My client was crying. She was upset about what she thought I had just asked her to do. She was afraid she’d have to go hungry all day and starve herself. She was afraid she’d end up over-compensating with a binge the following day — or even for several days afterward.
It wasn’t true that she’d have to starve, but her emotional reaction was genuine.
What had I asked her to do? Simply to try an exercise that I’ll share with you in a moment.
I knew the exercise would ground her in a solid awareness of her body’s signals of when to eat. I expected a bit of pushback, but not quite like this. As she cried, I addressed her concerns point by point.
So What Was The Scary Food Exercise? [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]
I won’t keep you in suspense. The client picks one day — or even half a day — to try this. Here’s what you might tell him or her to do:
The goal is to get hungry as often as possible during the day. Eat only small amounts each time you feel hungry. That will ensure as many hunger experiences as possible throughout the day.
BUT!! Every time you feel hungry, it’s time to eat! Eat only enough to take away the hunger, rather than to satiate yourself completely. But do eat.
One of the points of this exercise is to develop body awareness. Part of that is avoiding eating on autopilot. So before eating when you usually do — say, first thing in the morning or when it’s “time” for lunch or dinner — check in with your stomach first to see if you’re really hungry. Discover what hunger feels like.
Another key is to avoid “preventative eating” (eating now to prevent hunger later). Stay in the moment with your hunger and your eating. Keep the behavior logical and predictable: I’m hungry. I eat. I get hungry again. I eat.
Important suggestion: If you have a cycling participant try this, suggest that he/she do it on a day that with a light schedule — or no set schedule at all — to really tune in to the process.
I Didn’t Invent This “Mean” Food Exercise
Many years ago, I read about this process in a book. Unfortunately for me — the PhD who always cites her sources! — it was a long time ago, and I’ve forgotten whose exercise it is. I’m definitely not trying to claim it as my own; I simply can’t recall who came up with it. My apologies (and thanks) go to the author.
This Exercise Is Great Because It Works
What happens? Every client I’ve taken through this process — every single client without exception — has reported feeling grounded and aware of the hunger/eating cycle after trying it.
My clients report that they now feel confident in their ability to tune in to signals that tell them when their bodies need food — and when they don’t. They feel confident that they can trust what their bodies are telling them. They feel confident that they can respond appropriately.
I have never asked a client to eat this way longer than one day. But it has never been necessary. Each and every client who follows the instructions seems to have the same positive experience.
To be clear, your participants don’t have to go through life eating only a bite or two of food at a time — just the day of the process.
And What Happened To My Crying Client?
She did understand what I had really asked her to do and agreed to try it for half a day. She ended up doing the whole day — and said she “got” what I’d been trying to help her discover regarding hunger, food intake, and much more.
Anything that helps my clients feel more aware and sure of their decisions is a boon to their self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-image, and self-efficacy. This “scary” exercise makes them more effective in following my system and getting results.
The exercise is also in keeping with one of my favorite quotations. It’s from Simone de Beauvoir: “Confidence in the body is confidence in the self.” [/private]
This brief post will cover a seemingly minor point that sounds like nothing but does a lot.
If you’d like to move your students a major step closer to a lifetime of healthful eating, you can do that in a single step.
The key is to get your students to ask one question before they eat anything – pre-workout, post-workout, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.[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|PRO-Studio]
The question is simply this: “Will eating this stabilize me or destabilize me?”
In this context, stability refers to two things – blood glucose and brain chemistry.
Stabilizing Glucose
Stabilizing glucose refers to keeping things in a normal range with gentle and gradual “ups” after meals or snacks, and gentle and gradual dips when hunger is about to occur.
“Gradual” is the operative word.
Stable glucose levels don’t rise to a sharp peak, as they might after, say, a sugary pre-workout “breakfast” and then plummet right after that.
They might plummet in those who are susceptible. Those folks are called carb sensitive because they secrete extra insulin when they eat certain carbs.
Sugar would be one of the key triggers of that extra insulin, but it’s not the only one. Junk like white flour – and even fruit – can trigger too much insulin, as well.
Stabilizing Brain Chemistry
Stabilizing brain chemistry involves several chemicals that change with the food we eat.
The 4 chemicals are dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin and beta-endorphin (which most people call endorphins).
When those chemicals are at optimal levels, they prevent cravings and keep us feeling pretty good.
But some people have lower baseline levels of one (or more) of the 4 chemicals. That makes them feel a bit worse (sometimes a lot worse) than someone whose brain levels are even.
It also makes them more sensitive to the effects of junky foods like sugar.
When they eat those junky foods, they get an exaggerated reaction of those brain chemicals – either through an extra-high release or through extra-high production. Or both.
The exaggerated reaction might feel great for a while.
It’s also where addiction comes in, making someone who has experienced it want more junk that will give them that great feeling – and take away the blah feeling they could have day to day.
As you can probably tell, that’s almost guaranteed to cause a repeat of the whole cycle.
Which Foods Will Help?
Stabilizing foods are wholesome fats (such as nuts) and protein foods – or even protein powder.
If you can get your students to eat something from each of those categories every time they eat, you’ll help them stabilize glucose and brain chem.[/private]
At first, your students may not like having to go to a little extra trouble in this way, but – in the long run – they’ll feel great, perform better in your classes, and give you the credit you will deserve for changing their eating habits in a simple way.
You don't find opportunities to ride and learn from the experts everyday, let alone for FREE!
Join Stages Indoor Cycling, Director of Education, Cameron Chinatti and Master Educator, Dennis Mellon and learn…
Best Power Practices
Video Rides to remember
Stages Special Edition of Performance IQ
Power zone training
and more!
Here are the descriptions and form links to register for each:
–
8:30-10:00 – Oh no! Not the Power Police – Led by Cameron Chinatti: It’s official: consoles and power measurement for indoor cycling are here to stay. But with every new piece of equipment comes ‘creative’ misuses and abuses. Avoid getting caught by never committing a crime in the first place! You’ll learn the most common crimes against consoles, then get ready to ride as we explore our top-ten best power practices. These Simple Setsâ„¢ will give you hours of new ride content and provide priceless aha! moments for your participants. Join Stages® Indoor Cycling to see how easy it is to use today’s data to achieve tomorrow’s goals.
11:00-12:00 -Head Up to Get Down! – Led by Cameron + Dennis Do you want to know that you’re doing exactly the right amount of effort? Join Stages® Indoor Cycling for a ride with our Special Edition version of Performance IQ Heads Up Display, better known as Stages IQ. A quick 3-minute assessment is all you need to determine your Power Rx – the most important piece of ride data you’ll ever need! For the first time ever your entire class is doing exactly what they need to get better and see the results they’ve always wanted.
1:30-2:30 -Show Me – Led by Dennis Mellon:If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million! Since the inception of indoor cycling, instructors have been talking and talking in an attempt to set the scene for their riders' indoor journey. Let’s stop talking and start showing! What is the speed of a sprint finish or the increased pulse of an epic ski run? Let’s dance to the beat of your favorite artist and experience the POWER of your favorite band playing a live concert. Through the use of video and the new Stages SC3 Eco Screen there is no course that cannot be ridden and no metric that cannot be evaluated to take your riders on the most epic fitness journey ever!
3:30-5:00 – Oh No! Not the Power Police + SIQ – Led By Cameron Chinatti:It’s official: consoles and power measurement for indoor cycling are here to stay. But with every new piece of equipment comes ‘creative’ misuses and abuses. Avoid getting caught by never committing a crime in the first place! You’ll learn the most common crimes against consoles, then get ready to ride as we explore our top-ten best power practices. These Simple Setsâ„¢ will give you hours of new ride content and provide priceless aha! moments for your participants. Join Stages® Indoor Cycling to see how easy it is to use today’s data to achieve tomorrow’s goals.
Fresh off the split between Mad Dogg Athletics and Core Health & Fitness – Star Trac, I received this press release promoting their new (?) lineup of Indoor Cycles…
Core Health & Fitness To Introduce New Indoor Group Cycles
VANCOUVER, WA. September 29, 2015 — Core Health & Fitness, an industry leader in the manufacture
and distribution of commercial fitness products, announced today plans to introduce three new indoor
cycling bikes. The bikes will be marketed under Core Health & Fitness’s Star Trac brand and will debut
this Fall as the Studio 7â„¢, Studio 5â„¢ and Studio 3â„¢.
“Our new bikes are a winning combination of features and price points that customers will love”, said
Dustin Grosz, President of Core Health & Fitness. “We have been the number one seller of group cycle
bikes for over a decade and have over fifteen years of experience in engineering, design, manufacturing
and distribution of indoor cycling bikes. The design of our new line of bikes draws on that wealth of
experience and reputation for producing the highest quality indoor cycling bikes, while answering our
customers’ requests for a newly designed, more flexible and more affordable offering in the indoor
cycling space. The new bikes have a superior look and feel and are offered at a more attractive price
point than Star Trac’s prior product offerings in this space,” Grosz added.
Jeff Dilts, Vice President of Product Management and Innovation at Core Health & Fitness said,
“Although the bikes will vary in regards to frame and drivetrain, all three will utilize the popular perimeter weighted flywheel and a direct pressure brake system.
The top-of-the-line Star Trac Studio 7â„¢ will feature an aluminum frame, a field-tested Poly V belt and ship with pedals featuring both toe cages and SPD clips.
The Star Trac Studio 5â„¢ will have these same popular features, but will do so on the steel
frame structure. Both bikes incorporate the Star Trac patent pending, durable Morse Taper design that
delivers unmatched performance, safety and durability”.
The Star Trac Studio 3â„¢ launches with a steel frame, a traditional chain drive and direct pressure brake
system.
“The Star Trac Studio Series indoor cycling bikes provide a perfect complement to our Schwinn AC
series”, added Grosz. “No matter what frame, drivetrain, brake or console system a club wants, we’ve
got a bike that fits the need.”
I've requested pictures and will be posting them as soon as I receive them. Based on these very basic descriptions, (and no mention of Power) I'm going out on a limb and guessing that these will be rebranded versions of the Star Trac Indoor Cycles that you're already familiar with. Studios who are interested in magnetic resistance and power indication will probably be steered toward the Schwinn AC line by the Core Health & Fitness sales reps.
I've been in my share of Indoor Cycling studios where, by the end of class, the air is so thick with humidity that you can no longer see yourself in the mirrors. The room stinks and every breath feels like you're riding at 10,000 feet – your lungs starving for oxygen.
Are your experiences similar to mine?
I'm discovering that there's a very simple cause for poor/bad indoor air quality; insufficient ventilation that is the result of a HVAC (Heating,Ventilation & Air Conditioning) system that wasn't designed for the occupancy and activity levels of the rooms inhabitants.
Typically new small/boutique fitness studios are opening in retail spaces with HVAC designed for sedentary office workers – not 30 athletes riding below/@/above threshold for 60 minutes 🙁
The lead author of the study is PhD student Carla Alexandra Ramos from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. Carla agreed to join me to discuss her findings and offer suggestions to improving the quality indoor air in your club or studio on this addition of the Podcast.
Carla has published a number of research papers on indoor air polution that you can find them here at researchgate.net
Are you committed to the health & wellness of your participants?
Then shouldn't we all be doing something to improve the air we're breathing in class?
A good start would be completing this short survey on the quality of the air in your club or studio. Create your own user feedback survey
Image of Dr. Suzuki and her team from suzukilab.com/
Here's a creative exercise for you to try.
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.
