Is it fair to call this the “Model T” of Indoor Cycling?
Myth: Indoor Cycles require a lot of Fore/Aft Saddle adjustment to accommodate the range of cyclists coming into your class.
Real bicycles only provide about 2″ of total saddle adjustment (through the saddle frame rails) to properly fit the owner with their knee over the pedal spindle… so why are many Indoor Cycles designed with up to 9″ of adjustment like the Spinner® NXT?
To make the riders comfortable, even if they ended up in a horribly wrong position, that's why.
This Myth goes all the way back to the very first Johnny G Spinners. Remember those?
The whole Spinning® thing was brand new. We were encouraging people who probably hadn't been on a bike for 20 years, to climb on and ride for 45 minutes. Many most didn't have the flexibility to ride comfortably in the proper position and wanted to ride bolt upright. In those days the handlebars only moved up and down – not in and out. Raising the bars helped some, but moving the seat forward helped a lot!
So that's what riders did and God help you if you suggested otherwise 🙁
I'm guessing that Johnny knew exactly how to properly fit a rider to a bicycle. But I also believe that he and his early partners understood that if people aren't comfortable, they won't come back = end of the program.
Notice how the original Johnny G Spinners above appears to have far less travel than the NXT below that offers a whopping 9″ (4 1/2″ either way of center)?
I need to credit Schwinn for being the first manufacture (that I'm aware of) with the courage rein in the amount of saddle travel (in part by offering handlebars with Fore/Aft adjustment. The AC Performance is limited to about an 1″ or so either way from center. The FreeMotion S11 series has a similar amount of travel because that's all they need 🙂
When I first upgraded to Spotify Premium back in August, I was excited to try something new, but a little disappointed and apprehensive because it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. Change is never easy. But I kept at it and now I think I’m able to navigate it quite well. Creating and publishing playlists is the easy part. Muddling through all the little glitches with the system was a little tricky, but once I was able to figure them out, I rarely run into problems anymore. The difficult part, for me anyway, was finding people to follow and finding new music.
I don’t know about you, but I could spend hours listening to music and deciding if I think certain songs should earn a spot on my next playlist. When I first began using Spotify, I really didn't know where to begin. It wasn't like iTunes, (which I had been using forever), so I knew that I needed to find an easy way to use Spotify to get access to music that I could use in my classes. I didn't want to be tied to my computer all night searching for music because I couldn't navigate my way through this new terrain. I wanted to be able to easily find new releases and I wanted to see what other instructors were using in their playlists. So I set a goal to find some easy and time-saving ways to search for new music. I think I succeeded. Here are few tips to add to your arsenal or to help you if you’re just getting started:
Find people to follow and subscribe to their playlists. I explain this in detail in my last ICI/PRO post.
Don’t overlook the ‘What’s New’ Tab at the top left of your main sidebar on your profile screen. Click on this tab and you’ll find a customized page for you with new releases, top playlists, top tracks, trending playlists, and featured Spotify apps.
Subscribe to playlists that ‘refresh’. I have found a few playlists to subscribe to that help me to keep up with the best new releases as well as the hottest songs in the country at the moment. Here are a few that I subscribe to: Billboard Hot 100; New Release Tuesdays and New Releases on Spotify
And speaking of new releases, if you like to use them in your playlists, learn to love Tuesdays! Most of the new releases come out on Tuesdays, so check for updates on your main page and be the first one to listen!
‘Like' Spotify on Facebook. You'll get really great updates on new music and bands, helpful tips and general updates.
Sign up at Sharemyplaylist.com. I have not used this service as a means of sharing my playists (yet), but they DO email me a newsletter every week with seven of their top playlists, all of which have been published in Spotify. So with the click of a button, you can listen and subscribe. I can't say enough about this resource. I always find a TON of great music here.
In addition to the ideas mentioned above, I think in the not too distant future you may see some changes over at Spotify that will make your music discovery a little bit easier. Not only has Spotify overhauled their website, but they will very soon be unrolling some new and exciting changes. If you used iTunes Ping, you may find this to be a good replacement. See what it's all about by clicking the photo below:
How do you find music to use in your classes? If you have a great resource, please share in the comment section.
One of the beauties of taking another Instructors class is that you can observe the problems and/or issues they have during class and make a note to ensure the same doesn't happen to you.
Case in point…
I was taking the class of an un-named Instructor last week. Even though I was sitting the the front row, I couldn't hear most of what she was saying. It wasn't that she was trying to talk over the lyrics (thankfully) but I was only able to pickup about 50% of her cues.
I found myself asking the person next to me; “what are we supposed to be doing now?” But then I had to stop. I was getting less than friendly looks from the un-named Instructor, so I turned to face forward, smiled and tried to concentrate on her cues… that I was only hearing bits and pieces of.
There's a perfectly technical reason why this can happen.
Instructors don't hear what their student's are hearing.
The sound levels you hear up on the Instructor bikecan be are different from what your class hears. Speaker placement, room acoustics and the number of riders in the room all affect the sound levels – beyond the settings you make to the studio's sound system.
One universal problem is studios with wall mounted speakers, on either side of the Instructor platform, facing the class. Sound travels in a straight line and the sound's energy decays quickly as it travels through the air. So your participants in the front row get everything, second row a little less and so on. You sit in a relative Cone of Silence. Most of what you hear comes after bouncing around the room = weaker that what the rest of the class hears.
We had a phenomenal sound system, complete with a Sound Engineer and his big mixing board, at our last conference. Big speakers on either side of the stage. I thought it sounded great. Barbara Hoots was one of the Instructor team on stage during Tom Scotto's ride with a live band. She explained to me after the ride that she had a very difficult time understanding what Tom was saying, even though she was riding only 2 feet away from him and neither could the un-named Instructor sitting right next to her. We hadn't thought to provide monitors pointed back at the Instructors on the stage like they use during a concert.
But our studio also has speakers on the back wall facing me… so this doesn't apply to me, right?
Maybe yes, and maybe no. It didn't help the un-named Instructor in my example above. The distance you are from the source of sound has a huge effect on how loud it sounds.
There's a simple way to solve this* – get off your bike 🙂
When I first started riding in with my class, while teaching to a video, I would begin class up front in the normal position. Then, after we were through the warm up I would dismount and climb on a bike with the rest of the class. Often I'd find myself needing to reduce the volume of my music so I (and presumably the rest of the class) could hear me properly**. But then the music would be too low… so I would find myself constantly adjusting my iPhone down when I needed to cue and then back up for more energy.
I figured out that if I started class, with what I thought was a good balance between my voice and the music, I could walk around the room and test what everyone else was hearing. If I was a little too weak, compared to what sounded like the right level for the music, I could naturally return to the sound system's controls and make any needed adjustments. Only then, after finding a good balance, will I join the class for the rest of training.
Give this a try and let us know your experience.
*No, the solution is not to ask the class; “How's my volume?' With each student hearing you slightly differently (or having a different sensitivity to sound) who do you respond to? Besides, in public environments like your class, most people will tend to lie to you (not want to be critical) and tell you everything is just fine, when maybe it isn't.
**I use a $20 wireless Bluetooth connection for my iPhone so I can control it anywhere in the room. This post explains more.
As a bit of “post-mortum” on our little EBC project, I asked all those participating in the study to share their own personal thoughts or observations with me. So as any experienced researcher will tell you, the actual collecting of the data can often reveal as much as the data itself.
There Is Joy In Repetition
No, I’m not talking about techno music, although the first time I heard that expression (about the joy in repetition) was in regards to Trance music. Getting back to our study, early on I heard feedback from some of our guinea pigs… er, I mean riders who found the Muscular Endurance work to be harder than they thought. They reported thatl making even just 2 sets of 15 minutes in Zone 3 and 75 RPM was more challenging than they thought. I also heard about how it got easier week after week. This was naturally expected from an RPE or “mental state of mind” is considered; doing something familiar will typically seem easier than doing something completely brand new. However, this later point emphasizes the real importance of having training tools.
Training Tools
In other words, if we consider that human nature tends to encourage us to work as little as possible to accomplish our objective (think efficiency, not laziness), in combination with our mental comfort with all things familiar, we run the real risk of depriving ourselves of a good training effect when these are at play in our physiological development or improvement as a rider.
If we put this in the context of our current study, if we did not heart monitors, we would not have been able to insure or insist that our heart rate remain within the range specified. If a training effect were to come into play (that is, we were to become stronger in some way from doing the M.E. drills), without a heart monitor, we might not have increased our gear (remember, keeping cadence constant was a requirement) as the training effect occurred, and thereby inadvertently reduced the amount or the longevity of that same training effect.
Not Just for Curiosity & Science
I also heard from at least two people that if they had not done the study, they would not have been as well prepared for a late season big ride they had scheduled. The combination of the type of training and the fact that it was an obligation to get through each of the study weeks was enough to motivate them to keep training.
In general I have found that most of my study participants gain a good deal of benefit from our little research projects. The worst case scenarios seem to be that they don’t improve, but they are no worse off than when they started. It’s generally a neutral to very positive both in experience and results.
Parting Thoughts
I have answered the previous comments through this graphic below. However, these answers may be wholly unsatisfying. Remember, the reasons this entire blog started and I coined the phrase Evidence Based Cycling™ is because the same studies are used by different coaches to emphasize different things or with completely different conclusions. It’s not exactly religion, it is science, but believe me there is way more subjective interpretation involved than many are willing to admit to.
I will not claim to be a professional researcher, nor the final word on any subject for that matter. But I will also not hide behind the science and say that it must and only can say this or that. It is what it is, look at it, learn about the subject, then draw your own conclusions.
At a minimum, I hope you are encouraged to dig in and do your own studies. Learn to question everything including everything written in this blog — but don’t just be a movie critic — get in there and make your own movies!
As promised, here is part 2 of my interview with Schwinn Master Trainer Jay Blahnik – for ICI/PRO members.
In part 1 Jay briefly describes what he sees as the three different segments of people (Instructors and participants alike) that you will probably encounter when introducing Power.
I convinced him to stick around for another half hour and really drill down on his strategies for bringing all three of these groups on board – if possible.
[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']
Jay describes the three segments as:
Those that reject measurement and Power.
The 30% who are engaged, but don't know quite what to do with it.
Then there's people like me (you too?) who loved it from the start 🙂
You can listen to this interview below and you will also find it in your ICI/PRO Super Secret iTunes Feed – instructions are here if you haven't set your's up yet.
John wrote last week about being freed from no longer needing to find ‘long songs’ for riding playlists. I agree, but it is so satisfying to find one that works well musically – for a specific training purpose. This great 68 rpm song coming in at 5 minutes and 52 seconds serves up a perfect climb situation in which to hold cadence and add load (and watch watts go up!)
Here’s how I have been coaching “Hanging On”, by Active Child: We set cadence at 68 rpm’s and initial load where work is sustained around T1. After the first :52, I coach to hold cadence steady at 68, and have them add load each minute and notice changes in HR/watts and breathing. By the end of 5 load adds, we are working well past T2 and putting up some big watts. No power meters? No problem. Coach to the 68 rpm music rhythm for a steady pedal cadence and HR monitors or perceived exertion.
Active Child’s (the working name of electric artist Pat Grossi) Hanging On:
Ellie Goulding also does an interesting version of this song, but it is only 3:22.
John's note: I heard/Shazamed this during the Victoria's Secret fashion show the other night. I just love Ellie's big sound in this cover – Turn It Up!
But be careful – there's a foul version of this song that includes Rapper Tinie Tempah that totally wrecks it – what was she thinking?.
