just kinda jumped out and hit me between the ears saying; “lead with this one!”
What got my attention?
Few or no lyrics – so I can give an overview of the class
Tempo @ 90RPM or above – this one is right around 100
Needs a little punch that will get everyone's attention, when I crank it up đ
The track is called (appropriately enough) Intro from the band The xx, which will cross-fade into Little People â Start Shootin'. Next up will be The Weeks â Buttons where we'll do a series of openers to complete the warm-up, which will have us ready for some work.
Here's the whole playlist made up of (IMO) awesome, but unknown music… except the track Lana Del Rey â West Coast – Rob Orton Mix (doesn't she remind* you of Tori Amos?) which I've used before. My class is at 6 am tomorrow if you want to hear it on the very powerful sound system I have to play with at Life Time Fitness đ
*I've always loved Tori Amos â Cornflake Girl for a longish 5 min climb > turn it up and let everyone just pound to the top. Also, if you've got a lot of rhythmically challenged people in your class, Tori Amos â Spark is a great waltz where you can help all the men riders learn to follow the; one, two, three, one, two, three pedal strokes. It sure helped me.
Cyclist Darin Letzring contacted me about the Indoor Cycling videos he has made in Yellowstone National Park. They look like they could provide an awesome backdrop for a class.
Yellowstone Time Trials
These videos showcase the flat and fast areas of Yellowstone National Park. Most of the video is spent right next to one of the many beautiful rivers in the park. Enjoy the spectacular scenery and maybe a few animals as you journey through the park. A high energy soundtrack keeps you moving along.
The full workout video is based on a 3Ăâ20 minute workout with a warmup session, breaks between hard efforts, and a cooldown. Below is the breakdown of the video with specific times and sections.
I use a lot of structured videos in my classes – videos with on-screen profiles and timers like what's available from EpicPlanet.tv. I will frequently ride along in those classes so I can watch along and cue and comment about what's happening on the video.
There are other times where I'm just looking for pretty pictures and/or video that I can play as a distraction = Yellowstone Time Trials could make a good choice for these type of classes.
You can find all of Darin's videos and purchase / download information here. You'll note that they are offering a video rental option through Amazon… interesting concept.
Deezer is very close to launching here in the USA. How close? Close enough to have changed their landing page from; coming soon… to offering you an opt-in form so you'll be notified as soon as they do đ
Streaming service Deezer closes Canadian office
Music streaming service Deezer has closed its Canadian office as part of a consolidation under its new North American headquarters in San Francisco, but says it will continue to operate a full service in the country.
A Deezer spokesperson said Deezer has laid off a small Toronto team that included managing director Justin Erdman but âCanada remains a very important focus.
âWhile our local management activities are moving, Deezer will continue to provide music editorial expertise on Canadian artists, reviewing established and emerging home-grown talent for music fans in Canada and the rest of the world.,â the spokesperson said.
At first glance, Deezer seems to be a carbon copy of Spotify; same monthly costs, similar device apps, similar catalogs, etc… I have been told that Deezer is going to update their app to include a cross-fade. IMO cross-fade is a must have!
But wait to see what happens next with Deezer. The industry experts I've talked to say Deezer is a more progressive company (read open-minded) which could/should lead to more third party software providers and App developers choosing to work with them. Just maybe we'll finally see an Instructor focused device applications like ClassBuilder or the Schwinn Class Tamer running Deezer music.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. This iPad DJ mixing app called edjing runs Deezer, Soundcloud and your local iTunes MP3s. I'm dying to try it… but I can't right now because the app knows I'm in the USA.
