With ski season upon us I thought I would share a video from one of my most favorite places on earth, Vail Colorado.
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Below you'll find Week 4 of November's @ or Above Threshold Keep it Simple and Progress indoor cycling profile.
Workout Basics:
5 minute warmup
12 minute benchmark ride to find “Maximum Sustainable Wattage”
2 minute recovery
8 minute interval
2 minute recovery
6 minute recovery
2 minute recovery
3 x 2 minute intervals w/1 min recovery after each
3 x 1 minute intervals w/1 min recovery after each
3 x 30 second intervals w/30 second recovery after each
4 minute 30 second cool down
Workout Goal:
“Can you increase your average wattage for EVERY interval?”
5 minute warm up
Slowly and steadily elevate the HR or Wattage to above threshold
1 minute recovery
12 minute “Maximum Sustainable Wattage” Test
Settle into a sustainable intensity, HR or Wattage
Ride for 12 minutes and let the songs dictate the terrain
Remember average wattage for the 12 minute ride
2 minute recovery
8 minute Ride
Settle into a sustainable intensity, HR or Wattage
Ride for 8 minutes and let the songs dictate the terrain
Remember average wattage for the 8 minute ride
2 minute recovery
6 minute Ride
Settle into a sustainable intensity, HR or Wattage
Ride for 6 minutes and let the songs dictate the terrain
Remember average wattage for the 6 minute ride
2 minute recovery
3 x 2 minute w/1 minute recovery after each interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 2 minutes (as the instructor you dictate the position and RPM)
The goal is to complete every effort with a higher average wattage than the previous interval.
1 minute recovery or reset
3 x 1 minute w/1 minute recovery after each interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 2 minute (as the instructor you dictate the position and RPM)
The goal is to complete every effort with a higher average wattage than the previous interval.
1 minute recovery or reset
3 x 30 seconds w/30 seconds recovery (2 times)
Ride for 30 seconds (as the instructor you dictate the position and RPM)
The goal is to complete every effort with a higher average wattage than the previous interval.
1 minute recovery after the 3rd interval then repeat
Cool Down
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That would be your FTP looking back at you… catch him if you can.
Now that I'm an official Stages Indoor Cycling Master Educator, I figured I needed to create an Audio Profile so you can hear how I teach one of my Power classes. My profile is “Racing Your FTP”.
The goal is very simple; beat your FTP or “Threshold Check” numbers on every set. The ride will consist of two warm up songs, a “Threshold Check”, and three efforts of around 12, 18 and 9 minutes with a 1 minute recoveries after each interval.
I love mixing my class music and I've provide you with the MP3 below. I have also included an actual recording of me coaching this complete class. I suggest riding to this class by yourself, to experience exactly how I present this profile and you'll have a better idea of where & what I'm cuing during the class.
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Enjoy and please let me know how it works for you as a comment below.
DJ Scott Melker playing the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Golden, CO
As many of you know I've worn many hats in the fitness industry, I've been an Assistant General Manager, Operations Manager, Fitness Director, Triathlon Coach, Master Swim Team Coach, Master Educator, Personal Trainer, Group Exercise and Indoor Cycling Instructor. Throughout my almost 25 years in this customer service industry I have heard many member comments, complaints and compliments. Through these years I have grown a thick skin but the one comment that still cuts the deepest is when I hear that someone complains about my music. Being an indoor cycling instructor has, forever, changed the way I listen to all music. Music is now put into two categories; will this song work in class or not. I'm on a never ending search for the perfect indoor cycling song. This search reminds me of the story of Sisyphus from Greek mythology. He was punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever. After I find the “perfect” indoor cycling song I feel I'm on the same journey at Sisyphus. I find the song, listen to it, probably 20 times, find all the beat and energy changes, figure out a profile for it, listen to it another 20 times imagining my profile being used with the song, use it in a class, make changes, use it again in a class, perfect it, then when I finally push this boulder to the top of the hill and have produced the perfect mix of music, movement, rhythm and riding it's time to start this process all over again because riders are getting tired of this “perfect” song.
Around the same time John and Scott announced their “ICI/Pro DJ Scott Melker Music Playlist Contest” I was in a state of the dreaded “profile writers block” and I was told that a club member had commented about the lack of variety in my music. Yes, at first I was offended, but then I thought maybe the announcement of this contest and these negative comments were a sign. I decided to take on the challenge of using Scott's playlist and building the best profile I could. This project was extremely challenging for me, I'm usually a profile first music second type of class builder, this forced me to swap my way of thinking. Scott's playlist included some songs that I never imagined playing in an indoor cycling class, when I first heard them I immediately put them in the song category of “will not work in a class”, but I was being forced to use them so I had to figure out how to make them work. After countless hours of listening to Scott's playlist and tweaking my profile, I believe I have come up with a class that uses the artistry and energy of a playlist put together by one of the world's top DJs, while staying true to my scientifically proven teaching methods.
I hope you find this class profile both fun and effective, my class sure did.
I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and create your own profile for this contest.
Scott Melker's Playlist, 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.
