by John | Oct 23, 2017 | Best Practices, Class Work-Sets, Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Master Instructor Blog, Training With Power
Here's the profile I used a while ago in our Performance Cycle FTP assessment.
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1/25 75 min FTP Class
Klangstrahler Projekt — Extremely Well
At 10:47 Extremely Well is a perfect warm up song. Plenty of quiet early to give you time to announce the class format – followed by a number unique changes that you can use as a personal cues to initiate a change in intensity.
The Cars — Just What I Needed
Time for some openers – everyone knows this song, so load up the resistance @ 62 RPM and have them surge along to different segments. The objective is to have everyone up to threshold once of twice before the last 30 secs that is use as a short recovery.
ZZ Top — La Grange
Let's find your Best Effort! Have everyone find the 80RPM cadence and then add gears during the 30 sec intro. I start the timed three minute Best Effort at the intensity change in the song at 0:34. Stage button and then encourage everyone by asking; “is this really you… at your best? [This is also a great time to be off the bike, working the room.]
The Kooks — Junk of the Heart (Happy)
This happy go lucky track is a fun reset/recovery. No purpose here, just fun 🙂
Moby — Extreme Ways (Bourne's Ultimatum)
We're getting serious now! I use this 100RPMish track to have riders dial in and observe JRAP/Base Watts. Find the cadence and then gradually add load until you feel your HR begin to creep above VT1 (just above chatty) and then recover slightly. I have them repeat this a number of times, always observing the connection between RPE/HR & the watts they're maintaining.
20 Minute Assessment
I remind everyone how they've found two numbers already, now well find the third that will really validate the others. This 20 minute assessment should flow smoothly from the earlier base watts we were in during Extreme Ways.
Black Sabbath – Planet Caravan Remix download this remix to have for this playlist. Right Click > Save As
Planet Caravan is slightly slower @ 94RPM. Establish this cadence and find the watts that you feel will be your Best Effort over twenty minutes. This # will of course be somewhere between the Base watts and the three minute Best Effort.
Ted Nugent — Stranglehold
Slower at 75RPM – request the necessary changes, while staying locked into your average. We've moved more of the work to our legs = breathing will become slightly easier.
Golden Earring — Radar Love
Back to 100RPM to give our legs a break.
The Kooks — Ooh La – another fun reset & recovery
Klangstrahler Projekt — Take A Breath and Safri Duo — Snakefood – 13 minutes of steady JRAP/Base watts (they should all know exactly where to go by now) and I just let them ride – cuing occasional out of the saddle time.
America — Sandman – 5 Minute Best Effort – or – additional JRAP/Base work if they already appear cooked 🙁
This 80 RPM live track has an awesome lead in you can use for a one minute recovery. Have everyone dial in the wattage of their choice and cue your start at the 1:10 [you'll hear it] for this last 5 minutes of hell!
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Recover and Cool Down
Selah Sue — This World
Passenger — Let Her Go
Lana Del Rey — West Coast – Rob Orton Mix
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by Christine Hawthorne | Sep 3, 2017 | Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Music
This week's Favorite Track makes a great “finisher”. Clocking in at around 6 minutes, it lends itself really well to 90 second interval sets and will take an already great class over the top! Here's how my class likes to use this one:
30 seconds-easy pedal (this is going to be your recovery as we get into the interval sets)
30 seconds-pick up the intensity (not a sprint, but definitely a working effort)
30 seconds-sprint (all out effort)
*go through this sequence 4 times.
I've used this drill with other 6 minutes songs, and it just wasn't the same. My classes always ask me to come back to this one! I hope you (and your classes) enjoy it!
Insomnia 2.0 iTunes link
by Christine Hawthorne | Aug 26, 2017 | Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Music
This new tune from Thirty Seconds to Mars is their first single in four years and it was definitely worth the wait. The lyrics and beautiful choruses combined will beg your riders to climb straight to the top. This song is quite versatile and I can see using it several different ways:
A seated or standing climb at 70 rpm.
A seated climb bringing it out of the saddle on the chorus.
Rolling hills, adding gear and pushing through on the chorus.
Seated sprints on the chorus.
However you decide to use it, I'm sure you and your riders will love it!
Walk On Water by Thirty Seconds to Mars iTunes link (70 rpm)
by Christine Hawthorne | Aug 18, 2017 | Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Music
This week's favorite track has a tribal/trance sound that will have your riders entranced by the beat. They won't want to give up until the finish line. It's Great Spirit by Armin van Buuren, Vini Vici and it's pretty amazing.
Here's what one online review had to say:
“Great Spirit” opens up with a buildup that progresses with the tribal vocals of Hilight Tribe. The track then transitions to the climatic sequence that features some up-tempo beats and striking chords. Soon after, another breakdown commences and concludes with another electrifying drop.”
I couldn't have said it better myself.
This version is 3:36 in length, but check out the remixes and extended version that I've linked below as well. Enjoy this one, it's a lot of fun!
Great Spirit by Armin van Buuren, Vini Vici (69 rpm)
by Christine Hawthorne | Aug 12, 2017 | Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Music
Your classes will love this climbing song from Indie Rocker Coleman Hell. You can ride seated or standing at around 60 rpm. (bpm 120) and I promise you the tune will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day! I first heard it when I was taking a Pound class and I had to hit up the instructor after class to find out what this cool song was all about. If you like this one, you might also want to check out Devotion and Fireproof. And don't forget to save this one for your upcoming Halloween ride!
2 Heads by Coleman Hell iTunes link (60 rpm)
by Karen Casler | Aug 9, 2017 | Instructor Tech Help, Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Mental Toughness, Your Fitness Business
Congratulations! You have decided to take the leap and open an Indoor Cycling studio…you're not alone.
Dedicated Indoor Cycling studios are growing in popularity and numbers. Owning an Indoor Cycling studio is FUN and like any other new small business adventure, not without obstacles.
Let’s assume that you've done all your research, found the perfect location, pulled permits, hired an architect, created a logo, chosen your bikes, learned new software, stayed true to your vision and spend 3X your budget. You are fully prepared to greet the new generation of Indoor Cyclists armed with state of the art equipment, and a team of instructors eager to show it all off.
Are you really ready?
Do you have what it takes to navigate “old school” customer service firedrills like a clogged toilet with a smile, as well as modern day stereo/microphone issues, also with a smile?
Are you prepared for the technology based firedrills of tomorrow that accompany power measurement, real time leader-boards, data tracking, and wireless internet? Indoor Cycling Technology(ICT) issues are common in a brand new studio. It's not a matter of if they are going to pop up. It's a matter of when.
My name is Karen and I am the self proclaimed spokesperson for Keeping It FUN Indoor Cycling. I'm excited to share my Keeping It FUN approach to ICT firefighting while never losing sight of the customer and of course, always having FUN.
1. View every issue as a challenge … never a problem.
Each issue that crosses your path is nothing more than a “First World Problem,” for which you are grateful. and therefore, not a real problem at all. challenge is an opportunity for you to learn and grow. You have the power, as a studio owner, to turn any negative into a positive by how you choose to fight the fire. You also have the ability to turn a frustrated, perhaps angry customer into a lifetime customer.
2. Never let them see you sweat in a world of sweat…
In the event of a fire, customers are more likely to remember how you handled the situation and how you made them feel rather than the problem itself. View every customer complaint as an opportunity to EARN a rider's business. Upset customers need to be listened to and often become your most loyal clients.
3. In the event of a customer complaint, stick with…
Keeping It FUN's 10 Commandments Of Customer Care…
- Apologize
- Say “Thank You” for bringing up the concern
- Ask the customer to explain the issue in their own words
- Listen to the customer through their eyes
- Empathize…”I completely understand why you feel this way.”
- Acknowledge the concern (big or small) as a legitimate concern
- Explain how the issue will be resolved/handled
- Assume full responsibility for the issue
- Apologize (again) with sincerity
- Thank the customer (again)
4. Recognize that the power may be in the palm of someone else's hand…
Be prepared for ICT issues, software glitches, and unsolved mysteries that you have no control over. Accept the fact that you are at the mercy of someone else's schedule.
5. Document, document, document…
When something breaks…document it every time.
6. Treat your ICT PowerPartners as part of your team…because they are…
It is what it is. ICT issues are likely to require third party involvement. In order to find the quickest resolution, you must be allies with your ICT PowerPartners. Provide the team with as much detailed information as possible regarding your issue. Be prepared to help them troubleshoot and provide them with well documented information. Show them respect and gratitude.
7. Adopt the Keeping it FUN Worry Scale of 1-10
Starting with 10 rate all real or hypothetical issues/problems on a scale of 1-10.
Below is an example:
10. Catastrophic loss of multiple family members
9. Loss of a child
8. Loss of spouse/family member
7. A life altering accident
6. Fill In
5. Your
4. Own
3. Blanks
2. ICT Firedrills
1. Which lululemon Pace Setter skirt will I wear, today?
The Keeping It FUN Worry Scale is fool proof and guaranteed to help you catch any ICT curveball that gets thrown your way!
I had the honor and privilege of working for, training under, and calling friend Mad Dogg Master Instructor_____________. In 2002, she taught me the power of words.
SB, from my heart to yours,
Thank you for sometimes telling me I had to do it your
way and supporting when I wanted to do things my way.
But, most of all, Thank You for teaching me to choose the
Word “resistance” over tension. Because of you, I may
Cue a Steep hill something like this…
“I invite you to let all your tension go.
Tension, weighs us down, holds us back, and makes it harder to breathe.
Resistance, both in life and on this hill makes us stronger. Close your eyes.
Relax your shoulders. Heart center forward and climb. Without changing
cadence, add reistance that makes you push back and fight harder.”
Today, 12 years later and 1500 miles away, her voice is heard in the words I choose when I teach. It’s a powerful lesson that extends beyond Indoor Cycling. The words we choose are more powerful than any ICT malfunction.
There will always be resistance, but you don’t have to have tension. Your customer’s response mirrors your response. If you smile and have FUN going over new studio speed bumps, they will too.
You Got This…
One pedal stroke at a time!!!
Originally posted 2014-09-04 08:45:11.
