I was alerted to a picture of the new Spinner® Indoor Cycle (it's not a bike) with power in the WSSC catalog. No other information is included but I see that Mark Tickner has sessions scheduled called Introduction to Power and Riding With Ultimate Power. I'm sending an email to Mark to see if he will divulge any additional information.
Based on what appears to be a conventional steel flywheel shown in this picture, I'm going to guess that the new Spinner® with power does not use Magnetic Resistance like the Schwinn AC Performance and Keiser M3. Eddy Current (Magnetic) resistance systems in the Schwinn and Keiser cycles require Aluminum flywheels. There is also a curious cover on the right hand side that houses something related to what they are referring to as their patent-pending drive train.
From the catalog:
We are letting our competition see the front of our new 2011 Spinner® because once it’s unleashed the only view they will ever have will be from behind… Twenty years ago, Spinning® started the group cycling revolution and the competition has been trying to catch up ever since. Six years ago, we changed group cycling design forever with the Spinner® NXT. In 2011 the new family of Spinner® bikes will explode out of the pack and leave the competition behind…again. Improved biomechanics, patent-pending drive train and user features never seen before will redefine the group cycling experience for all Spinning® enthusiasts. Come experience the ride at WSSC.
If you know more please let us know by commenting below.
Besides running Cycling Fusion Indoor Cycling, Gene Nacey also produces the Global Ride series of Indoor Cycling Class Videos. One of my favorites is the Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen climbing race. It features 13 “bring them to their knees” climbs that are perfect for your next climbing class. The countdown timers show the length of each interval as well as the length of each recovery.
Gene just sent me a link to a story about the Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen done by Pittsburgh TV station WQED. It has a lot of detail that you could use to really spice up your class narrative. I suggest saving it for the recoveries, no way you will be able to talk during the actual climbs, if you ride with your class like I do 🙂
ICI/PRO Member Bill Roach joins me to discuss his “Four Reasons Why You Should Consider a Newsletter for Your Spinning® Indoor Cycling Students.
Bill Roach is a Star 3 Certified Spinning Instructor and NASM certified Personal Trainer in Des Moines, Iowa. He served thirty years as a communications expert in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office before he took early retirement this year to devote more time to his fitness career. He has also been a long distance competitive cyclist competing in 24-hour and cross-state races.
Do you ever feel that you just can’t say everything you want during the course of teaching your indoor cycling class? Would you like an additional opportunity to teach, communicate, and bond with your students to keep them coming back? You might consider a newsletter for your students as a “value added” benefit. It’s easier than you may think. This is the first of two Podcasts covering the basics of writing a newsletter. In this episode, you'll learn the benefits of providing a newsletter for your students. – Retention. The most tangible benefit of a newsletter is that it builds student
loyalty and retention. If you are paid on the basis of class attendance, retention is
your lifeblood. Even if you aren’t, retention is one measure of your success as an
instructor for your management. And bigger classes are just more fun to teach. – Authority. The use of a newsletter distinguishes you as an instructor that will go
the extra mile. It also establishes you as someone who is knowledgeable about
health and fitness. This credibility makes your students more confident in your
knowledge and your teaching. – Teaching. A newsletter offers the opportunity to explain training concepts in
detail, a conversation not possible while riding during class time. You can
address periodization, threshold training, and contraindications while your
students can give these important concepts their full attention. And you can
coordinate the newsletters to your class plans to further encourage learning. – Bonding. Most important for me, a newsletter is a way to further the remarkable
bond between indoor cycling students and their instructor. A newsletter should be
personal in style – but not too much about the author. It should make readers and
students feel a part of an important “club” – which is exactly true! By promoting
the value and identity of that club, classes take on a more cohesive feel making
them more fun to teach!
Does a newsletter sound like something you might like to try? Bill walks us through the process of what you might say in your newsletter and how to deliver it, in an upcoming ICI/PRO Member Podcast.
Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using
“From the lighting to the music to the actual cycling, it’s a total experience. No one wins in a spin class. It’s not about competition.”
Hoots should know. She took a local spinning class shortly after outdoor enthusiast Johnny Goldberg (“Johnny G”) and his good friend John Baudhuin (who co-founded Mad Dogg Athletics) came up with the concept circa 1992, but her passion wasn’t ignited until she made several trips to Miami to train under master instructors.
When she fell for spinning, she went all in.
SPINNING A NEW LOOK
“I came back to Albany and asked Tony if he’d give us some space for a spinning room,” Hoots said. “He had an area that I think had been for women only that he said we could use. I recruited John Medlin, who’s a phenom with a skill saw, to redesign the room and started negotiating with others who could help with the makeover.
“We redid the whole room – the look, the lighting, the sound system – added a few more bikes and once we found acceptance in the community, we couldn’t keep people out. Now we have a waiting list for all our classes.”
Powell, who opened Tony’s 29 years ago this May, has seen every fitness fad and fashion that’s made the rounds come and go at his popular gym. But he says he’s never quite seen anything go over the way spinning has since Hoots’ program evolved into a local craze.
“We’ve offered spinning here since it started; I think we started with 15 or so bikes,” he said. “It did OK, but once Barbara started teaching and making changes to our spinning room, it’s just become a phenomenon. It’s such a unique activity; from the atmosphere of the class to the state-of-the-art sound system, spinning is the total fitness experience.
“Spin classes here have become the hottest ticket in town. If you don’t get to a class a little early, you’re not going to get a seat. And we’re up to 55 bikes.” Read the rest if the story.
