Staying Open

Staying Open

by | Apr 14, 2026 | Instructor Training, Master Instructor Blog

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 take a little piece from each style of instruction, to stay the open-minded student and, most importantly, to find my own voice among the throngs of others.

Cycling instructors by nature are fervent, even opinionated.  Because of this, we may attract a special type of student — people with a bit of an edge, people who need to grunt it out and really feel something at the beginning or end of the day.  Our most endearing quality can sometimes blind us:  we are sometimes opinionated and studied to a fault.

Our discipline, indoor cycling, has been taught one way for so long it’s difficult to embrace any other.  But to say there’s only way to move or study a discipline is simply narrow-minded.  It limits our ideas and our teaching.  When we stop learning, we stop truly teaching.

If mastery could be measured in watts or years on the bike, I’m sure many of us would line up with raised hands to be counted.  I submit that mastery is best demonstrated when we stay open to new ideas and enjoy new ways of putting science, innovation and, yes, FUN together when we teach.

My mentor recently pointed out to a group of us, “If you continue to teach form and function only, your classes will eventually become stale.  Members and students will stop waking up at 6:00 am unless you provide them with a training concept.  A participant will eventually need something more to wake up to than ‘GO GO GO.’  You need to be willing to dig a little deeper and take people a little further.”

The best instructors I’ve found have this uncanny ability to touch, inspire, and excite — and usually not just with a great song.  It’s that special blend of art and science that’s truly engaging.

That brings me to this point.  It’s much easier to spot a bad instructor than a good one. When you attend a class and the instructor is terrible, you can feel the grumbling and unease in the room.  You can easily point out the faults:  the music is too loud or uninspiring, the voice too nasal, the cues unclear.

But when you attend a good class and the instructor suddenly announces, “Last Song,” you think, “Where did the time go?”  Even though you may not have agreed with every cue or liked all of the songs, you find that you were riveted, captivated and engaged in the activity.

I’m suggesting that, although we might not agree with some of the innovation that has been happening in the cycling community, we should at least acknowledge that it’s a good thing to get people to move, period.  All people, cyclists and non-cyclists alike.  If it takes push-ups on the handlebars, bikes that move side-to-side, or forward motion video to reach people who would never otherwise set foot in a cycling studio, so be it.

I have come to terms with the fact that I may not get all of my participants to do a century ride with me.  Hell, I may not get my participants outside at all.  What I can, and should, do is my absolute best to get people excited about cycling.  Out of their heads and into their bodies.  Safely.  If only indoors.  If only for 60 minutes.

If the best way to do that is to borrow a great idea or technique from another instructor, I’m open to it.

 

Originally posted 2012-09-17 07:10:41.

Staying Open

Showtime, ain’t no time to be trying something new!

by | Mar 27, 2026 | Best Practices, Master Instructor Blog, Spotify

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I started to share this over at pedal-on.com and quickly realized that this is another Best Practice for Indoor Cycling Instructors.

Suggestion to anyone reading this who is planning to use Spotify in class.

A cycling coach / friend of mine taught me that race day is never a good day to try something new.

The mark of a Rookie is someone who changes his seat height the night before a big event, or slams the latest energy drink on the way to the race – only to find the new saddle height feels weird and uncomfortable… and the stimulants have your heart (and mind) racing so fast you're worried about what effect all of these changes will have on the race you've trained months for that you're an emotional wreck as you roll to the line and are off the back before the end of the 1st lap.

Experiment during your training and only bring what's familiar to the starting line. Same is true with using Spotify in your class. I've lost track of how many calls and emails I have gotten that begin with; the first time I tried to use Spotify in my class ____________________ happened. It worked perfectly at home… I have no idea why it didn't __________.

Show your professionalism by doing a dry run at your studio before you attempt to use Spotify to deliver your class music.

Teach a whole class by yourself and experiment with your new toy;

  • Will it play with Air Plane Mode turned on?
  • Can you find your playlist if it's buried in a folder?
  • Is the cross fade working correctly?
  • Hit a few of the wrong buttons… do you know how to get back?
  • Accidentally tap the shuffle (no, just tapping it again won't return it to ordered play) … can you quickly turn shuffle off?
  • Get sweaty and try to scroll through the playlist – can you without inadvertently changing tracks?
  • Have some sweat drip on the screen – will you resist the temptation to wipe it off with your towel = changing songs? or learn that you can dab the screen without messing everything up?
  • Do your local files play when the should?

I'm sure this is only a partial list of the potential problems (feel free to add your own) you could suddenly be faced with, if you run into class without taking the time to become proficient with Spotify.

Originally posted 2013-02-02 12:27:43.

Staying Open

A Simple Approach to Early Season Periodization for Indoor Cycling

by | Mar 24, 2026 | Master Instructor Blog

The purpose of my last article was to spur you on to start thinking about the approach to your classes at the beginning of the year. Being a coach, my natural tendency is to sway you toward a periodized approach.  I was definitely very happy with the responses from the last article which could be summed up as “so, how do we do it?”  As promised, here is a simple approach to early season periodization for indoor cycling that I have been using for the last 10 years.

Quickly….What is Periodization?

Periodization is a process of structuring training into progressive phases or blocks of time. In addition to the structure, there is a determined progression to the training from week to week and month to month. The progression manipulates a variation of Training Volume, Training Intensity and Training Specificity with a focus on the end goal (which could be anything from a pure fitness goal to preparing for a charity ride, century, cycling vacation or competitive event) or peak fitness. Although we are going to focus on the early season (or Base period), here is a simplified periodization plan I use for indoor cycling so you have a picture of how the Base period fits into the rest of the year:

 

  • BASE Period: January – March
  • BUILD Period: April — May
  • PEAK Period: June — September
  • TRANSITION Period: October — December


Keep in mind that how long and when each of these periods occur throughout the year is purely a function of the goals of a specific person or athlete.  The above is a generalized approach I found suitable for indoor cycling classes.

Another DISCLAIMER

I’m going to reference 5 to 6 different ride profiles in the upcoming paragraphs. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to go into the details of each of these profiles for the sake of time and sanity.  Each of these profiles could be an article or AudioPROfile in and of itself.

The Benefits of this Approach

Having a plan engages riders more because they often feel obligated to join in or continue. And it doesn’t matter which point a rider enters your plan. You may start your periodization plan in January and then get a new rider each week all the way through to March.  No problem.  Although each of the workouts is challenging, the overall intensities and specificity will be lower than usual, making it easy for new-comers to jump-in. The fact that they walked into a “plan” many times keeps them coming back because they don’t want to miss anything else. Plus, a periodized approach is a smart, proven training method which appeals to the cycling community as a whole and will draw more cyclists to your classes.

As a side note: Most of the classes I teach meet only once per week and thus there is only 1 training focus per week. The class that I have that meets twice a week gets the same ride twice.  They appreciate a second chance at it, as they are often better prepared (mentally) to be successful the next go-around. Plus in the “real” world of cycling, many of these workouts/rides would be done 2-3 times during the week anyway.

The Plan

First I’ll layout the weekly plan and then I will give a brief explanation of each ride. Notice that in this plan, the same ride is not repeated for 6 weeks and the schedule takes you right into April.

 

  • WEEK 1: Threshold Test
  • WEEK 2: Aerobic Development
  • WEEK 3: Leg Speed / Cadence Work
  • WEEK 4: Muscular Endurance
  • WEEK 5: Aerobic Endurance
  • WEEK 6: Muscular Strength
  • WEEK 7: Test / Review
  • WEEK 8: Aerobic Development
  • WEEK 9: Leg Speed / Cadence Work
  • WEEK 10: Muscular Endurance
  • WEEK 11: Aerobic Endurance
  • WEEK 12: Muscular Strength
  • WEEK 13: Threshold Test


Threshold Test

There are a number of ways to do a threshold test.  My preference is the Foster Talk test which identifies 2 ventilatory inflexion points: VT1 (ventilatory threshold 1) and VT2 (ventilatory threshold 2).  I’m going to use VT2 (or approximately 80% perceived effort) as the upper limiter on all of the remain class profiles below. Here is another method of performing a 20-Minute Threshold Field test posted on June 25, 2011 – https://www.indoorcycleinstructor.com/icipro-instructor-training/zone-based-heart-rate-training/is-a-20-minute-threshold-field-test-realistic-for-your-class-part-3/.

Another side note: I use the early part of the Threshold class to talk about proper form and technique while taking time to walk around the room and make necessary (wanted) adjustments.

Aerobic Development

This class consists of short aerobic intervals of 30 seconds to 2 minutes.  It is easiest to break these intervals into sets using a 1 to 1 (work to recovery) ratio.  The target intensity for each effort is VT2.

Leg Speed / Cadence Work

Another interval structure where the variable is now leg speed.  Two common ways to structure these intervals is to either do a set of 1-2 minute efforts at 90 RPM, then do a set of 1-2 minute efforts at 100 RPM, etc.  You can also approach it like a pyramid and design a set that starts with an effort at 90 RPM, then 100 RPM, etc.  There are dozens of cadence drills one could use to build a nice varied class.  Keep in mind that the speeds you target should be appropriate for your demographic of rider.  The goal of these classes is to obtain the leg speed, while maintaining a smooth pedal-stroke technique, and without driving one’s heart rate above VT2.

Muscular Endurance

These are basically long climbs of moderate intensity ranging from 7 to 30+ minutes each.  I tend to mix up the class giving them a climb closer to 7 minutes, than another at 14 minutes and yet another at 21+ minutes.  It gives them a nice (duration) goal. The cadence range is closer to 65-75 RPM and heart rates should stay below VT2.

Aerobic Endurance

These are long steady-state efforts (with some gentle rolling roads) ranging from 4 to 10 minutes. This time the target intensity is VT1 or closer to 70% of their perceived effort.  Like in most base building workouts, the stimulus is “volume” or duration and NOT intensity.  And believe you me, if done correctly, are equally as challenging (physically and mentally).

Muscular Strength

Similar to the format of Aerobic Development, these are shorter interval sets of 30 seconds to 2 minutes, but the focus is on workload or heavy force on the legs.  Cadence should range closer to 55 to 70 RPM.  Be sure to caution riders who may have injuries before you introduce these.  As always, rides should be instructed to work at their own pace and strength.

Test / Review

This is what I call a “Freebee”.  I build a class consisting of 1 or 2 drills from each of the preceding weeks (same music and all) and present it as a test.  “Let’s see how we have been progressing over the last 5 weeks. Take note of which drills are your strengths and which are you weaknesses.  I’m happy to talk with you after class if you would like some guidance on how to adjust your training based on what you’ve learned.”

Rinse and Repeat

Yup, go through the previous 5 profiles again as you help your riders continue to build their fitness base.  I like to leave the second threshold test to the very end.  One generally gets a better result (or noticeable progress) after 10-11 weeks of focused workouts, and it is a great segue into the next phase of training.

Remember, BASE training is not boring but dynamic, varied and purposeful. Although the intensities are not near-max, the duration of time spent during each effort is longer and recoveries are often shorter (because…well…the intensities were not as high).  Have Fun!

Originally posted 2011-11-18 17:54:48.

Staying Open

Going to WSSC?

by | Mar 15, 2026 | Master Instructor Blog, Spinning Class, Training With Power

WSSC1 Are you going to be in Miami for WSSC? I'll be there all weekend and would love to meet you while I'm there.

There are a bunch of sessions that I'm excited to see:

On Friday our very own Barbara Hoots is giving a presentation: Studio Design: Empowering Emporiums to Increase Profits 

Presented by Barbara Hoots Whether opening a new studio or renovating an existing one, this lecture will offer new trends in studio design. Evaluate common design flaws that lead to lawsuits and slow growth, and explore the latest in sound systems, lighting, wall treatments and marketing.

I'm really excited to take these Ugi classes – from what I can see, Ugi could be a great strength compliment to any boutique Indoor Cycling Studio

Ugi® Fit Presented by Sara Shears Undo your laces and strip off your socks! Join Ugi creator Sara Shears for the ultimate 30- minute barefoot workout. A series of 30 one-minute intervals combining strength, core and cardio are efficient enough to change your body completely. From warm-up to cool down Ugi is fun, challenging and makes U feel good about your body, energy and health.

U-SPIN Me Right Round Presented by Nadine Stewart “Combine the benefits of a high-cadence endurance ride with non-linear sculpting exercises using the Ugi® ball. This well-rounded workout will cover your cardio and cross-training needs and give you new ideas to change up your Spinning® and resistance training classes.

My main focus will be the Spin Power sessions and there's a lot of them on the schedule! Especially those that are including a specially designed Performance IQ display system, customized for the Spin Power Program.

Team Time Trial with Performance IQ Presented by Angie Sturtevant In team time trials, riders take turns either at the front or ‘sitting in’ behind, conserving enough team energy for an all-out pull toward the finish. In this workout you will compete as part of a team, as accumulated power output is displayed on the big screen using Performance IQ. This gives all teams the energy to chase and spectators something to cheer about!

Spinpowerâ„¢: Personal Spinning® Threshold Presented by Martin Timmerman The Personal Spinning Threshold (PST) is the key to Spinpower success–once PST is determined, you have a baseline threshold marker that can be used to create a unique training program and track student progress. This workshop will teach you the protocol of the Personal Spinning Threshold test and how to administer this test to your students. You will establish your own Spinpower Zones and then experience a ride which will criss-cross these zones. WS NEW

Spinpowerâ„¢ Race Day Winners Presented by Dino Pedras All athletes know that we must be efficient and well-organized to get the most out of our training, and a Race Day ride is how we see the results of that hard word. In this workshop, you will learn how to create a successful Race Day using Spinpower to help you determine what variables you should integrate into your training program and how to best periodize your time to reach your maximum potential and find the way to victory!

And that's just Friday's sessions – I'll be reporting more from WSSC as time permits. If you'll be there any of the three days, please text me so we can connect 612-868-0064!

Originally posted 2014-05-25 16:24:12.

Staying Open

Are you teaching to the squeaky wheels?

by | Mar 10, 2026 | Best Practices, Boutique Instructor, Master Instructor Blog

Howdy Fit Folk!

John Macgowan has so graciously invited me to contribute to the vast wealth of knowledge that is the ICI/PRO community--  woohoo!!  Lucky me. 🙂 To those of you that I had the great pleasure of meeting at the 2011 ICI/PRO conference, hello again!  To those of you that I have yet to meet, I look forward to many opportunities to open a dialog, discuss new concepts and create amazing ideas.

Speaking of ideas, I love good ones!  I know it's been a good day if I've had at least --what I consider-- one good idea. Generally speaking, my best ideas come from thought-provoking conversations with others.  With all the wonderful discussions I'm reading on the posts and forums, I'm bound to have a lot of good days moving forward.

So pull up a chair (if you dare!) and enter the head-space of Cam...  I wish you the best of luck!

Happy reading,

Cameron Chinatti

Director of Education for Stages Indoor Cycling

Here's what I've been thinking about today...[wlm_private 'PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']

Cameron Chinatti Director of Education Stagesâ„¢ Indoor Cycling

Do you ever find yourself spending a disproportionate amount of your mental and perhaps physical energy trying to please or quell the “squeaky wheels”? Typically the squeaky wheels are your most loyal attendees. They sit in the front row, they have "their" special bike, they enjoy filling out lengthy complaint cards, and they dislike any of your substitute instructors. These are the squeaky wheels, always generating a low-level disturbance. More on these folks in a moment!

Recently, a friend of mine shared a link to a blog post titled "Don't Tell Me I'm Wasting My Time!"

Intrigued, I decided to check it out. The author of the post, Marjorie Clayman, is an expert in the field of enhancing the use of Social Media as it applies to the marketing world. Her frustration, as she puts it, "...is the selfishness that exists in the online world when it comes to covering topics that relate to beginners." As you'll see in her article there is a perfect parallel to the challenges that we all face as teachers of indoor cycling.

Now, back to those squeaky wheels!

We tend to teach specifically to please these individuals because we become acutely aware of their verbal tendencies. This makes it very challenging to recognize the needs of the 29 other individuals in the room. More importantly, we fail to see the hundreds if not thousands of potential participants that have never set foot in our classes.

As Marjorie puts it, "If you approach content on occasion from the perspective of someone who is brand spanking new to this space, you will get to meet people and help people whom you may not have met in any other way. What can be more valuable than that?"

So, are your squeaky wheels unconsciously (hopefully not consciously!) creating a "secret society" that makes the newcomer feel uninvited? How do we please them both? In the words of the great Bob Marley, "You can't please all the people all the time." Quite the conundrum, I know.

When you feel the pressures of oiling the squeaky wheels or as my friend and Schwinn Master Trainer Shannon Fable calls it, "teaching to the front-row frowners," take a personal inventory moment. Are you trying to please them to keep an angry person off your back or are you considering the needs of all?

In my time as a Co-Director of a group exercise schedule consisting of 120 classes per week, I fielded many squeaky wheel complaints.

Here are my Top 5 takeaways from my time spent with the dreaded comment cards box:

1. Never throw your team under the bus! It may be tempting to tell the class to fill out a comment card and cast a vote for you to have more classes on the schedule, but a) that's a bit self-serving and b) there are so many reasons why the schedule is created the way it is. Cost per head per instructor, school schedules, child care schedules, maintenance, special programming, weekly class balance, etc. Likewise, if you have a personal gripe about something at your facility, telling your participants to fill out a comment card in order to achieve your goal accomplishes one thing: The squeaky wheels learn that if they are loud enough, they'll get their way, even if it is not in the best interest of the program. This leads to my 2nd mantra...

2. Think big picture. Contrary to popular belief, the individuals that attend your classes are not actually your members. They belong to the facility and you belong to the program or programs that the facility offers. You represent a piece of a puzzle. The more you think of yourself and your fellow instructors in this manner, the more the participants will view you all as a cohesive unit. Amazingly, participant complaints become positive shout-outs when the instructors have a sense of solidarity amongst the team.

3. Stick to your guns. You and your fellow instructors are the resident experts at your facility and you are there to guide your entire class in a safe and effective workout. The squeaky wheels may think that it's cool when Jane Doe instructor takes their saddles away, but you as the professional have to step up sometimes and say what needs to be said. Of course, you must keep in mind that your position is really that of a customer service specialist. So, how can you easily stick to your guns and provide a top-notch customer-first experience? Enter the Bad News Sandwich.

4. Bad News Sandwich. Here's an example of a bad news sandwich.

"Hey Sally, I totally understand where you're coming from and I hear you. You're right. Riding an entire class without the seat is very challenging and it does make you "feel the burn." However, there are actually more effective ways to achieve the same end result and in an environment that is safe for everyone. Can you imagine how terrible it would be if someone were to fall on the seat post during our class?! I'm sure I would lose my job and I would feel awful. After all, my job is to help people achieve optimal health, not promote injury. I know you understand the predicament I'm in; I have to look after everyone's well being -- including yours. Let's discuss a plan that will work around your fitness goals. I'm sure we can come up with something that will challenge you even more."

Okay, so that was a bit on the cheesy role-play side of things, but I'm sure you've had similar conversations before. Just remember: Bad News Sandwich = Recognition of issue or compliment (Good News) + Addressing the issue (Bad News) + Recognition of issue (Good News). You can't go wrong with the Bad News Sandwich. Or ending emails with a smiley. 🙂

5. Equal attention for all. Some people may disagree with me on this one, but no one at your facility should be valued higher than anyone else. This goes for members and instructors! Even if a member has been paying dues for 20 years, the new person that just joined or just attended class for the first time should get the same kind of attention and treatment. Likewise, an instructor that packs the room and has been teaching for years is as much a part of the team as the newer instructor that supports a different set of participants (and thus increasing the number of unique users). The minute a hierarchy starts to form, problems arise. Suffice it to say, everyone plays an equally important role in developing a top-notch indoor cycling program.

Think about your classes this week whether indoor cycling, group strength, step, etc. Ask yourself: Am I teaching to the person that looks miserable or am I teaching to everyone? Am I dividing my attention equally amongst my attendees?  Don't overdo it when it comes to greasing that squeaky wheel-- you never know when the chain might fall off.[/wlm_private]

Please share with the ICI/Pro community: How have you been addressing the "squeaky wheel" situations? Any good stories or ideas to share?

Originally posted 2011-11-10 13:22:22.

Staying Open

It is NOT Just Cardio!

by | Mar 4, 2026 | Master Instructor Blog

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 workshop I attended spoke of the aerobic benefits while going as far as to say other training approaches on the indoor bike are not recommended because they lack the aerobic focus. There is nothing farthest from the truth. Although cycling does not contain the weight-bearing qualities needed for holistic fitness, it requires the strength and conditioning of the entire body.

Building Strength

Building strength on an indoor bike requires a specific focus. Just this morning I trained a dozen cyclists on their road bikes and indoor trainers on muscular strength. This is one of the rare cases where our power meters can work against us. To develop strength, the muscles need to be stressed with great force. Due to the amount of resistance needed to apply this force, legs speeds are considerably lower (50 to 70 RPM). Anyone who has experimented with power quickly figures out that faster leg speeds are best for producing higher levels of power output (more watts). This knowledge and the presence of a power meter can be a hindrance to developing muscular strength. Why? Because riders will look at their power meters during a strength interval and see that they are generating less power, which often causes them to panic. To fix what they believe is a problem, they will reduce the resistance (force) and then increase their leg speed to increase their power output. This in effect will reduce the needed stress on the muscles and greatly decrease the effectiveness of the effort.

Power Per RPM

To set riders up for success, have them focus on how much force they can apply or power they can produce at a given leg speed or RPM. Let them know up front that this may be considerably less then they would produce during a steady-state threshold effort or high-tempo climb, but the “purpose” is to build muscular strength which will in turn allow them to produce more power when it counts.

Have your riders perform an interval (30 seconds to 2 minutes) and see how much force they can apply to their legs at 60 RPM, then 65 RPM and then 70 RPM. Use the cadence on your bike or the speed of the music to set the tempo. If your bikes have power meters, what is the maximum or average power sustained at the specific speed for the determined duration?

Strength intervals are usually done in sets with 1 to 1 recovery. So if you are performing 30-second intervals, riders should receive 30 seconds of recovery between each effort (and 3+ minutes of recovery between sets). The number of intervals you perform per set can also vary depending on who is in your class and if they are accustomed to strength training (WITHOUT weights) on the bike. As you and your riders become more conditioned, advanced combinations of repetitions, duration and recovery can be used.

Start incorporating some on-the-bike strength training and help your riders develop the muscular fitness they need. Indoor Cycling is not just for Cardio anymore.

Originally posted 2012-01-12 10:55:13.