Last Saturday my outdoor cycling group had their last organized ride of the season. It was a beautiful day in Denver, no wind and the temperature ranged from 50-70 degrees. This group has a wide range of abilities, there are men and women, young and old, husbands and wives, parents and children, $700 and $7000 bikes. As a group we ride well together we often split apart on hills, but the faster riders wait at the top so we can continue the ride together, no one is ever dropped. Though our routes are often different we always end up at the Starbucks in downtown Golden, Colorado, for a latte break. This day the ride had a bit of different feel to it. With it being the last ride of the year I think everyone wanted to test their hard fought fitness and every tiny bump in the road to every longer climb was an all out race to the top, man was it fun! The faster riders knew that at the top of every hill they would have time to recover as they waited for the slower riders to catch up. This recovery time just added to the intensity of each and every climb. Needless to say, by the time we made it to Starbucks in Golden some of us were already “cooked” and we still had 20 more miles to go. As we ride out of Golden there is a long stretch of about 8 miles of fairly flat roads with no “Stop” signs or traffic lights. We usually don't race every hill, like earlier in the ride, but we ALWAYS race this section. As we slowly rolled out of Starbucks we merged with two other groups and got caught at the last traffic light before the long 8 mile stretch. It was so cool to see about 40 riders all waiting for this light, everyone enjoying this beautiful day and knowing the “race” was about to begin. When that light turned green “it was ON”! Unfortunately I was not in front when the light changed and I could see the leaders start pulling away, but I thought “no problem, I can close that gap.” Well, I'm sorry to say that after a few “overflown sinks” I was never able to “close that gap”.
While I was out there “filling up my sink” for 8 miles and never getting closer than 50 yards to the lead group I thought that this would be a great indoor cycling set. The goal of my “Close the Gap” set is to ride below threshold wattage for a 2-3 minutes then spend 1-2 minutes bringing the average wattage back up to or “on the wheel” of the riders threshold wattage and repeat. When I coach this set I like to keep the timer running so it becomes increasingly harder to elevate the average wattage the further into the set the riders go. This teaches the riders the importance of pacing, if the average wattage drops too low it will take harder and/or longer efforts to bring it back up, as there is a limited amount of time anyone can maintain an above threshold effort the rider may never be able to bring the average wattage back up to threshold levels. Similar to the way I was never able to catch or “close the gap” to the leading group last Saturday.
3 song harmonically mixed track, to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
As many of you know I was recently selected as a Master Educator by Stages Indoor Cycling. Last Saturday I led my first workshop at Cherry Creek Athletic Club in Denver and it was an honor to share the basics of power training with this group of 20 fitness professionals.
I believe FreeMotion S Series bikes (built by the Team at Stages Cycling) are currently the best in the industry. The ability to accurately and directly measure the rider's output is so leading-edge that professional cycling’s Team Sky uses the same power meter technology on their outdoor bikes. Paired with the power console, instructors have all the metrics necessary to lead an exciting power-based indoor cycling class. That being said, we at Stages Indoor Cycling strongly believe that the first step for any instructor to understand and properly “cue-municate” data, requires a thorough grasp of “anchoring” time to effort. The simplest way to do this is to provide consistency with how one describes rate of perceived exertion (RPE).
At Stages we use a RPE scale of 1-10 with 5 being lactate threshold. Lactate threshold is the exercise intensity at which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood stream. If an above threshold intensity is maintained the rider will eventually fatigue and working muscles will fail. When explaining RPE to riders I like to compare the body to a kitchen sink. The working muscles are the sink, the ability of the body to clear or filter waste products, like lactate, is the drain and the intensity or waste products are the amount of water flowing out of the faucet.
When exercising at a RPE of less than 2, water is dripping out of the faucet. The drain can easily keep up with this extremely low flow of water. This low flow would be best associated with:
Zone 1
Active Recovery
Less than 55% of Functional Threshold Power (FTP)
Less than 68% of Functional Threshold Heart Rate (FTHR)
Efforts at this RPE can be held almost indefinitely
Can talk in full sentences, comfortable, light, very easy, recovery, soft pedal
When exercise intensity is increased to a RPE of 2-3, flow increases to a trickle, but the drain can easily match the low flow of water. There is still no accumulation of H2O in the sink. This trickle of water would correspond with:
Zone 2
Endurance Training
56-75% of FTP
69-83% of FTHR
Efforts at this RPE can be maintained for long periods of time
Conversational effort, “social ride”, breathing is slightly elevated, starting to sweat or glisten, this is where you train your muscles to burn fat for fuel
As intensity increases to a RPE of 3-4, water flow increases to a steady stream but the drain can still keep pace with the flow and there still isn’t any accumulation of liquid in the sink. This steady stream of water would most closely correlate with:
Zone 3
Tempo Training
76-90% of FTP
84-94% of FTHR
Efforts at this RPE can be maintained for 60 minutes to 3 hours
Can talk in broken sentences but would rather focus on the work at hand, marathon pace
At a RPE of 4-5 the flow increases and the drain can match the flow but water is on the verge of collecting in the bottom of the sink. The flow and draining capacity are at equilibrium and would most closely parallel with:
Zone 4
Lactate Threshold
91-105% of FTP
95-105% of FTHR
Effort can be maintained for 8-30 minutes
Heavy breathing starts, but not breathless, uncomfortable and challenged, start to feel a little “burn”, maintainable but must stay focused, 10k race pace
At a RPE of 6-7 the surge of water is increased to a point where it begins to accumulate in the sink and if it is not reduced the sink will overflow in 3-8 minutes, depending on the size of the sink. The more trained the rider the bigger the sink. This surge would associate with:
Zone 5
VO2 Max
106-120% of FTP
Greater than 106% of FTHR
Effort can be maintained for only 3-8 minutes
Deep, labored breathing, very uncomfortable, very challenged, above the “Red Line”, rapid breathing as your body tries to vent accumulating waste
At a RPE of 7-8 the gush of water is so great that the sink will overflow in 30 seconds to 3 minutes. This flood of water would most closely resemble:
Zone 6
Anaerobic Capacity
121-151% of FTP
Due to the lag time of the heart HR is not a metric that should be used
Muscles fail in 30 seconds – 3 minutes
Gasping for air, Unable to work harder, very very uncomfortable, burning mostly carbs for fuel.
At a RPE of 9-10 the torrent of water will overflow the sink in less than 30 seconds. This flood is most like:
Zone 7
Neuromuscular Power
Maximum Effort
Muscles will run out of gas in less than 30 seconds, at the end the engine just shuts off
It’s important to explain that when working below threshold or when the drain can keep up with the water flow, RPE remains constant, but when working above threshold or when the drain CAN NOT keep up with the flow, RPE’s are dynamic. If output is held constant, above threshold, a 6 turns into a 7, a 7 turns into an 8, an 8 into a 9 and eventually the muscles fail or the sink overflows and recovery is needed.
As fitness improves the body will build a better “plumbing system” or larger drain and remove waste products more quickly. Also, the brain will build a better lactate buffering system or a larger sink, therefore being able to withstand more and more waste products without reaching muscle failure or “overflowing the sink”.
The 3 song profile I created for this week is titled “Call the Plumber!” The 1st goal of this set is to slowly and steadily increase the riders RPE every 2 minutes until they reach their MAX intensity or the water reaches the very top of the sink. The 2nd goal is to overflow the sink by performing three 20 second maximum efforts with just 10 seconds recovery after each. Try to explain how each RPE should feel as your riders “fill their sink”, then at the end let them make a big mess by working so hard the their sink overflows all over the kitchen floor.
3 song harmonically mixed track to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download on PC or Download Linked File As on Mac. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
3 song harmonically mixed track AND video Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download on PC or Download Linked File As on Mac. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
On October 10th my sons, Christian and Seth, and I participated in an indoor cycling charity ride called The Roadless Ride which benefits a local charity named Brent's Place. This event consists of 12 one hour indoor cycling classes where participants donate $45 or more for each class they choose to participate in. There is also a group of “Century Riders” who ride all 12 hours. Christian, Seth and I joined 22 other endurance junkies for this challenge. It was an awesome day! Most of the classes sold out and all the Century Riders completed their 12 hour endurance journey. The event organizers are predicting we raised over $100,000!
I participated in 9 classes and led 3. For the final 2 hours I team taught with fellow instructor, Collin Catel. Colin and alternately taught 3 song sets. We have different teaching and music styles, but when we were organizing our playlist I fell in love with this set that Colin put together, so I thought I would share it with you.
I also included the video we used with this 3 song set. I hope you enjoy it!
3 song harmonically mixed track, to download Right Click > Save As / Save Target As to download. Open in iTunes and then you'll see this in your Spotify Local File folder.
Adirondack Climbs profile is loosely based on a series of hikes through the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. There are 46 peaks that make up the Adirondack High Peaks, and some folks take on the challenge of hiking all 46 of them. This ride is based on one of the smaller scale challenges, which involves six of the peaks and is named the Saranac Lake 6er —for the 6 Adirondack mountains that surround beautiful Saranac Lake.
This is a great ride if you do a lot of visualization with your classes. Take your class to the top of each peak and describe the beautiful landscape along the way. Describing what the view will be like when they reach the summit will motivate riders to reach the top.
This video has additional information you can use to add more flavor to your profile.
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By Jennifer Lintz, Registered Dietitian and ICI/PRO Contributor
If you strive to bring variety to your classes, consider using your personal workouts for inspiration. Certainly, going to other instructors' classes and perusing the web can be a great way to pick up new ideas, but so can your own workouts. I run quite a bit when I'm not on the bike and have found it to be a gold mine for fresh routines, coaching cues, and new music.
Fresh Routines
Whether you swim, bike, run, row, do the elliptical or something else on your own for cardio, you can likely pull bits and pieces into your classes. Here are some examples.
Speed Workouts: These provide plenty of options for a ride. Whether I am doing 200s, 400s, or mile repeats, I can apply some of the same time frames and techniques to cycle. For instance, if I was doing timed miles, that might look like 3 long (6-10 minutes) efforts spaced throughout a cycle class. For shorter bursts of hard effort, I might take a sandwich approach and squeeze in 8-10 minutes of high intensity intervals at the beginning and end of the ride, or perhaps just the middle. There are many ways to create an interval-based ride.
Hills: After doing a hilly run or ride, I'm instantly armed with great content for my next class. Here are some ideas:
– Pyramid of Hills: Start and finish with short hills and build a longer hill in between.
– Progressive Hills: Make each hill either progressively longer at the same intensity or progressively harder for the same amount of time.
– Hill Sandwich: Do flat roads at the beginning and end of class with a long hill in the middle.
– Flat Sandwich: Do hills at the beginning and end of the ride and a flat road in between.
Other Ideas:
– Tempo Ride: Begin at a very comfortable intensity, progress to more challenging work in the middle and end of the ride, and finish with 5-10 minutes of moderate work before cool down.
– Out and Back: Do the same drills on the way out that you do on the way back.
– Loop: Terrain here should vary. If there is a big hill at the beginning of your ride or run, a couple of short ones in the middle, and a flat finish, create something similar for class.
Coaching Cues
Just as yoga instructors are encouraged to have a solid personal practice, I think we could argue that cycle instructors would also benefit fromba dedicated personal workout once or twice a week. If our goal is to challenge participants and help them sustain an uncomfortable effort for a set period of time, it is important that we know what that feels like. As instructors, we can view the challenging parts of our own exercise sessions as opportunities to become a better coach.
Let me give you an example.
My husband and I essentially live on a plateau in Rochester, MN. The only way out of our neighborhood is down. That means – whether we are on the bike or on our feet – the start of the workout is a cinch, but the end is always another story; that's where my coaching nuggets come from. One route has a gradual 2 mile hill at the finish, and the other is very steep but only 3/4 of a mile. Yesterday, I ran the 3/4 of a mile hill four times as part of a workout. Guess what we are doing in cycle this week? Hill repeats 🙂 They will thank me later!
In all seriousness, I walked away from my run with a handful of coaching strategies that I will sprinkle into the classes I teach in the coming days. Instead of becoming overwhelmed with the incline and the number of times I commited to running up it, I took a step-wise approach. First, I focused on making it to the sign; then, to the tree; next, to the stick lying on the ground; and finally, to the top. It helped me to break each of the hills up into segments, so it's likely I will apply that same strategy to my coaching in class.
New Music
Finally, consider using your workout time to snag some new songs. Regardless of your stance on multitasking, Pandora, Spotify, and iTunes Radio make it possible to find new, motivating tunes while you exercise. If you have a smart phone or access to any of these apps, pay attention to the music that comes on as you move. If something pumps you up, chances are it might have a similar impact on your riders.
