Over the last couple of days I've remembered a few points that didn't make it into either part 1 or part 2 of my SoulCycle articles that I wanted to share today.
3 pound hand weights can get really heavy
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
I failed to complete part of the weight segment in the first class. I'm not kidding 🙁 Amy was right there next to me when I was unable to finish (I can't remember exactly what exercise) and had to drop my arms and rest, before I was able to continue. I didn't pick them myself, those little 3 pound weights were already there on the bike for me – given the chance I would probably grabbed something larger.
Our Instructor (Heather) had us with a lot of load on the flywheel and sitting up straight and tall. We went through multiple, high repetition series of shoulder, bicep and tricep exercises. I'd guess it was 5 or so minutes total and I worked to failure of my shoulder muscles before the end.
Something to consider…
But you can't gain strength with those little weights! That's what I've heard expressed by multiple “experts” that light weight/high repetition exercise has no value. I was discussing this with a former SoulCycle Instructor and his response to me was along the lines of; wait… so riding a bicycle has no value either? Isn't the act of pedalling a bicycle, with its high repetition and relatively low force, exactly the same as what we are doing with small weights in class? Why would one be “good” and the other “bad”?
The fact is that many women don't want to build muscular size – they only want to tone their upper body and rarely go near a weight room. SoulCycle obviously understands this = that's why they offer these exercises. Poke your head into any Group Fitness “Sculpt” class and you'll see a room full of women using similar sized weights – often while sitting on something unstable, like a Bosu or exercise ball.
They know their music… I mean REALLY KNOW THEIR MUSIC!
Yes, I mentioned this in the original article > When I compare how well both SoulCycle Instructors knew their music, as compared to my rather A.D.D. (feeling the need for something new every week) approach, I'm thinking I have a lot to learn here. In both classes it was uncanny how each Instructor was able to pre-cue every significant change in the music > or at least it seemed that way. The net effect was powerful and very impressive 🙂
Question: what, exactly, is wrong with using the same playlist for multiple classes? In the pre-digital music days, I watched Amy painstakingly create cassette tape playlists. She would use each for a month or more and then recycle her favorites months later. After a few classes she would know the ebb and flow of each song perfectly + what track was to follow. My (and maybe your) need to deliver new music every week (or class?) has me scanning my iPhone or crib sheet for what's coming next > is this a climb or a fast flat? What's going to follow? Does your class really need new music every week? Or is that just an insecurity of yours… one you'll need to get over? [/wlm_private]
This was surprising to me John!
I received a bunch of emails and read multiple Facebook comments, all expressing the same basic sentiments; your observations are the exact opposite from what I've heard others say about SoulCycle. Why haven't I heard this perspective before?
Good question!
Why do you think much of what you've read/heard about SoulCycle is negative? I have my ideas, but I prefer to hear yours below >
Are you an independent thinker when it comes to conducting an effective, entertaining and motivating Indoor Cycling class? If so please consider joining us here as an ICI/PRO memberwhereeveryone is welcome – no matter where, our how, you choose to teach!
Anyone who knew Jim, loved him. He was a very influential part of creation of what all of us recognise as Indoor Cycling today. Jim's knowledge of training was unequaled, as was his wisdom and understanding of what Instructors needed to do, to truly meet the physical and emotional needs and expectations of their participants.
All of us here at ICI/PRO benefitted immensely from Jim's insightful articles and Podcasts. This post of his profoundly changed my perception of my role as an Indoor Cycling Instructor. Three simple concepts that began the slow process of opening my eyes and accepting both the appeal and value of non-traditional forms of Indoor Cycling…
Who am I to decide?
If a workout session has to produce a result, you have a paradigm for unhappiness. Instead, my current approach is to create a training session that allows a person to get whatever he/she needs from the workout without interference on my part.
Just present the opportunity
As an instructor/trainer, my job is to create a situation and an environment in which members can experience the benefits of physical exercise, and nothing more. Which benefits these are will vary with the individual, and it’s important that I never assume what they could or should be.
Then accept their choice without judgement
I offer suggestions but recognize that this is their path. I can't overshadow it with what I think they should do with, or gain from, their training. That’s not my job and would be a misuse of the trainer role.
Shortly before we lost Jim, he wrote Non-Authentic Indoor Cycling. If you haven't read it please take a moment and do so, because it describes his progressive vision for Indoor Cycling and what he felt would be our roles as Fitness Professionals.
If non-authentic IC is going to make a mark, why not embrace it for what it is — a way to train on the bike that makes (some) people fit and happy?
…
Why shouldn’t any and every indoor cycling program be taught by those who are truly qualified to teach indoor cycling? That would be the likes of us. We know indoor cycling best. We could create a program — inauthentic fluff, if you will — that’s still authentic in its safety, structure and cardiovascular benefit. Why not?
Interested in being part of a group of Instructors who believe like Jim did?
As promised, here's Krista Leopold's Indoor Cycling Class Profile; Beat Down!
Training Type: LT Intervals
Working HR Zones: 4
Total Class Length: 55 min
Objective and Intensity
After recently being inspired by a boxing match I watched at the nail salon of all places, I decided to try to bring my riders into the ring for a full class. This ride is shaped by the structure of a boxing match. In professional boxing, boxers typically spar for 9-12 rounds of 3 minutes each with 1 minute in between each round. For our time constraints, we are going to fight for 10 rounds. Each round, we’ll use a different movement. Most of the rounds will be one movement sustained. In a couple of places, we’ll change it up.
For each round, we are going to work as close to LT as we can with opportunities to go higher than that sprinkled in. The challenge is to find that balance of intensity and restraint which will allow them to last a total of thirty working minutes. The average participant can sustain LT for 20 minutes. Since we’ll have short rest periods every 3 minutes, the ride presents an opportunity to push your limits while still being able to recover.
You can download Krista's trimmed to exact length and then fully mixed class playlist[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge'] here – Right click > Save As.
I know that whenever I'm feeling the need to get more creative, I'll attend someone else's cycling class. Typically Amy's Saturday morning Evolution class at Fife Time. Not having to focus on delivering the class myself, after about 15 minutes I tend to zone-out and new ideas just start coming to me. I know I'm not the only person who experiences this – actually I feel it's pretty common amongst endurance athletes.
I describe pedaling along, blissfully oblivious to what's happening around you (inside or outdoors) as JRA – Just Riding Along. You might call it being in a state of Zen, or in-the-zone or your “happy place”. If you've ever felt you were in a place where time seems to both stand still and fly by, you know what I'm talking about.
Last year I talked about how you, as the Instructor, can distract your participants who are enjoying their time JRA by calling out the equivalent of SQUIRREL.
It turns out that there's a bunch of neuroscience that goes on while we are aerobic. You'll learn a lot about the science of what's happening to your brain during exercise from this video that feature neuroscientist/group fitness instructor Dr. Wendy Suzuki.
Creativity Indoor Cycling?
So if our riders are already benefiting from the mental/creative stimulation that comes from participating our our classes, why not promote this benefit? Better yet, why not structure classes to actually enhance the experience?
The long, steady efforts are magical in their ability to bring on JRA 🙂 If you really want people to zone out and get into their own heads, this 15 minute track from the ZENDURANCE profile is nearly guaranteed to do the trick.
Next I'm thinking I would create a slideshow of random images of interesting geometric shapes and colors. Maybe cool architecture, bridges & buildings, flowers & plants, etc… I don't think I'd include pictures of people or animals that could trigger emotional responses – that's at least my initial idea.
The important part would be that riders wouldn't need to maintain their attention, like you do when you're watching a video. Maybe instead of class > Keeping it Fun, you offer > Keeping it Interesting?
Cuing would be the real challenge. Maybe you don't cue anything beyond the introduction. Or, you might offer a word problem or show a series of brain exercises from Lumosity.com or other online resourse with each song changes.
What ever you come up with, it will be important to properly identify the class format and include its description on your class schedule.
Brainstorming sessions?
Your Creativity Indoor Classes could potentially have value to a local company looking to solve a problem or develop a new product. Bring in a big white board and then team up with a moderator who writes down all the new ideas, while you guide the class. The possibilities are endless and structured properly, could be a very profitable class you could offer.
I taught my last class today. My last ride so-to-speak. It all started seven years ago. I had been Spinning® for years. That day our regular instructor asked me to lead her class. She was just too sick.
To me – a pilot – it was like being asked to safely land an airliner because the pilots were incapacitated. Truth be told, I was far more prepared to land a 747 than lead the class. But I did it, and that is where my ride as indoor cycle instructor began.
Penning this post for ICI/PRO is – for the most part – where it ends. A memoire of sorts that highlights milestones of my journey from certified but lost, to Master Instructor, what I learned along the way about our craft and our industry.
Realizing the joy of being in the front of the studio, I took the first of countless certifications the next month. A one day, eight hour class. Leaving that afternoon I realized what I didn’t know.
I knew that to be the instructor I wanted to be, would require more than eight hours. So I did what all red blooded Americans do, a Google search on teaching indoor cycling.
Lucky for me John understands search engine optimization. ICI/PRO was top of the list and my life as an instructor changed.
Back then John was publishing ‘podcasts’ and posts talking about something he called Indoor Cycling 2.0. What?? I was in my car a lot in those days with my iPod plugged into the radio. I listened to it all trying to figure the best way to integrate such wisdom into my teaching.
There were guest speakers who discussed everything from music to very cycle specific training.
There were posts from this guy, Gene Nacey, who had started a company called Cycling Fusion. Gene wrote a book back then about training with power. The forward, written by Sally Edwards. Who were these people and why are they always talking about heart rate, power and cadence?
ICI/PRO offered class profiles with music suggestions. I found these very helpful but they had names like muscular strength or climbing power or aerobic volume training. It was all very overwhelming.
I realized what made it so overwhelming was that I had not really been educated. That my eight hour class hardly scratched the surface of what ‘training’ on an indoor cycle was really about.
My experience taking classes was just the opposite. My favorite instructor never did any of this stuff. I had reached a defining moment. Indoor cycling version 1.0 or 2.0.
I chose 2.0 because it had the education I yearned for and the structure that seemed missing from the classes I took. I had always been a fan of heart rate. Moreover, the new bikes at the JCC – where I was trying to land a sub job – measured heart rate and had power meters. I knew that seemed like the perfect combination but – at the time – had no idea why.
I got the sub job and a fair amount of opportunity to teach in those early years. I began my quest to get better through education. My sub classes (all I had at the time) were – unbeknownst to them – my guinea pigs.
Having read Gene’s Power Training Book there were some questions. I had found a way to land a ‘regular’ class in prime time by offering to do a power training course. I had questions, so I called him.
Gene is the quintessential professional. He always gave freely of his time to answer my questions. But he warned me, “Chuck where you are going you will discover a culture, the culture of indoor cycling. Good luck.” But more on that later.
Later that year he was doing the official launch of his new company, Cycling Fusion by hosting a summit of some of the most nationally regarded indoor cycle instructors. I’m not sure where I found the nerve, but I offered to kick off the summit suggesting that I was representative of the new 2.0 instructor. To my surprise Gene said yes.
The rest is history. My relatively short, but incredibly intense career really began at that summit, west of Denver high in the Rocky Mountains at Keystone Ski Resort. Why? I met Sally Edwards. Talk about unbridled energy. Sally – the only person ever inducted into both triathlon halls of fame – epitomizes it.
Suffice it to say that when I ran into Sally at the Denver airport after the summit I knew I was home. John led me into the room, Gene opened the window and Sally was the sunshine that poured through. There are not enough words to describe the learning one experiences working with Sally Edwards.
But if Sally was the sun shining on my personal learning crusade, Jim Karanas was the fresh air flowing through the open window.
Jim was indoor cycling 2, 3, 4 and 5.0 way before anyone ever heard of a ‘podcast’. Sadly, Jim left us a while ago, but his legacy lives on in all of those he touched. From Jim I learned to put the icing on the cake. That at the end of the day, it was not about me or just about heart rate or power, cadence or cycle specific training. It was about bringing to class the ability to touch each rider such that they were sure I was teaching class just for them.
When I made the choice to give up leading classes I did it with the knowledge that I had met my own challenge – to understand the whole of indoor cycling yes, but to touch the people who trusted me in a positive manner. How did I know? Simple really, rider feedback. Additionally, I had grown past the place where I was committed to only one way. I was comfortable teaching outside the keep-it-real philosophy that had governed my every thought for so long. I knew that Indoor cycling 2.0 was only a pass to explore and learn, not a rigid protocol to vigorously defend. That my job was not to suppose I knew what my riders needed, or how they got it, but to provide for them what THEY thought they needed that day. I can do that. I have done that. I am content. I have moved on but I have not forgotten.
In the coming weeks I will give John some additional posts written but never submitted. Posts that take a close, perhaps inside look at the realities of our industry. Fruit for thought or maybe, fuel for a fire.
It has been my privilege to have met and worked with so many great and talented individuals.
Here's a great opportunity for Indoor Cycling Instructors and Studio Owners to attract and serve a new demographic of riders – active seniors!
With over 12 MILLION members and 13,000 locations, SilverSneakers is a kind of quiet giant in the fitness industry. Participating senior citizens, across America, can take advantage of free access to health clubs and wellness centers that's paid through their health insurance.
The SilverSneakers FLEX program is designed for individual Fitness Instructors wanting to offer classes and activities at non-traditional locations. I've never stopped to ask, but I'll bet the large group of seniors we pass exercising in a local park on our Sunday AM bike ride is a FLEX class.
FLEX could be the perfect way to add some additional classes to your studio's schedule. Our FLEX approved Parkinson's Cycling classes are best conducted between 10:00 and noon. Seniors tend to eat dinner early (join us for the 4:30 blue plate special) so they might be open to a Senior Cycling class around 3:00pm.
FLEX Instructors are paid directly by SilverSneakers, so there's no cost to the participants. You can learn more by listening to this interview with Stephanie Wong – the Vice President, Field Operations for SilverSneakers' parent company Healthways, Inc. You can email her with questions; stephanie.wong@healthways.com
SilverSneakers is an industry-leading fitness program for older adults. It is delivered through a nationwide network of participating fitness locations such as YMCAs, Curves®, gyms, wellness centers and other facilities.
Our qualified SilverSneakers instructors will have the training and skills necessary to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population that values high-quality, personalized service.
Interested in finding out about our new FLEX instructor program? Click Here to download the program brochure.
Interested in becoming a SilverSneakers instructor? Click Here for more information.
