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In: Free Articles, General Fitness, Instructor Issues & growth, Physiology, Heart Rate & RPE
With: 18 Comments

Damn, I finally did it…I wrote one of those inane headlines that are so in vogue and are only designed to get clicks. I swore I would never do it. But sadly (not just that I succumbed to the trend but also because what I’m about to say is 100% true…) it’s probably the most descriptive and honest headline I could ever write about this topic. So get ready to have your mind blown if you’re a personal trainer or care about how fitness is taught.Read more…

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In: Mental Training, Mind-Body
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Studies prove that when you take twenty athletes of equal ability and give ten of them mental training, they will outperform the ten without it every time. Of all the various mental training techniques used today, visualization is the single most powerful one used to optimize performance. Here are three ways top performers harness the power of visualization to perform at their peak and how you can too.Read more…

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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
With: 6 Comments

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
With: 15 Comments

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
With: 10 Comments

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…