Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion:
Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion:
9/19 update – listen to my interview with Dr Wendy Suzuki about Creativity Indoor Cycling here.
I know that whenever I'm feeling the need to get more creative, I'll attend someone else's cycling class. Typically Amy's Saturday morning Evolution class at Fife Time. Not having to focus on delivering the class myself, after about 15 minutes I tend to zone-out and new ideas just start coming to me. I know I'm not the only person who experiences this – actually I feel it's pretty common amongst endurance athletes.
I describe pedaling along, blissfully oblivious to what's happening around you (inside or outdoors) as JRA – Just Riding Along. You might call it being in a state of Zen, or in-the-zone or your “happy place”. If you've ever felt you were in a place where time seems to both stand still and fly by, you know what I'm talking about.
It turns out that there's a bunch of neuroscience that goes on while we are aerobic. You'll learn a lot about the science of what's happening to your brain during exercise from this video that feature neuroscientist/group fitness instructor Dr. Wendy Suzuki.
So if our riders are already benefiting from the mental/creative stimulation that comes from participating our our classes, why not promote this benefit? Better yet, why not structure classes to actually enhance the experience?
So how would you do this?
Not sure exactly… I know I would lead with a playlist of long, hypnotic songs. I remember that using this profile from Jim Karanas had the desired effect ICI/PRO Podcast #193 — ZENDURANCE (20 min verison) Audio PROfile.
The long, steady efforts are magical in their ability to bring on JRA 🙂 If you really want people to zone out and get into their own heads, this 15 minute track from the ZENDURANCE profile is nearly guaranteed to do the trick.
Next I'm thinking I would create a slideshow of random images of interesting geometric shapes and colors. Maybe cool architecture, bridges & buildings, flowers & plants, etc… I don't think I'd include pictures of people or animals that could trigger emotional responses – that's at least my initial idea.
The important part would be that riders wouldn't need to maintain their attention, like you do when you're watching a video. Maybe instead of class > Keeping it Fun, you offer > Keeping it Interesting?
Cuing would be the real challenge. Maybe you don't cue anything beyond the introduction. Or, you might offer a word problem or show a series of brain exercises from Lumosity.com or other online resourse with each song changes.
What ever you come up with, it will be important to properly identify the class format and include its description on your class schedule.
Brainstorming sessions?
Your Creativity Indoor Classes could potentially have value to a local company looking to solve a problem or develop a new product. Bring in a big white board and then team up with a moderator who writes down all the new ideas, while you guide the class. The possibilities are endless and structured properly, could be a very profitable class you could offer.
Even now you're thinking, “what if we were to…”
Share your ideas below.
Originally posted 2015-08-23 11:25:05.
Sadly this is what some people see when they look at your Indoor Cycles. Image from www.bikeradar.com
The big IHRSA convention starts tomorrow (can't wait) and as a follow up to my visit last year I wrote this article. If you visit that link and scroll down a bit, you'll see this image of a banner displayed at the entrance of the convention.
Recumbents in a Group Cycling class?
At the time I wrote:
This banner was the very first thing you saw walking into the LA convention center. My first impression was; “that’s dumb… who would ever want to ride a recumbent bicycle in an Indoor Cycling class?”
As I walked past this display I did a double take and then it hit me > there’s a huge population of people who are intimidated by the skinny, little seats on Indoor Cycles.
Obese/overweight people for starters and you can’t forget Seniors. Together they make up a sizable demographic that we are completely missing. They’re two groups who would really benefit from the comfort of riding on a recumbent, with its large seat and easy to step through design.
Despite all of the technological changes we've witnessed (Power Meters, Virtual Ride Videos & Display Training systems) + the massive increases in popularity (Thank You SoulCycle), Indoor Cycling is still failing to attract large segments of society who would really benefit from our classes.
I'll bet you can quickly describe the profiles of the typical people you do not see in your classes. They include:
Why is that? What's preventing (or discouraging) all the people in these groups from experiencing your awesome class? That skinny saddle for one thing. In the mind of someone 100lbs over weight, it may as well have sharp spikes sticking out… what about the person with a bad back? No way they'll even consider bending forward to reach those handlebars, no matter how high you adjust them. A common scourge of aging is limited mobility; “there's no way I could ever climb on that bicycle. My hips and knees just don't flex like they used to.”
The riding position of Indoor and outdoor cycles, while perfect for you and me, just doesn't appeal to the populations listed above. In fact there are many who would be terrified at the thought of mounting and riding the Indoor Cycles in your studio.
Again from last year's article I added;
I talked at length with the representative from Cascade Health & Fitness about helping them establish a few beta recumbent cycling locations. They are very motivated to meet with anyone who’s interested.
As it turned out there were some Instructors who were interested to experiment with adding a few recumbent Indoor Cycles to their classes. John Kennedy with Cascade Health and Fitness provided three studios each with a pair of recumbents and now, after about six months of use, we're hearing some favorable responses 🙂
Marietta Colberg Roberts is the Fitness Director at Old Town Hot Springs in Steamboat Springs CO. Listen as she describes her experiences bringing people into her classes, who otherwise wouldn't attend.
Interested in learning more? Here's the link to Cascade's website. You can contact John Kennedy by email – call 855-402-4062 and they will be at IHRSA again this year.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Image of Dr. Suzuki and her team from suzukilab.com/
Imagine that tomorrow you begin marketing your Indoor Cycling classes differently… Instead of focussing on physical benefits of increased strength, endurance or weight management/loss, what would happen if your marketing was directed at cerebral benefits instead?
Do you feel you could possibly attract a new/unique group of participants? Maybe those people who aren't necessarily interested in physical improvements. Computer types (geeks) come to mind. They are rarely seen in your studio, unless they're there to fix your computer of course 🙂
But what if you were able to show the Geek Squad technician that your special classes could actually improve their troubleshooting, problem solving or coding skills… things he/she might really be interested in improving?
Or how about that advertising firm officing across the street? Do you think they would be interested in a brainstorming class where their entire team could spark some additional creativity?
There's a lot of scientific research that is proving the link between exercise and improvements in the brain in the form of enhanced memory and creativity. I posted a fascinating Ted Talk video presentation last month on the subject and the presenter is my guest for this episode – neuroscientist/group fitness instructor Dr. Wendy Suzuki.
Dr. Wendy A. Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She received her undergraduate degree in Physiology and Human Anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, studying with Prof. Marion C. Diamond, a leader in the field of brain plasticity. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from U.C. San Diego in 1993 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health before accepting her faculty position at New York University in 1998.
Listen to this episode below.
Near the end of the interview, Dr. Suzuki describes a clinical trial she running on the effects Indoor Cycling has on cognitive abilities. Participants are riding three time a week at Swerve Fitness in NYC and she says that their study results should be completed by the end of the year.
Exciting stuff to look forward too!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download