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In: Class Profiles, Coaching and Cueing, Outdoor Cycling
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Bryan is a new contributor for ICA, and he starts with a bang-up profile that is sure to get your riders’ adrenaline flowing! It is a simulation of a real race that is held in Pasadena, California, twice a week in summers, nicknamed the Rose Bowl Brawl. This is what Bryan says about this ride: “On Tuesdays and Thursdays a 150+ rider peloton blasts 10 fast laps around the famed Rose Bowl. If you followed the 2015 Amgen Tour of California, it was also host to a nail-biting, down-to-the-millimeters sprint finish.” Yeah. Bring that to your riders now!Read more…

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In: Free Articles, Instructor Issues & growth, New Instructors
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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…

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In: Communication and Presentation Skills, Instructor Issues & growth, New Instructors
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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…

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In: Free Articles, Instructor & Club Spotlight
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Where do you find the most inspiring indoor cycling Instructors and dynamic, successful studios in the world? ICA set out on a mission to highlight the indoor cycling coaches, studio owners, and group fitness directors who are impacting individuals and communities where they lead and serve. We will spotlight a new instructor or studio bi-monthly. Our first star instructor is Julianne Lafleur from Toronto, Ontario!Read more…

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In: Communication and Presentation Skills, General Coaching, Instructor Issues & growth, New Instructors, Programming and Management
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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…

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In: Free Articles, New Instructors, Physiology, Heart Rate & RPE
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This is a discussion of a Joe Friel article on a common misinterpretation of a heart rate response to training. DON’T LET THIS BE YOU! Make sure you understand how your riders’ heart rates respond to training! In this post is a list of resources and articles (some free, some books, some premium articles) to help enhance your understanding of heart rate. This is important EVEN if you don’t teach with a HR monitor. It also helps your coaching using RPE and optimizes your use of power training. Read more…

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In: Music Resources
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If you are planning on doing a Giro d’Italia stage, throwing a little Italian pop, hip-hop, a soundtrack classic, or a fun cultural tune will make your ride even more authentic and exciting! Here is a bucket playlist of 175 Italian songs to spice up your Giro playlist. These also work well for an around-the-world theme ride. Read more…

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In: Instructor Issues & growth, Medical & Health, Physiology, Heart Rate & RPE
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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…