Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion
Originally posted 2018-12-23 09:34:42.
Everything changes…
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas and ICG® Marketing & Product Director Gary Warren
Forward Motion Video was first produced for, and used in, Indoor Cycling classes in the form of DVDs. DVDs paved the way for production companies like Virtual Active to bring Hollywood-level filming to the fitness industry.
We would never detract from the contribution these DVDs and their producers made to the indoor-cycling industry. Going forward, however, there’s a point of contention that we consider critical: continuing to use DVD as the medium for providing forward motion video.
In response to Jim’s last post, “Video Done Right”, Gino Nacey, one of the pioneers of Forward Motion Video, offered his “1% disagreement” and commented, “as long as the DVD is played on a big screen, I don’t really see why we should knock it — if all a site can afford is a projector, screen and some DVDs then if the video is well done, they should have a great experience.” We appreciate Gino’s feedback.
DVDs are seen by some in the industry as a good option for clubs, a way to provide a quality visual experience in an indoor cycling class. ICG® believes that, at this time, DVDs will do more to inhibit the development of both indoor-cycling programs that offer video and the instructors who teach with it.
DVD is being superseded as technology progresses. Despite DVD’s low initial purchase cost for club owners, is it really forward-thinking and fit-for-purpose with respect to the skills instructors need to develop to enhance their classes with video, as they do with music? We believe DVD limitations are one reason more instructors don’t teach with forward motion video.
What can an instructor truly do with a DVD? The instructor can’t alter the programming or investigate the synergies that exist between music and video. The profile is unchangeable. DVD length can’t be altered to fit the music. That limits the music that can be used with the DVD. The instructor can’t swap out portions of the DVDs, which makes it impossible to alter the profiles to create endless class variations.
DVDs lack the essential tools the instructor needs, such as selecting and changing footage at any given point in a profile, repeating parts of a video, skipping parts of a video, or switching to panoramic footage for water breaks or to shift the experience. Even more importantly, DVDs don’t permit the instructor to keep the footage running to match the music track length, or vice versa. Any of the above can be done — with one touch — with a system like Myride®+.
DVD offers the same ride time and again, and the ability to use different music is limited.
The use of DVDs for virtual classes may seem to make sense initially, particularly if the voiceover coaching and the music are good. Again, the number of different rides is limited because DVD footage is fixed and can’t be reprogrammed. Also, quality of filming comes into play because Standard Definition on a large screen looks unrealistic.
But it’s more than that. Virtual classes have to be highly advanced in coaching, graphics, filming techniques, post-production techniques, and exhibit extremely compelling locations because they now do what instructors do — lead the class. We also have to push the limits of technology to enable consoles to provide “virtual class” schedules, where console and projector turn on and off at selected times to enable the club owner to offer classes without an instructor present.
It takes a platform of technology that can continue to grow to make the experience (and the buyer’s investment) stronger over the years without fading. Sustainability is key, and DVDs can’t make the cut.
Are DVDs passable? For the retail market, yes. But for sustainable commercial operations where the consumer is savvier and more demanding as competition rises, perhaps not.
Finally, our tree-hugging moment. DVDs are not green and create an enormous amount of waste product that is eliminated with the use of advanced digital technology. CDs and DVDs don’t decompose. Their composition is too complex to make large-scale recycling possible, unlike aluminum, glass or paper. So old CDs and DVDs must be shipped to a special center for recycling.
Then there’s packaging. 85% of under-24s believe that downloading music can help save the planet by reducing the packaging, waste, and carbon emissions involved in producing and transporting CDs and DVDs to shops.
Here’s what video in indoor cycling needs:
1. Improved content-delivery tools for video that offer increased programming features, designed to enable instructors to utilize this new asset fully and owners to embrace the ROI they can get from video done right.
2. Increased availability of high-quality video through network delivery that will enable us to bring new video to our customers as easily as we bring new songs.
3. Improved filming and post-production techniques to enhance immersion and raise the member experience and the demand for video.
4. A shift away from a retail product that’s not green and that experts say won’t be around much longer.
We believe Myride®+ fulfills these needs, except item 2, which it will in the immediate future.
As always with new technology, there’s a higher initial cost — in this case, for the digital media console and the HD projector. But let’s not confuse initial cost with “total cost of ownership” (TCO). The cost of a DVD media system may be low, but it wastes money if it’s not sustainable and/or doesn’t fully meet the market’s needs. As demand increases and more companies play a role in development, digital video costs will decrease. Continuing to advocate DVDs, which give the club owner a cheaper option without a complete understanding of its limitations, will hinder forward progress.
The end result seems inevitable, and DVD may delay the transition but won’t prevent it.
ICG® respects Gino and his organizations for all they’ve done to pave the way. But ICG® can’t recommend adherence to an outdated form of presenting video to the Indoor Cycling industry.
Originally posted 2012-08-13 07:47:25.
Whenever I think of recovering faster, I hear my dad in the back of my head telling me to sleep faster when I only had 4 hours until the morning. I by no means want you to start short changing your recovery time nor trying to psychologically speed up the process. I do want you to consider how fast your heart rate recovers and some valuable information we can provide to educate our riders.
I’ve mentioned numerous times that I use recovery between efforts as a litmus test to determine whether a person is working at the appropriate intensity. The length of time given for recovery is often directly linked to the level of intensity we expected. For intensities that fall in the 80-95% range, I often provide a minimum of 3 minutes of recovery before the next effort. To put more context around this, if I was asking my riders to maintain a hard effort of 80% or greater for 3 to 5 minutes, I would provide 3 minutes for them to recovery. In a similar fashion, I may throw 4 to 8 short 1-minute intervals at them with only 30-60 seconds of intermediate recovery (between intervals), but would then give them 3-5 minutes to recovery after the set.
With both of the above scenarios in mind, I would expect riders to “need” at least 2 minutes to allow their heart rates to drop (near 60-70%) with the third minute providing some transition time before we launch into the next challenge. The bigger issue is always, did they work hard enough? And frankly, without a heart rate monitor it is very subjective. They may say, “I felt like it was hard, but then I recovered within a minute and now I’m ready to go”. It is far more objective for a rider to say, “I ended that last interval with my heart rate at 165 BPM and 2 minutes later it went down to 130 BPM”.
So what’s happening when someone pushes very hard and does not recovery very much within the 3-minute period? This is a question a few riders asked me this week. Here are 3 possible answers:
(1) The rider may be deconditioned and has possibly pushed himself or herself too hard. This is common with indoor classes that cater to all levels of fitness. Some riders do not have the body awareness and find themselves beyond their limit. They usually don’t have to stop riding, but you may want to suggest they take more time to recover before jumping back in. This suggestion is a sign of a mature and professional instructor who is not just interested in beating the riders to a pulp.
(2) The rider is just tired from a long day or is maybe lacking sleep or has not eaten well. This is where you can ask if this is a common occurrence or something they are just experiencing today. Similar to the rider above, they may need to sit out a few efforts or drills and then jump in once they feel recovered.
(3) The rider is borderline over-reaching or over-training. This is sadly a “silent-killer” in the fitness world. People workout on a regular schedule, regardless of whether the intensity and volume is correct, and eventual find themselves plateauing because they have not taken time to recover. I would ask this rider, “when the last time you took a light week or a total week off?” If they didn’t know or it was more than 5-6 weeks ago, I would strongly recommend they take the next 5-7 days off. Now, they don’t have to do completely nothing during those 5-7 days, but the intensities should be very light (50-60% perceived effort). If a person didn’t feel they had the disciple to go easy, then I would recommend they refrain totally.
As fitness professionals, we have to be prepared to help people deal with the challenges they experience as they strive for a healthy body. This includes saying the hard things (because they don’t want to hear it – which is why they are where they are at). So how can our riders recover faster after hard efforts (a sign of good fitness), it just may be that they need to pay more attention to their body’s signals for overall rest. It is our job, to provide the valuable input that helps them make an educated decision. Eventually then need to believe that rest and recovery IS training.
Originally posted 2012-02-16 18:52:36.
The guys at BikeFit.com do a great job using infographics to communicate the process of proper bicycle fit. Today they sent out these images and I wanted to share them with you. Each details the multiple points of adjustment that can be used to ensure a comfortable setup.
If you really want to become a bike fit expert, check out everything you can do with this iPad app.
Adjustable points of contact on a bicycle.
5 points of cleat adjustments
3 points of saddle adjustments
Handlebar adjustments
Having been through a three hour, professional fitting like what BikeFit.com offers – I have experienced how many of these adjustments are effected by others… i.e. saddle fore/aft affects height and reach to the bars, cleat position can require a change in saddle position, etc…
A comprehensive fitting is really important for someone who is riding thousands of miles a year and/or is super concerned about efficiency = getting the maximum amount of power to the road.
So how detailed should you be with a new participant? After setting up people for over 15 years, it's my view that you just need to get them close and feeling comfortable. You obviously don't have 3 hours and with the exception of the Keiser M3, the adjustments on Indoor Cycles are too coarse to really fine tune a person anyway.
Originally posted 2015-09-10 09:57:04.
A number of instructors (and riders) have asked me how one should approach the next training phase and how to know their class is ready. These instructors are usually believers and followers of a periodized format for delivering the focus of their indoor classes. So considering we are rolling towards the end of March, this is the perfect time to address our focus beyond base training.
How Do We Know Our Class is Ready for More?
Let’s answer the easy question first. Well…sort of. The short answer is that it doesn’t matter. Hey, at least I didn’t say, “it depends”. The reason it doesn’t matter is because we have riders at all levels plus those that will pop into our class without notice, so we never really know who will be present from one week to another. Thus everyone will be in different places with their training and level of fitness. For this reason, I like to keep things on a general schedule for those faithful regulars that use our classes for consistent training (See the image for a general timeframe for each basic training phase). I also like to stay on the periodization model because it conveys the message that “we have a plan” in this class. Having a longer-term plan for how one delivers classes is also a great way to keep people coming back. For example, I will make the following announcement before introducing a new profile, “So as you know we have been focused on “X” (whatever that is) for the last 3-4 weeks and now we are going to build on that with today’s ride”. I’ve seen new riders turn to the person next to them to ask what type of rides they missed. I’ve even had people come to me after class and tell me that they are new (which I knew), wanting to know what was ahead for the next few weeks. The bottom line: they now want to be a part of what we are doing and don’t want to miss a class.
Obviously, as always, we need to provide options and give people permission to work at their own levels. Make sure to emphasis the point that everyone is at a different level and place in their training, so no one feels behind or unsuccessful during class.
What’s Next?
For those that have been following a periodized model, our focus has been on aerobic development / endurance, leg speed and muscular endurance (moderate climbing). With this foundation in place, from both a physical and educational sense, we can now get more specific in our focus and start shifting from volume to intensity. So what does this mean? The training done during base is designed to target general fitness and conditioning. The training performed during the next phase (often referred to as Build) begins to focus on developing muscular strength and power. With this shift in focus also comes an increase in intensity (bringing with it more recovery — hopefully). This can be a hidden trap for instructors because many will continue to increase the intensity, but not provide more time to recovery. In effect, intensity is not effectively increased because without appropriate recovery, people can work as hard as they need. Hence mediocre-ville and a dreaded plateau in fitness often follows.
This is often where taking the time to educate your class goes a long way. Having gone through 12 weeks of base training and understanding the purpose makes it easier to transition their mind to the concepts of training at a higher level.
Keep an eye out for my latest Audio PROfile entitled “CycleSTRONG” for an introduction to pure strength training — a perfect ride for the next phase of training.
Originally posted 2012-03-15 17:35:29.
By ICG® Master Trainer Vanessa Wilkins
Cycling instructors are a special breed, and all a little different. There are those who coach, those who teach choreography, those who talk heart rate and RPM, and those who teach meditation on the bike. I always strive to take a little piece from each style of instruction, to stay the open-minded student and, most importantly, to find my own voice among the throngs of others.
Cycling instructors by nature are fervent, even opinionated. Because of this, we may attract a special type of student — people with a bit of an edge, people who need to grunt it out and really feel something at the beginning or end of the day. Our most endearing quality can sometimes blind us: we are sometimes opinionated and studied to a fault.
Our discipline, indoor cycling, has been taught one way for so long it’s difficult to embrace any other. But to say there’s only way to move or study a discipline is simply narrow-minded. It limits our ideas and our teaching. When we stop learning, we stop truly teaching.
If mastery could be measured in watts or years on the bike, I’m sure many of us would line up with raised hands to be counted. I submit that mastery is best demonstrated when we stay open to new ideas and enjoy new ways of putting science, innovation and, yes, FUN together when we teach.
My mentor recently pointed out to a group of us, “If you continue to teach form and function only, your classes will eventually become stale. Members and students will stop waking up at 6:00 am unless you provide them with a training concept. A participant will eventually need something more to wake up to than ‘GO GO GO.’ You need to be willing to dig a little deeper and take people a little further.”
The best instructors I’ve found have this uncanny ability to touch, inspire, and excite — and usually not just with a great song. It’s that special blend of art and science that’s truly engaging.
That brings me to this point. It’s much easier to spot a bad instructor than a good one. When you attend a class and the instructor is terrible, you can feel the grumbling and unease in the room. You can easily point out the faults: the music is too loud or uninspiring, the voice too nasal, the cues unclear.
But when you attend a good class and the instructor suddenly announces, “Last Song,” you think, “Where did the time go?” Even though you may not have agreed with every cue or liked all of the songs, you find that you were riveted, captivated and engaged in the activity.
I’m suggesting that, although we might not agree with some of the innovation that has been happening in the cycling community, we should at least acknowledge that it’s a good thing to get people to move, period. All people, cyclists and non-cyclists alike. If it takes push-ups on the handlebars, bikes that move side-to-side, or forward motion video to reach people who would never otherwise set foot in a cycling studio, so be it.
I have come to terms with the fact that I may not get all of my participants to do a century ride with me. Hell, I may not get my participants outside at all. What I can, and should, do is my absolute best to get people excited about cycling. Out of their heads and into their bodies. Safely. If only indoors. If only for 60 minutes.
If the best way to do that is to borrow a great idea or technique from another instructor, I’m open to it.
Originally posted 2012-09-17 07:10:41.