The world lost an incredible musician today. Here is a list of some of my favorite Tom Petty tracks to use in my cycling classes, and how I use them. I’ve also created a Spotify playlist of what I feel are some of his best songs for a wide variety of uses in your classes, from the warm up, to the cool-down, to fast flats, hard climbs, and much more. Read more…

What? Me? Doing push-ups on a bike? This video is from last year’s popular 22 Push-up Challenge that was going around Facebook. I decided to do my final day of the challenge on the bike. But don’t despair, I haven’t lost my marbles…there’s a teaching moment at the end so make sure you watch it all the way through. And feel free to share this page or share our YouTube link with those who might think push-ups are an acceptable way to gain strength. They may be surprised at what they learn! Read more…

Jackie Cohen Maniscalco had one of those 3-minute large group auditions we wrote about recently at a major chain club. In fact, Jackie’s request for help in the ICA Facebook group is what inspired me to write the article. Jackie had an interesting experience at her audition and agreed to share it with you all. You know, in case you might ever experience one like it where you actually get less than 3 minutes to show what you know!Read more…

The Indoor Cycling Association is embarking on an interval education series that will highlight the fact that not all intervals are created equal. Written by Jennifer Sage, founder of ICA, and Jennifer Klau, Ph.D., we will start the series with a primer on exercise physiology, and then dive into intervals of every stripe. But first…take this important, short quiz to test your knowledge of intervals.Read more…

Honoring musical legends in our cycling classes when they leave this world is a great way to play tribute to amazing artists, while at the same time expanding your own musical repertoire. It gives you an excuse to play tracks you might not normally play—and who knows? You—and your riders—may discover genres you wouldn’t normally ride to! Here are four Allman Brothers songs you won’t want to miss.Read more…

Two months ago, I wrote a post about the wisdom (or lack of it) of standing for very long periods out of the saddle. I challenged anyone in the indoor cycling world to perform my standing climb challenge. I still think it’s worth trying, but I recognize it’s not a very effective workout, so I have a much more attainable challenge; one which will also be eye-opening as you compare power, heart rate, and cadence with standing versus seated efforts. Will you do this challenge?Read more…