Ten tips that you can do while teaching to make newbies feel comfortable and reduce any intimidation they may feel when coming to your cycling class for the first time so that they return again and again.Read more…
One of the best ways to grow as an instructor is to attend other instructors’ classes. You can assess what you like and what you don’t like, you can look for similarities with your style, and you can seek out coaching styles that you would like to adopt. And if you suspect you may have a bad habit, you can ask yourself poignant questions like, “Is that what I sound like when I yell ‘Go!’ all the time?” Here are 30 things to evaluate when you take another class.Read more…
Teri asks if we could expand on what “breathless” means and how it’s different than gasping for air. This is important because at certain points in class we ask our riders to reach an exertion level where they are breathless—but could that mean different effort levels for each participant? Read on to find out.Read more…
Are you ready to be the instructor who changes the lives of your new students? Here are the practical steps you can take to help new students during, and after your very next class.Read more…
New students represent a challenge for you. And a big opportunity. Are you ready to be the instructor who changes the lives of your new students? Here are the practical steps you can take to help new students before class even begins. Read more…
New students who flood your studio represent a challenge for you. And a big opportunity. The two biggest influxes of newcomers for most studios and gyms are the transition from summer to fall and the January “resolutionists.” Are you ready to be the instructor who changes the lives of your new students? Here are the things you need to think about.Read more…
The benefits of utilizing FTP to create individualized training zones for indoor riders are increasingly becoming understood by instructors who teach with power. This, and the tests to determine FTP, have been discussed in other articles on ICA. But is just knowing “how to” put your riders through an FTP test enough? Is there really a need to perform one on yourself in order to teach it?
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This is a story about a woman who had no idea what she could accomplish. A woman who reluctantly attended her very first cycling class with me six months ago on the advice of her personal trainer. A woman who feared the bike and was one of the most hesitant riders I’ve ever seen. She is now one of the strongest female riders I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Read more…
At first I was confused by this question. As indoor cycling instructors, why would we not educate our riders? As a rider, why would I not want to know more about how a class, drill, or movement was going to impact me? It seems silly. There are times when we need to educate a rider to help them make corrections in their form. Education can also provide great motivation to try or persist, knowing the ultimate short- and long-term benefits. Read more…
You’ve had classes with great energy. And you’ve also had classes without it. What’s the difference? Studying how energy is conveyed during a stage production gives us some answers on how to direct energy in our classes.
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