Identity Crisis – Who Are You Talking To?

by Tom Scotto | Apr 28, 2020 | Master Instructor Blog

In a single indoor cycling class we can have a combination of beginners, cycling enthusiasts, competitive athletes, fit and unfit.  We have those who are just interested in some cardio fitness, some with a focus on weight loss and others desiring cycling-specific training.  There are the young, the old and everyone in-between.  So with all of these different interests, expectations and age groups, how do we determine who we are talking to when we lead our classes?

As an outdoor cyclist and coach who discovered indoor cycling 16 years ago, I found the classes available at the time to resemble aerobics sessions.  I was the odd-ball and a rarity in the classes I attended.  I tried to imitate riding outside to supplement my winter training while others whirled their legs, jumped and bounced up and down.  The instructor appeared confident, gave a few simple commands and everyone seemed to know exactly what to do (except me).  As indoor cycling has evolved and now more closely resembles “cycling”, it is attracting a wider audience.  Our classes are not only attracting the cardio-psychos and weight droppers, but since we are teaching rides that produce real cycling fitness and results, the charity riders, cycling enthusiasts and even competitive athletes are also joining in on the fun. Although this evolution is a positive thing, it can present a great challenge to indoor cycling instructors.  With such a wide spectrum of fitness levels, interests and expectations, who are we or should we be talking to?

A few weeks ago I attended a class of highly diverse riders, led by a great instructor.  The instructor had taken great effort in designing a dynamic workout and had a full room to show for their excellence.  Even though, I could see the instructor struggle with this identity crisis.  At one point, in a single breath, they described the desired intensity as “Let’s increase to 80 to 85% of your maximum effort, just at your lactate threshold or ventilatory threshold heart rate, approximately a rate of perceived effort of 8 to 9 out of 10.  Your breathing should be challenged.” It was like spraying machine-gun fire — everyone was hit.  Every cue they gave had 4 versions to it.  I asked a few riders after class if they felt they were able to target their effort appropriately during class and they said “we just go as hard as we can — It’s a tough class”.

This challenge is one of the driving forces for Cycling Fusion’s level-based classes (beginner, intermediate and advanced).  Although this doesn’t solve all of the issues, it does place riders into classes that will address their needs and expectations.  However, like the evolution of bike-aerobics to indoor cycling, adapting the concept of level-based classes will take time. So is there anything we can do in the mean time?  Well, that is a question I’d like to propose to our experienced ICI/Pro members.  What have you found successful?  I’ll start by throwing my approach into the hat.

What is your predominant teaching style?  What types of classes or rides do you gravitate towards?  Don’t assume you know, but instead ask some of your riders and other instructors that know you and persuade them to be honest.  Most people peg me as a coach.  My classes mostly resemble coached training sessions.  Although I attract all levels, cyclists and non-cyclists, the clubs have caught on to my style and dubbed my classes as performance oriented.  This designation has helped guide my language, choice of words when cueing and training concepts dramatically.  Better yet, it has given me confidence to teach without sounding like an auctioneer.  The clubs have labeled my classes as such so members know what to expect.  It hasn’t hurt my attendance one bit.

I now open the floor to you.  Let’s help each other and share wisdom from our many years of teaching and overcoming this type of challenge.

Save

Save

Originally posted 2018-03-05 09:00:00.

Will Indoor Cycling Make My Legs Big?

by Tom Scotto | Apr 19, 2020 | Master Instructor Blog

“Will indoor cycling make my legs big?” I’ve been asked this question a number of times over the years. A few people told me their personal trainers told them that.  Others just made the assumption based on the fact that we are constantly using our legs (not a bad assumption).  The question was always asked as if people feared they would walk out of class with bulging quadriceps, calves and glutes.

I’m sure that I may have been asked this question more than some because….well….my legs are quite big.  It is rare for me to find a pair of cycling shorts that fit comfortably without cutting of the circulation to my lower legs.  For the record, I didn’t get my legs from cycling.  Back in the day, my primary sport was baseball. Coming out of high school, I looked to have a promising career as a ball player until I blew out my shoulder.  I was a catcher.  Catchers find themselves sitting in a squat for most of their lives.  To make matters worse, one of my early coaches used to have me (and the 2 other catchers on our team) run around the field in a squat position. I can only image what that must have looked like.  My legs were so big during my last year of baseball that I was the only player who did not have his last name on their back.  The back of my uniform read “Piano Legs”.

So it is understandable that someone would walk into my class, look down at my legs, and fear they would never be able to wear a skirt again after some indoor cycling rides with me.  The fact is that cycling reduced much of the bulky-ness of my legs and toned them. No joke, my legs used to be twice the size as they are now.  So why did this happen?  First, cycling doesn’t provide high impact on the muscles (unless you crash into something which is unlikely indoors).  Impact, such as when the foot strikes the ground when running or jumping, will cause the muscle to rapidly resist force resulting in an eccentric contraction.  An eccentric contraction will cause the muscle fibers to lengthen as they attempt to stabilize the joints (resist collapsing or flexing).  This impact can be very traumatic on the muscle resulting in micro-tears and muscle growth.  Second, indoor cycling usually does not provide consistent muscle overload which would provoke more muscle fiber recruitment.  Portions of a class may have some explosive efforts or muscular strength drills, but the majority of the time will be spent at low to moderate workloads.

Cycling is predominantly a high repetition activity.  In general, high repetition exercise will serve to tone muscle because it promotes increased blood flow and muscle conditioning without the overload. Using weight training as a comparison, someone lifting weights to build muscle mass will target heavy loads and sets consisting of 6 to 10 repetitions.  A person interested in toning their muscles will use lighter weight and sets of 15 to 20+ repetitions. Applying this concept to indoor cycling, we are pedaling thousands of rotations (repetitions) per hour*, which is going to have an overall toning and conditioning affect on the muscles.

So the answer is no, it is highly unlikely that indoor cycling will bulk up your legs. So ride away and advertise your class as the way to a beautiful, toned and fit body (at least the legs anyway).

* An average cadence of 80 RPM for a 60 minute class will result in 4800 pedal rotations for one leg.

Originally posted 2011-06-26 06:00:14.