Tuesday has been reserved as Technology day here at ICI/PRO and this new iDJ – Numark app for iphones and iPads certainly fits this category. I've been playing with this new app from the MixMeister folks for a while and thought I would give you my initial thoughts on it's suitability as a tool you could use to create a seamless playlist for your class.
But first I need to vent a bit. I've attempted to contact Numark – the company that creates and sells MixMeister and this new iDJ software multiple times without success. Questions about the use of their software and requests for interviews have been ignored. Now I realize that being the independent resource for Indoor Cycling Instructors may not mean that much, but really… does anyone even look at your “Contact Us” emails?
The iDJ iPhone app is actually pretty cool… if you are willing to fight through the learning process with no manual or tutorials to help you along. There is a tutorial for iPad owners – but it doesn't translate well for the iPhone user.
Once you figure out how to import your desired tracks from iTunes (as far as I can tell you can't import a whole playlist – and no it doesn't work with Spotify) iDJ will go through and find the BPM for each song. Next it will create a Beatmix transition for each track. Great if you have a playlist of dance music all at 120 – 130 BMP. Not so good if you're trying to use one song at 180 BPM which blends into the next at 128 BPM. The effect is as if the 180 BPM song gets stuck in a tar pit and slows down to very slow.
Play with iDJ a little longer and you may/may not discover that you can change the default Beat Mix to a simple cross fade – which is the only transition that will work with songs with big BPM differences.
In fairness to Numark, iDJ (like MixMeister) is really designed for club DJs, not Spinning instructors like us. Dance music falls within a very narrow BPM range.
If I have the time I may look to creating a video tutorial for using iDJ in the near future. iDJ – Numark
John saw this track recommended by Keith Skowron Skowron over at the Team Spinning Facebook page. He knew instantly that I would love it… and he was right!
A 64 rpm climb with a mellow piano opening, (but adequate drums) and this Scottish singer-song writer’s fabulous raspy voice is today’s Friday Favorite. 1:27 in, the song breaks open and a driving drumbeat takes over giving great energy. Perhaps try an out of the saddle lift here until 3:00 where the music backs off and have them go back to the saddle for 20 seconds until 3:20 where you could cue to lift out of the saddle and climb strong until the end of the road at 4:07. Listen for the great “ethereal” female vocals in the background of Calvin Harris’ “Feel So Close” single from his yet to be released CD (due out in 2012).
Enjoy!
His, Hers & Ours – Epic Red Wing is an Endurance profile where you and your Tandem partner are leading a group of cyclists over the next 60 minutes. The two of you are committed to pulling your group at a fast, yet maintainable pace – with your primary objective being to demonstrate your fitness to those behind you. To do this you will want to keep your intensity at the level where you are challenged, yet confident, all the way to the end.
This video features yours truly and my faithful Stoker (it’s not Stroker) Amy Macgowan riding our Tandem (we call it the Bus) along the Mississippi river, which is the east west boundary of Minnesota and Wisconsin.The title of this Audio PROfile; His, Hers & Ours, comes from how Amy and I have very different preferred cadences and yet our pedals are locked together, forcing us to pedal at the same speed. As a considerate Tandem Captain I will make continuously gearing changes in the attempt to satisfy both of us. In our case I switch between:
His — 80ish RPM 15 years as a cyclist has me preferring to spin a small gear in the high 80’s.
Hers — 70ish RPM Amy is very strong and after 18 years as the Senior Group Fitness Instructor in our family she’s very aerobically fit. She prefers to push a big gear at a cadence around 70 RPM.
Ours — 60ish RPM Riding a Tandem has you seated for long periods of time and a saddle break on level ground requires some additional coordination to smoothly get up and out. We’ve found that a very big gear @ ~60 RPM will give us something to stand on and have us looking like we are the matched pair that we truly are when we come up and out.
The challenge of this ride is in maintaining a consistent ground speed – which is an indication of Power Output, while making the frequent changes to your cadence. If your pedal speed slows your load has to increase and visa versa.
I learned something really important about Spotify this past Saturday morning. If your iPhone battery goes dead you will need to log in again before it works. Not a big problem… unless it's 3 minutes until your class is supposed to start and you can't remember your user name and password 🙁
Enter the rescue CD you have stashed at each club where you teach – or switch over to iTunes.
You do have a rescue CD backup music plan… don't you [wlm_firstname]?
But I digress…
The real purpose for this post was to show you that I have links to all the Spotify tutorials now on one page so they are easier to find – www.indoorcycleinstructor.com/spotify or you will find it under Resources > Help With Spotify in the navigation above.
It was actually funny watching the Instructor who followed me, cursing his iPhone… “I just charged this %@#$ thing”
“Would you like to use my CD?”
“Thanks” … “would you mind leaving your video too?”
It's official: We are in the thick of the holiday season! For many, the worries are already piling sky-high: In-laws, turkeys, decorations, pies, finances and the potential collapse of the Euro-zone (just kidding on that last one… mostly.). Workouts tend to focus on caloric expenditure and that mentality alone can induce panic — AAAGH!! WHY ARE THE HOLIDAYS SO STRESSFUL? Is this really what Santa intended? My guess is probably not.
We're obviously well aware that our primary job is to provide health and fitness resources to our clientele. But we should realize that we also moonlight as severely underpaid therapists! Sometimes, especially during high-stress times of the year, it becomes important to ditch the calorie talk and focus instead on stress management and helping our clients to use their workouts to alleviate some of their holiday stress. The message for your ride is an “Attitude of Gratitude”: When your sense of entitlement decreases, gratitude INCREASES! When gratitude increases, stress levels DECREASE! Amazing isn't it? Sign me up! ‘Tis the season to bust out the proverbial therapy couch and host a “session” that's less about caloric expenditure and more about giving up what you “deserve.”
A couple of disclaimers before I share my ride ideas: This is not intended to be a set-in-stone ride profile. Why? Because your style of communication and general demeanor with your group play heavily into the direction this takes. Keeping in mind that although I thoroughly enjoy micro-managing metrics and wearing my Heart Rate Monitor to bed, I must implore you to drop that kind of thinking for this particular ride. Don't worry about the power meter, heart rate monitor, cadence or the number of calories expended. Think of this as the much needed opportunity for people to calm their minds, sweat a little bit, and receive permission from you to NOT destroy themselves physically or emotionally.
You may choose to use whatever gratitude-inducing songs resonate with you. Here are my playlist (also found on Spotify under Cameron Chinatti) and accompanying focus cues from this year's 45-minute Attitude of Gratitude session:
Pre-Game:
American Land Bruce Springsteen 4:44
Thank You (Falenttinme Be Mice Elf Agin) Sly & the Family Stone 4:48
Warm-Up:
Gratitude Earth Wind & Fire 3:27
You Are the Best Thing Ray LaMontagne 3:52
Ditch Your Entitlement:
Princess of China Coldplay Feat. Rihanna 3:59
At the top of every minute ask participants to add enough resistance that they can feel noticeable increase in load- the tugging in the legs gets stronger with each addition. For every nudge ask them to admit to themselves the areas of their lives where they feel a sense of entitlement towards something. Perhaps it's their health, a nice car, a holiday bonus…etc. By the end they'll have 3 situations/items in mind. At the start of the 3rd minute ask them, “Now, how would you feel if one or all of these entitlements were lost or taken away?” In the last 30 seconds, “Put those entitlements aside. For 30 seconds, as you surge forward, internally rattle off all the reasons you possibly have to be grateful for. The more the merrier!” This challenging yet very do-able 4 minute section provides the clarity necessary to come up with the good stuff.
Thank You Dido 3:38
Establish an active recovery pace that would allow for total control over breathing and mental capacity. I usually start this section by telling the class that I have a tendency to exert a sense of entitlement over my health. When I'm feeling sick, having difficulties with my asthma or some other malady, I tend to throw a pity party. “But I deserve to be healthy!” whines Cam. Then I have to remind myself that I should be expressing thanks and gratitude for what health I do have and the amazing advancements in medicine that have allowed me to survive thus far. Not to mention all the lessons I've learned about my life during these illnesses. That's when entitlement morphs into gratitude.
Once they've collected themselves ask them to reflect on these areas of entitlement. “Now turn to your neighbors and share at least one opportunity you can take to turn your entitlement into gratitude.” The first time I attempted this in a class I had apprehensions about people's willingness to share their weaknesses. Surprisingly, I could have used two “Thank You” songs to let them finish their conversations– magic was taking place!
Rediscovering Gratitude:
Mirror's Edge Nitrous Oxide 6:14
Let your participants know what to expect by informing them of what's to come. In this section our collective entitlement will morph into overflowing gratitude. Over the course of 6 minutes not only will we think of our own opportunities for gratitude, but we'll ponder our neighbors’ thoughts. At the top of every minute we add noticeable resistance back on, and at the same time we proclaim to our neighbors what we are thankful for. In following the example above I would say, “I'm so thankful that I've only been sick once this year and that it didn't turn into a chest cold. Yay!” After this statement my neighbor and I both add gear. At the top of the second minute, it's now my neighbor’s turn to tell me how she is shifting her entitlement towards gratitude. This pattern of sharing and adding resistance continues until we reach minute 6. Depending on how aggressive the gear changes/nudges of resistance happen to be, more than likely some pedal mashing is taking place. Remind participants to keep their leg speeds brisk (notice: I'm not going for any specificity here) and that from a cardiovascular standpoint, the last time they share with their neighbor should be tough to do. Simply saying, “My lungs!” requires a good deal of effort.
An Attitude of Gratitude (Comedy Break): Jimmy Buffett 2:28
Confession: I really dislike Jimmy Buffett, but this song is short, sweet and generally gets people smiling– this is perfect for setting the tone of the next working segment. Take this recovery as a chance to chill. Or if you're like me, poke fun of Jimmy Buffett… gratefully of course!
Gratitude for Fuel:
Titanium (feat. Sia) David Guetta & Sia 4:05
This song is one of those rare gems where the use of verse/chorus can actually be rather handy for measuring time and task. Typically, I'm not one for mapping my ride to my playlist, but this song works perfectly for this type of effort. Be creative in how you choose to describe these attempts. I personally enjoy the ‘sling-shot' analogy.. “From the beginning of this song to 1:15, imagine yourself stretching a sling-shot to its absolute limits. All that potential energy will be ready to be launched into the stratosphere from 1:15-1:30. 15 seconds’ worth– that's all I'm asking of you.” Essentially you're building good resistance for an effective sprint-like effort. The 2nd and 3rd attempts will be essentially the same (use verse/chorus as your guide), but now our focus goes into what's actually in the sling-shot. Is it an abundance of gratitude ready to be spread into the world or a flaming bag of you-know-what?! How's that for an honesty-check?
Taking It All In:
Beautiful Day Mozez 2:44
“You'll find your own in life and bring a smile to someone's heart.” What fantastic lyrics! If this song isn't your style find one that suits you. It's important that you enjoy listening to it because your challenge –should you choose to accept it: Be talk-free for 2:44. This is harder than it seems for us instructor types. Introduce the intent and enjoy the space. “For the next 2:44 take this opportunity to get back into your head. Give yourself permission to be comfortable, however that may be. For the remainder of this track think about the people in your life that would be positively impacted by your thankfulness and gratitude.”
Giving It All Away:
Beautiful Day U2 4:08
It's so easy to “take” because it's what we feel we deserve. We work hard at life and play hard during workouts. We impose expectations on those around us and assume entitlement for ourselves. These can be positive and wonderful motivators when balanced with a sense of thankfulness and gratitude! “To provide balance and give back what we received from this session today, my final request is that you commit to letting others know how you feel. This last working segment will be identical in structure to the very first. Rather than ditching entitlement, we're committing to the individuals that we're going to appreciate. At the top of every minute, make a decision: “I will hand-write a letter to Mom and Dad, telling them how I recognize and appreciate all the sacrifices that they have made for my brothers and me over the years.” Come up with 3 actions that you can take to show gratitude. From minutes 3-4 as you surge forward with your last burst of effort, seal the deal. These are the ones that matter.”
Cool-Down and STREEEEEEEETCH:
I Will Not Take These Things for Granted Toad The Wet Sprocket 5:48
Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 5:08
This class is a great one to provide a lengthier cool-down. I love the word stretch because it can mean so many things. When stretching physically, I enjoy presenting stretching as it compares to self-improvement. “Sure, it's scary to put yourself out there and show someone else how thankful you are for all that they do. But why? Why are we afraid to tell people nice things? Especially the ones that constantly do nice things for us. That doesn't make sense! When was the last time someone got upset or laughed at you for showing kindness. This shift in thinking will greatly impact your approach to everyone and everything.”
As an instructor, this does take some courage on your part. This isn't a hammer-fest, smack-down kinda ride. You won't be congratulated for slaughtering them with “the hardest class ever.” This takes even more bravery to do during the holiday season when the calorie obsessions are strong. So perhaps you can think of this as your personal stretch. Does this push you outside your box of comfort? I know it certainly did (and still does!) for me. Take note, as a lovely side-effect, you may even have sling-shots full of gratitude fired your way.
Here's a great idea from ICI/PRO Member Instructor Chuck Gauran that has me smacking my forehead; “why did I think of that?”
With all the excellent, structured Virtual Ride videos available, I'm to the point where it's rare to teach a class without one. I teach to the profile of the video as much as possible so there's a synergy between what I'm coaching and what everyone is watching.
To teach effectively I need to watch the video, right along with the class. So I prefer to ride with the class, rather then up front facing them. I use the mirrors to keep an eye on everyone so it's all good… except I have to leave my iPhone on the sound system – out of reach. So I don't have any option to make volume or track changes if needed. I have a 15′ cord I've tried to use but it's been more hassle than help.
As far as I know, every Smart Phone has Bluetooth built in so you should be ready. iPod users can purchase a Bluetooth Dongle that will plug in and have you ready to go wireless in your next class.
that you can purchase from Amazon for just $32.99
that will plug in and have you ready to go wireless in your next class.