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
- FRIENDS. See your friends. They’ve missed you over the summer.
- 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. A good instructor can use this group energy to give you a really great ride.
- SAFETY. Avoid traffic as it gets darker earlier.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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, hams, hip flexors, chest, and upper traps.
- MUSCLE BALANCE. Correct your muscle imbalances by spending some time strengthening your weaker areas. For cyclists, they are most often core, back (lumbar spine), glutes, shoulders, and neck flexors.
- 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.
- 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.
- INSPIRATION. Feeling some burnout from a long outdoor season? Come back and get some other forms of inspiration from our instructors, and from other students.
Click here to download this list and use it to promote your own classes. How can you use this list?
- Post it to your Facebook or other social media account.
- 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.
After you promote your classes, stay tuned to ICA for great information on how to help coach your outdoor riders over the winter. You’ll learn things like how to set individual targets for riders based on lactate threshold field testing. Articles will address proper form habits to create the most power with consistency. You’ll learn more about how to use physical and psychological rest for better performance next year. And you’ll learn how to build a cardiovascular base without resorting to long, slow, and boring training.
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, talking in class, and bike care.
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.