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In order to not repeat the same mistakes year after year after year, it’s time to stick the stake in the ground and make a decision: A Change Will Do You Good! This inspirational profile will help inspire your students to commit to the changes they need to reach their goals. Based on the classic rock song “Roll With the Changes,” each new motivational song will ingrain your message and inspire them to go just a little longer, a little harder, and to turn the page on the status quo.Read more…

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In: Instructor Issues & growth
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You may have noticed that we’ve been providing more profiles on ICA. However, I think it’s very important for instructors to know how to create and modify their own profiles. It’s like the old adage “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for life.” By teaching you how to create your own effective profiles, I’m feeding your indoor cycling coach for a lifetime! But be warned: you may have to wipe your existing profile creation slate clean…Read more…

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In: Ask the Expert
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I’d like to open this discussion to all instructors: do you or your club ever take the bikes outside for class? An ICA member asks about this and wonders if it’s wise. I have my own input based on my experience, but I was wondering how many other instructors have either done it or know others who do? What is your experience–good or bad? Do members like it? Is the sound system decent?Read more…

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FREE ARTICLE Two weeks ago I shared an amazing video of a cheetah running in slow motion that reminded me of a visualization that I used from my early days of teaching Spinning. ICA member Rebecca shared with me her and another instructor’s experience of using this video in their class, as well as their music. Hopefully this will inspire you to do something similar.Read more…

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In: Coaching and Cueing, Mental Training, Mind-Body
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As promised, following the interviews with Tom Scotto and Dr. Haley Perlus on the physical and metal aspects of pushing into the realm of discomfort, here are some of Tom’s and my favorite cues for hard to very hard efforts that include an element of suffering. There is a disclaimer of course: you must have a good relationship with your students and these are not appropriate for everyone. But you can also modify them based on where you are with your coaching and where your students are with their fitness.Read more…

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In: Coaching and Cueing, Free Articles, Mental Training, Mind-Body
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Last week I interviewed Tom Scotto about how an instructor should verbalize really hard efforts to students. This time I interviewed Dr. Haley Perlus, sports psychologist, an expert on motivation of the mental side of challenge. Dr. Perlus discusses when it is and isn’t appropriate to push through pain. Then she gives us 5 important tips on how to motivate our own students in our classes through the most challenging types of rides. Part 1 of this interview is FREE and includes 2 of the 5 motivational methods.Read more…

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In cycling we are surrounded by images of riders suffering as they go beyond their limits on steep mountain grades, vicious attacks, grueling time trials and hair raising sprints. The cycling and training world is filled with terms such as “the pain cave,” “hurt box,” and the “sufferfest.” Is there a place for these terms in our indoor cycling classes? Tom and I discuss the if, when, why, and how of cueing discomfort.Read more…