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.
The FreeMotion S11.9 – Keiser M3 and Schwinn AC Performance Indoor Cycles all require calibration at some point. Ensuring that all of the bikes in your studio are calibrated to factory specs will keep them reading consistently from bike to bike and your participants happy 🙂
Regardless of what you may have been told, my suggestion for a Best Practice is to spend the time to go through all of your cycles monthly. None of these procedures take more than a minute of so to complete after you've done a few.
I felt it would be helpful to have links to all the Indoor Cycle calibration procedures in one place, so here they are:
Free Registration Required — Click Here. Opens in a new tab. [wlm_ismember]
FreeMotion S11 series console calibration: including the S11.9 and S11.0 (home version)
Calibration may not be the correct word to use here as FreeMotion prefers to describe their procedure as Zero Reset – bringing the power meter back to the factory settings after replacing the batteries, making a repair or when something just doesn't seem right.
Schwinn uses what they call “Tilt Calibration” to teach the cycle where the magnet is positioned = it will give you a proper readout of power and distance.
I was off to teach a class on Friday and always listen to my playlist on the drive over and all the songs were skipping. I tried rebooting my iPhone and still no luck. Luckily I had my iTunes playlist on my phone and did another profile for class. The problem is still there and the Spotify site is no help in solving this issue. Have you heard of this problem? I am ready to cancel my account …… Any ideas?
It sounds like these playlists haven't been set to Available Offline
Spotify works so well when connected to a wireless network you get the impression that all the music is right there on your device. Make the setting change shown here so your playlist is ready to play.
I recommend always turning your iPhone to Airplane Mode when you are teaching so your class isn't interrupted by a call.
Whenever I solve a problem for myself I stop and think, “I wonder of other Indoor Cycling Instructors have this same problem”. So I make a video to show you what I've done. Let me know in the comments if this was helpful to you. Here is the link to the free online calculator.
Master Instructor Tom Scotto ends the year with another excellent Audio PROfile. ICI/PRO members can look forward to another 12 NEW PROfiles in 2012.
“This is one of my favorite rides because it puts us under some “good” stress for long periods of time. We are going to be targeting a very uncomfortable level of intensity — just above our endurance effort and below the point we start to become breathless. It can be tough because, mentally we either want to shut it down or step on the gas and blow up. Neither is an option.”
“For those of us that know our thresholds, we are going to be working between ventilatory threshold 1 (VT1) and ventilatory threshold 2 (VT2).”
“Before you get prideful and think this is not going to be a hard ride, keep in mind that very little recovery will be provided in order to keep this steady level of stress on our body. Usually I tell you to take some time to recovery if you over-shoot your ability, but today I want you to take a different approach. During this ride, if you over-shoot your ability, I ONLY want you to back down a little bit and see if you can re-establish your effort. If not, back down a little bit more until you can stabilize.”
“One last note to those of you that are outdoor riders building base. This is a great workout to assist in your aerobic conditioning but NOT a substitute for those long hours in the saddle. 60- minute indoor cycling classes are not the place to building that kind of endurance so make sure you are getting your saddle time in addition to this class.”
