It's dark at 5:30 am and I'm one not to have many lights on in the morning. Yesterday I wished I had as I knocked my Dell laptop off the kitchen counter and it hit the hardwood floor with a loud CRASH. I stood there in the dark and began to hear a Click – Click – Click from my computer; a sound it never made before đ
I picked it up, opened the lid and was greeted with a notice “Hard Drive not detected.”
Thankfully my warranty from Dell covered the hard drive and I'm supposed to get a replacement.
Once I replace it I will log in to Carbonite and begin recovering every one of my files. Because it backed up then night before, and I hadn't changed anything, I will have lost nothing.
Back-to-School signals the end of summer for many of us. *Our participants will begin thinking about Fall and the transition to riding indoors. I'm thinking that you will want to be ready for them. đ
All of us here at ICI/PRO believe September is the perfect month to sharpen your Instructor skills for the upcoming Indoor Cycling season. This is exactly why we scheduled the ICI/PRO Conference for the end of this month.
Beginning this week, we will be delivering ICI/PRO members specific exercises (actionable steps) you can take to improve your craft as an Indoor Cycling Instructor. Most won't have any cost involved except for your time and effort.
Some of our suggestions will have you stepping a bit beyond your comfort zone. You will need to devote some additional time and effort this month if you truly want to improve… but then isn't that what's really necessary to grow and develop as an Instructor?
Each week will have a unique focus:
This week â How do you look?
Week 2 â How do you sound?
Week 3 â How do you feel?
Week 4 â Bring it all together!
*No slight intended to our Instructor members and friends Down-Under who are heading into their spring đ
I was just notified by our Education Coordinator Heather Sawdey that the American Council on Exercise has approved the Indoor Cycle Instructor PRO Conference for 1.4 Continuing Education Credits.
If you register by September 7th 2010 this will be the best deal for CEC's on the planet!
With ski season upon us I thought I would share a video from one of my most favorite places on earth, Vail Colorado.
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Download Linked File As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
To download the above media on a PC:
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Save Link As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library Click here to watch a video on how to download media files from ICI/Pro.
The increase was a 67 to 76% increase in energy expenditure for all standing cycling conditions. Image from the study.
New research sponsored by ACE demonstrates that standing (vs. sitting) burns more calories, as long as you keep everyone out of the saddle long enough. This study was conducted by a team lead by Dr. Len Kravitz at the University of New Mexico.[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
The study you can download here; Metabolic Cost of Weighted Vests During Standing Cycling was designed to look at the effect of adding additional weight (with a weighted backpack) to an Indoor Cyclist and learn the metabolic affect from how long you're out of the saddle:
Abstract
Whether cycling on the road or pedaling in a club cycle class, this mode of activity is done using
both seated or standing positions. Previous research has examined the effect that cycling position
exerts on physiologic parameters such as heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2), or rating
of perceived exertion (RPE) during exercise (1â3). This research was intended to simulate hill
climbing, which is applicable to a majority of road cyclists. However, no prior research has
examined the effect of wearing a weighted vest during stationary standing cycling. As well, no
research has investigated the effect of extended bouts of stationary standing cycling (1, 2, 3 and
4 minutes) on metabolic parameters. The implications for this research may directly impact
individuals engaged in fitness center stationary cycling classes, which have become very popular
in recent years.
Anything to burn more calories
I met Dr. Kravitz in the Fall of 2012 at a fitness conference. Once he learned my interest in Indoor Cycling, he excitedly told me about his idea to study the potential training and calorie expenditure effects of adding weight to an Indoor Cyclist. If I'm remembering correctly, he expressed the understanding that weight loss / weight management is high on the list of reasons our riders come to class. If strapping on a backpack full of bricks was going to help someone reach their goal weight, I was all for learning more – and then share it with you.
Based on the chart above, it doesn't appear that adding weight has nearly the affect that simply getting everyone out of the saddle does.
The first minute is just practiceÂ
The biggest take-away from this study for me, was the huge jump in calorie expenditure that occurs beyond the first minute.
Will seeing this change how you structure time out of the saddle?
Energy expenditure stabilized between minute 3 and 4 on all standing cycling conditions. This information provides program design suggestions for personal trainers and club cycle instructors desiring to optimize caloric expenditure utilizing research-driven methodology. Clearly, the inclusion of standing cycling bouts for 2 to 3 minutes during a cycling bout meaningfully increases energy expenditure. This increase in oxygen demand occurs during standing, with or
without a weighted vest (up to 15%BW was used in this study). According to Tanaka et al (3), this energy expenditure increase is attributable to the increased muscle blood flow and/or involvement of a larger muscle mass with standing cycling.
[/wlm_private]Dr. Kravitz's team has done a number of other studies that you may find of interest. I interviewed Doctoral student Micah Zuhl in 2012 and discussed the article he co-wrote with Dr. Len Kravitz entitled HIIT vs. Continuous Endurance Training: Battle of the Aerobic Titans. ICI/PRO Podcast #201 â HIIT vs Endurance Training with Micah Zuhl
Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate Monitor Strap works with ANT+ and BLE devices and consoles.
I'm thinking this new Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate monitor strap could be the best I've ever tested – for a bunch of reasons that include removing what I feel has always been one of the biggest objections to wearing a HR strap.
Despite all of our collective efforts explaining the benefits of training in specific heart rate zones, we're lucky if we have 30% of our participants monitoring their heart rate. I know that some classes are better than that, but based on all of the surveys I've done in the past that's about where we are.
Why?
If I put on my salesman's hat, I know that people don't buy a product or service for lot's of reasons. Salespeople call these objections. If you want to make the sale, you typically need to remove or minimise the prospect's objections; who in this instance is our class participant.
So what are the often stated objections?
No interest – it's almost impossible to sell anything to someone with no interest.   Â
Too expensive – for relatively low priced objects like an $80 HR monitor, the selling price objection is often masking some other issue – or – means the prospect isn't seeing enough benefit.
Too complicated – do the manufactures of HR monitors actually use their own products? Setting the typical Polar watch is needlessly complicated. I've gotten to the point where I refuse to help people set their HR watches before or after class because I can't get sucked into a 30 minute project where, more often than not, I'll fail. See #5
Too confusing – as an industry, with all of the branded zone based training systems, we've made heart rate training impossibly confusing for new participants. IMO if you're talking about anything more than three zones based on thresholds, you've lost many of your club athletes. Â See #5
Too stressful –Â It's stressful to me when I'm offered a coupon the grocery store, good for my next visit. Why? Because then I'll have to remember the coupon the next time I'm there – which I won't when the cashier asks me; “do you have any coupons?” Our members aren't any different than me or you: getting to class on time is stressful enough. I don't need the added stress of remembering my HR monitor… finding both of my shoes is tough enough. See #8 for the source of even more stress.
Willful ignorance –Â face it, there are people in your class who want to believe they're burning 1,000 calories in a 45 minute class, where they don't break a sweat. You'll never sell these people on any form of performance measurement (these are the peeps who cover their power console so they can't see their wattage) unless you're running a special on unicorn spit detox syrup.
Uncomfortable – the old versions of hard plastic HR chest straps were very uncomfortable. The new soft straps are an improvement – but they are still not pleasant to wear. Many women won't even think of wearing a HR strap for anatomical reasons. Then there's the other type of uncomfortable as in; “I'm not comfortable opening my shirt to put this strap on, with other people around” đ
Unreliable – how many times have you found yourself thinking; IS THIS THING ON? Is the strap battery dead? Maybe I need some additional spit on it? Do I need to shave a horizontal stripe across my hairy chest to get this thing to connect? Wait, who's BPM am I seeing here?
That's 8 realistic reasons why you see so few people wearing a HR strap. The new Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate monitor strap addresses many of the objections I've listed above:
Not complicated – the HR watch is the source of most of the confusion. No watch = no confusion. The RHYTHM+ pairs easily with any bluetooth device (iPhone / Android) using any fitness App that has a HR function. It also pairs with ANT+ monitor consoles found on the Schwinn AC, FreeMotion S series and Spinner Blade Ion. Sorry – the RHYTHM+ doesn't connect with the Keiser M3.
Removes a little stress – It's so small that I can tuck it into my shoe. So if I find both I've also got my HR strap đ
Super comfortable – just slide it onto your forearm. Because it uses optical sensors it doesn't need to be moistened and it's not affected by hairy arms. And no one will feel embarrassed when they put it on.
Better reliability – there's a little red light that shines when it's on and it comes with a USB charger.
You'll find more info about the Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate monitor strap here.
Yesterday I wished I had as I knocked my Dell laptop off the kitchen counter and it hit the hardwood floor with a loud CRASH. I stood there in the dark and began to hear a Click – Click – Click from my computer; a sound it never made before đ
