“The most important Indoor Cycling class you'll ever take… will be the next one!”
I've forgotten which Instructor I overheard saying this to a new participant, but it's completely true. We want new students returning to our classes every week. It's good for us (fuller classes) and obviously good for them 🙂
So what should we be doing in our classes to encourage a Revolutionist, who finds him-or-her self in your class, to feel comfortable and (hopefully) return?
e·nig·ma [uh-nig-muh] noun, a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation: Spotify is such an awesome service for Indoor Cycling Instructors, it's an enigma to me… why so few Instructors are actually using it.
Or maybe it just looks that way. I'm basing my comment on how few subscribers we see to published playlists.
If you're using Spotify click on the People tab and select another user at random. Check out the number of subscribers they have to any of their published playlists. Even for all the popular Master Trainers I'm connected with, 40 subscribers is a big number for any specific playlist.
I found this playlist of club music on the right that Cameron Chinatti is subscribed to. It has over 57,000 followers.
Why is that?
I was trading emails with contributor Chris Hawthorne, discussing this “enigma” of what appears to be a very small number of Instructors using Spotify… or more specifically; Instructors using Spotify who take advantage of the phenomenal music sharing and new music discovery, that's available to users.
I realize that there are multiple reasons users don't want to share their Spotify usage. You may also view a playlist but not choose to “subscribe” to it. Maybe you listen to a few tracks, find one you like and drag it into one of your own playlists.
Here's an example. Krista Leopold (aka: groupfitpower) and I created these collaborative Spotify playlists and posted them at pedal-on.com. Collaborative playlists allow anyone to add their own favorites = they grow to fantastic Best SongsLists that you can use to easily & quickly find the perfect track for your next class.
Click image to join our Facebook Group - everyone encouraged to join!
This Podcast is was last published on Feb 23, 2010, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
As promised last week, here's my interview with Bill Pryor about his experiences starting his own Spinning Indoor Cycling Studio.
2014 UPDATE: This interview has launched multiple dozens of new Indoor Cycling Studios - is yours next?
The online payment and business management service we discuss is MindBody Online combined with a LiveEdit Integrated Website.
Doug Rusho, Master Instructor with Stages Indoor Cycle provides our latest Audio PROfile: Winch and Plummet
Objectives:
#1: Students will experience the contrast between resistance and cadence, as it relates to steady state power production.
#2: Students will begin to discover what resistance/cadence combination is most efficient for their physiological make up.
Key take away from Doug: In order to improve fitness we must continually challenge the body with new situations. Everyone has a “comfort zone” resistance/cadence combination when producing power. This profile encourages students to step a little outside their comfort zone for a diverse training effect. It may also be a source of self discovery, where a student realizes where their body works best and/or what their weaknesses are.
I'm experimenting with a few changes to these Audio PROfiles:
I've been asking our Master Instructors to condense their descriptions in the interest of shortening the amount of time required for you to listen to the complete MP3.
We've added some background music to interject some additional energy to the recording and get your presentation juices flowing.
Leave a comment and let me know your feeling about these changes.
Jim Karanas is a Master Instructor and Program Director for Indoor Cycling Group of North America.
Jim describes BIG GEAR TRAINING as; Weight Training on the bicycle. PROFILE DESCRIPTION
This workout is to improve sustainable strength and increase muscle fiber recruitment while working aerobically. The workout consists of pedaling at very low cadence (about 50-55 rpm) in a big gear up a hill for five to 15 minutes at a time in the saddle, focusing on smooth pedaling. The workout should remain aerobic in terms of heart rate. There is controlled and limited recovery between efforts equal to the length of the work period…
