Interview Video With Gene Nacey of CyclingFusion.com
Originally posted 2008-12-15 08:40:00.
ICI/PRO Podcast #215 – Teaching to Blue Yellow Red Audio PROfile with Chuck Cali from Zoining Fitness
Which also happens to be the National Flag of Romania
PROFILE DESCRIPTION
This profile is an introduction to effort management that can be delivered by any indoor cycle instructor simply by relating effort to a color through the use of verbal descriptors.
OBJECTIVE
This profile introduces to our riders the concept that heart rate and breathing change with exercise intensity. That these changes are sensed by comparison to verbal descriptors and are related to a simple color coded three zone aerobic exercise system called ZONING.
Blue Yellow Red Playlist 1 in Spotify – partial. Climbing from Lionel Richie is not on Spotify. It's one of the best “Big Finish” songs ever produced IMO. iTunes has it.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Originally posted 2012-06-21 07:46:15.
Do you teach at a Big Box and a Boutique Studio?
Not that big box.
I sent out an email last week, asking:
Do you teach at a Big Box and a Boutique Studio?
By “Big Box” I'm referring to one of the majors with multiple locations; 24 Hour, LA Fitness, Club Sports, Equinox, etc..
If so I'd like to talk to you and (if it makes sense) interview you for the Podcast…
After sorting through over 300 responses (thanks to you all!) I followed up with some additional detail about the topics I was hoping to explore:
What I'm trying to learn from you is:
- Is teaching at a Big Box different from a small studio?
- If so, how are you or your classes different?
- Are you a “different” person/Instructor at each location?
- Do you enjoy teaching at one vs. the other
- Do you feel limited and/or empowered at one vs. the other?
- Are you more motivated to promote and build your class numbers at one over the other?
- What quick advice would your offer a new instructor on-boarding at either?
​Your thoughts?
What I got back from a number of Instructors was amazing and exactly the type of thoughtful responses I was looking for. ICI/PRO is a platform for smart talented people and it looks like I've discovered a few more 🙂 I'm in the process of setting up these interviews and plan to produce them starting next week!
One question I'm seeing I could have asked differently (and will during the interviews) is; do you feel you need to project a different personality at each location? Instead of; are you a “different” person at each location. Of course you're the same person… it's just that over the years I've experienced Instructors who appear to be very different, depending on where I take their class.
Is that true for you?
Originally posted 2014-04-16 09:42:41.
Myth #9 of Indoor Cycle Rider Setup / Bike Fit
Image from http://wattbike.com/uk/guide/bike_fit/general_wattbike_cycling_position_and_setup
Myth #9 – Handlebar height isn't really very critical on an Indoor Cycle.
An alternative of this myth is; handlebar height should always be set to where it's most comfortable.
When the enemy is the wind… the drops are your friend 🙂
Every cyclist in your class knows how important it is to be as aerodynamic as possible. They realize that something like 80% of the energy needed for them to ride their bicycle on flat ground, at 20mph, goes to over coming wind resistance. Add a stiff headwind that has you wanting to crawl inside the paint on your bike and it's probably more like 100%… or more if that's even possible
Reducing your frontal area has the greatest impact on aerodynamics, smaller = better. So many cyclists have a goal to get as low as comfortably possible on the bicycle. In fact road bicycles have a special bend in the handlebars specifically designed to help a cyclist ride low & comfortably… the drops.
Trouble is that very few people use them because they don't have the lower back or hamstring flexibility needed to get low and stay there comfortably.
So why not help our cyclists to develop some additional flexibility… or maintain the flexibility they developed over the summer?
As a fitness professional you realize that gains in; strength, endurance and flexibility all come over time. Please forgive the pun here but any desired change will only come when we stretch beyond what is comfortable/easy/normal.
Indoor classes are the perfect place to work on flexibility for a number of reasons. The limited time (45-60 minutes) is long enough to help, while not as intimidating as the thought of committing to a 4 hour group ride with low bars.
Here's how you can help everyone get down low.
- If your club has the Livestrong / Tomahawk Indoor Cycles you can encourage your riders to spend time in the drops.
- Lead by example by keeping your bars low, demonstrating good form and then make mention that you are doing this on purpose to help increase your flexibility.
- Encourage everyone to observe where they have their bars set and then ask the question; “would your outdoor riding improve if you could spend more time comfortably in the drops?
- Use Periodization – suggest a series of small changes over time.
- Consider partnering with a personal trainer to lead post class stretching that focuses specifically on the hamstrings and lower back.
- Incorporate a short stretching segment into your class. Now that I'm teaching longer endurance classes I'll have everyone stop and stretch at the 15 minute mark when we are all warm – and yet not fatigued.
FYI
The typical handlebar height to saddle height on a road bike is ~level and yet you can find pictures of road bikes showing the handlebars considerably lower than the seat.
Originally posted 2019-01-10 07:15:41.
You’re a Celebrity… act like it!
If you promise me that you won't get a big head, I'd like you to go look in the mirror and repeat after me;
“I'm a celebrity and it's about time that I started acting like one.”
Now I'm not suggesting that you should start arriving for your next class in a chauffeur driven limousine, nor am I recommending that you follow these seven steps to becoming a celebrity. But I am suggesting that you consider acting in a way that will cause others to be interested in you… which is really no different than the people you are interested in and some of our attraction to other celebrities.
The dictionary lists ce·leb·ri·ty [suh-leb-ri-tee] as a noun meaning 1. a famous or well-known person. If you've been teaching for a while, I'm going to guess that within your little world, you are well known = you are a celebrity 🙂
So if the though of you as a celebrity is intriguing, here are a few things you can work on…
Develop your Shtick
Fernando's lines; “You look marvelous my darling… you really do!” and “It is better to look good than to feel good” launched the career of Billy Crystal back in the 80's. Your shtick may not be as corny as Crystal's, but what made these lines so memorable were how Billy delivered them with an accent that many of us have tried to imitate. A very popular Instructor I know starts every class with “GOOD MORNING MINNETONKA” with a delivery fit for the opening of a World Wrestling Match or Boxing title fight. People in her class look forward to it in every class and would feel something was missing if she didn't do it.
Consistency is key to both your Shtick. What you say and how you say it should be unique and your delivery should be as consistent as possible.
Dress the part
What's the first thing you think of when I say the names of these famous singers; “Lady Gaga?” (her wild clothes) “Bono” – lead singer with U2 (his sunglasses) Brett Michaels (bandanna head wrap) “Dolly Parton” (her… wigs) you get the point.
Consider a Theme Song
Where would Gilligan's Island be today without … five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. Admit it, you could hear the song as your read the words 🙂
What would be wrong with having a consistent song for your class intro [wlm_firstname]? A song that your students begin to associate with your class?
Promote yourself
There's a great article at the Wall Street Journal about Rock Star Instructors and what they do to promote themselves.
Gyms are experiencing a surge in the popularity of group fitness classes, and as they move out StairMasters to make way for aerobics studios, they're finding that the linchpin of a successful class is a charismatic instructor. Often former dancers or musical theater dropouts, instructors motivate students, mostly women though some men too, to pack themselves like sardines into a studio and to come back, again and again.
A demi-class of female friendship is developing: the fitness instructor and the student. “My friends and I always gush about the instructors we have a girl-crushes on,” says Katie Lee, a writer and TV personality in Water Mill, N.Y., who takes spinning classes about four times a week.
Instructors market themselves on the Web by teaching free classes on Google+ Hangouts. They attract followers by posting videos on YouTube and offer daily affirmations to sometimes tens of thousands of Facebook subscribers.
Originally posted 2012-09-06 08:35:45.