I got a question about a one week working fitness vacation.
Hi John,
I appreciate what you are trying to do with the contest but why would I want to work on vacation? How is that a real incentive?
That's a great question and it caused me give it some thought before responding.
Amy and I have heard “why would you want to work on vacation?” a lot over the past 15 years from friends and other Instructors. Depending on who's asking we tend to give two different answers:
If it's a friend who's asking (so we can be more truthful) we tell them that we could never afford to go on a similar trip if we had to pay what all the other guests at the resort were paying. These are the finest locations in the Caribbean and most All-Inclusive resorts cost $3,000 – $6,000 a week + airfare = completely out of our reach financially.
If it's a club member (most can afford to travel anywhere and do, frequently) we typically say something to the effect of; “I'm going to work out anyway… so why not save the money?”
But even though both are accurate; we really can't afford to travel at this level and we normally work out most days we're there, there's another reason Amy and I prefer to be that week's fitness professional… it makes us special 🙂
As Instructors we are used to being special. At the club, out for dinner or at the grocery store people recognize us as someone who's different from everyone else. You have no idea how many times I've heard; “Oh honey, come here… I need to introduce you to my Aerobics Instructor, Amy.
Amy tells a very funny story about running into a club member at a resort in Jamaica. A clothing optional resort. “Oh my gosh it's Amy from Life Time and I'm completely naked!” ” Honey it's Amy from the club… come and meet her!”
We also tend to be more easily connected with the other guests and more importantly the staff. We both love the Jamaican people and they tend to more open to us when they see that we are working while we are there, even if it's only for an hour or two each day.
Amy and I have meet some really interesting people, from all over the world, solely because we were the Instructors that week. Many resorts have a scheduled Power Walk each morning and you typically have the same 4-6 people each day. So you chat with them as you walk the beach or golf course – getting connected if only for the week.
They see you later that evening at dinner; “Oh Honey, meet Amy… she's my Instructor this week.”
Georgia Green is a regular participant in Amy and my cycling classes at Life Time Fitness. I'll never forget the first day she walked in > tall, strong, with a great big smile – she looks like a fitness instructor – and came right up to me, with her hand extended; “Hi, I'm Georgia!”
Georgia and Mark set to test their gear.
What she didn't share with me, during our initial meeting, is that Georgia has committed to training and planning to spend a year riding 10,000 miles with her friend Mark and their 2 rescue dogs; Junebug and Biscuit. Amy learned that a while later, after one of her Saturday classes. Once I heard this amazing story I knew I wanted to have Georgia on the show 🙂
I caught up with Georgia while she was in Alabama testing her new touring bikes and the other specialised gear they'll need for their trip. We discuss her motivation to commit to this adventure and all the planning they've done to make this ride a reality.
ICI/PRO Member Dennis Mellon introduced us to the concept of Harmonic Mixing our playlists. A technique used by many of the top DJ's, Harmonic Mixing involves sequencing your music tracks in the same or a complimentary musical key, to avoid clashing Keys and harsh transitions. The net effect is to create a pleasing feel to the flow of your music, increase / decrease energy or craft in some emotional response.
Here's an example of 32 songs mixed in 5 minutes. This is done using the Mixed In Key technique:
I'm fascinated by this. Wanting to learn more, I did what I always do; I contacted the folks who created the software Dennis uses – Mixed In Key. Their representative, Professional DJ Andy Schneider joins me to discuss the Why's and How's of Harmonic Mixing and how you can use it to improve your classes.
During the interview, Andy pays a nice compliment to Momentum Cycling Studio Owner Victoria Smith for her class music selections!
Power Ride Studio Owner Meg Kuhn Hilmer shared this remarkable story about her daughter/business partner in the Studio Owners Facebook group. I was so inspired by it I had to share it here for everyone to see 🙂
When she was 13-years old, Casey was running near her home in Indian Hill when she was dragged into the woods and stabbed in the face, neck and side by her troubled 17-year-old neighbor, Benjamin White. Casey was able to fight him off. Physically, she healed rather quickly. Her emotional wounds would take a lot longer. “I couldn't sleep alone,” said Casey. “Couldn't be in the house alone, second floor alone… I remember the first night I came home and had to take a shower I had to have my mom in the bathroom sitting on the toilet because i was just too scared to be alone” “I probably slept in my parents room until I was 16,” said Casey.
Diagnosed with severe PTSD, Casey has slowly made her way back with the support of her family and Children's Hospital's Trauma Department. “There are highs and lows and new problems,” said Casey’s father Steve Hilmer. “You come home and the roof's fallen in and you rebuild the roof, but you keep going and there's no easy answer. You just don't quit.” “No matter what happens, you have to keep fighting,” said Casey. “You can't give up on yourself or your family. You have to fight for yourself.” Sports, like running, lacrosse, and indoor cycling, helped Casey to keep moving forward.
After graduating from the University of Michigan and being turned down for medical school, Casey turned her passion for fitness into a career. “Sometimes you fail, and that helps you find what you're meant to do,” said Casey. “You have to keep an open mind and be persistent and the right thing will come to you.” Casey and her mom opened “Power Ryde” in Loveland. Casey motivates everyone in class with her enthusiasm and spirit. “I really try in 45 minutes to get people's minds off what's going on in their daily lives and make their day better in that 45 minutes,” said Casey.
Puppies always work… when you can't find a suitable image 🙂
Spinning® Instructor Krista Leopold is back with another of her awesome class profiles!
“There are two types of people: The ones who give you 50 reasons it can’t be done … and the ones who just do it.” — Hoda Kotb
Two Types of People Tabatas
I created this ride to help riders see themselves as the second type of people: those who just do what needs to be done, and do it well. It is high-intensity training with two distinct blocks of work, the second of which consists of 2 sub-blocks. For that reason, this profile can easily be picked apart and used for classes that are formatted as 30, 45 or 60 minutes.
Block 1 is 30 minutes long and is the foundation for Block 2. In block 1, riders perform 5 best-effort intervals that gradually decrease from 4 minutes to 10 seconds in duration. Using this progression, Block 1 helps riders discover their true “all-out” intensity.
Block 2 is also 30 minutes long and is broken into 2 halves, each half consisting of gradually increasing intensity, followed by performing the Tabata IE1 protocol on the bike, and then recovering.
Instructors who teach 30-minute classes can easily divide this ride into its 2 blocks of work to ride in consecutive classes. Instructors with 45-minute formats can use Block 1 and block 2a. The full profile clocks in just right for a 60-minute class.
At the end of Krista's presentation she references two past podcasts that featured Lawrence Biscontini.
