ICI/PRO Member Dennis Mellon introduced us to the concept of Harmonic Mixing our playlists. A technique used by many of the top DJ's, Harmonic Mixing involves sequencing your music tracks in the same or a complimentary musical key, to avoid clashing Keys and harsh transitions. The net effect is to create a pleasing feel to the flow of your music, increase / decrease energy or craft in some emotional response.
Here's an example of 32 songs mixed in 5 minutes. This is done using the Mixed In Key technique:
I'm fascinated by this. Wanting to learn more, I did what I always do; I contacted the folks who created the software Dennis uses – Mixed In Key. Their representative, Professional DJ Andy Schneider joins me to discuss the Why's and How's of Harmonic Mixing and how you can use it to improve your classes.
During the interview, Andy pays a nice compliment to Momentum Cycling Studio Owner Victoria Smith for her class music selections!
We're a little less than a month away from the Day Light Savings time change – Sunday, November 6. I've always considered that the un-official start of the Indoor Cycling season; rolling the clock back an hour makes it easier to commit to that 5:30 am class and you're certainly not going to be riding after work… in the dark!
So October can be a great time to polish up on your presentation skills. What follows is one of my all-time favorite interviews, featuring master Educator Lawrence Biscontini. I say favorite because not only was Lawrence a joy to talk to, but the importance of delivering a well crafted class introduction really helped to improve my classes.
Give it a listen and see if you agree.
“Great actors don’t show up on set and improvise as soon as the camera starts rolling. They practice putting their own personality into the words scripted for them…. Practice delivering your opening and closing scripts and you’ll be as polished as a professional actor.” So says Lawrence Biscontini in his Scripted Starts and Flawless Finales article in the October 2012 issue of the IDEA Fitness Journal.
Lawrence describes the 8 essential points that he feels you should be including in the first few minutes of your class in this episode of the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast.
After recording this with Lawrence, I felt strongly that including a Scripted Start in every class is another Best Practice that will help improve your class presentation 🙂
FREE ICI/PRO PODCAST: What an exciting day, this is our second ride recording. ICI/PRO member Zack, a Cycling Fusion Master Instructor and routine contributor to The Weekly Ride, delivers a ride.
“I am very excited to be releasing an audio version with my ride this week. You get to really feel how i intended the song to be felt then. Notice the shorter than usual notes this week to really make you listen to the delivery. As always my rides can suit all riders and ill be sure to highlight that verbally. So listen up and enjoy!” Zack
The Cycle Moles camps are designed as 8-week Training Camps that are a performance enhancing, progressive training program. They are geared toward cyclists, but part of the beauty of the programs is that you do not have to be a competitive cyclist to reap the benefits. The training is periodized and designed to progress the riders through their development. This is the next best thing to having a personal coach.
The program has two levels: Level 1: Appropriate for those who have a base level of aerobic fitness. You’ll learn secrets that will change the way you ride to make you more efficient and powerful both indoors and outside. Level 1 training sessions are 60 minutes and include a coached ride plus stretching.
Level 2: for the seasoned cyclist, triathlete, endurance event enthusiast or individual with a strong aerobic base who wants to improve cycling performance. We heat up the intensity of the rides throughout the camp so that you’ll end with a much stronger level of fitness and improvements in your pedal stroke and power. Level 2 training sessions are 90 minutes and include a 75 minute coached ride plus 15 minutes for the Core 100 and stretching.
Below is the Foundation Ride information that Robin Speaks about in the episode. Take your time and look at this, it is amazing information. The jpeg files below are linked to the full PDF files.
ICI/PRO member Joey, a Cycling Fusion Master Instructor and routine contributor to The Weekly Ride on ICI/PRO, delivers a ride.
What an exciting day, this is our first ride recording. We will certainly get better at the audio, but you should still find this enjoyable. Take a few moments to listen to my ride. The instructions for the audio files are below.
Social Media has grown to become the primary method of marketing for Indoor Cycling Studios. Which makes sense. Many of your prospective customers are active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – and you can't beat the cost. All it takes is posting a few pretty pictures or clever sayings and SHAZAM! you get a bunch more loyal customers… right?
OK, it's really not that easy. I talk with studio owners every week who feel completely lost, with no clear strategy about how they should be using Social Media.
One common question I get is; “how can I know if my efforts at attracting, engaging and then converting followers are actually working?”
Instructor Cassie Piasecki is what I would describe as a Social Media Expert. She's responsible for all of the social promotions for Grit Cycle – a year old studio in Costa Mesa. CA that's crushing it. Part of their success, I'm guessing, comes from Cassie's obsession with everything social.
You can check out and then steal many of Cassie's ideas by following her blog | Facebook | Grit's Facebook That picture of Cassie is a fabulous idea all by itself – from Cassie's Instructor profile. Notice how it communicates some of her personality and personal interests? Check out all the other Grit Instructor profiles here.
I was excited to record this episode of the podcast with Cassie and share it with you.
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|Schwinn-Instructor|PRO-Visitor|PRO-Studio|28 Day Challenge'] Enjoy!
Are these interviews helpful to you? Please let me know what else you'd like to learn by posting a comment below[/wlm_private]
FREE ICI/PRO PODCAST: What an exciting day, this is our second ride recording. ICI/PRO member Zack, a Cycling Fusion Master Instructor and routine contributor to The Weekly Ride, delivers a ride.
