ICI/PRO member Joe Ducosin was the front cover model of our local community magazine – you look great Joe 🙂
Joe's Cycle Quest Studio runs a regular weight loss challenge and it was featured in this article; Southwest Metro Fitness Challenges – Local gyms and fitness studios offer motivation for kicking your metabolism to a new level.
 Pedal Off the Pounds
Duration: Eight weeks, beginning September 10. Goal: Weight loss through exercise and nutrition Reward: Participant losing the highest percentage of body weight in fat will win a five pack of classes Brief description of program: Participants receive a professional fitness assessment and unlimited cycling and boot camp classes for the eight-week challenge at CycleQuest Studio in Eden Prairie, along with nutrition and fitness coaching. The cost to register is $275 (discounted to $250 if you sign up with a friend.) 6409 City West Pkwy., Suite 107, Eden Prairie; 952.236.7691
Next, our very own Indoor Cycling Studio Design Expert Barbara Hoots was published in ClubIndustry.com, the leading resource for fitness business professionals.
Barbara's article;Â Design Your Indoor Cycling Studio to Boost Momentum, Membership and RevenueÂ
Momentum is important for organizations to survive their competition. Look at any successful product or service and notice the improvements made after the product is introduced. Club members are constantly introduced to new and improved products, yet when they show up at an indoor cycling studio, they face the same white walls, mediocre sound system and bike arrangement you had when the doors first opened. In order to maintain a competitive edge, club owners must constantly renovate, rethink and renew their cycling program.
By Jennifer Lintz, Registered Dietitian and ICI PRO Contributor
A few days ago, I attended one of my colleagues' classes. The ride was top notch from start to finish, but one drill in particular got me thinking.
Towards the middle of class, Lori (the instructor) told us we would be doing a climb. I can't remember exactly how long we were to be in hill mode – it was either 3 or 4 1/2 minutes – but I do remember her instructions for the drill. She told us to lift out of the saddle for 15 seconds three separate times during the climb. The catch? We could decide when. This was an interactive drill. As a participant, it forced me to be present, keep my eye on the clock, and take ownership of the task I had been given.
As an instructor, I immediately felt like I gained a new tool to enhance participant engagement. If one of our goals is to help our students stay present on the bike, why not give them some time in the driver's seat?
Certainly, it might be a bit much to do a class full of drills like the one I just described, but sprinkling in one or two could be a great way to keep students focused. Being in Lori's class got me thinking about other drills that might have a similar impact. Here are two I came up with:
– Flat: 5 minutes. The bulk of the flat should feel moderate in intensity. Work at a hard intensity at least twice for 30 seconds. If, in the last minute of the flat, there is time for one more push, challenge them to fit it in.
-Intervals: 3 minutes. Alternate between high and low intensities for the duration on the drill. The “work” period must be longer than the recovery. Time frames are left up to the students.
-Hill: 3 minutes. Each minute should be more challenging than the previous. The increased intensity can be created by a change in speed or resistance.
Do you have other drill ideas that give participants guidance, but ultimately put them in charge?
My experience as a student reinforced just how beneficial it can be to spend time on the other side of the cycle studio. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well.
So I decided to lead my first virtual ride this past week.  In my true style, I didn’t just try it in one of my classes but at all 5 clubs.  I like to just throw myself into things so I can learn and experience while the iron is hot.  For those not familiar with a “virtual ride”, this is when the class rides to a video.  In most cases the video is designed to simulate the road the riders are on to provide a more realistic “visualization” and experience. I’ve seen this attempted in the past but never with much success.  I contributed the lack of success to a number of things:
(1) The screen or TV was too small to allow riders to feel like they were “there”.  Even large screen LCD TVs will not cut it.
(2) The video was not stimulating enough and/or the camera angles were not realistic.
(3) The instructor either said nothing and just let the riders roll along to the music OR gave not-so-exciting (and obvious) dialog to accompany the video like “OK, now we are climbing so let’s add some resistance…….now we are going downhill so let’s take some of the resistance off”.
The Equipment
I decided that if I was going to do a virtually ride, I wanted to give it a fair shake. Besides the video or DVD, I needed to have good equipment.  But it needed to meet a couple of criteria if I was going to start incorporating these rides on a regular basis.  First, everything needed to by uber-portable.  I don’t want to be lugging in a mini production crew to pull this off. Second, I need to be able to setup in less than 30 minutes with minimal disruption to the room and finally, the picture quality needs to be captivating.  Here is what I put together:
HD Projector with Tripod mount
Tripod
25’ Electrical Extension Cable
25’ iPod Audio Extension Cable
HDMI Cable/Adapter from Laptop to Projector
Laptop (with DVD Player)
White Queen-size Cotton Bed Sheet
2” wide Black Duct/Gaffers Tape
I was able to successfully setup everything 20 minutes. Â This included having to shift a few bikes to make room for the projector and tripod and in 2 cases, move the bike and rolling stereo cabinet off the instructor platform. Â The cycling studios I teach at all have mirrors so I was not able to project on the wall. This is where the white sheet and tape came in. Â I simply taped the sheet to the mirror and it worked great. Â By my fifth class on Friday, I clocked the setup at 14 minutes. Taking everything down only took 10 minutes.
Hey Mikey, I Think They Liked it!
It was an absolute hit across all clubs (each with a very different demographic) and at different timeslots from morning to evening.  With no big surprise, I performed my virgin virtual ride experience with one of Global Ride Productions’ France DVDs which included the ascent up the Col de la Columbiere.  There was some added excitement with this particular choice since we had just come off the heels of 3 weeks of indoor Tour de France rides with riders left in a post-TDF depression.
Before I led the ride, I watched the DVD and wrote a script of how I was going to approach the class. Â I incorporated early warm-up drills, climbing intervals and some attacks with grueling muscular strength efforts. Â In addition to great (multiple) camera angles, the video included riders on the road which we (the class) intermingled with along the way. Â I led the same class all week. Â Yes, the researcher in me wanted to compare apples to apples with each class.
The virtual ride received rave reviews.  Riders felt it was the best experience they had ever had and one of the hardest workouts. As an instructor, I found it very easy to lead.  The Global Ride DVDs are divided into consecutive sections that make sense as a single ride and there is a timer at the bottom right of the screen so it is hard to get lost.  I decided to use the music provided (Whoa….I know) just to see how it would fly right out of the package per se.  Needless to say I had a ton of fun last week and got some great “energizing” feedback.
ZONE 5 ALERT: As many of you know, I tend to fake it through many of these classes.  Basically, I don’t work as hard as my riders in order to coach them on and off the bike.  I found these virtual rides hard to fake.  My heart rate ran into zone 5 (capacity) with my riders as we hit the summit of the Col de la Columbiere.
If you’ve done virtual rides in your classes, add some comments below and share your experiences and what you’ve learned.  I spoke to ICI/Pro member/instructor Shirin Beckett (CA) last week who has a lot of experience with virtual rides.  I’m hoping she will add some gems to this topic as well.  I’m also including a link to the cue sheet I created for DVD 3 “TDF Climbing in FRANCE” so you can how I organized and approached the ride – Download Cue Sheet
Give it a try! But be careful, you may just get addicted to indoor cycling all over again!
I love sharing anything created by public speaking expert Alexa Fischer. She has just published part one of a free video series. I just finished watching this 13 min video and felt you may enjoy learning how to move past the negative thoughts that could be holding you back from effortlessly connecting with your riders.
When opportunities happen, it's up to you to be ready.
Whether it's chatting your boss up in the elevator, introducing yourself to a major influencer, sharing your new idea at the company retreat or effortlessly welcoming new neighbors, when you speak with confidence and calm – in any situation – it matters.
It matters to you, but it also matters to them.
Drum roll, please… I cordially invite you to watch VIDEO ONE of the 1000 Watt Presence: Free Training Series. No need to sign up, just click on the video and you'll be directed to the classroom. This week I'm sharing a few exercises to help you identify and release the habitual negative thoughts that have been holding you back. And the truth is, we all have them.
Positive thoughts are your fuel for happiness, success and clarity. Your inner scripts are the reason you have stopped yourself from speaking up, taking risks and seizing opportunities.  But habits can be changed.  Starting now.
“This weeks ride is from Amy! – This is a copy of one of the rides that Amy does during the Cycling Fusion Certifications to show the new instructors a sampling of various drills that they can use to build their rider’s skills.” Joey
Master Instructor Tom Scotto's latest Audio PROfile
OBJECTIVE AND INTENSITY
The objective of Getting Started With Intervals Audio PROfile is to allow riders to first understand that there are many ways to perform intervals. An “interval” is just a duration of time. Not only can the amount of time spent during each interval vary, but the approach as well. For example, intervals can focus on strength, aerobic fitness, threshold management or pedal stroke technique. In addition to the length of each effort, the target intensity and target cadence play a role in how the body interprets the stress and benefit.
Next, our very own Indoor Cycling Studio Design Expert Barbara Hoots was published in ClubIndustry.com, the leading resource for fitness business professionals.
By Jennifer Lintz, Registered Dietitian and ICI PRO Contributor
