John, I'm still confused by this power stuff… where should I be riding? How many watts should I be seeing on my monitor, because I'm no where close to my body weight?
I get questions similar to this frequently from members. My answers has evolved over time:
I used to give into the pressure; “please tell me a number” and would throw out a vague target – “your first goal could be seeing watts equal to your your body weight”.
Later I revised it down a little; “what would be your desired, lean body weight?” “Let's try to reach that as an early power goal.”
But now I'm learning that throwing out watts = body weight (lean or actual) isn't as helpful as I intended. Sure for some it works. Those who are reasonably fit looking (read not overweight) and with a good fitness base. For others I've found I was asking them to work too hard, using a kind of formula that wasn't personalized for each individual. Which sounds is a lot like using the 220 – age for MAX HR 🙁
Now my preference is to conduct a short “Best Effort”, about a quarter of the way through class, to give everyone an understanding of a number they can work from. Not a true FTP or PTP, but it's been reasonably well accepted… but not by everyone.
Case in point: last Thursday after class I had the “how many watts should I be making?” discussion with a female member. She's a fit 50 year old and I would guess (I never ask) she weighs about 130lbs.
So I asked her what she normally sees during the “Best Effort” interval. “I average about 80 watts.” Which confused me… a lot actually. I would have guessed she could easily make more than 80 watts. I was stuck for an answer. Rather than guess at the reason, I started asking questions:
Do you ride outdoors? No, not regularly.
Are you a runner? YES!! Big smile.
How would you compare running vs. cycling? Cycling is much easier. I'm getting to something here…
Do you run in competitive events like a 5k, 10k, Marathon, etc…? Another YES !!! I love to compete!!!
Do you run faster & harder in a 5k vs. a Marathon? Yes, of course I do – why?
When you're riding in here with me, does your “Best Effort” feel more like a 5k or a Marathon? She stopped to think about it and then said; like a Marathon.
Bingo!
I didn't need to say anything more. The look on her face told me she understood exactly where her confusion was coming from. Her perception of working hard was at her Marathon level of intensity = 80 watts was exactly right, figuring an aerobic level of effort. I had been making the assumption that when I asked for hard, everyone would work at the level I perceive as “hard” – which for her was different.
She ended the conversation with; so when you ask us for our “Best Effort”, I should be working at my 5k level of effort?
Exactly, or maybe a 5k where you're chasing one of your faster friends 🙂
Instructor Kathy Palkaninec contributes The Vicious Cycle, her Audio PROfile which was one of the winners of our Ultimate Instructor Class Profile contest.
Kathy teaches at MindBody Trendzin Cooper City, FL and she begins her profile like this:
Objectives and Interests:
This ride was created after researching metabolic conditioning sequence and how to burn stubborn body fat. I found the Ultimate Cardio Sequence by Shaun Hadsall. His explanation and sequence based on science inspired my “vicious cycle”. The name of the game is Intensity first. The protocol of this ride is based on the following: Once the heart rate is elevated in the warm up, the training goes into the “fight or flight” mode with short intense bursts over and over.
The Catecholamines are the hormones released by the adrenal glands in response to stress. Being part of the sympathetic nervous system they force the release of free fatty acids into the blood stream. These short bursts will create the famous” after burn” that can potentially increase metabolic rate up to 48 hours after exercise. Science has proven that free fatty acids do pour into the bloodstream after such high intensity training. However, research shows that these fatty acids, if not removed from the blood stream, will move to another place in the body and again re-store as fat.
“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?
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.
