ICI/PRO Member Joe Ducosin runs Cycle Quest Studio in Eden Prairie, MN Joe and his wife Patti are celebrating their first anniversary! Joe and I discuss his first year as a cycling studio owner; where his initial motivation came from, his early planning, what worked and what didn't.
Joe is going to be my new boss! I'm going to start teaching at Cycle Quest in September! We are discussing the introduction of the upcoming Zoning Fitness Heart Rate Training and possibly Cycling Fusion's Winter Training program. Stay tuned 🙂
Comments: Hey John I just recently moved out of the box clubs (LA Fitness for one) I was working at and started classes at a small studio. I have never done any marketing work and wondered if you could help guide me. Do you have any materials I could use for local news papers or any other suggestions for me. I would really like to get a few more people into this studio. Have you been enjoying that summer weather in Minnesota this winter?
Thanks,
Richard
I'll answer your second question, first Richard. I love the nice weather… but hate what it's doing to my class attendance 🙁
The answer to your first question; Heck Yes!
Over the past 4 years we've posted a bunch of practical tips and ideas an Instructor or Studio owner can use to build class attendance.
I say we because a lot of the information has come from studio owner and Indoor Cycling studio start-up business consultant Bill Pryor. Bill runs two very successful studios and has contributed a wealth of information on getting people into your studio.
Beyond word-of-mouth, a Google search is the top way people will find your studio. Bill and I have a lot of experience on this topic and produced a series of free podcasts and informative articles at Fitness Studio Marketing focused on making your studio more findable online. This link will take you to the iTunes page where you can subscribe.
We also have a resource for Indoor Cycling Studio Owners that you will find helpful. It's for members only, but free to register.
Have you tried asking other Instructors their ideas? Our community at Pedal-On has a lot of very creative people who I'm sure can offer some ideas.
Discount parts for Star Trac Spinning®, Schwinn, Keiser and FreeMotion Indoor Cycles
Fitness equipment replacement parts distributor Sportsmith is offering a 15% discount for ICI/PRO readers and listeners. They have most everything you'll need to tune up all your bikes and have them ready for the fall (is it really coming so soon?) rush of new participants.
I've worked with Sportsmith for years – they distribute my Red Pedal Tool for easily and safely removing the fitness shoe cages from the Schwinn triple link pedals used on cycles in studios around the world.
Here's an old video I made showing how to use the Red Pedal Tool that features younger daughter carly 🙂
My name is Jay Duplessie and I am a proud Indoor Cycling instructor of almost 20 years. In the spirit of full disclosure, I will tell you that I am not an outdoor cyclist…….but not for lack of trying.
You see something I learned early on was that although I’m addicted to the feeling of a hardcore workout, and I often obsess about getting to the gym, it has never been as much about the physical as the mental. I realized this after a very bad investment in a decent road bike complete with all the bells and whistles. I found that I could stay up late creating playlists for my class, get there early to prepare, and then drive myself crazy with excitement and anticipation to teach. But when I knew I was going to ride this very expensive bike on the paved roads around Denver……well let’s just say I dreaded the thought.
By the end of the summer it was time to sell the bike and to really look at what it was that I was missing. Why was I never able to capture the feeling on the road that I ALWAYS felt in my class? I knew right away what it was and this has continued to be the basis of how I teach. In fact, I hate the word “teach” when referring to what I do in my class.
No one needs to be taught how to peddle a bike. If anything I prefer the word “guide.” My goal every time I step into my class and get onto the bike is to take my class on a mental ride, an emotional workout by finding triggers that push them further than they’d push themselves. Music, imagery, and motivational quotes are the ammo I use when teaching (guiding) my classes. And I am so excited to be able to not only “tell my stories” to you all, but to also just be accepted into a group of likeminded cyclist who understand (as I do) that cycling IS and can be just as powerful in a room as it is for some on a paved road.
All it takes is finding the right emotional triggers, a true inner focus, and a story that ties all of it together. That is what I hope to be to you………a story teller to help connect the dots. Now let’s have fun !!
Triggers
Ralph Macchio, hands up in the air, one leg up at 90 degrees while the other (seemingly broken) is placed firmly on the Matt. Sense’ Pat Morita, and girlfriend Elisabeth Shue on the side lines looking on full of hope. Cobra Kai team-mates yelling “Sweep the leg Johnny” heard as black belt Johnny prepares to take down Macchio. Macchio standing in crane position waiting for the attack. Johnny rushes at Macchio and all of a sudden the “kick” heard round the world (at least for a 10 year old boy like me at the time) takes place to defeat the undisputed Johnny and Macchio wins the match. I’ve seen the movie 20 times, and know how it ends, yet even typing this message I get goose bumps. THAT my friend is a trigger. And it’s the core of how I have always taught all of my classes.
One of the reasons I love “indoor” cycling so much and have a difficult time riding outside, is that I not only love the ability to talk my class through motivational stories complete with triggers to get that extra inch out of them, but in an indoor cycling class we are all able to close our eyes to truly get inside our minds, our thoughts, and feed our emotions (our drive). For me it brings a level of peace and focus that to this day I can’t achieve anywhere else, not even when getting a massage.
The use of music, video, and your words are tools that (in my opinion) mean more than the amount of fans in the room, the type of bike you’re using, the amount they spent on their padded shorts, or even the type of day they had. You take anyone, and I mean anyone, and you present them with a well-structured class and THEN add some triggers, they will find the way to leave your room stronger than when they walked in.
When I teach, I often say that we all have an emotion that pushes us further than we normally go, and it may change from day to day which emotion that is. There are days that happiness is the emotion that will get you that extra RPM during the sprint. Or maybe anger is what it takes to get the extra wattage during a hill climb. And if WE continue to grow our relationship as (writer and reader) what you will learn about me is I’m a pretty deep and emotional guy. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I share my emotions to a fault. So I will share this with you.
Recently divorced, I learned several things about my ex-wife that haunt me to this day. On our fourth and FINAL anniversary she had a “business trip” to Texas.” I went to see one of my favorite bands, the Goo Goo Dolls that night by myself. Turns out she was in a hotel room in Texas with an old boyfriend from college having sex. And to make it worse (as if it could be) that guy had a wife at home with a one year old daughter AND his wife was 8 months pregnant. So while I was listening to one of my favorite bands, they were in bed together. SOOOOO, when I need an extra push during class what I do is play the song “Still Your Song” by the Goo Goo dolls and tell myself this was the song playing on the night that the person I loved and trusted most was destroying everything we had. Now if THAT isn’t a trigger, I don’t know what is. You don’t even have to know me to read that and feel “something” right ? And “feelings” are such a key part to what we use.
I encourage you all to tell stories, even if they are made up. Our clients come to us for a great workout, but they also come to us to help them tap into something that they can’t get on their own out in the cardio room. Tell stories of motivation, tell stories of desperation, tell stories of gratitude, but tell stories !!! Every single one of them wants to be entertained whether they will admit it or not.
We have a society OBSESSED with reality shows yet they are becoming less and less connected to their own real lives. Remind them of the things that inspire them, or piss them off in a way that makes them want to grit their teeth and push their legs until they want to vomit because they will be damned if they are gonna let their ex-wife and some random loser poor excuse of a man is going to ruin one of MY favorite songs without me putting up a fight during that up-hill resistance sprint !!
We are less than 60 days from our ride around the Cabot Trail. The group has been very active – increasing distance to 55 km for morning rides, grades to 7+% for hill repeats and making lots of connections between the indoor and outdoor efforts in my classes.
We closed the opportunity to join us last week so that we’d have a consistent group with whom to train over the next two months. Twelve people will ride the Trail. At a maximum we had 17 people on one of our Sunday training rides. As word got out, friends of friends started to attend and we welcomed their interest. They will be invited to re-join us for some weekend jaunts this fall.
Here are some highlights relevant to the indoor/outdoor cycling interface.
We did a quick reconnaissance of the route last weekend and some of the descents are daunting. As I negotiated the road in a car I became painfully aware that no amount of indoor cycling can help people learn how to descend. We have been working on those skills outdoors but can’t reproduce the Trail experience nearby. I have contracted a Can-Bike educator to give the group a lecture and clinic. Meanwhile we’ll content ourselves with the knowledge that less prepared people ride the Trail every year and none of them have ended up in the ocean.
The transformation of individuals from bikers to cyclists is noticeable. I am most thrilled by Judy who panicked and bailed on her first attempt at a road ride last fall. She was the first to buy a new bike this spring, always turns in her training logs and is now one of our strongest riders. Better yet, when the group organizes its own trips during the week, she consistently chooses the one that will give her the greatest challenge. I am writing up an interview with her which I think will interest you as she describes the indoor to outdoor experience.
I teach in a facility with a mixture of non-power and power bikes. That precludes classes which are entirely focussed on power. Recently, though, I have been able to let everyone re-visit their FTP (60 min). The numbers range from 1.4 to 1.9 watts/lb (measured over 20 minutes and corrected for 60 minutes (x .90)) for the group who is doing the Trail. Remember – these were non-exercisers/non-cyclists a few months ago. They have all seen a huge increase in their power over that period. Better yet, their results are completely consistent with what they see in one another on the road. The power info has really helped the weaker riders understand the connection between indoors and outdoors.
You can read my earlier posts about preparing a group of Indoor Cycling students for our trip to ride the Cabot Trail here.
It is difficult to explain how iconic the Cabot Trail is to Nova Scotians and even Canadians. With six significant climbs (some of which are 13-17% for long stretches) it is notorious and glorious at the same time. The scenery is unparalleled and there is a mystique about the Highlands which captures everyone's imagination. The trail has been labeled “one of the greatest bike routes on earth” by Bicycling Magazine. Its notoriety has both intrigued and deterred many ‘ordinary’ people from attempting to ride or run it.
There is no doubt that some of the members of our group were initially attracted to our project by the concept of taking the trail and living to tell the story. As their journey has unfolded they have become much more enthusiastic about their own health and skills, and just as we hoped, the Trail is now only a subsidiary goal. Improving their fitness and their cycling skills has become foremost in their minds.
In the last month more people have been drawn into our group. All of them are non-cyclists and some of them have no recent history of exercise. They have been attracted by the experience of family members who are part of our group or by the buzz that has started to build around our trip. I am delighted by the ripple effect of our activities. It will have a lasting impact on individuals and their families and on our small community.
Our Sunday activities over the last few weeks have included:
a 2.5 hour trail ride
a 2 hour trail and road ride including some hill instruction
hill repeats
road ride – 3 x 13 km loops with moderate traffic, flats and hills to 14%
In addition my husband and I ran a tire/tube/wheel workshop. It was really well attended and went a long way to break down people's fear of their bikes. We'll do another mechanical workshop in a few weeks.
Participants continue to attend two indoor cycling classes per week. They also fit bike rides and strength training into their weeks. Their training logs show that they are planning their activities carefully, with rest days and a month over month increase in training load. The weather is now improving to the point where it will reasonable for us to plan much longer Sunday rides. In the works for the next three weeks:
an indoor climbing session (we have booked the whole facility for some risk-taking, bonding and laughter)
a 55 km trail ride broken by brunch (world’s best lobster Eggs Benedict)
more work on hills
a 52 km loop road ride, with some significant traffic and two challenging hills
For those of you who are considering doing something similar in your community, next week I will provide a breakdown of the time commitment and activities which have been necessary to organize the Take the Trail project to date.
It is difficult to explain how iconic the Cabot Trail is to Nova Scotians and even Canadians. With six significant climbs (some of which are 13-17% for long stretches) it is notorious and glorious at the same time. The scenery is unparalleled and there is a mystique about the Highlands which captures everyone's imagination. The trail has been labeled “one of the greatest bike routes on earth” by Bicycling Magazine. Its notoriety has both intrigued and deterred many ‘ordinary’ people from attempting to ride or run it.