by John | Sep 16, 2020 | Instructor Tips and Tricks, Promote and Build Your Class
I love having a full class of students. But first they need to know my class exists. I'm continuously frustrated with how poorly my own club promotes the Indoor Cycling classes we offer. Based on comments offering similar frustrations, I'm guessing that I'm not the only one.
So why not take a few minutes to do a little self-promotion?
The other day a received a request from an ICI/PRO member to join FourSquare, the social media site where you can check in, so other people know where to find you. Like Yelp, FourSquare acts as a search engine to find where there friends are, in the hope to meet up with them. You can also leave and read reviews there. I hadn't spent any time there so I decided to check it out to see what I could do with it to promote my class. At first I thought that only actual businesses could create a listing. Instead I discovered you can create a listing for anything that is an actual place, even if you don't technically own or manage the facility. I saw listings for specific seat rows at a concert, events in a local park and even a listing for a specific airline flight to Europe – maybe they were interested in who they would be sitting next to for eight hours.
Here's a link for my 5:45 AM Monday morning class that I created in about 5 minutes.
Click to enlarge
It was very easy and here's how you can create your listing (s) – there's no reason not to create a listing for each of your classes.
- Signup with FourSquare using this link.
- Log in and search for your class in the search box.
- It will probably not show your listing – no problem 🙂
- Scroll down to the bottom and find: Don't see the place you're looking for? Add a new venue to foursquare
- In the name field I suggest; Your Name, Time/Date and the Key Words that describe your class.
- In the address field; Club Name and address.
- Then fill out the other fields – you may want to use the club's phone number.
- Click save when completed.
- You will then see your new listing. Check that the marker on the map is in the correct place. If it's not you can click and drag it to the proper location.
Now when anyone searches for a Spin class near Minnetonka, MN they will find:
Click to enlarge
If you do try this, let me know what happens.
Originally posted 2011-03-24 04:55:09.
by Joey Stabile | Aug 29, 2020 | Engage Your Students, Instructor Tips and Tricks, Instructor Training, Motivation
This week I have the extraordinary privilege to be working from my balcony in Punta Cana. I have never been to an all inclusive resort before, and it is quite the experience. The grounds are beautiful, you can go to any of the many restaurants or bars on the property, and there always seems to be a smiling face nearby ready to wait on your next need.
Last night we attended an outdoor band that was playing and there were six younger people that were hired by the resort to provide entertainment and get the crowd dancing etc… While all of them were great dancers, the lead young man was simply incredible. His feet were light and fast, and yet somehow thoughtful and deliberate. He was smiling from ear to ear, and seemed to be having as much fun doing his job as we were joining him on the dance floor. As talented at this young man was, one of his gifts seemed to be the ability to dance with a wide range of partners (guests that he would engage) and have them seem comfortable and loose. You could see the transformation in the people in only one minute: they went from thinking “oh, no, I can't dance with him, he is too good” to relaxing and enjoying themselves and then going back to their tables only to return to the dance floor with their spouse or partner.
It really got me thinking about customer service and how that impacts our industry and profession. Yes, being an indoor cycling instructor is, well at least should be, a profession. We have customers (riders) and it is really our job to guide them through this fitness experience that we have (hopefully) spent time and effort creating. In many ways, we should be presenting an image similar to this young man's for not just our riders, but all of those that are in the club or studio.
As with any great performer, his performance moved me, and has me thinking….Am I providing a high quality performance for my riders and most importantly, am I providing that experience to most of my riders or only just a few? As with most instructors, I have a core group of 10 or so people (about a third of the class) that seem to be in all of the classes I teach. They are all cyclists (they ride outdoors) and they work hard, they work very hard. They are inspirational to teach to and certainly in the midst of a very tough set they help to get me to the other side. But what about the other 20 or so people in that room? I am reaching them? Is my class actually fun and enjoyable, or has it become a 60 minute grueling experience?
I have often heard group exercise instructors talk about the class they just delivered and the gist of the conversation always seems to revolve around “killing” the people, or it being the “hardest” class they have had or something similar. Very rarely, if ever, do you I have pleasure of hearing about how they had the entire class pedaling to the beat and enjoying themselves. I am not sure that I myself have ever measured the success of one of my classes by the number of smiles I have seen on the participant's faces; but perhaps I should. Some, well really most, of my riders will never be on a triathlon course, so I should be mindful about training them like they headed there in three weeks.
So I challenge you, take a few moments and think about your next class. Are you providing great customer service? Are you including most of the riders, and not just your hardcore following? Are your riders having fun? As for myself, when I return I plan to taking the time to be sure that I am dancing with all of my customers, not just the cyclists!
Originally posted 2018-04-02 07:00:10.
by John | Aug 26, 2020 | Instructor Tips and Tricks
Well actually it was a non-decision 🙂
I received this notice today via email –
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You do not need to do anything! Carbonite will automatically charge the regular subscription price of $54.95, to your credit card, ending in 6941, in 7 days. Once the payment has been processed, we will send you a separate confirmation email/receipt.
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Originally posted 2010-05-08 18:02:58.
by Barbara | Aug 2, 2020 | Barbara Hoots, Best Practices, Instructor Tips and Tricks
by Barbara Hoots
Do you dream of teaching a kick-ass class in a packed studio with unstoppable energy? Follow my FIVE BEST TRICKS ON THE PLANET and I guarantee your dream will become a reality.
1. Volunteer to Be a Guest Speaker.
Last week I spoke to a local civic club on the benefits of group exercise and physiological effects of endorphins. While my
presentation was not specifically geared toward indoor cycling, I seized the opportunity to distribute free Spinning® passes and now
have six new students in class! Most civic, social, or religious organizations in your community are desperate for free guest speakers! Volunteer to give a presentation on the benefits of exercise and reap the reward — a full class!
2. Use Your Body
(more…)
Originally posted 2009-10-02 06:46:52.
by John | Jun 27, 2020 | Instructor Tips and Tricks, Video Tutorials
Your certification didn't teach you this so I will. If you like to use music to encourage specific pedal cadences, check out this new video on how to use a tap-to-the-beat counter. Here is the link to get it for Windows Users.
You can find the other 5 free videos over at http://www.mixmeisteracademy.com/using_itunes/
Originally posted 2009-10-10 10:53:33.
by John | Jun 3, 2020 | Instructor Tips and Tricks, Instructor Training
In Tom's previous post he talks about watching yourself on film to identify non-verbal movements / behaviors that if changed, could improve your class.
But what if the whole camera setup and production is too much of a hurdle for you right now… how about this baby step?
Get in front of a mirror and ride…
Most of our studios are full of mirrors, and yet many of us can go weeks or even months without seeing ourselves on the bike. Why not go in to your studio early and practice teaching your class where you can see yourself in a mirror? I suggest a head-on view and then at an angle like Christine suggested. Go through all your typical motions and movements and then ask yourself:
- Do I look like I belong on a bike?
- Do I appear relaxed & comfortable?
- When I'm faking it, does it show?
- Am I setup properly? (see tomorrow's post)
- Most importantly: Do I have a lot of excessive upper body movement that indicates poor pedaling technique?
If you want to appeal to cyclists I suggest that you learn to look like you ride outdoors, even if you don't. Cyclists have an eye for other cyclists that I'm guessing comes from riding thousands of miles behind or alongside other competitive cyclists. Excessive side to side movement of your head, which corresponds with each down-stroke, screams I DON”T KNOW HOW TO PEDAL CORRECTLY. The same can be said for a lot of up and down movement of your body while standing. I see this as the most importantly thing you should work to correct because I see excessive movement as a sign of poor pedal technique that will brand you as a non-cyclist.
Here's an example of what you should look like as demonstrated by the Great Eddy Merckx!
I asked Amy and she had a completely different take on the usage of mirrors:
Many of us teach facing our classes. As we consider how we look this week, I want to talk about a teaching technique called “mirroring”. Simply described, mirroring is showing our class what we want them to do in opposite. For example, if we are coaching a right turn ahead, we would indicate with our left hand, as their right is our left.
Mirroring shows a maturity in teaching and eliminates confusion to our class. At first, it takes some thought, as it is not natural to indicate a cue in opposite. I find it most challenging when I’ve got my class in a race situation and we are passing, or even when we are in a pace line and I am coaching them to the front of the line to take their turn pulling. As I coach them to, “Pull out to the left of the rider in front of them, pull up alongside, give a little wave and take the lead”, this is all done with me physically cueing on the right side of our body. I get so into it, and feel myself on the road that I have to remember to cue for them, not like it should be on the road!
So, the next time you are in front of your class, try mirroring a few simple moves. It can even just be a lean right (your left), or left (your right) to start.
I've struggled with this for years – maybe it's a guy thing, but disconnecting my body from my brain is very difficult for me. If you have any coordination I would suggest taking a few Step Classes or some other choreographed class from a good instructor to watch and see how they do this. I've watched in amazement as Amy actually mirrors Step movements, while facing her class.
Another random thought on “How you look.”
Riding out of the saddle, with your forearms resting on the bars, (aero-position) has no place in your class. Beyond being completely contraindicated, it has you looking like a dork or worse, like one of the defeated obese people you see wandering around Wal-Mart 🙁
I use this mental image to remind students that our forearms aren't designed to support us.
I had to ignore the Instructor whose class I took this week. He insisted on having us all “Up and Aero” while we climbed. No real Cyclist or Triathlete climbs in an aero position out of the saddle; you're either down low in your aero position or standing with your hands spaced wide on the bars.
Your students are watching you… and I dare say judging you in large part by what they see.
Make sometime this week and consider how you look, because that's what your class is seeing 🙂
Originally posted 2011-09-09 14:33:26.
