All I can say is “WOW!”
We have received a bunch of very well designed class profiles, from some very talented Indoor Cycling Instructors.
Now the hard part as we review each and try to decide which one is the Ultimate Instructor Class Profile.
Thank you to everyone who entered and we hope to have some winners for you this weekend 🙂
I was in another Instructor's very popular class this week. My main purpose was to experiment with the new Stages iPhone App that works with the FreeMotion console. Review coming this weekend. My secondary objective was to see what I could learn from him, that I could apply in my class.
This class is very popular for a bunch of reasons:
Friday is our music day here at ICI/PRO so it's the right time to tell you that Keith Burnage has re-branded Cadence Revolution and it's is now IndoorCyclingMusic.com
I'll let you in on a little secret – on occasion I've used Keith's 60 minute mixed Podcasts in my class… they're a real lifesaver and my students seem to enjoy them.
For me it's a time and creativity thing;
With family and all my time commitments, I don't have nearly enough hours in my day to do all the things I wish (or need) to accomplish each day.
It's the same for you I'll bet.
The hours needed to creating, fine-tune and then mix a seamless class playlists aren't always available – or you don't want to shell out the $$ for MixMeister software.
Spotify playlists that match our Audio PROfiles are a great solution for those of us who have it, but, as good as they are, these Spotify playlists may not be exactly what you are looking for.
Sometimes I'm just not feeling it 🙁
Tell me if you've ever done this [wlm_firstname]. You feel compelled to create a new playlist, but then find yourself simply going through the motions. Ten minutes into the process and you discover that your only concern is that the playlist is long enough. It may be that you're a little burned out (common in the spring – so don't sweat it) or you just have a lot of “STUFF” going on in your life.
Where ever it's coming from, it should be your signal that your class will be less than thrilled with whatever you've thrown together.
So don't.
I've subscribed to the Cadence Revolution Podcast for years, so I always have their latest mix on my iPhone. I'll sample a few on my way to the club and hit play when I get there. Both the class and I have no idea what's coming next, but I don't recall ever being disappointed.
I love it when a plan comes together!
I had listed my thoughts about how to successfully audition for an Instructor position at Life Time Fitness in an eariler post. It was in response to a question from an ICI/PRO member. Here's an update:
Hi John,
Just wanted to follow up to say thank you for the tips, advice, music suggestions and everything pertaining to Life Time Fitness audition preparation which you obviously spent a good deal of time putting together and posting for all of us in need.
Susan Pshevlotski , the GFDH here in Indianapolis, was incredibly helpful and supportive and a great ambassador of Life Time Fitness. Anyone out there moving to the Indy area, I encourage them to contact the Life Time Fitness Director at the Castle Creek Parkway location.
All went wonderfully well and I must say thank you to ICI and others for the learning and growing I've made as an indoor cycling instructor these past few years as I certainly put my membership and education to excellent use and it showed based on the complimentary letter I received on Mon. There was even a comment about my ICI Jersey that I proudly wore.
My audition was here in Indy and Susan sent my information immediately onto the GFDH in Florham Park, NJ where I am relocating next month with a high recommendation for an instructor position, as well as the possibility of Cycle Club Coordinator. Not sure I'm ready for that one. I will hopefully fall right back into the saddle.
Whew, a lot happening quicker than I imagined but all fun and good thanks to this wonderful and supportive group in this professional forum.
All the best.
Renee
Ride Safe, Ride Strong
Congratulations Renee and I'm going to pass along your comments to Jen Ryan – the National Group Fitness Operations Manager at Life Time Fitness.
Photo courtesy E Entertainment
“So Joel, how do you know who to listen to and who to shut out?”
“I try to only listen to those whom I’m confident are on my crew…”
My question came during a conversation I was having during coffee with Joel Johnson, the pastor of my church. Joel had recently officiated the wedding between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries- the Humphries family are long time members of the church and his parents were at one time frequent participants in my Indoor Cycling Classes, until switching locations.
If you follow the tabloid’s you know that the marriage was dissolved, almost before Kim’s bouquet of flowers had wilted, with Kim profiting to the tune of $17.9 million. As you can imagine, the drama surrounding the whole event within our church was immense and the criticisms of Joel were brutal. Lots of “I told you so”, “you should have never done the wedding” plus no shortage of destructive gossip going on between church members.
“We were getting so many calls and emails that I had to seclude myself and only engage with the people who continued to demonstrate that they were on my crew.”
“I’m not sure exactly what you mean by; on my crew?” I told him.
“Let me show you…”
Joel grabbed a napkin and drew this simple diagram.
And then he explained to me that you can assign the people in your life/church/business/community/etc… into one of the four quadrants, each being similar to the roles of the people you would find on a seagoing ship.
Joel then described his drawing (which he told me he learned from someone else, but I can’t remember who) and how it identifies:
Placed in the context of your Fitness Business:
Your Crew – Involved and believe in your Vision. The loyal Instructors, employees and vendors who work for you. Ever faithful, the people on your Crew are actively (and selflessly) involved in helping you create and maintain a successful business. As the term “Crew” conveys, these people are Team Players, the “life blood” of your business, embracing your Vision and demonstrating it toward your customers and the other members of your Crew. They are the people you can count on. The person who jumps in when something needs to be done or when an emergency sub is needed. Crew members put the needs of the team ahead of their own, working continuously to promote the studio and other Instructor's classes.
Your Passengers — Not Involved, but believe in your Vision. Satisfied, regular customers who believe in your Vision and participate in fair exchange with your business*. They bring their friends and speak positively about you to others — while communicating concerns directly to you. Passengers add value to your business both financially and through the positive energy they bring to class. *Fair Exchange is a concept I learned from Dr Shannon years ago, where two people exchange value for something. As long as each feels the exchange is “Fair” then it's all good 🙂
Pirates — Involved, but don't believe in your Vision. Trouble makers who use the word “ME”, instead of “WE”, demonstrating a belief that it’s “all about them”, instead of your Team. Pirates can be Involved in your business as Instructors or employees. They contribute to your business, while promoting their own agendas, instead of (or at the expense of) your Vision. They may try to encourage your customer's to attend classes they teach at other locations and may be heard cutting down another Instructor's class. They may be so bold as to sell merchandise out of the trunk of their car. Pirates think nothing of showing up late, being unprepared or calling in sick on short notice. Pirates are very selective of which classes they would consider subbing and will use the opportunity to promote themselves.
Stow Aways — Not Involved nor believe in your Vision. The customers who take advantage of your good will. They insist on free/discounted classes and complain frequently. Stow Aways are the participants who show up late, do their own thing (complete with iPod/earbuds), disrupt class or may even be disrespectful to your Instructors.
“Joel, what do you do with the Pirates and Stow Aways once you identify them?”
“You need to decide if they are worth keeping around. And if not, I bless them, thank them and say good bye.”
He is after all a Pastor.
____________________________________
What prompted me to write this post was an episode of Kitchen Nightmares , a show I love and feel teaches some valuable lessons that you can apply to your Indoor Cycling Class and/or Fitness Business. The story line had the head chef (a Pirate) ruining the restaurant's reputation and yet the owners felt powerless to fire him, because they didn't think they could survive without him. I've seen (and heard of) similar situations at studios with a prima donna Instructor. Very popular with clients, the Pirate's destructive behavior may have you questioning whether or not you should keep them on your Instructor team.
Have you experienced Pirates or Stow Aways at your studio?
This article is also posted over at cyclingstudio.org