8 Comments

1. 

   pascal hannecart on July 19, 2010 at 1:28 pm

   Interesting except for 1 thing: “comparing your output with other” that is not the goal of IDC, bringing this type of competition between riders is not a good idea … I think.
   When you train, you do what you have to do for you, that is why it is not possible to train outside if you only ride in group.
   At the time you put this data on a scream it is impossible to avoid this competetion.

2. 

   Jennifer Sage on July 19, 2010 at 5:47 pm

   Yes, that is a “Spinning®” philosophy (that I taught and maintained for 12 years), and certainly a good philosophy for some students and classes, such as newer or less fit students, or an older population, or when the personality of your class just doesn’t seem to welcome it.

   But personally, I think there is a time and place for some friendly competition and it totally depends on your students and your relationship with them and them with each other. If it can inspire someone to work harder at times, as long as they are very aware of themselves and not always pushing to the limit, then I think it’s ok. If you’ve been riding with your group for a long time, and you know their personalities and tendencies, and they are open to it, then why not?

   I’m curious – how do others feel about this? This could make a good poll! It certainly is situation-dependent!

   Also, I’m curious if it’s absolute output (power) – which can’t really be compared – or if it’s power per pound, which is more comparable.

3. 

   Moritz on July 20, 2010 at 3:34 am

   I’m with Pascal, no competition on “power” within classes ! In my opinion this negates one of the fundamental principles of Spinning/IDC. However, I see measuring power as a very profound element for individual personal training but not within a class environment. Besides that I have doubts that this unit delivers accurate and reproducible measurements, for this you need to measure torque …

4. 

   Robert on July 21, 2010 at 5:01 am

   At a Spinning-only studio where I teach, we have the Suunto HR system and that is very useful; it doesn’t encourage competition, on the contrary – as it’s HR-based, everyone should be in the same training zone (if LT tests have been performed on them).

   With power, however, I’ve seen a lot of glancing over riders’ shoulders when teaching with Keiser M3s, despite the fact that they’re inaccurate from bike to bike. So having it displayed on the board will most certainly encourage a rush to be top-dog, especially without any reference to their power to weight ratio. Even a PWR figure would encourage competition – not good, IMHO, and very similar to group rides (which is why I don’t belong to a cycling club).

   By all means have the system email users (as does the Suunto) with their data files; by all means get instructors to explain the data to their riders individually.

   More importantly, can someone tell that studio the true meaning of power? Their riding style is abysmal.

5. 

   Juhani Keski-Rahkonen on July 24, 2010 at 12:57 pm

   We also have Suunto / Firstbeat. It has its benefits for customers. they have a possibility to see the total effort they have been doing. and no competition because customers are not in the same league.

   but i see the point in measuring watts. its a perfect tool for people who think they are doing real work with high cadence and no resistance. and usually standing. bike with watt meter can be very educational for them. if they believe in facts 🙂

6. 

   Bill Pryor on July 27, 2010 at 5:58 pm

   Measuring power output without specific explanation and guidance (even if it is accurate), amongst a group of folks with different ages and fitness levels is mostly a gimmick……..that being said, if it adds an entertainment value, keeps some folks motivated, and is an interesting new element — bring it on. It’s like adding video, special lighting or murals — another thing to upgrade the environment and keep ’em coming back.

7. 

   Jennifer Sage on July 27, 2010 at 8:05 pm

   interesting comments, I am enjoying this! For those with the Suunto HR system, i’d love to hear more about how your students enjoy it. They will be at our ICI/PRO conference in October in Boston, we are very excited about that. And I want it to be based on LT. When I was at the Ride for a Reason fundraiser in Vermont in March, they had that system there but it was based on MHR and there were some blatant issues – we were in an easier segment of the 6-hours, and several of the participants with the Suunto monitors on the screen were in their “red zone” = 90-95%MHR. For a looooong time. this only showed how silly the MHR zones are, because they were obviously not really redlining!

   Robert, your students can glance over and see someone else’s power reading on the Keiser M3s? I teach at a facility that has them (well, in the winter I do) and there’s no way that anyone could really see what someone else’s meter says! Maybe we are farther apart than the bikes you are speaking of….or, mine is an older population and either they don’t care or they couldn’t read it if they wanted to!! (That could be it, ow that I think of it!) I’ve just never seen anyone care about another person’s power output.

   I agree, that kind of competition isn’t effective for anyone. I do think there’s a time and place for competition indoors (motivational), but comparing your power to another (or even worse, your HR) is counterproductive. It’s up to the instructor to educate students that comparing absolute data means nothing.

8. 

   Shayne on December 17, 2010 at 7:35 am

   Wasn’t that the third commandment or something?
   “Thou shalt not have competition in the spin room”. Even the MI’s I met in Los Angeles used to have trouble keeping a straight face while reciting that one.

   And while we’re on the topic, was that a mighty 10 watts on the display unit in the video? Awwwesome….

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