Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion
And no, it isn't because we haven't thrown you a rubber chicken to catch.
In Jumps — 5 Reasons Riders Might Appreciate You Adding Them To Your Classes Pt 1 I feel I offered 5 pretty substantial reasons why your participants would appreciate you adding Jumps as a regular feature in your classes.
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:
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 🙂
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I feel that “jumps” (the controlled/rhythmic/on-the-beat type – not the random “popcorn” or David Lee Roth varieties) have gotten a bad rap as of late. I love when they're a part of a class, enjoy teaching jumps and see them as beneficial for multiple reasons… here are five* for you to consider:
#1 Jumps can provide Cognitive Dissociation
I found this description at craigharper.com.au
Picture yourself riding an exercise (stationary) bike for forty-five minutes (alone) in your garage while staring at a blank wall in total silence. No company. No music. Nothing (interesting) to look at. I get bored just thinking about it.
Now, relocate your bike to a bright room with lots of inspirational posters on the walls, a few flat-screen TV’s, a great view out of the numerous windows, some awesome music pumping through the place, a room full of motivated people peddling beside you and a hot-looking bloke (or chick) up the front inspiring you through a great work-out.
Some people call this scenario Spinning® (RPM, etc.). I call it cognitive dissociation.
It’s the same but different. Find a way to make it work for you.
A major part of our role as Instructors is to provide a distraction from the monotony of exercise. We do it with our music, structured profiles, our presentation of the class and video/virtual rides. All of these things can provide helpful distractions for the visual and auditory learners in the room. But what about the third type… the Kinesthetic learners in your class?
Kinesthetic Learning (also known as Tactile Learning) is a learning style in which learning takes place by the student carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration.
Those are people who can't sit still and have got to move! I'll bet that you have participants in that category and they hate being forced to just sit there and pedal. My older daughter Abby is a super Kinesthetic Learner. It would drive her crazy to have to sit still to study. But give her something she could move/play with and problem solved.
Jumps can provide this cognitive dissociation because they force participants of all learning styles to mentally focus on the activity, not the effort. I can remember vividly how Amy used to teach classes where we would do 50, 80, 100 or more jumps in a row. I'd be so intent on staying with the music and counting down each jump, I would completely lose touch with the actual intensity – which for me made exercising fun!
Question for you: Do you have a few participants who won't sit still and occasionally do their own thing? I'd like you to consider why they are acting out. Could they be kinesthetic learners and you aren't offering them enough variety of movement?
Or asked a different way: could requiring everyone to “just sit there and pedal” be alienating a segment of the population who can't help the fact that they can't (and won't) sit still?
#2 Jumps can become Tribal Movements
Have you ever been to a sporting event where they did “the wave”? Try to remember the feelings you had when it happened:
Feeling like you're part of the “Tribe” goes a long way toward a feeling of connection with, or being part of, something bigger than yourself.
Tribalism is the state of being organized in, or advocating for, a tribe or tribes. Got an iPhone, iPad or Mac? Chances are one reason you choose an Apple product, over a PC, is because you wanted to join the “Apple Tribe”.
SoulCycle, if you haven't noticed, has an amazing tribe. I'm convinced that part of their appeal is directly connected to having everyone moving together as one. It truly is a thing of beauty. If you've never experienced a class like this, I highly recommend trying one.
Studio owner Paul Harmeling understands the value of building a passionate tribe, as demonstrated by his three successful Full Psycle Indoor Cycling Studios. If you didn't hear my interview with him, where he describes the importance of developing a tribe through specific movements, you can find it here.
#3 Jumps – help for the rhythmically challenged
I'm personally in the demographic that (had) a problem with rhythm. For most of my life, I had no ability to hear and then follow the beat of the music. Dancing? Let's just say that I'm really glad that pocket video recorders didn't exist back in the Disco era – my moves were not pretty and rarely connected to anything close to the beat. That all changed when I learned to jump as a participant in cycling classes.
Early on I found that, with practice, I could learn to pedal to the beat of somewhat slow music > in the 60ish RPM range. Having to rise and fall along with the Instructor (and other riders in the class) became a sort of gauge that helped me to understand if I was actually on the beat. Amy helpfully explained how coming up on the same leg, in the same point in the crank rotation, identified that I was truly “on the beat”. It took a long time for me to feel comfortable doing jumps without needing to think about each action – and it may for some of your regulars. I can't think of a better example of the “practice makes perfect” cliche – it really does take time.
So if you have men people like me in your classes, do them a big favor and teach them how to jump. I'm willing to bet that there's a significant other in many of their lives who will thank you for it 🙂
#5 Jumps are challenging
Why are extreme endurance events like the Spartan Race so popular? OK, that's a dumb question. Pretty much anyone who knows what these events are, know why people flock to them by the tens of thousands… they're crazy challenging both physically and mentally. Everyone who finishes has a sense of accomplishment that only comes from overcoming the challenges faced during the race.
Can all agree that there's little challenge in pedaling a bicycle? That's a big part of the appeal of Indoor Cycling, anyone can do it. Sure you can make the class hard – challenging physically. But why not add a few jumps, which for many people are mentally challenging as well? The end result is that once mastered, jumps can create a small, but similar, feeling of accomplishment at the end of your class.
#5 Jumps are FUN
Please don't underestimate the FUN factor of jumps. Not everything in your class has to (or should) be focused on some specific element of training. There's a lot of good arguments that playful exercise is as beneficial as structured workouts – especially with people who are burned out or bored by rote workout regimens. Recognise that many of your participants come to your class to have fun and want to enjoy their time exercising. My feeling is that adding a few jumps will go a long way to keeping them happy with you and your classes.
* I'm tempted to add a #6 here: Jumps help cyclists learn to smoothy come out of the saddle. I know it has helped me, but there's a lot of conflicting opinions about if it does or not. The majority of your riders are probably not cyclists anyway, so this point really doesn't matter… does it?
Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion
Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion
Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion