At the Indoor Cycling Group, we believe that teaching with video will be the next wave to influence Indoor Cycling, differentiate in the eyes of customers, and keep instructors from being seen as a commodity by the big-box clubs.
Media consoles like Myride®+ will enable instructors to work with cycling videos more easily than ever before.
It takes only seconds to create a video playlist of any length and any profile from the most extensive cycling-video library in the world.
One touch moves the video forward or back seamlessly from one point in the video to another.
Organizing the video library by terrain type (flat, mixed, climb, descent) gives instant access to any type of terrain with just a touch.
Cutting-edge technology enables any video to fit any piece of music, and vice versa.
The strategy here is simple. Movies are slick, impact our physical sensations and drive emotion. ICG® is speculating that, once club operators see the quality of our video and its ease of use, they’ll want to offer it and get an edge on their competition. We wouldn’t be doing this if people weren’t already asking for it.
Now it comes down to us, the instructors. To differentiate ourselves and go beyond being a commodity — one that club operators see in blanket terms regardless of how much we invest in our education or how high the quality of our classes is — we have to be ready and able to teach with video.
We’re guessing that this transition will be hard for many instructors. Anytime change feels intimidating, we tend to dodge it. At ICG®, we don’t see that as good for the industry, or for us.
When the change feels too big, we’ve got to shrink it to make it more manageable.
[!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']
“Shrink the Change” has gotten a lot of press lately. Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the bestsellers Made to Stick and Switch, have discovered that the rational mind and the emotional mind are two different systems. The rational mind wants to change something; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort. If it’s overcome, though, change can come quickly.
We believe that the Myride®+ technology, along with our latest online tutorial will shrink this change and make it easy and fun for everyone to use video in their classes. For instance, with just a touch of the screen, you can display a forward-moving flat road — indefinitely. You can do the same with a climb. Or just use beautiful scenery without forward motion. You can pause and start, prepare fully, partially, or not at all. BTW, the online tutorial is free for everyone.
Three videos follow that demonstrate how incredible it is. These videos have been selected from over 30 that make up our online tutorial. Each one is a gem and shows you another cool way to use Myride®+ and/or teach with video.
NOTE: These are massive HD Video files – click play and then stop… and wait for the video to buffer before clicking play again if you have a slow Internet connection.
Teaching with Video Introduction
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Teaching with Video Road Ride
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Teaching with Video Trail Ride
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We’re launching Myride®+ at the IHRSA 2012 trade show on March 15-16 in Los Angeles at Booth 1201A. I hope you can come by and join Team ICG® for one of the 20 Myride®+ demo rides we’ll lead over the two days.
In order to excel in a sport or activity, it’s necessary to train specifically for that activity. The term “cross-training” refers to a routine that involves different forms of exercise. The idea behind it is to permit recovery of the primary muscles used in the primary activity, while maintaining a high level of fitness. Cross-training is thought to limit stress on a given muscle group because different activities use the same muscles in slightly different ways.
Foster et al (1995) tested the cross-training hypothesis that athletes can improve performance in one mode of exercise by training in another, despite the principle of training specificity. It was found that muscularly non-similar cross-training does contribute to improved performance. A runner, for example, could use cycling to enhance muscle strength and reduce the chance of an overuse injury, while improving or maintaining aerobic capacity.
Current cross-training methods offer recovery for the primary muscles only by using them differently (e.g., substituting cycling for running). As a result, finding a cross-training activity for the indoor cyclist that permits complete rest of the primary muscles has been difficult, unless the athlete enjoys swimming — and that uses the legs, too. Besides, this approach won’t help in cases of leg injury.
Many resources recommend indoor rowing. Rowing is a fantastic cardiovascular exercise, but people misinterpret it as upper-body training. As rowing technique literature will confirm, however, rowing uses the legs predominantly. So, once again, we’re using the same muscles, just in a different way.
Non-cardio activities, such as Pilates, have also been recommended for cross-training. Yes, alternative activities can improve some aspects of fitness and provide a different perspective. But what happens to cardio in the meantime? How long can you cross-train without losing cardio fitness? In the case of an injury, time away from the activity could be long. Also, for the enthusiast with little time to experiment, alternatives may feel like a distraction from the preferred activity.
So the dilemma remains: What’s the best form of cross-training for the indoor-cycling enthusiast?
The UBE (upper-body ergometer) has been a long-standing option, but it doesn’t typically generate sufficient intensity to maintain fitness for the primary endeavor. Besides, it isn’t fun. Yet there’s a solution somewhere in there.
Pogliaghi et al (2006) studied the effects of cycling and arm-cranking on peak oxygen consumption (VO2 max) and ventilatory threshold to determine the cross-training benefit of each modality. Results showed cross-training benefit, due to central (i.e., cardiopulmonary) adaptations. Even though the muscles used in arm-cranking were not those used in cycling, the cardio stress to the heart and lungs was significant enough to register a true cross-training benefit.
Arm cranking is the perfect cross-training activity for the indoor cyclist. It’s the most effective form of exercise for maintaining cardio fitness while completely resting the legs. It can be used for general recovery or during periods of injury, and provides enough stress to maintain central cardiovascular fitness. But what about the fact that the UBE is boring?
The KRANKcycle® by Matrix Fitness, introduced fairly recently, fills the need perfectly. It’s easy to learn, and can then be used to generate serious, high-intensity training. Because of the short crank-arms and narrow crank axis, the intensity can be much higher than with a UBE. It can be used in a group setting, namely the cycling studio. The movements easily parallel those of indoor cycling. Finally, unlike using a UBE, Kranking’s a lot of fun.
On a day following an intense cycling class, you could take it easy on the bike — or you could rest your legs and Krank. Hard. The muscles need the rest, not the heart.
If you’re fortunate enough to have access to a KRANKcycle, bring one or two into your cycling space for the cross-training benefits Kranking can offer your students. If you don’t have access now, you might want to look into it. It’s the only true cross-training for cycling you can find, and offers other fitness benefits, as well. There’s nothing out there quite like it.
Five million viewers of ABC's “Good Morning America” TV program were treated to a wonderful promotion for Indoor Cycling this past week. As I watched I just couldn't help myself and began humming REM's Shiny Happy People. That was exactly what I was seeing > hundreds of shiny, happy people enjoying riding inside. I can't think of a better way to kick off 2015!
I'm of course describing the nationwide 2015 SoulCycle resolution ride that aired Jan 7th live on “Good Morning America.
What a way to jumpstart January! SoulCycle joined Good Morning America today for its Resolution Revolution. We tapped it back on SoulCycle bikes in their dressing rooms and hallways as well as in Times Square – while GMA showed live feeds from Soul classes happening in Bethesda, Chestnut Hill, Coral Gables, Short Hills and West Hollywood! Check out this video clip of all the action, including an interview with instructor ANGELA DAVIS on how to stay motivated as well as an update on our SoulScholarships Program. It was a good morning, indeed!
Here's the video of the event if you haven't seen it.
I hate math, especially when I'm forced to do quick calculations in my head.
Figuring (forgive the pun) that many other people dislike math, I won't ask anyone to do any calculations in my classes. For example, I would never cue something to the effect of;now I need everyone at 85% of AT for one minute… and then we'll push up to 95% for the final 30 seconds! Against a background of loud, pounding music, at that point I've got my head up and I'm mouthing to you:
Wait… what are you asking me to do?
Won't do it. Instead I base my Life Time Performance Cycle classes on two numbers; PTP (Personal Threshold Power) and JRAP (Just Riding Along Power – AKA > Base Watts > VT1 / First Ventilatory Threshold Power). From these two rider identified threshold wattages, we can construct three meaningful power Zones;[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']
Recover zone – watts below JRAP
Perform zone – watts between JRAP and PTP
Improve zone – watts above PTP
That's all I need to coach and cue an easily understandable class, to a variety of riders. Regulars include committed endurance athletes, Cat 2 cyclists (A group riders), weekend warriors (B group) and lots of; “I'm not training for anything John… I just like your class” regular folks.
Using these three simple zones makes the cuing each task much easier to communicate and, without a lot of numbers and percentages flying around the room, much more actionable by my riders.
Now I need everyone in the upper part of their Performance Zone for one minute… and then we'll push up to the Edge of your threshold the final 30 seconds!
This is an expanded version of Dennis Mellon's Below/@/Above threshold cues he uses and similar to the well documented heart rate based concepts that makeup the Zoning Program.
Using this system to cue wattage intensity, I've successfully taught this class for past two years – this is our third on the FreeMotion S11.9 Indoor Cycles. We do not have a Display Training system like Performance IQ or Spivi to project rider metrics on a screen and/or do the “math” for you to display percentage based power zones. The numbers on the console are what we have to work with.
Over this times I have had numerous (dozens maybe) participants thank me for NOT using percentages of “something” to communicate intensity levels of heart rate or wattages. That makes me happy and it really simplifies my job as the Instructor/Coach > Coach is a much better description of my role in these classes training sessions as I will typically ride side by side with them, rather than up front in the normal Instructor position.
NOTE: I still have control of my music when I'm riding with the group. See this post about using an inexpensive bluetooth receiver so your iPhone is wirelessly connected to the sound system.
Today's 75 minute session > Pinning Down Two Numbers
I you look at the song lengths of my playlist you'll quickly understand the class format >
A long (9-13 minute) song where we play around finding JRAP / Base Watts
Followed by a short (3-4 minute) track where we explore PTP
Rinse and repeat
The first track is of course a warm up that includes 3-4 x 30 second accelerations / openers near the end to get everyone ready to work.
Track #2 – the first PTP track is important. We'll use this average wattage for each of the four PTP efforts to follow. Everyone seemed to enjoy Billy Idol — Rebel Yell – 1999 – Remaster – maybe suffered a bit as well. At 4:47 there's plenty of time to explore PTP. We use the Stage button to reset the averages at the beginning of what I describe as; Your Best Sustainable Effort. It's normal for riders to miss-judge where they should be, so I'll often have everyone make needed adjustments and hit the Stage button again to reset the averages.
Track #3 is for finding JRAP / Base Watts. The very recognisable Peter Frampton — Do You Feel Like We Do – Live is perfect for this. We used the first few minutes of the long track to recover and then begins of dialing in the wattage that has everyone at JRAP/Base Watts. It's fast @ 108 RPM – I don't demand they follow it exactly, encouraging cadences above 90RPM. With one hand on the resistance knob, we add / subtract load in small increments… and then wait for our breathing response. I cue the feeling where you're just above “chatty” = you are first noticing you'd prefer breathing through your mouth.
My own unscientific research has be seeing JRAP / Base Watts ~ 65-70% of PTP. Sorry, there are those damn percentages I hate > I offer that just for your perspective.
If using VT1 / First Ventilatory Threshold Power or heart rate is new for you this series of posts have a bunch more detail. This video from ACE does a great job demonstrating VT1 / First Ventilatory Threshold.
I get questions; John, they're talking about heart rates here, not power, so how does this apply?
Heart Rate BPM's are just an indication of effort (how hard you're working). Watts are the same. You work “X Watts” hard, it feels like “Y RPE” and your HR is “Z BPM”. Does that make sense? It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that. Remember, I hate math 🙂
Rinse & Repeat
Self direction is a key component of how I coach my Performance classes. After all, I'm not going to be there with them on the road. So once everyone understands the drills and what what they're supposed to accomplish, I pretty much turn them loose.
Please let me know if you use this > or your questions.
