I came across a blog post on how to wash your cycling clothes. I am sharing it here along with a few of my own tips and things to consider. Do you hand-wash them or use the washer? What temperature? Do you hang-dry or put them in the dryer? There may be a trade-off—reduced lifespan of cycling clothing, or possible bacteria.Read more…
This is a blog post by group fitness instructor Erica Barker (reprinted with permission). She accurately describes what most of us go through as we prepare for our one-hour fitness class, of any format. It’s a LOT more than that one hour, isn’t it? Share this with your peers and even with your students; it’s helpful when they understand how much your passion drives what you do!Read more…
Where do you find the most inspiring indoor cycling Instructors and dynamic, successful studios in the world? ICA set out on a mission to highlight the indoor cycling coaches, studio owners, and group fitness directors who are impacting individuals and communities where they lead and serve. We will spotlight a new instructor or studio bi-monthly. Our first star instructor is Julianne Lafleur from Toronto, Ontario!Read more…
For those who have video and Wi-Fi capabilities, here are a couple of mesmerizing music videos to give your riders something entrancing to watch when you don’t want to talk much….Read more…
This is a discussion of a Joe Friel article on a common misinterpretation of a heart rate response to training. DON’T LET THIS BE YOU! Make sure you understand how your riders’ heart rates respond to training! In this post is a list of resources and articles (some free, some books, some premium articles) to help enhance your understanding of heart rate. This is important EVEN if you don’t teach with a HR monitor. It also helps your coaching using RPE and optimizes your use of power training. Read more…
Billy Coburn, Star 3 Spinning® instructor and occasional contributor to ICA, was moved to put together a fundraiser ride for Nepal earthquake relief. He had a profile he created last year called North, about summiting Mt. Everest, so he resurrected the ride for his event. Thank you, Billy, for sharing this with all instructors!Read more…
Want to organize a ride for victims of the Nepali earthquake? Here is a checklist on how we created a successful fundraiser in three weeks for both the tsunami disaster of 2004 and Katrina in 2005. Whether you plan on a small event for just one class, or want to spearhead a larger more coordinated event several hours long, this checklist will give you some ideas on what to do.Read more…
Have you ever known someone who was a “fast responder”—someone who got fit really fast? Then others who did not respond at all to the same training, even though they were consistent and committed? Science can now answer why that happens.Read more…
Alisha Shulter is an indoor cycling instructor who recently taught her first class off the bike. But, she hadn’t planned on doing it that way. The results, however, were magical and taught her a lot about herself and her students. She wrote this blog post about it and gave me permission to share it with you here at ICA.Read more…
This article on managing a participant’s bad attitude by guest contributor Nancy Korf is very relevant to any type of group fitness class. It is a situation that many of us have encountered in our cycling classes so we wanted to share it with you. There are some real gems in the advice she gives here!Read more…