Category — Presentation Skills

I want to share a personal experience with you that has completely transformed the way I see myself and the way I see my students.
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Right is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. - William Penn

To see the right and not to do it is cowardice. – Confucius

The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was. – Walt West

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable. – Franz Kafka

Do you see a pattern here?  Every job, no matter how big or small can be done the right way, or the wrong way.  Today, in support of my fellow blogger and Spinning Master Instructor Jennifer Sage, I am sharing with you the right way to teach an indoor cycling class. 

Before we have this discussion, you should hop over to Jennifer’s blog and take a look at her posts on Contraindicated moves (CI moves), especially her latest: Just don’t do it in your indoor cycling classes! In addition to being one of the most respected and knowledgeable Master Instrctors at Spin Fitness, she is an avid road cyclist who owns her own bicycle touring company. She literally wrote the book on Keeping it Real in indoor cycling, so when she speaks up about the goofy stuff going on in classes these days, listen up!

Now, I’m not here to pass judgement on anyone who teaches their students CI moves, nor am I completely innocent of having included them in my classes the past. But I believe as Jennifer does that CI moves are hurting our students and hurting our indoor cycling programs. Students are being taught, through the introduction of CI moves, that they don’t need to take responsibilty for themselves or their workouts. They are being taught that it isn’t the quality of the workout that makes a difference in their health and wellness, it’s how much the instructor can make them hurt. And that is a shame.

I recognize that group fitness as a whole is suffering, and gyms are doing everything they can to keep participants in their classes. But I urge you as an instructor, if you are heavily loading your class with CI moves, especially like what Jennifer describes, please reconsider what you are doing. Not only are you putting your students at risk for injuries, you are failing to provide them with the true benefits of cycling. My mantra is, “If you wouldn’t do it on a road bike, don’t do it in Spinning class” and to that I would add, “no matter what they are doing on YouTube.” My students have always been appreciative of my ability to “Keep it Real” in Spinning class, and I know they will appreciate it from you too. And when they realize that you have empowered them to be stronger, fitter and faster, they will love you all the more!

Keep it real, guys!

This morning in Spinning class, I did a lot of harping about sprints.  We didn’t do that many, only two, but I had some new folks and wanted to get the point across.   Basically, we were doing the Pace Line Ride, and the concept of “pulling the line” seemed to be lost to a few who thought they were supposed to pedal fast and furiously instead of going HARD.    My first sprint description came as I needed them to focus on a heavy resistance as they pulled their team members.  The second came as we were actually doing a sprint to the finish.  However, the mechanics and the reasoning are the same, and I’m going to share the basics with you now.

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Another great contribution by guest blogger, Biray Alsac!

Biray Alsac
http://fittmaxxinstitute.com
http://befitwithbiray.com

 It’s refreshing to meet a gym member who is a ‘first-timer’ to a health club or a newbie to our group exercise classes. You know the ones – they aren’t very fitness-savvy, are overwhelmed by the classes available on the schedule, and aren’t entirely familiar with gym culture. But, bless their hearts, they are open to trying something new.

As instructors, we love these people. Why? Because it gives us an opportunity to dispel any myths about group exercise and a chance to create an experience that will hopefully motivate them to come back for more – not scare them away.

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I was hunting through some of my old reference materials in search of a quote I knew I had saved, but couldn’t remember.  I have a large directory on my computer that is backed up on my laptop and my thumb drive for portability.  I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I did come across an article by Jay Blahnik that I downloaded from the FitPro website a while back.  Update: June 17,2008 — Unfortunately, they no longer host it on their website.  [Read more →]

It isn’t hard for me to distinguish between who are, in my opinion, the really excellent instructors, and the ones whose classes I’d rather pass on.  The instructors who stand out above the rest are the ones with a message and purpose for every single class they teach.

As the fitness industry has evolved and expanded to include all types of movement, the mind-body principles of yoga and Pilates have begun to spread to other forms of exercise.  Even before they called it the “mind-body” connection, athletes could tell you about “the zone” or that place of mental clarity where they excelled in their sports.  They could also tell you about “the wall” or how their performance suffered as a result of distraction or negativity.  It is inarguable that a person who has cleared their mind to focus on their workout will most certainly attain greater results than a person who attempts the same workout with a bad frame of mind.

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