Happy Christmas! Due to the holiday I'm a bit late with the post this week, but I hope you find something here you can file away and use next Christmas season.
First of all, I couldn't be more excited about the fact the The Beatles are now streaming on nine different services including Spotify and Apple Music! John wrote about it and shared one of his favorites yesterday. This YouTube video may just give you a few more ideas for songs to use in your classes or just for your own personal listening:
With it being Christmas, I'd love to share a few of my favorite “cycle-worthy” songs of the season. This is not a cycling playlist, but rather a collection of songs that I've used in the past. It includes hills, flat roads, warm ups and cool downs.
In addition, this is a great collaborative playlist which includes over 20 hours of Christmas music added by some amazing instructors and created by Evan Reese. Show him some love by clicking on his name on the playlist page and following him there because he has some great music for cycling. And if you have any Christmas tunes to share that aren't already included on the list, be sure to follow and add it to the playlist!
Food cravings would be no problem if they were for broccoli and kale. How perfect would that be? But those aren’t the foods — or kinds of foods — we tend to crave, mainly because they don’t cause much (if any) change in brain chemistry.
Cravings tend to be for foods that feel like comfort foods: from Christmas cookies and other holidays treats to plain old mac and cheese. Foods with sugar, flour and fats are the go-to comfort foods — and the ones we crave — because they’re big brain chem changers.
This short post will cover two ways that cravings can sabotage us: 1) by derailing a weight-loss plan, and 2) by derailing our work productivity.
Cravings and Weight Loss
Cravings prompt many of us to eat the foods we crave. Before you say, “Duh”, that’s not as obvious as it seems. It’s definitely possible to eliminate cravings so they don’t make us eat those foods.
But let’s say you haven’t eliminated the cravings and you do eat what you’ve been craving. The foods you eat will often make you eat more — yes, more of the craved stuff, but also more food in general.
The endorphins (beta-endorphin) triggered by sugary foods, for example, can inhibit the part of the brain responsible for satiety — the feeling that we’ve had enough food and don’t need any more for a while. And the meal can just keep going.
Those endorphins can also make us eat different foods than we typically would. They might lead us to eat more sugar, more fat, or both. Even if you’re just looking for something sweet, that sweet treat will often also contain fat and provide far more calories than you expected.
Obviously, weight-loss plans end up suffering as a result. An effective short-term fix for any craving is a teaspoon of liquid B-complex. (Please check with your doctor to be sure this is a strategy you can safely use.) If your doctor gives you the okay, the craving will be gone in a matter of minutes.
Cravings and Work Productivity
If you eat sweet or starchy foods when you crave them, both trigger a high release of insulin. That can cause sleepiness or “fogginess” that call out for a caffeine fix. It’s especially true for those who are carb-sensitive — who produce more insulin after eating sugar, for example.
Who is carb sensitive? Typically, anyone with a family history of hypertension, alcoholism, diabetes, hypoglycemia, or obesity.
Extra caffeine may work, but may lose some of its effectiveness if you’ve had lots of coffee during the day already. Staying alert and productive is far easier when you balance out any high insulin-triggering foods with protein and lots of vegetables.
Plant sources of protein have commanded much attention lately, but may not provide enough protein to balance out the insulin effects in someone who’s carb-sensitive. If you’d rather not eat animal proteins, make a point of mixing some vegetable protein powder with water.
Have that mixture anytime you’ve been giving in to comfort food cravings. It won’t reverse all the effects of sugars and flour, but it can help.
Joey's “121817 Holiday 60” Playlist
1: “Linus and Lucy”, Vince Guaraldi Trio (A Charlie Brown Christmas (Expanded Edition))
2: “Right Now (feat. David Guetta) [Dyro Radio Edit]”, Rihanna (Right Now (Remixes) [feat. David Guetta])
3: “Tortuga (Radio Edit)”, DoubleV & Formal One (Tortuga – Single)
4: “Christmas In Hollis (Bonus Track)”, Run-DMC (Tougher Than Leather)
5: “Treble to the Bass (Lov3) [feat. Shimmr]”, Swanky Tunes (Treble to the Bass (Lov3) [feat. Shimmr] – Single)
6: “S&M (Remix) [feat. Britney Spears]”, Rihanna (S&M (Remix) [feat. Britney Spears] – Single)
7: “A Mad Russian's Christmas (Instrumental)”, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (The Christmas Trilogy)
8: “Pump It”, The Black Eyed Peas (Monkey Business)
9: “Get Up (Rattle) [feat. Far East Movement]”, Bingo Players (Get Up (Rattle) [feat. Far East Movement] – Single)
10: “Runaway Baby”, Bruno Mars (Doo-Wops & Hooligans)
11: “Katchi (Ofenbach vs. Nick Waterhouse)”, Ofenbach & Nick Waterhouse (Katchi (Ofenbach vs. Nick Waterhouse) – Single)
12: “The Time (Dirty Bit)”, The Black Eyed Peas (The Beginning (Deluxe))
13: “You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch”, Famous for a Century (Christmas – Single)
14: “Boom!”, Tujamo (Boom! – Single)
15: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Christmas Eve and Other Stories)
16: “Christmas / Sarajevo 12/24 (Instrumental)”, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Christmas Eve and Other Stories)
17: “Christmas Wrapping (Single Edit)”, The Waitresses (Deluxe Special)
18: “The Chanukah Song”, Adam Sandler (What the Hell Happened to Me?)
This weeks ride is from Dave Norfleet, the creator of My Fitness DJ! – This is Dave’s first ride with us, but we hope there will be many more on the way. Good luck and have fun. Joey
So if you're not including jumps in your classes… why aren't you?
The proper way to do this would be to ask you personally; so why don't you include jumps in your classes? But I can't [wlm_firstname], because you're there, and I'm here. So let me take a few guesses as to why you are reluctant to include these:
#1 I don't feel I can properly demonstrate jumps and don't want to look foolish.
I totally get this. If you didn't come from a Group Fitness background – or you suffer from what's called Caucasianism [To be completely and utterly rhythmically challenged. Someone who does not know what a beat is, nor how to stay on it.] you may have trouble finding and pedaling to the beat. To me, this is the number one reason many Instructors don't like Jumps – or any other form of rhythmic movements done on an Indoor Cycle, they simply can't do them… so they don't.
Trust me, you're not alone. I've experienced multiple classes where the Instructor appeared to have zero sense of rhythm. Based on what I observed at WSSC, there are a larger percentage of both male and female instructors who either can't connect their cadence to the music – or choose not to follow the beat.
To perform Jumps that are controlled, smooth and orderly, your movement must be RIGHT-ON-THE -BEAT and strictly follow the phrasing. My preference is to always Jump on a hill with a level of resistance that has you feeling you need to stand – which is why we come out of the saddle, isn't it?
Listen to these short example MP3s to get a sense of how you count jumps properly.
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|28 Day Challenge']
Let's start with Strangle Hold – a perennial favorite of mine for 74RPM Jumps following the 8 count praising.
Here's an example of some club music – slower @ 63RPM and it feels like you should count the phrasing as 4 vs 8 counts.
It isn't necessary to cue continuously > I like to get everyone started and then Jump with just the music. Depending on the track, you might have everyone stop moving and remain either up or down during a quite section. This introduces some additional challenge for both you and your riders as you focus on the phrasing, so you re-start at just the right point.
#2 If you don't do it on an outdoor bicycle… you don't do it inside… end of discussion.
Whenever I hear Instructors parrot “If you don't do it outside…” they're saying it like it's a law or something. Who exactly decided this? There isn't any “rule” – but why do some people act as if it is?
What's the purpose of deliberately removing banishing a fun and challenging activity from our Indoor Cycling classes? My guess is that it has something to do with #1 – but they don't want to admit it.
One reason maybe peer pressure. Many Instructors are competent outdoor cyclists. When they look up at their classes they see other cyclists riding in front of them. It's easy to understand why they would feel compelled to demonstrate good form and only use “cycling specific” movements. No one wants to embarrass themselves in front of their peers – right?
But is it proper to direct your class specifically toward the few cyclists in your classes?
I don't feel it is. When I'm consulting with a studio owner I ask a lot of early questions. The most important is; what is the current percentage of cyclists vs. regular folks in all of your classes? With the exception of studios that offer special Endurance /Performance training classes, the percentage of real cyclists should be 15% or less of the total number of participants for all classes. I have an interview going up this weekend with an Instructor who teaches at very popular club in Costa Mesa, CA. 50 bike classes are sold out for much of the week and they see <5% cyclists.
Wait… why don't you want a large percentage of cyclists? It's a pretty involved discussion and I'm planning to write about it in the near future. The short answer is this: If your class is directed at cyclists, it will come at the expense and/or exclusion of the people who are more inclined to ride at your studio regularly, especially during the summer months. Those people are middle aged women who make up the majority of all types of group fitness classes. They should be the majority of your customers and the primary focus of your classes.
If you don't believe me, go to the most popular class at your club or studio. A quick head count should confirm what I'm saying.
#3 My certification didn't include them – so don't.
My response to this would be to ask a bunch of questions:
How accurately or completely do you follow your initial certification?
Do you do exactly what your were first taught?
Have you, over time, added additional elements into your class that you learned here at ICI/PRO or picked up from another Instructor?
During my latest interview with Julz Arney, she explained that the current Schwinn certification they are offering includes information that's 40% new content. My point here is; there are a lot of things your certification didn't cover and what was included changes over time.
Why not decide for yourself if Jumps are something you should add to your classes?
#4 I read somewhere that they aren't safe.
Performed correctly; climbing gear and following along to a 60 – 75RPM cadence, Jumps are IMO perfectly safe. Sure there were idiots way back when, who tried to Jump randomly (popcorn style) while pedalling at 110+ with no resistance. BUT YOU WOULD NEVER DO THAT… WOULD YOU?
There's also a segment of “experts” in our industry who, in their crusade to remove anything that doesn't follow the If you don't do it outside… thinking, have used concerns about safety as a way to dissuade Instructors from offering many forms of movement from our classes.
My goal with this article is to encourage you to be open minded. Decide for yourself if you should include Jumps and other forms of movement in your classes. [/wlm_ismember]
#5 I don't want to embarrass anyone / I'm concerned some in my class won't be able to learn to jump.
If you came to a class and the Instructor stood up in front and announced; I can tell just by looking that many of you won't be able to perform the activity I had planned for today… so we'll just sit and pedal for an hour. You'd be insulted, wouldn't you? I know I would.
[/wlm_private]
Your participants want to be challenged. I'm convinced that much of the appeal of SoulCycle and their clones is that the movements in these classes are technically difficult to perform correctly. Riders leave thinking “I need to come back next week and show that Instructor (or person riding next to me) that I can do those Jumps as smoothly and rhythmically as everyone else in the room.
And that motivation is part of what could be filling your classes each week 🙂
