More and more I'm hearing and seeing how Instructors are experimenting with riding in with the class, rather than presenting up-front-and-center on the traditional "Instructor Bike".
It's fun to mix it up and IMO, an imperative when teaching to a structured Virtual Ride DVD.
But riding away from the music controls creates a technical difficulty; how do you make adjustments to the sound volume?
I witness this firsthand, while riding in an unnamed (but very attractive) Instructor's class this morning.
Her playlist included a bunch of very interesting mashups of popular tunes. Which made for a great class... except that a number of tracks had been mixed at varying sound levels. After hitting play, our unnamed Instructor took her position with the rest of class in the front row, leaving her iPod up on the sound equipment cabinet. Everything was going as planned until one of the mashups came on REALLY LOUD! She hopped off her cycle, walked up to her iPod, quickly turn down the volume and returned to her bike. Problem solved.
Solved that is until the next song which was very quiet. Not wanting to disrupt the class any further she left it where it was, leaving me wanting to yell out "turn up your music!" Out of respect for another Instructor, I didn't say anything during her class.
But I will offer you two possible solutions, Amy:
- I can order you a very long cord for your iPod.
- I can lend you my Bluetooth receiver and show you how you can connect wirelessly using your Android phone.
I'm here to help and you know where to find me.
Actually there's another reason I've found to go wireless - many accessory cases prevent the 1/8" plug on the connection cord from being fully inserted into your phone. So it doesn't work with the case installed 🙁
In my case I was forever taking off my iPhone's case so I could plug in the cord. When I got tired of the hassle, I quit using the case altogether. And then promptly dropped my iPhone, breaking the back glass panel - not good. So a Best Practice for any Instructor is to invest in a $25.00 (with free shipping) for this Bluetooth receiver and not need to invest in a $549.00 replacement iPhone.
Speaking of riding along with your class... I Shazam'd this track last night, Come Along from Vicci Martinez. It conveys the essence of exactly what I'm trying to communicate to my students as we push through a tempo Threshold effort together. There's a wonderful refrain the you can add to your cuing at the 2:27 mark; Time Fly's, Make a Statement, Take a Stand... and finishes with; Take... Your... Shot!
I felt you might like it.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
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Hey thanks John. I will take you up on the use of your wireless doo dad. I am forever behind in the technology world. I would still be using tapes probably….
I would love it, what do I need, where do I sign up…I love you guys……………..
Perfect… I’ve been riding with my classes and resorted to my laptop so I could use the remote to adjust volume. Since the remote is an infrared device line-of-sight to the sensor on the laptop is needed. Of course the one spot in the room not used by a member is always looking at the back of the laptop. I’ve tried bouncing the signal off the walls and ceiling but I think Bluetooth is a better option.
Thanks John.
Another option that I sue very often with my iPad and Android is this Belkin receiver – http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8Z492TTP-Bluetooth-Music-Receiver/dp/B0047T79VS
It is very small and a breeze to setup. People complain about the range on this device but I have not yet experienced any issues on my classroom.
When you create your profile be sure to ‘equalize’ the sound when you are using a music programme. I use Nero to create my profiles and all songs have the same volume. Of course you can increase or decrease the volume when playing but the base volume remains constant through out the profile.