“Bone Thugs-N-Chili Peppers” by The Melker Project
“Vertigo (Redanka Power Mix” by Peter G ReWerk
As many of you know, I live in Colorado and skiing is one of my family's favorite winter activities. Every year we used to look forward to the release of the latest Warren Miller ski movie as the unofficial start of ski season. It became a family tradition to get tickets to the Friday or Saturday night showing at the Paramount Theater in downtown Denver. The later the show the rowdier the crowd, everyone was so amped to get the ski season started. I also knew that the new release meant fresh ski footage and music for my video cycling class. Over the years the footage has remained top notch, but the music has gotten worse and worse, it has gotten so bad that we stopped attending the show two years ago. That year the music was so bad that I wished I had brought my ear buds so I could have put together my own playlist, on my phone, while watching the movie.
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This got my sons, Seth and Christian, and I thinking that we should start using the awesome ski footage that is available on the internet and put it together with music that people actually listen too. Over the years we have created quite a library of ski videos, many that I use in my indoor cycling classes, that we believe is like Warren Miller, only better. I hope you enjoy the work we have done and let me know what you think.
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.
For years I had been patiently waiting for the facilities I instruct in to upgrade their bikes to use power. When these upgrades finally started to happen I was surprised by the different wattage readings I would see, not only, from different brands of bikes but by bikes built by the same manufacturer. I had always assumed a watt is a watt the same way a MPH is MPH or an RPM is an RPM. At first this was VERY disappointing, I have a very technical teaching style and I was hoping to have all my class participants perform a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) Test every 6-8 weeks, calculate their personal power zones and coach each and every class to those zones. Unfortunately, if every bike in the studio reads wattage, even a little bit, differently I would need to adjust my teaching style.
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I needed to figure out a way to use this new technology, even with it's faults, effectively to give my participants the best workout possible. I decided that the FTP test was still going to be an integral part of my programming and I would still perform this test every 6-8 weeks. I asked my class participants to find 2-3 bikes that they believe are similar in wattage readings and ride those bikes as often as possible. Small differences are ok, large ones make zone training impossible. I also needed a technique to “dial in” new riders, those who never performed the FTP and others who may be forced to ride an unfamiliar bike. I decided to start every class with a proper warm followed by a mini threshold test that I call a “Threshold Check”. This “Threshold Check” can last anywhere between 4-6 minutes and I ask class participants to ride at their maximum sustainable intensity or wattage for the duration of this short test. If the bikes are equipped with a console that will show average wattage I ask for the class to find their average wattage for this “Check”. If the bikes do not have a way of reading average wattage I ask the class to be aware of their wattage throughout the “Check” and choose a wattage that they believe is closest to their maximum sustainable wattage. If I'm teaching on a bike that is not equipped with a power meter I still perform this “threshold check” and i do my best to “anchor” effort with threshold RPE. I also like to “anchor” effort and RPE during the FTP . Most FTP tests last 20 minutes, so 10 minutes into a FTP effort I'll explain that the feelings participants are experiencing, slight breathlessness. burning sensation in the legs and the need to stay extremely focused or wattage will drop is how a threshold effort “feels” and I ask them to associate this feeling with whatever RPE number is used as threshold in the facility I'm teaching in.
Now that each participant has a threshold wattage or RPE to work with I break my profiles down into 3 zones: Above Threshold, Around Threshold and Below Threshold. Efforts that are Above Threshold (greater than 106% of threshold) can last up to 8 minutes, efforts around threshold (90-105% of threshold) can last up to 30 minutes and below threshold efforts (less than 90% of threshold) can last up to 3 hours.
Check out the recorded classes below to hear how I use this “Threshold Check” in a class setting.
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.
The Power of 3 – “”My Body Tells Me “NO” But I Won't Quit Cuz I Want More”
“Turn The Levels” by DJ Lobersterdust
“Part of Me” by Katy Perry
“My Body” by Young the Giant
There has been a lot of talk lately about the proper range of RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) in indoor cycling classes. The general range that most indoor cycling certifications recommend is 60-110rpm. That doesn’t mean that going a little faster or slower is going immediately cause injury, it means that this range can be ridden effectively by most people in the population.
When I started teaching with power, about 2 years ago, the first thing I discovered was how a high RPM and lower resistance could elevate the HR (Heart Rate) as well as RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) without the associated increase in power or output. The “fast spinners”, who for years were considered the “stars” of class, were shocked at how low their power numbers were. Many of them complained that the power meters must not be working properly or were broken. I tried to calm them and explained that they were beautifully athletic riders but they may have never trained with the appropriate resistance while riding at a high cadence. I asked them to be patient and to use this new found knowledge and tool to help them reach fitness levels they had only dreamed of. By finding their most efficient cadence, that RPM where the body can produce the most power at the lowest HR or RPE, and progressively increasing cadence and maintaining power, over time, many of these riders are now able to ride at a fast cadence and maintain a high power output.
Interval sets like the one below are how I coach riders to slowly but steadily increase their most efficient cadence over time.
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.
Spinning Instructor Amy Pillitteri – Beth Anne Gordley Photography
Meet Spinning Instructor Amy Pillitteri!
Amy is the runner-up in our Ultimate Instructor Class Profile contest!
About Waldo’s Revenge
I wrote this profile for a group of students I was working with during a winter and spring periodization program at a nearby YMCA this year. This particular class was full of enthusiastic triathletes and cyclists training for the Waldo County YMCA Triathlon Festival. We worked through all the various phases of the program leading up to the outdoor season. When it came time to re-test for lactate threshold, nobody really wanted to break away from his or her training regimen. So, in lieu of a field test, I put together a mock time trial, which mimicked the actual race. I encouraged the athletes to take their average heart rate, to see if they were race ready. This is how I came up with Waldo’s Revenge!
Having ridden and raced the course myself dozens of times, it was easy to coach it in class. Writing it in a profile, well that’s another story. I can tell you first hand, though, that it’s a really fun and challenging ride. The terrain in Maine is absolutely splendid. We have beautiful tree-lined roads, which run along the rocky coastline, and twist around the picturesque mountains, hills, lakes, and ponds. The wind, as in many time trials, is the big limiting factor on this course. Some of my really strong students wrote race reports after the triathlon this year, and I have included some of their remarks for fun. These comments will, hopefully, provide more insight, as to what’s going on inside an athlete’s mind during the race.
Our latest Audio PROfile comes from Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas!
PROFILE DESCRIPTION
Timing is one of the most basic essentials of training. I like to think of Timing as “how you interact with what you perceive.” The road is the road. At times, it will come at you in ways that are unpredictable. How you ride your bike depends largely on your sense of timing or how you make the subtle adjustments necessary to maximize your sense of ease. Exhilaration results when you experience effortless power. Effortless power is a result of good timing.
When a novice rides the bike, they are unsure of what gear to use and will at times fight the bike and the road. As their timing develops, their gear selection and shifting improve to where they no longer have to think about it and they begin to sense “flow”. Flow is a feeling of simplicity when you sense no difficulty. The bike rolls over the terrain seamlessly, like a dream.
Developing a sense of timing begins through cadence exercises. Cadence is how fast you pedal. Your RPM. Cadence training makes you more efficient, improves your technique, uses a wider array of muscles and enhances your presence when training. It is a mechanical practice that requires patience and discipline but will eventually help lift you to a level of artistry.
Timing & Cadence Playlist in Spotify and Deezer – please note the substitutions and slight variations in track lengths. You'll need to adjust section times accordingly.
