The Manx Cycling Club on The Isle of Mann has created some incredible cyclists who have contributed to the recent success of British Cycling. The “Fasted Man on Two Wheels” World Champion / Tour multi stage winner Mark Cavendish (they call him “Sir Mark Cavendish” now) and Olympic Cycling Gold Medalist Peter Kennaugh Jr. are both Manxmen.
So how, with only 80,000 people living on this tiny island, do they turn out cyclists of this caliber?
I thought you'd be interested to know 🙂
So I contacted Peter Kennaugh Sr. – Head Coach and Director of 3LC.tv (he's also Peter Jr's father) to learn a few of their secrets – many of which you can learn through the series of Turbo Trainer / Indoor Cycling DVDs and training plans they offer and potentially apply them to your classes.
Peter's approach as a virtual cycling coach, is to focus on cadence during indoor training sessions, rather than HR or wattage. He has some compelling arguments that he shares during our discussion.
Why could this be of value to you as an Indoor Cycling Instructor?
Speciality Performance Based Indoor Cycling Classes will be next evolution of Indoor Cycling 2.0. Serious endurance athletes are recognizing that many of our classes have moved beyond Aerobics on Bikes and we are now offering results driven training thru specific metrics like HR and Watts. These people are looking for coaches to help them train effectively and in time, clubs/studios will be looking for Instructors who can also coach.
Motivated Instructors will have an opportunity here. ICI/PRO is committed to providing you with the resources you'll need to make the transition.
Another Contest!
At the end of the interview Peter offered to send a lucky listener a pack of their DVDs and training plans. You can enter by leaving a comment below and we will draw a name after the 10th of this month.
The “Barn” as it's affectionately known, is run by first time business owner / Instructor Karen Casler. Karen shares with us a number of the secrets of her success in the interview below:
Her total focus on customer service.
Using technology effectively.
Offering a diverse mix of classes to reach the broadest audience.
Recruiting and retaining instructors.
Some Instructors don't fit – what to do next…
Not all customers fit either…
Studio details:
CB Cyclebarn 372 Camino de Estrella San Clemente, CA 92672
(949)303-3112 Email: karen@cbcyclebarn.com
Indoor Cycles: FreeMotion S11.9 with Carbon belt drive
In class display system of rider performance metrics: Performance IQ
Listen to Karen's interview below or and have every new episode delivered straight to your portable device.
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This Podcast is was last published on Feb 23, 2010, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
As promised last week, here's my interview with Bill Pryor about his experiences starting his own Spinning Indoor Cycling Studio.
2014 UPDATE: This interview has launched multiple dozens of new Indoor Cycling Studios - is yours next?
The online payment and business management service we discuss is MindBody Online combined with a LiveEdit Integrated Website.
“The most important Indoor Cycling class you'll ever take… will be the next one!”
I've forgotten which Instructor I overheard saying this to a new participant, but it's completely true. We want new students returning to our classes every week. It's good for us (fuller classes) and obviously good for them 🙂
So what should we be doing in our classes to encourage a Revolutionist, who finds him-or-her self in your class, to feel comfortable and (hopefully) return?
The focus of our conversation is on her Principle #7 – Carefully Consider Your Cues. Kymberly encourages Instructors to “Speak Boomer Language”:
Cues that motivate your younger, pain-free, joint-happy client may be off-putting or irrelevant to your 50-, 60- or 70- year-olds, no matter how fit and athletic those exercisers are.
Would you be intimidated if you had to fill in for Master Instructor Tom Scotto? I know I would. Meet Spinning Instructor and ICI/PRO member Kay Ruane. Kay fills in for Tom on a regular basis at the Wellbridge club where they both teach.
Those of us with a bunch of experience, who were given the chance to teach for Tom, may have some butterflies at the beginning… but our Instructor skills would probably kick in and we would deliver a great class.
But what if you didn't have years of experience to fall back on? Kay has been certified for less than a year and still has the confidence in herself she needs to deliver the class Tom's regulars expect.
Once you listen to Kay's story, you'll understand where that confidence comes from.
