How to Educate Your Riders, Part 4: Using Storytelling and Non-Cycling Examples
Continuing our series on Educating Your Students, Christine gives some suggestions about how to use non-cycling examples to help students understand cycling technique and what they should be feeling while pedaling. She does this primarily through storytelling in her profiles, although that’s not a prerequisite of the method. Christine is an expert at this technique and has been extremely successful educating her students.
Read More...My Cycling Class Today: Finding Light from Your Blind Spot
One of my students told me he thought another rider’s seat was too low. He was right. As a bonus, the correct setup helped her increase her wattage. On one hand, I wondered how I missed this; on the other, I was so grateful he felt comfortable enough to tell me. Here are a few of my reflections on this incident.
Read More...How to Educate Your Riders, Part 3: How to Teach Without Being “Teachy”
Indoor cycling instructors have to wear different hats at different times. How many hats do you have in your skills closet? And do you know the right time to wear each one? Here are some best practices to employ when trying to educate your students, and links to five additional articles on how to teach your students outside of class time.
Read More...Educating Your Students, Part 2: Using Humor, Metaphors, and Analogies
Everyone had a class with a fun and wacky science teacher in high school, right? I’m not advocating that we start developing quirks or acting wacky in our indoor cycling classes, but the point is, making education fun using humor and wit is a great way to learn AND and a fun way to teach. Hopefully our dating, bagels, poultry, and pasta analogies will spark some ideas to create some of your own wacky ways to explain something on the bike.
Read More...“Break Glass in Case of Emergency”: How to Manage Defiant Students
You know those red boxes where you break the glass to throw the emergency alarm? You need one of those in your instructor toolbox. The reason you need one is the defiant student.
Read More...Should Indoor Cycling Instructors Educate Our Riders? Part 1
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...How to Handle a Difficult Student
Sometimes students are just plain difficult. They don’t want to listen. They might even set up a power struggle with you in class. Would a mental checklist help you in these situations?
Read More...Top 7 Ways to Grow as an Indoor Cycling Instructor in 2018
This year, I want to challenge you to reach new heights in your coaching. This may mean moving out of your own comfort zone. It’s something we ask of our riders all the time; how about ourselves? What can we do to push ourselves, to take risks, to put ourselves out there in front of our students and announce to the world that we aren’t afraid of growth?
Read More...You Just Wait: Indoor Cycling Injuries Lurk
When it comes to overuse injures, I’d rather not wait. Cycling is an activity used by many physical therapists for rehabilitation. When done properly, cycling is very gentle on the joints and muscles. I repeat…when done properly.
Read More...6 Ways Recording Your Class Can Take You from Critical to Confident
As indoor cycling coaches, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our delivery and clarity in class so that we may continue to grow. This article explores one uncomfortable way for us to tackle our growth by audio recording our classes, then listening to ourselves and adjusting based on what we hear.
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