Have any of your students ever told you they want to lose weight, even though you (and everyone else) think they “look fine”? What advice have you given them? This post is about the unconventional advice I gave a nutrition client when everyone was telling her the opposite.
The client, “Susan”, came to me and complained about being a size 6. She didn’t like being that size and insisted that she had to be a 4. Susan had been to several other nutritionists and fitness instructors, and had also talked to her friends about this problem. Everyone, professionals and friends alike, had drawn the same conclusion. They told her she looked great the way she was (which was true; she did) and just needed to develop a more realistic view of her body.
Some people, they told her, aren’t meant to be size 4, and you need to accept that.
Before I make any recommendations for a client, I always begin by asking lots of questions. So that’s what I did with Susan.
I took her unhappiness with her weight seriously, rather than dismissing it as some sort of character flaw. I’m convinced that someone who feels uncomfortable at a given weight may actually be tuning in to what her body’s telling her, not pining to look like her favorite fashion model.
It turned out that Susan’s eating was under control portion-wise for most of the day, although, in the evenings, she often binged.
But what made the strongest impression on me was the way Susan conducted the food journal review. When she showed me the log, she went through every single entry with me. She read the foods aloud and told me the story behind everything she’d had at each meal. I heard about cravings, the reasons for each selection, and more.
Obviously, Susan liked being in control. I decided that was the clue to this whole thing. No one likes feeling out of control when it comes to food and eating. That has been the source of self-esteem issues in many of the clients I’ve worked with over the years. The main difference for Susan between sizes 4 and 6 was not her appearance, but what it took to be a 4. As a 4, she had felt in control. Now she was bingeing.
So we addressed the bingeing and what Susan ate during the day that caused her to binge at night. If you’ve read other posts I’ve written, it won’t surprise you that the culprit seemed to be sugar. Susan’s night binges always occurred after she’d eaten sugar during the day. It felt intuitively clear that getting sugar out of Susan’s diet would give her back the control she really wanted, regardless of her weight.
Well, the results showed that my hunch had been correct. Susan’s cleaned-up diet didn’t trigger binges, and that was a relief for her. Yes, she did lose a few pounds, but she stopped obsessing about getting back to a size 4 and finally did what everyone had wanted her to do all along. She accepted her body.
As an indoor cycling instructor, you may be a logical starting point for a student who wants to lose weight. If she needs more help than you’re comfortable giving, you can always refer. But my hope is that, if she looks pretty good, you’ll consider her discomfort something more than an unrealistic expectation.
When you fit new riders to Indoor Cycles you tell them their numbers, right? You say; your seat is hole 6, seat slider is X, handle bar height is Y, etc… You may write these settings down on a note card and your riders depend on these setting marks/numbers being accurate, regardless of which bike they ride.
Their expectation is that they'll be able to pull out the 3×5 index card, with the position numbers listed and set themselves up properly – regardless of which bike they choose. Doesn't always work that way…
This past Thursday morning I set up my Instructor bike, jumped on and knew immediately that something was wrong. I felt like I was sitting way forward of my normal position. Jumped off and checked the slider position – It was exactly where I always have it. Jumped back on and still felt like I sitting too far forward… and I just lived with it while I taught my class.
I checked afterward to see what was causing my concern and it was as I suspected – someone must have switched out this bike and this saddle was installed in a different position, all the way to the front of the seat post = although I had adjusted the slider correctly the saddle was still to far forward.
You'll need a wrench to fix this.
Saddle Fore/Aft position of the saddle can be change in two ways:
How you're familiar, using the adjuster knob or pin and sliding position –
Or by loosening the nut that holds the two seat rails to the seat post – slider assembly. Here's where you need a 9/16 or 15mm wrench. Each saddle should have been installed in the same position – operative word here being should, they almost never are. You'll only need to make this adjustment once, preferably when you take each of the box.
Here's a video I made showing Spinner NXT's and how you can check that each saddle is installed correctly. NOTE: every Indoor Cycle and bicycle saddle adjusts on the rails the same way – how you measure the position, in relation to the slider, will be different between the various brands.
While you're at it, I suggest checking that each seat is level. Dead level is typically best for men and women. You're measuring from the high-points (not the center depression) on either side, to the nose of the saddle.
Christian Noni wants to hire you as an Instructor at Revelry Indoor Cycling and Fitness. But there's a catch to his interview process… he's looking for Instructors / coaches who've experienced inspiration from fitness, who have seen the light.. the proof.. (whether it be weight loss, winning a triathlon, or even had a wild twist and that’s how they met their wife or husband) and who lives to share and pass that torch in their classes.
I've been asked multiple times; “John can you help me with a problem I have hiring Instructors?” “I've never hired anyone before, what's the trick to bringing on only great Instructors who will fill the room?”
Great question. One that I really didn't have an answer for, before this interview with Christian Noni. Christian is the Fitness Director at Revelry Indoor Cycling and Fitness. One of his responsibilities to recruit, hire and train the Instructors who will make their studio successful. He has a wonderful way of interviewing potential Instructors… Listen to the interview to learn exactly what he's looking for from and then how they plan to train each new Instructor to bring consistency to all of their classes, regardless of who's teaching.
Christian's mentor is the excellent educator Lawrence Biscontini. If you haven't yet, I would highly suggest that you listen to both episodes of the interview we had with Lawrence:
Good stuff and these two interviews probably rank in the top ten of all the interviews we've ever recorded 🙂
Here's my interview with Christian.[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']
I'd love to hear if this helps you to select better Instructors. [/wlm_private]
Finally a Heart Rate strap with both Bluetooth and Ant+ connectivity 🙂
I've been using a new TICKER Heart Rate Monitor straps – I'm excited to tell you about them + they'll be awesome used with the new Apple Smartwatch.
The guys at Wahoo Fitness emailed me today about their new line of HR straps that send out both BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and Ant+ frequencies. About time someone thought to offer both in the same monitor strap!
Up until now, your decision about what monitor strap to purchase was based on what device you wanted to connect with:
I want to connect to my iPhone / smart phone = you buy a bluetooth strap. Bluetooth is the only signal your phone can pair with.
I want to connect to a Garmin bike computer or use the strap with Performance IQ's display system = you purchase an ANT+ strap.
This new TICKR strap has both Bluetooth and ANT+ and it doesn't cost anymore than most single frequency straps – that's awesome in my book!
They've solved a second problem
How many times have you felt like saying; “IS THIS DAMN THING ON?
No Heart Rate strap, that I've ever seen, gives you any understanding that it's working. Is the battery good or dead? Do I need more spit to get it connected? I'm seeing that these new TICKR straps have two colored LED lights to show the TICKR’s device connection and heart rate detection – more awesomeness – and no more wasted trips to Walgreen's to buy one of those ridiculously expensive little flat batteries, when that isn't the problem.
I can't wait to try one and will update you once I have.
Courtney Lee has me all fired up about Facebook! It occurred to me that there wasn't anything there for owners and managers of Spinning® / Indoor Cycling studios. So we've created the official Facebook Group for studio owners and soon to be studio owners 🙂
“We'd Like to Thank All the Dads Who Taught Their Kids to Ride a Bike” was the subject line of an email I received today from Pearl iZumi. I'm pretty sure it was the kids in my neighborhood who taught me to ride. I do know for sure that it was my privilege to teach each of these young ladies, now 19 (Carly) and 23 (Abby) – pictured on each other's bicycles in 1997 🙂
I'll never forget running up & down the street with them, holding them by their shirt collars, very glad I had given up my sedentary lifestyle. ICI/PRO members don't forget about your 40% discount on anything Pear iZumi makes. Here's our page http://shop.pearlizumi.com/icipro/ And no your dad won't care if your gift is a little late.
