Today’s Friday Favorite is a fun little 70 rpm tune that is perfect for lifts. Now, I don’t want to start a whole controversy about whether we should or should not do lifts (jumps), etc. IF you like to use them, and coach them responsibly in your class (why do I feel like I am talking about drinking with my teenage and almost 21 year old daughters here?), then this is a great song by Jessie James to do 8 count lifts to. There is a great little break out at 2:20 to 2:25 that you can play with and look extremely practiced and professional with. Total studio cut time is 3:55 and it is from her self-titled CD. You may also recognize the song from the “Shopaholic” soundtrack. Have some fun practicing your lift cues 4 counts before the lift or lower needs to occur. Your class will appreciate the advanced notice! If you are not a “jumper”, this is a great fast climb song as well.
And here is your free track of the week. It's not from Jessie James, but another recommended artist from Spotify; Fefe Dobson. Click the little down arrow on the right hand side of the player to download. Stuttering by Steffi17
As instructors, we spend a lot of time looking for just the right music. Rhythms that will rock the room and grooves that practically reach into our gut and subconsciously energize our rider’s legs. Do we look for the same dynamic quality in our voices? Let’s face it, we are the vocals — the lead singer during our classes. If you took my challenge last week, you should already have a video of your teaching and can now review with an ear for vocal dynamics. If not, bring a recording device to your next class (most laptops and smartphones have a built-in recorder) and get some vocal samples as you teach. If you can, record the entire class. Here are some things to listen for:
M O N O T O N E
Does your voice change pitch while you teach? No, I don’t mean “crack”. It can make for a long class when the instructor sounds like the pre-recorded voice of a GPS unit or a long-winded auctioneer. Now it is very rare (I hope) that an instructor will remain monotone throughout and entire class. However, some of the places I’ve heard this laid-back, emotion-lacking speak is during times of recovery or when an instructor is describing an all-to common drill. Listen for emotion and energy, and more important, a variety.
One Volume / One Energy Level
Equally as lack-luster is instructing at the same volume and energy level — even if the volume and energy is LOUD and HIGH. It can have the same effect as a sugar rush. The class starts off with a BANG but since the energy is so high, there is no place for it to go. Eventually, riders will tune the instructor out or not emphasize the right parts of the ride because…well…everything is being emphasized. Both the energy and the volume need to be fluid and rise and fall with the intensity and focus of the class (which should also have flow to tit). Listen for how you “vocally” take your riders through drills and hard efforts. Does your volume and energy change? Is there a difference in your vocal dynamics between working efforts and times of recovery?
Got Rhythm?
Now since you are teaching with music, having some rhythm to your phrases and instructions can be a real plus. You don’t have to develop the swagger of a rapper, but maybe somewhere in between Eminem and William Shatner. Regardless of whether you are using instrumental or music with vocals, listen for the rhythm of the lyrics or phrasing of the melody and try to work with it. I’m not talking about actually singing here, but placing your cues and instruction strategically so the music compliments or adds dramatic effect to your words (this may be a future Audio PROfile since I’m probably doing a poor job articulating this in writing). Another example is counting. If you are counting in and out of efforts — try to count on the beat. If you really want to go for the big finish, count down so that you end at the same time as the music. BAM!
Time-Sensitive
This might sound silly, but I believe instructors should be sensitive to the “times” at which they teach. Like in “time of day”. There is very often a big difference in the NEEDED energy level between a coffee-induced 5:30am class and a buzzing 6:30pm class. I’m not saying you should force either class to comply to a pre-determined level of energy and excitement, but rather be sensitive to where your riders are at depending on the time of day. For example, entering the 5:30am class as an uncontrollable ball of energy may be too much (and quite frankly, annoying). You don’t want them to stay in their drunken stupor either, but rather slowly (maybe over a 10-minute period) ease them out as you build on the energy with both your voice and music. On the other hand, I’ve seen instructors make the mistake of squashing the high-energy of a jailbreak evening class. Everyone is chatting and the energy is bouncing off the walls, and then the instructor says “OK quiet down people”. Don’t do THAT! Go with it. Build on it. Join in and commend them for such a spankin vibe. Let them hear in your voice that you are just as excited as they are as your direct their energy into the ride.
The Power Whisper
That’s right. A well-placed whisper can be a powerful thing. It can be the undercurrent that grabs a rider’s emotions during a trance-like rhythm. It can even be a driving motivator during super-intense efforts like the finish of a grueling climb. Give it a try.
Leave Some Space
Quick simply — are we talking too much. Is there space between our coaching and instruction to allow riders to settle in? One of my riders told me that he loves when I leave him alone with a groovin’ rhythm (don’t ask me to try to describe that). I believe him too. During one of the groove-ridden sections of class I’ll look over and there he is in his own world – eyes closed and gently drifting to the pulse of the music. How much space do you leave? How comfortable are you with leaving space? Can you not talk for 15 seconds….30 seconds or even a minute? (I detect a challenge in there somewhere)
Different Ride — Different Vibe
Different types of rides can require a different teaching style and vocal dynamic altogether. If you lead every ride the same, you risk appearing like one of those Hollywood actors that play the same character regardless of the movie (i.e. Bruce Willis, Will Ferrell, Cameron Diaz…). Get into the role! If you are going to get down with some serious training, get your coach hat on. If you’re winding your way up a mountain road, be one of the riders and encourage people to follow you. If you are doing a race day or stage of the Tour de France, do your best Phil Liggett.
Protecting Your Voice
On a serious note, please use a mic and protect your voice. I wrote an entire post on this in the past. Besides keeping your voice healthy, a microphone will often help you indulge or improve the above vocal dynamics. It is no big mystery why instructors who don’t use a mic YELL ALL THE TIME. I’ve not heard one instructor who claims they can teach just fine without a mic (or their room is so small it doesn’t require one), demonstrate the least bit of vocal dynamics. As far as I know, there are no awards for the best “non-mic’d” instructor, so give in and give your class some dynamics.
The Challenge
Can you teach without music? Let’s find out. While you are recording your class, turn off the music for 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes of whatever you think you can handle. Can you still hold the room captive? Is there still excitement and energy in the air? For the unabridged test, shut off the music during both a time of recovery AND while you coach riders through a tough effort.
Let’s increase the impact of what we say…and don’t say.
Each of us can be our own worst critic! Listening to myself teach a class was a very eye opening (our should I say ear opening) experience for me.
This week is all about How You Sound.
I used my iPhone to record my class yesterday and encourage you to do the same to gain an understanding of How You Sound. Please feel free to critique what you hear in my class presentation. My hope is that it will motivate you to record your own class and then listen to the recording and learn How You Sound to your students.
As I listened to the recording it was obvious from my breathing that I'm working hard, along with the class. This has been my practice for a long time, but as I hear myself it has me questioning if I'm working a little harder than I should.
What do you think?
The standard recorder in an iPhone will only record for 30 minutes. This free App Quick Voice Recorder will record longer.
I'll try to have an Android solution for recording as soon as my daughter Carly wakes up and shows me on her phone 🙂
Do you have one of these Watt Bikes? I would love to know more about them.
One of my objectives is to model proper form to my students.
[wlm_firstname] I'm guessing you will agree that proper form is a component of How You Look and it begins with having the proper setup for your bike. Unfortunately, as an instructor, we face a unique obstacle; “who helps us get set up properly?”
Every one of us has been trained in proper Indoor Cycle Setup and yet I've never experienced a certification or workshop that explains how to set yourself up.
Because you can't.
Sure, you can try. If you are anything like me you have your setup memorized and, like the seen on TV guy Ron Popeil, you set it and forget it! To compound this problem, many of us teach on different types of Indoor Cycles at different clubs. I'm currently teaching at four clubs and have to remember my set up on two versions of NXTs (yes the different generations are… different), Schwinn AC, FreeMotion and starting Monday on Keiser M3s.
Ask for help. But John, who exactly do you expect I ask?
For starters, another Instructor that you respect. Show up for their class and simply ask; hey Barb, it's been a while since someone has looked at my setup, can I get you to take a look?
You may be surprised by the response you get; sure, and then could you help me with mine?
Or you could very well have a competent student who would be honored to help you 🙂
Does your studio have the problem I show in this video? Most do and it causes a lot of inconsistency in the Fore-Aft location of the saddles when you use the reference number on the slider. Watch the video to see if this is something your manager should be aware of.
This smooth little tune caught my ear while I was riding in the car with my 17 year old one day and I asked her who was singing it, not really thinking she would know. Well, she did and I am glad, because I downloaded it and have been using it as a motivating mid-tempo climb. I’ve been cueing to “ride smoothly, like the music is smooth”. Sometimes I forget to “chill out my moves” and be cool on my bike. It does make a difference in my form when I take the stress out. My class noticed a positive change as well, and as their instructor/coach, I certainly saw a change in how their bodies were moving on the bike.
Sam Sparro’s “Black and Gold”, from his self-titled CD is 4:34 in the studio cut version and 68 bpm. Give it a listen and see if this will bring out your inner “coolness”. Not that your aren’t already super chill!
Take out the lights, put on some make-up and setup the cameras. You are about to be the star of your next class. Since joining Cycling Fusion, I’ve been thrust into the world of video and spend more time in front of a camera than I like. Between our digital classes, virtual rides, ads and hours filming for our on-demand workshops, I’m not sure how much more of me I can take. OK, I AM having fun, but I’m also learning a ton about my ability to present, teach and coach.
Be Prepared to be Embarrassed
Yup, if are willing to film yourself and watch in an unbiased way, you will notice some “quirky” things about your mannerisms and presentation skills. It can be quite embarrassing. I remember John Macgowan filming a segment on explosive power I did during a 2-day workshop. When I watched it, I could not get over how much I moved around while teaching. I’m not just talking about moving around the room, but rather moving frantically in a 1-foot radius. How did John put it? “He is like a caged lion”. Now don’t get me wrong, there are certain quirks about us that….well…make us…US. They are unique qualities that add flare and style and keep people engaged. Our goal is not to morph ourselves into plastic-looking anchor people, but rather refine our teaching and coaching style for a greater impact.
So What Should We Look For?
Your Form on the Bike
We all want to model good form and technique on the bike, but it is not uncommon to pickup little habits along the way, particularly when dealing with repetitive movement. Last winter I noticed that I was flicking my elbows slightly when riding out of the saddle indoors. I’m not sure where I picked that up from, but can only figure that I was trying to over exaggerate my upper body to illustration side to side movement. I needed to correct that. Are you moving in any way that would not be considered proper on a bike? How does your setup look? Are your seat and handlebars at the right height? How about knee alignment and ankling? If you notice something, don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. Ask another instructor or cyclist what they think of your form and position.
Where are You Looking?
It is interesting to see where our eyes go OR don’t go while we teach. I always thought I made good eye contact while I taught, but found that I only looked at people for a split-second and then would look down repeatedly. Ugh, I hated that and changed it. NOTE: if you are an instructor who is also an athlete, you may find yourself entering that training cave during intense efforts in class. You know the look — it’s the intense, blank stare we tend to get when we are focused and digging deep. It can look cool when we are training on our own or trying to intimidate the competition, but it can appear disconnected if we are leading a class. Try this if you dare: look directly at a person in your class and let them be the first one to break eye contact. Don’t get weird and try to burn a hole in their head — act natural.
How Expressive Are You?
When you instruct, are you animated or are your lips and legs the only things moving on your body? Do you talk with your hands glued to the handlebars or do you gesture and maybe sit up from time to time for emphasis? Do you have any interesting facial expressions, funny ones or none? Try this — turn off the sound while you watch the video, do you have any idea what’s going on? From your movement alone, are you engaging?
Fiddling?
No, not fiddling as in fiddler on the roof, but fiddling on the bike. Are you constantly moving your towel, playing with the resistance knob or lever, “fine-tuning” the stereo (if you can reach it), repositioning the mic, shifting your cue sheet around, flipping your hair or adjusting your shorts (yes, I went there)? I found myself fiddling with stuff when I was nervous or just not as confident as I wanted to be during a certain class or part of the workout. Try to divert your energy toward ways of being expressive. For example, if you find yourself wanting to tweak the volume knob 0.000001 of an inch, instead, convert that energy to reminding riders to focus on their breathing and relaxation.
How Often do You Get On and Off the Bike?
All instructors should have the ability to effectively coach both on the bike and while walking around the room. How often do you get off your bike? Do you get off your bike at all? Should you? If you're getting on and off the bike, why and when? Are you constantly getting off the bike to adjust something in the room or look out the window? Yes, I audited a class where the instructor put their back to the riders and looked out the window while barking unintelligible utterances. Do you get off the bike during hard efforts, during recovery efforts or both? How long do you spend off the bike each time?
How Hard are You Working?
Now most of you know I don’t work nearly as hard as my riders, because I need to coach them. I do not find it the least bit motivating to take a class with an instructor who is so out of breath you can’t understand what they are saying (yes, I’ve seen that too). However, I was called on my “faking” game a number of months ago when a rider said I wasn’t even breaking a sweat. Oops! Ok, I guess I dialed it back way too far. Do you “look” like you are working or are you an armchair instructor? We know our classes are not our time to train, but we need to make sure we are working hard enough to motivate and inspire our riders.
Finally…..A Touchy Subject
Are you in shape? I looked at a video of myself back in late April and was disgusted. I had put on 15+ pounds (or hadn’t lost it from the winter) and looked like the Michelin man trapped in spandex. Oh no, that ain’t happening! I was busy working and traveling and got lazy. It wasn’t that I wasn’t training, but not training the way I knew I needed to. And I was certainly not watching my diet. I was just watching food disappear. I think I’ve said enough on this issue.
If You Dare
If you interested and are willing to send me your video (or give me access to it on YouTube or something), I will review the first 3 videos I receive using the above criteria (all of it). How bold are you?
OK, get out your video camera or cell phone and smile. How willing are you to be the best you can? We’ll see….literally.
