Bill Roach has had students request Christian music for his playlists, and Jennifer Sage has had instructors who have requested Christian music suggestions for ICA. Have you had these requests from your students? What have you done? Bill gives you some ideas for how to approach this kind of request, with input from Jennifer Sage, Gene Nacey, and Tom Scotto. We provide you with some song suggestions from this genre, and welcome all of your own. Please give us your input on this potentially touchy subject!Read more…

Shirin arrived to the studio and started getting ready for the 90-minute class, as students were beginning to file in. She turns on the stereo, and….nothing. No sound. No music. No mic. They did everything they could to try to figure it out. To no avail. Class was about to start and Shirin had to make a decision. What followed was a momentous experience that all of her students will remember for a long time. You want to hear about this, you might get some pointers on engaging your students when faced with an obstacle!Read more…

As an indoor cycling instructor, I believe your job is to lead your students to greater fitness, provide motivation and inspiration, educate them, and have fun in the process. In fulfilling these obligations, you want to have a mix of the elements listed in this article in your quiver of classes. These aren’t energy zones or specific types of profiles, rather they could be what is stated as an objective (or sub-objective) for your profile.Read more…

After three weeks being out of commission, I’m slowly getting back to teaching my Tues/Thur 6am class, the end of a 12-week periodized program. Since the information and coaching is very specific and is based on what was done in the previous weeks, I had no one who I could trust to sub for me. (Yup, really!) But I do have very understanding and wonderful students who cared more about my recovery than their class! So today was my second day back, teaching off the bike. My husband remarked these past two classes were the best he’s ever seen me teach, because I was focusing so much on my students. Here’s what I said and did, plus my latest field-test playlist, which I loved!Read more…

One of the beauties of indoor cycling is that it inspires many instructors to become cyclists, and some instructors even inspire their students to ride outside (one of my favorite things). But sometimes the world of cycling can be a little intimidating. At ICA, we want to help you discover the world of outdoor riding and help you answer your students’ questions about outdoor riding as well as indoor! Read more…

In my periodized 12-week cycling clinic, today is the first day we intentionally went into Zone 5 (above threshold) for longer than a handful of seconds. Yup, HIT baby! I used an incredible cue that I learned from Gene Nacey to help my students understand the importance of balance. In fact, it’s also a teaser to an upcoming product you all may be interested in. . . . Read more…

I have a RealRyder at home, but unfortunately there’s no clubs near me where I can teach on them. Tonight, I decided to try out another EpicRides DVD. Wow! The one I chose was perfect for the RealRyder, with turns, intensity, and excitement galore. You don’t HAVE to have a bike that leans, but it sure made that aspect of this virtual ride pretty fun! . . .Read more…