If you've followed indoorcycleinstructor.com for any length of time you know that I'm a huge fan of the 2T/3Z method of Heart Rate training which is the basis for Zoning. That simple Blue/Yellow/Red response from my Blink Heart Rate monitor is (to me) the perfect way to introduce zone based heart rate training into your class.
Here's some proof of it's success – OK it's a bit rough, but Diana presents a powerful truth that Zoning has worked for her in this video. Your students are in your class to lose body fat and Diana losing 100 pounds and finishing the Danskin Triathlon is a testament to the effectiveness of 2T/3Z Heart Rate training.
No more hunting for new music or counting out cues. Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards. This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your life as easy as possible!
No more hunting for new music or counting out cues. Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards. This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your life as easy as possible!
Early cycling classes. Late nights. Approaching holidays. Fall quarter can be a busy time, and it might be difficult to get enough sleep each night. But it's important to do so because sleep deprivation affects several factors related to health and weight management.
For one thing, sleep deprivation, even short-term, can lower leptin levels. Leptin is a powerful satiety hormone that tells the brain/body it’s had enough food and doesn’t need more. (Leptin’s functions are far more complex and diverse than these, but for the purposes of a short post on sleep, health and weight, this will serve.) The name leptin means “thin”, so if it’s not working properly or is in short supply, it can create the opposite effect.
Another thing inadequate sleep can do is raise levels of ghrelin. The hormone ghrelin works in opposition to leptin and stimulates the part of the brain that promotes eating. This “monster” hormone increases appetite, decreases metabolic rate, and even promotes a preference for fats.
Because ghrelin has such a negative influence on appetite and weight, it pays to know what else triggers it. A high-fat diet (even a high-fat meal) can do that, so keep your fat intake moderate. The type of fat — saturated or unsaturated — doesn’t seem to affect ghrelin levels but, for health reasons, unsaturated fats — omega-3s and omega-9s — are recommended. One obvious exception is raw, organic coconut oil: it’s saturated but extremely healthful. Still, use it moderately.
Sleep deprivation can also reduce melatonin. When we sleep, the brain releases melatonin, an anti-inflammatory hormone that can help heal any number of things in the body. Since inflammation is the source of most (some sources say ALL) disease, getting enough sleep is a key to staying healthy.
Getting too little sleep can trigger pro-inflammatory chemicals that make us less responsive to insulin, and that's never a good thing – either for health or for weight. Insulin resistance underlies many metabolic disorders. Those disorders include diabetes, hypertension, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, heart disease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome and polycystic kidney disease. Because these disorders tend to occur in clusters, someone with one is likely to have several.
Insulin resistance can contribute to weight gain, as well. If you have students who struggle with their weight, this is worth passing along to them. We typically hear that insulin resistance is the result of obesity/overweight. That’s true, but insulin resistance can actually cause overweight, too. I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but here’s a brief summary. Body tissues differ in their sensitivity to insulin. The primary site of insulin resistance is skeletal muscle. Insulin resistant muscle doesn’t respond to insulin, so glucose isn’t transported to muscle tissue and is instead transported to fat deposits. In short, anything that decreases insulin sensitivity is bad news for health and for weight. (Diet can be a significant cause of insulin resistance, but we’ll limit this article to the effects of sleep deprivation.)
So the bottom line is pretty straightforward. Be sure to make sleep a priority, even when — or especially when — you're busy.
Welcome to week five of Music to Mention. This week's music to mention is a strenght song that makes groove as I sit here and write this: Treble To The Bass by Swanky Tunes. I use this song for strength work, characterized by a lower cadence (the beat is 128 or 64 rpm) and a heart rate in Mid to High Zone 4 area. This should be hard and questionably sustainable. I usually cue this at 1.0 – 1.5 watts per pound for the riders (on a Keiser bike). Have fun with this and use the longer sections to connect with your class and educate them on training.
No more hunting for new music or counting out cues. Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards. This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your life as easy as possible!
