As an athletic coach, nothing bothers me….OK, “ticks me off” more than when legitimate methods of training are misused. It blatantly demonstrates a lack of knowledge and professionalism. Unfortunately, this tendency is rampant in the fitness industry, which has thus spilled over into indoor cycling.
Professor Izumi Tabata — You are the Man!
Now before you think I’m against Tabata training, I’m not. I think it is an amazing protocol, which was put forth with sound research. Basically, Professor Izumi Tabata performed studies where bouts of short, high intensity training was followed by short periods of recovery and repeated 8 times. In an interview with Professor Tabata, he laughs as he openly admits that the credit for the protocol goes to Japanese speed skating coach, Mr. Irisawa Koichi. Professor Tabata was simply asked to analyze the effectiveness of Mr. Irisawa’s training regiment.
The official, researched protocol is: 20 Seconds of intense work followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times.
Let’s Beat Everyone To a Pulp Mentality
When the Tabata protocol was released into the public, fitness “professionals” began drooling and scheming with big smiles on their faces as they imagined people flailing away to utter exhaustion praising their names as the greatest trainers on earth just before limp bodies hit the ground. Professor Tabata stated in his interview “This means that, excluding the warming up and cooling down, the exercise can be completed in only 4 minutes if repeated 8 times, more than enough to make even a fit person exhausted”. So what does the fitness industry do?… THEY MAKE AN ENTIRE 60-MINUTE TABATA CLASS!!!!! Total insanity. It is the “more is better — bigger is badder” approach, which is void of both science and proper regard for safety.
Group Fitness Hell
Here is another quote from Professor Tabata: “Such high-intensity exercise is exhausting, so it’s not good for those simply interested in general promotion of their health.” I’m trying to figure out how this statement translates into building Tabata-based group fitness and indoor cycling classes consisting of such a wide age and fitness-level demographic. At least if you’re working with a single individual, you can monitor their response to the training and adjust accordingly. With classes upwards of 20+ people, this is impossible and irresponsible.
Tom, Calm Down — What’s Going On?
I’ve been in numerous conversations in recent months where indoor cycling instructors are throwing around Tabata training like salt at McDonalds. They add it to everything with little to no regard for the focus of the class or the benefit to those participating. Here are two examples:
(1) I’m helping a group of indoor cycling instructors create a ride profile. We had decided that the focus was going to be on moderate, long climbs since it was early in the year and they wanted to help riders increase their muscular endurance. We had designed a nice ride profile with 3 long climbs, but as we looked at the timing, we were short about 3 minutes. Before I was able to suggest we adjust the length of one of the climbs or decent (recovery), one instructor said we could throw in some Tabata. WHAT?!?!? We’re in the &$*W$ mountains on a long climb in the early part of the year and you want to “throw it” some high intensity intervals?!?!
(2) I just finished a ride that concluded with a 25-minute steady-state effort targeting Zone 3 (~75% perceived exertion). It was tough and people were definitely feeling it at the end. After we completed the stretch and people were exiting the room, one rider was still on the bike working hard. As I approached the rider, who is a seasoned fitness instructor, they told me how much they like the class. They continued to say that it would have been nice to end the class stronger with some Tabata training. I smiled and packed up.
A License to Kill
Training methods and protocols like Tabata are legitimate and effective ways to train in the appropriate environment. Let’s make sure we are doing our homework as fitness professionals and demonstrating the responsibility we have with those that will follow our example and passion. Indoor cycling instructors have unfortunately used Tabata training, in particular, as a license to throw high-intensity into their classes whenever they want. “Oh, I’m just doing some Tabata Training”.
For those of use who have taken the time to study, research and design classes built on sound training science, we see right through the smoke screen.
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Here is the link to the interview with Professor Izumi Tabata – http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/eng/html/research/areas/feat-researchers/interview/izumi_t.html/
At the end of our first class on the new FreeMotion Indoor Cycles last Sunday, I spent close to 30 minutes answering questions from participants about the cycles and the Power meters:
How many Watts should I be making?
Why did I have to turn it up so high before I saw any real increase in watts… didn't you say power had a lot to do with cadence?
It said I was riding at 23 mph… was I really?
Why doesn't the calorie totals match up between my Garmin Heart Rate monitor and the console?
Why could I create more power, at a lower heart rate, sitting instead of standing?
I felt like I needed to work so much harder on this bike… why is that?
I'm going to be soliciting answers from our Master Instructor PRO Team for their responses to many of these questions. But I wanted to address the specific question/comment mentioned by multiple riders; these bikes make you work a lot harder – they're more like riding outdoors… why is that?
For those of you who have ridden (or teach on) a FreeMotion S11 series, Keiser M3 or Schwinn AC Indoor Cycle you probably already know the answer: Magnetic Resistance 🙂
And no, it isn't because they are watching their watts readings.
Magnetic Resistance more closely resembles the effect Air Resistance has on an outdoor cyclist, which if you've ridden outside, or simply stuck your hand out the window of a moving car, realize is substantial. On a flat road above 20 miles per hour >95% of your energy is being used to overcome wind resistance.
I found this graph (and added some additional details) to help you understand the differences.
For the sake of simplicity I have taken some liberties with the graph, but here's what I feel you should know:
The Horsepower graph is based on: 0.2hp = Strong Cyclist, 0.4hp = Competitive Cyclist, > 0.6hp is Tour de France caliber Pro Cyclist.
The thin purple and blue lines represent the amount of Power needed to overcome wind resistance and ride at the listed speeds. Notice how sharply the line curves upwards and more than twice the Power is needed to ride at 30 mph vs. 20 mph.
The dashed blue and red lines are the effective resistance created by Magnetic and Friction based Indoor Cycles respectively.
In my Epic Wine Country Audio PROfile I offered these suggestions for cueing load/resistance dependent on the type of friction system your cycles use:
How you cue the addition of intensity is very important in an Indoor Cycling class of any format and its different dependent on the type of Indoor Cycle you’re riding.
– With any Indoor Cycle that uses friction to create the resistance I suggest adding resistance to cadence. Class is pedaling ~ 90 RPM and then add load to reach intended intensity. This has the effect of preventing “runaway pedals” when your students start with a small amount of load and then accelerate. The momentum in the spinning flywheel negates what little load there was.
– If you are riding a FreeMotion S11, Keiser M3 or Schwinn AC with magnetic resistance you can add resistance to cadence or you can do the exact opposite, adding cadence to resistance.
You've never heard that before, have you? It’s why I see magnetic resistance as being superior.
Here’s why:
My biggest struggle (besides getting people to be quiet) is how to best communicate load in class. If you have been paying attention in class you have noticed that when you slow your pedals (on a conventional friction IC – any Spinner, etc… ) they get heavier. We have all seen the person who was supposed to be accelerating out of a climb start bouncing like they have no resistance at all. This happens because as your student pedals faster, the added centrifugal force overcomes the fixed amount of friction, making it easier and easier to pedal, until it’s like they have no load at all. Not Good! Cycling is all about endurance. We want them to endure it! The solution is to establish leg speed and then adjust load to regulate the work they are doing.
Indoor cycles with magnetic resistance (S11, M3 and AC) work very differently. As the speed of the flywheel increases the Eddy Currents that create the load increase as well. So these Indoor Cycles actually get harder to pedal as cadence increases, just like a real bicycle. So with these types of cycles cue your students to set their load at a slower RPM and then simply increase cadence to add intensity.
Give this a try in you next class and let me know the results.
You only get one chance to make a first impression!
While I've taught a lot of classes on Indoor Cycles that display Power/Watts, this morning was the very first Power based class I've ever taught. So what's the difference?
65 new FreeMotion Indoor Cycles with Power meters that replaced conventional Spinner NXTs and very willing participants interested in the value training with power will bring to their fitness.
Sunday mornings are my 90 minute endurance class. I have a very devoted following of endurance athletes in attendance. They are all focused on maintaining and/or building their aerobic endurance in preparation for Spring – in other words, the perfect group to introduce power to. In other classes I've taught where we had Power meters, there is too much variation between students… who we have described in earlier posts as Susan and Bob.
OK, now I have the perfect class to begin teaching with Power, new bikes with Power meters, but no idea what I should do for my first class 🙁
So I called the best person I could think of and begged asked her to tell me what I should do for my very first Power based class.
Subscribe to our free Podcast feed in iTunes and get about half of what we publish or become an ICI/PRO member and get everything 🙂
What follows is Cameron Chinatti's suggestion for your intro class as an Audio PROfile.
Objective: Orientation & Observation
Our ride will consist of two primary objectives: the 1st– to orient ourselves to the console and learn it’s basic functions. Then we’ll observe the cause-and-effect relationship that your actions have on the information you see in front of you. Once we make it through 10 min. of orientation and warm-up, we’ll begin to dive into today’s goal the two components that drive Power: Force and Velocity!
Goal: Beginning in STAGE 2, you are going to get 3 opportunities to best yourself against four-minute efforts. Can you cover more distance with each repetition? This might seem easy on paper, but putting it into practice is very challenging!
After discussing this with Cameron, we decided that we would make the Audio PROfile recording available to everyone. PRO members can click here for the PDF to print out and Cameron's suggested playlist.
Here's the FastFit Guide Cameron uses for bike setup.
This fabulous artist can not only sing, play guitar and drums, but she is also quite a little athlete. She runs 6 miles a day and is a marathoner. Today’s 4:17, 86 bpm flat road has an ethereal 15 seconds before a hard beat kicks in. There are great nuances to work with throughout the song. It would be ideal to use for the first “road” out, but it’s too good to waste, so you might want to use it later in your ride when everyone is very focused and can enjoy it. Although Britain’s Ellie Goulding is best known for “Lights” (and that is a GREAT tune, 3:32, 61 bpm), featured today is “Salt Skin” from her Lights CD. You may want to check out the entire CD. It’s really good.
Happy weekend everyone. I am so excited to teach on our new FreeMotion bikes Saturday morning! Salt Skin in Spotify
John is it possible to add the BPM to all the songs in my iTunes library? The short answer for most of us is yes, with the exception of any tracks you purchased directly from iTunes back when much of their music carried DRM – Digital Rights Management. What follows is a complete video tutorial for adding the BPM to unprotected tracks in your iTunes music library.
While not being a huge fan of Auto BPM counters,* I do agree that having a number of methods of sorting your music in iTunes can be helpful and will help you become more efficient at creating cadence based playlists.
*I encourage Instructors to actually sample tracks using a Tap to the Beat counter, rather than depending on a software program to show the BPM of a track. Just because a song is listed at 150 BPM doesn't mean it will communicate a tempo that you can use to set your cadence at 75 RPM. Info about the Tap to the Beat counter can be found here.
MixMeister offers a simple and easy to use BPM Analyzer you can download for free here for both PC and Macs. Download and install it now. What's typical missing form any MixMeister product is a full explanation of how to use their software… and that's where I can help 🙂
Next watch this short video to learn how to add BPM to your iTunes library.
Motivation to exercise has spurred fitness discussions for decades.
Having taught Group Fitness classes for over 30 years, and Indoor Cycling since 1995, I've noticed that, when a person successfully integrates exercise into his or her life, the motivation to keep exercising changes over time. I've observed Four Levels of Motivation.
Level 1 – Physical
When someone starts a fitness program, the motivation usually comes from a physical goal, typically to lose weight, look better or become healthier.
Physical changes are easy to effect in a person with sufficient desire. Particularly when working with a trained professional, people can see success in these top three areas. We’ve all seen that initial desire wane, however, even in people who achieved results. Their workouts may stop or become sporadic. The physical Level of Motivation starts things but often won’t sustain a lifelong process.
The industry addresses these clients through change. The workouts weren't diverse enough. Let’s focus on something else, move in a new direction. It works for a while, but finding another way to lose weight is not the long-term answer. If students’ motivation does not evolve, they’re likely to stop once again.
Level 2 – Emotional
Most people will benefit from the second Level of Motivation, emotion. In time, feeling better supersedes looking better. Even people frustrated with lack of physical results will tend to acknowledge that exercise has made them feel better emotionally. They’re more relaxed, less stressed, glad to be taking care of themselves. If they have family, staying healthy and setting an example for their kids may feel gratifying.
This deeper Level of Motivation can sustain regular exercisers for a lifetime, but is often overlooked as a factor in keeping someone going after the physical motivation wanes.
Level 3 – Mental
The third Level of Motivation involves the mind, and I’ve seen it impact people dramatically. They become fascinated by what’s happening in the body, research it, study it, take charge of their own fitness programs. Some get certified to teach Indoor Cycling. Many of you reading this may have started your Indoor Cycling careers this way.
This leads to rapid, exponential growth in fitness. Students overcome physical challenges they’ve faced. They’re transformed. They become athletes. They move into events and competition, set yearly goals, and train with a dedication greater than that of some gifted athletes. With each accomplishment, their confidence grows — and their enthusiasm. They find new friends, change their lifestyle to accommodate a more rigorous workout schedule, and define themselves though their training.
This stage is glorious. It can go on for years, maybe decades, but must come to an end. Whether through injury, poor health, or aging, a decline in ability is inevitable. Unprepared students may be left deflated, empty or depressed. They can't ride as fast, can't manage their weight, lose flexibility or whatever they used to have that made them feel special.
This is a critical time because students may have to go through this process to realize the final Level of Motivation: connection with spirit.
Level 4 – Spiritual
Most people don't get here. Training becomes something they used to do.
Let me emphasize that this doesn’t involve religious beliefs, though some see it that way. Bottom line, if your students have never felt their spirits soar while riding, they may be stuck on Level 1. If you teach Indoor Cycling, you have likely felt this soaring but may not have expressed it this way.
The contrast between our ever-present sense of aliveness and the impermanence of the body is what tells us we’re more than muscle and bone. Eckart Tolle says, “If the whole world were blue, you would not recognize blue.” If riding your bike makes you feel more alive, even in the face of injury or an aging body, you realize that a part of you never gets tired, never grows old. You ride a bike into your 90's and still feel as if you're flying.
When you feel this, your perspective on all of the training you’ve done in your life changes. The achievements matter less. They’re fun and exciting, but their value is short-lived. You feel less unique and more deeply at peace. Balance replaces ego, and riding a bike just makes you happy to be alive.
When a student feels this, my job as a trainer is done. More than likely, he or she will now become the teacher.
Few individuals achieve this balance or are able to sustain it. Most of us float among all four Levels of Motivation. It would be ludicrous to tell you that, after 40+ years of intense training, I never think about how I look or use Level 1 to get my ass to the gym and train. If that’s my motivation for the day, so be it. I’ve learned that the connection with spirit is not easy to achieve every day. That state of consciousness can be elusive.
When it’s there, though, it’s undeniably the best thing that training — especially riding a bike — gives me. Your students will feel the same way.
As an athletic coach, nothing bothers me….OK, “ticks me off” more than when legitimate methods of training are misused. It blatantly demonstrates a lack of knowledge and professionalism. Unfortunately, this tendency is rampant in the fitness industry, which has thus spilled over into indoor cycling.
