by Karen Casler | Dec 17, 2014 | Engage Your Students, Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN
Some riders are present to train and give 100% every class.
Many, however, are present simply to be…present.
Through The Customer’s Eyes
When was the last time you really looked at the Indoor Cycling experience you offer through the eyes of your customer?
The riders who consistently attend your classes relate to you. But … have you taken the time to consider how a first time rider relates to you and your teaching style. Have you taken the time to
walk in a first time riders’ shoes or ride in their saddle. If you have had new riders in your class who chose to not come back, have you asked yourself…
Am I current and relevant to today’s customer?
Keeping up with our customers’ evolving WHY means accepting the radically different concept that an increasing number of riders don’t care about the workout. It means embracing riders who are more concerned with recovery from daily stress than recovery from working effort. It means delivering a fun, safe, and effective class to riders who train for LIFE alongside riders who TRAIN for the road or for a specific event. It means making them feel safe the moment they walk through the door.
Have you ever considered that the rider on the end in the 3rd row may be…
Overwhelmed by numbers, spreadsheets, and thinking in general
Or … Suffering from an eating disorder and low self esteem
Have you ever considered that the rider in the back row, 2nd bike in may be…
Training for the Special Olympics…grateful for a 2nd chance at life
A parent whose child recently tried to commit suicide
A rider whose spouse committed suicide
An ex college athlete whose body feels older than his years…
who rides for the non impact cardio, weight loss, and because he can escape
A verbally abused housewife who quietly arrives late and leaves early every class…
not wanting to be recognized and grateful to be alone for almost an hour
A recovering addict who rides to get high…and to stay sober
A military wife who misses her deployed husband
A depressed teenager who doesn’t seem to “fit in” anywhere.
A mother battling post partum depression
A parent of a Marine that never came home
A 50 year old father with 100lbs to loose before walking his daughter down the aisle
Or … A veteran who feels lost and unappreciated.
Have you ever considered that the rider directly in front of you …worries about losing their job?
Each one of these riders is real and has a name.
Each one of these riders wants to escape, to check out, and to get lost in the music.
Accept … Don’t Judge WHY
Welcome every rider free of judgment and celebrate that they have a WHY that is different.
Accept that a rider may not want to push outside of their comfort zone. That’s OK!
It doesn’t mean they are “lolly-gagging,” “wasting an hour,” or “need to leave if they aren’t going to make an effort” because they aren’t working as HARD as you are asking them. That’s not WHY they are there. For them, it was HARD WORK, just getting there.
For these riders, the CardioTherapy benefits of Indoor Cycling outweigh any interval or strength training benefit. These riders and countless others stepped out of their comfort zone simply by walking through the door. If we, as instructors are current and relevant to their WHY … these riders have a better chance of returning. Make them feel SAFE and FUN follows. If we are doing our job correctly, EFFECTIVE falls into place and riders see results … mind, body, & spirit.
Accepting and understanding that every rider is not in your class to TRAIN like an athlete is the first step to delivering the ultimate Indoor Cycling experience, to every rider in the room, every time … regardless of their WHY.
by Karen Casler | Feb 16, 2014 | Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN
My brain started spinning (pardon the pun)… the door swung open… and I stepped out.
Once I realized that the indoor cycle doesn't move, I opened my mind to many things previously deemed unacceptable.
Hello
My name is Karen and I stepped out of the box last year. I am also the self proclaimed spokesperson for KEEPING IT FUNâ„¢ Indoor Cycling. I'm committed to helping other indoor cycling instructors who aren't afraid to approach indoor cycling differently.
Here is my story…
KEEPING IT REAL Indoor Cycling is where I come from. It was also where I thought I was going when I opened my indoor cycling studio a little over year ago. I was determined to maintain the integrity of the road and to honor the spirit of SPINNING®. Never did I entertain the idea of lunges, crunches, tap backs, push ups, BootiePops or hand weights on my indoor bike. NEVER, EVER……EVER would I allow that to occur on my instructor stage!!!!!!!! N E V E R.
Enter…..the shiny monkey.
I am plagued by, or shall I say blessed with SMS (Shiny Monkey Syndrome). The Shiny Monkey is fun, flirty, happy, and IRRESISTIBLE. After reading many KEEPING IT REAL articles, the Shiny Monkey bounced into my brain and pointed out something obvious about my indoor bike. The indoor bike is STATIONARY. It does NOT move, and nothing around it moves. There is no traffic, no way to get lost, no forward motion, no inclement weather, and no physical obstacles. Factors that keep us from doing things on an outdoor bike need not apply to the indoor bike. BooYah and three cheers, go to the Shiny Monkey!!! Thanks for changing my life, little guy!!!
Today, indoor cycling offers riders a diversity of classes that they have never had before! Understanding and identifying KEEPING IT REAL and KEEPING IT FUN, as two completely different forms of group exercise, is what gave me courage to step out and teach something different.
Don't get me wrong, I like a KEEPING IT REAL class. I don't want KEEPING IT REAL to change. I have simply departed from KEEPING IT REAL and celebrate KEEPING IT FUN! I want to build a community of instructors who share my embrace of the evolution of indoor cycling.
There needs to be a forum for “KEEPING IT FUN” instructors. A place to share their love of sweaty indoor awesomeness, on bike that has just one wheel and goes nowhere. I want to share my story and help other instructors who are trained in the traditional indoor cycling formats; Mad Dogg, Schwinn, Stages, etc. feel comfortable stepping away from what's deemed “REAL” and into the “FUN” world.
There are safe and effective ways to teach a lil “party on a bike.” There are also safe and effective ways to add upper body resistance training to an indoor cycling class. We are NOT outdoors. KEEPING IT FUN indoor cycling is a group exercise that can appeal to everyone. It is growing in popularity (without injury), among elite athletes, weekend warriors, all age groups, both genders, and most importantly…..with people who haven’t had a work out routine, or haven’t stuck to consistent fitness plan in years. I've seen in my studio how KEEPING IT FUN, keeps everyone coming back!!!
“If you wouldn't do it on the road, don't do it in class,” may be the ultimate KEEPING IT REAL rule. I break this rule, EVERY ride.
Cuing from a KEEPING IT FUNâ„¢ instructor, may go like this…..
“Find your hill. Now, add some gear. Relax your shoulders and close your eyes. Create weightlessness on your pedals and get lost, in the rhythm. Follow the beat. Up 2, Back 2. Let’s GO!!!”
When I ride, I close my eyes. This breaks the KEEPING IT REAL rule. You can't close your eyes and ride outdoors. On a stationary bike you CAN close your eyes. With my eyes closed, and when my optic nerve is completely relaxed, cardio therapy follows. I let the music penetrate my mind, my body, and my soul. I harness the power of those who ride with me and we ride, together. Everyone is connected through movement and the entire room moves like a jellyfish. I think this is what Les Mills referred to as FitnessMagic. FitnessMagic connects people with people AND it connects people with themselves. I live for FitnessMagic!!!
I am an indoor cyclist.
My cycle goes nowhere and yet, my cycle takes me anywhere I want to go 🙂
