On July 3rd my family and I were lucky enough to see the very first concert at Coors Field in Denver Colorado. The headliner was the Zac Brown Band and the warmup band was a Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Big Head Todd and the Monsters is a local band and have a huge local following, it was great to see these local boys be the first play Coors Field. Zac Brown was AWESOME! If you have not listened to their new album, Jekyll and Hyde, I would suggest you give it a listen. It really shows the bands versatility as musicians. You may think of them as a country band but this album hits many different genre, there's something for everyone!
When leading a class I feel one of my most important jobs is to control the energy of the room. Too mellow and riders get bored and never come back, too intense and riders burn out before they reach the finish line. Whenever I go to a concert I pay close attention to how the band controls the energy of the crowd. At most shows the band usually starts a few of their most popular songs to elevate the energy of the crowd then they usually transition into some of their more mellow or lesser known music and finish with their most popular tracks while whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
When using music to control the energy in an indoor cycling class I follow this same technique. Always start strong with a high energy song you know the class will enjoy, you can back off the energy or try some new music in the middle of class, but ALWAYS finish with your best stuff so everyone wants to come back.
If this approach works for Rock Stars it most certainly will work for you.
[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']If you use video I also mixed together the videos of these three songs.This week's mix includes:
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:
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 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 –
At $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'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.
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 harmonicallyin this series of posts.
Class Videos
Here's a list of Wide Screen – HD DVDs and digital streaming videos for your indoor cycling class:
Ride-Fit digital downloads of group cycling at three levels of intensity
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
This $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.
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.
We've all heard the causality dilemma, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”. Ancient philosophers have been debating this question since the beginning of recorded history. Indoor cycling instructors have been asking themselves a similar question,”What comes first, the playlist or the profile?”, ever since Jonny G showed the world how much fun it could be to ride a bike that goes nowhere.
As a more “seasoned” instructor and Master Educator for Stages Cycling I am often asked my advice on this dilemma. I tell them that an awesome playlist or a great profile can carry a class, but if you can create both you'll be a rock star.
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In my “The Power of 3” posts I put together 3 harmonically mixed songs and a short profile that can be used with each mix. I'm always searching for the perfect blend of music and performance based interval sets. Sometimes, like I did for the “ICI/Pro DJ Scott Melker Music Playlist Contest” I let the timing and energy of the music determine my profile. In this post I'm presenting a profile that takes the lead and the music is of secondary importance.
Below I have provided a harmonically mixed 65 minute long music track. The music is not the focus of this profile, so if you want to use your own playlist go right ahead. I would recommend you find a playlist that is high energy and don't worry about the timing of each song and interval, just let the music play.
The two profiles I have provided are very similar, actually the timing of the intervals are exactly the same. The only change is the difference between the low intensity or “Floor” and the high intensity or “Ceiling” of each workout. Due to the high intensity or vaulted ceilings of the Above Threshold workout a low intensity or shallow floor is required to recovery after each interval. It's important to understand this principle, if you are asking your class participants to work above threshold for any length of time you are also going to need to give them time to recover, the higher the intensity, the lower the recovery. If you do not give appropriate recovery you should expect to see a drop in the work done for each interval. I purposely DID NOT give my class appropriate recovery between each interval of this workout. My goal was to have them work on their anaerobic endurance, lactate clearance and lactate buffering. I expected a drop in wattage or work from interval to interval but asked my riders to try to keep this drop as small as possible. Between each interval set riders were given a 2 minute recovery to filter out as much of these accumulated waste products as possible. The cue I kept repeating in the middle of each interval set was “Your legs should feel like you're taking a bath in a tub full of lactate.”
The timing of the @ Threshold workout was exactly the same as the Above Threshold workout, but the height difference between floor and ceiling went from a room with vaulted ceilings to something that resembled a crawl space. The higher intensity or ceiling should be only a few watts above threshold or just above maximum sustainable intensity and the low intensity should be just below threshold or to the point where riders can regain control of their breathing. I like to compare this workout to a Time Trial effort or I also call it a Criss Cross Threshold workout. It is as much mental toughness training as it is physical. Science has shown us that a rider can maintain a threshold effort for more than an hour, so riders are physically capable of successfully completing this workout, the question is are they mentally capable. We can train the brain the same way we can train the body, if any participants cannot continue, let them know it's okay to take a 2-3 minute recovery then rejoin the group when they are recovered both physically and mentally. Also let them know that the next time you teach a class like this they should expect to “keep the power the pedals” longer. The cue I used in the Above Threshold profile also holds true here, after about 10 minutes, “Your legs should feel like you're taking a bath in a tub full of lactate.”
Give these two profiles a try and let me know how it goes. Both profiles are very similar and very challenging, so challenging that a bet your participants will not be able to remember a single song you played for the entire class.
In many of my “The Power of 3” posts I have written about the importance of “anchoring” time and effort. In it's most basic terms this means that the shorter the interval the higher the effort. If you instruct on bikes with power, then a higher effort should also translate to a higher wattage. This “anchoring” concept holds true as long as riders are given appropriate rest or recovery after each interval or hard effort. If riders are not given enough recovery between intervals their effort may still be high but their output or wattage will start to drop as fatigue increases. The ability to see this phenomenon is one of the most “powerful” features of a bike with a wattage meter.
The theme for my Above Threshold classes this month is to show my participants the importance of recovery. Over the last few months I've been using a lot of interval sets where I decrease the interval time from interval to interval and I expect to see a higher average wattage for each interval. For example I may have my participants perform intervals of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 minutes, each interval is followed by a 2 minute recovery, with the goal of increasing average wattage for each interval. This month I'll have my riders perform the same intervals, but I plan on reducing the recovery time to as low as 30 seconds between each interval. At the beginning of the month I expect to see wattage drop from interval to interval, as the body fatigues from lack of recovery. In the middle of the month I expect the see wattage held steady from interval to interval and by the end of the month, as the body adapts, I hope to see wattage again increase as the interval time decreases.
The body is truly an amazing organisms and it adapts to the stresses it faces, be patient and enjoy the process.
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The Power of 3 – “More Rest = More Work”
“Without You (Sample Gee Remix, Melker Edit)” by David Guetta vs U2
“Pompeii (Audien Remix)” by Bastille
“The Monster (eSQUIRE vs OFFBeat Remix)” by Eminem & Rihanna
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.
Before I was an ICI/Pro Contributor, or Master Educator, before I spent every weekend coaching whatever sport my kids were playing at the time, back in what feels like a different life I was and Ironman triathlete. I spent close to 10 years in pursuit of that coveted Hawaiian Ironman spot, only to see my competition get faster and that spot get farther and farther away. I may not have made it to the finish line in Kona, but the journey I took in pursuit of that dream has made me the person I am today.
People often ask me if I miss Ironman training and racing and I can honestly say I don’t. At that time in my life it was my identity, it was what I lived for. Today I have a wonderful wife and two great 15 year old boys. I would much rather be riding the lifts of Vail, with them, then base training for next year’s races. I may race again some day, but for the next few years I would rather focus on raising my boys, they are my identity, they are what I live for now.
The one thing I miss most about Ironman training are the long training workouts. I loved to train alone. There is no better place to find the answer to any of life’s questions than on a 4000m swim, 5 hour ride or 3 hour run. The rhythm and length of these workouts gave me a chance to quiet my mind and listen. I don’t know where the answers or ideas came from but they just came. Many people call this Flow or being In The Zone.
Flow is a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, wellbeing and enjoyment in the activity being performed. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy while.
Many people find the flow accidentally, without thinking about it or trying, all the conditions of a workout magically come together and work feels effortless, time flies by and your body feels like it is working perfectly. This flow state is like a drug, once you have had it once you want more of it. Luckily, finding The Flow can be practiced and perfected.
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The controlled environment of an indoor cycling studio is the perfect place to practice and perfect finding the flow state. I’ve been incorporating one flow state song per class for the past few months and my riders love it. When cueing a flow state song I ask my riders to focus on the beat of the music, or their cadence or the rhythm of their breathing. They need to focus on something rhythmic and hypnotic. The intensity needs to be below threshold, burning legs and lungs will pull them out of the flow. The most important and probably hardest thing for an instructor to do during a flow state song is to BE QUIET. Your riders need to focus on the rhythm of THIER bodies, the sound of your voice will pull them out of this flow state every time.
I have gotten more positive comments about this addition to my profiles then anything I have ever done. I would recommend you add it in during one of your recovery songs, this way the volume or intensity junkies in your class don’t feel like they are missing out on any of the “quality” of the workout.
If you listen to my recorded classes below, see if you can find any “Soul Cycle” influence, no I have not added weights.
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.
Schwinn's 
