I had no plan or strategy. I was looking for a way to promote my then new invention; the Red Pedal Tool that solved the problem facing Instructors who taught where the cycles use the Schwinn Triple Link pedals and the evil shoe baskets that refused to come off without sacrificing one of your fingernails. It didn't take long for me to realize that my calling in life was to create a platform where I could promote others who had real value they could impart to others.
The rest, as the say, is history 🙂
Since that first interview with Suzelle Snowden with FitBodiesInc, where we explored how you could leverage your Instructor talents into a very low cost working fitness vacation, we have published 220 episodes of the Podcast. Guests have featured Indoor Cycling notables like Johnny G to the obscure (but very helpful) like Scott – the Name Tag Guy.
When I started the Podcast my biggest concern was – what will we talk about? Like many self imposed limitations, I quickly realized that my concerns were unfounded. There was an unlimited number of very talented people out there who could provide helpful guidance to our readers and listeners.
If you've been listening since the beginning; THANK YOU! I truly appreciate you and the comments and emails you have sent !
If you are relativity new here – jump in… the water is warm 🙂
We are as strong and commited as ever to providing you with the care and feeding you need to excel as an Indoor Cycling Instructor.
Math, for some of us, isn't our strong suit… especially when you are trying to compute specific training zones on the fly using Lactic/Anaerobic Thresholds (LT/AT) or Functional Threshold Power (FTP)
MTB coach Curt Wilhelm has created two easy to use, online tools you can find here.
And for you data junkies, Cycling Power Models has a very comprehensive tool that is sure to satisfy you for years.
A word of caution
The computer world has a saying; “garbage in = garbage out” which describes how using inaccurate (garbage) data to compute with can only lead to inaccurate (more garbage) results. The calculators above are designed for endurance athletes who have achieved a level of fitness and learned to tolerate the pain/discomfort of working at or above LT/AT or LT2 (upper Threshold) for extended periods of time.
In this three part series from last year; Is a 20 Minute Threshold Field Test realistic for your class? I discussed multiple reasons why I question using 20 minute field tests to determine Threshold Heart Rates for the “typical” student in your class. If you haven't read them I'd encourage you to do so now. My biggest issue with 20 minute field tests is that many of the Club Athletes in our classes haven't learned or developed the pain tolerance needed to sustain the Threshold level of intensity necessary to find an accurate average HR… but instead find some number below Threshold = “garbage in” 🙁
[wlm_firstname] if you feel you have a good understanding of your AT/LT/LT2 I'd like you to try one of the calculator above. Then consider what will happen if instead of entering a true Threshold HR, you use a HR 5%-8% below it.
Can you see how “garbage in” could have some students under training?
In case you are wondering, I see using HR training zones based on LT1 (Aerobic Threshold) as much more accurate for Club Athletes, especially when combined with the simplified Two Threshold – Three Zone system advocated by ACE – The American Council on Exercise.
I met Brent Adams today at a rest stop during a Century I was riding with a bunch of friends. This guy is totally devoted to his two young girls Ava and Adele… so devoted that he bought a custom Co-Motion Tandem built for all three of them to ride! I was totally in awe of this guy when he told me that the three of them did the 70 mile ride last year (Adele was just 7) and couldn't stop myself from posting about it!
Adele, Ava and Brent Adams
Take note of the detail Brent put into this; pink seats and handlebar tape, special seat tubes that will allow him to fit the girls as they grow.You've got to be impressed by the matching jerseys and the girl's coordinated outfits !
The “Heads Up Display” of student's performance data (watts, calories, cadence, HR, etc…) from Performance IQ looks like a fascinating addition to any club or studio. While not for everyone, the competitive element it introduces can make for a very exciting and motivating class experience.
But I had felt Performance IQ it was missing a few things:
The pre-class setup (entering all your students into the system) was a lot of work for the Instructor during the frenetic moments before class time.
There wasn't any option to collect or retain the each student's data.
The system only worked with the Keiser M3 Indoor Cycle.
All of that has changed now that Performance IQ is partnering with ZingFit who has a full-featured management system system for cycling studios. The beauty of this partnership is how well they compliment each other's service
Now…
Participants can reserve their bike online when they register for class using Zingfit's registration system. This in turn tells Performance IQ who's on which bike. No more need for the Instructor to do anything beyond starting their class and pressing the GO button.
Zingfit collects all the ride data from Performance IQ and displays it on a secure section of the Studio's website. Zingfit can even send an email to each of your students at the end of each class.
Performance IQ is now compatible with all Power bikes that use Ant+ (FreeMotion S11, Schwinn AC and CycleOps)
Listen to the Podcast below it hear all the details.
Righty – Tighten… Lefty – Loosen, unless you're down under when it's the other'way'round > I think
Pick a word.
Any word.
And type it into the search box in Spotify… hit play and listen to the results.
You may be pleasantly surprised like I was.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Let me go back a few seconds…
I had clicked on a video and loved the sound track.
So grabbed my iPhone and Shazamed it.
The response was Loosen up your tie but it wasn't available in Spotify.
And it wasn't in YouTube.
But the Artist – Barrie Gledden has a bunch in Spotify and iTunes.
So I tried just Loosen…
And discovered a bunch of new music 🙂
