It was the most painful class I've ever taught. Not painful in the; “John, your class was so bad it was painful.” I mean PAINFUL… my feet were killing me for the entire hour. Here I was riding with my Sidi shoes, sans insoles. Earlier in the week I had transferred my prized Superfeet Blue Insoles from my old shoes (with Delta cleats that fit the bike at Life Time) to my new Sidi Mega's (I use LOOK Keo cleats on my VeloVie bicycle) and had forgotten to switch them back đ
It didn't help that for the full 60 minutes of class I berated myself for being an idiot. Why was I wasting my time switching inserts between shoes (adding yet more additional stress to my life)Â when I could simply order a second pair (in about 10 seconds) online with my Amazon.com prime membership?
I have really crappy feet. They're quite wide, the left foot has almost no arch and both are pronated to boot – please forgive the pun. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing; street shoes, running shoes or cycling shoes – they all give me trouble.
So here I was, riding with nothing in my shoes. No cushion, no support, no nothing. Just the hard flat bottoms of the shoes. Oh, and the little depression in the center, right under the ball of my foot, where the cleat connects which felt like it was growing the whole class.
Over the years I have experimented with a bunch of shoe insoles. I worked for Shock Doctor for a spell as a sales rep and was able to try their full line of replacement insoles. I wore them for years until I was introduced to Superfeet by a member at the club. They are now my favorite and difference between a comfortable 2+ hour ride and having my feet scream at me from mile-one on.
So when I got home I logged onto amazon.com, did a quick search and hit the one click purchase button. Two days later the nice UPS guy shows up with a little box. Problem solved and it took me a total of less than a minute… that is if you don't count the 60 minutes of agony I suffered in class.
Amazon Prime costs $79.00 a year, which may sound like a lot until you consider the value of your time. In the past, if I had decided to purchase something I would; A: jump in the car, drive somewhere burning $4 gas, get there and hope the store had what I needed. Or; B: go one line, search for a product, check a bunch of sites to see which had the lowest price, go through the checkout – only to get torqued off when I discovered there was a minimum purchase or they planned to charge me $10.00 to ship some $14.95 gizmo – where I would either quit the process or start over.
Other examples. Last week my younger daughter had a bunch of friends over. The next morning I discovered something dark and sticky on our ironing board – which I later learned was barbecue sauce. As the official “Ironer” in our family, I would've been looking at a trip to Target for a new cover. I hate shopping for anything, so I don't. A few clicks and I had my new cover two days later. Same thing this past winter. It seemed like every time one or the other kid when back to school, I was missing another iPhone charger đ Â Not any more.
IHRSA 2013 demonstrated a major increase in club ownersââŹâ˘ interest in virtual indoor cycling classes â rides led by a virtual coach or voice-over using Forward Motion Video (FMV). No instructor present. It was apparent at the IHRSA Trade Show that many club owners are now considering technology-based workouts.
Fitness companies have picked up on the benefits of virtual indoor cycling, chronicled by ICG in past posts. Some companies are investing millions of dollars in creating compelling content, geared to presenting a virtual experience that competes with live instruction. And an increasing number of clubs are realizing the economic benefit of offering and marketing virtual classes. These clubs range from budget clubs that have no intention of hiring instructors to major chains that support strong instructor programs.
Les Mills International (LMI) announced the launch of LES MILLSâ⢠VIRTUAL at this IHRSA convention. LMI virtual workouts are based on master class content and demonstrated by their top instructors. These workouts will include virtual RPM classes, their brand of indoor cycling. Their filming and editing techniques are Hollywood quality. They have invested a great deal of money in making virtual classes that replicate the actual experience and energy of the master classes they present to their instructors all over the world.
The importance of LMIââŹâ˘s decision to provide virtual classes should not be overlooked. With their move to virtual and the high quality of their production, LMI, the industry leader in group-fitness programming, is indicating a shift in the industryââŹâ˘s acceptance of virtual classes.
Could virtual change the nature and economics of the fitness industry? The technology is fairly simple and getting better and cheaper. The content is improving. And the problems around maintaining an instructor staff are legendary. Ask any Program Manager: training instructors; making sure they stay current, show up on time, and fill out their timesheets properly; and much more. Virtual classes might just work in a major way.
So, speaking as an instructor, what are my options? If I support the use of virtual classes, and they keep improving, I could lose my job to a video of an instructor whoââŹâ˘s much better than I am. If I donââŹâ˘t support it, my club owner may think that IââŹâ˘m not staying current in the industry, or that I have only my personal interests in mind. The owner may let me go, thinking I was the kind of instructor he/she wanted to get rid of, anyway. If I do nothing, I may suddenly be faced with a large screen and projector in the cycling studio and told to promote virtual rides to my students. Worse, I may be told that the club is scaling back its instructor-led classes because virtual is the future.
Here are the facts. Club owners see virtual classes as: a cost-effective way to boost class capacity and use the cycling studio at off-peak times; a way for members to fit classes into their busy schedules; a great way to introduce more people to group fitness and grow overall attendance; an effective marketing tool for enticing member prospects to join; a trend thatââŹâ˘s here to stay.
To be proactive, I need to keep my instruction better than a virtual class. What can I do that video cannot?
1. I can learn peopleââŹâ˘s names and compliment them daily.
2. I can introduce them to others in the class and create a sense of camaraderie and group effort.
3. I can change my workouts and music for every class. (Some virtual programs are currently able to do this, but thereââŹâ˘s likely to be greater repetition.)
4. I can get off my bike and provide individual coaching during class, as needed by the students.
5. I can improve my skills as an instructor, class leader, cyclist and dedicated employee so that, no matter whoââŹâ˘s on the video, my abilities deliver a better class experience.
Having been a Program Director for over 30 years, I know that everything on the list above has been told to instructors in countless ways without large-scale success. The five items make you not only a better instructor, but also a better employee.
The industry is changing. I encourage everyone who is resistant to technology to change quickly. Invest in learning to teach with FMV, power, an iPod, or Spotify. Accept, even welcome, the advent of virtual classes.
Most importantly, do everything you can do to remind the industry that what makes group training most enjoyable is the social atmosphere and human connection that only you, the instructor, can create.
Great ideas here for our new Instructors! Leverage opportunities to fill in by sharing and showcasing brand “you.”
Certified fitness professional and fitness writer Stephanie Vlach and I discusses how Instructors can leverage subbing opportunities to market themselves – from her recent article in the March 2013 IDEA Fitness Journal – IDEA subscription required.
Leverage opportunities to fill in by sharing and showcasing brand “you.”
Almost every role and function within the fitness industry involves marketing. It doesn't matter if you're a fitness director promoting a group exercise program, a manager preparing for a membership drive or a personal trainer attracting new clientele – baseline knowledge of marketing is vital.
You can hear Stephanie's ideas below or you will find this episode in your Super Secret iTunes Podcast feed.
Endurance Coach and Author Grant Molyneux joins us to discuss his book Effortless Exercise
and its importance in actually enjoying exercise, while building aerobic fitness & endurance, vs. dreading the thought that it is time to thrash yourself on the bike yet again.
Wouldn't it be fantastic if you felt great every time you exercised â every step of the way? What if you could consistently experience the bliss of the runnerââŹâ˘s high or the flow of a perfect swim stoke and benefit from all the positive health benefits of exercise without any of the downside of pain and injury. Imagine what your life would look like if it became effortless to maintain your ideal weight, play with your kids, climb a mountain or participate in a triathlon on any given day, at any given age.
If you answered a resounding âYes!â then effortless exercise is for you. Whether youââŹâ˘re a beginner or wanting to win an Ironman triathlon, the principles in this book apply to anyone seeking a deeper experience of exercise. Come on a journey into the Zen state of exercise that will transform your training and help you to achieve more with less. The ideas in this book will help you to go within for a deeper, richer experience that creates sustainable fitness and peak athletic performances through meditative flow states. Fundamentally youââŹâ˘ll discover the pleasure of exercise and be drawn to move every day because it feels so good to exercise this way.
I'm curious to hear your responses to this. Grant makes a great point how the pendulum of “conventional thinking” tends to swing back and forth… Long and Slow works best – no, wait. HIT is what will make you fitter, faster & thinner.
This maybe a great bike, but completely inappropriate for a brand-new outdoor rider.
I'm listening to a recording of you, talking to member after a class last week. Would how you speak, and the words you choose, leave me feeling that your intent was to:
A: Educate them?
B: Impress them?
Last Sunday morning a participant approached me after a class I subbed at the Life Time Fitness HQ club. I call it the HQ club because it shares the parking lot of Lifetime's corporate offices in Chanhassen, MN.
I've forgotten her name, but she asked if I had a minute to advise her about purchasing a new bike. She explained how she had been riding indoors for about a year and was excited to test her new fitness outdoors this Spring.
“It sure looks and sounds like you have a lot of experience riding outdoors John, what brand of bike would you recommend for someone just getting started?”
THIS A TRAP!
Do I have a lot of knowledge about outdoor bicycles? Of course I do. If I chose to, I could have launched into an hour long dissertation about the virtues of carbon frames vs. aluminum frames, the specific differences between gruppos from Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo, wheel choices and on and on – all with the intent of impressing her. But I didn't.
I could print my standard answer to this question on a business card; “I always recommend new riders start with the bicycle they will ride regularly.” This straightforward response often illicites a confused look from whomever I'm talking with. So I explain further, telling her…
“I love riding outdoors and I enjoy encouraging others as well. But riding outdoors, especially on the road, isn't for everyone. Because you don't know if cycling outdoors is really for you, my suggestion is to find a simple bike, start riding it and see if you enjoy it. You may have one hanging in your garage or one of your neighbors may have one you can borrow. Barring that, you could go to a local bike shop and find a reasonably priced cross-bike. Forget the special shoes and clips, the standard pedals are all that you need. Then I suggest finding a friend to ride with – it's safer and more fun riding with someone else. Then set yourself a goal for this summer of say 500 miles. If you reach it, promise yourself a new bicycle. Between now and then you'll have learned a lot that will help you make a good decision… but if you don't it's no big deal. You've just learned that outdoor riding just isn't for you, or you may find you only enjoy riding on the LRT trails.”Â
When I finished she looked like she wanted to hug me. Thank you, she said with a big smile. You have no idea how freeing it was to hear that. I have been getting dizzy with all the choices of bikes and really stressed about learning how to get in and out of my shoe clips. I'm having enough trouble here at the club. I have a friend who fell in a busy intersection when she couldn't un-clip. She called her husband to pick her up and I don't think she's ridden her bike since. Â Â
I'm not sure if you know him, but Tim Ferriss is a master communicator. He's the author of a number of best seller books including; The Four Hour Work Week and The Four Hour Chef. Both books are about learning the process of learning and then leveraging that skill to quickly become proficient in just about anything. A recent interview discussing the The Four Hour Chef included this:
Tim Ferriss: Yeah. And it's so easy. I mean, when you get to the highest levels, when you're talking to the best chefs in the world, they don't try to complicate it for you. That's what I realized. When you're talking to a lot of people who are kind of good, or really want to prevent you from being part of their world because they want to be some like, weird high priest of the blogosphere or whatever? They don't, they complicate things. But when you talk to, like, the Michael Jordans of cooking, like Grant Achatz, at Alinea in Chicago, where I spent two or three days, which is the #1 ranked restaurant in the US, while I was writing the book, or Marco Canora of Hearth in New York City, or you name it. I mean, Joshua Skenes of Saison in San Francisco. They are happy to give you simple techniques that will make you one of the best home cooks in the city. I mean, it does not have to be complicated at all.
Many of our students look to us as authorities or experts. We all have a unique opportunity to help others make positive lifestyle changes if we remember to avoid the trap of trying to impress and instead, concentrate on communicating effectively using simple techniques. Our Best Practices category of articles is an example of how we try to apply this here at ICI/PRO.
Can you think of a few areas where this could possibly apply to you?
Myth # 10 – There's only one place your knee should be “over pedal” and that's when the forward pedal is horizontal.
Actually there's a second place where your knee should line up vertically with the center-line of pedal  – when the pedals are at BDC (bottom dead center) like this picture shows.
From http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=3617 – I added the yellow line.
But wait John, for the knee to be over pedal, doesn't that mean that the lower leg would be perfectly vertical?
Isn't there supposed to be an angle in there some where? Of course there is and it's there right in front of you. It's created by rearward offset of the saddle which is a function of the Seat Tube angle, typically around 73°.
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Why I see this as a myth is because we all live in a world filled with right angles, created by perfectly horizontal and vertical lines. Floors are level, walls are plumb and bicycle riders need a soft bend in their knee – an angle of around 30°. Because we are looking for this angle, the tendency is to reject the premise and assume it can't be perfectly vertical/plumb, except it can and often is* đ
The easiest way to check this is to simply step back away from the rider. Observe them with still pedals at BDC and a relaxed ankle/horizontal foot.
*You'll find this applies when the saddle fore-aft is set properly. Where it is not applicable is in those situations where the rider has moved the saddle all the way forward. Can you see how this will decrease the amount of offset = reduce the amount of the angle at proper extension?
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