Here is the 3rd post of my new “The Power of 3 – Keep it Simple and Progress” profile feature on ICI/Pro. My goal with these profiles is to show how easy it can be to create just one profile every 3 weeks and with some subtle changes in riding position, RPM, interval and recovery duration as well as a new playlist each week theses workouts will “feel” different but the similarity of each ride will help class participants increase their fitness in a scientifically proven way.
This week I reduced the rest in the main sets and added two more 1 minute max efforts.
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Trainer Road Profile (If you're Trainer Road Member join my Team to get this and all profiles)
Last week I wrote about how my simplest sets and profiles are most often my most popular. I have also found that if I simply progress profiles from week to week, usually in 3 week blocks, my classes enjoy the familiarity of the workout and see progressive improvement.
To add progression to a block of workouts all you need to do is add time to each interval or reduce recovery or increase intensity to each interval set. This allows the body to adapt from workout to workout. Check out this article from Training Peaks about progression, How to Build Workouts.
I inevitably get the response from instructors that their riders like every class to be different or they'll get bored. My response is, “Even class IS different!” I use different playlists and videos from week to week, I may keep similar yet progressive profiles but I'll change around how each set is ridden, for example, seated vs standing or fast rpm vs slower rpm. This makes each week “feel” completely different but is similar enough that the body can adapt from week to week and a progressive training effect can occur.
If you used my profile from last week with your class, progress with this new one below and let me know how it goes.
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The more I teach the more I find that the simplest profiles are the most popular. I often put together simple profiles and I'm always worried that my participants are going to be bored, but the longer the intervals and the more I repeat each set the more they love it. This gives participants more and more opportunities to understand the set and perfect how they perform it. When you combine a simple set with the science of anchoring time and effort, the shorter the interval the higher the output or the longer the interval the lower the output, it makes for a challenging and very personalized workout. I have also found the if I'm not taking the class on a “journey”, but just doing an interval based class my playlist only needs to be a mix of high energy songs, there is no need to try to match riding position or RPM with the music, just rock it!
This week I'm sharing with you a profile I used this week in most of my classes. It starts with a 5 minute warmup where I increased the intensity, wattage or HR ever minute. After a minute of recovery we did a 6 minute interval where we rode seated with a RPM of 80-110. If we were riding on bikes with wattage we remembered our average wattage at the end of the interval. If wattage wasn't available but participants had HR monitors I had them take note of either their average HR for the interval. If average HR wasn't available I asked them to take their best guess at their average HR. If the only option was perceived exertion I had riders remember the gear or resistance they were were working with and the feelings in their body like their breathing and burning sensation in their legs. After a minute recovery we rode for 4 minutes but this time we rode with an RPM of 60-80 and at a higher wattage, gear, HR and/or perceived exertion. After a 1 minute recovery we rode for 2 minutes while standing at an rpm of 60-80 and an even higher wattage, gear, HR and/or perceived exertion. After a 1 minute recovery we repeated the 6,4,2 minute set again, taking a 1 minute recovery after each interval, but this time we rode the 6 minute interval in a seated position with a RPM of 60-80, the 4 minute interval standing at 60-80rpm and for the 2 minute interval we sat between 80-110prm. After another 1 minute recovery we we rode for 6,4,2 minute interval for a final time. This time the 6 minute interval was ridden in a standing position at 60-80rpm, the 4 minute interval was ridden seated between 80-110prm and the 2 minute interval was ridden seated between 60-80rpm, taking 1 minute off between each interval and trying to increase the wattage, gear, HR and/or perceived exertion with each interval.
Finally I finished with a tabata interval of 8 X 20 seconds at max effort and 10 seconds recovery. If done properly output, wattage, gear and/or rpm will drop throughout the interval. I tell my class the output will drop but effort should not.
New Power of 3 Mix, 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.
I'm not a Snoop Dogg fan – but there's some awesome tracks this week on Spotify.
This has become an almost regular habit for me. I'll cue up the New Music Tuesday playlist published by Spotify and then drag promising tracks into my Future To Use folder. Some weeks are near complete washouts. This week has what could be a complete class of songs… Oh, what the heck. Here's a playlist of just songs from today (no Snoop you'll notice) that follows my typical Life Time Fitness 45 minute Evolution Class Format – times are approximate and vary dependent on song length:
5 min Warmup – 90+ RPM
5 min Openers – 4-5 accelerations pushing above threshold (your Edge in Life Time speak)
3 min Reset – fun change of pace, but not a full recovery
4 min Best Effort = maximum sustainable Watts / HR
4 min @ VT1 (Aerobic Threshold or top of zone #2) / Base Watts
7 min Challenge #1
2 min Reset
7 min Challenge #2
2 min Reset
4 min Big Finish = a Best Effort / slightly above threshold final effort
5 min Dedication, cool down & stretch[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']
Why do I choose to follow a templated class profile?
Lots of reasons actually:
The Life Time Fitness 45 minute Evolution Class profile is supposed to follow this template format. One of the rare times in my life that I choose to willfully follow directions 🙂
15+ years of experience has me believing my participants enjoy a consistent, predictable class profile. This is especially true for my early AM “A” types. They need to see that I have a plan and purpose for the class. Sticking to a familiar pattern (they know what to expect) appears to be comforting to them + knowing what's coming has them working harder throughout the class.
It helps keep me creative. Knowing WHAT profile I'm planning frees me to play with music that determines HOW I'll lead each segment. The Best Efforts and Challenges are “open” – meaning, if I want to use a big climb for the first Best Effort I can. Just pick a powerful track with a slower tempo and I'm done with that segment. Challenge #1 and #2 can be speed, endurance, strength, etc… and typically a pair of songs.
Knowing in advance, what I'm doing this week, makes life less stressful. Less stress allows me to concentrate on delivering a better class presentation.
Simplifies creating fresh playlists. Because I already know the profile, I can quickly assemble a playlist. Contrast that with not knowing either the profile or playlist. I would have twice the work. No thanks.
[/wlm_private]I'll be using this playlist and profile on Thursday. I'll let you know what their response is!
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.
