The Power of 3 – “”My Body Tells Me “NO” But I Won't Quit Cuz I Want More”
“Turn The Levels” by DJ Lobersterdust
“Part of Me” by Katy Perry
“My Body” by Young the Giant
There has been a lot of talk lately about the proper range of RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) in indoor cycling classes. The general range that most indoor cycling certifications recommend is 60-110rpm. That doesn’t mean that going a little faster or slower is going immediately cause injury, it means that this range can be ridden effectively by most people in the population.
When I started teaching with power, about 2 years ago, the first thing I discovered was how a high RPM and lower resistance could elevate the HR (Heart Rate) as well as RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) without the associated increase in power or output. The “fast spinners”, who for years were considered the “stars” of class, were shocked at how low their power numbers were. Many of them complained that the power meters must not be working properly or were broken. I tried to calm them and explained that they were beautifully athletic riders but they may have never trained with the appropriate resistance while riding at a high cadence. I asked them to be patient and to use this new found knowledge and tool to help them reach fitness levels they had only dreamed of. By finding their most efficient cadence, that RPM where the body can produce the most power at the lowest HR or RPE, and progressively increasing cadence and maintaining power, over time, many of these riders are now able to ride at a fast cadence and maintain a high power output.
Interval sets like the one below are how I coach riders to slowly but steadily increase their most efficient cadence over time.
3 song harmonically mixed track, to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
Are you ready for this? A reality television show about the lives of Indoor Cycling Instructors, who teach at a West Hollywood Studio. How fun is that? They are looking for a few very special Instructors to cast in the show. Click this info-graphic to read the specific details.
Roxane Davis (who is Roxane Davis Casting) called me yesterday after being told I could help her get the word out about this incredible opportunity. Her email lists a few other projects she's involved in;
Sr. Casting Producer/Development Producer
Bravo!”Thicker Than Water”: Series Casting Director
FOX “American Idol”: Consultant
A&E “Intervention”: Series Casting Director
A&E “Modern Dads”:Series Casting Director
Roxane explained to me that, although they list some specific cities they're searching, she's open to finding the perfect Instructors no matter where they're located. The job includes a regular teaching schedule, along with being an on camera star 🙂
Are you a good looking, 25-35 year old, Rock Star Instructor? Then send Roxane an email with a short paragraph about you, a photo and your phone number to spincity@roxanedavis.com
I'm super excited to see what happens. Do you think they would ever consider writing in a roll for an Internet Radio Show host?
There's a lot of pressure on clubs and studios to upgrade to the latest technology… those basic, conventional bikes just don't cut it when there's a new competitor down the street.
So what does a struggling fitness studio do to come up with the cash (two grand or more per cycle) for a room full of the latest from Schwinn, Star Trac, Keiser or FreeMotion?
How about running an online fundraising campaign to raise the money? Could that ever work?
We will know next month when Ypsi Studio closes their indiegogo campaign on September 21st. They're running what they call SchWinning at Ypsi Studio. Owner Julia Collins is hoping to raise enough money to upgrade to new Schwinn AC Performance Indoor Cycles for her Ypsilanti, Michigan studio.
With clients looking to stay on track with the most up to date exercise equipment, Ypsi Studio owner Julia Collins has launched a Indiegogo campaign to help raise the money needed to upgrade the indoor-cycling bikes the studio is currently using.
“I’m a small-business person and I’ve been in this business for 10 years. Gradually over those 10 years I’ve expanded from a tiny one room place to a place with two floors and different classes and several employees,” Collins said. “Every time I was making profits, I was putting it right back into the business.”
However, those profits are not enough to upgrade the equipment for her customers.
Collins is hoping to raise $25,000 so the studio can purchase 13 new indoor-cycling bikes. Currently the studio has several bikes they’re using that are in good condition, but they’re nearly 10 years old.
According to the campaign website the bikes the studio is looking to purchase are comparable to bikes offered in other fitness studios in the area. They will not only allow the user to exercise, but also monitor RPM, calories burned, heart rate and how long you've been riding.
Didn't the author leave out the most important part? Power!
Good luck with this Julia! I've made a note to follow up with the results of her campaign. You can learn more and pledge your support here.
If you're looking to add to your Instructor education resume, Schwinn Indoor Cycling and RealRyder Indoor Cycling are offering Instructor certifications at the IDEA World Fitness Conference in Anaheim, California. Both are running pre-convention, 8 hour live certifications on Wednesday, August 13.
Schwinn® Cycling: Instructor Certification LECTURE/WORKSHOP
9:00am—7:00pm (1-hour lunch is on your own)
Master Trainers are Julz Arney and Jeffrey Scott
Here's the link to register for the Schwinn certification and for more information.
RealRyder® Indoor Cycling: Certified Instructor Training WORKSHOP
8:00am—5:00pm (1-hour lunch is on your own)
Douglas Brooks, MS, and Adam Reid
Here's the link to register for the RealRyder certification and for more information.
I'm going to be there Thursday – Sunday > if you're planning to as well please shoot me a note. I would love to meet you while I'm there.
Cyclist Darin Letzring contacted me about the Indoor Cycling videos he has made in Yellowstone National Park. They look like they could provide an awesome backdrop for a class.
Yellowstone Time Trials
These videos showcase the flat and fast areas of Yellowstone National Park. Most of the video is spent right next to one of the many beautiful rivers in the park. Enjoy the spectacular scenery and maybe a few animals as you journey through the park. A high energy soundtrack keeps you moving along.
The full workout video is based on a 3×20 minute workout with a warmup session, breaks between hard efforts, and a cooldown. Below is the breakdown of the video with specific times and sections.
I use a lot of structured videos in my classes – videos with on-screen profiles and timers like what's available from EpicPlanet.tv. I will frequently ride along in those classes so I can watch along and cue and comment about what's happening on the video.
There are other times where I'm just looking for pretty pictures and/or video that I can play as a distraction = Yellowstone Time Trials could make a good choice for these type of classes.
You can find all of Darin's videos and purchase / download information here. You'll note that they are offering a video rental option through Amazon… interesting concept.
At WSSC I had the opportunity to complete a PST (Personal Spinning® Threshold) test – which is (their words) the key to Spinpower success. I couldn't agree more as knowing your maximum sustainable power or Heart Rate, and then building training zones around a known metric BPM/Watts is crucial to effective training. Here's some notes on this session and the discovery process MI Janet Toussaint lead us through to determine our Personal Spinning® Threshold.
PST is something we can change
Janet's session included a lecture period before we climbed on the Blade Ions for the PST test. During her presentation she made three very profound points that I feel are important for anyone teaching with power, to convey to their participants…
It is possible to change/raise/improve your PST. You maybe familiar with the statement; if you can test it you can improve it. In the past the Spinning program was based on Maximum Heart Rate – a number that doesn't change no matter how hard you train. Yes you can become more efficient at Fat utilization, except that's difficult to measure without a metabolic cart. Sustainable power at threshold (PST) is something you can easily see changing and that can be very motivating.
PST is based on Maximal Efficient Effort – key word being efficient, as in where efficiency drops off during the graded intensity ramp test. This isn't a test where COME HELL OR HIGH WATER I'M GOING TO PUT UP THIS HUGE WATTAGE NUMBER!!! Janet made the point a number of times that you have to be careful not to let these assessments become a competition, where people are trying to prove something.
Your PST is specific to this sport – actually Angie Sturtevant made similar statements. The wattage you see as a PST only applies to a Spinning class – not your road bike with a power meter. I would add that it also only applies to the specific brand of Indoor Cycle.
I snapped this picture showing the ramp test protocol used to asses the PST used to create the 6 power zones in the SpinPower program.
Constants and Variables
The constant during this test is cadence/RPM which doesn't change during the test. Janet suggests you not mandate a cadence, instead ask every one find “where they hang out” = natural cadence. What will vary will be the amount of resistance, and the resulting changes in HR and perceived exertion/RPE.
Start everyone warming up in zone one, finding that natural cadence for 10 or more minutes. Include a few brief accelerations – but not too intense or long.
Every two minutes you'll add resistance / ramp up. How much? Janet recommends 10-20 watts from women and 15-30 watts for men.
After you've added the new ramp, push the reset button to record your average for that ramp – remembering the previous ramp's wattage.
When you can't maintain your cadence, for the whole two minutes, you're done. Your PST is the watts from the last fully completed ramp.
How many ramps is the right amount? Janet explained that there is no “right amount”. You need to run the assessment until everyone has completed the test. There were some questions about this and it sounds like you should see at least 4 ramps until failure. Less than that probably means that the rider is adding too many watts with each ramp.
My experience during the test was as I got closer to PST, I wanted to reduce the size of each ramp's increase. I also knew very quickly when I wouldn't be able to finish a ramp. My numbers are in the image above. I couldn't complete my last ramp of 240 watts, which actually isn't that far off what I'm used to seeing as my threshold on the FreeMotion bikes I teach on at Life Time.
Thinking about conducting an assessment like this in your class? I would suggest that you practice on yourself first, so you understand what your riders will be experiencing.
If you are teaching on Spinner Blade Ions I would love to talk to you. Please contact me.
At WSSC I had the opportunity to complete a PST (Personal Spinning® Threshold) test – which is (their words) the key to Spinpower success. I couldn't agree more as knowing your maximum sustainable power or Heart Rate, and then building training zones around a known metric BPM/Watts is crucial to effective training. Here's some notes on this session and the discovery process MI Janet Toussaint lead us through to determine our Personal Spinning® Threshold.