Hey John & Amy, I have an audition coming up with LIFETIME for cycling instructor. OK, I'm given 3 minutes to present my best ride. Crunch time. Any suggestions or advice on this?
How exciting for you! Amy and I enjoy teaching at Life Time with their dedicated cycling studios, great sound systems, video projectors and fabulous bikes.
NOTE: What follows will apply to any Instructor audition, at any club or studio. 1) Memorize the LTF mission statement
Our Mission is to provide an Educational, Entertaining, Friendly and Inviting, Functional and Innovative experience of uncompromising quality that meets the health and fitness needs of the entire family.
This isn't about drinking the Life Time Kool-Aid. It's showing your determination to work for Life Time. I'm not kidding when I say memorize it as you may be expected to deliver it as part of your Instructor audition.
2) Understand that first and foremost your role as an instructor is to deliver a fun and entertaining experience for the members. You may teach the most real/authentic cycling class on the planet, but if it's boring because you feel constrained by focusing too much on what not to do, it will show in your class presentation and your chances of getting hired are slim.
3) Be prepared to teach a class that's appropriate to the audience. LTF wants to see that you are flexible as an Instructor and can teach appropriately to varying member groups. You may teach a very “cycling specific” class, but if your audition is to a room full of housewives during a 9:30am class see #2. That said you should be familiar with the LTF Heart Rate chart – 5 Zones with the top of Zone 3 being AT (it isn't LT at LTF) and give a few HR based cues.
Beyond that I would…
4) Choose an energetic song, without lyrics, that you love to teach to. But don't over think it 🙁
5) BE ENERGETIC! LTF doesn't hire dead fish. If it takes an extra cup of coffee then drink it. Your excitement and your energy should radiate from you like a spotlight.
6) Stack the Deck! If at all possible get some of your friends in that class. If you can't, I would be sure to get there early and connect with a few participants who are setting up in the front row. Nothing says “Friendly and Inviting” like connecting (eye contact) with members during the class and it may help reduce your nervousness to have someone to focus on. I had Amy come to my audition and having her there in the class, to draw energy from, was invaluable.
7) Teach an intense, simple profile. Think K.I.S.S. Maybe a three step ladder profile where you have them up, out of the saddle, for the last 30 seconds when you…
8 ) Get off the bike and quickly work a few riders in the front row. Clap and congratulate your students at the end and then thank them sincerely for taking your 3 minute class!
Hope that helps and feel free to ask other questions.
I'd say good luck with your interview, but you don't need it… you're going to be awesome 🙂
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This is cool! Professional cyclist Alex Howes taught a class at the Peloton Cycle studio in Manhattan. This article explains how Alex taught what was only his second Indoor Cycling class. My guess is that he doesn't have a IC cert – not that it matters.[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
He's a World Tour rider for Team Garmin Sharp, which means he races in the big international tours in Europe. This year, he placed third in the professional national road race championships in the US, and won a stage of the USA Pro Challenge in Colorado. In 2014 he finished the Tour de France, and last year, he completed the Vuelta a España.
Wednesday, he became a temporary spin[sic] instructor at the Peloton Cycle studio in Manhattan. It was his first time teaching a class and only his second time on a spin[sic] bike. You can usually find him doing six-hour training rides in Boulder, Colorado or his European base in Spain. He liked it though.
The author's description for the image above jumped out at me; We did a lot of standing work with high cadence, which is like running on a bike.
Is it just me, or were you also surprised that a Professional Cyclist would include high cadence out of the saddle work as part of a class he lead? I really wish I had known about this class because I was in NYC at the time. So even though I wasn't there, I am willing to formulate a hypothesis about why Alex chose to include this in his class: The stability of an indoor cycle creates a unique opportunity to train in a way that he felt would help everyone in his class – including himself. No one had told him that standing (a lot) with a high cadence (which by default can only be with light resistance) is wrong/contraindicated/inefficient/dangerous/etc… IMO Alex added these drills because they felt natural to him 🙂
Here's a short video showing his form.
This post got a strong reaction over on Facebook > It defies explanation how anyone could find fault with a Professional Cyclist guest teaching a cycling class… but they do. Incredible :([/wlm_private]
FreeMotion introduced a new belt drive option for their S11 series indoor cycles at IHRSA this year. Bill Pryor and I discussed it on Podcast # 204.
Not being there to ride it, I figured that a belt is just a belt, right?
Well no, in this case it isn't. Instead of using a high tension automotive style v-belt, FreeMotion is offering the Gates Carbon Drive as an option. Looking more like a rubber chain, Carbon Drive is becoming very popular on single speeds and tandem bicycles. You can learn more at the Gates Carbon Drive System website.
I've ridden and taught on belt driven Indoor Cycles from; Keiser, Livestrong and LeMond. All of them offer a club owner reduced maintenance costs and Instructors a very quiet class.
But I've always felt something was always a bit off about the feel of these belt driven bikes. Do the people in your class notice or care? Probably not… but what if there was a solution that had all of the advantages of belt drive, without any of the negatives?
In the videos below Doug Crawford (VP of Product Development at Foundation Fitness and designer of the the FreeMotion S11.9) does a very good job explaining the differences between the two systems and shows how they tested and evaluated the Carbon Drive System to ensure would survive in a commercial setting.
In part three Doug shows how they tested it for thousands of hours.
A certified Spin instructor, Hilgartner, 67, first started to work out on stationary bikes because he “couldn't run anymore.”
That led his to take Spinning classes at the Maryland Athletic Club in Timonium, after which he thought he could do better than the instructor.
After leading classes for several years, Hilgartner decided to see if he could turn his love of Spinning into a business.
First, though, he had to see how he could balance his fulltime job on the technology staff at St. Paul's School for Girls with running a cycle studio that boasts a room full of gleaming Keiser MS cycles.
Moreover, his wife, Anne, a guidance counselor at her husband's alma mater, Calvert Hall, had to sign off on the deal before InSync Cycle opened Feb. 20 in Ashland Marketplace, between the Amish Market and Baja Fresh restaurant.
