Long climbs have you bumping up against your power ceiling.
I prefer to limit the mathematical computations many Instructors typically ask of their classes. For example you'd never hear me say;
“now I want everyone at 85% of their FTP” or… “this next interval is 30 seconds in Zone 5B which is 103 to 106% of your LT/AT heart rate followed by 2 minutes in Zone 3 = 90%-93%”… everybody got that? Then let's GO!!!
I'll admit that part of this is due to my phobia of math. It's also because I recognise that there are a wide diversity of personalities riding in front of me. Sure, I've got a few engineers who could probably spit out the square root of their FTP between pedal strokes if you asked, but it's my impression that the majority of folks in your class would prefer that you leave the math for times when they have a calculator handy 🙂
Just this past Sunday I had two women in my Performance Cycle class cheer when I mentioned that I wouldn't be requiring any percentage figuring that morning.
But we still need to communicate intensities, right? That's where establishing Floors and Ceilings comes in. They're simple concepts everyone will understand – we all know what's below a floor or when we're up against a ceiling!
Master Instructor Dennis Mellon using this same Floors and Ceilings concept in his classes, except a little differently. We discuss how we each use them to (hopefully) communicate effectively, in this ICI/PRO Podcast episode.
[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']
Please let us know your questions.
You can read more about using VT1 Aerobic Threshold and VT2 Anaerobic Threshold to create easy to understand Floors and Ceilings here.
PRO member Kay asked a very good question about ANT+
… I'm also wondering about Heart Rate. If the bikes are ANT+, will they only pick up ANT+ Heart Rate Monitors? I noticed that the new Schwinn did not pick up my Polar HRM
Thank you for your comments!
Kay
The short answer is; No. Indoor Cycles with or without ANT+ consoles will detect and display most Heart Rate straps.
It all comes down to the type of HR strap you are using, but it can get confusing. I'll try to explain.
First let's identify the three players:
Analog (Low Frequency) HR Monitor straps
Digital/ANT+ (High Frequency) HR Monitor straps
Hybrid HR Straps that offer both High and Low Frequencies
Analog HR straps & monitors have been around for years. I guess you could say they are the generic version and any inexpensive HR monitor is Analog. For many people they work just fine but they have two problems:
They will “Cross Talk” with other monitors as they are indiscriminate in which signal they will choose to display.
Battery life of the strap can be relatively short (measured in months of use) due to the amount of power they consume broadcasting their low frequency (5000Hz) signal. It takes comparably more energy to generate low frequencies vs. high frequencies – think how much work a Tuba Player expends vs. the Piccolo Player in a marching band and I'm not referring to the weight of the instrument.
To solve these two problems HR manufactures introduced Digital HR straps and monitors using a very high frequency 2.4gHz or 2,400,000,000Hz which is what is referred to as ANT+ or some like Polar describe it as “Coded”.
ANT+ receivers will lock onto the source – commonly known as “Pairing”, they will reject other competing signals once they have been successfully paired.
Battery life is measured in years – Garmin says their strap's battery will last over 5 years, operating one hour a day.
ANT+ has another ability that Analog doesn't, the ability to transmit and receive multiple data sets over multiple channels. Where your Analog monitor can only understand; Beat…Beat…Beat, ANT+ can transmit an incredible amount of information that's really limited to the engineer's imagination. I'll bet that that CycleOps PowerCal Power Meter that uses only heart rate data from the users chest strap to estimate Power Output is transmitting a lot more than just Beat…Beat…Beat
The Spinning Fitness Tracker uses a Garmin ANT+ strap and ANT+ iPhone Dongle
So ANT+ looks like the perfect solution, except for one little problem… every piece of fitness equipment on the planet is designed to receive and display Analog signals. But this is changing and Garmin as an article here that lists the change with more and more pieces of equipment adding ANT+ technology.
Enter Hybrid HR straps that transmit in both the high ANT+ and Low Analog frequencies. This give the user the option to display their HR on a club's treadmill, while at the same time only pairing with a compatible ANT+ device.
So back to your question about not being able to see your HR on the Schwinn AC, Kay. Either the Schwinn AC MPower Console or FreeMotion's should display your HR, regardless of what strap you were wearing. I have a Hybrid Polar strap which works just fine on the Schwinn, but not an exclusively ANT+ strap – so I don't have first hand experience.
I've asked the question to both companies and will update this post when I know more.
UPDATE: Schwinn Master Instructor Julz Arney got back to me with:
Yes, the wireless technology used by the MPower console is ANT+ (owned by Garmin.) Any HR strap using ANT+ should connect. There are a few hints to make it easier:
-Have HR strap on and functioning before turning on console
-Be on the bike saddle (i.e. in close range of the console)
The console looks for a HR signal for approximately 30 seconds from when it's turned on. If it doesn't find a signal it will stop looking. The rider will then need to turn off the console and turn it back on.)
I hope this helps!
Both the Schwinn AC and FreeMotion have a limited time for the rider to pair to the console. The S1.9 will only connect during when the console shows Warm Up.
My article about teaching a Cycle Sculpt class, that included using weights on the cycle, brought out a lot of strong comments on my Facebook. Understandably many of the commentators expressed concerns about safety:
I think the rub for me John is safety. Weights on a bike is an accident waiting to happen. I don't think it is responsible for me to put anyone in my club in a position where I can't keep them safe.
… but I do it safely & never use weights on the bike.
Strength train OR spin. Never both together. Lifting weights on a spinner is unsafe.
All perfectly valid concerns based on each person's perspective of what's safe and what is not safe, in an Indoor Cycling class.
We all don't have the same perspective of safety.
There's a couple in their middle 50's who've taken mine and Amy's classes for years – I will call them Doug and Linda.
Doug enjoys riding outdoors and he often joins us on group rides. He's a reasonably strong rider, with good cycling skills and I enjoy riding with him.
Although she has the fitness, Linda refuses to ride on the road – “too dangerous” she'd tell you. She'll ride in the neighborhoods and sometimes venture out on one of the many biking trails we have here. But that's it. No riding on the road for her.
So who's right here? Doug? or Linda?
A valid argument can easily be made by both. Doug may site thousands of incident free miles – does that make him right? Or if he crashed on his way down of the driveway tomorrow, would that have Linda correctly telling him “I told you cycling is dangerous”?
Is the perception of safety based on the potential of injury?
Crashing a bicycle hurts… a lot. Trust me when I say; I know exactly what it feels like to roll across the pavement at 20 miles per hour, wearing nothing but a helmet, a nylon jersey and Lycra bike shorts. There's a very real potential for serious injury every time I go on a ride. I have had friends hit (and yes unfortunately even killed) by cars/trucks and other cyclists while riding on the road.
Having intimate knowledge of the potential for getting hurt, I still head out on my road bike without a second thought. It's even worse for Amy on our tandem. She has absolutely zero control from her place as Stoker. She has to sit behind me and trust completely that I'll bring us to the finish safely. Amy has seen first hand what can happen riding with a fast group – when things go terribly wrong and next she's dialing 911 – 3 times to date. She's also the first person to ask; “are we riding tomorrow”? Oh, and Amy likes it when insists that we're leading the fastest group on the road, during any charity ride we're on.
Linda's position would be that Amy and I should stay home and take up gardening – or some other safe activity. Our response would be; while we recognise the possibility that we could get hurt, we still choose to ride outdoors. Basically we accept the potential risk and believe in our own abilities as cyclists to participate safely, in an activity that others would view as too dangerous.
But the comments weren't about your safety John, their concerns were for the safety of the participants in the class.
I've been a sort of evangelist for cycling outdoors, for years. I talk frequently in my classes about how enjoyable it is to get out and ride. I show videos of beautiful cycling destinations in almost every class. I've lead group rides consistently since the late 90s. Dozens of cyclists have been personally mentored by me, as they learned to ride properly in a group. Amy's no different. Give her the chance and she'll tell you endless stories about how much she enjoys riding our tandem with our cycling group.
Based on her perception that outdoor cycling as unsafe, couldn't Linda easily say that Amy and I (and maybe you) are promoting an unsafe activity?
As you can guess, my answer would be a firm NO!
I don't share Linda's perspective that cycling is inherently unsafe for myself, Amy or others who I encourage to take up the sport. Why? Because I have years of direct experience that cycling on the road can be safe, if done safely. Is there crazy, stupid stuff that you can do to make cycling unsafe? Of course there is – I choose not to do them, instruct those who I ride with not to do it and am the first (or second as Amy is pretty quick to voice concerns) to reprimand someone who's behavior is endangering themselves or others.
What if you could get inside the minds of your students? It’s common to hear compliments from your regulars about what you are doing well, but what about the students who come once and decide never to return? So far, we have explored the importance of preparation, and welcoming every student. This week, we'll consider the need for tact and professionalism, even when the complaint is valid.
Imagine that you are unpacking your gym bag after class. There is a note sitting on top. It says…
Dear Instructor,
Let me start by saying that I am a workout junkie. I have tried every kind of exercise and class there is: running, yoga, Cross Fit, Personal Training, kickboxing to just name a few. And, you know, of all the types of workouts I've tried, indoor cycling here at this club is my all-time favorite. I love it here. The team is fantastic and I enjoy every instructor and every class. Everyone is unique and provides something a little bit different, so I get a well-rounded routine by coming throughout the week. Not many places can offer that.
But I have to ask you a question — do you like it here? I can tell that you are passionate about teaching and cycling. I appreciate that you put a lot of effort into your classes and I'm impressed that you seem quite knowledgeable about riding. But it seems that you can't stand this place. The things I have heard you say about the other instructors and the management here are really unnerving. Sometimes you complain about little stuff that would probably annoy me too, like the fan or the mic being busted. That's not so awful. But it is awful when you speak badly of the other teachers. In fact, I really do not like it when you go off on my favorite instructor. She has so much energy and excitement! I really look forward to her classes and I think your comments are out of line. I understand what you said about jumps and I agree that she does them kind of fast. But don't you think you'd be better off telling her privately what you think is wrong instead of trashing her to your students? That is so unprofessional! And it makes you look really petty to complain that the other instructors teach stuff you don't like. If you are so educated, why don't you just tell them instead of making us feel like jerks for liking their classes? Why would they even be teaching here if they were as terrible as you say they are? Have you even taken one of their classes to know whether this stuff is as bad as you think?
You really are a good instructor and I would hate to see you lose your support by focusing on the wrong stuff. I hope you'll take this as it was meant – to help you see that no one is going to listen to you as long as you are bad-mouthing others, especially if they happen to like the other instructor better. It doesn't matter how smart you are if you are being self-righteous when you do it.
Sincerely,
Diplomatic Debbie
Have you ever been one of the characters in this scenario? Is it ever okay to speak negatively about your employer or another instructor to your students? If you were the director at this club and learned of this situation, would you have anything to say to the instructor or the student?
Interesting article from RACKED.com that is promoting the virtue of Big Box fitness clubs – while recognizing how the boutique studios have been getting all the press and recognition over the past few years.
Do Classes at Regular Gyms Hold Up Against Boutique Fitness?
If you own your own spin shoes, are constantly laundering leggings, and have downloaded the Mindbody app to your iPhone, odds are you're in deep with fancy fitness – and have the scary credit card bills to prove it. Boutique exercise is eating our budgets alive like bottles of wine at mid-week dinners used to (before socializing and sweating came hand-in-hand), and it's crazy how it got away from us so easily.
Those who aren't math-inclined might view the all-inclusive Classpass buffet and studio bulk-class deals as a free-for-all, but the truth is that it's costing you $1,500 a year at the very least. And that's without the occasional full-priced SoulCycle class and unavoidable last-minute cancellation fees.
But what if we told you there was a glorious place that had enough classes to keep your newly athletic heart content, not to mention showers aplenty, shiny equipment, and towels free of charge? It's the place you left in the cold the second spin studios started popping up on every corner –€” your good ol' neighborhood gym. So, we asked ourselves a newfangled question: Are we all out of our minds for spending this much money to take these fitness classes when we could have them for so much less?
Like the random Pilates mat class you went to near your office and hated, not all New York gyms are created equal, so we dove in first-hand to see if we're all fooling ourselves with the studio experience, and whether hitting the same gym classes on the regular – more than the three times Classpass would let you –€” could get you just as fit (and having just as much fun) as all our beloved bourgeois boutique spots.
While visiting four of New York's biggest power players, we learned a lot. Generally speaking, gym classes feel short compared to boutique fitness, and we've been battling for a spot in class sign-ups or in the second row with more vigor than necessary. Gyms have less competitive crowds and have embraced advanced sign-ups, too – even holding spots for spontaneous members who stroll in minutes before the start time. Trading in the complimentary rose water face cleanser for padlocks and crowds of people wasn't easy, though. Fingers crossed that we can hopefully save you from sweating your account balance instead of your workout in 2016.
So which fitness club or cycling studio is looking today to hire a passionate & talented Indoor Cycling Instructor?
EVERY. CLUB. AND. EVERY. STUDIO.
How can I say that with such conviction, without actually surveying every club/studio on the planet?
That's easy 🙂 Every successful business owner/manager I know, is continuously looking to hire good people. It doesn't matter if they have a “help wanted” sign hanging in the window or not.
EVERY. BUSINESS. IS. LOOKING. FOR. GREAT. PEOPLE.
Why is this important for anyone interested in securing their first regularly scheduled class? Because, quite simply, it's important for you to understand (and more importantly believe) this when you approach a studio owner or manager. Having the perception that they're buying, what you're selling, is a great confidence builder.
So is 2017 going to be the year you land your first teaching gig? Or maybe the year when you'll decide to move beyond your comfort zone and audition at the hot, new studio opening down the street?
Either way, I'm thinking some of these articles will be helpful for you.
