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In: Coaching and Cueing, Mental Training, Mind-Body
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One of our more popular series on ICA is a set of articles with various strategies for inspiring your students up long climbs. The series was called Strategy for Strength, and is one of the favorites we’ve done on ICA. One of the strategies was to inspire students to come up with a mantra that they repeat over and over to themselves as they climb. Of course, mantras aren’t just for climbing. I was inspired recently to come up with some for sustained tempo pace.Read more…

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In: Class Profiles
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I put together this ride for instructors to use as a first class after studios and clubs open back up following the coronavirus lockdown. All of the songs are chosen to make you smile and to reflect; some are there to inspire you to push harder; some may even bring a tear to the eye. You are going to have a wide range of fitness levels when you first come back after many months off, so this profile provides ample modifications for the varying fitness levels in your class.Read more…

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In: General Advice, Medical & Health
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Meet Jennifer Kaplan, owner of the PeloDog Indoor Cycling studio in Avon, Colorado. Like most studios around the world, she had to shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. I interviewed Jen about the meticulous steps she has taken to reopen the studio to ensure the health and safety of her riders, her instructors, as well as herself and her family. Read more…

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In: Class Profiles, Teaching with Power
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Here is everything you need to perform two FTP tests with confidence: the ramp (MAP) test and the 20-minute test, including how to coach and motivate your riders to stay committed and how to add the most motivating and energetic music possible. You’ll learn not just the theory but also the practical skills to leading these two important functional assessments. If you have a bike, you can ride along with the two videos and test your own FTP. If you don’t have a bike, that’s OK; just imagine yourself at a conference session and view them with pen and paper in hand.Read more…

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In: Biomechanics, Cadence, Power, Coaching and Cueing
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In part 1, I described a popular but ineffective coaching method that fails to account for the difference in abilities and fitness of riders or the differences in the wear and tear on bikes. The second method of teaching resistance that instructors should steer clear of is to assign a 1–10 scale of resistance. This one is even worse than assigning a number of turns. It’s very confusing, it’s subjective, and it’s not anchored to anything. Read more…