by Angela Reed-Fox 11 things Indoor Cycling can teach us about business and professional lifeI've seen lives transformed by indoor cycling. It's such a simple thing, and yet it has such tremendous power to change lives for the better. Including my own. Getting ahead in life and work often pulls on those lessons learned in the saddle.
Measure stuff Taking metrics is important. The way we feel is so subjective - we may not feel we're getting fitter, even when we are. And that's why you need metrics. Is your recovery rate going down? Your jeans size? Your resting heart rate? Your blood pressure? How about your functional threshold power - is it going up? How about your maximum climbing gear?
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by Angela Reed-FoxIndoor Cycling Instructor issues: My rider can't come out of the saddle for a standing climb!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 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:
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.
ICI Nano: Instructing off the bike for indoor cycling instructorsInstructing off the bike in an indoor cycling class - Why it’s done, when it’s done, and how to do it well
Instructing off the bike is something you may do during a session – or possibly in some circumstances, you may need to instruct an entire session off the bike. If you had to instruct a class off the bike this evening, how would you feel about that? We tend to get used to what our ‘normal’ is. One of the biggest fears people have is public speaking. Perhaps giving a speech would be scary – but essentially every time we get on that bike at the front of the class, we’re public speaking! But what happens when we take the bike away? Would that feel scarier? Why would you teach off the bike? Reason 1: Correction The most common reason to instruct off the bike is that you might need to subtly and sensitively correct someone’s technique. Occasionally you’ll get those riders who no matter what you say, no matter how you demonstrate bad and good technique, they’re still getting it wrong. Perhaps they didn’t hear. Perhaps they don’t realise they’re doing what they’re doing. Perhaps they’re just not really paying attention! In situations where the rider is putting themselves at risk by not applying your instruction to their cycling, you may need to come off the bike. Usually this will be because a rider is pedalling too fast with insufficient resistance on and therefore you have no choice but to fix this. Try to correct by instructing the whole class and not referring to any one rider; “let’s just check our cadence, make sure we’re sticking between 70-80RPM – that's the big number on your bike’s console; follow my footspeed if you’re not sure.” This is a good way of reminding riders what they should be doing, letting them know where to find the information, and giving them an alternative way of achieving it if they’ve forgotten their glasses and can’t see the metrics on the console in front of them. Once you’ve ascertained that this approach hasn’t worked, you’ll need to up your intervention by coming off the bike. If a rider is putting themselves at risk, you need to address that. Reason 2: Encouragement You may want to come off the bike to give more energy and encouragement to individual riders. This is particularly valuable during long timetrial sections or perhaps when some riders are undertaking a power test. Reason 3: Improvement Riders don’t ride with perfect technique all the time. Sometimes they ride with perfect technique none of the time! Coming off the bike and doing a round of the class pointing out to individual riders how to pedal more efficiently and effectively, how to get more from each pedal stroke is valuable. Maybe some riders are riding with their toes down, maybe some riders are pedalling ‘in squares’ and not making the most of the ‘pull up’ and ‘push over’ parts of the pedal stroke. Maybe some riders may benefit from a change in handlebar position – you can make small adjustments during the class by coming off the bike. Always ask permission for touching a rider’s person or their bike. It's the professional thing to do. This article is an excerpt taken from the Instructing off the bike nano course. Want to find out more about instructing well off the bike? ICI Nano courses are a great way to update yourself as an instructor and get concise information in a bitesize chunk of time. Click below to get started on the Instructing off the bike nano course now: Continuing development for indoor cycling instructors - EPOC explainedEPOC stands for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption; you’ll already know about the calorie-torching benefits of regular indoor cycling sessions, but EPOC is like a secret weapon in the quest for a greater calorie burn and even better results from each session; it gives an extra burn for several hours after the workout which means the total calories burned as a result of the workout is increased, you can improve your performance in each session, and there are other health and weight loss benefits too. What is EPOC? EPOC is the increased amount of oxygen our bodies will consume after a workout that takes us to a higher intensity than that of our regular ‘baseline’ level of oxygen consumption, and the corresponding calorie burn (increase in metabolism) that occurs in response to the body needing to work to return to the pre-exercise state. It means we burn more calories after exercise than we do before exercise, as our bodies are recovering and restoring depleted stores of oxygen and glycogen. EPOC is increased due to:
Why does EPOC happen? All bodily functions are geared around getting the body back in balance (homeostasis) after a change, and working out at increased intensity is no different. Returning to homeostasis requires energy to do so – and this means the calorie burn is elevated after a workout compared to where it was before it. During this period blood will be re-oxygenated, hormones will be rebalanced, there will be decrease in core temperature and heart rate and respiration will return to normal. How long does EPOC last? The science is not settled on this, but oxygen consumption (and therefore metabolism) can be raised for up to 24 hours after the workout. How much does EPOC increase calorie burn? There is no definitive answer to this as there are so many factors that affect the overall burn after just one workout:
This article was taken from the EPOC Explained nano course. ICI Nano courses are a great way to update yourself as an instructor and get concise information in a bitesize chunk of time. Click below to get started on the EPOC Explained nano course now:
Indoor Cycling Instructor Dictionary of Intervals - augmented wedgiePosition or interval: The augmented wedgie is an interval. What it is: Like the ordinary wedgie, you're starting at a lower intensity before finishing with an attack (either standing attack or a sprint) - but this time there's an intermediate section where you increase the intensity before the final attack. Cadence: You choose the cadence of the components. Make sure it's safe and effective. Intensity: You can decide how intense you want to make the first longer part of the interval, this is usual done in the seat; the middle part is also seated, and an increased intensity, usually the same cadence. The final attack is either a standing attack or a sprint and so the effort will be maximal. Length: You can make the first part as long as you like - is it for power or for endurance? The final part is going to be using the CP energy system and therefore this intense effort can only be sustained for several seconds - 10-15 seconds is perfect. The middle part is heading up to or passing your lactate threshold. When to use: use at any point in the session after warming up, it really depends on the trajectory of the profile. It's a great one to finish with. What it does: Great for building explosive power and simulating a competitive finish. Key teaching points:
If you want to be an excellent indoor cycling instructor, then we want to help ensure you get there. Click below to book your spot now, or to get further information.
Indoor Cycling Instructor Dictionary of Intervals - wedgiePosition or interval: The wedgie is an interval. You have a longer component to start with, usually aerobic, and then finish off with a max intensity interval such as a standing attack or a sprint. Cadence: You choose the cadence of the two components. Make sure it's safe and effective. Intensity: You can decide how intense you want to make the first longer part of the interval; the second part is either a standing attack or a sprint and so the effort will be maximal. Length: You can make the first part as long as you like - is it for power or for endurance? The second part is going to be using the CP energy system and therefore this intense effort can only be sustained for several seconds - 10-15 seconds is perfect. When to use: use at any point in the session after warming up, it really depends on the trajectory of the profile. What it does: Great for building explosive power and simulating a sprint finish. Key teaching points:
If you want to be an excellent indoor cycling instructor, then we want to help ensure you get there. Click below to book your spot now, or to get further information.
What indoor cycling bikes do you recommend?This is a question we get asked a lot. And the answer isn't necessarily what you might think. We had an email from an ICI graduate and she said: "I have a quick question regarding bike choices as I have a friend who is looking to expand their gym to include a cycling studio. I’ve ridden Keiser bikes but they don’t do speed and the fly wheel is quite small so you never cover much distance. Do you have any recommendations?" I’d say that the major thing isn’t the bikes. There are a lot of studios with great bikes but the instructors have no idea what they’re doing, and so that asset is wasted (which if you bought the nice, expensive bikes, is heart-breaking!) First up, get instructors knowledgeable enough to run a proper class. Then you have to think about budget. There’s a studio in Cornwall which has very VERY basic secondhand bikes, but their instructors are really good, and they’re now thinking of upgrading the studio to have MyZone heartrate training, which I’d say is really the next thing to think about because you can use it for all types of classes, not just indoor cycling; it’s great for keeping members engaged, great for helping them to stay motivated to get more results – and it’s trackable so personal trainers and instructors can keep in contact. And it provides an accuracy that a lot of bikes just don’t have. Regarding bikes; there’s so much to look for, it can be a bit confusing. There are some metrics that bikes might have that aren’t that helpful – distance pedalled, speed, and time spent pedalling, and probably calorie burn are all metrics I’d like to see deleted from bikes, because they just don’t help. They’re usually all massively inaccurate, PLUS the distance travelled/speed thing usually has more to do with cadence than resistance – which means that if you have a competitive bunch of riders they’ll take all the resistance off and pedal at crazy cadences just to clock up the miles the quickest. It’s not good. It’s best to look for bikes that have a belt rather than chain drive. This means less maintenance. Wattbikes are nice, but very high maintenace because they’re like pianos when you move them and have to be ‘tuned’ each time. If you have a good cleaning routine in the studio, then these bikes are going to be move a lot. Plus you'll need Wattbike specific servicing. Weigh up the pros and cons - they're really nice bikes. For more on the details, we have a blog post here. It’s about secondhand bikes specifically, but it has some important bits in it. You know that we love the BodyBikes. They’re lasting well, and the maintenance is low because all the complicated stuff is in the app. They major on measuring power, cadence and heartrate – and you can record your sessions and share them (if you’re feeling braggy) from your phone to social media. But these are at the higher price end. BH bikes are good – you have to buy them by the pallet (I think 4 bikes at a time?) but they’re pretty reliable. The bits that go are always the console, so be prepared for that. The resistance is in gears which is really helpful for new riders, but not massively granular though, especially if you're wanting to do lots of power training. You need to think more about geometry than individual features unfortunately, because weirdly the bike companies don't invest much in this. Stages bikes are nice, but the handlebars don’t suit those with narrow shoulders (like me) because of the way they're shaped; if you're 5'6" or below, it's difficult to be able to get a decent bike setup as the handlebars might not go low enough in relation to the saddle. On taller or longer-legged riders, this isn't a problem at all. GymGear is at the lower price end, we tried these too, and really liked that you can get the saddle even lower than on a BodyBike (which is great for youngsters) but found that because the handlebars don’t go very far forward on their Forza model many taller or longer-backed riders will be a bit hunchy. The best geometry we found was on BH and BodyBike. And for durability, we like BodyBike best. There’s really a lot to think about – but first, it's vital to get instructors sorted so they really do know how to deliver a proper class. Next think about heartrate training because it’s not a big cost, it brings a return – and it massively improves the experience for everyone. After that, think bikes. But remember that even if the bikes are really basic, if you have good instructors and heartrate training, there’s a lot you can do with that. If you can't have accurate power on your bikes, then heartrate training is a great option - it's good to be able to have both, but if you have to choose, then go for heartrate training as it's so accessible for complete beginners and is best for improving motivation and helping riders understand more baout how they're functioning. Got questions? We're happy to chat indoor cycling for as long as you like! And as always we can offer further support (lots of it!) to ICI verified studios - we help you to excel.
Indoor Cycling Instructor Dictionary of Intervals: StaircasePosition or interval: The staircase is an interval. Cadence: You choose the cadence. The idea is that you will be keeping the cadence the same right the way through. Intensity: The intensity builds as you go through the interval. You decide how hard it is to start with. You can also stipulate that riders stay in the aerobic zone if you're aiming for fat-burning or a lower intensity class. Length: Can be as long as you like. Each step will be the same length, and goes on in total for at least a minute but usually a lot llonger! When to use: use at any point in the session, although often it's better, due to its intensity, to put it close to the end of the session. What it does: Great for building anaerobic capacity (at higher intensities), and muscular endurance. Key teaching points:
If you want to be an excellent indoor cycling instructor, then we want to help ensure you get there. Click below to book your spot now, or to get further information.
Indoor Cycling Instructor Dictionary of Intervals: Inverted Foxy ClockPosition or interval: The inverted foxy clock is an interval. What it is: A set of intervals which increase in length with decreasing recoveries. Cadence: Select the cadence and you can stick with this cadence right the way through Intensity: The aim is to maximise the intensity for thelength of each interval. The more intense the interval, the shorter it is, and the longer its corresponding recovery is. Length: You can fit a foxy clock inside a few minutes (interval/recovery): 10/50, 20/40 30/30, 40/20, 50/10. You may have fewer intervals: 15/45, 30/30, 45/15. When to use: anywhere outside the warmup. You can use it as a way of building strength as the intervals get longer, the challenge is to maintain the intensity of the initial shorter intervals What it does: Builds strength and endurance, at higher intensities with a delayed recovery. Key teaching points:
If you want to be an excellent indoor cycling instructor, then we want to help ensure you get there. Click below to book your spot now, or to get further information.
by Angela Reed-Fox Coronavirus and indoor cycling - what you need to do to prepare/manage your studioThink about what gets touched (and breathed on) in the studio - saddle, handlebars, brake/resistance dial/gears, bottle cage, adjusters. Ewwwww. The problem with viruses (or one of them) is they can stick around for up to 24 hours after their previous host has left the building - ready to infect the next person. The virus will spread when someone else touches that same spot and ingests the virus. It's like 'Pass the Parcel' except way more gross. How is the virus ingested? It just needs to enter the body via the eyes, nose, mouth - and how easy is that, when you're using the towel you've hung on your handlbars multiple times in one session? There are simple steps you can take to help your riders stay healthy and keep the studio safe and clear for others:
ICI endorsed studios: you'll be receiving your branded template coronavirus policies - look out for them. Got a studio or gym? Find out more about how we can help you to deliver the best indoor cycling in your area.
Indoor Cycling Instructor training - start your career with ICIWe've added new dates for our 2 day instructor training course which is for you if you've no prevous fitness industry training but want to be a great indoor cycling instructor. And also if you like hot chocolate... Sometimes you know what you want, and you don't want to jump through a bazillion hoops to get there. So if being an excellent indoor cycling instructor's what you want to do, then there's no reason not to just dive straight in and get trained. Over two days you'll be trained over and above the standard of most existing instructors. You'll hit the ground running because we're training you to be excellent, not just to get boxes ticked, a piece of paper, and then to end up at your first class thinking "Hmm, now what do I do?" Nope. We support you - during the course and afterwards too. And the hot chocolate? Yep, you can have as much as you like during the course (we call it 'brain food'...) and you'll be training in our comfortable teaching room and our high-tech studio. Yes, it's a weekend, but it's not going to feel like you've lost two days - you'll have fun, meet nice people, and you'll be astounded at the progress you make in just two days. And that's just the start of it. There's more fun to come - and we'll support you to be the best you can be. Because we're nice like that. ;-) by Angela Reed-Fox How do you price your indoor cycling classes?How do you determine what's a fair price for an indoor cycling session? Are you happy with what you're charging?
Pricing is important - get it wrong and you'll either be undervaluing your product or pricing yourself out of the market. Just like with resistance and cadence is in balance on a bike, the level of demand should be balanced by the price you're asking riders to pay. There's a sweet spot for both. I took a call today from an ICI instructor. He wanted to know: What's a good price to charge? - he's starting to instruct at a different studio; the bikes are quite basic, there are only a handful of riders who can ride at a time, the gym is new, and they offer gym only membership. What would you do? You need to focus on what you're actually offering - OK the bikes weren't necessarily top of the range, but if the instructor is good (as ICI instructors are!) then they can help any rider get great results with any bike. Studios will often over-invest in bikes thinking that if they've got the latest tech the classes will be brilliant. But if the instructors don't know what they're doing, that investment's wasted. The fact that the instructor I spoke to today is well-equipped, knowledgeable and passionate about giving riders the results they want, and that there aren't lots of bikes available in the class means riders are going to be getting a really top-drawer experience. This experience (and the gym's bottom line) could be improved by a small investment in heartrate training - perhaps with the MyZone system which provides extra motivation, retention - and a secondary income stream. Considering that the gym is seeking to increase interest in the gym by starting to offer indoor cycling sessions but not offer the classes necessarily within the membership, this creates an excellent opportunity. The ICI instructor is contracted by the gym and is incentivised to attract more riders by having a profit share from the classes. In this instance, it makes sense to have a core price that other offers can be compared with. For example, charging £10 per ride for a non-member, and giving members a discount on this yields two things:
Another thing you can think about is selling bundles of rides. Perhaps your newish rider wants to dip their toe in a bit more, but doesn't want to commit to the terms of a membership. In this case you could offer bundles that don't give the saving of a membership, but offer a small discount from a single ride price. Be aware though that anything that's between the 'benchmark' single ride price and what you want riders to go for (loyalty with a membership!) might deter riders from making that decision. You can also offer several-week programmes - perhaps a 'Little Black Dress' programme or a 'Winter Training Programme' - this would have riders signing up and committing to a particular session for a number of weeks. They pay upfront in one, and pay the same whether they turn up to all classes or not. If the gym decides to go down the MyZone heartrate training route, there'll be plenty of crossover as members can use it in the fitness suite as well as all of their classes, this will mean more riders to the cycling studio, as well as more riders exploring other parts of the gym - this approach generally works well for improving member experience, building membership base, as well as that always important bottom line. Train as an indoor cycling instructor next week
by Angela Reed-FoxStudio Manager questions: FAQs: Would heartrate training be good for my indoor cycling studio?There are huge benefits to be had with installing a heartrate training system in your gym or studio. If you shop around, you'll find that not only can you set up for a reasonable price, but you'll be able to generate a decent secondary income stream as well. The benefits are:
Can’t stress enough, heartrate training is a GREAT way to upgrade your studio without the huge investment of new bikes. And because a lot of places still don’t have heartrate training yet, you're ahead of the curve on something really good. Got a studio or gym? Find out more about how we can help you to deliver the best indoor cycling in your area.
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