Does your club or studio have a way to measure the volume level of the music you and the other Instructors are playing? I want to say that there's a sound meter floating around Life Time, but I've never used it… we do offer members free ear plugs 🙂
What got me thinking about this (beyond frequent complaints; “are you listing?” from Amy and daughters) was this very cool wall mounted sound meter I saw yesterday. It's called a SoundEar studio sound meter and it hangs on the back wall of the fitness studio, in full view of the Instructor. It changes colors as the volume in the room increases, displaying the Red dot when levels exceed the adjustable limit – in this case, 85 dBA.
According to the The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) the damaging effects of loud noises are cumulative and they have published these guidelines for the duration of exposure at specific levels. It's important to note that NIOSH is concerned with worker safety (that's you) – it's sister .org is the more familiar OSHA.
85 decibels, A-weighted, as an 8-hr Time-Weighted Average -TWA – (85 dBA as an 8-hr TWA)
Note! Exposures at and above this level are considered hazardous.
Exposure to continuous, varying, intermittent, or impulsive noise shall never exceed 140 dBA.
Chart from http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/noise-exposure-level-duration-d_717.html
So how loud is the music in your studio? Do you even know?
I'm struck by the similarity between asking an Instructor; “Is your music too loud?” and asking someone; “Have you had too much to drink?” Without an objective form of measurement, both are completely subjective and the responses to both can be couched by ego, rather than honesty.
I'm very curious to know if you have some way of measuring and/or limiting the sound levels in your studio [wlm_firstname]. Please let me know below.
This Podcast is was originally published on November 24, 2008, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
My guest for this Podcast is Dr. Haley Perlus. Haley and I discuss Indoor Cycling Instructor Burnout, what it is, where it comes from and how to conquer it!
Haley is a doctor of sport and exercise psychology. She is an expert at empowering individuals to achieve peak performance.
In addition to her expertise in exercise psychology, Haley has been an indoor cycle instructor for 11 years. She's one of us and has first-hand experience teaching full classes as well as teaching a cycle class with 2 participants in a room that holds 50 bikes.
Visit www.DrHaleyPerlus.com and register to receive Dr. Perlus’s FREE monthly Mental Toughness Training articles.
Special Webinar (tele-seminar) Announcement
Dr. Perlus has offered to to hold a live consulting & training tele-seminar, specifically for my audience, this upcoming Sunday November 23rd, 8:00 pm Eastern Time.
Its worth mentioning Haley charges participants $97 per person to attend her group Mental Toughness Training calls. However, since we have on average 1,000 people downloading my Podcasts…she’s agreed to allow as a bonus to my audience that the first 25 people who download this podcast and register now at www.DrHaleyPerlus.com/cycle will get in absolutely FREE. She’s also been generous enough to allow those people who are not the first 25, attend her live consulting call for just $9.00 That’s a huge $88.00 savings.
Listen to the Podcast below for additional details or subscribe using iTunes or Zune.
This Podcast is was originally published on November 1, 2008, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
I have never been a fan of bike racing videos in my Indoor Cycling classes. Too distracting. It's very much like watching a NASCAR race, you feel compelled to watch, waiting for the inevitable crash or some other drama. The creative team of Liz & Jan Hunter, the co-creators of the Bike-O-Vision DVD series, sent me a copy of their latest video to try out in my Spinning class. I liked it and so did the participants. My wife Amy (the senior group fitness instructor in my family) also liked them. Instead of creating a distraction, the pretty scenery you would see while riding these roads on your bike, added a nice atmosphere to the room. Jan and I discuss how they are made and his plans for more videos in the future.
This Podcast is was originally published on October 24, 2008, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
Fraser Quelch and I discuss his Storm Training System approach to structuring an Indoor Cycling Class and the importance of getting your class participants connected to each other. Are you ready for this?
Have your participants introduce themselves to the people around them.
What a concept. Are you doing this in your class?
Fraser Quelch is the founder of the successful personal training and coaching business, Storm Training Systems, where he focuses on using a cutting-edge approach to guide his clients and athletes to their goals. Besides competing in marathons and ironman distance triathlons, Fraser is a sought-after endurance coach. His athletes consistently post personal best results with many of them qualifying for World Championship events.
As the Director of Programming and Education for Fitness Anywhere Inc., Fraser has brought a whole new category of functional training to the industry. His suspension training techniques are being used by professional sports teams and renowned trainers worldwide to produce peak results in their clients and athletes.
Listen to the show below or subscribe with iTunes with the link on the right.
[UPDATE] A few days after this interview was recorded, Fraser's wife Laura gave birth to Tristen James – 7lbs11oz and 21 inches long.
This Podcast is was originally published on October 10, 2008, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
What a treat to be able to interview Johnny G along with Jennifer Sage as my co-host for this special Podcast. When you listen to him speak, it’s easy to understand why Spinning has become a household word.
Johnny G and Jennifer talk about their involvement with the Challenged Athletes Foundation at the Tour de Cove in San Diego CA. Jennifer is presenting and Johnny G is speaking during the 4 ½ hour Spinning Tour to raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Here’s the link to Jennifer’s Donation Page.
Next Johnny explains how his new Johnny G Krankcycle “competes with nothing, yet compliments everything.” Listen as he describes; his initial inspiration, what makes it special, group class formats and it’s use for physically challenged athletes.
This Podcast is was originally published on October 10, 2008, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey