Master Instructor Blog

My Journey to IHRSA 2015: Part 2

My Journey to IHRSA 2015: Part 2

On Wednesday March 11th around 2:00pm I arrived in LAX to take part in my first IHRSA as a Master Educator for Stages Indoor Cycling. I was so excited that I went straight to the convention center to help the Stages team finish setting up our booth. I had been to the IHRSA convention before but never as an exhibitor. This time I got to see what happens “backstage” before all booths and exhibits are shipshape and the red carpet is laid. As I walked into the Los Angeles Convention Center the place was buzzing with activity as all the exhibitors were putting the finishing touches on their booths, some of the Stages team had been setting up since Monday morning. Our booth is a reconditioned shipping container, that was bound for the landfill, and it”™s floor and stage are built out of...

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Make Recovery Work

Make Recovery Work

Yeah, sort of a play on words, but hopefully this article will help you use your recovery times more effectively.  I”™m going to write a separate article on proper recovery and what is appropriate considering the constraints of indoor cycling.  But for now, let”™s...

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The Weekly Ride – 12/07/18 Last Years Holiday Ride

The Weekly Ride – 12/07/18 Last Years Holiday Ride

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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The Weekly Ride – 04/16/18 Speed and Muscular Endurance

The Weekly Ride – 04/16/18 Speed and Muscular Endurance

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion No more hunting for new music or counting out cues to develop your ride profile.  Here is your ready to ride profile for a fully choreographed ride, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards...

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Don't Touch My Drivetrain!

Don't Touch My Drivetrain!

Over the last few weeks, I”™ve noticed a number of riders in my classes that were setup incorrectly on their bikes.  I found this odd only because these riders had been positioned correctly on their bikes a few weeks earlier. What happened? I talked to 3 of the...

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The Weekly Ride – 03/27/18 Cadence Work

The Weekly Ride – 03/27/18 Cadence Work

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion No more hunting for new music or counting out cues to develop your ride profile.  Here is your ready to ride profile for a fully choreographed ride, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards...

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The Weekly Ride – 10/01/18 80s Endurance Ride

The Weekly Ride – 10/01/18 80s Endurance Ride

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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The Weekly Ride – 02/19/18 Anti V Day Ride

The Weekly Ride – 02/19/18 Anti V Day Ride

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion: No more hunting for new music or counting out cues.  Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards.  This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your...

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Stop the Talkers – Step Three… Let's Fix This Today!

Stop the Talkers – Step Three… Let's Fix This Today!

In part two we identified how the talkers act the way they do because of; cluelessness, a lack of respect for you and your class or they're challenging your position as the leader. Much of this could also apply to the texters/bring their own music/do their own thing...

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Bringing it All Together

Bringing it All Together

It’s like trying to drink from a fire hydrant! During the weeks of September we were focused on improving our instructor and coaching skills.  Articles were posted on how we look, sound and feel as we lead our classes. We were already bubbling with info, thoughts and...

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The Weekly Ride – 09/24/18 September 2018 Amy

The Weekly Ride – 09/24/18 September 2018 Amy

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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The Cockpit?

The Cockpit?

In my last article I focused on the implications of making adjustments to the drivetrain (seat height, fore-aft, tilt, etc.) to compensate for issues and limitations surrounding the upper-body and cockpit. Drivetrain … Cockpit….. are these “technical” terms in the...

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The Weekly Ride – 03/12/18 Is It Spring Yet?

The Weekly Ride – 03/12/18 Is It Spring Yet?

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion: No more hunting for new music or counting out cues.  Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards.  This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your...

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The Weekly Ride – 020419 January Ride – Amy Smith

The Weekly Ride – 020419 January Ride – Amy Smith

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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The Weekly Ride – 072219 Beast Workout

The Weekly Ride – 072219 Beast Workout

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Full Ride PDFApple Music PlaylistSpotify PlaylistFile to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming)The Ride will be available for purchase in the iClass Builder Store (No Programming)A Podcast...

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The Weekly Ride – 022519 Aerobic Challenger – Karyn Silenzi

The Weekly Ride – 022519 Aerobic Challenger – Karyn Silenzi

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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The Weekly Ride – 04/30/18 Get Springy

The Weekly Ride – 04/30/18 Get Springy

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion No more hunting for new music or counting out cues to develop your ride profile.  Here is your ready to ride profile for a fully choreographed ride, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards...

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It is NOT Just Cardio!

It is NOT Just Cardio!

Indoor cycling has had a reputation of being a good cardiovascular workout. And that is absolutely true. However, when an aspect of any activity is touted vigorously, the reputation that is created can become definition. Even a recent indoor cycling certification...

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The Weekly Ride – 032519 Queen Ride

The Weekly Ride – 032519 Queen Ride

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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Go Hollywood Baby!

Go Hollywood Baby!

Take out the lights, put on some make-up and setup the cameras. You are about to be the star of your next class.  Since joining Cycling Fusion, I”™ve been thrust into the world of video and spend more time in front of a camera than I like. Between our digital classes,...

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1-Legged Drills

1-Legged Drills

We know it is safe to keep both feet attached to the pedals and simply focus on one leg at a time, but is it safe, and should we unclip one foot to perform pedal stroke drills in our indoor cycling classes? To stay on point I’m not going to discuss if and why 1-legged...

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Constructing a Hypothesis

Constructing a Hypothesis

[plulz_social_like width="350" send="false" font="arial" action="like" layout="standard" faces="false" ] Not sure how you”™d construct an experiment on this one If you”™ll recall from Blog post #5, we are doing our best to stick to “The Scientific Method” as we...

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Did an overemphasis on “contraindications” > give rise to SoulCycle?

Did an overemphasis on “contraindications” > give rise to SoulCycle?

What caused the SoulCycle phenomenon? Why are their riders so passionate, loyal and willing to spend $34 dollars a class, when clubs and studios had been offering Indoor Cycling classes for 10 or more years - long before SoulCycle's launch in 2007? The research done...

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Final Exams!

Final Exams!

Some may say I”™m all work and no fun. Oh, come on! What can be more fun than final exams? Although this time of year is loaded with holiday parties and a time to take a well-deserved break from training structure, it is also a great time to determine our conditioning...

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The Weekly Ride – 120218 HIIT Class – Karyn Silenzi

The Weekly Ride – 120218 HIIT Class – Karyn Silenzi

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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Recovery Required!

Recovery Required!

In my last article entitle “Make Recovery Work” we looked at how we as instructors can efficiently use recovery time to our advantage.  Two of the main points were to use recovery as a time to provide instruction to prepare our riders for what is ahead and as a way to...

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Staying Open

Staying Open

By ICG® Master Trainer Vanessa Wilkins Cycling instructors are a special breed, and all a little different.  There are those who coach, those who teach choreography, those who talk heart rate and RPM, and those who teach meditation on the bike.  I always strive to...

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Make it Real.  Make it Last

Make it Real. Make it Last

(A PEP TALK — because we all need some empowerment from time to time) Although I thought I would be preaching to the choir on this topic, I believe we need to stay inspired as much as anyone. We are the ones using all of our energies to change the face of indoor...

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The Weekly Ride – 08/06/18 Boombayah Ride

The Weekly Ride – 08/06/18 Boombayah Ride

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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The Power of 3 – Keep it Simple and Progress – Profile (Sept 2015 Week 1.1 @ Threshold)  Do You FTP?

The Power of 3 – Keep it Simple and Progress – Profile (Sept 2015 Week 1.1 @ Threshold) Do You FTP?

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.   Over the last 2 years I've been performing a FTP (Functional Threshold Power) test on the first Thursday and Friday of every month in every facility I teach in that has bikes with power.  I have yet to have anyone complain or comment...

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Tom and Gene in Spain

Tom and Gene in Spain

The look on Tom Scotto's face says everything! That's real mountain climbing, at Threshold, in Spain. Tom was in Spain last week with Gene Nacey to film another in the series of Global Ride Indoor Cycling DVDs If you have a few minutes I encourage you to watch the...

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The Weekly Ride – 123118 Power Climbs – Karyn Silenzi

The Weekly Ride – 123118 Power Climbs – Karyn Silenzi

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Welcome to our new era of The Weekly Ride, you get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride directly into My Fitness DJ (Yes, no Programming) The Ride will be available for purchase...

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The Weekly Ride – 02/10/20 Your 10X Stronger Than You Think

The Weekly Ride – 02/10/20 Your 10X Stronger Than You Think

This class is meant to see if you can't surprise yourself and go just that little bit harder. We will increase our resistance (by gear or watts or HR) 10 times once we warm up. Because both power and heart rate are not linear, but are more exponential, the final 4 increases are half the others.

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Take Them On a Ride

Take Them On a Ride

My approach to indoor cycling has always been to bring the qualities of cycling outdoors into the indoor cycling studio.  On one hand, there are the general qualities of fitness and condition that everyone enjoys, cyclist or not. However, there are definitely...

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The Weekly Ride – 07/09/18 Strength

The Weekly Ride – 07/09/18 Strength

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion Ok, this is the week that I have been working towards, this is our new era of The Weekly Ride. This week and moving forward you will get: Full Ride PDF Apple Music Playlist Spotify Playlist File to Download the Ride...

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The purpose of openers

The purpose of openers

ICI/PRO member question from ICI/PRO Podcast #203 Cycle Strong Audio PROfile What exactly should the "openers" in the warm-up consist of? In Tom's "Getting Started with Intervals" audio profile, he described them as 30 seconds of maximum effort followed by 30 seconds...

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The Weekly Ride – 02/26/18 February Race Day!

The Weekly Ride – 02/26/18 February Race Day!

Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion: No more hunting for new music or counting out cues.  Here is your ready to ride document, that can be displayed from your phone, or printed out onto cue cards.  This ride is timed out, down to the second, to make your...

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Why Do I Have To Hurt?

Why Do I Have To Hurt?

By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas We”™re not wired to seek out pain.  Human evolution developed and adapted a neurological system and sensory perception for reducing pain and seeking pleasure. Easy-to-moderate cardio conditioning is of a manageable...

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The Over-Zealous Sub

The Over-Zealous Sub

As I hit the streets after teaching at one of my downtown clubs, I bumped into a friend of mine who appear to have been run over by a car.  She had a large gym bag clawing at her shoulder with cycling shoes peeking out of the end pocket.  The bag apparently weighs...

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