Recovery is one of those interesting words that can be used to describe two completely opposite things. We're often discussing recovery as a well deserved period of rest, like some easy pedaling after after a hard effort or simply a fun day that follows a week of focused training.
But recovery can also be hard work 🙁
Like recovering from a near disaster from when your trusty Dell computer abruptly reaches the end of it's life. So instead of being really productive this weekend, I had the privilege of spending way too much time downloading 300 gig's of files, installing all the programs and drivers I use + uninstall all the BS programs (all very annoying) they stuff into a new computer and adjusting the myriad of computer settings that I've become accustom to dependent on. I must have clicked à agree” thirty or more times, never once reading what I was agreeing to. I hope it wasn't anything important.
My plan to launch the the next Ultimate Instructor Class Profile Contest has been pushed off a week – until 9/22.
But don't let that stop you from getting started. The Grand Prize winner will be vacationing somewhere warm this winter… and they'll need a passport to get there.
Also we have been working on a redesign of this website that incorporates many of the ideas and requests many of you expressed in our recent survey.
It's National Eagle Day here in the USA and I thought I should share an experience I had with the bald eagle one morning before class. I actually had this post sitting as a draft from a few weeks ago. As often happens, I got distracted and never finished it. Learning that today is our day to celebrate these majestic birds has me back at the keyboard.
A great metaphor flew over me this morning!
And when I say flew over me this morning, I mean flew right over me! This bald eagle flew directly over my head, and swooped down on one of the many fat rabbits we have around here, quickly dispatching it.
I was walking into the club this morning (it was a Saturday and I was subbing for my partner who doesn't like to wake up in the morning), thinking through my profile when I heard (and felt) this loud swoosh before seeing this massive bird dive in on his breakfast. If you haven't seen one of these strong, majestic birds up close and personal you are missing a great treat. They stand nearly 3 feet tall and with a wingspan of over 6 feet, the sudden presence directly over my head was quite startling and I'll admit a bit frightening.
Side note: this particular Lifetime Fitness sits on the edge of a large swamp/wetlands and only a few blocks from a major shopping mall. Seeing a bald eagle isn't all that surprising around here. It was always very common to see these beautiful birds perched in trees as you drive through northern Minnesota. Now it seems that wildlife of a every sort is moving back to the suburbs to reclaim their place in what was once farms and prairies.
But this beautiful bird had a problem. Despite their reputed incredible eyesight, she (?) (how do you tell the difference?) appeared to have completely overreached, miss judging it's weight and wasn't strong enough to carry away her breakfast. With a firm grasp on her rabbit, she leaped off the ground with wings powerfully flapping. But try as she might, she was only able to get three or four feet off the ground before stalling, dropping the rabbit before she herself crashed back to earth. I watched from about 20 feet away as she circled repeatedly, each time swooping over my head, attempting to grasp the rabbit and fly off. Each time with the same results… and then I realized she had a plan.
With every attempt to carry off the rabbit, she moved it 10 or 15 feet. It became obvious that she wasn't going to sit and consume her catch right there in the middle of a parking lot, but rather her plan was to move it to a stand of trees, which were across the road from the club – across four busy lanes of traffic, I should add.
It was a climbing day, per our class schedule and my plan was to show Epic Beartooth Pass. As I was getting dressed for class, I realized what a fantastic metaphor I just observed. So during the warm-up I told the story of what I had just witnessed. I talked about how impressed I was with the Eagle. How I watched her develop a plan – improvising a strategy, so as not to lose what she was fighting to accomplish.
I asked the class; do you have the confidence to overreach today on this climb?
I mean really overreach… to the point where you're forced to resort to Plan B?
A common strategy out long climbs as to alternate between seated and standing. As you ride along you'll add an extra gear or two, which has the effect of forcing you out of the saddle. Then you remove those gears and returned to the seat. Because we're riding Freemotion cycles with power, I'm able to coach everyone how they find their two, individual, climbing gears. After we're warmed up I have everyone work through a five-minute effort at or very near threshold HR. this gives us a baseline power average to work with. Maintaining a steady 80-ish cadence, seated efforts are just below this wattage number and the standing number just above. There's no break in this climb. The effort is continuous. Over and over we alternate position – adding for standing, remove slightly and back to the saddle.
After class I hurried out to see if the eagle had been successful. It wasn't difficult to figure out where she was. A swarm of angry blackbirds were taking turns diving at her, as she sat perched in the tree looking down at her catch. I walked over and this is where I had the chance to take her picture. Complete confidence 🙂
I first met Dr. Kevin Steele in the mid 2000's when he was with Life Time Fitness and it was a real treat to catch up with him again at the past MINDBODY FitPRO conference this past Fall.
Dr. Steele has his Ph.D. in exercise physiology with a sub-specialty in nutrition, and his B.S. in sports medicine and physical education. He has participated in the RAAM cycling race across the United States, the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii three times, bike raced in Europe, and ran in numerous marathons.
You can listen to our discussion below or click here to subscribe to our free Podcast in iTunes and never miss an episode.
Toward the end of the interview, Kevin and I discuss their Ugi Fit training system – programming that sounds like it could be an awesome addition to a pure Indoor Cycling boutique studio wanting to add a strength offering to their schedule. The appeal to me personally… I could get certified as a Ugi Instructor, without needing to go the full Group Fitness Instructor certification route. Would that be of value to you [wlm_firstname]?
John,
Greetings from Korea… I would just like to let you know my current situation. At this time, I am not able to continue my membership with ICI/PRO due to financial reasons. As you may not remember, I am in the US Army over here in Korea and someone in the States (most likely Washington) decided that we were getting paid too much and cut the BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) and COLA (Cost of Living Allowance)… so, I lost over $500 this month, and have to pay for more out of pocket expenses. I would like to know if it is possible for you to keep me as a member and I pay at a later date? I will keep you informed of when and I will put some aside to make the payment. If this is not possible, please let me know.
Respectfully,
Tim [redacted]
SFC, US Army Korea
Yes Tim, I do remember you and how last year you requested that we host a conference in Taegu, Korea – Boston was a little too far for you to travel.
I don't know about you, but I feel very blessed by those who serve as Active Duty Military. It also brings me a lot of joy to know we have ICI/PRO members serving in Korea and the Middle East who are using our resources to keep their base personnel fit and ready for duty.
I'm also glad that I could help former Spinning MI Debbie Miller promote Sweat for a Vet – where 51 clubs, with hundreds of riders, will participate next Saturday 11/12 to raise money to help wounded warriors become fitness instructors.
I also feel very blessed by the support of the ICI/PRO community and felt compelled to do my part and give something back…
So I responded to Tim explaining that I had him covered and his subscription would continue. Not wanting to limit this to just Tim, I decided that new and renewing ICI/PRO members on active duty (any country) will qualify for a 6 month Gratis level membership = FREE 🙂
Please forward this information on to anyone you feel would qualify. If you are aware of any Military Fitness Instructor social media groups or email lists, I would appreciate you posting this information.
SoulCycle doesn't offer Indoor Cycling “classes” so much as they offer Indoor Cycling “productions” where the participants (if they choose) are part of the show. Not just as “extras” playing bit parts, but critically important actors and actresses in each SoulCycle performance.
During these 45 minute scripted fitness events, the Instructor's role is split between; Performer, Cheerleader, Coach and lastly as the Director – directing the participants in their parts of the production.
If you missed any of my earlier articles about SoulCycle, you'll find them all here.
Any great musical or theatrical production begins with building anticipation in the audience. The SoulCycle location we visited has what can best be described as a waiting area. A room with multiple benches that's midway between the hall with the lockers and the primary entrance to the studio.
After I got dressed in a very nice locker room, I met Amy in the waiting area. The previous class was just ending and a stream of sweaty, smiling faces flowed out and past us, on their way to shower and change. (Yes they have showers) We chatted with a couple of women regulars (I never miss this class for anything) one told us, while waiting for an indication it was time to go into the studio. My typical experience has been when one class leaves, the next files in right behind. Not here. You could feel and hear the excitement of the 30 or so of us waiting, when a man wearing a SoulCycle shirt walked out of the studio with a handful of rags. He didn't say anything and didn't appear to need to. The group knew it was time for us to go in.
As I described in part #1, SoulCycle understands that details matter. Between classes they have a crew (it looked like three people) go in and clean everything before the next class. Every bike appeared spotless and functioned properly. Each had a clean towel across the handlebars and two clean hand weights in the little holders under the seat.
When we walked in it was obvious that the studio is a very special place. They had the lights were very low, primarily lit by the faux candles on the four corners of the Instructor platform. What was a noisy/chatty group became much quieter as everyone filed in and found their reserved bike, got set up, and climbed aboard. With 60 people in that small space and so much activity going on, I didn't see when Instructor Heather P (Peggs) walked in – but it was obvious once she cued up her music and turned on her mic.
Among friends
Amy and I were two of the three new folks in that class. Heather seemed to know most everyone else in the room, greeting what seemed like dozens by name as she bounced around the room before the start. She must have reviewed her attendance list because she walked over and welcomed us both by first name.
Heather explained that this was her third class of the day and that two of her favorites would be up front demonstrating, while she conducted the entire class off the bike. The cleaning/setup crew had already prepared for this. Before we walked in there were two bikes on the Instructor platform – in my second class there was only one.
Heather P
Intros
In both classes the Instructors introduced themselves and explained a little bit about the ride to come. I was surprised how both Heather and Lindsay B (who taught the second class I took) offered modifications; the need to keep enough resistance on the wheel and suggestions for taking it easy if today wasn't your day. Lindsay made the point several times; “turn it down until you can't feel anything… then add back a half turn. We never ride in here without resistance“.
Note about form. I can't remember when I saw so many people who looked so good on their bikes. And no it wasn't that they are all young females. Nice flat backs, relaxed upper bodies, very smooth pedalling techniques and I didn't see any of the wild, out-of-control crazy stuff I expected to see. Yes there is a lot of 110+ RPM in these classes – and it looked very controlled.
My idea, and it's only based on observing two classes, is that there's a lot of peer pressure between riders to look good on the bike. They know they're part of the “show” and do their best to look the part.
If you ride in a group outdoors, you've probably experienced the same peer pressure to look good – that's why many men shave their legs 🙂
I've taken this class before
Both classes I rode started exactly on time and followed the same basic profile. I wasn't keeping track of time so I don't have any specific segment lengths. Actually I didn't watch the time on purpose. I wanted to know; how long did the class feel? It felt like it zipped by very quickly. Amy felt it was short – she normally teaches 60 minute classes.
The class profile was something like this:
Standing warm up, with cues to add load over ~ 10 minutes
Transition to a climb with a lot of push ups and jumps
Lather, rinse, repeat
Weight segment
Inspiration/reflection time
Big finish
Stretch and transition
Key Detail: These Instructors know their music exactly and teach to it very effectively. Both exhibited Group Fitness backgrounds, giving us helpful 8 count – countdowns, that always ended right with the phrasing of the music.
I was very impressed by both Heather's and Lindsay's professionalism in the way they conducted their classes. NOTE: with the one exception that Lindsay used music (hip hop) that had a lot of profanity in it and swore herself on occasion. It's not for me, but the guy with the gauges and sleeves riding next to me said he never misses her class. Throughout class they both discussed and encouraged proper form. During the weight segments we were instructed to add a bunch of load and sit up straight and tall. It was also suggested that we stop pedalling. Most slowly rolled their legs during this part.
Is there purpose to all of these extraneous movements?
Critics of SoulCycle (and similar) classes point to how non-cycling specific movements; jumps, push ups/rhythm presses, “tap-backs”, figure eights, etc… have no proven training value and/or diminish the potential training value of riding an Indoor Cycle… like an Outdoor Cyclist would. For those reasons, along with perceptions the some of these movements may be potentially dangerous, we're told we should not include these movements in our classes as they're “Contraindicated”.
Based on what I saw at SoulCycle (and other similar classes I've taken) my feeling is that critics are completely missing the point. IMO these movements are a critical part to the appeal of these classes. It is a thing of beauty, watching a room full of people exactly on the beat and rising and falling in unison. I've heard this described as “tribal” behaviour, similar to fans doing the ‘wave' at a sporting event. It's a very powerful way to connect a group of people together. And at the same time, these jumps are very challenging to perform correctly – which I feel is another reason for the success of SoulCycle that I explained in this post.
Soultime
I found this element of each class interesting. After the weight segment, both Heather and Lindsay turned down the lights and described overcoming a challenge in their personal lives. Playing some trance like music, Heather explained how this week marked the five year anniversary of her sobriety and how appreciative she was of the support she'd received from SoulCycle and all of her regulars.
Lindsay did something a little different. She invited a man to ride her Instructor bike. Then described how she had lost her voice for 10 days and couldn't teach. She then put her arm around the man and explaining how he was the doctor who helped cure her vocal paralysis.
Both short speeches ended with loud applause.
This then segued into a time where we were all asked to reflect on some personal challenge of our own. We rode in near total darkness for a few minutes with just the music. From here the intensity built in a way to communicate how we could overcome whatever it was – leading into a final big effort to finish the class.
Closing time
Each class includes a three minute stretch/cooldown. How do I know it was three minutes? They both said so in their closing. With everything else tightly scripted, I'm guessing the class ended exactly on time. Here's where these Instructors diverged a little; after each did hamstring and lower back stretches while on the bike, Heather did most of her stretches off the bike. Lindsay did all of her's on the bike.
After we were told their upcoming class times and locations (there are 6 SoulCycles around the LA area and they both teach at multiple locations) we were thanked and encouraged to leave quickly. This may explain what didn't happen. I've been in classes like these where the “groupies” flock to the Instructors after class. I observed both pretty much alone after the immediate end of class. This gave me and Amy a chance to say hello to Heather and tell her that we were visiting instructors. She said she appreciated us being there and asked if we would be attending other classes while we were in town.
Overall impression of SoulCycle
In case I haven't effectively communicated it here, Amy and I were very impressed by our experiences at SoulCycle. I participated in two classes, led by true professional Indoor Cycling Instructors who understand what their participants want from a class and they both delivered it.
With the exception of the horrible music (I hate Hip Hop) Lindsay played in the beginning of her class (she did win me over during her weight segment as she went around cuing proper form to multiple individuals), I didn't see anything that wasn't near perfect in the delivery of this experience.
Final note: I appreciate the 20 or so emails and Facebook PM's I received about part #1 – my preference would be that you leave your remarks as comments to this post. But if you're concerned about publicly expressing your views, your email or PM is still appreciated.
