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In: Free Articles, Physiology, Heart Rate & RPE
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In all the heart rate training articles posted at ICA, we always stress the fact that heart rate, while an effective way to monitor your intensity, is subject to many external factors that have nothing to do with the work you are performing. These factors include over-reaching, over-training, lack of sleep, dehydration, caffeine, medications, heat, humidity, stress, and others. It is important to understand the limitations of heart rate training if one is to use it properly as a training tool. One of the factors we may ignore the most is stress. I share with you a personal example of the negative effects of stress on my own heart rate. Please share this article to help others understand the body’s response to stress.Read more…

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              Class profiles on the Indoor Cycling Association Profile: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not This creative and fun profile explores the sensations that go along with the “He loves me, he loves me not” game—where you pull petals off a daisy andRead more…

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In: Free Articles, Instructor Issues & growth, Training
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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…

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In: Free Articles, Medical & Health, Physiology, Heart Rate & RPE
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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…

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In: Form and Technique, Free Articles, Instructor Issues & growth, New Instructors, Programming and Management
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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…