This is not an uncommon indoor cycling problem at all - particularly if you're doing a good job at reaching riders who wouldn't normally consider indoor cycling but who could get a great deal out of it. So if you have this type of rider in your class, take this as a great compliment!

Why do riders struggle to come out of the saddle?
There are several potential problems a rider might be experiencing; here are the main ones, and they're often interrelated:

• lack of confidence
• incorrect bike setup
• poor core strength
• back problems or pain
• balance problems
• incorrect resistance

Lack of confidence
This is a very common problem. Many new riders have low confidence and a negative body image, and this is a major reason why new riders may come once and then not come back. There are two main ways to treat this problem:

• reassurance
• building confidence

Always using positive language, using riders' names, and designing and delivering sessions that are both realistic and effective for riders will help reassure them that they're in the right place. 
Avoid running classes that are run like a choreography where it looks odd if a rider is not doing the same thing as everyone else. This is a surefire way of reinforcing a rider's low confidence if they're not able to do everything that other riders can do. The beauty of indoor cycling is that you don't need to have rhythm, to be able to feel and match a beat, you don't need to be fit to get started, and you can go at your own pace and adjust your resistance yourself and no one needs to know.  It's good for riders to be reassured that others don't know what they're doing. They can then enjoy exercising in a group, enjoy the camaraderie but not feel like they're being judged. 
You can build confidence by offering options. Every option you offer needs to be a positive one - enable your riders to win every time. Think about how you would feel if you were new to indoor cycling, you though everyone was fitter than you, you'd not been on a bike since you were a kid, and you were pretty confident you were the heaviest one there? Chances are that unless you've been that person, you can't know exactly how that feels - but you can imagine, and as an instructor it's important to have empathy and make the way easier for those who might be struggling. 
For my first ever indoor cycling session, I stayed in the saddle for the whole time. When everyone else was up out of the saddle and loving life, I was plodding along at the back hoping no one noticed. I was worried that if I came out of the saddle I would feel unsteady and maybe fall off. I hated the session from start to finish and vowed never to do another indoor cycling session ever again. Life had other plans, obviously - but how many others have had a similar experience? And it's not always going to be the riders you expect. I was young, a healthy weight and reasonably fit. I just had low confidence and was terrified of falling off and being laughed at by the fit people. You can't spot that, and no rider is going to tell you that that's how they feel. 
What would have helped would have been if the instructor noticed that I seemed incapable of doing what everyone else was doing, and just gave some simple, yet positive, options to the whole class so I didn't feel singled out. If he'd have said that we were all welcome to ride in the saddle but just add a little more resistance and that this would work our glutes harder, I would have not felt like such a loser. 

Incorrect bike setup
Check the rider's bike setup. If the saddle is set too low (and it often is if the new rider has set up themselves on the bike) this will make it much harder to come out of the saddle in the first place as they're having to push much harder with their legs to get up. 

Poor core strength
This is a prevalent problem for many new riders. The good news is that core strength does build quickly. To help them do this, a tweak to the bike setup will help - try raising their handlebars slightly so that when they're out of the saddle they're more upright than leaning forward - this will help them to stabilise. You can alter the bike setup as they get stronger and more confident.
The best way to build core strength (and also confidence and self-esteem) is with tiny challenges. Create easy wins. Can your rider come out of the saddle for TWO seconds? Work on the smallest increment possible. Once they've got the hang of two seconds, you can go for longer, but only increase bit by bit and make sure they win each time. Those with lots of confidence are happy to take on big challenges as they're confident they can get there, but those lacking in confidence will need tiny challenges so the reinforcement of repeatedly 'winning' can help to build their confidence. Once the rider has managed 5 seconds out of the saddle, when you have a standing climb ask them to join in for the first 5 and for the last 5 so they're starting and finishing with the others. 

Back problems or pain
When the rider registers for class, you should have access to their PARQ and should know what issues they have decided to share with you. You'll still need to check with them. Backs are complicated. If they have an upper back, neck or shoulder issue, they might feel more comfortable with higher handlebars. Always check with new riders and explicitly ask about neck, back and shoulder issues. If you and they are reassured that they are safe and happy to ride, great. If you think they need to be referred back to their doctor or nurse before they undertake a class, as a responsible instructor you should do this. 

Balance problems
These can be long or short term. An inner ear infection can last for a few weeks but can cause havoc with balance. Dyspraxia or neurological issues such as Parkinsons can mean balance is permanently impaired. Whichever it is - it's going to require patience, and options. In some cases the balance problem might be permanent and they will need permanent options in order to be able to take a class. As they come more often they'll be more in touch with what they can do, and will feel more and more comfortable sometimes doing something that the others are not doing. Reassure them that this is absolutely fine. Everyone is different, and you want each rider to get a great workout and have a good time. 

Incorrect resistance
New rider logic dictates that the resistance and the cadence must be high. If the resistance is too high, the rider is going to struggle to turn the pedals in or out of the seat. If the resistance is too low, the rider is going to be unsteady out of the saddle as the pedals fall away towards the bottom of the pedalstroke. Describe the intensity with each challenge, let them know how it should feel. 

Try these suggestions - quality indoor cycling changes lives, and when you're dealing with these sorts of problems you're part of a tremendous solution. 

Was this useful? Check out the Indoor Cycling instructors' Handbook which contains all sorts of help with planning sessions, delivering classes and class management.
​If you're an instructor already, check out our CPD courses too. 

Got a studio or gym? Find out more about how we can help you to deliver the best indoor cycling in your area.

Every year, gyms and indoor cycling studios see people they've never seen before... Famously there tends to be an idealistic rush at the beginning of the year, and then a tailing off as the newcomers lose interest. But at all other times of the year too, there are newcomers who are obviously motivated - otherwise they wouldn't be there! So, how do you keep them? How do you ensure that they're getting results and staying motivated?

Here's how.

Help them make realistic and attainable goals
Check that they know how to set goals - an open-ended "I must go to the gym more" is not going to be as effective as "I'm going to go to the gym so I fit into that dress" - do you see the difference? The first is just changing behaviour with no specific goal (and therefore no incentive), the second is changing behaviour with a goal - and when it's reached? Set an even better goal!
Check it's realistic - realistic goal, realistic timescale, realistic with regard to resources available and the person's motivation to get there. Bigger goals do tend to be more likely to be achieved, probably because it requires deliberate effort to get there. Just make sure it's realistic, even if it's a biggie. If it's big - break it up into smaller milestones.

Plan
Every goal needs a plan. You've probably heard the cliche "if you fail plan, you plan to fail". It's true. Sometimes a goal might seem realistic, until you start to plan how you're going to get there, and then it's clear you're going to need to reset the goal.
Make sure the plan is realistic. A big goal is fine as long as getting there is realistic. Once you have your plan - go back and tweak it periodically. If you're getting closer to your goal (or even if you're not) you're going to need to make changes.

Reward
Plan rewards for the journey. Remember those milestones? You need to celebrate every single one.
Obviously for health-related goals, you're not going to want to suggest anything that involves calories! But something that's enjoyable and maybe a little luxurious should hit the spot.
If you're using the goal and challenge feature in MyZone, even just the satisfaction of winning the challenge is a reward in itself. MyZone is great for gamifying workouts.

Track
A decent goal is a measurable one - and you're going to need to measure! How are you going to measure it? And make sure you shcedule time to do this - or for the client to do this if you're providing support online

Support and accountability
If you're using MyZone you'll be able to provide support via the messaging feature and leaving encouragement on workout feeds.
Think about getting active on Facebook and other channels by setting up groups that people can engage with - and encourage each other.
People do well in groups. Accountability is a powerful way of maintaining motivation - perhaps provide an offer if a client brings a friend - that could be a win for all three of you.
rather than in-person.

Keep your riders accountable, give them great support and great sessions - and help them celebrate their victories - no matter how small. Educate them to

It's likely you're going to come across this if you haven't already.
Let's look both at prevention and cure of cramp.

Prevention
First of all make sure that the riders have an effective bike setup. If handlebars are higher, the rider can end up using calves more and larger muscle groups less. Coupled with incorrect pedalling technique you can be more at risk of cramp. Make sure the rider is not riding with toes pointing downwards – encourage riders to pedal so that  their foot is flat as they are approaching the bottom of the pedal stroke. 

Encourage hydration – both before the session and afterwards. Hydration and suficient intake of electrolytes (potassium and magnesium) reduces risk of cramping muscles.  

Don’t skimp on warm up before the session. You want well-perfused muscles before you start working.  

Don’t skimp on the cool down and stretching either. Cool down for a few minutes with gentle pedalling before stretching. Stretch the main muscles used (glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves), focus on one group at a time; don’t try to stretch hams and calves at the same time.

Relax into stretches, don't bounce, and allow riders enough time to find the stretch and then gently relax into it. Around 30 seconds is good.

When riders want to dash off early after class (and miss their cool down) it's good to remind them that effective cool down minimises the risk of cramp.

Cure
Get the rider to stretch out the muscle on the bike if possible. Somestimes cramp pain can be so sudden, it can be difficult to dismount, so stretching out while on the bike might be easier.

Stretch all large muscle groups used, and allow riders to focus on any problem areas they may have.

Once the pain is relieved, advise a soak in a warm bath afterwards, or apply a heat pad to the affected area.

Follow up on the rider. Check in on them if you have their contact details - let them know you care.

​Yes it's best not to let the weather sidetrack your riders from achieving their fitness goals. And yes, others may use the weather as an excuse. To keep maintain their progress, pass on these tips to get the most of working out in the summer heat. Click the link above for a pretty downloadable version.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. 
That means, pre-hydrate, hydrate, and post-hydrate. If you get hydration right, you'll avoid heat headaches. Get into the habit of being well hydrated every day. However it works for you - whether that's always having a bottle of water at your elbow, or having a drink with and between each meal, using a hydration app, however it works for you, build the habit. This is great for your brain, great for your skin, great for everything. And when the weather heats up, you're already on a roll. 

Over-hydration is a thing though. If you drink everything you can find, you'll be on the fast train to hyponatraemia, which happens when you pee out all that excess water (and sodium gets washed away with it). 
​
Drink to thirst during your workout - or take the hint of sipping (and definitely sip, don't glug) with each recovery section. 

Afterwards, maintain your healthy hydration habits - at least for the 24 hours after your workout, but if it's worth doing, it's worth keeping, right? Build the habit!

Wear clothes!
Yeah, not just any clothes - wear clothes that wick the moisture away from your skin, clothes that are light and loose-ish (but not flappy). 

Change your timetable
Try earlier sessions before the day heats up. Early morning sessions enable you to get your stuff done before breakfast - in the coolest part of the day. 

Precooling
Yep, it's a thing. Have an iced drink or a cold shower just before your workout if it's a really hot, humid day. There's evidence to suggest that this will also improve your performance (and who doesn't want that?!) You'll start your workout feeling fresher and cooler, and that feeling will last you just that little bit longer. 

Don't ignore your warm up
"But I'm already warm!" Yes, you are, but one of the reasons we warm up is so that we're supplying more blood to muscles, which means they get more oxygen - and that means you can work harder and more intensely, giving you better results. You skip the warm up and you'll miss out. 

Fans are your friend
If you're going to be working out inside, make sure it's somewhere that has fans not just air conditioning. Air con is no help at all when you feel hot during a workout. It's cold when you first walk in, but as soon as you're into your workout, you lose the benefit, and then when you head for your cool down, that icy air con blast hits you right when you need it least! Head for the fans. It makes sense - they're on when you need them, and off when you don't. 

Listen carefully
Be body aware. Overheating can leave you dizzy, nauseous and clammy. It's unpleasant, and you can avoid it by turning down the intensity when your body feels like it's had enough. Sit out for a few minutes, or head for your aerobic heartrate zones - there's plenty of benefit to be had from working aerobically. Choose aerobic sessions when you're planning your week's workout. 

Cool down properly
Don't rush off immediately after the workout bit. Take the cool down leisurely. Take time to bring your heartrate down. Make sure you're recovering to your lower heartrate zones before you start stretching. If you don't, you could feel dizzy or faint when you start stretching. 

Eat!
Oh yes. Don't forget when you sweat, you loose electrolytes as well as water - and you'll need to replace these. If you don't have high blood pressure, then eating a portion of salted nuts, olives, crisps, or crackers will provide you with the sodium and carbs you body needs. 

Wee check!
Check the colour of your urine - darker urine means you're dehydrated (think 'lager'). If it looks lighter and more like sauvignon blanc, then you're probably well-hydrated. If it's super-pale , you're at risk of over-hydrating (but this isn't particularly usual). If it's got a pinkish, brownish or other unusual tinge (and you haven't been eating beetroots or vitamin tablets) you might like to go and get that checked. 
And there we are. You're equipped to smash your fitness goals even in a glorious British summer (you never know, this could be it!)

​
And of course, at ICI we're here to help. It's our thing to keep you happy, healthy, and get you even fitter than ever. Here's to summer!

​If you're an instructor or a gym manager, we can help you to deliver quality classes that are safe, effective and efficient. That's what we do.
Click below to contact us:

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We're pleased to support Tackle Prostate Cancer's Bike to the Moon event to raise funds and awareness to tackle Prostate Cancer. 

If you or your studio is running an event, click below to download our venue guide to help make sure your riders get the best experience. 

Business Insider has just published an article by Aria Bendix entitled Spinning class can lead to back pain and even damage your hearing. There are still reasons to participate.
Oh my golly gosh. Where to start... Unfortunately Aria's experience and what she writes about is still not history. It is still possible to play 'Bad Spin Bingo' in some places. So, what did Aria have on her bingo card?

• instructor failed to address her fear of falling off
• back pain
• concerned about muscle trauma
  
• she's heard it doesn't work so well for weight loss
• can it damage hearing?
• there's little evidence it's better than other routines
• ineffective workout
• indoor cycling isn't effective for improving health

If I'd had Aria's experience I'd take a lot of persuading to get back on a bike (my first experience was similar - we might talk about that...) But it's important to understand that there's a difference between indoor cycling when it's done properly, and indoor cycling when it's done horribly, like it was for Aria.

First of all, there is no excuse for riders having this experience. And secondly, a few basic tweaks to the rider experience would transform the class from Bad Spin to World Class and make the workout safe, effective and efficient - Aria's workout was none of these.

So, what should be changed?

This is a biggie. Instructors should know:

• who their riders are
• their riders' level of experience
• riders' limitations (health conditions, training schedule etc)

Riders should know:

• That the bike has a fixed wheel - when the wheel is turning, the pedals are turning; therefore the rider should always be in control of the pedals not the other way round
• Where the brake is (usually just below the handlebars) and when to use it (if the instruction is good, it's unlikely the brake will ever be used)

Every rider should be set up properly on the bike. This will enable them to be comfortable, but also use muscles correctly. This increases calorie burn, and decreases muscle ache. Everyone will need to be set up differently on the bike - you're unique, and millimetres make a huge difference. This is not about quality of bike, this is about quality of instructor.
Aria was concerned about falling off. Studios who rent out cycling shoes are putting riders at increased risk of falling off as well as increasing the risk of injuries and muscle aches. Why? Because riders are not used to clipping in (or clipping out) and so there are issues here, but also, everyone's biomechanics are different. The positioning of the cleat on the bottom of the shoe can mean the difference between injury and a comfortable workout. Everyone's different. Cycling shoes are individual - like toothbrushes, only more so. ;-)

The 'All Body Workout' complete with natty little weights that are actually lighter than the average gerbil? Ditch it.

• It's not an all body workout. It doesn't work.
• Pedalling with both hands off the handlebars and employed elsewhere - increased risk of falling off
• Cycling with proper technique will work far more muscles. Aria quotes Jimmy Minardi (quoted from Livestrong) in 2017 saying that the body has 616 muscles and indoor cycling barely uses half of them. This is true, but it's also silly. You have a bunch of muscles which are concerned with quizzically raising one eyebrow. Is it really so important to work those? Of course not. When you want to burn fat, torch your metabolism, build strength and endurance, you want to use big muscle groups. And they don't come any bigger than your quads, your glutes and your hamstrings. Other muscles are also involved, but this is where a lot of the action is - and rightly so. It's a great burn. PLUS, these muscles are in the area where a lot of us carry excess fat, and so working these muscles vastly improves our silhouette. Done properly, you'll also be working other muscles in your arms, core, shoulders and neck.
  

Well that's easily remedied - studios should have a fix on the volume level, a monitor to measure decibels, or a policy on music use. Or all three! Music adds atmosphere - but it can't do that when it's too loud, because then it's just noise.

Yes, of course if you're not sure what you're doing and you get on a bike and bob around for a bit, it's not going to be super-effective. But if you go to a well-instructed class, it flat-out works. We like tracking improvements, and we find in our public-facing studio that one of our 45 minute sessions is equal to about 70 minutes of cycling on the road in terms of calories burned. EPOC is more difficult to measure, but because we include high intensity intervals in a controlled environment (away from traffic jams, pot holes, and rest stops), this raises EPOC.
Indoor cycling improves fitness by burning fat, building muscle, improving cardiovascular endurance.
While all workouts done properly will improve health, the joy of indoor cycling (except for the banging tunes) is that you can make it harder as you get fitter. And my, can it get hard... Regarding improvements in health, we have seen riders who are diabetic reducing and coming off their diabetic meds, we've seen their cardiovascular risk shrink, their blood pressure, blood glucose (HbA1c) and cholesterol reduce, as well as their sensitivity to insulin increase. Yes. Proper indoor cycling does all these things.
Effective indoor cycling requires an instructor who knows what he/she is doing. Agreed, spinning out at low resistance doesn't burn calories, and is unsafe - and that's why no decent instructor will suggest doing that. Likewise high resistance at a low cadence equally can overload the joints, and good instructors will not suggest this either. Good instructors know how to set effective challenges with the right cadence, resistance and technique to burn LOADS of calories (for me, at 52kg, burning 450 calories in a 45 minute session is usual. Most riders will burn more than me.)
A good instructor will provide different options for riders. New riders will need more explanation, other riders may be recovering from injury, may be fatigued, or may be struggling to work hard and may need encouragement and direction to work at a lower intensity. This should be part of every session.
No decent instructor is ever going to tell riders to 'pedal as fast as they can'. This is dangerous and encourages crazy pedalling with insufficient resistance. There's just no need. An instructor who initiates this sort of challenge is putting riders at risk of rhabdomyolysis which is usually seen as a result of crush injuries (from car crashes for example). It occurs when the body starts breaking down muscle tissue. The resulting large molecules of protein are filtered out through the kidneys and left unaddressed can cause kidney damage and in extreme cases kidney failure - requiring hospitalisation. It's that serious. It's rare, but it's seen when riders are being forced to work past their capacity and not take recovery breaks. A case was brought by Kaila Cashman against Soul Cycle in 2016 for precisely this reason. And it could have been avoided by safe, effective instruction.

Using heart rate training software is best practice and keeps riders safe (we've found riders with previously undiscovered heart conditions through our use of heartrate training - some of whom went on to have surgery).
Also, running classes with different focuses enables riders to really take charge of their workouts, and get the results they want by using a combination of high intensity intervals and aerobic training. The aerobic bit will burn fat, improving power to weight ratio as well as prompting the body to develop more mitochondria which enables the body to work harder at a higher intensity whilst burning lots of fat. And that higher intensity stuff? Great for building muscular strength, anaerobic capacity, and firing the metabolism.

I'm always interested in hearing about riders' experiences of indoor cycling - especially new riders. I'd love to be able to just go around fixing things like a sweaty fairy godmother - but using feedback like this is one of the ways that we build new features into our courses and ensure that ICI courses are the most comprehensive and useful ones on the market. It helps us to support gyms who want to improve their offering, and I confess, I'm nosy. I just like to know what's going on, but it's important to remember that terrible experiences like these effect all of us. People are denied a super-effective workout and the results they deserve, instructors are denied the opportunity to change lives, and gyms are denied the opportunity to be an irreplaceable part of the health solution for many people - and if they're offering such risky classes, they're putting their riders in danger, and themselves at risk of litigation.


Read the complete Business Insider article here.

If you're an instructor or a gym manager, we can help you to deliver quality classes that are safe, effective and efficient. That's what we do.
Click below to contact us:

Indoor cycling instructor? Click below for free CPD resources. Your venue can also receive information on how we can help improve customer registration, retention, engagement and profitability.

It's not just new riders that might feel a bit faint or dizzy when doing new indoor cycling workouts - if riders are increasing the intensity of their classes, they may experience the same symptoms. Here I'll explain why - and how to avoid the drama!

Feeling faint during or after a class is not hugely rare. If riders are new to vigorous workouts, or they've recently upped the intensity of their workouts they're more at risk of feeling dizzy or faint during or after your class.

There are two main reasons why you might feel dizzy. One is low blood sugar, and the other is low blood pressure.

Your facility should receive agreement that riders with diabetes will let you know before starting their class with you. Such riders are generally well aware of how to deal with 'hypos', and will come prepared. Generally it's the medication that causes the hypo, not the condition. If you're unsure, check with your venue that they're gathering this information from new riders.

For riders who are not diabetic, low blood sugar is less likely to cause a problem. However, with sudden intense exercise, particularly at high resistance, this can see blood sugar levels dropping lower than normal. This can cause dizziness or faintness.

It’s often the case that people (mostly women) with low blood pressure can feel dizzy during or after exercise. This is because one of the way the body maintains an even temperature is by dilating the blood vessels to cool down - this is why your skin goes red when you're hot. Also when you're working hard at a high intensity, your muscles are also demanding a greater blood supply. This is perfectly natural, and usually OK - only if you usually have low blood pressure, in this condition, less of your blood is supplying your brain with oxygen, which makes you feel dizzy or faint.

The gold standard is to provide written guidance from your venue. The following advice is useful:
How venues can prepare:

• Check and restock first aid kits in workout areas. Each area should have its own. Make sure there are small packs of jelly or sugar sweets in the case of riders with low blood sugar.
• We strongly recommend that all instructors should be first aid-trained, and know what to do in the case of fainting.
• Have a well-ventilated area where a rider can easily get to in the case of dizziness. (Not down a corridor.)
• Have fresh drinking water available in each workout area.
• Make sure your PARQ is comprehensive enough to gather the information you need - and make sure this is passed on to instructors if it's something they need to know. (Obviously, it is your repsonsibility to ensure that such information remains secure and confidential.)
• Include in the PARQ the agreement that if the rider is unwell, or has a change in their health that may be relevant to their workout, that thye let the instructor know at the outset of the session.
• Include with rider induction a checklist of what to bring - medication if required, water, towel etc.
• Have a robust reporting system. Advise riders to seek medical advice if you are concerned in any way, or think the dizziness is out of the ordinary.
• In the case of a rider feeling dizzy or unwell in class, make sure there's a good follow-up system - this is not only professional, but it enables you to make any changes, as well as making sure they're OK and are supported to come back.
• If a rider is known to get dizzy - consider having a member of staff riding with them for reassurance.
• Consider having fans in workout areas rather than just relying on air conditioning. Fans are more instant, and will provide relief and can be quickly turned off to prevent chilling at the end of the session.
  
• Have a reliable contact person for riders to go to who can provide help and support.
  

As a precaution, before the class:

• Advise riders not to ride hungry. Just a light snack riding should be sufficient – a couple of light crackers or a biscuit.
• Offer and encourage riders to choose a lower intensity session until they get comfortable and used to the higher intensity of indoor cycling. Make sure there are plenty to choose from on the timetable.

In preparation and during the class:

• Encourage good hydration – and that means drinking plenty of fluids in the 24-48 hours before the class (and to avoid a headache, drink sufficient afterwards too).
• Suggest riders get a BP check. If BP is usually above 120/80mmHg, this is less likely to be an issue for.
• Focus on breathing more deeply from your diaphragm (the large muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen). This enables you to take in more oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide more quickly. Using the 'accessory muscles' in our shoulders can make us tire more quickly, as it's not so efficient.
• If a rider feels faint, encourage them to get off the bike immediately. Have them sitting on the floor (or lying with their feet elevated if they're really dizzy). Have a member of staff check on them, or a friendly rider to look after them if appropriate.

Indoor cycling instructor? Click below for free CPD resources. Your venue can also receive information on how we can help improve customer registration, retention, engagement and profitability.