Guest post by Instructor & Studio Owner Pauline Geraci
According the Administration for Community Living (ACL), people 65-plus represented 12.4 percent of the population in the year 2000 but are expected to grow to be 19 percent of the population by 2030.
Let’s face it, we are not getting any younger. As we age, the more important it is for us to stay active. But the older we get, the harder it is activity becomes.
We start developing muscle and joint pains and other issues which we sometimes use as an excuse to become less physically active which in turn makes us more prone to injury and the aging process. What to do?
Indoor cycling meets many of our aging population’s needs. For starters, it is a great cardiovascular workout. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that healthy adults ages 18-65 years old should participate in aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes, five days per week or vigorous intensity, aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 minutes, three days per week.
An indoor cycling class will keep your heart rate up long enough to provide health benefits. A physical activity that includes continuous cardiovascular activity can help lower your risk of coronary artery disease, can help lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, and can help lower your overall resting heart rate.
As we age, we start to develop balance issues because of inactivity or inner ear problems. Maybe we have fallen once and now are afraid to do activities without relying on a walker or cane. You certainly don’t feel comfortable riding a bike outdoors. Indoor cycling eliminates your concerns with balance issues. Indoor cycling removes the element of risk and the fear of falling so you can experience its health benefits. A good cycling class allows you to go at your own pace and push yourself, yet feel safe and comfortable.
Another worry for seniors is finding a cardiovascular workout that is low to no impact. Indoor cycling offers a high intensity low impact workout. Many people who recently have recovered from orthopedic injuries turn to indoor cycling to help them get back on track.
Remember, as with all physical activity you are about to embark on, make sure you get clearance from your doctor. Indoor cycling, when done correctly, provides minimal impact on the hip, knee and ankle joints.
Because of the circular motion of riding a bike, your knees properly flex and extend, while avoiding the high impact pounding of other activities such as running or certain aerobic type classes.
Another issue of aging is age-related sarcopenia. People who are physically inactive can lose as much as 3-5 percent of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. Even if you are active, you still will experience some muscle loss.
A benefit of indoor cycling is increased muscular endurance. This refers to the ability of a muscle to continually and repeatedly exert force over an extended period of time. In an indoor cycling class, you pedal against resistance which increase the endurance of the leg muscles: legs, quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus and even the calf muscles.
Working out these muscles also will help to strengthen the surrounding bones, tendons and ligaments which also help you with balance issues.
In turn, this increased strength means you’ll be able to perform your daily activities with greater ease.
Riding outdoors is great but there are safety and weather issues to contend with. You can’t make excuses about not working out because of the weather when you ride indoors. Indoor cycling also allows you to be free from concerns such as negligent motorists, narrow road shoulders, going downhill too fast and bike malfunctions (flat tires, loose chains, etc.).
It’s good to get outdoors and exercise whenever possible, but it’s also important to keep from putting yourself at unnecessary risk, especially at an age when each fall is a little harder to get up from than the last.
The ability to choose your own resistance also makes indoor cycling an ideal fitness class for seniors. On an outdoor ride, your resistance level is dependent on your surrounding terrain. On any given route in Sequim you will find inclines that you are not prepared to handle. You also may not feel challenged during an outdoor ride.
Indoor cycling will definitely challenge you! Indoor bikes come with resistance knobs. This allows you to raise or lower the intensity of the workout to meet your physical restraints and/or fitness goals.
Many people, not just seniors, would like to lose some weight. If your fitness goals include weight and/or fat loss, you’ve come to the right place.
According to spinning.com, you can burn anywhere between 400-600 calories per average 45-minute class.
Since it takes 3,500 calories to burn one pound of fat, just 5-8 indoor cycling classes, combined with a healthy diet can help you meet your New Year goals!
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to stop the aging process. But don’t let that excuse you from engaging in your favorite activities. Come and enjoy a safe and exhilarating workout experience at indoor cycling classes nearest to you!
Pauline Geraci is owner of Fit4Life Studio, 1245 W. Washington St., Sequim. See www.fit4lifesequim.com.
Fox & Friends ran a special segment this morning, highlighting the job opportunities in the fitness industry. Master Instructor Kari Nicolle from CycleBar said that they would be opening 50 new locations this year, requiring close to 700 new hires. That's an awesome opportunity for Indoor Cycling Instructors!
My Monday morning (5:45 am) classes are always a JRA Endurance ride. My class looks forward to them as a foundational part of their weekly training. The combination of plenty of caffeine + a steady Aerobic effort gets the old brain cells working and the creative juices flowing. This past Monday was no exception and I found myself considering the state of Indoor Cycling and it's potential for the future. What started as an appreciation of the room and all my loyal students slowly morphed into a mental list of reasons Indoor Cycling is here to stay – and probably destined to continue to grow 🙂
I tried to come up with a top ten, but fell a few short. Perhaps you can suggest a few more?
Winters (here in Minnesota and in many other parts of the world) are getting colder and longer, driving everyone inside and keeping them there.
We've got the demographics on our side. My participants seem to be are getting older. Many tell me that Cycling is the only thing they can continue to do with the joint problems they deal with daily.
These older participants are looking for two things from a class; help maintaining their body weight and hopefully stave off the aging effects of each new year. Vanity, in my opinion, is the number one motivator for many in your class. Are you speaking to it?
You can't turn on the TV without seeing some Fitness Program like P90x being advertised. Our general population is obese, and getting more so. They don't like it (see #3) and many are looking for a fun way to get thinner, err… healthier 🙂
Small Indoor Cycling Studios are popping up everywhere offering high quality, low financial commitment alternatives to traditional health clubs. I see these new studios following a parallel path that boutique Yoga/Pilates studios use. They appear to numerous and profitable.
I see society contracting inward, with the Internet allowing for the creation of very specific communities of like minded people – like ours here at ICI/PRO 🙂 I'm watching Life Time Fitness attempt to adapt to this by offering “Clubs within a Club” like their Cycle Club, Run Club, Triathlon Club,etc…
Indoor Cycling 2.0 is becoming a reality as more clubs invest in the new Indoor Cycles with Power from Keiser, Schwinn, Cycle Ops, FreeMotion and the new Spinner NXT with power.
The introduction of Power measurement will dispel the “I burned 700 calories today” lie that so many in our industry continue to tell. I predict that many in your club will hate knowing the truth; that you can't sit in class and talk to your neighbor for an hour, while barely getting warm and burn a substantial amount of energy. But many will learn the truth and accept it. Sure at first they maybe angry, but that anger will subside … and possibly change to a renewed source of focused intensity that will have them achieving their goals (see #3) … maybe for the very first time. When that happens they will be back, and they will bring their friends.
Five million viewers of ABC's “Good Morning America” TV program were treated to a wonderful promotion for Indoor Cycling this past week. As I watched I just couldn't help myself and began humming REM's Shiny Happy People. That was exactly what I was seeing > hundreds of shiny, happy people enjoying riding inside. I can't think of a better way to kick off 2015!
I'm of course describing the nationwide 2015 SoulCycle resolution ride that aired Jan 7th live on “Good Morning America.
What a way to jumpstart January! SoulCycle joined Good Morning America today for its Resolution Revolution. We tapped it back on SoulCycle bikes in their dressing rooms and hallways as well as in Times Square – while GMA showed live feeds from Soul classes happening in Bethesda, Chestnut Hill, Coral Gables, Short Hills and West Hollywood! Check out this video clip of all the action, including an interview with instructor ANGELA DAVIS on how to stay motivated as well as an update on our SoulScholarships Program. It was a good morning, indeed!
Here's the video of the event if you haven't seen it.
Suggest finding someone who looks like this to help you evaluate your online registration system – or review the one you're using now.
Prospective Indoor Cycling Studio owners have hundreds of both challenging and easy decisions to make, long before they're ready to launch. Considering that your new studio will be a real business and the purpose of your business is to make money, the registration system you choose* to collect your money is pretty darn important… in fact it's crucial IMO. With multiple solution providers of online registration systems – how do you choose?)
I'd start by answering the: how easy/intuitive are the registration and collect the money process?
In the online world, marketers describe collecting the money as a conversion – I call it making a sale. Conversion percentages = what percentage of visitors who somehow end up on your registration page actually convert? Conversions don't always equate to sales. They can also be; create a user's profile, register for a class or even just join your email list.
Any difficulty the visitor experiences during the process can reduce the number of successful conversions (you don't get the money).
Now I don't need to tell you that different people, react to online “difficulties” or “frustrations” differently. You could throw any amount of digital confusion at either of my two girls and they'd still figure out how to register for your class. But there are potential customers who aren't comfortable with online anything.
Testing the registration and collect the money process
You're probably not the right person to test and compare online registration systems. The fact that you are here reading this tells me you are comfortable using a computer and are probably routinely using it to make purchases online.
I suggest finding someone in your life who's not all that comfortable with technology and ask them to help you evaluate the various systems. For some of you it could be your Mom (hence the Mom Test), a friend or family member that's similarly technophobic.
Here's how I would structure your “Mom Test”.[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
Contact each company's representative and ask for a link to the home page of an actual studio that uses their system/software.
Collect each studio's link
Sit down with your evaluator and have them go through a complete registration process: Create a user's profile and then register and pay for an actual class. Yes, this will cost you a few dollars > what you learn will be invaluable.
But please don't waste their time and ask the studio owner to refund these small purchases.
While your evaluator is going through the registration process, You Need To Sit On Your Hands and offer no direction or assistance. Just watch exactly what happens and how she/he responds.
How quick was the process?
Was there any place where they got stuck
Did anything happen/change that caused them to question anything? Am I doing this right? Why was I taken here? etc…
With any luck you'll have a fun time doing this and learn a lot about what works and what doesn't, making your final choice easier. After all, you and your successful studio is going to be married to this software for years to come 🙂
[/wlm_private]*Of course this isn't the only reason you would decide on one registration vendor over another. If you have other questions you can ask me here.
Think about all of the planning you did before launching your new cycling studio? How much are you doing today to keep your studio in top form?
We talk with Barbara Chancey and John Bogosian talk about the six signs of fitness studio sabotage. This podcast is a must listen for both studio owners and instructors and will help you take your studio to the next level or keep it at the top.
If you own a studio, or are considering opening one, I suggest grabbing a pen and paper, find a quiet spot and listen to the podcast below in it's entirety.
