Power Ride Studio Owner Meg Kuhn Hilmer shared this remarkable story about her daughter/business partner in the Studio Owners Facebook group. I was so inspired by it I had to share it here for everyone to see 🙂
When she was 13-years old, Casey was running near her home in Indian Hill when she was dragged into the woods and stabbed in the face, neck and side by her troubled 17-year-old neighbor, Benjamin White. Casey was able to fight him off. Physically, she healed rather quickly. Her emotional wounds would take a lot longer. “I couldn't sleep alone,” said Casey. “Couldn't be in the house alone, second floor alone… I remember the first night I came home and had to take a shower I had to have my mom in the bathroom sitting on the toilet because i was just too scared to be alone” “I probably slept in my parents room until I was 16,” said Casey.
Diagnosed with severe PTSD, Casey has slowly made her way back with the support of her family and Children's Hospital's Trauma Department. “There are highs and lows and new problems,” said Casey’s father Steve Hilmer. “You come home and the roof's fallen in and you rebuild the roof, but you keep going and there's no easy answer. You just don't quit.” “No matter what happens, you have to keep fighting,” said Casey. “You can't give up on yourself or your family. You have to fight for yourself.” Sports, like running, lacrosse, and indoor cycling, helped Casey to keep moving forward.
After graduating from the University of Michigan and being turned down for medical school, Casey turned her passion for fitness into a career. “Sometimes you fail, and that helps you find what you're meant to do,” said Casey. “You have to keep an open mind and be persistent and the right thing will come to you.” Casey and her mom opened “Power Ryde” in Loveland. Casey motivates everyone in class with her enthusiasm and spirit. “I really try in 45 minutes to get people's minds off what's going on in their daily lives and make their day better in that 45 minutes,” said Casey.
I had the privilege of visiting the Stages Cycling HQ and factory in Boulder Colorado with my buddy Randy Erwin. Director of Indoor Cycling education Cameron Chinatti, along with Stages vice president Pat Warner, were our tour guides. We spent a fascinating couple of hours learning exactly what goes into building the Stages single side crank arm power meter used on the new Stages SC3 Indoor Cycle and available for most road/mountain bicycles.
You know these people are cyclists the moment you walk into the place. Everywhere you look there are bicycles; tucked into every corner, hanging from the ceiling, along every wall – heck, their conference room has probably the coolest table I've ever seen. Instead of legs, the table top is supported by a pair of 70's vintage Schwinn Sting-Ray bicycles.
Cameron explained the hiring process, “you pretty much have to be a passionate cyclist to even be considered… many of these guys have been riding buddies for years.” And I'll add that these “cyclists” are also some of the most brilliant people I've ever met 🙂
Cameron explaining all the cool features of the Stages SC3 to cyclist Randy Erwin
Cameron met Randy and me and our tour started in their official “training room” except it won't be for long. Stages is growing so fast that half of this room has been taken over by manufacturing stations. My friend Randy was very interested in the new SC3 because the Westminster, CO Life Time Fitness (where he's a member) will be the very first location to get these new cycles. Now if we could get Dennis Mellon in there as an instructor…
New power meters being installed and tested – this is super technical stuff.
Early in the our factory tour, I asked Pat; “why aren't your power meters built in Asia, like most other technology companies?” His responses made perfect sense to me; “there are multiple reasons actually.” “Stages has become the leading provider of bicycle power meters, after only a few years. We can't afford any preventable issues when it comes to quality or availability. It's critically important that we control the quality of these power meters… we can't if we're dependent on a third party supplier's factory, regardless of where it's located.”
Pat explained how keeping everything in-house provided a solution to a unique challenge they faced. “We manufacture power meters for 16 different model bicycle crank arms, from major suppliers (Shimano, SRAM, Cannondale and FSA) plus the power meter for the SC3 Indoor Cycle. Bicycle cranks aren't made just one size. Multiply each model bicycle crank by the four or more available crank arm lengths and we have to stock over 60 part numbers. Sure, 172.5 is the most common size for a road bike, but how many of each should we be building? The lead time for overseas manufacturers is measured in months – customer's won't accept waiting that long. We have thousands of stock crank arms on hand and we're setup to quickly change production. So if we receive an order for an out of stock power meter, we can normally build one and ship it within a few days!”
Pat Warner explaining the complicated process that attaches the power meter to the crank arm.
Every power meter is checked for proper calibration and the results captured using a iPad with custom software that's developed in-house too!
The Stages SC3 is build by Giant Bicycles in Taiwan – Pat told me,”those Giant guys are experts at mass producing high quality bicycles and fitness equipment, so we leave that part to the experts. We still produce the SC3's power meter here in Boulder and then ship them out for installation on the cycle.”
Stages has a separate facility, near their main offices, that's use for product endurance and destructive testing. We just missed the completion of a test rig that repeatably pressed down on a handle bar, tens of thousands of times without any failure.
Want to know how long the drive train will last pedaling at a continuous 360 watts? This video shows the test rig that pedals 24/7 for weeks at a time. Not only are they watching to see if something will break, or wear out, but they also record the actual power readings vs what they know their electric motor is pushing.
Quality control – Early production Stages SC3 cycles are unboxed and checked for any defects.
Feel free to leave the lights on! There's the battery charger for the Stages SC3 power meter.
Ever notice how, if you teach on multiple brands of Indoor Cycle, your class presentation changes a little from one to the other? From the distance all the IC's from FreeMotion, Keiser, Schwinn and Star Trac, look pretty much the same. But you know better if you're teaching at more than one location. Each brand's bikes have their own unique characteristics:
The resistance systems react differently and the method for adding and subtracting load is different.
The consoles are all different in what information they display during and after class.
Is there a lap/stage button? How do you use it?
Hand locations & positions vary.
So why not help our ICI/PRO members learn the differences?
Do you spend any time practicing your classes? I realize that few of us have a lot of extra time. If you do – why not spend an hour of “ME” time, riding along with Dennis leading your ride. This may be the best 60 minutes you'll spend this week 🙂
Our membership really grows this time of year. So if you've been contemplating joining us here at ICI/PRO, you won't be alone.
Start your PRO/Monthly subscription $9.95 – no minimum. [wlm_paypalps_btn name=”Monthly-trial Product” sku=”E90D58D12B” btn=”pp_pay:s”]
I edit many of my interviews. When my guest misspeaks, has a few too many ums/ahs/likes/you knows or they run off topic. They tend to say “stop” and then ask “please edit that out”.
Although I've been asked multiple times, I never agree to let a guest listen and then approve the final recording. I also never agree to edit or delete anything just because a guest says; “I sound awful!” I've learned that people are just too critical of themselves > especially when they're not used to hearing a recording of themselves in conversation
But more frequently I'm editing myself out of the recording. That's right. Even after recording over 300 interviews I still; talk way too fast and my tongue get's all tied up, signal my agreement with the same, tired; “that's awesome” or “OK, so…” and it drives me crazy!!!!
So I edit it much of it out and you never hear it 🙂
Unfortunately none of us has an edit button we can hit during a live conversation or class presentation.
Like you, I love learning and improving. I've recently been going through an online training course to improve my speaking and presenting skills. The course is called How to Create a 1000 Watt PresenceLearn business communication skills for personal and career success by actress and communication coach Alexa Fischer. I really enjoyed this particular video (one of over 40 in the course) and Alexa has given me permission to offer it to you.
What grabbed me during the intro of this video is when Alexa says; “But unless you're a professional performer….” Aren't we all are Professional Performers? The PRO in ICI/PRO is short for Professional…. as in Indoor Cycle Instructor Professional.
I feel I am a Professional. Do you?
Here is the PDF she refers to that you can use to (as she says) compassionately critique your recording and then begin the process of improving your communication skills through changing how you speak. NOTE: the correct link to the Fricken Fillers video is here > it's broken in the PDF.
Here is a past Podcast that explains an easy way you can record your own class, using your iPhone or Android phone.
You can check out Alexa's complete training program here at Udemy.
Being that this is only my third post, you may not yet know that much about me, so let me summarize one more time. I'm a passionate spinning instructor who motivates through stories, emotions, and what I like to call triggers. I've always felt that the reason people come to my class over someone else’s is based on my approach and style. I spend most of the time digging around in their thoughts and pulling out emotions that fuel the fire to make them push harder on the bike. I wouldn't say that my stories are always rainbows and roses, and sometimes my metaphors cut close to home……..but that’s the point. I want to shake them out of the haze so they don’t “spend” and hour with me, thy “INVEST” an hour with me. And I think even the most die-hard cyclist would agree that all the instructions in the world on how to peddle that bike won’t mean a thing if that person isn’t invested in the workout both physically AND mentally. The bottom line is, if you're going to come to my class or read my posts, then you're going to learn about me and my journey, and I'm not just talking about the good parts. And by doing that, I hope it helps you tap into your entire toolbox of tricks in order to get your class to their highest level.
Without wasting anymore of your time (my first post summed up my brutal divorce and what it did to me) let me just say this one thing and move on. The year I spent trying to finalize my divorce was the most horrible, brutal, exhausting, and painful thing I have ever done in my whole life. But what I know now is it didn’t have to be. If I had listened, TRULY listened to the people around me then I wouldn’t have almost lost myself in that mess, I wouldn’t have been physically ill to the point that I feel as if 20 years of my life are gone, and most of all I would have been more present to the people and opportunites around me rather than obsessing over things that matter deeply to me (and any parent) but DID NOT matter to the judge (or poor excuse for one). But “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
The second paradigm shift I have been experiencing since May 9th, 2011 is with regards to being a parent or as I like to say being a “dad.” If you’re a parent than I could stop right now and you would get it, but if you’re not, let me explain a little more.
I can remember being around 10 years old growing up in a small town in Maine, and in the summer my mom and step dad wanting to walk with my brother and I after dinner. YUCK !! Being seen with my parents !?!?! How embarrassing right ? You probably all remember something similar to this in your youth. But then you have kids and YOU GET IT !! You now understand why a mom or a dad would have this obsession with wanting to spend time with you. You understand to reason they worry when you ask to do a sport or why they look panicked when you come home late. Once you are a parent, you understand (or at least I did) what it means to love someone more than yourself. I could not tell you what I ate for breakfast, lunch, or dinner on May 9th 2011 or April 23rd, 2013 (the birthdays of my daughter Taylor and my son Brady), BUT I can describe for you their first sounds and every mind blowing emotion I had on those days when I got that first glimpse of their beautiful smiles. Had I known these things back when I was that little boy growing up in Maine, maybe I would have cut my mom some slack on those walks and not made sure to be a block ahead of them. But “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
These two examples are powerful to me because I lived them, but maybe they aren’t for you so let me try a different approach and then hopefully I can wrap this up in a pretty bow so you can decide if this is a “tool” for your instructor toolbox.
Do you know a reformed smoker who quit because the doctor said they had lung cancer? Do you know someone who lost a massive amount of weight because their doctor told them lose it or you will be gone in 3 months? How about a man or women who’s spouse said “if you cheat again I am leaving you” and the spouse smartened up? Why is it that we will do things we KNOW are bad for us and hurt others, and we will tell ourselves we “can’t stop,” yet when we are faced with losing everything, even our life, that we all of a sudden muster the courage and strength to give these things up?? I am as bad as anyone. The day after my daughter was born I taught class and I recall saying to them “I get paid to teach here but that’s not the reason I do. I do because I started having kids late (40 years old) and one day I plan to walk my granddaughter down the aisle one day.” Now for those paying attention, my daughter Taylor is only 4 years old and Brady is 2. So that means I have to do everything I can to stay healthy for probably at least another 50 years !! And if you ask how I know I will have a granddaughter, then ask me about the letter I wrote 20 years ago, mailed it to myself, and is still sitting in my safe. It was written to my daughter Taylor who I described to a “T” right down to saying she was part Asian. I have always known, and one day when she is old enough to understand the significance, she can open that SEALED and Post marked letter and read it herself.
But I am telling you now, I am a hypocrite. I say these things, yet the other day I was told that I need to stop drinking diet coke because it’s poison. I said “I know” but I only drink it when I have a meal. And at some point in that conversation I literally said “well if I found out it was making me sick then OF COURSE I would stop.” Then it hit me…….it is making me sick. One slow day at a time. Just like the person stressing over the mortgage bill is getting sick, and the person who can’t get of the couch is getting sick, and believe it or not, the person or people who are coming to our class and NOT working out are basically wasting their hour and likely on their way to less health, less energy, and less time on this earth with the people they love. It’s not as simple as “going to the gym.” I know that, you know that, and they really know that……..but if they aren’t really acting on it then the hour at the gym is nothing but wasted time. We need to do more than play the music and cue the sprints. We need to find a way, open a door, to whatever it is gonna take to convince them that this isn’t just a “class” or a place where they meet their friend before coffee and 2 hours of gossip. We need them to understand that this thing we do, peddling a bike for an hour, has meaning and DOES effect pretty much everything they will do that day, week, and year. Work hard, release endorphins and lose weight. Release endorphins and be in a better mood, have more energy, feel better with less aching. All those things will make you a better friend, spouse, dad. Those things will affect THEIR lives. More memories will be created, more love will be shared, more ideas are sparked, more friends are made, more passion is found, more more more more. We owe it to our students to find a way to make them understand this isn’t just an hour to waste. I wish someone had sit me down and slapped me until I understood the damage I was causing to my soul during the year of my divorce by wasting time on things that only mattered to me because I was hurting. I wish someone had found a way to make me understand what those walks meant for my mom because she won’t ever get that 10 year old boy back. And I hope anyone in YOUR lives right now who is saying “I could never do that” or “that’s impossible” have someone like you to sit them down and say “Unless you’re talking about WALKING to the moon, then please stop saying that’s impossible.” The next time YOU teach a class, I want you to pretend ( please forgive the dramatic analogy) that you are their doctor and it’s up to you to convince them that they can no longer take THIS workout lightly and that THIS workout matters because it does and chances are “They don’t know what they don’t know.”
PS My road to quitting diet soda starts this week for my two children and my grandchildren to follow. Happy Spinning!
Clients ask me about lactose all the time. A brief survey of facts about lactose had to begin with milk.
Many books and articles exist on the health problems associated with milk. They include breast, prostate and ovarian cancers; allergic reactions in infants; and increased risk of bone fractures, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, acne, ear infections, and constipation.
Obviously, the health hazards of milk deserve a full discussion of their own.
Monsanto has had a hand in this, but for brevity, this post will address lactose only.
Lactose Intolerance
Lactose intolerance is an inability to digest lactose, the sugar in milk and other dairy products. It’s caused by a deficiency of lactase, the enzyme necessary for breaking down lactose.
The result will typically be gastrointestinal symptoms and signs, such as bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea and even vomiting.
Lactose intolerance may be genetic, cultural (occurring more frequently in cultures that don’t rely on dairy products as a food source), and even exposure-related. Those accustomed to consuming dairy products frequently, especially as children, may experience higher tolerance overall.
Age can be a factor, as well. Some clients have noticed GI distresses due to dairy products as they get older.
Rates of lactose intolerance may range from 5% in northern European countries to as much as 90% in African and Asian countries, where milk and other dairy products are not consumed.
Some anti-dairy articles recommend milk products for Scandinavians only — and not even all Scandinavians, just blond-haired ones.
Is Lactose Hiding In Your Food?
Unexpected foods may contain lactose. A client who was working hard to get away from sugar had planned to try stevia, but reported to me that she couldn’t use it because she was lactose intolerant.
That made no sense until the next time I visited Trader Joe’s, which is where the client had gone for her groceries. Trader Joe’s carries 2 types of stevia. One is in a small plastic bottle that contains 100% pure stevia. The other is in a much larger bottle and contains stevia plus lactose as a sweetener.
Now, I just don’t get adding sweeteners to sweeteners, but I’m the die-hard Sugar Patrol, so don’t ask me. People even add sweeteners to fruit — frozen, canned, dried, baked — another thing I don’t get. But I digress.
At any rate, there’s more to be said about stevia, since some people may have a sugar reaction to it. That can include, but is not limited to, later cravings for sugary foods. But let’s save the stevia discussion for yet another post.
Bottom line, lactose is an added sweetener used in certain foods. Read all labels.
When Clients Quit Sugar, What Happens?
This brings us to Lactose as Sugar.
As a sugar addiction expert, I’ve seen a common pattern in client food logs. Someone who’s in the process of kicking sugar might start eating more milk products — cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, and so on.
It’s worth noting and stopping if you’re serious about quitting sugar.
As mentioned above, the negative heath consequences of dairy products are many. Whether you’re lactose intolerant or not, subbing lactose for the sugars you’re trying to quit can and will be counterproductive. Lactose can have the same effect as any other sugar on someone who is sugar-sensitive.
If you’re quitting sugar, quit lactose, too. Your vigilance will reward you.
