If you're anything like me, you like to give your class a nice, gradual warm up to prepare them for all the hard work that you have in store for them. I typically like to use the first two songs in my playlist as my warmup. Many instructors like to use instrumental songs for their warm ups so that they can explain the ride without the distraction of song lyrics. I also find that my riders sometimes need to get their talking out during the first song and then they are ready to work, so instrumental songs work well. If you are looking for a few really great instrumental tunes for your next warmup, look no further. Here is a shorter song and a longer song depending on your preference:
Do you have a favorite warm up song, instrumental or otherwise?
When I'm at IHRSA (which I was last week) I spend a bunch of time searching for the next “Big Thing” that I can share with you. What I found is a rather small and yet indispensable component of the bikes we ride – Keiser has developed a new Indoor Cycling pedal that looks awesome!
As the major point of contact, Indoor Cycle pedals take a lot of abuse in our classes. They're kicked, torqued, sweated on, rotated millions of times and rarely maintained. I can't say for certain if this is universally true, but I've gotten the impression that the OEM pedals shipped with many bikes are a bit of an afterthought = manufactures don't invest much development into the two sided (SPD/Basket) pedals they supply. They end up failing after a year or two and need to be replace, requiring a reasonably large investment – 50 bikes x ~$80.00 = $4000.00 – way too much and too soon IMO 🙁
Feel free to correct me if there are specific instances where you feel I'm wrong about this.
Clubs and studios in the past would often replace the OEM pedals with the Schwinn Triple Link – I call them Red Pedals – that offered two sided cleat engagement for riders with either SPD or LOOK Delta equipped cycling shoes + the option for plain old tennis shoes. If you are currently using these pedals and don't have one of my Red Pedal Tools to safely and easily remove those $%^& shoe baskets, you can order one from my distributor Sportsmith.
Later Spinning® began manufacturing & selling their version of the Triple Link – the TRIO. FYI: The TRIO is an enormous improvement over the Schwinn pedal. The primary reason being the TRIO has much larger bearings and should offer much longer service life. Unfortunately my Red Pedal tool doesn't work with these, so I recommend purchasing the TRIO QR which includes a clever little red lever to simplify removing the shoe basket.
NOTE #2: The LOOK Delta cycling shoe cleats found on both the Schwinn Red Pedal and Spinning TRIO pedals are pretty much obsolete – very few cyclists continue to use them. LOOK no longer manufactures pedals using the the Delta cleat – the new version is the KEO. KEO's look similar to Delta's and appear to work, however they do not interchange and attempting to use KEO cleats with either the Schwinn or Spinning pedals creates a real safety issue.
NOTE #3: Hard-soled cycling shoes with exposed cleats of any type are dangerously slippery on smooth/polished floors. I've personally gone down a few times at Life Time on their bamboo floors = they really don't belong in many cycling studios. For that reason I always encourage studios to only offer two sided pedals – SPD on one side and shoe basket/toeclip on the other.
Has Keiser re-invented the Indoor Cycling pedal?
I've gotten to know Keiser's founder Dennis Keiser over the 7 years since I first interviewed him about the then new Keiser M3. Being a real gadget guy, I have have been continuously impressed by his commitment to manufacturing very high quality fitness equipment – the M3 has to be the one of the most reliable Indoor cycles ever built.
It was explained to me that this new double sided pedal was designed from scratch to be the most durable pedal ever made:
Completely rebuildable – notice the replaceable SPD parts held together with screws, not rivets
Corrosion resistant cast aluminum body
Stainless steel axle is specially heat treated
Quote from Dennis; “the best bearings we could find”
The small angled tabs on the platform make it easy to slide your show in, but not out = improved safety.
They even designed the pedal so replacing the strap is easy 🙂
If I had to bet, I'd wager that these replacement pedals will outlast the bike they're installed on. No pricing information yet – I'll be sure to pass it on once a hear.
Happy New Music Friday! Just a quick post today but it includes some great brand new tracks for you to use in your next class. Some weeks I don't find much in the way of new music and other weeks I feel like I've hit the jackpot! Here are a few of today's finds that I'll be using in my upcoming playlists. I hope you can use some of them as well!
I'll be using sHe and Aftergold as flat roads and HandClap and Over and Over as climbs.
Have you ever sat an noticed how sometimes “things just work out?” I’ve been seeing this A LOT in my life over the last two years. And for BIG things too !! At first I just would say to myself “well thank god that one thing didn’t work out because now THIS thing is working perfect.” But then I would move on and forget it. It wasn’t until recently that I have begun to see things much different. Let me explain.
So before when this would happen, I would not become aware until after the “other thing” would happen. Are ya confused ? Let me try and put this in a stripped down metaphor because I don’t want to tie this into any one thing that has happened to me over the last two years. And to hit the point home, let’s use a very drastic example that is totally fictional lol
So let’s say I have a big party planned and have spent months getting ready for it. I’ve invited people, bought supplies, and am extremely excited for this party. Now let’s assume the city comes to me and says “You need a permit for that party and since the party is tomorrow you won’t have time to get one and so move our party somewhere else. “ Ugh, Right ?????!!!!!
Now lets say you move the party and while at this party a few things happen. First, because you moved it, more people show up. Win right ?? But then let’s say you turn on the TV in the background and on the news is the original party site completely engulfed in flames with a big headline at the bottom of the screen “Huge Meteor the size of pick p truck crashes into event center.” Haha Of course none of this happened to me, but you get the point. Suddenly the seemingly bad change of plans for moving your party has quickly become a LIFE SAVING decision right ?? Well that’s how I used to view “Bad changes or cancellations” that happen around me. And I used to get so upset or frustrated if something didn’t happen, or is someone cancelled, or if something in my life didn’t happen exactly the way I thought it was going to happen. I’m changing my silly ways though.
It’s very possible that I have way to much alone time to think of these types of things haha In fact, the more i think about it the more i realize that i am just building a story around a very common and well know quote that goes something like “When one door closes, another one opens.” But that quote doesn’t resonate with me the way my Meteor story does lol
So let’s tell that story in a slightly different way =)
Let’s say you get the call to move the event to another location because there’s no permit. This time, rather than be upset or angry, instead stop in your tracks and tell yourself…….”This must mean something BIGGER AND BETTER is supposed to happen!!” Then you anxiously pack up all the party gear to move to that new location and wait with over the top anticipation at the MUCH better plan the universe has for you. Just imagine the benefits and loss of angry moments if you could take on that new paradigm !!
I’m not joking, I can literally list 10 BIG things that in my life the last two years did not work out the way I thought it was meant to, but the way it ended up going was exponentially better =) Things so big and so meaningful that I know it’s not coincidence and that this “formula” I plan to adopt into my life is going to have big and powerful positive consequences =) I couldn’t be more excited !!!
Here are some steps I am taking and maybe you want to do the same. Unfortunately this post will most likely not translate to being an instructor, but at the end of the post I will explain what I plan to do about that.
First, I chose a number that is comfortable to me. That number happens to be (5) Five. Five has always been my lucky number and one that resonates to me in so many ways. I met my ex wife and she also had 5 as her lucky number and like me she used it in everything, even her Jersey for soccer her whole life. And together we created two of the best kids EVER !! So there ya go haha We may not be married anymore, but what our time together created is the best gift I have ever been given so NO REGRETS BABY !!! =)
Anyway, I took the number five and I wrote down 5 big ideas. A few are personal/family related, a few are business and work related, and one is strictly focused on finding my soul mate hehe But all of these are ones that I connect with on every level. When I look at this list I “feel” something on both the mental and physical level. My opinion is that for this to work, these have to be things that give you a “FEELING” and not just random things that would be “nice’ if they happened. So find things that rev you up !!! =)
The next thing I did was bought a Dry erase board. Now this may not work for you if you are married or living with someone who has very specific home decorating ideas for the home haha. I literally went and bought a 4 foot by 8 foot Dry erase board and hung it at the bottom of my stairs so that every morning it’s staring me right in the face !!! (I will take a photo and have Dennis post it for ya). lol. I am and have always been a Very visual person. “Tell” me a story and you may get my attention, BUT put some pictures with it and now you have my “understanding.” So for me the big board is how I will keep my focus on my top 5 !! Think about this and if for you just having a sheet of paper folded in your wallet works, then do that. If a note on the IPhone is your thing, do that. But put this list IN YOUR FACE on a daily basis. And if i had time, I would share with you how this worked for me 8 years ago and I didn’t even know it. In fact, maybe at the end of the post i will slap that in here so if curious you can see what I mean. Anyway……..
Now that you have your chosen number of items (mine was 5 remember lol), you have your chosen way of displaying them (Mine is the large Dry Erase board), NOW right that list in a way that triggers your brain cells to ACT haha. So what I did was used the whole “Basketball Final Four Bracket” deal haha. If you don’t already know this about me, I rarely ever watch any sports. I’m just not interested in watching someone else play, I’d rather be playing. But I know enough to know that this time of year people are all talking about their “Brackets” lol so that’s what I did. And hopefully you will see a photo if Dennis can post the photo.
Instead of putting two things in your bracket , put the Idea/plan/wish on the top line and then leave the one below t blank. Fill out the outcome though. Now chase “Big Idea #1” like a dog chasing a bone !! Every day work towards “Big Idea #1” until you reach it, ORRRRRRR until something gets in the way and changes your path. When and if that happens, put that in the bottom bracket. Then work the crap out of THAT new plan and see if the “Outcome Changes.” I’m venturing to guess that if you follow this path, stay positive and excited about the change the effected the bracket, that the outcome you get will not only be better but will also be one that when you look back you will say “thank god i was forced to change because the original idea now looks less attractive and would not have brought me as much joy !!
See below for my poor attempt to display a bracket haha
BID IDEA #1———
————- Outcome
Leave Blank———
So that’s it for this weeks post. As I said in last weeks post, I am “on a mission to create a better life for me and the kids” and I am sharing with you my road map to do so. And if some or all of these things works, then we will know how we did it.
Two things before you go. First, read below if you want to keep reading my posts as I need to make a decision about whether i should continue with this platform. Second, I will share briefly how 8 years ago this worked for me on a smaller scale and didn’t really recall until this wekend that it did.
Thank you and I hope some of this resonates with you !!
Sadly this is what some people see when they look at your Indoor Cycles. Image from www.bikeradar.com
The big IHRSA convention starts tomorrow (can't wait) and as a follow up to my visit last year I wrote this article. If you visit that link and scroll down a bit, you'll see this image of a banner displayed at the entrance of the convention.
Recumbents in a Group Cycling class?
At the time I wrote:
This banner was the very first thing you saw walking into the LA convention center. My first impression was; “that’s dumb… who would ever want to ride a recumbent bicycle in an Indoor Cycling class?”
As I walked past this display I did a double take and then it hit me > there’s a huge population of people who are intimidated by the skinny, little seats on Indoor Cycles.
Obese/overweight people for starters and you can’t forget Seniors. Together they make up a sizable demographic that we are completely missing. They’re two groups who would really benefit from the comfort of riding on a recumbent, with its large seat and easy to step through design.
Despite all of the technological changes we've witnessed (Power Meters, Virtual Ride Videos & Display Training systems) + the massive increases in popularity (Thank You SoulCycle), Indoor Cycling is still failing to attract large segments of society who would really benefit from our classes.
I'll bet you can quickly describe the profiles of the typical people you do not see in your classes. They include:
Obese people of either gender.
Pregnant women.
People with a physical impairment or limitation – I group all the folks with back injuries here.
Seniors / Elderly living with everything negative that comes from aging.
People recovering from an injury.
Why is that? What's preventing (or discouraging) all the people in these groups from experiencing your awesome class? That skinny saddle for one thing. In the mind of someone 100lbs over weight, it may as well have sharp spikes sticking out… what about the person with a bad back? No way they'll even consider bending forward to reach those handlebars, no matter how high you adjust them. A common scourge of aging is limited mobility; “there's no way I could ever climb on that bicycle. My hips and knees just don't flex like they used to.”
It's the design, stupid.
The riding position of Indoor and outdoor cycles, while perfect for you and me, just doesn't appeal to the populations listed above. In fact there are many who would be terrified at the thought of mounting and riding the Indoor Cycles in your studio.
However they might be willing to join your class, if you offered them a recumbent to ride…
Again from last year's article I added;
I talked at length with the representative from Cascade Health & Fitness about helping them establish a few beta recumbent cycling locations. They are very motivated to meet with anyone who’s interested.
As it turned out there were some Instructors who were interested to experiment with adding a few recumbent Indoor Cycles to their classes. John Kennedy with Cascade Health and Fitness provided three studios each with a pair of recumbents and now, after about six months of use, we're hearing some favorable responses 🙂
Marietta Colberg Roberts is the Fitness Director at Old Town Hot Springs in Steamboat Springs CO. Listen as she describes her experiences bringing people into her classes, who otherwise wouldn't attend.
I am not often late to the party when it comes to music, but I definitely missed this week's favorite track when it came out almost a year ago. I discovered it recently at a PIYO class and it honestly took a few listens for me to really decide I liked it. I wasn't even thinking that it might be a song I'd use in a cycling class, but I'm planning on using it in tonight's playlist. At around 61 RPM's, it would make a great seated or standing climb. Give it a try, and feel free to comment on how you used it in your own class.
