Many of our riders remember the 1980's television show Knight Rider. You know, the one where David Hasselhoff (AKA Michael Knight) drives around in an indestructible and highly intelligent car named KITT? This week's favorite track features the theme to the show-in remix form. There are several different mixes to choose from depending on the length you're wanting to use for your particular profile. They're all around 63 RPM's. If you're looking for a song with a good, driving beat and no lyrics this one is great. I even had a few people that recognized it! I hope you enjoy using it in your classes!
My Dever Broncos are on their way to the Super Bowl! Everything in Denver is Orange this week, so I figured why not make my profile all about Orange. Most group display systems associate the Threshold Zone with the color Orange. If you have ever tried to hold a threshold intensity for any length of time you know how difficult this is. The goal is this profile it to stay in the Threshold or Orange Zone for as long as possible.
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, download a printable Power Postcard and download a Harmonically Mixed Music Set that can be used for this profile.
[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']
Workout Basics:
4 minute warmup
1 minute recovery
#18 minute interval slightly above “maximum sustainable intensity” or threshold
1 minute recovery
3 X 3 minute interval at a slightly higher intensity or average wattage than the #18 minute interval
1 minute of “recovery” only a few watts or heart beats below the 3 minute intensity after each interval
3 x 2 minute interval at a slightly higher intensity or average wattage than the #18 minute interval
1 minute of “recovery” only a few watts or heart beats below the 2 minute intensity after each interval
3 x 1 minute close to maximum intensity
1 minute recovery after each interval
3 X 30 second interval done at absolute maximum intensity
30 seconds recovery after each interval
Workout Goal:
Can you respect the ORANGE and stay in your Threshold zone for all intervals before we max out at the end.
4 minute warm up
Soft pedal for the first 2 minutes. Get comfortable on bike. Discuss fit and console.
Slowly and steadily increase HR and/or Average Wattage each minute, for 2 minutes, keep intensity below threshold.
1 minute recovery.
#18 minute “Benchmark” or Stages IQ FTP Test goals and specifics:
Ride for 18 minutes at a VERY challenging intensity or wattage.
If you have the capability to capture average wattage use the average wattage as your “Benchmark”. If you are limited to RPE to determine intensity use your cueing to make sure participants remember how this 18 minute interval “feels”. All intervals sets in this profile will use this wattage number or RPE as a starting point.
If you are instructing with a Group Display System like Stages IQ, this is when you will have your class perform their initial FTP or Threshold test.
This is a long effort so switch it up as you ride, but keep intensity around threshold for the entire 18 minutes in the Orange Zone.
1 minute recovery in Zone 1 or Blue
3 minute interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 3 minutes at a higher intensity, RPE or average wattage than the previous #18 minute interval.
Ride seated with a cadence of 80-110 RPM.
If using Stages IQ ride in the Orange zone.
1 minute “recovery” just below Threshold or in the Yellow zone.
3 minute interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 3 minutes at a higher intensity, RPE or average wattage than the previous #18 minute interval.
Miller Time Interval seated with a cadence of 58 RPM.
If using Stages IQ ride in the Orange zone.
1 minute “recovery” just below Threshold or in the Yellow zone.
3 minute interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 3 minutes at a higher intensity, RPE or average wattage than the previous #18 minute interval.
Another Miller Time Interval with a cadence of 58 RPM.
Alternate between seated and standing riding for 30 seconds.
If using Stages IQ ride in the Orange zone.
1 minute “recovery” just below Threshold or in the Yellow zone
2 minute interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 2 minutes at a higher intensity, RPE or average wattage than the previous #18 minute interval.
Ride seated with a cadence of 80-110 RPM.
If using Stages IQ ride in the Orange zone.
1 minute “recovery” just below Threshold or in the Yellow zone.
2 minute interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 2 minutes at a higher intensity, RPE or average wattage than the previous #18 minute interval.
Miller Time Interval seated with a cadence of 58 RPM.
If using Stages IQ ride in the Orange zone.
1 minute “recovery” just below Threshold or in the Yellow zone.
2 minute interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 2 minutes at a higher intensity, RPE or average wattage than the previous #18 minute interval.
Another Miller Time Interval with a cadence of 58 RPM.
Alternate between seated and standing riding for 30 seconds.
If using Stages IQ ride in the Orange zone.
1 minute “recovery” just below Threshold or in the Yellow zone
3 x 1 minute interval goals and specifics:
Ride for 1 minute at a higher intensity, RPE or average wattage than the previous 2 minute interval.
Ride standing with a cadence of 60-80 RPM.
If using Stages IQ ride in the DARK RED zone.
1 min recovery after the interval 1 and 2
1 minute recovery at the end of the set in Zone 1 or Blue
3 X 30 second interval goals and specifics:
Repeat three 30 seconds at MAX intensity, RPE or wattage.
Whether you’re riding indoors or outdoors, cumulative cycling efforts are often measured in kJs (kilojoules). For example, at the end of a Stages Indoor Cycling workout you’ll see total kJs on the Stages Power Console on the RESULTS screen. After a ride outdoors on your bike, you may also see total kJ’s on your cycling head unit. So, what is a kJ and why should you care? We’re glad you asked!
Let’s start at the beginning. We’ll explain this KJ thing in terms of a workout on the SC3 Stages Indoor Bike and Stages Power Console. Basic mathematics comin’ atcha, consider yourselves warned.
What is a Watt?
A watt is a standard international unit of power. More often than not it is represented in horsepower. In fact, 1 horsepower = 746 watts. Try to generate 700+ watts. It’s a fun experiment and rather quickly you will realize that yes it’s true, a horse is more powerful than you.
The Stages Power Meter and Console will measure and display the user’s power output in watts. To get this wattage we need movement (RPMs) and force. On the Stages bike, force is measured when the rider steps down on the pedal. As you turn the resistance dial to the right you have to work harder to step down on the pedals, thus more force is generated.
This product of movement and force = WATTS. With us so far?
Now what if you could take all those little watts and add them up over the total time of your ride to see how much energy was expended? You can do just that, if you convert to kilojoules.
1 watt = 1 joule applied for 1 second
1000 of those joules = 1 kilojoule (KJ)
In other words…
kilojoules = watts X seconds / 1000
Now let’s look at kjs to kcals:
The last conversion in our chain of interrelated metrics is converting kilojoules (work over time) to kilocalories (food energy required to do the aforementioned work).
At Stages Cycling we choose NOT to think of calories as the enemy and in fact we’re growing a bit weary of superfluous calorie conversations. Instead we have chosen to give you the straight facts and the straight science.
So first, let’s answer a question that we get asked all the time:
“Why do you call it “kcal”? Can’t it just say “Calories?”” Funny you should ask, there’s a Trivial Pursuit-worthy answer for that!
A calorie- sometimes called a “gram calorie” or “small calorie” (note the lower-case “c”)- is a unit of energy. In fact, it is the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. But it turns out that, metabolically speaking, the calorie unit isn’t very practical due to its small value. In nutritional contexts kilocalories- also known as “large calories” or Calories (the upper-case “C” is important)- are preferred. As you might guess, 1 kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories, or 1 Calorie. Interestingly, the large Calorie is not officially recognized as an international standard unit of measurement. However, in spite of its non-official status, the large Calorie is still widely used as a unit of food energy in the US, UK and some other Western countries. If you travel abroad or purchase any packaged imported food you may notice that within the European Union, both the kilocalorie (kcal) and kilojoule (kJ), another unit used to describe energy, appear side-by-side on nutrition labels.
“Wait, what? How am I supposed to wrap my head around that? Besides I thought kilojoules were watts added up over time?!”
Keep in mind that energy is energy, regardless of its units. We’re simply going to take the work that you put into the bike and convert it into its equivalent energy in Calories (kcal) rather than kJ. A benefit to using the Stages Power Meter with the Stages console is that all these energy and power measurements become readily available! And now, the last step in the chain, the secret sauce, and the moment you’ve all been waiting for: converting kJ to kcal!
Here are some fun figures:
4.186 kJ = 1 kcal = 1 Calorie
Standard assumption of human mechanical efficiency = 22%
I know what you’re thinking, “Where does that 22% come from?”
As it turns out, the human body is amazing, but it’s not very mechanically efficient. The efficiency of human muscle has been measured (in the context of rowing and cycling) at a whopping 18-26%. This means that only 18%-26% of the energy available to the muscles is actually translated into doing work- the rest is lost as waste. For our calculations we simply chose the median point, which is regarded in the fitness equipment industry as the standard assumption of mechanical efficiency, also known as the best approximate value.
The Stages console uses the following formula to convert the kJ value to the kcal value:
kJ / 4.186 / .22
First, the kilojoules value is converted to the kilocalories equivalent (4.186 kilojoules = 1 kilocalorie). Then, this value is divided by the standard assumption of human mechanical efficiency (22 percent). The result is the approximate amount of food energy used.
Your homework assignment- should you choose to accept it- is to do a ride on the fabulous Stages bike with Power Console and take two pictures at the conclusion of your ride. One picture with the kJ info showing at the top and another with the kcal info at the top. When you have a spare moment try out the equation above and you’ll be amazed, it’s Math-magical!
You can learn more about Power, the Stages Power Meter and the Stages Indoor Cycling bike at the Stages Cycling website.
One of my Christmas gifts this year was a record player and the first album I listened to on this turn table was Elton John's Greatest Hits. The sound that comes from vinyl is amazing, it simply can not be replicated on a digital device like an iPhone. One of my resolutions this year is to learn to enjoy music again. The day I got certified to teach indoor cycling I started putting all music in two categories; Can I ride to this song or not? Music that I felt could not be used in an indoor cycling class was simply deleted.
There's too much great music out there to go through life not really enjoying it. So I have that turntable set up in my office and when I'm ready to listen and enjoy some music, I pull a record out of my new collection of vinyl, place it on the turn table, watch it spin for a little bit, place the needle on the edge and just let the music play. It's incredibly liberating to enjoy the beauty and artistry of some of the greatest song writers and musician again.
An interesting thing happened while listening to albums in their entirety, I'm still finding songs that will work in my classes, here's a Power of 3 mix from one of my favorite artists, Elton John.
Premium Members, follow the link below to download this new mix.
[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.
I can't remember ever talking to a new studio owner, who didn't express the dream to open & own a second… and possibly a third studio once their first was established.
Which raises an interesting question…
When is the right time to open a 2nd studio? And should you?
Studio Owner Nancy Katinas owns The Revolution, a pair of Indoor Cycling studios in upstate New York. She joins me to share her thoughts and experiences about how she and her partners built their first profitable studio. And then opened a second a few years later.
What about Instructor exclusivity? Dennis Mellon share his thoughts from the Instructor's perspective last week. Be sure to catch Nancy's explanation of her studio's policy – one that I found pretty gutsy as it takes a bunch of confidence to pull off.
If you're interested in learning about franchising options for opening an indoor cycling studio – we have a podcast you should listen to here.
Great stuff here for any current (or future) studio owners!
As you hear in the interview, despite not having Indoor Cycles with power indication, Nancy is a fan of Performance IQ – she's using PIQ's heart rate display training system with great success. Here's a few of her participants sharing their thoughts.
Are you ready for some football??? Superbowl Sunday is just over a week away and if you are planning on creating a Superbowl themed ride or playlist this year, I have just the tunes to get you started. First, here's a playlist that includes five tunes to get you started with your ride music:
