There's plenty of times when a fun, lighthearted flat is exactly what your participants (and maybe you) need between a pair of threshold efforts. You'll give everyone permission to recover and lighten up, by offering up a noticeable change in the music, from really intense – to free and easy. You won't have to say a word. Let your music dictate everything and watch as riders relax and smile.
I discovered [wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']Tori Kelly and her track Unbreakable Smile while I was doing one of my “power sampling” sessions. It's one of the few multitasking activities I find I can do effectively = bouncing between replying to emails and scrolling through to music, listening for the aha moment; “that could work!” Unfortunately, if you're working one of the Top 50 lists you have to wade through a bunch of foul (this crap is popular?) before you find anything of value.
Occasionally you're rewarded by a real gem 🙂
Don't forget to have a “Future to Use” Folder where you can compile these tracks for your next playlist. Up at the top navigation > File > New Playlist Folder to create an unlimited number. I have sub folders, inside the main folder, based on RPM > Unbreakable Smile is tucked into my 90ish RPM folder!
Over the past few weeks there have been some questions on the ICI/Pro website that gave me the idea for this week's post. One question was about music flow and another was asked which comes first, playlist or profile?
To show one way to make music flow I decided to put together a playlist of songs that are all in the same harmonic key, this is technique is called “Harmonic Mixing” and is used by many of the world's top DJ's. I use a software named “Mixed in Key” (http://www.mixedinkey.com) that automatically analyzes all my music files and determines the key and tempo of each song. Mixing harmonically enables you to create smooth transitions between songs and ensure that all songs sound great together. I put this playlist together without any consideration of the profile. I chose popular, high energy, songs and let the Harmonic Mixing create the flow. This is a playlist that can be used with, just about, any interval based profile where the profile, not the music, is the focus.
Next I put together a killer profile using a technique known as “anchoring time and effort”. This is a very simple tactic where riders should be able push higher intensities as interval length gets shorter. Less Time = More Work.
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
You can join my TrainerRoad Team at : http://www.trainerroad.com/teams/2484-dennis-mellon-s-indoor-cycling-team
60 minute harmonically mixed track, to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
This is just one example of how I put together my classes. Other times I try to match the music and profile exactly and let the music dictate the terrain. I would recommend instructors get proficient at both methods. This way you don’t pigeonhole yourself and you keep your participants on their toes. It also keeps things fresh and exciting for you.[/wlm_private]
This is a great climb song- I think we all want to say sometimes, “Give Me All of You!” with the busyness that seems to surround our lives.
This woman doesn't even have a Wikipedia (what????), but she's awesome. A combo of electric dance and etherial voice in my humble opinion. If you know anything about her, please let me know. A concert would be fun![wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
The original of “All of You” by Betty Who is 3:58 and 67 bpms.
Ever construct the perfect threshold interval? Where everyone appears to be controlled by the music, hammering away as if they've lost connection with everything and anything beyond the pursuit of Zone 4?
THRESHOLD! THRESHOLD! NEED MORE THRESHOLD!
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
The only way to satiate their lust for Threshold based effort is a proper warm up, a few openers and then an awesome song that's the right combination of intensity and BPM. In my book, the music genre that will feed your Threshold Zombies best is Drum & Bass. Easy to follow, D&B music tends to communicate high 80's to 90's RPM. Here's a few for you to try.
Improvisation in theatre, comedy or Indoor Cycling is an art that can be improved through trial and practice. Learning to improvise is an important skill that will improve your class presentation and make you a more entertaining Instructor. Disappointedly, I'm just now realizing that we haven't spent much time educating our ICI/PRO members on this important skill.
One of my all-time favorite TV shows was Whose Line Is It Anyway? – In each unscripted episode a troupe of comedians improvise a skit, after being presented with unique/goofy props or are presented with an interesting storyline. The results were often hilarious:
https://youtu.be/mN4paCZXy7M
Why Whose Line Is It Anyway? was, IMO, so entertaining, was how confident the participants were. Theyjust-go-with-it > instantly responding to whatever situation they faced… no matter what it was. Part of this was natural ability, but I'll bet that each member has years of experience reacting to external forces, developing their instincts to the point where they're found to be funny/entertaining.
Instructors need to know how to improvise… to their class and playlist
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
In the series Hey Team > How Would You Answer This Question?, we had a bunch of great suggestions on how to connect music to your ride. I didn't share my ideas in the first two parts. I will be tomorrow and it will be geared toward practicing to improvise: adapting your cues, activities and intensity in response to what you're hearing… what the music is prompting you to do.
Depending on your relationship with your riders, you might get away with a running a fully improvisational class. Announce at the beginning that you plan to just-go-with-it and have fun. NOTE: if you're ever surprised to have a DJ show up and plan to control the music in your class > you'll be thankful for this training.
A better option may be to cue up today's free track and ride it by yourself. 40 minutes of constantly changing songs and mashups that will keep you on your toes as you improvise with each change. Give this a try and see where the music takes you. You might discover you have an undiscovered talent 🙂
I'll bet somebody at Apple/iTunes is getting an ear-full this morning…
SoulCycle sent out an email this morning, announcing their new iPhone App. The email included this link to their App in the iTunes store… which of course opens in iTunes so you can download the software.
Except most people (like me) don't use iTunes to install an App. We download and install Apps directly from our phones.
Which is great as long as the App Store can find SoulCycle's App when a user (in this case me) searches for SoulCycle… which returns two available Apps, neither is the SoulCycle App 🙁
So I guess I'll have to go old-school and transfer it from my computer, before I can review it!
413 Update – I'm now seeing you can search and find this now in the App Store using your iPhone.
Missed you guys…too much traveling!
