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So this weeks post is going to be more of an “update” to last weeks. Hopefully you read my story last week about searching for things to introduce into my daily routine, as well as REMOVE stuff from the Daily routine so that I can lift my energy and vibration in this world =) So I have a one week progress report and a quick analogy I came up with for “What Meditation is for me.”
So first of all, the hardest past has been to remember to take all of those damn supplements every morning. Fish oils, Herbs, Drops, etc etc etc. Ugh. I wonder if this is truly as much a pain as I am making it out to be, OR if we (society) is just SOOOOO conditioned to strip out the processes of every day things into one FAST and Quick step. Could I be annoyed by having to pick through 4 bottles and 2 droppers every day to take my supplements because a part of me is saying in the background “Go get a one time monthly shot” or “Find a pill that has everything in one.” Who knows, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I dread every morning having to go and take all that stuff haha Maybe I’m just lazy haha
But I have done a decent job at staying away from YouTube and negative documentaries on the economy and our corrupt government =)
Still very much into wearing the Crystals and have started to place others around the house. No way of telling if that is helping BUT if you are interested in hearing something a little “supernatural” that happened than direct message me and I will share something pretty mind blowing =)
By far though what has been the most fun and interesting has been the Meditation !! As I said in my post last week, mediation has always been hard for me because I can’t shut down my brain. So I made a dark room under my basement stairs and have been listening to “3D Guided Meditation” recordings and it is blowing me away !! Can’t say I have had any changes yet in my overall mood/vibration but I am definitely not only learning how to meditate BUT am also finding out that I don’t have to “Shut my brain” to meditate, I only need to focus the chatter to more specific thing(s). Let me try to explain with my analogy of how I have started to look at meditation. Maybe there are people like me reading this who never really fully understood meditations process and maybe this will help. Maybe I am way off base with what it is, but this is what has helped me so there must be some truth to it =)
So here is how I kind of see my day/life in “Analogy” format haha I imagine that I am in this VERY large conference room with lets say 100 people all looking at me and talking to me about 100 different topics. Can you imagine just how confusing and stressful that would be ? I feel like the number has grown over the years too lol But we (society) all do out best to listen, answer, and record as much of that barrage of information throw at us all day right !! No wonder we are so stressed we have forgotten how to relax.
So when someone mentioned mediation to me years ago, I was like “there’s no way” that I could do it. My mind was thinking about the 100 people in the conference room all trying to tell me 100 different stories, and NOW I am expected to go sit in a corner and ignore those 100 people and try to shut off my brain ??!! Impossible haha.
Now let’s imagine that towards the end of the day, or first thing in the morning, or even mid day, all of those people start to funnel out of the room to give you some peace and quite. Would it be a bit easier to meditate ?? You bet your ripped sexy ass it would be (all spinners have tight asses right?? LOL)
So that was my first step/process that I implemented. I made sure to find the best time for me to meditate. Rather than try and squeeze it in any ole place, I chose to do it at night before bed and after the kids are asleep. This is the best time for me, but for you it could be totally different. The point is though to fit it in where it works best and don’t try to FORCE it when you know you can’t empty the conference room lol I mean LITERALLY Imagine your thoughts are a conference room and if that chatter is too loud, then choose a better time.
So I found the second step by mistake. I did a great job at finding the best time to do this (Late at night) and I have total darkness from the Black Room under the stairs (creeeeepy lol). And as you recall, I even put Lilac sent in that room to remind me of my childhood because of the big lilac bush at our hour that bloomed each summer. Anyway, what happened was I did such a great job at “Clearing the conference room” that I found myself in this empty “Conference Room” with nothing to say and no one to talk to =( I was lost haha So, metaphorically speaking” I invited one person back in, and I had a conversation. Let me leave it at that because I could go on for pages and pages about what worked for me, but that has no baring on what may help you. Bottom line is, if you’re like me than try some of these ideas when you get to that point of focus and clarity, invite in one of those thoughts (people) and have a conversation. If it’s health, talk health. Repeat words that give you power ! Flash images in your mind of the people you love, or the faces of your kids. What ever the topic is for that mediation, go ahead and create an image of a person and just have a conversation !! It’s amazing what it can do. Basically it’s free therapy haha
I’m going to keep my post short this week because 1. I have family in town till tomorrow and 2. I am just beginning my spiritual journey and I don’t have proven results just yet. So rather than steer someone wrong, I think it best if I just throw out little bits and let you start experimenting on your own.
As far as tying this all into spinning, I can pretty much sum it up like this. The Spin room is the “Conference Room” in my Analogy and even though the people in our Spin room aren’t (supposed) to be verbally talking to you, they ARE talking to you. The majority of our communication is said to be non verbal, so be sure you are reading the signs ! Look for someone struggling and figure out why ! Find someone juiced and happy about life EVERY TIME YOU SEE THEM and ask why so that you can (if you haven’t already) be as happy or happier !!! Look for someone riding in an awkward position and make sure they aren’t fighting thru an injury they aren’t aware of. If my definition of Meditation is even close to right, and so far it’s working for me so it must be on the right track, than our classes are a great place to meditate. A Great way to exchange energy, power, ideas, Vibration !! A great place to practice finding our focus, and creating better ways of pulling our heads out of Facebook and all other Social Media so that we can connect with the people around us. Because you don’t have to like everyone in this life, but I have always believed that every person has at least one important thing to share with you from their Journey that can help you with yours.
Below, Premium Members can read a detailed description of this Class Profile, download a printable Class Profile that can be used in class, read a detailed description of the Power Based Training Zones and download a printable Power Postcard.
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Have you every had someone come to your class, all kitted out in their cycling team's matching outfit (all the way down to gloves and sox), not follow anything you say the entire class then approach you after class and want to discuss their “training program”?
This conversation usually starts with this, color coordinated, rider “apologizing” for not following along during class and is usually followed by a BIG condescending “BUT, I ride outside!” As if to say whatever you and the other riders are doing in this studio is worthless to me because “I ride outside”. So I usually say, “That's great, happy to have you in class today, what Category rider are you?” This question is usually followed by a confused look. To which I ask “What Category do you race in?” The response to this question is almost always “I don't race, I just ride outside”. So then I ask this rider if he/she is training for any specific event like a century or multi-day touring ride? I sometimes get a “Yes” but most often I hear “No, I RIDE OUTSIDE!” as if this is supposed to mean something special to me. At this point the outside rider likes to tell me that they are only using my class for “base building” to prepare them for riding outside and that the intervals I do in most of my indoor cycling classes are too intense for base building. When this statement is made I agree and let this low intensity junkie know that I coach multiple endurance athletes who are training for events like Ironman, marathon, multi-day bike touring events, mountain bike enduro races and that I have completed 8 Ironman events myself. I let this “base builder” know that I'm a firm believer in the power of building a strong base for the higher intensity work that is to follow in a periodized training program. The word “periodized” usually gets me a confused look from this outside, base building, rider. So I explain that if you are using the winter months to build base, in order to reach your full potential it's necessary to add some higher intensity interval based training after the base building period. The answer to this statement is usually “I don't follow a specific training program I just ride outside”. I'll then ask “How are your outside rides organized?”, to which I'll get an response telling me how the ride leader will send out an e-mail telling the group what matching outfit to wear for the ride tomorrow, what time and coffee shop the ride will start at, what coffee shop the ride will rest at and what coffee shop the ride will finish at and approximately how long the ride will be. Then I'll ask “how far and how long are these rides?” And I'll get an answer like 40 miles in 4 hours. My response is usually, “So you are actually on a 12 month long base building program”. I explain that if you are riding at a low intensity now, in class, AND riding at a low intensity throughout the summer on your organized group rides you are never really taxing your cardiovascular system and you will actually get slower and slower over time. I'll usually get a frustrated “BUT I RIDE OUTSIDE” response and I'll calmly respond that your body doesn't care weather you're inside or out, low intensity is low intensity and a 4 hour ride with multiple coffee breaks is by definition a low intensity ride which by definition is a base building ride.
As the logic of my argument starts to sink in, this long slow distance loving, 12 month a year base building, kit wearing, condescending outdoor rider asks me in a huff “So, what would you recommend?” I respond by explaining that if you are not following a periodized training program developed by a reputable coach and if you are not training for any specific event, but only to enjoy your rides outside I would recommend that during the winter months doing some high intensity training. I explain, due to the weather and lack of daylight during the winter months many riders are forced to train at a much lower volume. I recommend, due to this lower volume, increasing fitness through higher intensity shorter training sessions. I'll justify that this training method is gaining popularity with many of the worlds top coaches. Since this, espresso drinking, outdoor rider probably doesn't respect my knowledge because I ride inside I'll ask for his/her e-mail address so I can forward some articles on this training method (articles like The Myth of Winter Base Training for Cyclists). My final recommendation and probably the hardest for this outdoor rider to stomach is, when coming to indoor cycling classes, to follow along with the class profile. Many indoor cycling instructors also ride outside and actually know what they are doing and what they are taking about. Many have college degrees in the field, years of experience and are certified to teach indoor cycling through reputable organizations. WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING!!!!!!! If you follow our programs you will get more fit.
If you can win this rider over and they start to see fitness gains he/she will be a become a lifelong fan of you and indoor cycling.
Premium Members, follow the link below to download this new mix for FREE!!!!!
[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']
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Download Linked File As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
To download the above media on a PC:
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Save Link As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library Click here to watch a video on how to download media files from ICI/Pro.
With St. Patrick's Day just a week or so away, it's time to start planning your playlists for a rockin' St. Patty's Day ride! This is one of my favorite rides that I do each year because there are so many great songs/bands to choose from that would fit into the St. Patrick's Day theme. If you've new to teaching or if you've just never put a St. Patrick's Day ride together, I hope this post can help you get started. Here are a few amazing band's that you'll want to check out when planning your playlist:
Young Dubliner's (Favorites: Bodhran, The Foggy Dew, I'll Tell Me Ma)
Here is my Spotify playlist from last year's class:
…and a Spotify playlist with some great Irish tunes from Topsify US:
And let's not forget the cool down/stretch. I came across this “Mashup” from The Piano Guys which features one of my favorite songs of 2015 and I've been waiting patiently to put it on this year's playlist:
I hope you've found some inspiration from this post to create your own playlist for an amazing St. Patrick's Day ride this year!
What's your favorite song to use for a St. Patrick's Day ride?
