Credit - Richard Ziade at Basement.org for the complicated diagram.
Are we losing some of the people in our classes with all this talk of; Max HR =bad & Threshold HR = good, T1 & T2, Training Zones, Functional Threshold Power, Watts, Kilo-calories, etc...? Spinning® & Indoor Cycling has been around for over 15 years and yet my perception is that only a minority of our students have embraced Zone Based Heart Rate Training. Now we are introducing Power, with all it's complexities, to studios where less than 50% of the participants regularly use a HR monitor. I'm sure most of us will agree that the move to Indoor Cycling 2.0 will benefit our students, but are they keeping up with the changes?
I've heard that the military will "Stand Down" (cease current operations) when it becomes obvious that something isn't working as intended. When complicated systems seem to break down, the solution may not be to layer on additional technology, information or instruction. Instead what's needed is a return to the basics, which has the effect of getting everyone caught up and back on the same page.
In this PRO podcast Tom Scotto and I discuss some ideas about how you could "Stand Down" and bring a renewed focus to the basics of Heart Rate Training in your club or studio.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Originally posted 2011-05-21 05:07:13.
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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Interesting discussion for me. I am definitely of the “let me tell you all that I know” persuasion as an instructor. I address that head on when I meet new students. I tell them “I am going to throw a lot of information at you. Don’t worry – I don’t expect it all to stick. Some of it will help you today, some tomorrow and some won’t make sense for months and months.” That statement and the fact that I have programmed myself to ask “Are there any questions?” twice during each hour helps to keep me from overwhelming my students.
I view the development of training plans and profiles – and educating the students about what we are doing – as an exercise in putting together a jigsaw puzzle. We can only work on one piece at a time (one focus per class) but our goal is to build a larger picture (their form and fitness).
That said, everyone uses heart rate monitors which reduces one level of complexity for me. Although I give the ‘pitch’ for the monitors it is the other students who actually do the selling. They tell better stories than I can about how much better their workouts are when they have heart rate info.
great comment Christine and ideas. I always ask for questions and comments at the end but didn’t (and now) will insert the “do you have any questions” at the beginning, middle and end. i like that. I also like you comment about letting everyone know that you will be putting out a lot of information and don’t expect them all to get it at once. i know i do that. think i will also ask for those wearing the HRM to give their personal comment if time during warm up or cool down. i usually check in with those wearing HRM as to their # at various times during our ride which i think has helped others hear and see the need that don’t wear HRM.
i agree with getting back to the basics and a lot of confusing info. out their before adding in something else.