There was an interesting question asked at one of the Facebook groups;
If you were to tell a New Instructor to master one thing as an Indoor cycling instructor . What would it be ?
There were a plenty of great responses that included; learn musicality, cuing, be prepared, be yourself, project confidence/control your class (very important) and other suggestions that focused on education. All important for sure. Mine was short – Smile. Pretty simplistic I'll agree – but when you consider that your ability to connect with the riders in your class is crucial for building and maintaining a full class, regularly smiling at people can really add to your overall presentation.
My response was directed at a long running frustration I have. Over hundreds of classes I've taken or observed, I've seen very few smiling Instructors. Lot's of serious Instructors. Instructors who scowl, grimace and a few who look bored… but not many who offer a genuine smile. Sure you'll find pictures of smiling Instructors posted on Facebook or instagram > they're smiling because that's the natural response most people have when having their picture taken. On the count of three I want everyone to Smile. One, Two, Three…
You can make me feel good [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']
I like it when someone smiles at me. Do you? Dumb question, of course you and everyone else I know enjoys a smile. A warm/real smile communicates an enormous amount of goodwill, acceptance and affirmation between two people. Who can forget a smile from someone of great importance? Maybe it was a crush you had in highschool. When he/she smiled at you it validated you as important to someone else. Or maybe you received a smile from a person in authority that said “well done” and boosted your self confidence in a way words never could?
Why so serious?
I do tend to see Instructors with super serious faces. You know, that stern face that conveys concern as they scan across the room. Realising many of us take our role as that of a concerned watchdog, I get how it's important to be watchful of everyone.
I few years back Cycling Fusion ran a contest to find great Instructors. There were quite a few videos submitted, each demonstrating different/unique Instructor styles. Watch a few minutes of the video below to see if you have the same reaction I had > Keith's “persona” is very intense – nothing wrong with that. Can you see how his class presentation could be improved if he just smiled occasionally?
Consider for a moment you're a participant. Better yet, you are a brand new rider – this is your very first class. So there you are, riding along and feeling pretty good about your success so far. Then you happen to raise your head and see the Instructor looking directly at you with a super serious face…
Why is she looking at me like that? Crap. Am I doing something wrong? I mustn't be pedaling right… are my hand in the wrong place? Sit up straighter… yeah that's it, I need to sit up straighter. Oh good, she's looking at someone else now. She can tell I'm not very good at this…
The goal is to mask your concern/focus/intensity with a friendly & inviting smile.
Pick someone to smile at, using your eyes
In this article about eye contact, I described an Instructor who looked at everything in the studio, but never at me. Or it at least felt that way. He would get close to looking at me; above my head, to the left, right and at the floor. Never once did he make eye contact with me… and it was kind of creepy.
Notice in the video where Kevin looks while he's teaching? Straight ahead and somewhat down, at a place just in front of him, right? It doesn't appear to me that he's looking directly at the riders… and he's certainly not making eye contact with anyone. How do I know that? Because most people's expression will change when they connect with another person who's across the room. There are riders facing him, but I don't see any reaction that shows he's connecting with any of them.
What to do?
We've encouraged Instructors to record the audio of their classes. So they can hear exactly what their class hears.
Are my cues clear?
Am I talking over and/or competing with the lyrics?
Do I talk too much?
Not enough?
What tone do I use?
Does it communicate energy and various emotions – or am I monotone, without any vocal inflection?
Listening to your class presentation can identify any issues/weaknesses. Just like improving your fitness (if you can measure it… you can improve it) being aware of small things that detract from your presentation is the launching pad for improving your presentation skills.
Moving beyond audio, I'm thinking your class presentation could be improved if you were to film yourself. Then you'd see;
Am I smiling?
What's my expression when I'm not smiling?
Am I making eye contact?
Does my face show a reaction of connecting with others?
Do I scan the room? Or focus in just one place?
It doesn't need to be anything fancy – only you will be watching this. Most phones have excellent video capabilities. You could probably craft a simple stand using a chair and a folded up towel. Get there early, set up you camera, turn it on and then hopefully you'll forget it's running – remember everyone smiles when they know they're being filmed. You want a candid video of the real/natural you.
Important note: try to resist the natural self-criticism that comes from watching yourself in a video. You're only looking for signs of connecting with riders and projecting positive vibes. Unless the class you teach is filled with experienced cyclists, your participants aren't nit-picking how you're ride the bike.
Sleep difficulties can take several different forms. Let’s look at one.
If you have trouble falling asleep at night, one easy solution is to eat a small portion of carbohydrate, preferably starch, about an hour or so before bed. Starch examples include quinoa, potato, rice, sweet potato, pumpkin, oats, even pasta.
What Starches Do[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']
Starches stimulate insulin, and insulin allows a specific amino acid (tryptophan) to reach the brain. When tryptophan reaches the brain, it’s used to make serotonin.
Serotonin relaxes us and allows us to fall asleep. It’s also converted to melatonin, the sleep hormone. Melatonin has the additional benefit of anti-inflammatory action, which is one reason sleep is so good for us.
When Starch Doesn’t Work, Add Turkey
If you try starch and still can’t fall asleep, another suggestion is to start your pre-bed food ritual with a little bit of turkey, which contains a relatively high amount of tryptophan. Eating carb together with turkey will have the same effect that you may have experienced after a Thanksgiving dinner — feeling sleepy after the meal.
Although turkey is usually blamed for that sleepiness, the tryptophan wouldn’t reach the brain readily if we didn’t eat carbs with it. Several larger and more abundant amino acids compete with tryptophan for brain entry. In effect, they block tryptophan and prevent it from reaching the brain.
Those competing amino acids are used to form dopamine and norepinephrine, which make us alert.
How Carbs Help
When carbs trigger insulin release, the insulin transports amino acids throughout the body. They can then be used for the various functions that aminos are used for: formation of antibodies, hormones, receptor sites, enzymes, and more.
At that point, tryptophan — smaller in size and less plentiful — can reach the brain. It can then be converted to serotonin.
Why Starches? Why Not Sugar?
Some people tend to crave sugar before bed, but eating it can backfire for a couple of reasons.
Sugar triggers the release of endorphins and dopamine. As mentioned above, dopamine is a brain alertness chemical, so it could wake us up, rather than allowing us to fall asleep. Some people are more sensitive to the dopamine effect of sugar and might find themselves “wired” after eating sugar.
Starches, in contrast, tend to produce relaxation without that wired feeling.
Another Problem With Sugar
Another way sugar can backfire has to do with glucose. This could wake us up in the middle of the night.
Sugar tends to trigger high insulin secretion. That effect is much more pronounced in some people than in others. (Those people are called “carbohydrate sensitive”, but don’t be confused by the name. We’re still talking about sugar before bed, rather than starch.)
In someone who is sensitive to sugar in this way, the extra insulin might cause glucose levels to drop very low. It might seem as if the low glucose would make someone so tired that they’d stay asleep all night and even having trouble waking in the morning.
Instead, the drop in glucose tends to cause us to wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty going back asleep, even if we feel tired.
So starch again seems to be a better solution.
Bottom line
Eat protein throughout the day, and eat less protein with your dinner. Eat a small portion of starch about an hour or so before bedtime. Add turkey if it doesn’t work. Avoid late-night sugar.[/wlm_private]
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Note from John: Last Thursday a participant asked me; “John, where do you find all of these helpful tidbits about eating? I'm a sugar addict like you (I share my own personal struggles with my class) and appreciate your helpful reminders.” I responded by telling her that Dr. Joan Kent, our resident nutritionist at my website ICI/PRO, publishes these weekly. I simply copy down a few notes or print the article and share the info during recoveries.
Wishing all our ICI/PRO members who are Moms a very special Mother's Day! You do the most important job there is and it's fitting that there's a day to celebrate you.
American Airlines is promoting their new Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplanes. The soundtrack that's part of this promotional video is awesome.
These 787's are actually pretty neat. They have a bunch of innovative features that are supposed to make these a more enjoyable to fly in. The body of the 787 is built of composites vs. aluminium making it stronger. This allows Boeing to pressurize the cabin to what you'd experience at 6,000′ instead of the 8,000′ – 10,000′ pressure = much less ear pain and fewer crying babies. Add that they'll maintain a 15% humidity level (not the 4% desert you fly in today) and this should be a much more comfortable method for travel.
[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 track their using is Story Of The Whistle from Dance Emperor. The track used in the video is slightly different – but I like it just as well. A fun, aerobic climb, Story Of The Whistle taps out around 70RPM and includes a nice, 20 sec soft spot that comes at the 1:40 point. Perfect for asking everyone to re-commit to their efforts!
Click here if you're not seeing the download link.[/wlm_private]
I got an email question this morning that had me frustrated in my lack of organization here.
Hi John,
Am I remembering right that you use a wireless transmitter for your music? With my classes smaller I thought it would be fun to ride along with my riders and would like to be able to still change the music on my iPhone. I am having trouble finding whatever it is you are using. Can you point me at that article?
There's actually a few articles that describe the Bluetooth wireless receiver I use. Better, I thought we should have an easy to find page here at ICI/PRO devoted to our recommended Tools Of The Trade for Indoor Cycling Instructors.
Tools of our Trade!
Productivity – Professionals value their time. Here's how to save some of yours:
Amazon Prime easily saves me six or more hours a month, gallons of gas and removes my tendency toward impulse purchases. How? By preventing me from wasting time running to the store for little things I don't need immediately and then grabbing stuff I don't need. For example; I noticed that after 20 years many of our door stop springs are bent and missing the little rubber end cap. Instead of running to the hardware store to purchase a few one dollar parts, Amazon Prime delivered a bag of ten to my house in two days, for less than the local store and ZERO shipping costs.
ICI/PRO has helped over a thousand Instructors find a simple answer to; What am I going to teach tomorrow? We have over 65 class profiles and hundreds of articles about effectively teaching a fun and effective class based on Heart Rate or Power + there's a reason many of the major brands are connected with ICI/PRO. We deliver quality information. Spend a short time with us and you'll be the expert at your club or studio. Options for Monthly or Annual (saves $$$) membership.
Class Music Playlist Preparation –
At $19.95 the ClassBuilder iPhone App from Cycling Fusion isn't cheep, but it has become the standard tool for Instructors who want their cues displayed at the correct time on their iPhone. Works with either iTunes or Spotify music and includes the option to connect to your video projector or TV to show your class profile.
Schwinn's free iPhone App is limited to iTunes music – which maybe exactly what you use! Add your time based cues and hit play for a well organised class.
Music Counting Tools
The Windows version Tap-To-The-Beat counter isn’t pretty, but I've used it for years – download it here.
Mixed in Key software identifies the musical key of your tracks, creating harmonically mixed playlists that avoid transitions that “clash” musically – wrecking the energy and flow of your playlist. You can learn more about this advanced DJ technique and find full class playlists that we've mixed harmonicallyin this series of posts.
Class Videos
Here's a list of Wide Screen – HD DVDs and digital streaming videos for your indoor cycling class:
Ride-Fit digital downloads of group cycling at three levels of intensity
Many of these videos are structured rides, some are just pretty scenery, all will add a refreshing element of visual entertainment to your class
Deliver Your Class
This $25 Bluetooth receiver will connect your iPhone/Android device wirelessly to your club's sound system. Then you'll have full remote control of your music from anywhere in the room.
Educational Resources
I frequently recommend Cycling Fusion's online Instructor course and their Power Training eBook for Instructors new to teaching with power/watts. The online Instructor training is a great option for an experienced participant who needs a certification to begin teach at their favorite club or studio 🙂
Fixing & Adjusting Stuff – Actual “tools” and parts to keep everything working correctly.
I'm not a fan of using a Goniometer for bike setup, but this one rocks if you want to own one. I prefer to use the simple technique I learned from Schwinn – perfect every time, works in a crowded studio and you don't have to touch anyone.
Our recommended replacement parts supplier is Sportsmith.com
Sportsmith is also the distributor of the Red Pedal Tool that I invented to easily and safely remove the shoe baskets from the Red Schwinn Triple Link Pedals – sorry, this tool won't work with the Spinning Trio pedal.
Caffeine is a drug that can be used in appropriate ways, so it has definite value. This post covers a few uses of caffeine.[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']
Ergogenic Aid
Much has been written about the ergogenic benefits of caffeine, particularly for endurance athletes, so it’s unnecessary to go into detail here.
Bottom line, caffeine can help athletes work harder and generate more power, often without feeling the extra effort. They may not even realize they’re putting out more effort, although the power increase could be as much as 3%.
It’s a good idea to get accustomed to caffeine in training before using it during a performance event, whatever that may be. My advice has always been, “No surprises on race day.”
Know how caffeine affects you and how much you can safely consume without upsetting your stomach or causing anxiety, irritability, high heart rate, or insomnia.
Brain Chem and Caffeine
When we drink coffee or tea, caffeine occupies the brain receptors that are normally occupied by adenosine. Adenosine inhibits the release of dopamine and norepinephrine — two brain alertness chemicals — to prevent an over-release of them.
When caffeine ‘takes over’ the adenosine receptor, adenosine can’t inhibit dopamine and norepinephrine, so those two chemicals are disinhibited. We feel alert and may notice improvements in memory, mood, energy, reaction time and general cognitive function.
Protein can also make us feel alert.
Why Do We Need Protein When We Can Just Drink Coffee?
The two mechanisms of action are completely different. While caffeine uses (and eventually depletes) stored brain levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, protein provides the amino acids that the brain uses to make more. The amino acids are tyrosine and phenylalanine.
If you haven’t been eating much protein for a while, you might find yourself drinking more coffee. Or you might discover that you get less effect from any caffeine you have because brain stores are already depleted.
On the other hand, if you systematically and consistently eat more protein foods, you might find you don’t need or want as much coffee or tea because your brain keeps making — and releasing — dopamine and norepinephrine.
(Sleep restores dopamine, too, but that’s a separate topic.)
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea
Recent research has shown beneficial effects of coffee consumption. Coffee contains antioxidants and has been found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, endometrial cancer, skin melanoma, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease.
The benefits of green tea have long been known. It contains powerful antioxidants, can reduce anxiety, and can improve dental health. Like coffee, it may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and Parkinson’s.
Caffeine As a Pain Reliever
It’s less frequently mentioned, but relieving pain could be considered another benefit of caffeine. Norepinephrine and dopamine both trigger an analgesic effect. Plenty of potent pain-killing substances are available, but caffeine could be seen as a more natural pain reliever, especially in light of the health benefits listed above.
Unsweetened Is Better
Do I need to mention that sugar could reverse most of the beneficial effects covered in this post? Limit fancy coffees with exotic names. Sticking with the basics is a healthier choice.[/wlm_private]
Schwinn's 
