I collect stuff; articles, observations, suggestions and random ideas that I feel could make for an interesting post or interview. Not everything is worthy of the time needed to research and craft into an article – but I feel are still worthy of sharing. Here are the latest:
Why So Many Women Are Crying at the Gym?
Great question and this article in Time Magazine explains a bit more of why many women love SoulCycle classes:
For a generation of stressed-out working women, exercise is as much about emotional release as it is physical training.
You could go to therapy — or you could hit the gym. Women are getting teary in SoulCycle, and misty-eyed at Pure Barre. They are letting out wails in yoga and rubbing the shoulder of the weepy woman next to them at CrossFit. “I think people have started to notice that their clients are just showing up to class and just unloading, and so they’re tailoring their classes to create space for this,” says Hayes, who is a pilates instructor by day. “When I take private clients I end up feeling like a therapist for them.”
These fitness instructors aren’t trained in that, of course. But they’ve probably been there.
It’s not an accident that just as you’re starting to relax, coming down from the adrenaline, you’re blasted with a throaty ballad. Those playlists are meticulously constructed. “I’ve been teaching for almost 20 years, so I’ve basically seen it all: crying, laughing, throwing up, overheating,” says Stacey Griffith, a Soul Cycle instructor. “There are moments in the class that are directly programmed for that reason — but it’s not like we’re trying to get people to cry. We’re giving them the space to step outside of themselves.”
Great example of how mixing in key can create energy
I was reading this article in the WSJ ANATOMY OF A SONG How the Kinks Roughed Up Their Sound If you're an old Kinks fan you'll enjoy learning how they created their special sound in the days before digital music – poking holes in the speakers with a knitting needle.
Near the end of the article Ray Davies, the song’s composer and band’s lead singer, makes a reference to key changes in the song The Kinks — You Really Got Me and the effect they had:
Once teens saw us and heard our metallic sound, the excitement built and the single took off after its release the following week. Part of what the audience was responding to was the song’s key shift from G to A. The more natural and melodic place for the song to go was from G to C or D. But I wanted it to go to A, which was quite revolutionary then. There’s something about that full step up that feels like acceleration and raises the excitement level. The progression actually made me shudder when I originally came up with it.
Turn up the volume, and listen to with your eyes closed – do you hear what he's describing? Are there time in your class where a similar change could be valuable?
http://youtu.be/S7ffgqjcH40
Will women be wearing corsets in your class soon?
I hope not. It seems that fitness expert Kim Kardashian has started a trend called “waist training” using an old fashion corset and many of her followers are lacing up these devices of torture and giving it a try:
However, “own photos” seem to be a big part of waist training. And so I decide to wear the corset to spinning class and possibly take an own photo afterward. Apparently, this is what Kim Kardashian does: She waist-trains at the gym, then she takes an “own photo.” I don’t really like spinning that much, but I go to this particular class because it’s very leisurely. For example, we keep spinning to “California Love,” which is kind of slow. Every song is the pace of a stroll in the French countryside.
Before I go to the gym, I put my corset on under a gigantic shirt. It’s slightly easier to put on today. Perhaps I am training my waist? I can even walk to the gym without getting too winded.
Unfortunately, actually spinning is a bit harder. I am only one minute into “California Love” when I start feeling very out of breath. I unbutton the first snaps of my corset. Then the spinning instructor puts on “Bang Bang” by Jessie J. She has never done something like this before, and I am quite displeased. What an energetic song. It’s almost entirely screaming. My corset can’t stand the stress. I start unsnapping more buttons under my huge shirt, even though everyone in spin class is looking at me, wondering what I am doing under the shirt. I throw the corset near my bike. I do not take an own photo. I decide to take a couple of days off from waist-training.
I'd love to hear if/when one shows up in your class 🙂
As many of you know I was recently selected as a Master Educator by Stages Indoor Cycling. Last Saturday I led my first workshop at Cherry Creek Athletic Club in Denver and it was an honor to share the basics of power training with this group of 20 fitness professionals.
I believe FreeMotion S Series bikes (built by the Team at Stages Cycling) are currently the best in the industry. The ability to accurately and directly measure the rider's output is so leading-edge that professional cycling’s Team Sky uses the same power meter technology on their outdoor bikes. Paired with the power console, instructors have all the metrics necessary to lead an exciting power-based indoor cycling class. That being said, we at Stages Indoor Cycling strongly believe that the first step for any instructor to understand and properly “cue-municate” data, requires a thorough grasp of “anchoring” time to effort. The simplest way to do this is to provide consistency with how one describes rate of perceived exertion (RPE).
At Stages we use a RPE scale of 1-10 with 5 being lactate threshold. Lactate threshold is the exercise intensity at which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood stream. If an above threshold intensity is maintained the rider will eventually fatigue and working muscles will fail. When explaining RPE to riders I like to compare the body to a kitchen sink. The working muscles are the sink, the ability of the body to clear or filter waste products, like lactate, is the drain and the intensity or waste products are the amount of water flowing out of the faucet.
When exercising at a RPE of less than 2, water is dripping out of the faucet. The drain can easily keep up with this extremely low flow of water. This low flow would be best associated with:
Zone 1
Active Recovery
Less than 55% of Functional Threshold Power (FTP)
Less than 68% of Functional Threshold Heart Rate (FTHR)
Efforts at this RPE can be held almost indefinitely
Can talk in full sentences, comfortable, light, very easy, recovery, soft pedal
When exercise intensity is increased to a RPE of 2-3, flow increases to a trickle, but the drain can easily match the low flow of water. There is still no accumulation of H2O in the sink. This trickle of water would correspond with:
Zone 2
Endurance Training
56-75% of FTP
69-83% of FTHR
Efforts at this RPE can be maintained for long periods of time
Conversational effort, “social ride”, breathing is slightly elevated, starting to sweat or glisten, this is where you train your muscles to burn fat for fuel
As intensity increases to a RPE of 3-4, water flow increases to a steady stream but the drain can still keep pace with the flow and there still isn’t any accumulation of liquid in the sink. This steady stream of water would most closely correlate with:
Zone 3
Tempo Training
76-90% of FTP
84-94% of FTHR
Efforts at this RPE can be maintained for 60 minutes to 3 hours
Can talk in broken sentences but would rather focus on the work at hand, marathon pace
At a RPE of 4-5 the flow increases and the drain can match the flow but water is on the verge of collecting in the bottom of the sink. The flow and draining capacity are at equilibrium and would most closely parallel with:
Zone 4
Lactate Threshold
91-105% of FTP
95-105% of FTHR
Effort can be maintained for 8-30 minutes
Heavy breathing starts, but not breathless, uncomfortable and challenged, start to feel a little “burn”, maintainable but must stay focused, 10k race pace
At a RPE of 6-7 the surge of water is increased to a point where it begins to accumulate in the sink and if it is not reduced the sink will overflow in 3-8 minutes, depending on the size of the sink. The more trained the rider the bigger the sink. This surge would associate with:
Zone 5
VO2 Max
106-120% of FTP
Greater than 106% of FTHR
Effort can be maintained for only 3-8 minutes
Deep, labored breathing, very uncomfortable, very challenged, above the “Red Line”, rapid breathing as your body tries to vent accumulating waste
At a RPE of 7-8 the gush of water is so great that the sink will overflow in 30 seconds to 3 minutes. This flood of water would most closely resemble:
Zone 6
Anaerobic Capacity
121-151% of FTP
Due to the lag time of the heart HR is not a metric that should be used
Muscles fail in 30 seconds – 3 minutes
Gasping for air, Unable to work harder, very very uncomfortable, burning mostly carbs for fuel.
At a RPE of 9-10 the torrent of water will overflow the sink in less than 30 seconds. This flood is most like:
Zone 7
Neuromuscular Power
Maximum Effort
Muscles will run out of gas in less than 30 seconds, at the end the engine just shuts off
It’s important to explain that when working below threshold or when the drain can keep up with the water flow, RPE remains constant, but when working above threshold or when the drain CAN NOT keep up with the flow, RPE’s are dynamic. If output is held constant, above threshold, a 6 turns into a 7, a 7 turns into an 8, an 8 into a 9 and eventually the muscles fail or the sink overflows and recovery is needed.
As fitness improves the body will build a better “plumbing system” or larger drain and remove waste products more quickly. Also, the brain will build a better lactate buffering system or a larger sink, therefore being able to withstand more and more waste products without reaching muscle failure or “overflowing the sink”.
The 3 song profile I created for this week is titled “Call the Plumber!” The 1st goal of this set is to slowly and steadily increase the riders RPE every 2 minutes until they reach their MAX intensity or the water reaches the very top of the sink. The 2nd goal is to overflow the sink by performing three 20 second maximum efforts with just 10 seconds recovery after each. Try to explain how each RPE should feel as your riders “fill their sink”, then at the end let them make a big mess by working so hard the their sink overflows all over the kitchen floor.
3 song harmonically mixed track to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download on PC or Download Linked File As on Mac. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
3 song harmonically mixed track AND video Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download on PC or Download Linked File As on Mac. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
In the years (okay, decades) that I’ve been helping people conquer sugar addiction, some clients have balked at the idea of giving up sugar all at once: cold turkey, as it’s known. They wanted to wean themselves off sugar a bit at a time.
Experience has taught me that the tapering approach doesn’t work for a number of reasons. Yes, some sugar-users get results by tapering, but everything works for some people. Serious addicts may never get themselves off sugar completely if they feel they can get away with a little bit. That little bit can cause problems.
Relapse
It’s easy for sugar addicts to rebound and relapse when they still have sugars — even sneaky ones — in their diets. This can be attributed to a priming-type effect, where a little makes us want more. Some “experts” claim that priming doesn’t happen with sugar (the term came from drug addiction literature), but decades of experience have shown me that it absolutely does.
Clients have told me that starting the day with orange juice, for example, sets them up to crave sweet foods all day long. Frankly, I don’t care if the clients can cite a reference in a science journal; I just listen to them and help them conquer their sugar addiction.
Loophole Thinking
As a result of continuing to eat sugar in small amounts, addicts may start looking for Loopholes — substitutes for sugary foods or ways to sneak sugar into their diets. They begin eating extra dairy or using agave or artificial sweeteners while telling themselves they’re “off” sugar. Some substitutes can be addictive in themselves. I had a client who was even more hooked on aspartame than she was on “real” sugar. Some addicts use diet colas for their fix. And let’s not even get started on fruit sugar, fructose. It’s the worst of all — and makes sucrose the junk it is.
Tastes Won’t Change
Sugar addicts who taper may never acquire a taste for healthful foods. Their tastes are still oriented toward sweet, maybe in smaller amounts than they used to eat. This is especially true where vegetables are concerned. I’m forever pushing vegetables on my clients (just ask them), but the ones who are most severely addicted to sugar typically say they hate vegetables. It’s fairly obvious that the reason is vegetables aren’t sweet.
(That’s why I’m against that 5-a-Day rule. It’s supposed to refer to fruits and vegetables, but sugar addicts will turn it into all fruits, given the chance.)
Excess Insulin
Advocates of tapering don’t seem to know that sugar addiction is often grounded in carbohydrate sensitivity. Carb-sensitive people release high insulin when they eat sugar, including fruit and syrups. Artificial sweeteners can trigger insulin in carb sensitives, as well.
Carb sensitivity is not the only factor in sugar addiction, but it can be directly related to health issues. For optimal health, we want to release just enough insulin to do the job and no more. Excess insulin has been associated with a large number of diseases — most of the ones we tend to die from in the US.
The Bottom Line
As you see, a plan that encourages semi-recovery from sugar addiction can result in priming, a diet that’s still oriented toward sweet foods, long-term preference for fruits over vegetables, continued cravings, excess insulin if substitute foods are big insulin triggers, and possible relapse.
I want better for my clients with sugar addiction. I want them to gain optimal health AND the self-confidence that comes from knowing they didn’t just stop using sugar halfway (and maybe relapse), but quit it completely.
John often receives emails about products/offerings for studios and instructors.
He didn't feel ‘qualified' to comment on this particular product from Melissa Sherwood, owner of Klara Kelly Designs http://www.klarakelly.com/and maker of the best headbands I've ever put on my head! However, Melissa says many men wear them too- I'll get John wearing one yet.
I put it on, tightened it ONCE (no need to double tie) and it stayed in place, comfortably, for the whole class. I never had to adjust it or mess with it again. The fabric is the perfect amount of stretch and absorbability.
Gone are the days of my headband slipping up past my ears to the back of my head and becoming a crown- you know what I'm talking about here….YAY!
Seriously, I want one in every color and will wear them for fashion, outside of the studio.
With some delay (and my apologies), here is the second flat road installment of the three builds I've been using to a final leg speed of 104 rpm's (third and final song next week!) as the intro in my latest class. Here is the first road that starts class at a leg speed of 87: https://www.indoorcycleinstructor.com/icipro-instructor-training/music/free-music-friday-103/
This second road brings leg speed up to 97. I coach to also add a bit of load to bring up the challenge and watts.
This tune is an interesting mix of the Bee Gees and AC/DC…
Enjoy and next week will bring us to leg speeds of 104 and a great mash up.
True observation: I’ve had quite a few class participants who were unable to focus for more than 30 seconds at a time. No exaggeration. It was particularly noticeable in rowing (it’s easier to hide on a bike), and usually coincided with the fact that they were vegetarians.
Another rowing instructor told me that someone in his class “can’t focus longer than 30 seconds.” When I asked, it turned out the man in question was a vegetarian.
Yes, I realize not every vegetarian lacks focus. However, the rowers who couldn’t stick with the training for more than 30 seconds were invariably vegetarians.
The advice I gave to my students and to the other instructor was to increase protein. This has to mean “real” protein, so the tricky part is finding an acceptable form of protein that a vegetarian is willing to eat. When I explained to one participant the brain chemistry of protein and how it affects focus, he was willing to add fish and shrimp to his diet. Within a few days, things had turned around, and he had no difficulty focusing on the rowing workout.
Which brings me to that vegetarian beans-and-rice thing.
You’ve probably heard it. Beans and rice make up an often-touted vegetarian meal that is said to provide Complete Proteins. For those who are unfamiliar with the idea of complete proteins, it has to do with the fact that proteins are made of amino acids, the Building Blocks of Protein, as they told us in 7th grade biology.
When we eat animal proteins — fish, poultry, grass-fed beef, eggs, yogurt with 18 or more grams of protein per serving, for example — we get all the amino acids necessary for human metabolic function. When we eat vegetable sources of protein, some amino acids are missing from the foods. Other foods can provide the missing aminos and complete the spectrum.
But neither rice nor beans contain much protein; both foods are primarily carbohydrate (starch). So beans and rice together provide the complete list of amino acids but still give us only a small amount of protein overall. Lots of starch, though. The effect of starch on brain chemistry is completely different from that of protein.
As mentioned in a previous post, protein increases production of dopamine and norepinephrine by providing tyrosine and phenylalanine, the amino acid precursors. Dopamine and norepinephrine are alertness and focus chemicals. Carbs tend to raise serotonin levels, which make us relaxed, drowsy, and even “spacey”.
Vegetarians no longer suggest combining proteins at a given meal; that concept is long outdated. But ignoring it can make things even worse for someone who tends to space out without animal protein.
It’s not my place to tell vegetarians to stop being vegetarians. But I wish vegetarians would stop calling rice and beans protein foods.
If you have students who have trouble focusing — and I wonder if people who have the problem even know it — a good recommendation might be to add some form of animal protein to the diet.
If that’s out of the question (obviously, people are vegetarians for different reasons), at least add a serving of high-quality vegetable protein powder to every meal to provide the complete amino acid spectrum.
Incidentally, vegans often have screaming cravings for sugar, and again the answer starts with protein. Cravings are a brain chemical thing. For vegans with cravings, vegetable protein powder might be the only road to a solution.
John often receives emails about products/offerings for studios and instructors.
With some delay (and my apologies), here is the second flat road installment of the three builds I've been using to a final leg speed of 104 rpm's (third and final song next week!) as the intro in my latest class. Here is the first road that starts class at a leg speed of 87: https://www.indoorcycleinstructor.com/icipro-instructor-training/music/free-music-friday-103/