Cuing the Console — Change is GOOD!! was designed towards the instructor that may be new to teaching with a console in front of them, and/or to the instructor who may be new to teaching indoor cycling in general. The goal is to construct a simple, easy to CUE class, but not necessarily just an “easy” ride!
Sometimes when we attend a conference or weekend workshop we come home really jazzed with all the new information and want to spend it all on Monday morning’s class! Or we try to emulate and teach EXACTLY like the presenter we listened to in the training but perhaps still question- “how do I make it MINE??” This profile is designed to help you speak in your language and convey your message in a fun, easy way!
This maybe a great bike, but completely inappropriate for a brand-new outdoor rider.
I'm listening to a recording of you, talking to member after a class last week. Would how you speak, and the words you choose, leave me feeling that your intent was to:
A: Educate them?
B: Impress them?
Last Sunday morning a participant approached me after a class I subbed at the Life Time Fitness HQ club. I call it the HQ club because it shares the parking lot of Lifetime's corporate offices in Chanhassen, MN.
I've forgotten her name, but she asked if I had a minute to advise her about purchasing a new bike. She explained how she had been riding indoors for about a year and was excited to test her new fitness outdoors this Spring.
“It sure looks and sounds like you have a lot of experience riding outdoors John, what brand of bike would you recommend for someone just getting started?”
THIS A TRAP!
Do I have a lot of knowledge about outdoor bicycles? Of course I do. If I chose to, I could have launched into an hour long dissertation about the virtues of carbon frames vs. aluminum frames, the specific differences between gruppos from Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo, wheel choices and on and on – all with the intent of impressing her. But I didn't.
I could print my standard answer to this question on a business card; “I always recommend new riders start with the bicycle they will ride regularly.”This straightforward responseoften illicites a confused look from whomever I'm talking with. So I explain further, telling her…
“I love riding outdoors and I enjoy encouraging others as well. But riding outdoors, especially on the road, isn't for everyone. Because you don't know if cycling outdoors is really for you, my suggestion is to find a simple bike, start riding it and see if you enjoy it. You may have one hanging in your garage or one of your neighbors may have one you can borrow. Barring that, you could go to a local bike shop and find a reasonably priced cross-bike. Forget the special shoes and clips, the standard pedals are all that you need. Then I suggest finding a friend to ride with – it's safer and more fun riding with someone else. Then set yourself a goal for this summer of say 500 miles. If you reach it, promise yourself a new bicycle. Between now and then you'll have learned a lot that will help you make a good decision… but if you don't it's no big deal. You've just learned that outdoor riding just isn't for you, or you may find you only enjoy riding on the LRT trails.”
When I finished she looked like she wanted to hug me. Thank you, she said with a big smile. You have no idea how freeing it was to hear that. I have been getting dizzy with all the choices of bikes and really stressed about learning how to get in and out of my shoe clips. I'm having enough trouble here at the club. I have a friend who fell in a busy intersection when she couldn't un-clip. She called her husband to pick her up and I don't think she's ridden her bike since.
I'm not sure if you know him, but Tim Ferriss is a master communicator. He's the author of a number of best seller books including; The Four Hour Work Week and The Four Hour Chef. Both books are about learning the process of learning and then leveraging that skill to quickly become proficient in just about anything. A recent interview discussing the The Four Hour Chef included this:
Tim Ferriss: Yeah. And it's so easy. I mean, when you get to the highest levels, when you're talking to the best chefs in the world, they don't try to complicate it for you. That's what I realized. When you're talking to a lot of people who are kind of good, or really want to prevent you from being part of their world because they want to be some like, weird high priest of the blogosphere or whatever? They don't, they complicate things. But when you talk to, like, the Michael Jordans of cooking, like Grant Achatz, at Alinea in Chicago, where I spent two or three days, which is the #1 ranked restaurant in the US, while I was writing the book, or Marco Canora of Hearth in New York City, or you name it. I mean, Joshua Skenes of Saison in San Francisco. They are happy to give you simple techniques that will make you one of the best home cooks in the city. I mean, it does not have to be complicated at all.
Many of our students look to us as authorities or experts. We all have a unique opportunity to help others make positive lifestyle changes if we remember to avoid the trap of trying to impress and instead, concentrate on communicating effectively using simple techniques. Our Best Practices category of articles is an example of how we try to apply this here at ICI/PRO.
Can you think of a few areas where this could possibly apply to you?
Indoor-cycling instructors tend to plan their classes in one of two ways. Some start with music. They compile an audio profile of songs they enjoy and select the ride movement, cadence and intensity based on the song.
Others start with a fitness concept, let’s say endurance, and construct a ride profile of movements, cadence and intensity that supports the endurance workout. They then choose music to support their profile.
I also consider the length of a song and am a big fan of 10-minute songs. Song length is important with regard to conveying the fitness concept and giving students the necessary time to get the day’s message. My file of songs that last 10 minutes is huge, and I’m always on the lookout, sometimes purchasing entire collections just to get a good 10-minute song.
“Best” is subjective, of course, but here are my 10 favorite 10-minute songs and how I use them. I hope you find it useful.
Hallogallo by Neu! (10:07)
This is the optimal feel-the-rhythm-of-the-road song. It’s a dead-on beat-match of 80 rpm. After warm-up, throw the bike in a monster gear and haul ass down the road at 20 mph. Commit to the saddle, to one hand position, and to steady state just below threshold heart rate. I never get tired of this song.
Bigmouth by Underworld (10:08)
This is my favorite hill-acceleration song. Fall into a base-riding cadence of 65 rpm by riding to the beat. You can add accelerations in a variety of interval formats. I love the harmonica.
Mojave by Afro Celt Sound System (10:34)
This is the BEST descending-interval song ever. 4 minutes easy, 3 minutes moderate, 2 minutes hard, 1 minute very hard. Add the extra 34 seconds wherever you want. The first four minutes are mellow, and then the music moves into a kick-ass hill-climbing rhythm. Start seated and move to the standing position for the 2-minute interval, followed by a full acceleration, still standing, with 1 minute to go. Achieving a max heart rate was never easier.
Palladio (Symphony Mix) by Silent Nick (9:44)
The absolute best ascending resistance ladder (not a pyramid!) with fixed cadence on a hill climb. Maintain a rocking beat-match cadence of 75 rpm and add resistance every 2 minutes. Stand for the last 2 minutes, holding 75 rpm, and blow your legs to smithereens.
The Flow of Let Go by Anugama (10:31)
My favorite ambient 10 minutes dedicated to recovery. The music inspires you to follow your breath and turn the pedals in a smooth circle.
Adios Ayer (Paul Daley Remix) by Jose Padilla (9:37)
I love this song for the lightness it can help you bring to your pedaling technique at a high cadence. Ten minutes at 100 rpm in an easy gear, keeping your feet as light against the pedals as you can. Sit forward on the saddle and let your legs turn a soft, smooth rhythm. Surreal.
M’Bali Jo by Pili Pili (10:36)
This is a not-well-known jazz piece with a beat-match of 88 rpm. I love this song for intermittent jogs, maintaining the same cadence in both the standing and the seated position. The song has a wonderful natural build that encourages you to make the jogs longer and longer.
Things Can Change by Klangstrahler Projekt (10:06)
I’m happy that a KP song makes this list. With beat-match at 90 rpm, this song is good for many things. My favorite is a big-gear, ascending resistance ladder. Maintain 90 rpm in the saddle and add resistance every 2 minutes. You’ll find yourself trying to break the pedal axles by the end of the song.
Homage to Patagonia by Lemon Jelly (9:34)
Some of you may not like Lemon Jelly. They’re said to appeal to a listener demographic that I fit perfectly. I love their unusual themes and interesting rhythms. This song provides a wonderful beat-match of about 95 rpm. I use it mostly for fartlek training. Set your base cadence at 95 rpm. Mix in random, unstructured attacks with added resistance in the standing position. The song provides a rhythm that’s very catching when you drop back to the saddle.
Alone by Moby (10:47)
I saved the best for last — early Moby at his finest. This is my favorite dream piece and provides the perfect climbing rhythm. Stay supple with strong determination. Steady state. Timeless.
On January 20 John Macgowan posted Would you teach for SoulCycle? If you have not read it, try to find the time. It generated a lively discussion of 17 comments between eight of us. The post highlights excerpts from an article in New York Magazine that ran on January 14, 2013. An interesting read as well pointing out that Soul Cycle instructors are earning $50K and more.
Coincidentally, Soul Cycle is coming to San Francisco, opening a studio inside an Equinox. On Friday February 8th they invited us local instructors to participate in a ‘Soul Cycle Master Class’ to get a sense of what Soul Cycle classes are like. Why? Because on Saturday February 9th Soul Cycle was holding auditions for instructors who would – should they make the grade – be the first to do Soul Cycle (SC) classes in Northern California. I wanted an audition.
I attended the Master Class looking forward to the experience. SC owners Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice were there for opening remarks. A very buff/cute and perky twenty something instructor originally from Santa Cruz led our 45 minute class.
I was on the bike warming up next to an acquaintance. We were chatting easily five minutes before class started and I was holding about 95bpm. (I always wear my heart rate monitor) Class starts, in less than two minutes I was above T2 and thats where it stayed for a lot longer than I thought possible. My friend and I never spoke again.
Those of you needing a quick refresher, T2 (Ventilatory Threshold 2) is roughly equivalent to Lactate Threshold which is roughly equivalent to anaerobic threshold. Even for the most fit athletes long periods above T2 are just not possible without slowing down. I was viewing my heart rate on my iPhone app. Finally I had to turn it over so I could not see the numbers. Take away lesson: if you are doing Soul cycling, leave your heart rate monitor at home.
Our instructor spent about half her time on the bike. The other half was spent bouncing around the room ‘pumping us up’. During the first thirty minutes we spent a good percentage of time out of the saddle and at high cadences. I observed a new position; come out of the saddle, rest all your upper body weight on the handle bars, and then spin at extremely high cadences. I didn’t even try. We also did movements that can only be described as pushups and jumps. These I did.
The music was played so loud that it was distorted. Of course this caused the instructor to turn up her mic volume to a place where I couldn’t understand a word she said. I just copied the women around me.
Thirty minutes in she sat us down and we did simulated upper body resistance training. Simulated because – ironically – there were no weights in this cycle studio. After that a couple more high intensity climbs and bam, we’re done. Whew!
I think it is safe to say that I was definitely bringing up the average age in the room. I was one of three men in the full studio. My friend and I being roughly the same age and one hard body guy in his early 20’s. (In San Francisco this guy will easily play successfully to both genders) Not sure why men were so outnumbered but this is a female dominated arena. And, oh my could they scream with the joy of being pushed into a sweating mass. I put the average age of the women in attendance at late 20’s.
I think we all get that there has been a decline in what used to be a pent up demand for cycling. Clearly in the markets where Soul Cycle studio's exist there is pent up demand for this product. Indeed – if one is to believe the New York Magazine article – some riders interviewed were spending in excess of $20K per year on their Soul Cycle habit.
Why is that? I struggled with this question but, if we take a hard look at the Soul Cycle model we find that their distinction is a huge commitment to finding just the right instructors. Let’s face it, at the end of the day quality instruction is still the key to successful programs. Soul Cycle management believes in their program (having perfected it), which is kind of like the American Idol of indoor cycling. They invest a lot of time and money to find a few good instructors. If one has the right stuff, the end game is worth it for SC and instructor.
How many studio owners are willing to go there? Historically, not many. And what is there?
Let’s look at Soul Cycle again. Soul Cycle supports, motivates and promotes the instructor all the way to a Soul Cycle stage, if they make the grade.
Making it through the audition process is only the first step. Then off you go to their training center to learn to do it their way. If one makes it through that, then one teaches six to eight classes per week and not necessarily prime time. Still there is more. One must attend three to five classes per week taught by the studio mentors. And, one cannot teach anywhere but SC.
Having done all this your large paycheck is still not in the bank. Soul Cycle uses a tiered incentive system essentially based on how many butts are in saddles during your class. The more butts, the bigger the pay check.
Lots of work that – from my experience in this industry – few instructors and even fewer studio owners are willing to to do.
Indoor cycling isn’t new any more. Simply rejuvenating existing programs isn’t a trivial task, will take time, money and commitment that is rarely seen in our industry. I doubt many studio owners have so clear a vision of their Unique Selling Proposition that they would pony up the dollars to operate like the very successful Soul Cycle.
If you are wondering if I got hired, I did not go back to audition. A part of me wanted to know for sure if I had the right stuff. I believe I would have passed the audition. I’m a big enough ham and love connecting with my riders so much that – to me – making the first step seemed inevitable.
Truth is, I live one hour from San Francisco. I have other contracts in my ‘portfolio career’. I could not have committed the time or to the commute.
Yet today, I find myself getting off the bike more, bouncing around declaring to my riders that I AM here to pump them up. I guess a little bit of soul cycle goes a long way.
Video impacts Indoor Cycling more than any other form of Group Fitness. With the advent of Forward-Motion Video (FMV), the indoor cycling instructor can integrate the video into the ride profile for the day’s class. It’s an asset that the instructor can use to enhance the experience of the class participant directly. This can’t be done in any other type of class. You can use video of scenery to create a mood during a yoga class and create the impression of doing yoga outdoors, for example, but using video as an integral part of the class to direct class structure and choreography? In that, Indoor Cycling stands alone.
In a recent post (“Video is JUST Video”), we stated our belief that education and training will drive video use in indoor cycling. By providing tools and training methods that empower instructors, FMV will elevate indoor cycling to a new level.
In an earlier post (“Video and Indoor Cycling, Part 2 — Teaching With Video”), we introduced the concept of creating immersion through a cuing system we created, called SIT — Simulation, Interaction, and Telepresence. After a year of testing the teaching process, we can happily say that SIT works: Decide on your level of interaction with the video (None, Partial or Complete), then add Simulation (factual information about the video) and Telepresence cues (referring to aspects of the video) to involve the students in what they’re watching.
This results in immersion. The students’ self-awareness blends into the absorbing footage, and they feel as if they’re riding in the video.
We get many questions about how and when to prepare the video portion of a class. That’s the subject of this post. The answer is it depends on which FMV system you’re using.
Two FMV formats are currently on the market. With a “permanent” format, the video profile is permanently configured and can’t be altered. A DVD featuring FMV is permanent. The ride display is the same every time.
FMV can also be “changeable”. Destinations on Demand by Myride®+ is the only FMV on the market that allows you to rearrange your video for every class. The videos are cataloged in libraries of varying terrain (flat, mixed, climb, and descent) to enable you to select segments and create a ride that conforms to your audio profile.
Currently, most indoor-cycling instructors plan their classes in one of two ways. They may start with a fitness concept (say, endurance) and construct a ride using movements, cadence and intensity that support an endurance workout. They then choose the correct music to support their profile.
Alternately, instructors may start with music, compile an audio profile of songs they enjoy, and — based on the song — select the movement, cadence and intensity.
Both methods of class design are supported only by FMV that’s changeable. The selection of the video typically happens after the ride or audio profile has been created. It’s simple to match a video segment to movements selected for the ride or the song when the video segments conform to standard indoor cycling movements and can be lengthened or shortened to fit your exact needs.
If you use permanent FMV, the video will always come first in class preparation. Songs and ride movements will need to be choreographed to what’s happening in the video. If they aren’t, your choreography and/or song selection will be contrary to what the students see. If you cue a seated climb when the video displays a descent, the mismatched cues and video may seem absurd to the participants. Permanent FMV includes all DVDs, the Challenge and Expedition video libraries on Myride+, and all FMV on other media consoles, such as Fitness on Demand.
Changeable FMV (Destinations on Demand) can actually be the impetus behind the class design. Much the way a song can drive a ride movement or a movement can dictate the song, a spectacular video can drive the selection of either song or ride movement, or both.
Building a profile with changeable video segments differs from the use of permanent FMV. You can control the type of class you teach. You’re simply choosing to feature the visual aspect of the class before everything else.
FMV is changing indoor cycling classes around the world. Instructors must now consider how to work with all FMV and integrate it into their classes. Teaching with video is easy but, as with music, also a skill that develops over time. Eventually it will become a standard part of every instructor’s class preparation.
My interview with Douglas Brooks continues with a discussion of RealRyder's class planning – it maybe the exact opposite of how you create your profile.
Listen below to find out why.
Show notes:
During our discussion Douglas references their class planning template – you can download a copy here.
Douglas also described how they teach a method of trimming the length of a song in iTunes (setting the start & stop times) to fit a specific segment. I mentioned that we have specific instructions for trimming the length of a track available here for ICI/PRO members – but it's buried in a video over at the MixMeister Academy.
Here's how to “Trim” the length of a song in iTunes.
Sample the track and record where you would like it to begin and end.
Highlight the track in the list view.
Either go to: File > Get Info, Right Click the Track and select > Get Info or use the shortcut Control i
Tick the box you wish to change and enter your preferred start/stop times.
Finish with OK
Unfortunately this isn't an option in Spotify. Just to be sure I experimented with first trimming a song in iTunes, and then opening it in Spotify – both on my computer and iPhone. It played full length (not trimmed) in both cases.
Here's part two of my interview with Douglas Brooks – enjoy and let me know if this was helpful for you [wlm_firstname].
