This week I have the extraordinary privilege to be working from my balcony in Punta Cana. I have never been to an all inclusive resort before, and it is quite the experience. The grounds are beautiful, you can go to any of the many restaurants or bars on the property, and there always seems to be a smiling face nearby ready to wait on your next need.
Last night we attended an outdoor band that was playing and there were six younger people that were hired by the resort to provide entertainment and get the crowd dancing etc… While all of them were great dancers, the lead young man was simply incredible. His feet were light and fast, and yet somehow thoughtful and deliberate. He was smiling from ear to ear, and seemed to be having as much fun doing his job as we were joining him on the dance floor. As talented at this young man was, one of his gifts seemed to be the ability to dance with a wide range of partners (guests that he would engage) and have them seem comfortable and loose. You could see the transformation in the people in only one minute: they went from thinking “oh, no, I can't dance with him, he is too good” to relaxing and enjoying themselves and then going back to their tables only to return to the dance floor with their spouse or partner.
It really got me thinking about customer service and how that impacts our industry and profession. Yes, being an indoor cycling instructor is, well at least should be, a profession. We have customers (riders) and it is really our job to guide them through this fitness experience that we have (hopefully) spent time and effort creating. In many ways, we should be presenting an image similar to this young man's for not just our riders, but all of those that are in the club or studio.
As with any great performer, his performance moved me, and has me thinking….Am I providing a high quality performance for my riders and most importantly, am I providing that experience to most of my riders or only just a few? As with most instructors, I have a core group of 10 or so people (about a third of the class) that seem to be in all of the classes I teach. They are all cyclists (they ride outdoors) and they work hard, they work very hard. They are inspirational to teach to and certainly in the midst of a very tough set they help to get me to the other side. But what about the other 20 or so people in that room? I am reaching them? Is my class actually fun and enjoyable, or has it become a 60 minute grueling experience?
I have often heard group exercise instructors talk about the class they just delivered and the gist of the conversation always seems to revolve around “killing” the people, or it being the “hardest” class they have had or something similar. Very rarely, if ever, do you I have pleasure of hearing about how they had the entire class pedaling to the beat and enjoying themselves. I am not sure that I myself have ever measured the success of one of my classes by the number of smiles I have seen on the participant's faces; but perhaps I should. Some, well really most, of my riders will never be on a triathlon course, so I should be mindful about training them like they headed there in three weeks.
So I challenge you, take a few moments and think about your next class. Are you providing great customer service? Are you including most of the riders, and not just your hardcore following? Are your riders having fun? As for myself, when I return I plan to taking the time to be sure that I am dancing with all of my customers, not just the cyclists!
I did a ton of traveling this past year. Visiting studios where I've been brought in to troubleshoot issues, attended multiple conferences (IDEA/IHRSA/WSSC) and I have lost count of how many dozens of classes I've taken as a participant in 2014.
When I take a class, as a consultant or participant, I pay attention to things many other's don't. Take for example Instructor cues directed at correcting form/position/techniques… they almost always come at the very beginning of class, during her/his initial introduction – never to be heard again.
Which is exactly the wrong time IMO > let me explain why.
Think about the last time you walked into a party, an important meeting or a new class at school. There's a good chance that you were consciously aware of your body language as you entered the room, right?
You want to project confidence, so you stand up straight and tall and walk with purposeful steps. Your chin is lifted and your gaze is focused across the room, not (hopefully) down at your feet.
Perfectly natural as most of us want to make a good first impression, when we meet with new or important people.
When we sit down in these situations, we tend to stay near the front edge of the chair. We smile and continue to display strong, erect posture while seated, that is as long as we stay focused on it.
Conversation requires us to concentrate on things other than what we look like. Over time we may tend to relax. When we do, we will start to soften our posture, drop our head & shoulders, slide back into the chair and slump slightly, rounding our once flat backs.
The same process occurs to the participants in your class.
The start of class is an exciting time for your participants. Riders maybe looking around at who's riding near them or watching the Instructor. Some will feel a touch of insecurity (how do I look on this bike?) that causes them to “preen” a bit when they realise others are doing the same and casting a critical eye on them as well.
In your next class watch for this, if you haven't noticed it already. You might see a few checking themselves out in the mirrors. Others are focused on the rider in front of them, as they try to appear disinterested – but many are and their body language gives them away. The first words you speak may cause a few to sit up a little straighter. Right now your class doesn't need any direction on form/position/technique.
Everything come crumbling down
I have to smile thinking back on family dinners when I was young. My dad was a stickler about not slouching at the table; “sit up Mac!” – my nickname – was a less than gentle reminder. It never came at the beginning when I was focused on looking like I was in the military, rather at some point later in the meal when I'd lost focus, interest, or was simply bored with the whole ordeal.
So when should you be cueing form/position/technique?
When you see that your class needs it. Pay attention to everyone during the recoveries. Are they reasserting themselves on the bike? Watch and you'll see this with many of your outdoor cyclists, as they gather themselves back after a hard effort. There's a lot of unspoken peer-pressure in a group ride and many cyclists have learned to fight through the fatigue and at least appear strong to those around them.
When you observe dropped heads, shoulders, elbows or rounded backs, this could be your cue to jump off and walk the room. I know for me personally, when the instructor is walking near me I will self-asses my form without them saying a word.
This is getting long so I'll save; When it is time to cue form/position/technique – what should I say?until next week.
This week we are exploring How You Sound and in the spirit of learning about ourselves and our individual “sound”, I want you to do something….it will be easier for those of us that teach in a club setting, but hopefully those of us in a studio setting will be able to explore this as well. Please find the best STEP class (yes, they are still out there and wildly crowded) and go to it. By the best, I mean one where the participants would describe the instructor as, “easy to follow”.
The reason behind this is simple: a good step instructor has learned how to cue properly. Why? Because if they don’t, the results are disastrous in their studio…people turning every which way- into each other, into the steps, falling, getting hurt- you get the idea. If you are not a stepper, simply listen. How do they cue? How early? How late? A good cue typically is given 4 beats before the needed action. Any later and it is too late for the verbal cue to be carried out. Any earlier, and the action will most likely be carried out before the instructor wanted it to be.
Why is cueing important as a cycle instructor? I don’t know if you all are like me, but I like to know what is coming. In a broad sense, as in what we are doing for our overall ride, and in a narrower sense, as in what is coming up on the specific road and what the expectations are in the next few seconds. I personally get frustrated when cues are thrown at me and the movement is already in play.
One of the best examples of this is lifts, or jumps. Cueing to lift out of the saddle 4 beats ahead gives the rider time to prepare and the sense of satisfaction when they are ready and able to lift out of the saddle on time.
We have a large ride here in Minneapolis every year and it is classic…the instructor cues the lifts like this: “up, down, up, down, up, down” ad nausium and the ups and the downs come right on the beat of the movement. As I look around the room of 100’s of riders, no one is lifting or lowering at the same time.
This could all be remedied simply with good cueing.
Even things like, “In four counts we are going to get up out of the saddle and tackle this billy goat path, taking our heart rate up to AT”, or “in 4 counts we are going to add some load and pull out to the left, passing the rider in front of us”, give our riders confidence in us as their coach and instructor.
So, check out the group fitness step instructor…the GOOD one that keeps their class in control and rocking and rolling in an orderly fashion. Listen to how they cue. When they do it and how the class responds. I took it for granted until I had to start doing it because a good one makes it look really easy. In fact, we don’t even know they are doing it. You can be like that too with a little practice.
If you are interested in learning more about cueing check out Gin Miller's Blog. Gin invented the “Step Class” and you may find her articles on cueing helpful.
One more thing – When John recorded his class he found that he works too hard. I am going to figure out how to record on my Droid and I will let you know in the weeks ahead what I learn about How I Sound 🙂
Blink, Blink, Blink …………………goes the clock on your VCR. Yep, I said it, VCR. It is mind boggling to me that I have children (ages two and four) who will never know a Tape Player, VCR, 8 Track, and possibly even a DVD. Technology moves fasters than the fastest cyclist on his/her best day. But this story isn’t about VCR’s or technology. It’s to illustrate a point about how we as a culture like to change, modify, and complicate things even when they don’t need to be. I am writing this even at the risk of getting backlash from much more “technical” and experienced outdoor riders. But like I said in my first post, I speak from the heart and you’re either going to love me or hate me. If you’re looking for stats or data to shave off 3 seconds from your hill climb…..then I’m not your guy.
I still remember the very first VCR my mom and stepfather bought. He was a car dealer and had gotten a great bonus check. It was summer, probably July, and we loaded up in the car and headed to the Video Rental store. For you young readers, we used to have places that had VCR tapes lined up on all of the walls so you could choose what you wanted. In addition, WAY back then (early 1980’s) we had discs that looked like large vinyl records but played like a DVD. They were encased inside hard plastic covers. Anyway, back to my story. The VCR most likely costs us $600, weighed as much as my brother and I combined, and if I am not mistaken had no more than 5 features. Play; Stop, Pause, Forward and Backward. More expensive ones had “Record” so you could tape Price is Right or your favorite soap, but as a 10 year old I was just excited to rent Friday the 13th (The first one).
That VCR had less technology than the cheapest, crappiest cell phone on the market today, but when I look back it did absolutely everything that we ever needed it to. Then somewhere in some big board room a group of people decided that we (the consumer) needed to have options. And not just a couple, but over a hundred that the most experienced technical engineer would have trouble programming. So my question is WHY !?!?! Why do we need to complicate every single thing in our world to the point that we either lose some of the enjoyment OR feel like a complete idiot because we can’t or don’t want to spend the day trying to figure it out ?
How does this apply to us, the indoor cycling people of the world? And actually, I will go so far as to throw in all Group Ex AND Personal trainers to this query. What are WE doing as coaches and leaders to complicate things that don’t need to be complicated? I still believe, and may be wrong with everyone OUTSIDE my class, that my people come to me for more than instruction on how to peddle, when to get their heart rate up, or when to stand up. Let’s face it, I “teach” (HATE to use the word teach, I prefer coach) a class on how to get on a bike and peddle. Sure, there are MILLIONS of ways to teach and A LOT that goes into it……FOR AN ELITE ATHLETE to do the tour!!! But I have 30 to 60 people who, like me, are there for so much more than to learn all the tricks to shave off 3 seconds from their best time. And even if my people ARE there to learn how to shave of the 3 seconds, I believe (speaking about my people of almost 20 years) are trying to shave that time for internal reasons. Reasons of personal growth, pride in ones accomplishments, or even to use that shaved 3 seconds as a metaphor for something much bigger in their life. That’s why I teach and have always taught from a spiritual perspective and not so much from a technical perspective.
I am so fortunate to “coach” at arguably the best club in the US. I spent 10 years in all 50 States as a Sales manager and so I have been in too many gyms to name. I have seen trends in workouts, classes, equipment, and I am never surprised at what comes next. Right now this “Cross Fit” craze is amazing to me. We are now as an industry demonstrating that “hey, you didn’t need to join a gym with all the Cybex equipment because that spare tire in your garage, sprints up and down your street, and jump rope is all you need for a great workout. And you know what, they’re right. Why is a sprint on a Schwinn spinning bike any more beneficial than a sprint up the hill in your neighborhood?? It’s different because our people come to us for something they can’t get at home in the basement or in the garage. For some of you, maybe it is the technical lingo you use. Some of you may be like me and teach good form but with a focus on the “spiritual” aspect of the ride. The truth is that if we do it right and with proper form, then all of these things will get us to the goal, which is for our people to walk out feeling healthier and in MY opinion both “physically” AND “mentally.”
My point is that we don’t have to complicate things the way we sometimes do just so that we can stick with the trends. If your class demands that, than do it. But don’t lose focus on your core audience of people, the ones who stuck by you for 20 years. Give them the best music, the best guidance, the best stories, and the best up to date techniques IF that is what is going to give you and them the result you’re looking for. Let’s remember and never lose sight of the fact that our members come to us to lead them and if we tell them that rubbing their tummy while sprinting doubles the amount of calories they burn, then chances are most will do just that. So it’s our obligation to introduce the right amount of “new” technology if and only if the benefit is there. THEY are giving up one hour of their lives and putting it in our hands. I for one ONLY want to provide the best.
So the next time you jump on your bike ready to start class, remember that blinking clock on your old VCR and ask yourself “have I put together a class with total focus on helping them achieve their goals?” or have you designed it based on an article on the latest “Crave” from some gym in a posh LA studio? Do your research, make sure the latest “thing” is right for your students and then apply it. But don’t buy the VCR with 100 programmable features that you don’t know or understand until you SET THE CLOCK ON IT FIRST!! Now go press PLAY and have some fun. And please send me your thoughts so I can learn my audience.
