by John | Jan 14, 2021 | Engage Your Students, Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Master Instructor Blog, Training With Power
Image from http://www.thesecretlifeofdee.com/
John, I'm still confused by this power stuff… where should I be riding? How many watts should I be seeing on my monitor, because I'm no where close to my body weight?
I get questions similar to this frequently from members. My answers has evolved over time:
- I used to give into the pressure; “please tell me a number” and would throw out a vague target – “your first goal could be seeing watts equal to your your body weight”.
- Later I revised it down a little; “what would be your desired, lean body weight?” “Let's try to reach that as an early power goal.”
But now I'm learning that throwing out watts = body weight (lean or actual) isn't as helpful as I intended. Sure for some it works. Those who are reasonably fit looking (read not overweight) and with a good fitness base. For others I've found I was asking them to work too hard, using a kind of formula that wasn't personalized for each individual. Which sounds is a lot like using the 220 – age for MAX HR 🙁
Now my preference is to conduct a short “Best Effort”, about a quarter of the way through class, to give everyone an understanding of a number they can work from. Not a true FTP or PTP, but it's been reasonably well accepted… but not by everyone.
Case in point: last Thursday after class I had the “how many watts should I be making?” discussion with a female member. She's a fit 50 year old and I would guess (I never ask) she weighs about 130lbs.
So I asked her what she normally sees during the “Best Effort” interval. “I average about 80 watts.” Which confused me… a lot actually. I would have guessed she could easily make more than 80 watts. I was stuck for an answer. Rather than guess at the reason, I started asking questions:
- Do you ride outdoors? No, not regularly.
- Are you a runner? YES!! Big smile.
- How would you compare running vs. cycling? Cycling is much easier. I'm getting to something here…
- Do you run in competitive events like a 5k, 10k, Marathon, etc…? Another YES !!! I love to compete!!!
- Do you run faster & harder in a 5k vs. a Marathon? Yes, of course I do – why?
- When you're riding in here with me, does your “Best Effort” feel more like a 5k or a Marathon? She stopped to think about it and then said; like a Marathon.
- Bingo!
I didn't need to say anything more. The look on her face told me she understood exactly where her confusion was coming from. Her perception of working hard was at her Marathon level of intensity = 80 watts was exactly right, figuring an aerobic level of effort. I had been making the assumption that when I asked for hard, everyone would work at the level I perceive as “hard” – which for her was different.
She ended the conversation with; so when you ask us for our “Best Effort”, I should be working at my 5k level of effort?
Exactly, or maybe a 5k where you're chasing one of your faster friends 🙂
Originally posted 2018-06-22 07:00:33.
by Jim Karanas | Jan 8, 2021 | Engage Your Students, Instructor Training, Master Instructor Blog
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas –
The experience of flow remains one of the least-understood phenomena in training. Yet it’s one of the richest, most memorable experiences we can help deliver to our students. Creating the circumstances though which students can experience flow in a training session is the topic of this article.
When I mention flow, people sometimes confuse it with being “in the zone”. That often relates to a brain release of beta-endorphin as a result of the activity. It’s a different phenomenon and not what I mean here. When you’re able to collapse what you’re doing down to a single moment and experience total immersion in it, you will feel flow. You’re completely involved in the ride for its own sake. There’s no ego, no awareness of time or distance. Every action follows seamlessly from the previous one.
You might be tired or in pain, but those things don’t distract you. You might not even notice them at times.
Recently, I led a five-hour ride at ICG® Academy in San Francisco. We rode an indoor 100 miles as a fall, base-building ride. The ten 30-minute segments were each built around a different 30-minute “Challenge” video on Myride®+. The plan was not to take any scheduled breaks or rest stops, and to roll from one world destination to the next. To be quick and efficient if anyone needed to get off the bike, but we were going to ride 100 miles. I calculated that, if the riders could average 85 rpm for the 5 hours, they would total 100 miles on their odometers.
I wanted to make this more challenging than an outdoor century.
There were 30-minute segments of pure hill climbing, where we would average 65-70 rpm. We had to compensate on the flat segments by turning fairly high rpm. That doesn’t sound hard until you understand that we were on belt-drive bikes with little or no momentum from the flywheel. 90+ rpm on a belt-drive bike takes a much bigger hit on your legs. We also had a heart-rate challenge. Early on, I had the participants commit to an average training heart rate that they would not go below.
I wasn’t making it hard for training purposes. I wanted to take everyone to a place where they could experience flow. This isn’t always possible in a 45- to 60-minute class.
After four hours, I looked around the room. Not one person was not experiencing flow. How did I know? I asked them if, at that time and for the first time that day, they felt as if they could ride for 10 hours. Everyone smiled and nodded. The discipline and fatigue created a state where they had to go beyond what they normally felt they could do. That’s when you experience flow: a state of non-reaction to fatigue and discomfort; a feeling of serenity; a loss of self-consciousness; a heightened awareness; a feeling of control over the situation and the outcome.
Once you’ve experienced true flow, you can feel it any time.
And that’s when you realize that flow is more than a beta-endorphin rush. You can sense it while walking on a busy street, winding your bike through traffic and stalled cars, in a conversation, in a business negotiation, in the supermarket shopping for food. Flow is working with what’s happening, as opposed to against it (see my previous post on Timing). On my road bike, I often notice that the farther away from home I go, the greater the feeling of flow. I simply stop thinking about things I have to do.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes the mental state of flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost.”
Csikszentmihalyi spent time in an Italian prison camp in World War II. At age 16, he traveled to Switzerland, where he had the opportunity to listen to Carl Jung speak. The experience influenced him. He later explained, “As a child in the war, I'd seen something drastically wrong with how adults — the grown-ups I trusted — organized their thinking. I was trying to find a better system to order my life. Jung seemed to be trying to cope with some of the more positive aspects of human experience.”
Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow has influenced people in a wide range of fields. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair were reportedly influenced by his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Jimmy Johnson, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, utilized Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas to prepare for the 1993 Super Bowl. His ideas have also influenced people in business, government, education and the arts.
Flow can occur in such diverse situations because it simply requires full immersion and involvement, energized focus, and enjoyment of the process. Clearly, that can apply to many activities.
Csikszentmihalyi calls flow “focused motivation”, deep focus on nothing but the activity. It works particularly well for cycling, brings consciousness to it, and can be created through the right combination of factors.
Originally posted 2014-12-24 06:24:37.
by Tom Scotto | Jan 5, 2021 | Master Instructor Blog
Ok, we simply need to mention the word “test” and all kinds of things tighten up. Relax. For week 3 of instructor self improvement month, let’s look at how we are doing mentally and emotionally….”sit back on my couch and close your eyes”. Before you jump to a conclusion on either side of the spectrum, answer a few questions:
- How motivated am I to teach my classes?
- How excited am I about teaching this weeks profile or ride?
- Do I still get pumped by my music?
- Do I feel energetic during class or just getting through?
- Do I find myself taking shortcuts when planning class?
- Am I considering taking a break from teaching?
If you got through this interrogation and said “I’m motivated. I’m excited. I am pumped, energetic and plan every detail of my class and would NEVER consider quitting” then just tuck this article in your calendar and check back in a couple of months. However, if you hesitated or flat-out broke down in tears, then read on.
The truth is we usually don’t see it coming. Life is so fast and we are so busy that we get desensitized to how we are really feeling. Regardless, don’t panic. There could be a number of reasons you may not have answered the way you wanted on any of these questions. It could be that you need some fresh inspiration, some new music, a challenge or some rest. It really depends.
Don’t Rule Out Rest
Back in July, I wrote an article entitled “Taking Care of YOU” which focused on staying aware of your overall health and need for rest. We need to consider ourselves athletes and consider our classes as training sessions. Regardless of how hard you are working, and depending on how many classes you teach a week, your body will eventually get fatigued if you don’t take the time to rest.
Rest also rejuvenates the mind and soul. I have over 5000 pieces of music and over 60 individual ride profiles that I teach throughout the year. With rare exception, I do not use the same song in 2 different rides. The song goes with that ride and that is it. I also don’t repeat the same workout within a 6-8 week period, so basically I may not do the same rider or hear the same music for almost 2 months. However, at times, I get bored and tired of my music. Of course, I use that as an excuse to buy more, but honestly, that is often not the solution. What I’ve found 99.9% of the time is that I’m simply “tired”. Once I get some rest, EVERYTHING is again exciting and full of life. The music is pump’in and I can’t wait to get up at 4:30 AM to throw down.
Get Some Inspiration
How about that, the ICI/Pro Conference is next week! Yes, a shameless plug. But seriously, when was the last time you pursued some education and training for yourself? Sign-up for a workshop in your neighborhood, or better yet, take a trip (call it a professional retreat so you can write it off) and go somewhere exotic — for business of course. A cheaper option: get a sub for your class and take a class with another instructor. Take a class with another instructor at another club! Why not? Get out of your environment and see how the other half lives. Come on, we are flattered when someone asks to take our class. Instructors often have guest pass privileges so don’t be shy – “Hey, I’ve heard some great stuff about your class, are you able to get me a guest pass so I could experience it?” You’re as good as in.
Challenge # 1
Everyone knows I’m all about challenges so take that surprised look off your face. Try something different in class. Teach a totally different ride. Not into rock? Add some. How about teaching without music? Here’s one I had a ton of fun with (and my challenge): Ask your riders to build a ride for you. Yup. I asked them to create a ride with their own music and burn it on a CD. I gave them a date and said I would teach the first CD given to me when I walked into the room — no questions asked AND no prep. What a blast! Not only did it challenge the snot out of me, it was freeing AND gave me some insight as to what type of music and rides my class liked.
Challenge # 2
Ok, if you are more the athlete type (and want a cop-out for the first challenge), here is another way to determine and/or inspire you to get your edge back. Take a threshold test. I don’t care which one you do. It could even be a VO2 test or the Foster Talk Test. Go for broke. This can often have a 2-fold affect. First, you will see what kind of energy you have. If you are exhausted and can’t finish the test or put-out a sub par performance, you know your body is tired and you need some rest. Second, if it is just inspiration you need, blowing out the dust may just be what the doctor ordered. Besides treating ourselves to an endorphin high, pushing our limits can reinvigorate our conviction on the type of training our class wants and what it feels like to give it all. Then turn around and give one to your class while your in the mood.
——–
The bottom-line is that we bring a lot of ourselves into each class and each ride. It is not just the physical energy but emotional energy as well. In many ways, the emotional is more important. As you dig into all the aspects of what makes you a great instructor this month, take a deeper look into your motivation and inspiration and make sure you are still bringing and dishing out a healthy dose to your class.
Originally posted 2011-09-22 14:58:46.
by Jim Karanas | Dec 30, 2020 | Instructor Training, Master Instructor Blog, Zone based Heart Rate Training
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas
Now that more of your students wear heart-rate monitors (HRM) (see previous post “How To Get Your Students To Wear a HRM”), you must teach them how to use one.
An important first step is sometimes lost when introducing HRMs. Instructors immediately start estimating maximum heart rate and discussing zones. But the first measurement of intensity, how hard the students are exercising, must always be perception.
Relating perceived exertion to heart rate is a fascinating personal discovery for the indoor-cycling student. If it’s done correctly, the student will immediately ask at what heart rate he/she should be training. Then a discussion of training zone estimates makes perfect sense.
The following protocol, developed by Team ICG®, provides a template for a “first HRM experience” that the student won’t forget. Initially, you want the HRM to help the student link a given heart rate with a perception, which enhances awareness. The student feels his/her body go through changes in perceived exertion, along with a visible numerical progression.
Resting HR — 2 minutes
Once the students are wearing their HRMs, have them sit quietly on the bike. No pedaling, no talking, just sitting still. Tell them to breathe deeply, relax and see how low they can drop their HRs. This is not a true resting value, but shows them how relaxation and breathing affect their HR. It also gives them a numeric indication of how prepared the body is to receive training. It may well dictate an alteration of their plan for the day.
Warm-Up — 15 minutes
Roll the legs with no resistance on the bike. Feel the ease of motion, the momentum. Get into a rhythm with it: no effort, just smooth, continuous, even circles. Before taking the HR up, we want to accomplish two things. First, we must shunt blood to the leg muscles. Fifteen minutes of easy spinning will do that. Second, we want the students to sense what’s happening in the body as they get warm.
For the first 5 minutes, set the cadence at 90-100 rpm. Have the students increase the resistance just enough to feel as if their legs are working, without changing cadence. This isn’t much effort. Just bring the HR up slightly.
The first change in perceived exertion is an increase in body temperature. Assuming the room is appropriately cooled, the air temperature initially felt cool or cold. Ask them to notice the change — the air no longer feels cold — and note at what heart rate that occurred. Was it 5 beats up from resting? 10 beats?
For the second 5 minutes, have them make another small increase in the resistance. The second sensation in perceived exertion is awareness of breath. Their breathing pattern has not really changed. Their breathing is not hard or labored. They’ve just become aware that they’re breathing, something we’re unconscious of most of the time. At what HR did they become aware of their breathing?
For the third 5 minutes, bring on a little more resistance without changing cadence and raise the HR again slightly. Two things must happen here. They must notice that all momentum is gone from their pedaling. There’s a distinct point, especially on chain-driven bikes, where the sensation of momentum is replaced by effort. This is very visible to the instructor — the “looseness” is gone from the pedaling — however, it’s still not hard.
The other thing they need to notice is a sudden spike in body temperature. They now feel hot. We experience discomfort just before we begin to sweat because the cooling of evaporation hasn’t begun. What’s the heart rate when this happens?
Settle the cadence down to 90 rpm as they continue to work and begin to sweat. This is the next level of perceived exertion. At what HR did they begin to sweat? They’ll notice the hot feeling leave, then a cool sensation against their skin. They might feel perspiration on the brow, under the arms, or elsewhere.
Their warm-up is done.
As you can see, this isn’t an elaborate or complicated warm-up, just a gradual awareness process for the students. The next step is a heart rate ladder, again to connect the students with their perception of the effort.
Heart-Rate Ladder — 20 minutes
Now that the students are warmed-up, it’s time to take them through levels of greater exertion, while connecting their perception of the effort with the HR at which it occurs. Most of this work takes place seated, so give them periodic breaks from the saddle.
Level 1
Level 1 continues the intensity that they reached by the end of the warm-up. All feeling of momentum has been replaced by a feeling of effort. They’re aware of their breathing and have cracked a sweat.
Their HRs should be consistent. Tell them the first lesson of heart-rate training is stabilization. They should be at a HR that they could maintain for hours. Forget about mechanical difficulties, how the saddle feels, whether they need water, fuel, etc. Ask them to settle into a HR that — in terms of the effort level — they could hold for hours.
Maintain that intensity for 5 minutes.
It’s not uncommon for them to be unsure about whether they’re at the right level of effort. Tell them to check their HR, sense their effort level and ask themselves, “Could I maintain this for 1 hour? 2 hours? 3 hours?” If the effort is too high, they’ll have an internal reaction to the question and should adjust as necessary.
Keep the cadence at 90 rpm; this is important. Let them know that the HR they’re training at is called a target HR. Their job is to maintain that target at 90 rpm.
At this point, it’s helpful to explain what’s going on metabolically. Discuss aerobic vs. anaerobic metabolism and changes in the use of fat and carbohydrate as fuel.
As mentioned above, Level 1 is of the same intensity as the final part of the warm-up. From here, the progression builds to greater levels of effort, which will be covered in the next post.
Originally posted 2012-09-24 05:39:49.
by John | Dec 9, 2020 | Instructor Training, Master Instructor Blog
Image from http://wattbike.com/uk/guide/bike_fit/general_wattbike_cycling_position_and_setup
Myth #9 – Handlebar height isn't really very critical on an Indoor Cycle.
An alternative of this myth is; handlebar height should always be set to where it's most comfortable.
When the enemy is the wind… the drops are your friend 🙂
Every cyclist in your class knows how important it is to be as aerodynamic as possible. They realize that something like 80% of the energy needed for them to ride their bicycle on flat ground, at 20mph, goes to over coming wind resistance. Add a stiff headwind that has you wanting to crawl inside the paint on your bike and it's probably more like 100%… or more if that's even possible
Reducing your frontal area has the greatest impact on aerodynamics, smaller = better. So many cyclists have a goal to get as low as comfortably possible on the bicycle. In fact road bicycles have a special bend in the handlebars specifically designed to help a cyclist ride low & comfortably… the drops.
Trouble is that very few people use them because they don't have the lower back or hamstring flexibility needed to get low and stay there comfortably.
So why not help our cyclists to develop some additional flexibility… or maintain the flexibility they developed over the summer?
As a fitness professional you realize that gains in; strength, endurance and flexibility all come over time. Please forgive the pun here but any desired change will only come when we stretch beyond what is comfortable/easy/normal.
Indoor classes are the perfect place to work on flexibility for a number of reasons. The limited time (45-60 minutes) is long enough to help, while not as intimidating as the thought of committing to a 4 hour group ride with low bars.
Here's how you can help everyone get down low.
- If your club has the Livestrong / Tomahawk Indoor Cycles you can encourage your riders to spend time in the drops.
- Lead by example by keeping your bars low, demonstrating good form and then make mention that you are doing this on purpose to help increase your flexibility.
- Encourage everyone to observe where they have their bars set and then ask the question; “would your outdoor riding improve if you could spend more time comfortably in the drops?
- Use Periodization – suggest a series of small changes over time.
- Consider partnering with a personal trainer to lead post class stretching that focuses specifically on the hamstrings and lower back.
- Incorporate a short stretching segment into your class. Now that I'm teaching longer endurance classes I'll have everyone stop and stretch at the 15 minute mark when we are all warm – and yet not fatigued.
FYI
The typical handlebar height to saddle height on a road bike is ~level and yet you can find pictures of road bikes showing the handlebars considerably lower than the seat.
Originally posted 2019-01-10 07:15:41.
by Jim Karanas | Dec 9, 2020 | Class DVDS & Videos, Master Instructor Blog
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas
Video is taking over the world. Over 4 billion hours of video are viewed each month, and YouTube is the most-used search engine, after Google. Video is also changing indoor cycling classes everywhere. Like music, video engages our emotions. To reach a cycling audience with imagery and music creates a synergy that lifts indoor cycling to new levels.
Club owners seek something innovative. Cycling with video is enjoyable, entertaining, and a dramatic differentiation from the current indoor-cycling market. The number of emerging businesses that produce video attests to the impact it will have on indoor cycling.
As entertaining as video can be, however, the key reason people join clubs is to achieve their fitness goals and be educated in how to do that, not for entertainment.
Before writing the check, anyone investing in video programming must investigate the quality of education or coaching that accompanies the video product. This applies equally to live-instructor group classes and virtual group classes.
At ICG®, we believe it’s important to remember that video is JUST video. It’s an asset that can add to the indoor-cycling experience but will never dominate it. Even with the world’s best video, without proper coaching for the live instructor or excellent voiceover coaching in the virtual product, you’ll have:
- Instructors continuing to teach to music only, or turning on the projector but never integrating video into their classes.
- Virtually instructed classes projected to empty classrooms, and/or DVDs sitting unused in a box or drawer in the studio.
Quality instruction has always been the key to any successful indoor-cycling program. That won’t change with the addition of video. As long as facilities offer live-instructor classes, the instructors must first appreciate, and be energized by, what video brings to their classes. Once they support video’s benefits, they will sincerely recommend virtual programming — so long as that virtual class stands up to the quality of live coaching.
Bringing video to your cycling program is not a stand-alone purchase. Whether it’s to enhance live instruction, provide virtual classes, or both, it must be supported by online learning, as well as live education and training offered by your video provider.
Empowering instructors to use video in their classes demands technology that allows them to control the video as easily as they control their music. (DVDs just don’t make the grade in that regard.) It also requires an education platform that teaches them to integrate video readily into what they’re already doing — while producing a significantly enhanced experience for the members.
If a club offers both live classes with video and virtual classes, then the instructors must stand behind the virtual-class program and see it as complimentary to, not competitive with, their positions. Participants will typically follow the instructor’s lead. However, that alone will not motivate the members to participate in virtual classes.
For a workout video to compel people to train in a cycling studio with no instructor, the content can’t be good. It must be great. There’s no motivating instructor who knows your name, maybe no social interaction with other members. What works for a solo participant on a bike in front of a small screen may fail miserably in the group-cycling studio. This is even truer if the facility doesn’t employ instructors.
So the question is: What makes a virtual class compelling?
There are four dimensions to a successful virtual cycling class — Sensation, Flow, Challenge and Convenience.
Does the visual sensation grab attention? A compelling member experience must elicit strong, positive emotions. Is forward-motion video of beautiful destinations around the world more visually engaging than the world’s top master presenters sitting on bikes?
Does the workout flow? To be effective, a virtual class must be better designed than a live class. Members will come in and take an average class from a live instructor, but they won’t come in to take an average virtual class. Sound levels, content, matching voice and tone to the content, pacing — the sense of flow delivered through the interaction of voiceover cues and video must be better than with live instruction to be as effective.
Was the workout successful? The members will want to be physically challenged by the workout and mentally engaged by the information delivered. With no instructor and possibly no other members, what encourages the member to work hard? It comes down to quality recorded instruction, selection and use of music, music/video synergy, and editing.
Were the virtual classes offered at convenient times? Does the technology offer “auto” scheduling, where the virtual class and projector turn on and off at scheduled times? Dynamic club schedules that allow virtual classes to be easily added to, or taken off, the schedule based on participation will have a big impact on virtual programming success.
At ICG, we consider ourselves the leading authority in cycling with video. We believe indoor cycling is driven by instructor communication and motivation, plus social interaction. We believe instructors need education and training to integrate video skillfully and professionally into their classes.
We believe that virtual classes can rock and that instructors must support the classes.
Virtual classes must be visually stimulating. They must flow, provide a challenge, be offered at convenient times, and be better produced than a live class. We’re committed to developing better techniques and technologies to make future indoor cycling experiences more “real” as classes with video and virtual classes go mainstream.
Originally posted 2013-01-28 10:29:20.
