You can have the very best in equipment, the most exclusive training facility, and all of the fanfare that goes with it, but what really trumps all of this is the way the class is organized and coached. Janet shows you how to turn your coaching “radar” on the moment you walk into class so you can key into the specific needs of your riders.Read more…
Senior riders are becoming one of the most important demographics for our industry. The prevalence of baby boomers graduating into senior status is an opportunity for us to serve more people. But there is reluctance among this group to try indoor cycling. How can we overcome their resistance? I think the answer is the 30-minute senior rider demonstration class. This class can go miles in relieving the riders’ anxiety and creating dedicated new riders for our classes. Read more…
This is the continuation of our hints and tips that will help keep your “January newbies” in the saddle for the months and years to come. Here we cover introduction to bike operation, safety, and riding technique, and give you inspiration to use with your new riders. We finish with tips to make sure they not only will be happy with their first-time experience with you but will be much more likely to come back. Read more…
The first few months of every year bring in many new riders to your classes. This two-part series will provide ample tips that show you care and will help remove some reasons that your riders might abandon their first try at indoor riding, while increasing the chances that these newbies become your biggest fans. Read more…
Doubting yourself is natural. What you do about that doubt is important. It can make the difference in your success as an indoor cycling instructor and even in other parts of your life. Do you feel like an imposter sometimes? Here’s a dirty little secret that many professionals are afraid to admit.
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Last week one of the club managers came to take my class to do some reconnaissance in order to figure out my secret for filling my classes. Here are 15 things I do for every class that few of the other instructors do—these are likely the reasons why I have a waiting list and they don’t.Read more…
Indoor cycling instructors have to wear different hats at different times. How many hats do you have in your skills closet? And do you know the right time to wear each one? Here are some best practices to employ when trying to educate your students, and links to five additional articles on how to teach your students outside of class time.Read more…
As indoor cycling coaches, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our delivery and clarity in class so that we may continue to grow. This article explores one uncomfortable way for us to tackle our growth by audio recording our classes, then listening to ourselves and adjusting based on what we hear.
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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…
In this final post of our series on auditions, we cover what to do immediately after the audition and what to do when you get the news of “yay” or “nay.”Read more…