If you're a new instructor you will soon learn what many of us old dogs figured out a long time ago; the change off of Day-Light-Savings is the trigger for many to move back indoors and hopefully back to your class 🙂
I teach a lot of early AM classes and look forward to this week, starting around October 1st when I'm looking at the 6 people at 5:54am.
You've probably heard the phrase timing is everything…
Well, if you want to take advantage of the one day of the year when people are most open to a change in their normal schedules, today the timing is perfect!
Think about this… How many people have to talked to who have said “I should really be getting to the club, before heading off to work each morning.” And yet something stops them – they don't have the discipline or desire to get out of bed early enough to make it to your class. But tomorrow is different. Many of us will wake up with plenty of time because our body clocks are on daylight savings time. If you catch people with an extra hour and then offer them something they already know they want, you could see a big improvement in your class numbers.
BUT YOU HAVE TO ACT TODAY – MONDAY AT THE LATEST
Communicate with your list of students (you do have a list, right?) telling them something simple that starts like – Hi Susan, if you're anything like me, tomorrow morning you wake up an hour earlier than you need to. Why not spend that hour riding with us?
Tomorrow morning is the day to teach your best class! You can take advantage of the time change yourself and get there early so you are relaxed and fully prepared.
And I mean YOUR BEST FUN CLASS. Forget about Heart Rate and Power for a few days and focus on delivering nothing but fun and enjoyment for your participants. And for gosh sake, please don't feel that with a bunch of new students you need to spend the whole class preaching about form and what not to do 🙁 this week should be nothing but positive affirmations if you want them to keep coming back.
Offer your students a reason to make your class a regular part of their schedule. We will be talking a lot about SYSTEMATIZATION (connecting multiple classes together) over the next month. After 25 years of sales experience, it's my opinion that your students will have the least resistance to committing to a series of classes this week. Tom Scotto has a great article about adding a Winter Training Program to your studio's schedule that addresses this in more detail.
It maybe as simple as asking each person you see to commit to coming to your class on a regular basis. In “sales speak” we call this asking an obligating question. A question like; “Sally, will I see you in class Friday?” can be very powerful because if they answer yes, they will feel obligated to show up Friday. Notice I didn't say “Sally, I would love to see you class Friday” which doesn't commit them to anything. Asking obligating questions is hard for many of us so don't be discouraged if you feel uncomfortable asking them. It maybe helpful to first think; “will coming to class Friday help Sally?” and if your answer is yes, then you should be able to communicate your desire to help Sally through a question that will help her get to your next class 🙂
You and your participant's desires are in perfect alignment this week; they want to use this change to start a new habit and you want them in your class… Now is the time to act 🙂
What the heck happened to September and October?
Oh well..
Another British band makes the list for today’s Friday Favorite. Their sound and versatility is so interesting. I first heard them on “Grey’s Anatomy” and I tracked down the season’s soundtrack to get this particular song. It is the perfect length (5:27 ) and rpm’s (69) for a moderate effort climb. The title track from the “How We Operate” CD by Gomez is today’s tune. I like the musical layers…especially the banjo. Give it a listen and see what you think. I’m going to explore more by this band.
Moxie is founded by Brooke Freiborg and Deb Amorde, two hard working entrepreneurs here in Minnesota who have designed performance cycling apparel that meets the unique needs of women.
Brooke and Deb have seen great success with their new jerseys and with the weather turning cold, they’re eager to introduce them to Indoor Cyclists. These smart women recognize that most all the major apparel brands offer a special Instructor Discount Program. So, beginning November 14thMoxie Cycling will be offering PRO members a special 40% discount on their fabulous line of cycling apparel.
I wore my cute diamond jersey for the very first time to my 715 am class this morning. Guess what? My class was awake!!! Upon entering the studio, three women immediately commented on how cute my “shirt” was. They REALLY loved it when they found out it was a cycling jersey. Four more women after class also commented on how much they liked it. (Could this also be a commentary on the boredom level of my current workout wardrobe?) I then taught my Barbell Strength class and had to give the Moxie information to a participant going on a bike trip next weekend!
Here's the great thing: to kick things off, Brooke and Deb at Moxie Cycling Co. would like some feedback from five ICI/PRO members (sorry guys- we have been buying scaled down men's jerseys long enough!) who would be willing to teach 3-4 classes and submit a good picture of you wearing your free Moxie Cycling Co. jersey. We are also asking that you participate in a recorded focus group call with me, Brooke and Deb mid-November over Skype. Because of the difficulty coordinating a call over widely spaced time zones we can only accept testers in North America.
Sound good? If you would like to participate please leave a comment below. We will then contact you by email for your shipping info.
Spotify is so cool and you no longer have to be invited to join as a free member in the USA!
Beyond the simplicity of downloading the PRO Playlists we provide for every Audio PROfile, Spotify has an incredible selection of Theme music.
A search for Halloween in Spotify lists dozens of playlists and hundreds of tracks you could use for your class(s) Monday. I have two and I'm wearing my Pee Wee Herman costume!
How about spooky theme songs from scary movies and TV shows? It includes my personal favorites from Dark Shadows and the Tubular Bells from the Exorcist 🙂
Can you help me understand what you have against Indoor Cycling?
I see you riding bikes, running, chillin by the grill, playing golf and even yoga. But you're never seen participating in the #1 most popular group fitness activity of all time; riding with us in a Spinning / Indoor Cycling class.
What's up with that?
Simple oversight?
Or is there more to it?
I've been walking around with you on my head for years. I actually had an Instructor (Spook) at our last conference ask me; “where's that beat up Life Is Goodhat you're always wearing?”
We've been together for a long time - Dec 09
I had to tell him the truth that my favorite hat was no longer with us 🙁 My wife Amy actually bought me another Life Is Good hat, you're playing Golf… I don't play golf. So despite her nice gesture (she could't find anything else) I'm forced to go through life without you.
I like to interject songs into my playlist that people may find vaguely familiar but may not be able to put their finger on. It’s fun to watch them try to figure out who the band is while working away on their pedal stroke and heart rate/power training. This is one of those “B-side” tunes. It is an oldie, but at goodie, from Electric Light Orchestra’s 1981 VINYL album, Time! “Ticket to the Moon” is 4:09, with rpm at 82. I am using it after a fairly intense climb- to bring HR back down closer to T1 and ride a road simulating around a 3% grade. Nice instrumental breaks occur throughout the song for variety about every 30 seconds or so.
Here is ELO and “Ticket to the Moon”: (What were YOU doing back in 1971-1986 when they were in their prime???)
