With both our kids out of the house and in college, Amy and I have talked about potentially moving somewhere else. The idea of living in a new location has a lot of appeal to me, after spending the majority of my life in the frozen northlands of Minnesota.
To paraphrase the saying; “go big or go home” in weightlifting… why not; “go far or stay home?” As in moving to another country, like say the UK?
I'm not sure if that would be possible (or acceptable to my two daughters) but if I did move to to the UK, what would it take to get certified so I could teach in London or some other British city?
I thought it would be fun to find out, so I contacted Doyle Armstrong who's the Program Director with the Indoor Cycling Group (and lives in the UK) to help me understand what's required to get my REPs certification – the equivalent of ACE here in the USA .
The Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) is the independant public register which recognises the qualifications and expertise of exercise and fitness professionals in the UK.
Membership of REPs provides assurance and confidence to consumers, employers and health care professionals that all REPs registered exercise and fitness professionals are appropriately qualified and have the knowledge, competence and skills to perform specific roles.
If you have a question for Doyle you can leave it below or post it on the Team ICG Facebook page.
Listen below as Doyle explains the REPs certification process in the latest episode of the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast.
Here's the poster promoting Larry “Link” Russell's Zoning Fitness Workshops at his YMCA.
Would like like to make $500.00 for teaching a 2 hour workshop? While at the same time making a huge impact on the fitness of your students?
Larry “Link” Russell is doing just that by conducting Zoning Fitness Workshops at his YMCA.
Zoning Fitness provides everything you need to start profiting from conducting Zoning Fitness Workshops at your club or studio.
Here are some past interviews and articles where you can learn more about the Blink Heart Rate monitor and the 2T/3Z (Two Threshold / Three Zone Heart Rate training zones)
The “Heads Up Display” of student's performance data (watts, calories, cadence, HR, etc…) from Performance IQ looks like a fascinating addition to any club or studio. While not for everyone, the competitive element it introduces can make for a very exciting and motivating class experience.
But I had felt Performance IQ it was missing a few things:
The pre-class setup (entering all your students into the system) was a lot of work for the Instructor during the frenetic moments before class time.
There wasn't any option to collect or retain the each student's data.
The system only worked with the Keiser M3 Indoor Cycle.
All of that has changed now that Performance IQ is partnering with ZingFit who has a full-featured management system system for cycling studios. The beauty of this partnership is how well they compliment each other's service
Now…
Participants can reserve their bike online when they register for class using Zingfit's registration system. This in turn tells Performance IQ who's on which bike. No more need for the Instructor to do anything beyond starting their class and pressing the GO button.
Zingfit collects all the ride data from Performance IQ and displays it on a secure section of the Studio's website. Zingfit can even send an email to each of your students at the end of each class.
Performance IQ is now compatible with all Power bikes that use Ant+ (FreeMotion S11, Schwinn AC and CycleOps)
Listen to the Podcast below it hear all the details.
The Ultimate Instructor Class Profile contest winner Allison Santoro
Here's the Grand Prize winning entry to our Ultimate Instructor Class Profile Contest from Instructor Allison Santoro!
Profile Description
Today we will test the law of gravity…what goes up, must come down. Whiteface Mountain is a very challenging 8-mile climb up to a castle at the summit of the mountain. As you approach a toll-house at the three-mile mark, you will be mentally preparing for the most challenging part of this ride with 8% to 10% gradients for several miles. As you ascend to the summit, two switchbacks and an ease in grade will provide you with the perfect opportunity to enjoy the rush of powering-through your threshold to the summit. At the summit, you will surrender to gravity…and be rewarded with an exhilarating 10-minute down-hill recovery.
Instructor Profile – Allison Santoro
I became a certified indoor cycling instructor, after spinning for fitness and leisure since the early 1990s.
As a student, I noticed that there were a wide range of teaching practices and styles, and many instructors were quite obviously not qualified to be teaching an indoor cycling class. Frankly, some classes were so bad, it’s a miracle that I still have my knees and back intact.
Anyway, I decided to take my Spinning® certification so that I could establish myself as a knowledgeable instructor that could provide constructive coaching on performance, technique and safety.
I currently teach a lunchtime indoor cycling class at Fitcorp at the Prudential Center in Boston. I also teach the occasional weekend class in New Hampshire, where I live.
I met my husband and best friend Al, over 20 years ago, and we’ve been married for 7 years. We live in New Hampshire on the seacoast, which is about 50 miles north of Boston, where I work.
Funnily enough, it was my husband’s love of cycling that prompted me to buy a road-bike and venture outdoors. I was quickly hooked on cycling outdoors, and before I knew it, Al and I were signing up for century rides, and I even did the Boston to New York aids ride a couple of times.
When I’m not cycling, instructing, or working, I like all things outdoors — especially golf. I started playing golf a couple of years ago, and like cycling, I was immediately hooked. Allison@AllAboutAlly.com
Congratulations Allison – your class profile is truly the Ultimate!
Note: We'll be running this contest again, between September 15th and ending on October 31st. I've already secured a number of fabulous prizes (think: teaching somewhere warm) so you may want to start thinking about what you will submitting this Fall 🙂
Master Trainer Jim Karanas from Team ICG® joins me on this episode to discuss both Jim's and my concerns that those of you who are heading outdoors this summer, do so safely!
Although it was hard for him to talk about, Jim's wife (and long time riding/training and racing partner) Angela was involved in a horrible accident last Fall. It happened during a large cycling event and together we discuss some strategies you can use to ensure any cycling groups you are leading remain safe and enjoyable! This post offers some additional thoughts on leading outdoor group cycling rides.
We also used this episode to announce that Chuck Cali has joined his ICG® Master Trainer Team – Congratulations Chuck!
Nothing brings me more pleasure than seeing talented Instructors take advantage of the platform we provide here at ICI/PRO 🙂
If you are interested in learning more about the ICG® online Indoor Cycling certification and the free CECs they offer, you can learn more at www.indoorcycling.com
I'll be releasing the winner's names of the Ultimate Instructor Class Profile contest later today… I'm very curious to see where each of these Instructors will be a year from now – stay tuned.
Every month, as an Instructor at Life Time Fitness, I receive a copy of their Experience Life Magazine. In the April issue an article about Building a Better Body Image caught my attention. John and I both wanted to learn more so we invited Health and Fitness writer Gina DeMillo Wagner onto the Podcast to discuss her article in more detail.
