Welcome to the Indoor Cycling Association
The Coach Approach: Teacher vs. Instructor vs. Coach
While teaching and instructing certainly happen in every indoor cycling class, the ability to act as a coach sets indoor cycling apart from many other group fitness formats. Cori explains the difference between each one, and how they are utilized in the cycling studio. Read more…
Instructor Spotlight: Caroline Rigby—I Can do Better Than That!
Caroline Rigby is an example of a person who sees something amiss, and decides to fix it…by learning how to do that thing herself. Her determination will inspire you! Read more…
Inside to Outside—My Journey to Ironman
Pam Benchley is a master educator for Stages Indoor Cycling who recently completed her first Ironman. Her journey from “No Way” to “What if?” to “Holy Cow! Look what I did!” is so inspiring, it might even have you revisiting one of your own “what if” dreams.Read more…
The Myth of Maximum Heart Rate
For today’s TBT (Throwback Thursday) we are reposting one of the articles that became the foundation for ICA’s philosophy of heart rate training. Instructors should understand why maximum heart rate is not a good anchor for training zones, and instead learn how to perform field tests and talk tests so they can more accurately guide their riders to success.Read more…
The Language of the Coach Approach: 3 Crucial Elements of Coaching Style for Top-Notch Indoor Cycling Instructors
When you look back at all of the indoor cycling classes you’ve ever taken, is there one instructor who just seemed to reach down to the very core of your existence and get you? Read more…
TBT: Teaching off the Bike, Part 5: Coaching Intensity
The final segment of this series addresses two of the benefits of teaching off the bike that have the most impact: assessing intensity of your riders and teaching HIT intervals. You now have all the tools you need to be a highly effective indoor cycling coach who knows how to teach off the bike.Read more…
Class Profile: Hounds of Halloween, The Sequel
This is the sequel to one of our most popular Halloween theme profiles, a fun but spooky profile not for the faint of heart. Christine has woven a thrilling tale, combined with spooky sound effects, creepy music, apprehension, escapes, and, of course, some hard work. Grunting allowed!Read more…
Audio Master Class: Multiple Personality Climbs
This profile is a series of climbs that get progressively longer. Each one is very different from the other, not just in length and cadence, but also personality. This is manifested in the music choice. I took a previous ICA profile and kept the terrain, but completely changed the music and objective to create an entirely new profile.Read more…
6 Surefire Ways to Double the Number of Your Indoor Cycling Profiles
Creating new profiles is one of the more challenging aspects of being an indoor cycling instructor. But you may have a deeper well of profiles at your own fingertips without even realizing it! Here are 6 tips to take your existing profiles and double or even triple them with a few tweaks. Read more…
TBT: Teaching off the Bike, Part 4: Dismounting Occasionally
Throwback Thursday (updated). Teaching off the bike is a skill. With effective and judicious use, you can empower your students beyond what you could do from the saddle. But you can also overdo it and alienate your students. Dismounting occasionally is different from teaching an entire class off the bike. Here are specific steps to elevate your coaching from the floor.Read more…