Where Do We Go From Here?, Part 1

We can find ourselves asking this headlining question when we are lost, after we have achieved a goal, or when our limit has been reached. Regardless of how you arrive at this question, the situation is the same and there is a feeling of being stuck or stalled.

This feeling is a common issue among indoor cycling instructors, but not for the reason one might think. When an instructor teaches class after class, week after week, without a plan, at some point they can feel as if all of their options have been expended. They can either continue to wing it, risking mind-numbing boredom, or try to take it to another level that doesn’t really exist. Some instructors have resorted to “antics” on the bike in search of this next level, to combat boredom or out of sheer lack of knowledge and training. The sad reality is that many instructors have hit their classes with the best and most intense profiles they possess within the first twelve weeks of the year (January through March), and now they have nowhere to go.

The reality of the situation is that our environment changes throughout the year regardless of whether or not we do. In general, we have the beginning of the year: the return to fitness for many. This is followed by spring; nice weather shifts our numbers. Finally, the ghost town of summer. When fall arrives, we anxiously await a member reunion until the assault of the transient newbies as another year arrives. Due to the nature of indoor cycling and the call of the outdoors (when the weather is tolerable), our class size will experience flux.

Do You Have an Annual Profile?

Just as we create (or should create) a class profile, we should be deliberate with our annual profile. There are times within class that we warm up, build, peak, recover, and cool down; this pattern should be mirrored in the big picture. Throwing everyone into a high-intensity flurry every class, regardless of the time of year, is flat-out irresponsible. A respectable trainer would never slam a new client with a max training session on the first day, yet some indoor cycling instructors feel this is appropriate. I’ve heard the argument that because everyone arrives in our class at different fitness levels every week of the year, we do not have to adhere to sound training concepts. That is a load of…and only demonstrates laziness, lack of knowledge, and a lack of professionalism.

The general public within the health and fitness community will experience a need to re-condition themselves, build on their strength, strive for peak fitness, and enjoy a time of mental and physical recovery. What about those folks who like to stay in “peak fitness” all year? Who should cater to them? Nobody. Why? Because they have no clue about fitness and how to train; they will eventually plateau, burn out, get frustrated, or get injured. It is sad, but we can only help those who are interested in being helped. The bottom line is that we are health and fitness professionals, and as such, must follow proven scientific guidelines for developing and maintaining a healthy body. So, coming full-circle, our classes should follow a pattern throughout the year that allows riders to develop fitness and achieve goals, while leaving their body and mind healthy and refreshed.

If you are asking yourself the question “Where do I go from here?”, it is time to take a step back and examine how we are approaching the classes and training we are dishing out. How does this affect your riders as a whole? How does this affect outdoor riders in your classes? How does this affect you as the instructor?

The Endorphin Junkie

Instructors that have adopted the “one intensity fits all” approach to class design often find themselves likened to a drug dealer. Their job is to deliver the next intensity fix for the fitness withdrawn. Putting the obvious safety and periodization propaganda aside, if this is the purpose a class serves, riders will move on once they have either overdosed or sampled a “better” product somewhere else. Similar to those who try to sustain peak fitness all year, riders who experience every class “to the max” will eventually find themselves with no place to go.

An instructor with a plan to progressively develop fitness, strength, and mental toughness over the course of the year will continue to lure junkies in with a method to the madness that leads to greater madness. Think of it as a well-designed TV series. The entire year builds to a season finale. No one will dare risk the torment of not knowing how it will end. Let your riders know there is somewhere to go and you will take them there.

Nature Calls

Although riders will leave your class from time to time to use the facilities, I am referring to the call of the outdoors. Outdoor riders (and those who enjoy the outdoors in general) are often just using you and indoor cycling classes as a substitute anyway; they would rather be outside. In the New England area where I reside, cyclists train outside all year. That’s right. We puff up our chests and proclaim, “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.”

If indoor cycling is going to have a hope and a prayer of attracting these pedaling Klondikes once the temps rise above freezing, it needs to not be more of the same. Although outdoor cyclists will spend a greater percentage of their time on the road or dirt come spring, you can still offer them a reason to return as a supplement to their training. In order to achieve this, a plan must be in place and there must be somewhere to go from here. I discuss the specifics of what the spring and summer can bring in the form of specific rides and classes in part 2 of this article.

Where Does Our Personal Motivation Go From Here?

One of the most unknowing and deadly plateaus is the motivation and inspiration of the instructor. After all of the monster profiles have been played and riders begin making their usual exit to greener pastures, instructors are often left with those that are just prisoners of their weekly routine. Many of the remaining riders are not interested in obtaining a specific goal or challenging themselves to a new level of conditioning. Your class serves as a part of their “exercise” program.

Even though all of us will stand on the mountaintop and profess our dedication to the average Joe and Joan, the noticeable drop in attendance leaves us, and class in general, hungry for energy; energy we know will not return until Mother Nature again kicks them to the curb. Not only will a plan and progression give our riders somewhere to go when spring hits, our smart and progressive annual profile will keep us salivating as we prepare to open the floodgates to the next level.

Stay tuned for part 2…That is where you will go from here.

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