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In: Communication and Presentation Skills, Free Articles, Guest blogger, Instructor Issues & growth, New Instructors
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Guest contributor and ICA member Izabela Ruprik has been collecting indoor cycling certifications over the past few years (about to take her 7th cert)! She attended a class the other day and came away frustrated so she wrote about her experience. She wanted to share this very important message with all instructors from every program: Always share what the purpose of your workout is with your riders!Read more…

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In: Coaching and Cueing, Communication and Presentation Skills
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Do you like to be yelled at or do you like to be listened to? Will you perform better for someone yelling in your ear, or with gentle encouragement from someone you trust? I ask you to consider the idea of “gentle coaching” as you develop your own unique coaching style. Even if your natural style is more authoritative, you may find some ideas here that will help you personalize and expand your appeal to your students.Read more…

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In: Coaching and Cueing, Communication and Presentation Skills, Instructor Issues & growth, New Instructors
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New instructors are often unsure how much they should be talking or what they should be saying in their classes. One of the litmus tests to discover if you are talking too much is to simply ask yourself, “Why am I talking?” The answer may surprise you. Caesar provides tips on examining the purpose of your cues and making sure your riders aren’t confused by what you say. Read more…

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In: Biomechanics, Cadence, Power, General Fitness, Physiology, Heart Rate & RPE
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With the New Year upon us, you will be getting a LOT of questions about calories burned in your cycling class. How much do you know about the calorie estimates you see on your heart rate monitor, computer console, or power meter? Are these estimates accurate? Here is everything you need to understand how the wrong information—or faulty understanding of the data—can lead you or your riders to believe they did more work than they actually did. Read more…

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In: Class Profiles, Theme Ride Thursday
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(Reposted from last year.) In this profile, you will dare your riders to recommit to their goals using very powerful songs, each one a perfect compliment to your message. You can bring out this powerful motivating ride anytime you want you riders to commit to doing more of what they want and need. Use this profile in its entirety, or just pick out a couple of songs and the associated cueing and throw them into other profiles that need a motivational boost.Read more…

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In: Free Articles, Teaching With Video, Tech Tip
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Technology can help you teach your classes, it can help your riders improve their performance, and best of all (at least from a business standpoint), it can raise you above your competition and fill your classes. You might as well learn the technology that is available to our industry and how to capitalize on it. Gene Nacey of Cycling Fusion will be providing us with monthly tech tips. Read more to find out about a few of the upcoming topics in this exciting area of studio cycling!Read more…

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In: Class Profiles, Theme Ride Thursday
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Here are easy access links to four past profiles for the New Year, including the popular “How Big is Your Why,” which challenges your thinking with a *Revolution*; “Roll With The Changes,” which will help your students put the stake in the ground and avoid errors of the past. “The Word of the Year” encourages riders to choose a personal mantra, and “What’s Stopping You” reflects on the “How” they will achieve their goals, not just on the “What.”Read more…

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In: Communication and Presentation Skills, Instructor Issues & growth, Programming and Management
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Last week I provided three suggestions to minimize the chance of unprepared riders in your classes. In this follow-up, I give you an example of how to balance your attention between your regular riders and a newbie who needs very close supervision, without anyone feeling left out.Read more…