It’s time to start thinking about developing our power, but what do we do if we don’t have a power meter?
First, you will want to build on that good cardiovascular foundation that you now have underneath you from base building this winter. What’s that? You mean you didn’t do any base building during the heart of the winter season? Oh well, this may hurt a bit, but, you’ll get over it. Most riders don’t do base building and figure that the “Man, am I outa’ shape” feeling is an annual ritual all cyclists must endure. So you won’t be alone.
As we north easterners are joined by the other snow and cold winter states across the continent, it’s time to start developing our climbing legs. If you live in a flat state, consider this work applicable to time trials and power that will become useful for spitting people “out-the-back.”
The first question I get whenever I begin addressing a mixed crowd (not men & women, but power bike & non-power bike users) is “How do we do this if we don’t have Watts on our bikes?”
Developing power without a Power meter is not as hard as you might think. But we will require the other training tool; the Heart Monitor. This should not be a surprise since our cardiovascular system (especially our VO2 max) is our biggest limiter to power generation. Even the most zealot non-heart rate monitor cardiovascular atheist will tell you that. Look at their power workouts and you will find a lot of their power improvement drills are aimed at boosting VO2.
But enough side-bar fun, let’s get to the nitty gritty. Ideally, even if your main class or health club does not use Power bikes, you will want to find out where your power now stands, as a baseline. This will help you validate the upcoming training afterwards so that you can learn what works for you, what doesn’t and how your unique physiology reacts to training. Since we are talking about power, let’s do before and after tests on a power bike. You may just have to call around and locate a health club or studio that has them. This will give you the most accurate analysis of your results. However, barring that, we will use your speed and heart rate while riding outside to analyze your results. If you only ride inside, and you don’t have access to a Power bike at all… well,… you will have to look for some other manifestation of your power increases – longer hair on your chest? I guess that wouldn’t work for everyone :-0
Step 1: Establish T2 or “High Threshold”
Get a heart rate monitor and determine your high threshold. If you can’t get a metabolic / VO2 type test, here is a quick link to the standard field test that we use at Cycling Fusion compliments of Sally Edwards founder of Heart Zones® – its’s the complete protocol as well a Threshold chart.
Step 2: Sustainable Power Test
Ride for 20 minutes at the highest power you are able to hold steady or fairly steady for the entire 20 minutes, keeping your cadence between 75 and 90. Note when your heart rate hits T2 and does not come back (continues increasing or staying steady above threshold). Also record your approximate HR Average for the final 5 minutes of the test.
Step 3: Recovery
Recover for 5 minutes – Zone 1 at 85-100 RPM, just spinning the legs out.
Step 4: Repeat Test At A Lower Cadence (Climbing Power)
Maintain no more than 75 RPM (say 60 to 75), hold the same watts, and yes, that means you will be using a higher/heavier gear. Note when your heart rate hit T2 and once again doesn’t retreat. Also record your approximate HR Average for the final 5 minutes of the test.
Step 5a: Recreate The Power Requirements Outdoors
Label the 1st test Long Seated Climbs and the second one Standing Climbs (which you can do either seated or standing – the position is your call). Take these notes with you on an outside ride and when you are presented with a mild grade of a hill (say 5 to 7 percent), stay in the saddle find a speed that gets your heart rate to the average of your last 5 minutes of test 1. On this hill, do not let your cadence drop below 75. Try to hold that speed for at least 5 minutes or more (unless you run out of hill). You will likely need to stay in the big ring. You will need a bike computer that will tell you how fast you are going, or you will have to do the math based on how far you traveled in a given time period (meaning you will also need to make note of the exact time you started, and the exact time you finished) to derive your speed mathematically. This will establish your seated climbing speed for that specific hill.
While you will not be able to determine speed on an indoor bike (no matter what anyone tells you to the contrary) when you go to your next indoor class, you will have to do your best to simulate the relative resistance of a rolling or mild grade of a hill.
Step 5b: Recreate The Power Requirements Indoors
Regardless if you ride exclusively indoors or out, it is assumed that you will be still taking indoor classes from time to time. When your instructor calls for a seated climb, execute the Sustainable power numbers; HR of final 5 min of your Sustainability test, within the 75-90 RPM. Similarly, you can extrapolate this procedure for standing climbs when the instructor calls for a Standing Climb.
These type of workouts (indoors or out) should have you producing at least 4 to 8 climbs in or out of the saddle during each workout.
Getting Results
You are using cadence and heart rate to work on your power indoors and you are adding speed to the equation outside. After a couple of weeks of recreating these power requirements for your workouts (at least twice per week) some riders may begin to see speed increases, but this will vary greatly by individual. More likely the results will come after 4 to 6 weeks. This will be an easy indicator that your power is increasing. However, make sure you don’t work at holding the initial speed when you repeat the same route outside. Your focus must be on managing the heart rate and cadence, and let the speed be what it is, even if it is less on a given day. These drills call for a focus on cadence and resistance, and not speed per se. Speed will be a by-product; a hopeful bit of evidence that you put in the time, and did the hard work.
If you are an indoors-only rider, the only way you will know for sure that you have increased your power, is to go back to the power bike you did your initial test on, and repeat the effort. Make sure to do the test on the same exact bike by bike ID, and not just any bike of that brand – power can vary bike to bike in older models of some manufacturers. This time you should be able to hold a higher number of watts for each test. The results will speak for themselves.
Why It Works
The repeated physiological stress at and above T2 will eventually produce an adaptation in your cardiovascular system, and the cadence guidelines are meant to guide you to gears that will help develop the muscular endurance as well.
However, it your watts are not higher or if you hold only the same power numbers, you should note the time you hit T2 or higher in the test. The Threshold should now be encountered later (during the 20 minute re-test) than the first test, and the average heart rate should also be lower both overall, and especially in the last 5 minutes.
I’d be very interested in specific feedback from riders who give this training a try, and how they went about assessing their changes without an actual power meter. After all, there were many a year that the pros themselves never trained with a power meter, and somehow they were able to get stronger and more powerful along their data-less journey.
This is a fun ride that simulates leading your class out to a specific point and then turning around and leading them back home. It gives you an opportunity to creatively engage your class with the types of terrain, possible obstacles, or sites that your riders might encounter along the way. I coach it much like I am telling the class a story. I add the challenge of a negative split (riding the second half faster than the first) which is something I often incorporate in my classes. For more information on the term “negative split”, you can listen to Audio PROfile Podcast #120 and/or read what Joe Friel has to say about negative splits on his blog.
Here's your Spotify PRO/Playlist! Deezer. We have made every attempt to replicate the original playlist. In some instances the tracks specified were unavailable in Spotify. When necessary we have substituted individual songs of similar length and tried to maintain the Instructor's intent.
In an earlier post I alerted you to the new FreeMotion Indoor Cycle with power from Foundation Fitness. I've been doing research about the FreeMotion Indoor Cycle and Foundation Fitness, specifically on their educational programing and when will they be shipping product.
Cameron contacted me after seeing my first post, offering to help me understand what they had planned. After talking to her I got the impression that they really get it. Stages Indoor Cycling is based on the concept of Functional Threshold Power (FTP) with the intent of delivering measurable progress, using data collection tools = Indoor Cycling 2.0 🙂
This is a good example of a completed Fitness Connect profile that you could follow.
Cameron is the Director of Education for Foundation Fitness and lead developer of Stages Indoor Cycling. Concurrently, she serves as CEO of Sounds Fit Solutions Inc; a company dedicated to fitness and audio systems education. As an international presenter/lecturer, Cameron has had the opportunity to educate on numerous topics ranging from indoor cycling to fitness career development. Her recent publishing credits include work for Foundation Fitness, Wexer.com and multiple contributions to the IDEA Fitness Journal and IDEA Fitness Manager. A background in Opera Performance and Vocal Pedagogy has led Cameron to create a specialty niche for fitness professionals wishing to develop the health, clarity and endurance of the human voice- a teacher’s greatest asset. Cameron is currently a Master Trainer for BOSU® by Fitness Quest as well as Gliding by Savvier . She is a continuing education provider for ACE and AFAA and holds specialty certifications through numerous organizations. When not EduTaining in Nashville, TN., Cameron can be found entertaining and singing with Hi-Phi Entertainment based in Boulder, CO.
I have an interview scheduled with Cameron for the 22nd of this month and would be happy to ask her any questions you may have about their cycle or programming.
Second; when will FreeMotion Indoor Cycles be available for delivery? The short answer is they hope to have them available this summer. The long answer I'm guessing is will be; “we'll wait and see.” As other manufactures are finding, developing a reliable monitor/counsel for an Indoor Cycle that functions properly and doesn't cause a bunch of maintenance headaches, is no easy task.
As I learn more you will be the first to know.
4/12 update: I just learned that they have two test studios;
Rally Sport Health and Fitness in Boulder, CO
Sports Academy in Logan, UT
If you are near either one of these locations I would love for you to take a class there and report back to us.
ICI/PRO Member Chris Nielsen contributes today's guest post and the picture was taken by one of Chris's friends.
How many of you read the ‘Tri-ing to be Athletic’ and ‘Revenge of the Friend’ posts here on ICI/PRO and quietly cringed or even got a little steamed at the behavior of the instructors in the stories? What did you do about it?
How many of you have endured the “My friend took one of those spin® classes. It was brutal – she never went back.” stories while in line at the grocery store? What was your reply?
John has invited me to write this post because I spoke up about the pieces on ICI/PRO in private emails to him. My thoughts were as follows.
We ignore descriptions of IC such as those above at our peril. The naive reader/listener may believe that they are accurate descriptions of the classes that are available to them. As I told John, I was particularly alarmed that those posts appeared on a site devoted to enhancing the professionalism of IC instructors – without comment a reader might believe that we endorse the instructors’ decisions. We need to speak up to change that impression.
How we speak up will say volumes. As instructors we ARE indoor cycling – we are its public face and we are its future as a safe, enjoyable and productive exercise alternative. We must approach public interactions carefully as a representation of our respect for the activity, our students and our fellow instructors.
What is the best way to deal with stories such as those that appeared here recently? Picking at those elements that we perceive to be ‘wrong’ just plays into the stereotype of the tough, punishing IC instructor. As an alternative, can I suggest selecting a core concept in each story and initiating a discussion about ways in which we, as IC instructors, might constructively deal with a challenge in our classes. For example, the Revenge story raises the question: “How do we deal with personal bias when dealing with our students?” I am sure that many of you have strategies which help you get through some awkward moments. Personally, I try to redirect my bias into reinforcement. I have a ‘target’ number of reinforcers which I try to deliver to each student in each class. I double that number for the student who I find challenging. The effort of finding positives (however small) in his/her form, performance, attitude distracts me from my ‘negative’ thoughts. How do you handle similar situations?
What about the interactions you have as you are out and about in the community? It’s tempting to tell that person in the grocery store that their friend’s class was bad and unsafe. Believe me, I sometimes want to stamp my foot and say NEVER ever go to a class like that. Instead I say “There are other ways to learn about indoor cycling. Here’s what we do when someone new arrives at my class.” I then give them a two or three sentence description of what we focus on and how I want someone to feel at the end of their first class. It’s not a sales pitch – it is a calm and reasonable statement of fact packaged in normal conversational style. What words do you choose in a similar situation? Whatever you do – please speak up for respectful, reflective and responsible instructors and their classes.
Moving this conversation forward – what else can we do to offset the stereotypes about IC that circulate in the general and fitness communities? I’d love to see a list developed that can be used as tools by other instructors. Here’s something that I do – I realize that it’s not feasible for everyone. I insist that facilities where I teach offer half hour introductory classes. I have made a financial arrangement which means that I do not take payment for those classes unless the fees paid by the participants meets or exceeds my wages for that half hour. The intro classes ensure that I can do the best possible job of introducing new people to IC with a focus on technique and measured effort. The unique nature of my arrangement makes the half hour classes stand out to the people who do the marketing.
The move to indoor cycling 2.0 provides us with exciting opportunities for education and outreach. I look forward to learning more about those here on ICI/PRO.
What to do when you are the ONLY one at your club that teaches a “real” cycling class.
I’ve received this question quite a bit. “How do you handle teaching a class that is so different than what other instructors offer at your club?”. One of the reasons we have gravitated to ICI/Pro is because of the sound teaching and training concepts. Although we can be really excited to learn something new (or just get reinvigorated), the excitement can wane when we think of how it will be received by our riders or our club as a whole. Those who love our rides, are also bombarded by other indoor cycling classes that have little resemblance to biking or training.
Try to Avoid Bashing Other Instructors
We can find ourselves in an awkward situation from time to time when we are the only one who teaches a cycling-specific class at our club. Our classes tends to have more structure and purpose with a greater emphasis on proper form and technique. It is not uncommon for someone to approach me after class and ask why my classes are so different. We never want to speak bad about another instructor or even give off the impression that we think we are better than anyone else. This NEVER looks good and is not professional. But it is a tricky questions to maneuver around. My response is that it is more an issue of “style” than right or wrong. Since I’m a coach, my approach is “training”. Other classes that may just be random fun rides for example, are not wrong or inappropriate, but just a different “style” of indoor cycling. Of course we know there are elements (sometimes many) of these other classes that are unquestionably incorrect (from a cycling or group fitness prospective), but it is never a good policy to “point” them out. I’d rather focus on why I approach the class the way I do and relate it to my experience.
Now bike setup issues are another story and harder to talk your way around. I had a person approach me after class who was visibly and verbally frustrated. She was new to the area and club and told me that she had been given 4 very different ways to setup her bike in the last 4 days. Each instructor was adamant (and apparently a bit condescending) telling her, that what she was told previously was all wrong. Now here I was watching her recount everything she was instructed to do and thinking to myself “ah man, none of what she was shown was correct. Now I’m going to be instructor number 5”. I tried to focus her on some changes she should try based on her injuries and fitness instead of focusing on why she was put in various positions in the first place. She would not let it go. “This is so different than what the other instructors told me — none of them knew what they were doing!” I was put in serious back-pedaling mode… “I’m sure they based your settings on what they saw at the time”. Then I tried to focus her on how she felt and made some recommendations for shoes and clothing.
I’ve talked to my various group fitness directors many times asking that we establish a standard so we are not providing members with a mixed message. I hate being put in that position.
Set The Expectation
Be different, but set expectations. Let your class know how you approach your ride and don’t be afraid to leverage your experience or credentials. As part of my introduction, I let riders know that because I’m a USA Cycling Elite Level Coach, my classes more closely resemble a structured training session. I mention what we’ve been working on over the last few weeks, the day’s plan and a peak into the upcoming weeks. For me, these sets up the expectation. It indicates my teaching style (coaching), and that my class is organized (structured), cycling specific (USA Cycling …blah blah blah) and purposeful (planned classes). Yeah Tom, that works for you, you braggart! Wait a minute, don’t dismiss this too quickly. Everyone has a purpose in how they approach and build their classes. What is yours? What motivates you? What are your “convictions” about cycling, fitness and training. Seriously, think about this and craft an opening that sets the stage for your class. When people ask why your class is different, you won’t have to answer – your riders will answer for you. They will simply repeat what you told them, which IS, why they continue to come to your class.
Get a “Special” Class Description
See if your club will post a description of your class. You may not want to call it “special”, but it is good policy to set member expectations when they are making decisions about which classes to take. Many clubs have an area or board (or page on their website) that gives a description of each class. Think about what makes your class different (your above assignment) and ask if they can post a description with an appropriate title. This approach resonates well with most group fitness directors or coordinators, because it is member-focused. It also let’s them “advertise” something about their program that is different than maybe what other clubs in the area are offering. My classes have been called everything from “Stage5 Cycling” to “Performance Cycling” to “Road Cycling” to “Ride with Coach Tom”. One of my directors even came to my defense when a regional director took my class and felt it was too “coach-y”. He apparently had a tough day and just wanted to chill (sorry, not my “style”). My director simply turned his focus to the board where the classes were described and said, “you should have read the description, that is why people take Tom’s class”.
Try not to focus on “right” or “wrong” but rather on what makes your class and experience different. Set your riders expectation with a short and sweet description of your approach and see if your club will post (advertise) it. Being different can be tough, particularly when everyone wants to quickly jump to comparisons and finger pointing. Be professional, humble and confident — even that may appear different.
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