Welcome to the Indoor Cycling Association
Video Profile: Tour of the Training Zones
The Tour of the Training Zones is one of the most important profiles in the ICA library. It’s a very educational profile that requires more talking than most profiles. For that reason, to help you teach it to your own classes, I’ve filmed myself teaching this ride so you can hear my cueing and how I deal with the intensity myself. I also have a summary of the profile cues that you can download and modify.Read more…
This One Thing
Yes, I do a lot to prepare for my classes. I spend hours making playlists. I read articles on physiology and innovative cueing. You do it too. But there’s one thing I do that I think makes a huge difference in my coaching. And maybe you don’t agree with its importance. Are you ready?
Read more…
Hovers and Isolations in Spinning Classes
What exactly does an isolation look like on the bike? Is it similar to a hover? In this article, we discuss the difference between the two and why neither are effective or beneficial techniques to employ in indoor cycling classes. Just don’t do them!Read more…
Theme Ride Thursday: Girl Bands
As a follow-up to last week’s boy band post, we’re showcasing girl bands for this week’s Theme Ride Thursday. Read more…
Minimum Effective Dose (MED) and Power Zone Training in Indoor Cycling
We’ve all heard the phrase “Exercise is the best medicine.” However, no medicine is equally good at any dose; too little and the desired effects will not be achieved, too much and negative side effects result. Dosage in the context of exercise means training load: the intensity, duration, and frequency of a given activity. What are the best doses of each level of intensity and how will knowing this help us plan our classes?Read more…
Ask the Expert: Does Indoor Cycling Help Bone Health?
I received this question: “One of my riders asked me if indoor cycling is weight bearing enough to be beneficial for someone dealing with osteopenia. Any thoughts or insights or studies that I could pass along?” For the answer, I went to someone with far more knowledge than me. This is an important issue for all of us and our students, so make sure you are informed. Read more…
Theme Ride Thursday: Boy Bands
Here’s our take at the best boy band songs to cycle to.Read more…
He Asked, She Said “Yes”
Lauren Ciambruschini taught the class of her life on Valentine’s Day. I saw her story and photos in a Facebook group and asked her if she would share it with the indoor cycling world. You are going to love this! I’ll let Lauren tell it from her point of view…Read more…
Understanding and Raising the Lactate Threshold, Part 2
In the last article on understanding lactate threshold, we discussed the three different energy systems of the body and how ATP, the energy currency of the body, was produced in all three systems concurrently. Each system provides different amounts of energy to the working muscles at varying rates for distinct intensity demands. To further shore up this concept, it would be helpful to be somewhat familiar with where our bodies derive the energy to power our movement and basic body functions.Read more…
Coach’s Corner: Cues from Students Help You Develop a Training Purpose for Your Classes
After each class you teach, take stock of what you have noticed among your riders and their reactions to your profile and your cues. What can you help your students refine and improve upon? Take your observations to the next step and use them to help you develop your training objectives for your next class or series of classes based on what you observe. Read more…