The power of presentation is important in every industry, from food to fashion, and learning to present your rides with fresh, creative cues is a skill all instructors should desire. Powerful verbal coaching exudes passion, encouragement and inspiration, and well developed cues help students find the inner voice that keeps them loyal and coming back for more.
The most valuable teaching tool I possess is not my collection of music, but rather a faded, well-traveled, leather bound book filled with hundreds of quotes that have shaped the lives of students worldwide. I”™m pleased to share a few of my favorites as we launch a new feature at ICI/PRO dedicated entirely to the art of cuing.
However, we need your help! Join the post and add your own killer cues along with when/how to use them: Warm Up, Strength/Power, Hills, Flats, Encouragement, etc. Together we”™ll create an unparalleled source for world”™s best cue book.
WARM UP
Hold the bar as if it were something or someone you care about very deeply. Respect your machine — this is your vehicle to fitness
Feel the inertia of the flywheel; unencumbered
Your mind is a clean slate; you”™re a blank page riding. Let your body heat up and notice you feel light — floating — effortless; comfortable.
Feel relaxed in your joints and muscles. Enjoy the simple act of pedaling…You know you”™re maturing when you can appreciate rolling legs. This is you being comfortable with your body.
You are simmering before the boil.
Patience…be careful what you wish for…..
FLATS
Feel a good, strong flat road but don”™t rest; I want you to breathe, taste, smell this ride…….and understand.
There is no deviation; no stalling; perfectly symmetrical and everything is unified.
Add a layer of resistance and put the road on steroids.
HILLS AND STRENGTH
There is treacherous terrain ahead and we are heading to the dark side. The walls will feel as if they”™re closing in on you and you can”™t find the floor. There is no escape. It”™s hard to breathe. Are you afraid to take your body to a place that has no boundaries?
What”™s about to happen isn”™t pretty….you may shudder. You may tremble……you might even whimper like a little baby girl.
Feel the change in your body as things are heating up now. Get ready to lay down a layer of resistance that makes your body say, “what was THAT?”
If this isn”™t a hill for you, then don”™t let me hold you back. I CAN”™T RIDE THIS FOR YOU...
Do you have the feeling of euphoria? That means you”™re on a hill….and if you”™re on a hill, why not make it a bigger hill…..so in plain English…just add another gear.
Visualize a treadmill….keep your pace steady, but imagine the incline is increasing. Five changes in the incline are ahead.
EMPOWERMENT
You chose today to do what others won”™t so tomorrow you”™ll what they can”™t.
It”™s time to kick in the turbo. This will be your defining moment.
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking….so if you”™ve been holding back…ask yourself why? Why are you afraid to take your body to another level?
You can”™t exceed your wildest expectation if you don”™t even have a wild expectation...what is yours?
Today I want you to pass the limits you”™ve put on yourself. You are stronger and faster than you ever imagined.
Where do you go inside of yourself when you need to get tough, when you need a little more to finish what you started? You need to make your way to that sacred place because we”™re getting close to finishing what we started.
RECOVERY
Feel the recovery as it fuels your body. This is a gift, so I”™d take it whether you need it or not.
Use the tools of oxygen and hydration to saturate yourself in this pool of recovery.
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Hello,
Thanks. Always looking for different ways to paint a picture in class. A couple of my favorites that have probably been used in other places:
Motivation Cues:
Find the champion within
What lies behind you, before you and beyond you, is insignificant to what lies within you
When asked why we do this? It is because we can!
Flat road or Tempo/Pedal Stroke
Your pedal stroke is so smooth it is as if you do not have a chain on your bike
Recovery:
Tomorrow’s workout starts today
These are just a few that come to mind.
Pat
Awesome cues, Pat. Please keep ’em coming anytime you feel inspired to share!
Barbara,
Mine are coming forthwith but first I have to make sure I did not hear them from you first. Don’t think I was not paying attention in Boston. When you were cueing I was memorizing. It is good to know that you write them down.
I’m always looking for the cueing magic. Some classes I amaze my self with new and motivating descriptors. It is those days when the class files out and one by one they stop by, look you in the eye and say; “great class today”. Only problem, I don’t remember what I said. Guess it is time to start recording my own classes.
Recovery:
-What is recovering for ? What is easy and what is hard … ?
-Why do you recover ? Is recovering a way to recover … or is recovering THE way to improve ?
-Do you have to work hard to improve ? Do you have to struggle to improve ? Do you have to feel pain ? … Or do you have to listen … and work as you need today … so LISTEN … work AND recover according to what you feel.
-Are you always in contact with your feet ? Are you still pushing and pulling althrough you “recover” ? To clean you legs, to fresh your legs; do what you need so keep this contact, keep pushing the blood out of your legs pushing in your pedals, don<t spin and let this blood in those legs.
As you says Barbara, the more important is when saying something but I would add how you will say it is more important. Words are words but use at the right moment, with the right intonation, with an adapted body language those words are gonna be the WORDS. And as evrything is important the music have to match your words … everything is a hole.
Funny Chuck today I record my classe.
I never note any of my cues, words, … or used others cues. Yesterday I knew that I wanted to do something special in my classe so I listened to the music think about some great cue … but when I rode everything this morning, as in every of my classes, cues came as it cames. If I would have a list of words or cues prepared, my presentation would be like a robot one … so one with NO energy and NO present moment energy.
Why would you not just whimper like a baby? I find that comment or cue about whimpering like a baby girl hard to read or even think of saying. Baby boys are just as wimpy as baby girls! Can’t believe you as a woman would ever say that! Rest of the cues are meaningful and thanks. Julie
Julie, what a great observation. You’re right….little boys whimper, too! I scanned my cue book for ones I had not read on others sites, and never thought this one could be offensive. It came from The Sufferfest DVD training series so I’ll mention it to their producers. Please join in and add your own cues to the list…I’d love to hear some of your favorites.
Great cues and comments, thanks!
Love all the comments and cues. I always talk through out the class, that’s just the way I am. I do use the music and lyrics to help me with my cues and some of my favorites are actually live recordings with the crowd cheering in the back ground. That makes me feel so good! All those people cheering ME on through my work out, and I use that to energize my participants: Hear the crowd cheering for you! Making you stronger with each pedal stroke!
But the basis of all cueing is positive energy, love and support for what ever level they are working on that day. Sitting on the bike, even at low endurance, is better than sitting at home eating chocolate! ….or maybe not?!? 🙂 Always better!
Thanks for the nice cues, Asa. I’ve learned that a whisper is more powerful than shouting, and often speeding up your voice and slowing it down again can make the difference between a great class and a good class. Have you ever listened to yourself teach? It’s hard, but next time use a voice recorder on your phone and listen…is there a verbal tick that you repeat often without knowing it? I had one and now it’s gone!
Painful, but listen to your class one day….let me know your results…I’ll share mine 🙂
These are great! I’ve used these quotes at the start of class. “Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.” “Challenges are goals on steroids.” “If you can’t ride in proper form slow, you’ll never be able to ride in perfect form fast.”