by Joey Stabile | Nov 24, 2017 | Instructor Training
I saw this article come though one of my seemingly endless feeds and thought it was good enough to pass along:
14 Milestones Every Serious Cyclist Should Reach, By Elizabeth Grimsley as seen on Active.com.
I think that too many indoor cyclists do not connect with the outdoors, but you should. Go ahead, get on those shoes, pump up the tires and go outside for a spin. The fresh air and wind in your face will do you a world of good and improve your indoor teaching.
Ride well, Ride hard and Ride often,
Joey
by Dr. Shannon | Nov 22, 2017 | Engage Your Students, Learn Leadership Skills
Are you still as deeply passionate and in love with instructing as you used to be? If the answer is yes, good for you! If it is not, then good for you! You are about to be reminded of some things that perhaps you have forgotten.
It was the spring of 1985 and I will never forget the first time I saw someone teaching an “aerobics class”. Yes, that’s what we used to call what is known today as a “Group Fitness” class. It was absolutely intriguing. So much energy, rhythm and sweat! The music was playing (yes, sweatin’ with the 80’s) and my body starting moving. I was a junior in high school, and even though I was an athlete I had never done (or seen) this type of workout. I asked the owner of the gym how I could “do that”? She told me I could join the gym and start taking classes. To which I replied, “No, I don’t want to take the class, I want to teach the class.” She smiled, as she asked me if I had ever taken a class before. I told her no, but that I wanted to learn how to teach like the instructor that I was watching. She responded by telling me that the first place to start was by taking classes. I signed up and started training. Several weeks later I became certified and the rest is history. That was 32 years ago, and it seems like just yesterday that I put on my red unitard (yes, that’s what we called them), and white leg warmers as I began a journey that has never lost its passion for me!
When you are truly passionate about something, not only will you keep coming back for me…year after year. But your followers will do the same.
What is passion? Although I use this word a lot, I decided to find out what my trusty pocket dictionary had to say about it. (Thank you “Dictionary App”) “Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling…” “The state of being acted upon or affected by something external, especially something alien to one’s nature or one’s customary behavior…”
That led me to the words, powerful and compelling. What do they really mean?
Powerful: “physically strong…producing great physical effects…having great effectiveness…having great power, authority or influence…”
Compelling: “having a powerful and irresistible effect; requiring acute admiration, attention or respect…”
Wow…by nature, when you are genuinely passionate about what you are doing, you will have the capacity to do something alien to your previous nature or customary behavior.
Naturally, you will also become physically strong(er), produce great physical effects (in yourself and others), have great effectiveness, and great power (previously mentioned), authority and influence! Would you like a little (or a lot) of that?
Passion equates to power. Being passionate equals being powerful. This leads to you being compelling, which ultimately will draw others (your students) to you. This is magnetic and multiplicable (Is that a word? Well, if it’s not…it is now. And it means that your magnetism will lead to exponential multiplicity. J) That means that you and those around you will experience expansion that comes from a rare and organic source deep within you. Thus, gaining you the “acute” (not “a-ugly J) admiration, attention or respect that you deserve (and let’s face it, quite possibly “DESIRE”).
Don’t you just love the power of words? I do too!
But these are far more than just words; they are a representation of the value (your core) that resides inside of you and every passionate leader. If it’s just “lip service”, then it really isn’t passion and therefore you will continue to seek something that seems distant and unattainable.
So let’s talk about this for a moment. What if you had passion for being a fabulous instructor, but somehow you seem to have misplaced it? Perhaps it’s hidden somewhere with your thong leotard and headband? OMG…has it been that long?
Thank God we don’t have to go back to move forward, but sometimes we need to go within so we do not have to go without. What do I mean by this?
Sometimes when it seems as though we have lost something that we thought we once had, we long for what some may refer to as “the good ole’ days”. It’s something we may long for, but is not possible to attain. Come on, would you really want to go back to using tapes, choreography, thong leotards, and leg warmers? O.K., maybe the thong leotards…they really did make our butts look smaller, don’t you think? JK! J Do you really want to go back to the stationary Air-Dyne bike that pumped your arms as you pedaled with your legs?
If you want to long for something and fully attain it, long for discovering your true passion. What compelled you to become an instructor in the first place? Do you remember it like it was yesterday? (I do!) Do you remember how excited (and nervous) you were to teach your first class? Do you remember the first time a student told you what a huge difference you had made in their life? Do you remember how great it felt to proudly tell your friends and family that YOU had become a fitness instructor (or perhaps an aerobics instructor…or cycling instructor)? You had a goal and you accomplished it. Why?
It’s time to tap into the reason you started in the first place, and give thanks for a dream fulfilled and a goal accomplished. It’s time for you to awaken the passion within you, and move ahead as you “make love” with what you are doing every time you do it. Let the sizzle inside you penetrate those around you. Then you, my friend, will be the instructor that your students cannot wait to see again!
Experts say that “sex sells”…well true LOVE not only sells, but it also pays…and it pays big! Pay yourself what you’re worth by investing your heart and soul into every class that you instruct, and watch what happens to not only your class…but also your own personal CLASS!
When you do what you love and love what you do…you will love YOU, and so will everyone around you! This is exactly how to be the Instructor (Inspirer) that your students can’t wait to see. It begins with being the instructor (Inspirer) that YOU can’t wait to see!
Thanks for allowing me to share what I see…
Dr. Shannon
Dr. Shannon Subramaniam
chiropractor | coach | speaker | author
http://www.drshannonknows.com
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by Joey Stabile | Nov 21, 2017 | Best Practices, Class Work-Sets, Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Master Instructor Blog, Training With Power
Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion:
No more hunting for new music or counting out cues. Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards. This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your life as easy as possible!
(more…)
by John | Nov 14, 2017 | Product Reviews, Zone based Heart Rate Training
I used Epic Planet's video Epic Acadia this morning in a class I subbed. Because these early AM people are very committed and they all understand the value of Threshold based training, I knew I could lead them on a ride that included a 20 minute climb at (or very near) Threshold. The first 30 minutes are a perfect warm up with a number of short climbs I used to bring them to Threshold before we got to the climb. The graphical representation of where you are during the class is the best of any of the DVD creators that I have experienced, although I'm not completely sure what TZ 4-5 means. I assume TZ stands for Training Zone and if we only had a universal standard for what TZ stood for …
UPDATE – Now there are more great videos for running a 20 minute field test for FTP or threshold Heart Rate.
If you are planning a field test this maybe the perfect video to use.
That's the 20 minute climbing segment
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by John | Nov 13, 2017 | Zone based Heart Rate Training
Recently, I found myself at the local big box home improvement store looking for some primer paint. A helpful person asked if I had any questions. I explained that I had some pealing paint that I intended to scrape, prime and repaint. He suggested “brand X” as the best primer that they sold. Before I could ask if it would be possible to have the primer tinted, he moved off to help someone else. Content that I had the right paint, I carried a can of it over to the counter where they mixed custom colors. “What are you using this for?” asked the helpful person behind the counter. I told her the same thing I had told the earlier helpful person and asked if I could have it tinted. “This isn't what you want.” was her reply. She then began giving me a chemistry lesson that went way over my head. I listened politely before explaining I needed a few other things and would be right back.
I left the store with nothing but confusion.
In the survey I asked the question; What would you change, add or implement at your club or studio that you feel will increase Heart Rate monitor usage by members? 61% said they would implement Instructor training so everyone talks the same language.
Have we created a “Tower of Babel”?With 413 responses to the Heart Rate Training Survey it is clear that we have a language barrier that needs to be addressed. I feel the confusion it creates for our students is partially to blame for the low level of Heart Rate monitor usage in our classes.
I respect the fact that people will have their own point of view, i.e… which is the best paint for your house, but do our answers always reflect what's best for the customer?
I needed help making a decision and helpful person #1 gave me exactly what I needed; a simple, confident recommendation. Even though it was based on minimum information, his confidence left me feeling ready to take action… in this case making the purchase.
Helpful person #2, while thinking she was being helpful, did the exact opposite. The confusion she created had me second guessing what should have been a pretty simple decision. So I did nothing… which I'm thinking is what many of our students do every day.
In these three posts I am advocating for a standard method of describing HR training Zones and I would love your feedback.
Why we need a standard method to describe heart rate training zones part 1
Why we need a standard method to describe heart rate training zones part 2
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by Joey Stabile | Nov 8, 2017 | Best Practices, Class Work-Sets, Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Master Instructor Blog, Training With Power
Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion:
No more hunting for new music or counting out cues. Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards. This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your life as easy as possible!
(more…)
