It worked for Subway so now Taco Bell has launched their “Drive-Thru Diet” complete with a spokesperson who supposedly lost 54 pounds eating at Taco Bell. What began with Subway Jared will be continued by Drive-Thru Christine.
As you know, the Drive-Thru Diet® menu is not a weight-loss program. It's about making different choices. For me, I didn't want to cut out my fast food so I started choosing Fresco items from the Drive-Thru Diet® menu and making other sensible choices. I reduced my daily calorie and fat intake by 500 calories to 1250 calories a day, and, after two years, I ended up losing 54 pounds! These results aren't typical, but for me they were fantastic!
I'm guessing that 100% of the participants in your class are there for some form of weight management. You may want to recommend to your class that if they really want to reduce their weight they should consider; packing their own lunch with healthful food, eating it as multiple small meals and then take a walk (or better an Indoor Cycling class) over lunch. Here's the link for the free taco.
Amy (the senior Group Fitness Instructor) joins Jennifer and me to discuss what happened at our very first conference.
The big news on Friday night was the announcement of our new Instructor Discount Program featuring Pear Izumi shoes and clothing. Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using or
This Podcast is was last published on Feb 2, 2017, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
Continuing this week's focus on "selling endurance" - please enjoy this Podcast from our archives featuring Spinning Master Instructor Janet Toussaint. Sometime I feel like a parasite! I get a hold of a Master Instructor and I'm not satisfied until I have sucked as much information from him or her as possible.
Janet Toussaint has some great ideas on how to sell the concept of Endurance Training to your class - we take this discussion even deeper than the last one.
Through the beauty of modern technology, you can listen to this whenever and wherever you wish.
“Is there a way to find out what your class profile will be before the class?”
I’m never quite sure how to take this question, which I get periodically. Still, I screw up the courage to ask, “Why?”
The answer usually begins with, “If I knew…” and involves anything from “my knees can’t take the climbing,” to “the video makes me dizzy,” to “I would have come in earlier to get a bike.”
I’ve come to believe that riders benefit from knowing the objective for any scheduled class. I’ve wondered why facilities don’t improve programming, and hypothesized that those that did would flourish.
If facilities could flourish with a strong, well-marketed program, it seems they’d all be doing it. But it’s a weird world and sometimes doesn’t follow logic. So these thoughts became a personal research project.
This wasn’t a local issue. During years when business travel found me in far-off places, I sampled indoor cycling from a range of instructors and facilities. Different place, different instructor, same one-size-fits-all format.
It occurred almost exclusively at big-box facilities during prime time. But why?
Prime time classes are obviously scheduled early (before work), late (after work), after kid drop-off at school, and weekend mornings. Facilities exploit prime time with a popular instructor who handles the large crowd well, connects with the regulars, and delivers a good workout, perpetuating full classes.
Prime time is when members can participate in large numbers for reasons of convenience. But these times are convenient for all fitness levels. So trying to target specific goals during a prime time class is like herding cats: You never get everyone going in the same direction.
Imagine how a 30-minute beginner class would go over at 5:00 or 6:00 pm when over-stressed members pour into the studio for stress relief. Instead of the good cardio workout they expect, they don’t even break a sweat and have to wait for the instructor to bike-fit half the class.
What about the beginner who takes a prime time class described as “suitable for all fitness levels”, while the well-liked instructor plays to the regulars and kicks butt with cues only they understand?
Programming is difficult when it must accommodate all fitness levels in crowded classes. The big boxes leave it to the instructors and simply state, “Beginners welcome”.
Jim Karanas and I have discussed this at length. His experience, especially at big boxes, is far more extensive than mine. His position was, “It’s too costly to run the kind of program you suggest and is likely to meet with mixed success at best.”
Jim’s advice was sound, but I’m a program guy. There had to be a way to introduce and develop long-term training concepts during prime time.
What about boutique studios? Did they have regular programming by fitness level? I examined their schedules and interviewed the owners.
Boutique studios arose from the desire of an entrepreneurial instructor to do it better, to provide what’s missing at the big boxes — a coherent indoor cycling program — and, perhaps, combine it with yoga, pilates or personal training. Boutique programs were progressive and geared to smaller groups and personal service.
On the surface, the progressive nature of boutiques seemed to make real programming possible. But closer examination revealed that boutiques suffer the same malady as big boxes: Prime Time classes! At boutiques, even more than at big boxes, a paying member is not turned away, regardless of the class description.
Clearly, the most popular instructors, regardless of facility, were running their own programs. The best-liked instructors knew the regulars and were able to make both beginners and advanced riders happy.
Indoor cycling instruction is survival of the fittest. To keep the saddles full, we have to raise our game. Every instructor does his/her own thing. So long as the instructor is likeable and trusted, this doesn’t bother riders.
I never determined if facilities would flourish with real programming, but I realized there’s nothing stopping you from creating your own program. I plan a month or two ahead and publish it for my regular classes — everything from “Climbing to Classic Rock” to stages of the Tours.
I had fun this year doing stages three and five of the Tour of California. ICI/PRO is a great resource for class ideas. I’ll work Jim’s ‘Crit’ profile in soon. When I want to make a ride special, it’s communicated to the Group X director and we get the word out early enough to draw others.
Doing my own programming de-stresses preparing. My classes are usually full, and it wasn’t always that way. Also, by mixing up the rides I can find out what my riders like and do more of that.
At ICG® Academy, Jim Karanas runs a monthly instructor workshop to keep us on the same training page, right down to hand position. He pounds us on leading/coaching/instructing through the use of structured profiles that include training concepts consistent with ICG’s mission — all set to forward-motion video.
Jim’s cueing at the last workshop was spot-on as he delivered a kick-butt class. You just know this is one of his favorite rides and on his schedule often.
If you’re reading this, I’d bet you’re already working hard to prepare great rides. Hopefully you keep them around to categorize, save and re-use. They don’t all have to be cycling-specific. Change the music; call it something different. Last Thursday I introduced my “Shazam Ride”. Tuesday was my “five-minute ride” — all the songs were five minutes long.
Before you know it, you’ll have a full calendar.
Programming is another great way to connect with your riders. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.
I'm going to need a pair of these so I can see when Amy is slacking off on the Tandem.
Stages Cycling has taken the technology they developed for the FreeMotion S11 series Indoor Cycles and is now offering the StageONE Power Meter to outdoor cyclists.
I don't have any direct experience other than a heads-up email announcing the launch of this , but there are two very informative posts from bloggers who are at Eurobike earlier this summer.
Stages Cycling readily admits that it's not necessarily trying to go head-to-head with established players such as SRM, Powertap, and Quarq in terms of outright technology, instead preferring to go after so-called ‘blue collar' riders who merely want a consistent means of tracking progress for training purposes.
Using a Bluetooth enabled device (the StageONE doesn't come with any display) you can add power and cadence for $699.00 which is less than half that of other systems = outdoor power gets a bit closer to being real for many of us 🙂
Will Grossman from Stages Cycling has promised me more information soon. Right now they are swamped with their launch and Interbike which starts tomorrow. Their website is supposed to go live today. http://www.stagescycling.com/
Response to the survey on Heart Rate Training has been fantastic! I want to thank the 474 of you have expressed your experiences 🙂 We would still love to hear from you. Here's the link to take the short, anonymous survey.
I asked the question; Do you teach with a focus on Heart Rate?
And it appears that the majority (~90%) of you do. Congratulations… but many of you seem to be swimming against the tide and not getting much help from your club or studio 🙁
Does your club/studio promote Zone based Heart Rate Training?
38.7% of clubs where you teach don't promote Heart Rate training? Why is that? Actually it could make for another survey.
I do realize that I may have squed the question by adding “Zone based” but assuming it didn't, why wouldn't a club or studio want to promote Heart Rate training? Is it because;
Management doesn't see the value?
They don't think the members will see the value?
Their instructors don't want to talk about it in class? Obviously we are ready, willing and able.
Management doesn't care about their members?
Management doesn't think they will get any return $$$ on the effort?
I can't speak to the first four, but I have seen how the promotion of Zone based Heart Rate training can (and will) bring additional revenue to a club or studio. I'm not the only one. Spinning Master Instructor Janet Toussaint published this article on the benefits clubs and studios will see back in 2003. My top three reasons are:
Increased Member Retention = $$$ – Member's who feel that are reaching their goals are more likely to stay members. This is so obvious to me I can't understand why a club isn't completely focused on doing everything they can to help members achieve their goals… the most important being body weight maintenance.
Increased Referrals = $$$ – Members who reach their goals tell their friends!
Increased Earnings Per Member = $$$ – An understanding of HR training leads to interest in purchasing a HR monitor, Metabolic testing and potentially participation in specialized (fee based) programs like weight loss boot camps or small group training. All of this adds to the success of the member, which leads back to the increase in retention and referrals.
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By Team ICG® Master Trainer Chuck Cali
