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In: Instructor Issues & growth, Programming and Management
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I really appreciated the comments on my last two-part article, “Where Do We Go From Here?” It is always very encouraging to see how many instructors put a tremendous effort into the planning of their classes. This reflects well on our professionalism and understanding of how to help people reaching their fitness goals. Training plans are not just for personal trainers (no offense). As a follow-up, and per request, I’m going to provide more detail on the various approaches I use when base training fades into the distance.Read more…

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In: Biomechanics, Cadence, Power, eBooks and Videos, ICA Recommends
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With so many Indoor Cycling instructors now beginning to teach on bikes with power, Gene’s focus is on simplifying the jargon and educating the reader from ground zero is more important than ever. The latest iBook features provide an incredible set of tools to make this a much more engaging experience than one would normally find in a book like this.Read more…

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In: Instructor Issues & growth
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What to do when you are the ONLY one at your club that teaches a “real” cycling class.
I’ve received this question quite a bit. “How do you handle teaching a class that is so different than what other instructors offer at your club?” Although we can be really excited to learn something new (or just get reinvigorated), the excitement can wane when we think of how it will be received by our riders or our club as a whole. Those who love our rides are also bombarded by other indoor cycling classes that may have little resemblance to biking or training.Read more…

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In: Class Profiles
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This ride is a very fun simulation of an out-and-back ride and highlights the beauty of using outdoor simulations to enhance your indoor experience. This profile includes wonderful visualization cues of the scenery and the outdoor riding experience. I call it The Canyon Ride because the middle section descends into and overlooks a beautiful canyon with desert topography. Read more…

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In: Instructor Issues & growth, Music Resources, New Instructors
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If you’ve been teaching longer than a few years you will have perhaps hundreds of playlists. If you are new at this game (and even if you’re not), here are some simple tips and tricks to help you organize your songs into easy to manage folders so you can find that PERFECT song when you need it. Plus I’ve got an iTunes hack I’ve recently discovered that helps you know more about your song usage. Read more…

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In: Free Articles, Physiology, Heart Rate & RPE
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If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m a big proponent of doing field tests to estimate your lactate threshold. I’ve done numerous metabolic tests in the past, but I’ve never had a chance to do a lactate test. Here are my results from my recent lactate test (I NAILED my LTHR!) and an analysis of one of my student’s profound aerobic improvement.Read more…

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In: Biomechanics, Cadence, Power
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In this final chapter of the Power Training e-book, Gene leaves us with this message, “This is why this book was written. This is why this is my full time occupation–creating resources for indoor cycling–because to train properly with the objective of wasting no time, insuring results, and having fun along the way takes time and dedication to get right. Not only are we spending time to get it right, but we are also making sure we can repeat the process, and thus reap the benefits multiple times over. That seems worth it to me. What about you?Read more…

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In: Biomechanics, Cadence, Power
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What turns a workout into a power workout is simply the overall objective of that ride. While we can call these ‘power’ workouts, they will also improve your cardiovascular performance. The physical systems that produce energy in your body are all connected, and it is hard to affect one without impacting the other. We can target our workouts for specific applications of power, and this chapter will provide examples of this.Read more…