Before I contribute a few of my favorite climbing strategies, I want to share my perspective on climbing. Because I’m mostly a sprinter, one might wonder what climbing strategies I have to offer. Well, if anyone has strategies for climbing, it would be a person who knows suffering is always involved.Read more…
Climbing big mountains is a rite of passage for cyclists. Getting you and your bicycle up that hill in defiance of gravity is one of the most difficult aspects of riding a bicycle, but it is also one of the great attractions to cycling. Overcoming the mountain challenges you—it bares your soul; it asks you to perform beyond what you thought was even possible. Over the next few weeks, Tom and I will be giving you our favorite strategies—both physical and mental—to get you and your students over that hump. We’ll be drawing from our own experience climbing long, hard mountains.Read more…
We’re a little more than halfway through 2016. Time to check in and take stock of the year so far. The questions in this article can help you with your instructing goals for the rest of the year.Read more…
Super-intense, short efforts are an essential part of cycling fitness. They’re a great way to keep fit as long as they’re not overdone. Anaerobic intensity requires its own type of cueing since the physical sensations are different than at threshold.Read more…
Help your riders by providing them with the mental encouragement needed to maintain intense efforts. This is the first of three articles on creative cueing at high intensity: threshold efforts, anaerobic efforts of 1–3 minutes, and explosive efforts under a minute. You’ll never have to ask “what should I say” again!Read more…
I’ve taken 10 tips from a Business Insider article on overcoming nervousness and channeling energy into a more productive presentation and applied them to the indoor cycling instructor. Many thanks to ICA member Moritz Geissler for sending me this link!Read more…
This article in Bicycling magazine discusses the other benefits of riding a bike—the mental and emotional ones. I’m hoping you will all read this article, then share the mental and emotional reasons why you are so passionate about indoor cycling. What has it helped you overcome? No need for specifics, but if getting on that bike that goes nowhere has helped you change your mindset for the better, please let us know about it! Have you made important decisions after an amazing ride? Have you felt at peace with a troubling event or decision you had to make? Have you resolved conflicts with family or friends? I certainly know I have. Leave your comments here so we all can celebrate.Read more…
There’s a funny fable about a chicken and a pig who wanted to make a bacon-and-egg sandwich for the farmer they liked so much. The chicken said, “I could provide some eggs.” The pig replied, “that’s fine, but while you’re making a contribution, I’m making a real commitment!”Read more…
Studies prove that when you take twenty athletes of equal ability and give ten of them mental training, they will outperform the ten without it every time. Of all the various mental training techniques used today, visualization is the single most powerful one used to optimize performance. Here are three ways top performers harness the power of visualization to perform at their peak and how you can too.Read more…
Like many of us, I had gone through a number of life transitions, which can distract us from basic principles we all know well and usually practice, like RECOVERY. I’ve spoke about this to instructors at conferences and have given lengthy diatribes on the importance of adequate rest to those I’ve coached. Yet, here I am (again) finding myself fatigued.Read more…