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.
By Jennifer Lintz, Registered Dietitian and ICI/PRO Member Soigneur
One of my colleagues recently asked me if I ever feel like a broken record on the instructor bike. Of course! I have definitely fallen into ruts where I find myself using the same cues over and over. In a class where variety of all kinds is important, it can be challenging to be clear and motivating without relying on the same words and phrases class after class. I do think it is possible to keep our word choices fresh and new, but it requires effort. Here are a few of my thoughts on how to give your cues a makeover if you ever feel like you're in repeat mode.
1. Become self-aware.If you don't realize that you say the same cue 12 times in an hour-long class, you probably won't see the need to do anything about it. The next time you teach, pay attention to your word choices. Make a mental note of anything you catch yourself saying multiple times. You might even record yourself to get a more complete picture of your teaching lingo and speaking habits.
2. Ask: “Is there another way?” Once you identify your go-to phrases, start brainstorming other ways to communicate a similar message. If you catch yourself saying “Push it!” multiple times in a class, jot down other ways you could ask participants to give a little more effort. Here are a few examples that might get your wheels turning:
“Show me what you have left.”
“Can you add more resistance?”
“For the next 30 seconds, I am giving you permission toget uncomfortable.”
3. Ride on your own. Cycling for personal enjoyment — and not on the clock — gives us a chance to see and feel things from our students' perspectives. When we go breathless at the end of a time trial or struggle up a seemingly unending hill, we become better able to coach those same scenarios to our students. If you ride up a hill so steep that makes you want to get off your bike and walk – but you don't – use that same language when talking your students up a long climb.
4. Share personal stories. Real-life examples are a great way to break up the monotony of the same old cues. I remember riding with my husband this summer and thinking “Man, he is way ahead of me. But, then again, he is usually ahead of me.” And then I realized “This isn't very difficult. I could probably get closer to him if I work harder.” Sure enough, I was able to catch up to him; I just needed a little kick in the pants. A few days later, I shared that story with my class as a reminder that, while our comfort zone is usually pretty cozy, we may be impressed with our abilities if we are willing to step out of it.
Making friends with a thesaurus is also never a bad idea :-). What techniques do you use to spice up your coaching?
AFS – The Association of Fitness Studios – is the organization for small/boutique studios and it's my recommendation that Indoor Cycling Studio owners become members.
It's free to join as a basic member – register here.
In this episode of the Podcast, AFS founder Josh Leve and I discuss the many benefits of AFS membership. Learn why I feel joining the Association of Fitness Studios (AFS) is an important step for all Indoor cycling studio owners.
Here's Josh giving a short pitch on the benefits of membership.
Well we made it. One hundred and fifty miles, most of it sitting up front pulling our team. Amy and I have a new appreciation for what battling a continuous 20 mile an hour headwind feels like, over 70 miles – exhausting!
In past years, it was always our objective to get out as early as possible. Much of the first day is on paved railroad bike path, which can get pretty crowded. For some reason on Saturday the team decided to take a more leisurely time getting ready. Instead of our typical 6 AM start, we rolled out a little after 7:00. Not a good idea, especially when you tend to ride much faster than 80%-90% of everyone else on the ride. So we passed a lot of people and observed hundreds of bad bike fittings – some appearing to be incredibly inefficient and painful, which led to this idea…
Missed marketing opportunity for studio owners!
I've commented in the past how I see large charity cycling events as the perfect place to be promoting your Indoor Cycling studio. The MN event had over 3,500 participants and everyone is a potential customer. With over 100 Bike MS events scattered around the United States there's bound to be one near you.
I appears that the MS Society accepts two types of sponsors; paid promotional partners and in-kind sponsors. If you have a very well-funded indoor cycling studio it may make sense for you to investigate sponsoring a rest stop or a booth at one of the and points. The other way to get yourself in front of the 3,500 cyclists is to provide an in-kind service of some type. The best example would be the bike shops that provide maintenance and repairs at each of the rest stops. At the end of day-one there are a number of massage therapists and chiropractors offering their services to tired, but grateful, participants.
“But I'm an Indoor Cycling Instructor John… I can't fix bikes or massage tired muscles… what else could I do?”
Provide complementary bike fittings 🙂
Now this is just me thinking here, but if I owned a studio I'd look into providing complimentary bike fit services at the end of the first day. Trust me. there are hundreds and hundreds of clueless people, who would benefit dramatically in some simple adjustments to seat height. That might be all I would offer. If you found someone with a horribly wrong seat fore and aft position you may offer to change it or you may make some cleat adjustments. But with hundreds of potential fittings, I would be focused on quantity rather than quality. You may want to bring along a few turbo trainers to hold each bike while you check seat height. A few end wrenches, bicycle multitool and a small level + a few assistants to help would be all you need.
Your target would be the occasional rider. This event is probably the single largest ride they may ever do in their lifetime and they will appreciate any help that will improve their experience. Your service would not be directed toward the typical road bike rider who has the experience to recognize the importance of proper bike fit. You may want to set up a booth at registration with some simple signage explaining the service you provide. My guess is that you wouldn't get a lot of takers until after that first 80 mile day 🙂
Think Burma Shave signage.
You have a captive audience riding this paved trail
A series of inexpensive yard signs, positioned along the last 10 or 15 miles, with some clever verbiage that communicates how much more comfortable you would be properly fitted to your bicycle. You would have literally thousands of suffering people open to your promised relief. After all, they have tomorrow to think about… And many are dreading the thought of day two.
Leverage the event
The local TV stations love these active, feel-good events. Before I left for my class Monday morning, our local station ran a long segment about this past weekend's event. Reporters loved to be tipped off about interesting things they can talk about. If you called and pitched them about the importance of proper bike fit and how it makes for a more enjoyable long distance ride, there's a good chance they might bite on it. Your pitch is nothing about you or your studio, only about the service that you're providing to others. TV reporters know the game and it's natural for them to want to plug you and your studio in their report. With any luck you may end up on television and get the opportunity to invite tens of thousands of people to come and ride indoors with you!
I had an ‘aha' moment after last week's Sunday morning ride with the group which is going to tackle the Cabot Trail. All of these people started their cycling in my indoor classes so I have had an opportunity to observe their strengths and limitations. I can work on the same issues indoors and then outdoors, and then take the outdoors experience indoors to help people bring greater refinement to their form and understanding of their bodies.
About a year ago a 50ish year old woman arrived in my class. My questions about other physical activity revealed that she did a lot of Pilates. That was clear from the moment she got on the bike – good core and balance. On the other hand, she didn't seem familiar with the sensations of cardiovascular exercise. Over the next few weeks I had an opportunity to teach her the value of a a heart rate monitor. I saw a gradual change in her willingness to work hard. Her greatest limitation became her seeming inability to raise her cadence, even a little bit, under any circumstances.
Fast forward to this year. Her cadence indoors has increased dramatically but as soon as she got on a bike outdoors she reverted. I knew that she was well-prepared in terms of fitness and strength so that wasn't the reason for the change. I spent a lot of time riding with her or leaving her to the sweep with specific instructions for coaching. She was consistently the slowest rider but never complained and didn't seem discouraged about her progress. This seemed odd. In her ‘real' life she is an accomplished and driven university administrator.
I struggled to identify what I could do to help her. Two weeks ago I rode with her and observed that when road conditions would allow her to speed up she didn't. Speed was not the problem – she is a confident and fast descender. I began to give her speed checks, encouraging her to find the sweet spot that would let her move a little faster with a high cadence while keeping her effort in check. Halfway through that day I left her with the sweep and rode on to work with other riders. When I checked the sweep's GPS the next day, I noticed that Michelle's average speed was painfully slow even though that part of the route was not challenging.
Last Sunday I saw that Michelle had purchased a bike computer. She reported that the speed checks I had given her were very instructive. At that point I asked her how fast she was going at the end of the previous week. Her response was a number that was more than twice the actual. She was genuinely shocked when I told her what I had seen on the GPS record. Michelle had a great ride that day, with an average speed about twice what it has been. She finished only five minutes behind the biggest part of the group.
Over lunch after the ride she told us a story. As a girl of ten, she had an asthma attack while playing outside and was hospitalized. Her asthma disappeared shortly after but the effect on her behavior did not. The process of training for the trail helped her to recognize that she has been holding back ever since that first attack. Once she allowed herself to let go of the fear, the skills and knowledge she has acquired both indoors and outdoors let her perform to her potential.
As a coach I had my own epiphany that day. I realized that everyone has a story like that. Mine dates back to a second grade teacher who told me I couldn't draw. I didn't put pencil to paper for four decades. Now I make a part of my living as an artist. Recognizing that we all have a similar ‘story' will encourage me to keep gently exploring around the edges, reinforcing progress when I see it and keeping my students aware of the mental aspects of their performance.
As Instructors, our riders will often asked us questions about: insert topic here.
Where we can get into trouble is by launching into a short/long/epic dissertation on the subject, often without fully understanding the whole question.
My first sales job out of school was selling motorcycles. For someone like me, who at 22 couldn't be around them enough, it was the perfect job. Being the new guy, I asked a bunch of questions to the other salespeople (there wasn't any real training) and I was told to study up on all the different models. That year Honda had 52 different bikes – we had decks of playing cards with a different model on each card. I was very familiar with many of the models – I had put myself through school working as a motorcycle mechanic, so I felt like I could answer just about any question anyone would ask. I was ready to hit the sales floor and show everyone I was a born salesman.
Does this bike have a really powerful engine?
I've forgotten many of the details, but I'll never forget the gentleman's question or my response. He was looking over a new model Honda and after our introductions he asked; Does this bike have a really powerful engine? I couldn't believe my luck. I knew every conceivable specification and had nearly memorized the latest magazine test results.
Sir, you're looking at the most powerful motorcycle in its category.I told him proudly. Then (I'm sure I was trying to impress him with all my product knowledge) I launched into what had to be a 10 minute explanation of the 0-100 mph times, rev limits, performance tires, how it will smoke any other bike on a race track, etc… The man stood and listened politely until I came up for air. He then thanked me and walked out the door.
I saw the man later in the week. He was taking delivery of his new motorcycle – a much less powerful model than I had shown him. After he drove out I grabbed the other salesman and asked what had happened. I showed him a new Interceptor, what's he doing with that low powered bike? You idiot, you completely missed his question! Was his response. We're lucky he came back here at all… he bought that bike for his 17 year old son. He didn't want anything with too much power. Lesson learned.
Have you ever been in a situation like that? You're considering making a major purchase (or need personal advise) and were at first a bit nervous, anxious or guarded? So the question you asked was an abbreviated version, one that didn't exactly communicate your specific question?
What would you want to hear next?
Let me see if I understand your question…
Each of the The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People can beapplied to our fitness profession. Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood rings the loudest for me.
Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, and positive problem solving.
It doesn't matter if you're selling motorcycles, toasters or advising members about fitness, people want to feel like they've been heard & understood before communicating openly. The simple act of reflecting a question back conveys empathy and will go a long way to build trust.
Imagine if I had reflected back the question in the opening example; Are you looking for a very powerful motorcycle? My potential customer would have instantly responded; NO! This is for my 17 year old son. Then we would have been communicating and I could have made the sale.
Who knows. Maybe some day you'll be asked a question where you resist the temptation to educating and instead reflect back to them in the form of a question. Can you see how you might gain their trust and gather a better understanding of what's being asked? Wouldn't you be surprised to hear the unguarded response; I'm really hoping this class will build up my skinny chicken legs 🙂
