Lately, lively discussion has surrounded a series of posts by Krista Leopold. She uses hypothetical letters to the instructor to highlight instructor professionalism. In her most recent “letter”, Krista discusses a subset of professionalism — bad-mouthing other instructors or the facility.
Krista has opened the door on professional behavior (ethics) in our workplace. Let’s walk in.
Webster defines professionalism as “the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well.”
Ethics are “a system of moral principles; the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions.” In this case, the human action is workplace etiquette. We learn ethics as children. Our parents called it “doing the right thing.”
From that perspective, let’s examine another behavior in our workplace — self-promotion.
The forums I browse, including ICI/PRO, feature discussions on how to promote ourselves to our riders: social media, web sites, newsletters, email, business cards. It seems like a good idea, but is it ethical?
Unless you own the studio, the riders in your classes are customers of the facility that pays you, not your own. We have no ethical business contacting their customers. Yet it’s done all the time.
Instructors with regular classes build contact lists of subs, for obvious reasons.
Instructors with regular classes also build contact lists of their riders, for less obvious reasons.
Most instructors are also on sub lists. Sooner or later, an email arrives from a popular instructor, who needs a sub for a prime time class. The sub thinks, “Teaching to a full room is always fun; I’ll do it!” Seconds later, the sub gets a response from the appreciative peer, “Thank you so much. You’ll love this class. It’s always full, and they like a great workout.”
The sub spends considerable time, effort and money preparing. After all, this is prime time, and people arrive 45 minutes early to get a bike.
The sub arrives 20 minutes before the class and opens the door to…an empty room. A bit weird, but there’s still time. A couple of people walk in. The sub smiles and does the meet-n-greet. At class time, there’s a roomful of mostly empty bikes.
What happened? The instructor contacted the regulars to inform them that a sub was teaching. That’s all it took to empty the usually full room. Have you experienced this?
A serious breach of professional etiquette, this behavior has long been standard in big-box gyms and crosses the ethical line. It’s about self-promotion. Not to participate forces one onto an unleveled playing field. The playing field is Head Count, the gold standard of an instructor’s worth. Is this an instructor survival tactic? Must one be unethical to protect one’s turf?
I’m no stranger to contradictions, but isn’t discouraging attendance essentially the same as bad-mouthing another instructor? I see this as an ethics issue, rather than a survival tactic. What do you think?
When an instructor contacts riders and influences them not to attend class, many things happen. None of these is good for anyone but the instructor — who needed help in the first place.
At the big-box gyms, where most of us teach, there’s no real need for self-promotion beyond doing a good job. Why? Well, as stated, our riders are not our customers. And the gym promotes its own programs and, by extension, the instructors teaching them.
Our first priority as employees is to keep the members happy, better known as service after the sale. We do that by implementing many time-tested principles often discussed on ICI/PRO.
As always, there’s an exception. Soul Cycle. Their business model, largely based on self-promotion both on- and off-stage, pits instructor against instructor, in favor of those who sell out the studio every class. It’s all about sales. From that point of view, these unethical tactics can at least be understood.
Currently there’s buzz surrounding a lawsuit alleging that Soul Cycle exploits instructors by not compensating them for all their time. Exploitation? Maybe. I see it as creating an environment of competition in the interest of sales. Let the best at self-promotion win.
But what we do in the big boxes is about service after the sale. That changes everything when it comes to workplace etiquette.
My own subbing experience was invaluable. Unfortunately, I learned that instructors may act professional around their riders but less so with their peers. I also realized how hard this job is, especially building a loyal following of regulars.
I’m proud that, through continuing education, experience and professionalism, I play to a full room in most of the six classes I teach per week. I still don’t know the emails or phone numbers of any riders in my classes.
I have no illusion of effecting behavioral change with these words. Management at big boxes made the choice long ago to leave it to the instructors. Empty studios are of no consequence because, in such facilities, the cycle studio is not a profit center. Not so in boutique studios. Let’s hear from studio owners on this issue and how they deal with such tactics.
If we’re going to examine professional behavior in a forum for indoor cycle instructors, let’s look at all of it and ask ourselves if we’re doing the right thing.
As I prepared to support ICG at IHRSA 2013, I considered the ICG tenet that learning is about removing resistance.
I had just gotten back from a bit of Vegas shopping. A nice saleslady asked me what I was doing in Vegas and told me about the time she and her friends first tried indoor cycling. She loved it and was hooked, but her friends ran away and never came back. She explained that their initial reluctance to try something with a reputation for being hard had unfortunately been validated.
The cycling class tradition is steeped in that reputation — it’s crazy hard and the people doing it are crazier still. The reputation makes it difficult to get new riders. There’s built-in resistance to the classes. Regrettably, many instructors deliver indiscriminately on the reputation.
Yet we know that doesn’t need to be the case. How an instructor begins a class can go a long way toward removing resistance for first-timers. So I’ve developed a list. I’m not sure if they’re “Dos and Don’ts” or “Pros and Cons”, but certainly following these tenets during every class will help improve the reputation of indoor cycling.
YOU MUST GET THERE AT LEAST 15 MINUTES EARLY!!
This seemingly simple, yet consistently underemployed, strategy will put you in a calmer place. Your riders can feel your tension. Moreover, it gives you a chance to get ready without stress and bond a bit with your riders. Especially first-timers.
BE ATTENTIVE TO FIRST-TIME RIDERS
Many first-time riders will not approach you with that information. They tend to wander in, head to the back of the room, and look for a bike that fits. If you’re in discussion with your roadie friend, picking videos, lacing up your bike shoes, emailing or texting, you could easily miss them. Be on the lookout.
PERFORM A BIKE FIT TO GET TO KNOW THEM AND LET THEM KNOW YOU
I’m often made fun of for the amount of time I take doing bike fits for my riders. Well, LOL, for first-timers, the key is the time you give them, rather than how precisely you fit them. While doing the bike fit, I ask their name, talk about the console (if applicable), show them how to change resistance, define some terms I’ll use, explain the order of tasks (fun, cadence, resistance), and most importantly, explain how to modify anything I ask. Make your first connection here.
START CLASS BY WELCOMING THE NEW PEOPLE
I may catch some flak here because some people don’t like to be called out. But rather than calling them out, I simply state that we have a first-timer and have everyone clap. Then we get to it.
MAKE EYE CONTACT AND GIVE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
During class, check in on your first-timer. It’s simple. Watch. Make eye contact. Smile and nod reassuringly. If they’re struggling, find an opportune moment to get off the bike, turn off the mic, and give some help. Help other riders along the way.
TALK TO THEM AFTER CLASS
As much as practical, get right to your first-timers and talk to them. How did it feel? What did you like? What didn’t you like? Did you get the workout you expected? Where to buy cycling shorts and shoes. Welcome them into the community.
FINAL WORDS ON EDUCATION
Innovation has been the cornerstone of the ICG mission. Our approach to education — learning is a process of removing resistance — is a giant leap forward for indoor cycling. As an instructor, you have the opportunity to remove resistance and educate both your regular riders and beginners. The longevity of our craft depends on bringing in, educating and motivating new riders. Removing resistance is the first step. Take it.
At IHRSA, I worked the ICG booth and was fortunate — in some bizarre way — to be cornered by two club owners after my second of three demo rides. Both used the same language.
“You’re very good at teaching to video. But, of course, that’s why your company brought you here. How can we get our instructors to do as well as you and make their classes just as compelling?”
I explained that the best programs are those where the synergy between club management and employees is high. When management works closely with the group exercise teams to educate, promote, nurture and applaud, good things happen. The corollary is that management first needs to go in search of “the best of the best (and) make them better”. (Yes, I stole that line from “Top Gun.”)
They were surprised to hear that ICG's online continuing education is free for everyone, not just those who buy our widgets. I explained our concept of educating by removing resistance. Our online modules are there for all — and you don’t have to start at the top. Nor do the instructors, who have learned a thing or two over the years, have to read all the chapters before taking the quiz at the end of each module.
As instructors, we can’t lose sight of the fact that, if we’re not working on improving our craft, then it could be better.
I saw this last Tuesday and forgot to share it with you. Our club ride begins at the Minnetonka Lifetime Athletic Club. Better known as The Spa, this is a unique LTF facility. Definitely not a Big Box, this club began as a women only club before being purchased by Lifetime.
When I got there Tuesday night they were setting up for an outdoor ride. How fun is that? We rolled before they got started and I heard later that they (Manager and Instructors) did a very nice job making this outdoor class an event, rather than just a class.
The area behind the fence is a small patio. After the class participants enjoyed Hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar – this is an adults only club. They even had live entertainment from a local duet. Is that something you could do at your club or studio?
Could I keep up in a group ride?
With Amy visiting her family in Phoenix, I become the de facto sub for her Saturday AM class. Which was fine – 55 and rain this morning = no outdoor ride for John. After class a regular member asked me if I felt she could keep up in a group ride. I dislike giving answers beginning with; “well that depends” – except in this situation it really does. Riding with a group depends on a number of factors. So I asked her the following:
Do you have a suitable road bike?
Are you comfortable riding close to others?
Are you OK riding on the road?
How far (miles) can you typically ride at a consistent pace?
It surprised (and delighted) me a little when she quickly answered positively to each question and then clarified what she was asking:
How many Watts do I have to make, to keep up in a group ride?
She's been listening and wanted to equate the power/watts she seeing in class to riding outdoors 🙂
I had to think about it for a few minutes, before I could answer her. I explained that most organised group rides have multiple “levels”:
“A” groups are normally drop rides. If you can't keep up you get dropped, and ride home by yourself. Based on my purely anecdotal experience, “A” groupers can sustain 1.5 or more watts per pound of body weight for the entire ride.
“B” groups, depending on the organization and/or leaders, are partial drop rides = we may wait for you or there maybe someone who will come back to help you catch up. To hang with the “Bs” you should be comfortable producing your body weight in watts > and be able to climb at around 1.5 watts per pound.
“C” groups areno drop rides. Everyone stays together and ride at the pace of the slowest rider.
But I don't want to slow everyone up – so what's the minimum watts I need to make?
I told her that there's no way to know that number. I encouraged her to show up one night and see what happens…
“There must be something wrong with this bike… my wattage doesn't match what I normally see on my road bike with a PowerTap. 🙁
A common complaint that many of us are hearing, now that our clubs are offering power meters.
The answer could be as simple as; “it's because our Indoor Cycles have a different saddle than your road bike.”
Now I'm not saying that that's the only reason for the discrepancy. There are multiple factors that affect how you produce power and what ultimately gets displayed by the console. A few months ago I wouldn't have believed you, if you tried to convince me that (beyond the level of comfort you feel) a bike's saddle design could add or subtract to the power I could create.
I believe it now.
Back in March I had a professional bike fitting on my new VeloVie with none other than the Bike Fit Guru Chris Balser. I figured that I had a few dollars left because of the incredible deal I got and, with one kid graduating for college this Friday, why the heck not?
I was a bit naive about what all was entailed in a 2 hour fitting. I thought Chris would be super focused on getting my seat height exactly right, maybe futz with the tilt of the handlebars. Stuff like that. Nope. For close to an hour we tried out different saddles, 11 in total. That's right, Chris had me ride on a trainer, trying 11 different saddles, to find the perfect saddle that (his words) your ass can find easily. Here's what we finally decided on… a Fizik Kurve.
Impossible to tell just by looking at it – my butt knows where it belongs.
What we were looking for was more than a comfortable place to sit my butt. Actually comfortability was third on Chris' list of criteria for a saddle. The first was; “can your ass find it?” and second was; “how much power do you make with it?”
Both the “find it” and “power” go hand in hand. I've forgotten which number (of the 11 saddles) this Fizik was, but I knew the instant I sat on it… or better said, my butt knew the second it sat down. It just felt right and I wasn't sitting on it, I was kind of in it. That's when I understood what Chris was talking about when he kept saying find it. There wasn't any question where on the saddle I was supposed to sit, I just sat down and I was right where I was supposed to be. No working my way a little forward or backwards. I just sat down.
Once my butt found its home I made more power! The trainer I was riding was connected to a power meter that displayed both my left and right leg's power, on a flat screen hanging in front of me. I was pedaling an easy gear at 90 rpm and making around 40 watts. Each saddle change I road in the same gear/cadence. Chris was watching me to see how stable I was and the balance of power between each of my legs.
The differences we saw were considerable, as much as a 20% or more variance left to right. Once I was sitting on the correct saddle for me I was able to maintain a nice even flow of power with my butt happy that it found its place.
Everything that can be changed or adjusted on my bicycle affected my power. Stem length, handle bar height, saddle tilt, height & fore/aft and cleat settings all made a difference that could be observed. Some were positive and some negative. Chris explained how our bodies adapt to the settings on our bikes. Some changes, that could be ultimately be helpful, often require time as our muscles and the nerves that control them adjust to the new settings. During this adjustment period you could/will appear less powerful.
So it stands to reason that hopping off the bicycle you're ridden for thousands of miles and on to any of the Indoor Cycles with power, you'll see a difference in wattage. The tendency is to blame the accuracy of the power meter – now I understand that there are mutiple other reasons.
A fitting with the Bike Fit Guru is actually split between two days, with a couple of hundred miles in between. Getting those miles has been a challenge with the miserable weather we've had this spring. Part two of my fitting is set for June 10th and I'll be doing a full report on everything I've learned about the correlation between bike fit and power production.
Team ICG Master Trainer Missy Crosson contributes our latest Audio PROfile – Rolling to the Classics.
Profile Description: I created this profile with the sole purpose of letting the music itself create the ride. I wanted the songs themselves to control intensity, cadence, movement motivation, and even position on the bike. Music has a powerful effect on an individuals’ exercise experience. It distracts from discomfort, enhances ones mood, increases ability to endure physical and psychological stress, and may even promote metabolic efficiency.
Last month, a participant in the weight management program for which I’m the nutritionist asked me about cottonseed oil. He was confused because the statements he found were strongly divided between positive and negative. It occurred to me that you might have students who wonder about it, too, so it could be worthwhile to post some information on health factors around cottonseed oil.
Based on the research I was able to do in the time I had available to look into it, I can tell you that the positive comments about cottonseed oil come primarily from companies that make or distribute it. The other sources tend to rate it negatively.
The drawbacks of cottonseed oil appear to fall in different categories. One drawback is its saturated fat component. While other saturated fats have some “redeeming” health value — organic coconut oil and butter, for example, both contain a healthful fat called lauric acid — cottonseed oil has no similarly redeeming nutritional value.
Another drawback involves the pesticides cottonseed oil is likely to contain. They’re there because pesticides are used in the growing of cotton, and regulations for cotton crops differ from those for food crops.
There’s also the fact that, in most cases, cotton crops are genetically modified (GMO). As many of you know, considerable bad news surrounds GMO products, especially when they're eaten, but maybe that’s a post for another week. Suffice it to say that GMO farming is an experiment for which we’re the subjects, and the long-term effects are not yet known. Many countries refuse to sell GMO foods, but the U.S. hasn’t gone in that protective direction.
Because it’s inexpensive, cottonseed oil is used in many products: potato chips, Crisco shortening, cereals, mayonnaise, salad dressings, baked goods, cake frostings, margarine, snack foods, sauces, and the like. The fact that most of these products are on the junky side could be considered another drawback of the oil.
Finally, cottonseed oil is high in omega-6 fats, as well as in saturated fat. Omega-6s have been getting plenty of bad press for the past several years, but, in and of themselves, aren't necessarily bad. However, the products that contain cottonseed oil tend to be highly insulin-triggering, and cottonseed oil would be, as well, since it contains saturated fat, which triggers insulin.
Insulin can affect the body’s enzymes that process the cottonseed oil-containing foods. That in turn could accelerate the formation of series 2 prostaglandins, as described in a previous post. Series 2 prostaglandins are associated with inflammation and other negative health effects. So that’s when and how omega-6 fats become harmful.
Based on these factors, I’d suggest taking a cynical view of the positive reviews of cottonseed oil, as they represent vested interests. Limit foods that contain cottonseed oil whenever possible and advise your students to do the same.
