by Christine Hawthorne | Mar 4, 2017 | Instructor Training, Music
Ed Sheeran's album Divide has finally dropped! Hopefully you've enjoyed using Shape of You and Castle on The Hill (which both dropped earlier this year). Here are a few of the new tunes from the album and how you can use them in your classes!
Here are a few that would work great for a flat road:
Barcelona (around 100 rpm):
Barcelona iTunes link
Nancy Mulligan (around 103 rpm)-also a good one to save for your St. Patrick's Day playlist:
Nancy Mulligan iTunes Link
This one would make a great hill standing or seated (63 rpm):
Bibia Be Ye Ye iTunes link
And finally, a few ideas for your cool down/stretch:
Dive iTunes link
Perfect iTunes Link
by Christine Hawthorne | Feb 24, 2017 | Instructor Training, Music
When you're reaching the end of your class and your riders look like their losing their motivation, throw this song their way and they are sure to gain their second wind. You and your riders will love the amazing beat that trails in and out as the song progresses. (67 rpm) To use these teaching notes, make sure you are using the original version which clocks in at 6 minutes and 26 seconds. Here's the rundown:
:00 seated flat/ :30 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds / 1:30 seated flat (recover) / 2:00 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds / 3:00 seated flat (recover) / 3:30 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds / 4:30 seated flat (recover)/ 5:00 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds.
On your standing climb sets, start out on a moderate hill and and gear every 15 seconds until the final 15 is a very steep hill.
iTunes link On The Drums (Original Mix)
You could also use the remix with the same teaching notes- it has a bit of a different sound but is around the same length:
iTunes link On The Drums remix
by Christine Hawthorne | Feb 19, 2017 | Instructor Training, Music
I'm sure you've been hearing this song on the radio and in commercials recently and maybe you've considered using it in your next profile. I gave it a try last week and I'm here to tell you it was a huge hit! You will love the drum beat and the explosive chorus. We rode on a hill (64 rpm) and added resistance throughout. Add cadence in the final 30 for a big finish. Another option is to climb and then explode on the chorus (adding cadence at :56, 1:56 and 2:50).
Believer by Imagine Dragons iTunes link
by Jim Karanas | Feb 15, 2017 | Music
With over 1800 articles in our archives there's a good chance that our ICI/PRO members may have missed some of our best stuff. So every Wednesday we are republishing some our of our favorite articles and podcasts – enjoy!
By Team ICG® Master Instructor Jim Karanas
My last two articles were on video because it will affect our industry dramatically in 2012. Long before video, however, something else inspired us to ride bikes indoors: music. There’s no denying music’s powerful impact on the class experience. One way that happens is through emotion.
Music inspires emotion through genre, lyrics, vocals, harmony, tempo, rhythm, and more. But many indoor cycling instructors overlook emotion. It’s easy to understand why.
I taught my first aerobics class in 1977. Like other instructors at the time, I used popular music and older rock that was good for dancing. Then something happened. Workout Music.
Workout Music used a square rhythm of 32-count phrases, was always high-energy with a fast tempo, was typically dance or house music, and often remixed popular songs by speeding them up and punching the downbeat. Because teaching back then involved 32-count choreography, the energized remixes were useful and called
“aerobicized”.
(An example is “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black-Eyed Peas. Listen to the original, and then compare the workout mix made popular on The Biggest Loser.)
But while aerobicized mixes kicked up our workouts, they also buried a critical musical element — emotion.
Music stimulates every area of the brain. The emotion it evokes can be life-changing. Everyone has a special song from a special time that they’ll never forget. Odds are it was not a piece of workout music.
When Indoor Cycling was introduced 20 years ago, it completely reversed the workout-music trend. It was the very nature of cycling that did that. When you ride a bike, the road changes and forces changes in cadence and rhythm. Different music genres and tempi simulate those terrain changes, so “regular” music is back.
Indoor cycling also permits individual interpretation. Since people don’t have to be doing exactly the same thing at a given time, the movement doesn’t have to be synced to the music. This Freestyle approach is an effective way to ride to music. You ride more to the nuance or the feeling than to the beat. So emotion’s also back if we want it.
Emotion is a powerful tool for creating an indoor-cycling experience.
When creating a class profile, you might want to ID your own emotional response to a piece of music so you can use it at the right time. Download and listen to the following songs in the order below and note your response. You may even choose to ride to them.
Distinguish between good music and emotion. Music with a great beat may make you feel like riding, but focus on how you feel (happy, sad, neutral, etc.) if and when you try this.
Slid (Glid) Fluke
L.A. Woman (Single Edit) Billy Idol
This Is Us Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
Stevenson George Winston
Link to this playlist in Spotify
Next week, I’ll predict how you felt and suggest ways to use emotion in your classes. I’ll also compare Freestyle and Beatmatch. Freestyle uses music as briefly mentioned above; Beatmatch pairs cadence with the beat and is practiced throughout the world. There are important reasons to bring both to teaching.
John's note: We're highlighting some of Jim Karana's past articles this week.
by Christine Hawthorne | Feb 11, 2017 | Instructor Training, Music
I've been using Ed Sheeran's Shape of You quite a bit recently as a fast flat road in my classes (around 99-100 rpm). It's perfect for keeping your riders focused on maintaining those upper range rpm's. I like to challenge my riders to maintain the pace and try adding just a bit more resistance each minute.
Shape of You iTunes link
If you're looking for something a little different, try the Galantis Remix…:
Shape of You Galantis Remix iTunes link
…or even the acoustic version for a cool down/stretch:
Shape of You-Acoustic iTunes link
by Christine Hawthorne | Jan 27, 2017 | Instructor Training, Music
I used this song in my class recently and I got a ton of comments from my riders. It's a great cover and a classic that can be very versatile in your next ride. Heart's cover of Stairway to Heaven is considered by many to be one of the best. ( I really like Rodrigo y Gabriela's cover as well.) Start this one as a seated climb and bring it out of the saddle as the music picks up around 5:45 all the way to the finish. It's a nice long hill and your riders will be motivated to finish big on this one, I promise. ( If you haven't seen the video of Heart performing this one live at the Kennedy Center Honors back in 2012, be sure to check it out here. It's pretty amazing.)
iTunes link
