Are you forever in search of songs that are motivating, fun and somewhat familiar (but not necessarily Top 40)?
I am too! I like tunes with built in ‘chant' like choruses that we can sing along to.
This week I present to you a band of siblings from Australia (really want to visit there someday) with a 75 rpm, 3:38 minute kickin' song I've been using 12 minutes into class to determine PTP. My class has been singing along and there's even a shout out every now and again as we work to our highest sustainable power.
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.
Do you remember the old days of indoor cycling when it felt like the only cues instructors knew were “turn it to the right” or “add more resistance” or “turn it up”? It seemed like these were the only cues they were ever taught and eventually everyone in class was doing a phantom turn because there legs, lungs and heart couldn't handle any more intensity. Well, those “good old days” are what helped me dream up this “No Left Turn” set. The goal of this set is to finish every interval with a higher average wattage than the previous interval and to “turn it to the right” for every new interval. With the proper “anchoring” of time and effort and pacing this set can be successfully completed. The timing of this set consists of 3 intervals of 3 minutes with 1 minute recover after each, followed by 3 intervals of 2 minutes with 1 minute recovery after each, followed by 3 intervals of 1 minute with 30 seconds recovery after each. The first interval of each set should be ridden seated with a cadence range of 80-110 rpm, the second interval of each set should be ridden seated with a cadence range of 60-80 rpm and the third interval of each set should be ridden standing with a cadence above 60 rpm.
After a proper warm-up, explain the set to your class, you can even ask them if the remember the days of instructors asking them to turn it up 20 or more times in a song or set and how we all used to “fake turn” so it didn't look like we are cheating. I like to tell them that we are going to do 9 intervals and that I'm expecting a higher average wattage after each and every interval AND an increased resistance for every new interval. I'll joke that “Yes, it sounds like the old day, but I promise if you follow along and pace properly you CAN do this set without any phantom turns.”
In order to be successful with this set it's important not to go too hard on the first 3 minute interval. I recommend a slightly below threshold effort. At the end of the first interval make sure everyone remembers their average wattage. The second interval is at a slower cadence, so more resistance is needed to “beat” the previous interval and the third interval is standing and most likely at an even slower cadence so even more resistance is needed. Moving through riding positions that require slower and slower RPM's is how we can successfully add a “turn to the right” after each interval. After the three 3 minute intervals the interval time drops to 2 minutes. Riders should be able to ride at a higher output or wattage for 2 minutes than they did for 3 minutes so the average wattage and resistance should continue to rise they work through the three riding positions and RPM ranges. The same should hold true for the 1 minute intervals as well. I recommend that riders only increase their average wattage by 1-2 watts for each interval, more than that and they are setting themselves up for failure, pun intended.
My riders love this set it teaches pacing, patience and focus as well as being a great Lactate Threshold workout.
Please leave a comment letting me know how it goes in class.
7 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.
Recording of me teaching this 7 song set in a CardioVascularIntervals Class (CVI), CVI is a class that is taught on ANY piece of cardiovascular equipment, it is not limited to the bike. 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.
Cyrus, who's the Dungeon Master Personal Trainer that leads my Mon/Wed/Fri “Man Camp” boot camp, played this track last week. I found ithugely motivating and thought it would work very well as an inspirational song that leads into that final, BIG FINISH track you end your class with.
You can go the distance You can run the mile You can walk straight through hell with a smile
You can be the hero You can get the gold Breaking all the records they thought never could be broke
Yeah, do it for your people Do it for your pride How are you ever gonna know if you never even try?
Do it for your country Do it for your name ‘Cause there's gonna be a day…
When you're standing in the hall of fame (yeah) And the world's gonna know your name (yeah) ‘Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah) And the world's gonna know your name (yeah) And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame
Be a champion, be a champion, be a champion, be a champion On the walls of the hall of fame
If you want to be really clever, you might want to use an instrumental remix of Hall of Fame as your transition/cooldown. Download the remix here
Amy's swamped with work after her time at the MINDBODY BOLD convention – so I've stolen one of her favorite remixed tracks to use for this week's Free Music Friday.
Here's the original Imogen Heap — Hide And Seek which you could use as your cooldown/transition track at the end of class. The remix below is from White Panda:
The White Panda formed when two boyhood friends discovered they had independently embarked on mashup careers in college. Chicago-based Procrast (Tom Evans) first blended Rick Astley snippets with 2 Live Crew grooves as a way to avoid productive activity in 2008, while DJ Griffi (Dan Griffith) embarked on the same mission, for a similar purpose, in Los Angeles. Their combined effort, the White Panda, launched in 2009 with a single that topped internet radio charts days later. They’ve since had 30 singles reach #1 on Hype Machine.
