Allen Jones of epicRIDES tells us what inspired him to enter the world of virtual rides, what makes epicRIDES different, and his latest release—the Race Across America (RAAM).Read more…
Leave it to the fitness industry to aggressively destroy yet another sound athletic training concept. Hone in on certain indoor cycling circles and it can be an absolute free-for-all. It is not uncommon to see massive high-speed sprints (with little to no resistance), producing an eye-popping 20 watts (not a typo), upper-body gyrations that appear to be from a scene in the Exorcist, and now Tabata, Tabata, and more Tabata. Read more…
We first posted this Super Bowl profile from ICA contributor Kala Markel two years ago, and have had so many comments and e-mails about how much fun it is to teach and how much students enjoy it. Here it is again for those who may have missed it. Read more…
18 months ago, following a rash of press that Spinning®, and even just plain cardio, is “bad” for you, Dr. Jennifer Klau and I got together to discuss the lack of science behind these claims. Originally the audio for this interview was for members only, but I am resurrecting this and making it free for everyone to hear. This discussion specifically goes into debunking a Charles Poliquin article about the “negatives of aerobic training”.Read more…
Jennifer and Tom discuss some of the excessive upper-body movements found when standing during indoor cycling classes and how to coach your riders to proper form.Read more…
Indoor cycling endurance classes are a lose-lose situation. Low-intensity, steady-state classes are hated by your fitness enthusiast (or non-outdoor rider), and the fact that you attempt to deliver an endurance class to your outdoor riders within 60 minutes is just enough to tick them off. Instructors that try to force these mind-numbing, ineffective classes down riders’ throats will receive the same response as parents telling children to eat some nasty-tasting food because it is good for them. Some of you right now are possibly confused, stunned, angry, unfriending me from Facebook… What in the name of Keep it Real is Tom talking about?!Read more…
My interview on the Ben Greenfield podcast was posted yesterday (my third podcast in two months!) on whether indoor cycling is bad for you. Actually, Ben, who is an elite triathlete, personal trainer, and fitness blogger/podcaster/presenter, is really good with creating headlines that turn heads! Basically we discuss how toRead more…
As January is upon us, it is time once again to rebuild our fitness. This base-building process has a number of elements such as muscular endurance, muscular strength, leg speed, aerobic endurance, and, our focus for this profile, aerobic conditioning.Read more…
James Fell, my favorite irreverent fitness myth buster and journalist, has just posted an excellent article on silly techniques in indoor cycling classes. James was one of the first to publicly challenge some of the unsafe and ineffective techniques done at SoulCycle (and other similar programs) in his front-page feature in the LA Times two years ago. Both Tom Scotto and I were interviewed for that article. You’re going to want to share this one with every instructor, student, and group exercise director or studio owner you know.Read more…
This year I took a compilation of the four inspirational New Year’s Profiles on ICA and put them together into one 90-minute ride. If you want a longer ride, this will give you ideas how to combine these profiles. Remember, New Year’s rides can be done all through January as riders set goals for 2014 and you commit to helping them!Read more…