You'll need to excuse me as I wrap myself in some favorite drug music of my youth today. I've been building a playlist to use with the new Pensacola Stage Race video.
The first half was easy. Basic stuff; a warmup + a few openers for the 10 minute Road Race. Then a steady, 90ish ten minute track for the Time Trial. Easy.
But where I'm struggling is deciding on the perfect music for the 30 minute Criterium…
“Dad, how am I going to learn to drive this?” was the question asked by my older daughter Abby, while I was negotiating the purchase of a well-cared-for Mazda 626. She would soon become know as “Murph” as in “Murphys Law” after the brakes failed – with Abby skillfully guiding her into the ditch to avoid rear-ending the car ahead of her.
But that was weeks after our initial lessons on driving a manual transmission car. Day-one ended at a stop sign with Abby jumping out and slamming the car door. After expressing some expletives that translated to; “Dad, I'm not ever going to be able to figure this out.” Abby had flat refused to learn anymore.
But au contraire young daughter. You can (and will) learn to drive and shift… or Murph will sit in the driveway and you'll walk, or (worse for her) ride your long neglected bicycle to your job.
So Abby relented and soon she was shifting like a NASCAR PRO.
Her sister Carly followed a few years later, and with some gentle instruction, she too became proficient driving a car that required her to both steer and shift to get where she needed. Both my girls began to enjoy driving Murph, especially after learning how few of their friends could even get out of the driveway with a manual transmission car. Beyond enjoyment, it actually became a source of pride in them, reinforced through frequent episodes (and the hilarious stories that followed) of trying to teach their friends (boy and girl alike) how to drive a car with a manual transmission. It continues today. Just last Sunday night Carly was the designated driver back to school in Fargo, because the girl who was driving still isn't comfortable driving her own car (a manual) on the highway back to school.
What prompted this post was a comment I received to an earlier post;
In the last year, the 2 clubs I teach cycling at have switched over to the Keiser M3′s, and, as you said, that was where it ended. A few of us, because of how we approached our instruction, understood what could be done with those computers. Those same few of us have, at our own expense, sought out information and training. It feels like when my dad bought me a manual transmission car when I turned 16, and said “there you go, Punkin!” without a bit of instruction regarding the gears. Except my only victim was a hunk of metal, not 30 people trusting me not to steer them wrong.
When instructors don’t know how to use the equipment, it makes us all look bad, and it’s very confusing to the members. Unfortunately, it’s all about money when you work for a chain.
We've devoted a lot of posts and Audio PROfiles toward teaching with Power here at ICI/PRO, and for good reason. Like Abby and Carly, we believe that those of you teaching on any of the brands with power, are capable of teaching with Power!
I have to admit that it was with a considerable amount of pride that I would listen to one of my daughters tell me a story that began with; “he thought he was so cool driving his dad's Mercedes and yet he turned out to be such a dork.” “He was talking smack; driving a stick is no big deal…” and so I said; “here you go… give it a try.” After he stalled Murph five times I said; “get out of the way and let a girl show you how it's done!”
It's no secret that teaching with Power or Heart Rate takes skill, an understanding of the training concepts and some dogged determination. There's a very good chance that you will be alone, or among a very few, in your club willing to make the effort.
Our goal here at ICI/PRO is to provide you with the knowledge and confidence you need to effectively teach an Indoor Cycling 2.0 based class – incorporating Power and/or Heart Rate – that truly demonstrates your competency as an Instructor.
There's no guarantee that your classes will ever be the fullest or the most talked about, but as a Professional you aren't looking for guarantees. If you're anything like me you are only looking for ONE student to come to you and say “I really appreciate your class… it must be hard, feeling like you have to compete with all the other nonsense… Thank You.”
Parenting suggestion for all of you with soon to be teenage drivers. Both our girls reported to us that driving a manual transmission required more of their attention, which kept them much more focused on driving, than when they drove an automatic. Then there's the natural deterrent to texting while driving that comes from needing both hands to get anywhere 🙂
Keith Burnage from IndoorCyclingMusic.com joins me to discuss solving the problem using MixMeister Express with the new Mac Mountain Lion OS.
We are also using this Podcast to announce that IndoorCyclingMusic.com is now offering custom mixed playlists created specifically for our Audio PROfiles.
We realize that many of you have neither the time or interest needed to create seamless class music… but would still enjoy teaching with mixed music.
Also Spotify isn't available where many of our International ICI/PRO members teach and call home, so it's not an option.
This new service is very inexpensive and maybe just what you are looking for if time is the one thing you have too little of 🙂
Schwinn is promoting an improved version of the Schwinn AC Performance Indoor Cycle, calling it the “Plus”. The biggest changes are to the saddle and handlebar Fore & Aft adjustment mechanism. Earlier versions of the AC Performance limited both adjustments to three set position that were labeled “+” / “0” / “-“, with “0” being Neutral and the others ahead and behind. I heard a number of concerns that because people don't come in only three sizes, only offering three positions were too coarse, not allowing for the finer level of fitting we prefer to bring to our students.
The new AC Plus solves that with a new method that they say offers an “Infinite” level of adjustability. Here's a link to the new brochure you can download.
While we are on the subject of saddle adjustments, now is the time to go in review this video about ensuring all your Indoor Cycles are setup correctly. It's very important that once a student is setup correctly, that position is the same on every cycle in your studio.
A warm up song is like a first impression. The first song that your students hear is going to set the tone for the rest of your class. You always want make sure you put some thought into your first song. I like to choose fast paced tunes with a great beat that make people smile.
I most often will choose songs that are familiar for the warm ups. Some times it's a newer release, but I also like to find classics that people may not have heard in a while. One way to keep familiar songs fresh is to use a remix or a mash-up. I love this Led Zeppelin/Doobie Brothers mashup. It combines two old favorites: Led Zeppelin's Trampled Under Foot, and the Doobie's classic Long Train Runnin'. At 4:27, it's perfect for a fast paced, in the saddle warm up.
“the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… or the one”.
Trekkies (fans of the old Star Trek franchise) will instantly recognize this quote from Spock, which to many of us makes perfect sense; the needs of the majority of our students should outway the needs of a single individual.
And yet applying Spock's logic in our classes can become quite difficult, if not impossible for many of us.
Many of us have experienced a situation where one person is disruptive in class or acts in a way that requires us to focus on them, at the expense of everyone else.
In his Monday post, Chuck Cali relates a problem he had with his new power program:
In the second class, a 73-year-old woman in Birkenstocks walked in after class had started. She’d heard cycling might good for her and demanded to be shown how. With the CEO looking on, and everyone else looking impatient, I set her up. She disliked cycling and left, wasting almost 15 minutes. Such a disruption to this sort of class is catastrophic.
It's like watching a slow moving train wreck and we've all been there. Powerless (forgive the pun) to prevent what all of us with any experience knows will happen next – this one person will, in some way, negativity affect the entire class.
The answer is NO. As in; “I'm sorry, but for your safety and out of respect for everyone who was here on time, we don't allow people into class after it has begun.” “If you'd like to come back in an hour, or come in ten minutes before the next class, I will be happy to get you set up.” And then you physically turn your body (and attention) back to the class.
Saying NO is hard for all of us. Nobody likes to hear NO. For some of us it's almost impossible to turn someone away or ask that they stop whatever they are doing that causes you to feel you need to focus on them, instead of everyone else.
Ignoring the needs of the manycan does limit the effectiveness of your class and diminishes your rapport and/or authority with your students. I'm using “authority” here to mean your perceived role as a leader and a fitness expert.
What got me motivated to post this was a question I received ICI/PRO member Pat Williams.
Hello John,
Hope you are doing well. Thanks for all your hard work with Indoor Cycling. Our gym is in the process of moving and maybe purchasing some new bikes. We currently have 18 Star Trac NXT bikes and they have served our group well. Trying to stay with current trends, I am interested in bikes that could provide more objective information i.e. power, heart rate, speed, and distance ridden. I know that you are currently riding Free Motion bikes that provide this information. If you were in charge of the world, what bikes would you recommend and what are the pros and cons of your choice? I know there are many choices that are out there. Thanks for your help.
Whenever I'm asked for my opinion about what road bike someone new to outdoor cycling should buy, my answer is always; “you want to purchase the bike that you'll ride… not the one that will collect dust hanging in your garage”.
My objective is to identify whether or not they are willing to commit to the changes in their lives, necessary to becoming a cyclist… or are they simply just in love with the idea of being a cyclist?
The same is true with clubs excited to purchase new Indoor Cycles that include Power indication.
No manufacture makes a bad Indoor Cycle with Power. They're all different and all have their strong and weak points. If you spend any time over at Pedal-On you've maybe read some of the never-ending debates over the fine points of which cycle is better.
Do I have a preference? Sure I do. I have experience riding and teaching on most of them. If Pat and I talked and I learned more about his club's specific needs, I could probable help him narrow his choice down to one or two. But any of the currently available Indoor Cycles; CycleOps 300, FreeMotion s11.9, Keiser M3 or Schwinn AC would be a good choice for Pat's club.
But none of them will guarantee a successful power based program.
I'm hearing, seeing and experiencing studios (like Chuck's) who were in love with offering Power to their students. But unfortunately not all of them are willing to make the commitment to Instructor training and class formatting / programming needed to develop truly effective power based program.
One major barrier to success is an inability to say “NO” to some of their students.
This isn't a new problem.
IMO – the failure of a majority of of clubs to implement effective Zone based Heart Rate training classes in large part goes to a reluctance to say NO to students who aren't interested in wearing a monitor. Instructors feel compelled to teach to the lowest common denominator (the few without a monitor) which effectively waters down the HR Zone class content until many of us have given up on HR training completely. Power based classes aren't any different.
Because Power is so new, I see all of us in a unique position to make the changes needed to establish effective Power based classes. I'm not deluded into thinking I have all the answers, but here are a few ideas that I'd like to see discussed in the future:
Clearly separate Power Training classes from Generic Indoor Cycling classes on the schedule.
Teach these Power Training classes to the many, saying NO to the random drop-in student – after first explaining that our club offers…
Regularly scheduled Introduction to Power classes where students can learn all about Power and can learn their FTP based training zones.
Establish a policy that no one can enter class after it has begun and install signs communicating this on the studio doors.
You'll need to excuse me as I wrap myself in some favorite drug music of my youth today. I've been building a playlist to use with the new Pensacola Stage Race video.
