Professional Indoor Cycling Instructor’s Tools Of The Trade

Professional Indoor Cycling Instructor’s Tools Of The Trade

by | May 6, 2015 | Best Practices, Big Box Instructor, Instructor Tips and Tricks, Instructor Training, Music

Tools for Indoor Cycling Instructors

I got an email question this morning that had me frustrated in my lack of organization here.

Hi John,

Am I remembering right that you use a wireless transmitter for your music? With my classes smaller I thought it would be fun to ride along with my riders and would like to be able to still change the music on my iPhone. I am having trouble finding whatever it is you are using. Can you point me at that article?

There's actually a few articles that describe the Bluetooth wireless receiver I use. Better, I thought we should have an easy to find page here at ICI/PRO devoted to our recommended Tools Of The Trade for Indoor Cycling Instructors.

Tools of our Trade!

Productivity – Professionals value their time. Here's how to save some of yours:

prime

Amazon Prime easily saves me six or more hours a month, gallons of gas and removes my tendency toward impulse purchases. How? By preventing me from wasting time running to the store for little things I don't need immediately and then grabbing stuff I don't need. For example; I noticed that after 20 years many of our door stop springs are bent and missing the little rubber end cap. Instead of running to the hardware store to purchase a few one dollar parts, Amazon Prime delivered a bag of ten to my house in two days, for less than the local store and ZERO shipping costs.

 

ICI_PRO Discount membership

ICI/PRO has helped over a thousand Instructors find a simple answer to; What am I going to teach tomorrow? We have over 65 class profiles and hundreds of articles about effectively teaching a fun and effective class based on Heart Rate or Power + there's a reason many of the major brands are connected with ICI/PRO.  We deliver quality information. Spend a short time with us and you'll be the expert at your club or studio. Options for Monthly or Annual (saves $$$) membership.

 

Class Music Playlist Preparation –

Class-Builder-indoor-cycling-music-app-for-iPhonesAt $19.95 the ClassBuilder iPhone App from Cycling Fusion isn't cheep, but it has become the standard tool for Instructors who want their cues displayed at the correct time on their iPhone. Works with either iTunes or Spotify music and includes the option to connect to your video projector or TV to show your class profile.

 

 

 

Schwinn-Class-Tamer-iPhone-Music-AppSchwinn's free iPhone App is limited to iTunes music – which maybe exactly what you use! Add your time based cues and hit play for a well organised class.

 

 

 

 

 

Music Counting Tools

The Windows version Tap-To-The-Beat counter isn’t pretty, but I've used it for years – download it here.

This online Tap to the Beat counter works well.

There are a bunch of free iPhone Apps like this one you can use.

Android Users can download this free App.

MixMeister Express has a free trial version you can use before you pay $69.99 for the full version.

Mixed in Key software identifies the musical key of your tracks, creating harmonically mixed playlists that avoid transitions that “clash” musically – wrecking the energy and flow of your playlist. You can learn more about this advanced DJ technique and find full class playlists that we've mixed harmonically in this series of posts.

Class Videos

Here's a list of Wide Screen – HD DVDs and digital streaming videos for your indoor cycling class:

Many of these videos are structured rides, some are just pretty scenery, all will add a refreshing element of visual entertainment to your class

Deliver Your Class

Remote control of music in a cycling classThis $25 Bluetooth receiver will connect your iPhone/Android device wirelessly to your club's sound system. Then you'll have full remote control of your music from anywhere in the room.

 

 

Educational Resources

I frequently recommend Cycling Fusion's online Instructor course and their Power Training eBook for Instructors new to teaching with power/watts. The online Instructor training is a great option for an experienced participant who needs a certification to begin teach at their favorite club or studio 🙂

Fixing & Adjusting Stuff – Actual “tools” and parts to keep everything working correctly.

Susan's 16 in 1 Multi-Function Bike Bicycle Cycling Mechanic Repair Tool Kit will tighten a loose saddle nut or adjust a SPD shoe cleat.

Correctly adjusting SPD bicycle shoe cleats is super easy using this Ergon Cleat Alignment Tool.

I'm not a fan of using a Goniometer for bike setup, but this one rocks if you want to own one. I prefer to use the simple technique I learned from Schwinn – perfect every time, works in a crowded studio and you don't have to touch anyone.

Our recommended replacement parts supplier is Sportsmith.com

Sportsmith is also the distributor of the Red Pedal Tool that I invented to easily and safely remove the shoe baskets from the Red Schwinn Triple Link Pedals – sorry, this tool won't work with the Spinning Trio pedal.

Spotify App Shows Where You Yell GO!!

Spotify App Shows Where You Yell GO!!

by | Mar 7, 2015 | Big Box Instructor, Instructor Tech Help, iTunes & Spotify Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Music, Spotify

Where is the Drama Spotify Track Visualizer

This Where's the Drama app for Spotify gives you a visual representation of the changes in loudness of any track in Spotify's library = changes that many of us will use as cues.

 

NOTE: for an unknown reason there's no sound for the first 14 secs. 

It's super easy to use and there's nothing to download or install.

[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']

  1. Go here static.echonest.com/WheresTheDrama/index.html 
  2. Type in the name of your track > it helps to add additional words (artist) to narrow down the results.
  3. Scroll down to find the correct song & click it
  4. Your track is shown as a graphic > The highlighted area signifies the most dramatic point in the song 🙂

I've been playing with this today, trying to find ways that it could save me time. The first place I've found is to quickly find the GO! point in the songs opening. Here's an example for  Rudimental — Right Here – feat. Foxes which I use for a Threshold interval @ 83RPM.

Tune Mapping a track with Where's the Drama Spotify App

(#1) shows the start point @ 0:24 – between (#2) and (#3) is a 0:43 soft part. Notice how you can quickly see that the song dies with 20 seconds to go? (#4) Where's the Drama looks like a nice tool to ensure your intervals are as long as you intended.[/wlm_private]

 

Let me know if you find other uses for it + if this would display a complete playlist, in real time, would that help you cue and teach more effectively?

Spotify App Shows Where You Yell GO!!

Free Music App Friday – New Class Tamer iPhone App from Schwinn

by | Mar 14, 2014 | Instructor Tech Help, Instructor Training, Music

Schwinn Class Tamer iPhone Music App

UPDATE 6/2017 – this app has been discontinued by Schwinn and is no longer available.

We're totally consumed here at IHRSA this week. So instead of a free track, how about an awesome and FREE Instructor iPhone App for building classes with cues instead?

This new iPhone App from Schwinn is called Class Tamer.

Here's the link to get the free App.

This is a crazy busy show and popular Master Trainers are… popular. After waiting a for a very busy Julz Arney to free up and show me the new App on her phone, I decided to install it and give it a try myself. Fantastic – it even has a crossfade with adjustable duration 🙂

Despite my fascination with new technology, my personal preference is for simple and easy. My biggest test is; when I turn it on, will I know instinctively how to make it work? This App is super easy to figure out. Even if you've moved to Spotify or Deezer, I'd encourage you to download it and give it a try. Who knows… you may get excited about iTunes again. There's also an easy to use tutorial if you get stuck.

Here's Schwinn's description of Class Tamer.

Designed with input and insight from Schwinn’s global team of Master Instructors, Class Tamerâ„¢ is the premier music player for group exercise professionals. The app intuitively organizes “what to say,” “what to play” and “what to do,” with large, easy-to-read fonts and controls, creating a tool that helps keep you organized — and your class energized.

Class Tamer features include:

– Ability to easily create and save ride playlists by accessing your songs, playlists, albums and artists directly from iTunes
– “What to say” and “What to do” scrollable notes pages, which allow you to input and save your cueing notes, music tags and BPM to specific songs
– Instructor-friendly, full-screen display
– Easy-to-read song timer, displaying time elapsed, time remaining, and prompting for next song
– Easy-to-navigate play/pause button
– Easy-access, oversized volume slider
– Ability to easily modify tempo of songs during a ride
– Customizable cross-fade setting
– Stopwatch that operates independently from the song timer and can be used while music is playing — perfect for intervals
– 10 sound effects to help add excitement to your classes – Adjustable font size for optimal readability during rides
– Demo and tutorial screen

Here's the player screen showing call-outs for some of the key features that have me excited to use Class Tamer in my next class.

Schwinn Class Tamer Instructor class music iphone App

Love those BIG NUMBERS!

NOTES:

  • The BPM displayed in the top RH corner comes from the metadata (get info) of the track – the App doesn't compute the BPM or will the number change if you use the slider to change the tempo.
  • For songs you purchased from iTunes that are “Protected AAC” – cross fade and tempo adjustment are disabled.
  • Cues you've pinned to a song are manually chosen by swiping – they're not tied to any specific place in the song's time place.