“The most important Indoor Cycling class you'll ever take… will be the next one!”
I've forgotten which Instructor I overheard saying this to a new participant, but it's completely true. We want new students returning to our classes every week. It's good for us (fuller classes) and obviously good for them 🙂
So what should we be doing in our classes to encourage a Revolutionist, who finds him-or-her self in your class, to feel comfortable and (hopefully) return?
e·nig·ma [uh-nig-muh]  noun, a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation: Spotify is such an awesome service for Indoor Cycling Instructors, it's an enigma to me… why so few Instructors are actually using it.
Or maybe it just looks that way. I'm basing my comment on how few subscribers we see to published playlists.
If you're using Spotify click on the People tab and select another user at random. Check out the number of subscribers they have to any of their published playlists. Even for all the popular Master Trainers I'm connected with, 40 subscribers is a big number for any specific playlist.
I found this playlist of club music on the right that Cameron Chinatti is subscribed to. It has over 57,000 followers.
Why is that?
I was trading emails with contributor Chris Hawthorne, discussing this “enigma” of what appears to be a very small number of Instructors using Spotify… or more specifically; Instructors using Spotify who take advantage of the phenomenal music sharing and new music discovery, that's available to users.
I realize that there are multiple reasons users don't want to share their Spotify usage. You may also view a playlist but not choose to “subscribe” to it. Maybe you listen to a few tracks, find one you like and drag it into one of your own playlists.
Here's an example. Krista Leopold (aka: groupfitpower) and I created these collaborative Spotify playlists and posted them at pedal-on.com. Collaborative playlists allow anyone to add their own favorites = they grow to fantastic Best Songs Lists that you can use to easily & quickly find the perfect track for your next class.
Click image to join our Facebook Group - everyone encouraged to join!
This Podcast is was last published on Feb 23, 2010, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
As promised last week, here's my interview with Bill Pryor about his experiences starting his own Spinning Indoor Cycling Studio.
2014 UPDATE: This interview has launched multiple dozens of new Indoor Cycling Studios - is yours next?
The online payment and business management service we discuss is MindBody Online combined with a LiveEdit Integrated Website.
The experience of flow remains one of the least-understood phenomena in training. Yet it’s one of the richest, most memorable experiences we can help deliver to our students. Creating the circumstances though which students can experience flow in a training session is the topic of this article.
When I mention flow, people sometimes confuse it with being “in the zone”. That often relates to a brain release of beta-endorphin as a result of the activity. It’s a different phenomenon and not what I mean here. When you’re able to collapse what you’re doing down to a single moment and experience total immersion in it, you will feel flow. You’re completely involved in the ride for its own sake. There’s no ego, no awareness of time or distance. Every action follows seamlessly from the previous one.
You might be tired or in pain, but those things don’t distract you. You might not even notice them at times.
Recently, I led a five-hour ride at ICG® Academy in San Francisco. We rode an indoor 100 miles as a fall, base-building ride. The ten 30-minute segments were each built around a different 30-minute “Challenge” video on Myride®+. The plan was not to take any scheduled breaks or rest stops, and to roll from one world destination to the next. To be quick and efficient if anyone needed to get off the bike, but we were going to ride 100 miles. I calculated that, if the riders could average 85 rpm for the 5 hours, they would total 100 miles on their odometers.
I wanted to make this more challenging than an outdoor century.
There were 30-minute segments of pure hill climbing, where we would average 65-70 rpm. We had to compensate on the flat segments by turning fairly high rpm. That doesn’t sound hard until you understand that we were on belt-drive bikes with little or no momentum from the flywheel. 90+ rpm on a belt-drive bike takes a much bigger hit on your legs. We also had a heart-rate challenge. Early on, I had the participants commit to an average training heart rate that they would not go below.
I wasn’t making it hard for training purposes. I wanted to take everyone to a place where they could experience flow. This isn’t always possible in a 45- to 60-minute class.
After four hours, I looked around the room. Not one person was not experiencing flow. How did I know? I asked them if, at that time and for the first time that day, they felt as if they could ride for 10 hours. Everyone smiled and nodded. The discipline and fatigue created a state where they had to go beyond what they normally felt they could do. That’s when you experience flow: a state of non-reaction to fatigue and discomfort; a feeling of serenity; a loss of self-consciousness; a heightened awareness; a feeling of control over the situation and the outcome.
Once you’ve experienced true flow, you can feel it any time.
And that’s when you realize that flow is more than a beta-endorphin rush. You can sense it while walking on a busy street, winding your bike through traffic and stalled cars, in a conversation, in a business negotiation, in the supermarket shopping for food. Flow is working with what’s happening, as opposed to against it (see my previous post on Timing). On my road bike, I often notice that the farther away from home I go, the greater the feeling of flow. I simply stop thinking about things I have to do.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes the mental state of flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost.”
Csikszentmihalyi spent time in an Italian prison camp in World War II. At age 16, he traveled to Switzerland, where he had the opportunity to listen to Carl Jung speak. The experience influenced him. He later explained, “As a child in the war, I'd seen something drastically wrong with how adults — the grown-ups I trusted — organized their thinking. I was trying to find a better system to order my life. Jung seemed to be trying to cope with some of the more positive aspects of human experience.”
Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow has influenced people in a wide range of fields. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair were reportedly influenced by his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Jimmy Johnson, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, utilized Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas to prepare for the 1993 Super Bowl. His ideas have also influenced people in business, government, education and the arts.
Flow can occur in such diverse situations because it simply requires full immersion and involvement, energized focus, and enjoyment of the process. Clearly, that can apply to many activities.
Csikszentmihalyi calls flow “focused motivation”, deep focus on nothing but the activity. It works particularly well for cycling, brings consciousness to it, and can be created through the right combination of factors.
Ok, we simply need to mention the word “test” and all kinds of things tighten up. Relax. For week 3 of instructor self improvement month, let’s look at how we are doing mentally and emotionally….”sit back on my couch and close your eyes”.  Before you jump to a conclusion on either side of the spectrum, answer a few questions:
How motivated am I to teach my classes?
How excited am I about teaching this weeks profile or ride?
Do I still get pumped by my music?
Do I feel energetic during class or just getting through?
Do I find myself taking shortcuts when planning class?
Am I considering taking a break from teaching?
If you got through this interrogation and said “I’m motivated. I’m excited. I am pumped, energetic and plan every detail of my class and would NEVER consider quitting” then just tuck this article in your calendar and check back in a couple of months.  However, if you hesitated or flat-out broke down in tears, then read on.
The truth is we usually don’t see it coming.  Life is so fast and we are so busy that we get desensitized to how we are really feeling.  Regardless, don’t panic.  There could be a number of reasons you may not have answered the way you wanted on any of these questions.  It could be that you need some fresh inspiration, some new music, a challenge or some rest.  It really depends.
Don’t Rule Out Rest
Back in July, I wrote an article entitled “Taking Care of YOU” which focused on staying aware of your overall health and need for rest.  We need to consider ourselves athletes and consider our classes as training sessions.  Regardless of how hard you are working, and depending on how many classes you teach a week, your body will eventually get fatigued if you don’t take the time to rest.
Rest also rejuvenates the mind and soul.  I have over 5000 pieces of music and over 60 individual ride profiles that I teach throughout the year.  With rare exception, I do not use the same song in 2 different rides.  The song goes with that ride and that is it.  I also don’t repeat the same workout within a 6-8 week period, so basically I may not do the same rider or hear the same music for almost 2 months.  However, at times, I get bored and tired of my music.  Of course, I use that as an excuse to buy more, but honestly, that is often not the solution.  What I’ve found 99.9% of the time is that I’m simply “tired”.  Once I get some rest, EVERYTHING is again exciting and full of life.  The music is pump’in and I can’t wait to get up at 4:30 AM to throw down.
Get Some Inspiration
How about that, the ICI/Pro Conference is next week!  Yes, a shameless plug.  But seriously, when was the last time you pursued some education and training for yourself?  Sign-up for a workshop in your neighborhood, or better yet, take a trip (call it a professional retreat so you can write it off) and go somewhere exotic — for business of course.  A cheaper option: get a sub for your class and take a class with another instructor.  Take a class with another instructor at another club!  Why not?  Get out of your environment and see how the other half lives. Come on, we are flattered when someone asks to take our class.  Instructors often have guest pass privileges so don’t be shy – “Hey, I’ve heard some great stuff about your class, are you able to get me a guest pass so I could experience it?” You’re as good as in.
Challenge # 1
Everyone knows I’m all about challenges so take that surprised look off your face.  Try something different in class.  Teach a totally different ride.  Not into rock?  Add some.  How about teaching without music? Here’s one I had a ton of fun with (and my challenge): Ask your riders to build a ride for you.  Yup.  I asked them to create a ride with their own music and burn it on a CD.  I gave them a date and said I would teach the first CD given to me when I walked into the room — no questions asked AND no prep. What a blast!  Not only did it challenge the snot out of me, it was freeing AND gave me some insight as to what type of music and rides my class liked.
Challenge # 2
Ok, if you are more the athlete type (and want a cop-out for the first challenge), here is another way to determine and/or inspire you to get your edge back.  Take a threshold test.  I don’t care which one you do.  It could even be a VO2 test or the Foster Talk Test.  Go for broke.  This can often have a 2-fold affect. First, you will see what kind of energy you have.  If you are exhausted and can’t finish the test or put-out a sub par performance, you know your body is tired and you need some rest. Second, if it is just inspiration you need, blowing out the dust may just be what the doctor ordered.  Besides treating ourselves to an endorphin high, pushing our limits can reinvigorate our conviction on the type of training our class wants and what it feels like to give it all.  Then turn around and give one to your class while your in the mood.
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The bottom-line is that we bring a lot of ourselves into each class and each ride. Â It is not just the physical energy but emotional energy as well. Â In many ways, the emotional is more important. Â As you dig into all the aspects of what makes you a great instructor this month, take a deeper look into your motivation and inspiration and make sure you are still bringing and dishing out a healthy dose to your class.
Doug Rusho, Master Instructor with Stages Indoor Cycle provides our latest Audio PROfile: Winch and Plummet
Objectives:
#1: Students will experience the contrast between resistance and cadence, as it relates to steady state power production.
#2:Â Students will begin to discover what resistance/cadence combination is most efficient for their physiological make up.
Key take away from Doug: In order to improve fitness we must continually challenge the body with new situations. Everyone has a “comfort zone” resistance/cadence combination when producing power. This profile encourages students to step a little outside their comfort zone for a diverse training effect. It may also be a source of self discovery, where a student realizes where their body works best and/or what their weaknesses are.
I'm experimenting with a few changes to these Audio PROfiles:
I've been asking our Master Instructors to condense their descriptions in the interest of shortening the amount of time required for you to listen to the complete MP3.
We've added some background music to interject some additional energy to the recording and get your presentation juices flowing.
Leave a comment and let me know your feeling about these changes.
