“I don’t stop when I’m tired. I only stop when I’m done.”
It surprised me to learn that the above quotation came from Marilyn Monroe. How many times have we heard those words in connection with athletics?
In the training and weight loss program I taught for 14 years, participants would sometimes wish for a day off, or even several days. They’d tell that to the strength-training coach, for example, and his reply was an annoyed, “There are no days off! This is it — the way you eat, the way you train — all the time.”
Men can get away with saying things like that more easily than women can, I think. Regardless, I appreciated him for saying it — and, of course, agreed with him.
One participant asked me if she could stop keeping her food log on the weekends. She acted as if (and maybe actually believed) she just wanted a break from logging.
It seemed obvious, though, that those days off would only encourage her sugar addiction. I imagined her stopping the log not on Saturday, but on Friday morning, eating sugar nonstop for three days, and re-starting her log sometime on Monday.
What I pictured most vividly, however, was her discovery that she wasn’t losing weight and asking for my help. But we’d have no records of her weekly binges.
I told her the truth: I couldn’t stop her from doing that but wasn’t going to approve it. How could I agree to help her fail and then tell others that our program didn’t work?
Toward the end of 2014, I read an article for entrepreneurs on finishing a great business year. The author explained that the only way to finish the year strong was absolutely to understand that there would “never be a day that (would) not require dedication, discipline, perseverance, accountability, and the need to execute relentlessly.”
Wow. That article may have been written about business but is all about fitness, athletic training, even weight loss. We know success in those areas depends on consistent and persistent action, not on temporary changes till the pounds are lost or the goal is reached.
I must be in a quotation kind of mood because Dan Millman comes to mind:
“There are no ordinary moments.”
Isn’t that what wishing for a day off is — a wish for moments that simply don’t count? Moments with no repercussions, when we can do what we know we shouldn’t and not suffer the consequences?
I’ve wanted those moments, too: when the alarm wakes me at some ridiculous hour to go train, for instance, or when I was flat-out tired of writing my dissertation.
We’ve probably all had moments when we wish for ordinary moments. But since I’m quoting everyone else’s wisdom today, here’s the proverb I like best in this context:
“When climbing a mountain, give up a thousand times; just keep your feet moving.”
That one really works. We can mentally go in any direction — discouraged, foolish, negative, fanciful, absurd — but never let it affect our behavior or change our plan of action.
At this point in January, some of our participants or clients may already be struggling with a motivation slow-down. Instead of trying to recharge everyone’s battery, which will need to be done over and over, why not encourage them just to keep their feet moving, no matter what?
And on that note, how about one final quote:
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act, but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act. — G.K. Chesterton
1/19/2015 In celebration of Martin Luther King Day – I thought it appropriate to re-run this podcast about Major Taylor!
Minnesota author and cycling historian Terry Kerber joins me on this episode of the Podcast to discuss his book; Major Taylor: The Inspiring Story of a Black Cyclist and the Men Who Helped Him Achieve Worldwide Fame.
About Major Taylor
In 1907, amid a time of unspeakable racial cruelty, the world’s most popular athlete was not pitcher Cy Young or center fielder Ty Cobb. During the height of the Jim Crow era, the world’s most popular athlete wasn’t even white. He was an oft-persecuted black bicycle racer who was denied meals, kicked out of hotels, forced to sleep in horse stables, trained by a washed-up former racer, and managed by a pugnacious Irish sports promoter and Broadway producer.
This is the Inspiring story of Major Taylor and the men who helped him achieve worldwide fame…
There are so many lessons in the pages of this epic story, but perhaps none are nobler than Taylor’s transcendent ability to forgive those who tormented him on and off bike tracks. That is why I was honored to speak at the unveiling of the Major Taylor statue at the Worcester Public Library, to stand in the very city that sheltered him from the racial storms a century before. I am equally honored to write the Foreword to this engrossing book, written by two gifted writers and passionate cycling fans that just happen to live near my suburban twin cities home. As the sport of bike racing and our nation attempt to transition to a new and refreshing era of transparency, we would all be well-served to seek wisdom and guidance from the lessons left behind by this remarkable sportsman.
After listening to my interview with Terry you may feel as I do, that this could be an awesome movie. If you know anyone in the business please pass this along to them.
Before I was an ICI/Pro Contributor, or Master Educator, before I spent every weekend coaching whatever sport my kids were playing at the time, back in what feels like a different life I was and Ironman triathlete. I spent close to 10 years in pursuit of that coveted Hawaiian Ironman spot, only to see my competition get faster and that spot get farther and farther away. I may not have made it to the finish line in Kona, but the journey I took in pursuit of that dream has made me the person I am today.
People often ask me if I miss Ironman training and racing and I can honestly say I don’t. At that time in my life it was my identity, it was what I lived for. Today I have a wonderful wife and two great 15 year old boys. I would much rather be riding the lifts of Vail, with them, then base training for next year’s races. I may race again some day, but for the next few years I would rather focus on raising my boys, they are my identity, they are what I live for now.
The one thing I miss most about Ironman training are the long training workouts. I loved to train alone. There is no better place to find the answer to any of life’s questions than on a 4000m swim, 5 hour ride or 3 hour run. The rhythm and length of these workouts gave me a chance to quiet my mind and listen. I don’t know where the answers or ideas came from but they just came. Many people call this Flow or being In The Zone.
Flow is a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, wellbeing and enjoyment in the activity being performed. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy while.
Many people find the flow accidentally, without thinking about it or trying, all the conditions of a workout magically come together and work feels effortless, time flies by and your body feels like it is working perfectly. This flow state is like a drug, once you have had it once you want more of it. Luckily, finding The Flow can be practiced and perfected.
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The controlled environment of an indoor cycling studio is the perfect place to practice and perfect finding the flow state. I’ve been incorporating one flow state song per class for the past few months and my riders love it. When cueing a flow state song I ask my riders to focus on the beat of the music, or their cadence or the rhythm of their breathing. They need to focus on something rhythmic and hypnotic. The intensity needs to be below threshold, burning legs and lungs will pull them out of the flow. The most important and probably hardest thing for an instructor to do during a flow state song is to BE QUIET. Your riders need to focus on the rhythm of THIER bodies, the sound of your voice will pull them out of this flow state every time.
I have gotten more positive comments about this addition to my profiles then anything I have ever done. I would recommend you add it in during one of your recovery songs, this way the volume or intensity junkies in your class don’t feel like they are missing out on any of the “quality” of the workout.
If you listen to my recorded classes below, see if you can find any “Soul Cycle” influence, no I have not added weights.
3 song harmonically mixed track, , to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
Do you ever have a week where you're a ‘day off'? That was me this week- I was a day behind- many apologies for this week's Free Music Friday showing up on Saturday!
Never being a good vinyl, 8 track, cassette or CD music buyer because I tire of music so quickly, Spotify is great for me. If I choose a song more than once, randomly coming across it, I know I truly like it.
That's what happened with this song. Plus, there's a really good free download- in fact I'm going to use the free download instead of the original this time around.
Funny story about this band….years ago (our kids couldn't drive- so at least 9 years ago), John picked up our daughters and niece from this concert and was APPALLED at the language he heard. FYI, there is a ‘hell no' in this song if that's offensive to you or your class.
The original version is 80 rpm's and 3:46. Last year, I used it coming out of intense climbing work when I still wanted everyone engaged and working hard before a reset or lower intensity work.
The free download is a bit faster at 90 rpm's and puts up the same time at 3:45. Now I'm using it for some harder flat road work.
Kathy Helmuth and I have just received confirmation that our ACE approved Parkinson's Indoor Cycling Coaching program has been accepted by the SilverSneakers organization!
Now, Parkinson's Cycling Coaches will now receive reimbursement directly from SilverSneakers, through their FLEX Instructor Program.
I am planning an interview with the SilverSneakers National Program director that will explain exactly how the FLEX program works.
My short description: a FLEX Instructor can walk into any studio and teach a SilverSneakers approved class and it's free to SilverSneakers members. SilverSneakers then compensates the Instructor directly.
To become a SilverSneakers group exercise class instructor, one must:
Be at least 18 years of age.
Maintain current CPR certification.
Hold a two or four year degree in health, exercise science, recreation or physical activity related field or maintain a nationally recognized certification (for example, ACE, AFAA, YMCA).
Attend a SilverSneakers instructor training workshop for the specific SilverSneakers class one would like to teach.
SilverSneakers classes are available in 12,000 locations and the FLEX Instructor program allows you to easily (and at no cost) add SilverSneakers classes to your studio 🙂
Merrill Richmond with StairMaster | Schwinn send me a press release about how the Schwinn Class Tamer iPhone App had won an Outstanding Achievement Award. Pretty cool:)
Schwinn developed this as their gift to Instructors – and an expensive gift at that. I don't know exactly what they've spent on the design and ongoing maintenance of the Class Tamer App. I have looked into contracting with an App development company, to build something similar and was quoted “around” $40,000.
STAIRMASTER AND PINCKNEY HUGO GROUP WIN INTERACTIVE MEDIA AWARD
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Pinckney Hugo Group, a full-service marketing communications firm, and StairMaster, which markets and distributes Schwinn indoor group cycling bikes to commercial health clubs, were awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award by the Interactive Media
Awardsâ„¢ for the Schwinn Class Tamerâ„¢ App.
The Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes that the app surpassed the basic standards of excellence that comprise the web’s most professional work. The app was honored for excellence in the sports category. “It was truly a collaborative effort that led to the Schwinn Class Tamer App,” said Merrill Richmond, vice president of sales and marketing, StairMaster. “Together, with Pinckney Hugo Group, we were able to develop the premier music player for group exercise professionals. It is a tool organized intuitively with large, easy-to-read fonts and controls to help them stay organized while they energize their classes.”
Designed with input and insight from Schwinn’s global team of Master Instructors, Pinckney Hugo Group created the app to serve as the premier music player for group exercise professionals. The app is a one-of-a-kind music player that enables instructors to create and save ride playlists by accessing songs, playlists, albums and artists directly from iTunes. After a playlist is created, the instructor can input a set of commands, cueing notes, music tags and beats per minute (BPM) for each song within the playlist. Playlists can then be saved for future use in class.
The judging consisted of various criteria, including design, usability, innovation in technical features, standards compliance and content. To win, the app had to meet strict guidelines in each area. Other entries in the sports category that received an Outstanding Achievement Award include the NCAA website and the World Anti-Doping Agency — Play True Quiz. Best In Class, the highest honor of the competition, went to ESPN World Cup Essentials, Everton Football Club and Warrior Dash websites.
The Interactive Media Awards is an international awards competition that was started in 2006. Each year the awards honor the best website designs in a multitude of categories throughout the year and are designed to elevate the standards of excellence on the Internet.
