Although it’s a also record company, the Motown sound is considered a genre as well. It’s a sound that combines soul, rhythm and blues, pop, and characteristics of gospel music, and its artists are largely African American. Come take a walk down memory lane.Read more…
In their book, “The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact,” the Heath Brothers describe how certain experiences leave a lasting impact and change us. These can happen anywhere. Have you encountered such a moment as an instructor; an experience that changed you? How might you create these, either for yourself or for others?
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…
Meet our new ICA contributor, Noël Nocciolo. She has had a unique journey that is different from most ICA writers. Her early experiences on a stationary bike were with the popular and successful boutique studios that use questionable pedal speeds, techniques, and choreography. Thankfully, as she discovered years later, you can still “have fun” while riding correctly to great music.Read more…
Jackie Cohen Maniscalco had one of those 3-minute large group auditions we wrote about recently at a major chain club. In fact, Jackie’s request for help in the ICA Facebook group is what inspired me to write the article. Jackie had an interesting experience at her audition and agreed to share it with you all. You know, in case you might ever experience one like it where you actually get less than 3 minutes to show what you know!Read more…
Every time I’m forced to teach without a microphone, I think about those instructors who do not believe in using a mic. They believe instructing without a mic does not affect their teaching or the experience they deliver. They could not be more wrong.Read more…
Pelo isn’t the party-on-a-bike kind of fun you find in many West Coast studios. They keep the riding real with a very serious focus on educating their customers, but make sure that great music and fun are a part of the recipe. Leslie is confident that this is what elevates Pelo above their competition and drives their burgeoning success. Read more…
Stage fright. Jitters. Butterflies in your belly. We’ve all been there. After weeks of training and hours putting together that perfect playlist, you’re about to clip in for your first class. A sweaty version of the dreaded “public speaking,” it can be nerve-wracking for even the most confident individual! But it doesn’t have to be. Here are seven tips to make that first class feel a little less intimidating.Read more…
It is not uncommon for riders to play favorites when it comes to which indoor cycling classes they will take. As instructors, we see our regulars every week. They often go out of their way to tell us how good of a job we are doing and how much they loved the whooping we just planted on them. The indoor cycling world spins happily on it’s axis week to week, and all is well until…we need to find someone to substitute our class. Chaos. Struggle. Picketing. Riots. Panic.Read more…
Christine’s article on determining a student’s learning style got me thinking of my own way of assimilating information when I’m learning or enhancing a skill. As I read her article, I saw myself in the “frustrated” students she described. I am a very strong kinesthetic learner, but fortunately, I also am also a visual learner. Coaches who are skilled at delivering bodily cues are less common, so I tend to pass the visual information I receive through my own kinesthetic filter. Are you like this? Might some of your students do this? I use my education as a ski instructor as an example in how I did this, and provide you with things to consider when trying to reach your predominantly kinesthetic learners.Read more…