Let's kick off a fabulous 2012 indoor season with ZENDURANCE – our latest Audio PROfile from Master Instructor Jim Karanas!
The difference between “just riding” and training is that, when training, you recognize that every workout has a purpose. This is easy to forget when coaching an endurance class. Many riders and fitness enthusiasts look forward to this time of year as a time when we can enjoy lower intensity — more relaxed workouts without the stress of high intensity. However, there is much more to an endurance class than “just riding”. Like any other workout, an endurance ride can serve a specific purpose but, if done incorrectly, will be of little training value.
Jim and I recorded two versions of this Audio PROfile. This one is the shorter/condensed version that we kept to 20 minutes. Look for the expanded version later this week where Jim goes into more detail about how you can bring a more “Zen like” experience to your class.
His, Hers & Ours – Epic Red Wing is an Endurance profile where you and your Tandem partner are leading a group of cyclists over the next 60 minutes. The two of you are committed to pulling your group at a fast, yet maintainable pace – with your primary objective being to demonstrate your fitness to those behind you. To do this you will want to keep your intensity at the level where you are challenged, yet confident, all the way to the end.
This video features yours truly and my faithful Stoker (it’s not Stroker) Amy Macgowan riding our Tandem (we call it the Bus) along the Mississippi river, which is the east west boundary of Minnesota and Wisconsin.The title of this Audio PROfile; His, Hers & Ours, comes from how Amy and I have very different preferred cadences and yet our pedals are locked together, forcing us to pedal at the same speed. As a considerate Tandem Captain I will make continuously gearing changes in the attempt to satisfy both of us. In our case I switch between:
His — 80ish RPM 15 years as a cyclist has me preferring to spin a small gear in the high 80’s.
Hers — 70ish RPM Amy is very strong and after 18 years as the Senior Group Fitness Instructor in our family she’s very aerobically fit. She prefers to push a big gear at a cadence around 70 RPM.
Ours — 60ish RPM Riding a Tandem has you seated for long periods of time and a saddle break on level ground requires some additional coordination to smoothly get up and out. We’ve found that a very big gear @ ~60 RPM will give us something to stand on and have us looking like we are the matched pair that we truly are when we come up and out.
The challenge of this ride is in maintaining a consistent ground speed – which is an indication of Power Output, while making the frequent changes to your cadence. If your pedal speed slows your load has to increase and visa versa.
So much of western fitness revolves around adrenalin-driven, kinetic (or should we say “hyperkinetic”?) energy. Yet there is power that comes from quiet — and that was the concept of a recent training I ran in my indoor cycling classes last week.
Keeping the energy mellow does not require making the training easy. Instead, it’s training that comes from energy that’s centered, rather than frenetic. When I taught these classes, I asked the participants to focus on internal motivation — their own desire to train and work hard — more than on any external motivation that might come from, say, the energy of my coaching with loud cues to push themselves (or whatever), or loud music with a driving beat.
This unconventional approach worked well, and got the participants to work hard while staying focused and internally driven. Here’s how the class was structured.
I used eight songs, as follows:
Going to California (music only) — Tribute Band Karaoke
Porcelain — Miami DJ Collective Two-song warm-up to start.
Good For Me — Above & Beyond 8:00 hill climb at 70 rpm, increasing resistance every 2 minutes: three levels seated, last one standing, all to music that is solid but not driving.
Hearts Have Turned to Stone — Elton John and Leon Russell 4:00 limited recovery at 100 rpm, using quiet music with an easy feel, letting the heart rate drop only 15-20 bpm.
In the Dark — Tiesto Second hill climb, as described in #3.
Dark Hollow (live) — Grateful Dead Limited recovery, as described in #4.
Burned With Desire (Rising Star Dub) — Armin Van Buuren Third hill climb, as above.
White Flag — Dido Full recovery and cool-down. You'll want to add your personal favorites to lengthen this to suit your class.
Our true ability is accessed through stillness, far more than through external sources, such as pounding music or sharp commands. A successful performance that comes from someone who is not really sure what happened is a memorable, and even spiritual, experience. Getting someone to experience an enhanced sense of himself/ herself, of aliveness and vitality while cycling, can anchor that person to training in a way that the external, “adrenalized” push can never do.
Obviously, there are reasons to coach and teach differently on different days. To ask participants to go inward on occasion and find personal reasons to drive their training (and themselves) is a shift of focus and consciousness that can be, at the very least, a stimulating change of pace. It can also be far more than that if properly coached.
In addition, it might turn the next high-energy class, by contrast, into an even more exciting and distinct experience.
The hidden agenda…
Transitioning participants towards a Power-â€focused class can be difficult to implement without their buy-â€in and understanding. Use this ride as an example of how to incorporate Power specific concepts without the need to get on the soap-â€box and shout the benefits of Power training from the roof-â€tops…. In other words, you can sneak it in…ssshhhh!
This PRO Podcast is intended to be used in conjunction with the BIG RIDE video of this complete class which you can find here.
Each of us can be our own worst critic! Listening to myself teach a class was a very eye opening (our should I say ear opening) experience for me.
This week is all about How You Sound.
I used my iPhone to record my class yesterday and encourage you to do the same to gain an understanding of How You Sound. Please feel free to critique what you hear in my class presentation. My hope is that it will motivate you to record your own class and then listen to the recording and learn How You Sound to your students.
As I listened to the recording it was obvious from my breathing that I'm working hard, along with the class. This has been my practice for a long time, but as I hear myself it has me questioning if I'm working a little harder than I should.
What do you think?
The standard recorder in an iPhone will only record for 30 minutes. This free App Quick Voice Recorder will record longer.
I'll try to have an Android solution for recording as soon as my daughter Carly wakes up and shows me on her phone 🙂
Happy New Year!
