Tom, do you have a litmus test to tell if recoveries are too short for the efforts you are asking? For example, if you are asking for a 5-minute, 4-minute, 2-minute, and 1-minute best effort, one right after the other in that order, how much recovery would you give in between each? Thanks.
– Julie Zweck-BronnerRead more…
I’m certain each of us has participated in one or more charity events. We ran, biked, walked, or possibly accomplished something more adventurous in the name of a great cause we believe in. Those of us who had the opportunity to be one of the chosen instructors responsible for motivating these big-hearted participants know the tremendous privilege this is. Being an instructor for a charity ride is also a rush beyond what can be experienced from teaching our everyday indoor cycling classes. All excitement aside, events of this nature can be intimidating for an instructor. Here are some tips and considerations for how to approach the event, how to approach your ride, and how to approach your riders for the best charity ride ever.Read more…
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…
Energy in science can neither be created nor destroyed. What about energy in your classroom? Energy is one of the primary things that distinguishes a good class from a poor one. A class with good energy is almost always a good class. A class without energy is, well, dead. Here are tips to keep the energy high.Read more…
Bill arrives at the studio to teach his class, but there is a construction team at the front of the room, just minutes before class starts. What does he do? Learn from Bill’s experience in effectively managing a challenging situation, and apply it to others that you might encounter. Your response will have an effect on how your riders respond!Read more…
How do you break free from your fears? How do you embrace bringing new ideas, new content, and new experiences to your studio and your students? Read more…
Whenever I think of recovering faster, I hear my grandfather in the back of my head telling me to sleep faster when I only had four hours until the morning. By no means do I want you to start shortchanging your recovery time nor try to psychologically speed up the process. I do want you to consider how fast your heart rate recovers and learn some valuable information you can provide to educate your riders.Read more…
In order to help our students improve and progress, at times we have to put ourselves “out “there.” We must take the risk of presenting new experiences, which include new information, profiles, music, cueing, philosophies, and techniques. As a result, we step, and sometimes even leap, outside of our comfort zone.Read more…
In the following video I will give you a tour of my iTunes library to demonstrate how I organize my playlists and music for indoor cycling. Along the way I will show you some tips and tricks for ordering your lists, using the BPM widget, building a playlist, laying out your profile, and calculating the time of multiple songs.Read more…