Top 10 Reasons to Return to Indoor Cycling this Fall and Ways to Promote It

There is a buzz around our gym as indoor cycling season is approaching. My YMCA is adding classes back into the schedule to accommodate increased fall and winter demand. People that I haven’t seen for months are starting to return to class.  

This is an exciting time for instructors—there is no doubt it is more fun to teach to a full room, wouldn’t you agree?

How can you help get your students back into your classes? How can you tempt outdoor riders to come indoors to join you?

Here is a list of reasons to return to indoor cycling that you can share with your members, courtesy of the Indoor Cycling Association (ICA):

TOP TEN REASONS TO RETURN TO INDOOR CYCLING THIS FALL

1. FRIENDS. See your friends. They’ve missed you over the summer.
2. ENERGY. There is a wonderful camaraderie and energy in the shared work. It’s tangible and a great reason to come back. You just can’t get this energy working alone on a wind trainer, treadmill, or elliptical machine, or with a video. A good instructor can use this group energy to give you a really great ride.
3. SAFETY. For those who ride outside in the summer, you can avoid traffic as it gets darker earlier.
4. CONVENIENCE. Enjoy the convenience of coming before or after work. Your workout can be used as a clear demarcation between your work day and home life. Or, it can be a midday break in your busy routine.
5. EFFICIENCY. Get a more efficient workout. Burn more calories in less time than you would be able to do outdoors. You can get a great workout in less than an hour and be done.
6. STRETCHING. Have you neglected your stretching this summer? Get in the stretching habit before and after class. Cyclists most often need to improve flexibility in their calves, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, chest, and upper traps.
7. MUSCLE BALANCE. Correct your muscle imbalances by spending some time strengthening your weaker areas. For cyclists, they are most often core, back, glutes, shoulders, and neck flexors.
8. MUSIC. Enjoy the dynamic quality that well-chosen music can add to your exercise experience. Music helps contribute a sense of energy to your work—and cycling classes are known for awesome music!
9. COACHING. Need to work on improving your cycling form? Confused about what to work on during the off-season? A good instructor will not only encourage you to go harder but will also help you to go better by giving you guidance on technique and form.
10. INSPIRATION. Feeling some burnout from a long outdoor season? Come back and get inspired by our instructors and fellow riders.  

Click here to download a PDF of this list and use it to promote your own classes. Feel free to modify if needed. (If you use Google Drive, you can copy the Google Doc here. We ask that you kindly retain the ICA logo and the copyright at the bottom, but feel free to add your own logo.)

Here are some ways you use this list:

• Post it to your Facebook, Instagram, and other social media accounts.
• Use it as “talking points” when you see members around the gym.
• Put up flyers in your gym.
• Use it in your club’s fall member newsletter.
• Send it as a personalized e-mail to individual members you may know.
  
• Post it in local bike shops, coffee shops, or other places where local rides might originate.
• Share it with your current students so they can talk it up with their friends.

As you begin welcoming your students back to indoor cycling, you may also want to use this occasion to remind them of some of the courtesies and procedures you expect in order to make class fun for everyone. It’s a great time of year to remind them about things like reserving bikes, arriving on time, talking in class, and post-ride bike care.

After you promote your classes, remember that ICA is a great source for how to coach your outdoor riders over the winter. There are numerous articles on coaching, inspirational cueing, teaching good form, proper use of cadence and resistance, profile design, power training, communication tips, how to use music for maximum impact, and hundreds of song suggestions and creative theme ride ideas. For an example of just a handful of the profiles available to ICA members, here is a list of 40 different profiles, each with a different playlist and cueing suggestion (20 weeks’ worth for those who teach twice a week). Click here to find out more about becoming an ICA member. 

Let us know in the comment section if you have other ideas about how to use these reasons to return to indoor cycling. Also feel free to share your experiences with students returning to your studio.  

(This article originally appeared in 2016, written by Bill Roach. It has been updated with additional promotional ideas.)