In that light, I’d like to present another Endurance Profile for you to digest this week. I call it the “Know Thyself” ride, because it is meant to allow your riders to explore what is happening within themselves while Spinning. This ride will keep the heart rate under 80% for the entire duration. Naturally, if you have riders who need to top this heart rate, the ride can be easily modified for their needs without sacrificing the experience for your other students.

The Profile

It is a very simple loop. I like rides that you don’t have to think much about, especially when I am expecting my class to focus on their internal experiences too. This should feel natural and every transition should flow, so that the ride is one continuous motion. Don’t stop for a break, but do keep the water and breath flowing for the whole ride.

Warm-Up, effort <= 65%, 5 min
Flat, effort = 65%-70%, 6 min
Standing Flat, effort = 75%-80%, 4 min
Flat, effort = 70%-75%, 6 min
Seated Climb, effort = 75%-80%, 4 min
Flat, effort = 75%-80%, 6 min
Standing Flat, effort = 75%-80%, 4 min
Flat, effort = 70%-75%, 6 min
Seated Climb, effort = 75%-80% 4
Cool-Down, effort <= 65%, 5 min
Stretch, 5-10 min

The Focus

• Moving naturally and comfortably. Are you fighting against yourself in the saddle or are you able to settle in and let the work happen? Examine your body throughout the ride for spots of tension and take action to release them.
• Being consistent. Can you maintain a steady pace for the duration of the ride? Are you struggling to maintain your heart rate without a break or designated rest? Have you become too reliant on your recovery intervals?
• Improving your inner dialogue. What kind of things are you saying to yourself as you ride? Are you being kind to yourself? Encouraging? Could you speak your thoughts out loud to the whole room? Be your own coach and give yourself the postive energy and self-love you need.
• Steady, purposeful breath. How’s your breathing? Is it labored? Is it supporting your efforts? Can you slow it down and stay in control?
• Commitment. Are you here for the right reasons? Are you able to forget about all else and focus on becoming a better rider today?

There is a lot of room for personal growth in this ride. I hope you all have a great time finding something new to work on and hopefully make better friends with your bikes and your riders today!

The Music

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

• 
• Napster
  

NOW That’s What I Call Music Vol 30

• 
• Napster
  

Club Anthems

• 
• Napster
  

Today’s profile is just as the title implies:  The simplest endurance profile ever created.  Here are the steps:

1. Pick out some fun tunes that inspire you and hopefully your audience.  Here are some new releases I’ve been experimenting with (sorry, iTunes only this post due to time constraints!!  Don’t worry Napster fans, I’ll post these albums soon!)

2.  Get on the bike and find your stride with a very comfortable flat road.

3.  After 2-4 minutes, increase your resistance and your cadence ever so slightly.

4.  Repeat step 3 until your workout or class is almost over, standing when desired or necessary.

5.  Slow down, then safely exit bike for stretching.

Viola!  The simplest endurance profile ever!  I’m almost tempted not to post it because it is such a no-brainer.  However, since it is so easy to forget how great a very simple profile can be, I’m taking this opportunity to provide a reminder.  I’m also providing some “Talking Points” which you can use to convince yourself to use this profile, or to cue your students:

Talking Points

• Slowing down and taking time to be attentive to ourselves not only improves our outsides, but our insides as well.  
• There is enough noise and chaos surrounding us in our outside worlds.  Today, let’s focus on growing in a peaceful, sensible way.
• “Inner peace” is not some random Eastern saying.  It is a place that we achieve when we focus on what our bodies need by listening attentively.
• “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”  ~ Confucius
• “The simplest things are often the truest.” ~ Richard Bach
• “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
•  “Perhaps the single most important element in mastering the techniques and tactics of racing is experience. But once you have the fundamentals, acquiring the experience is a matter of time.” ~ Greg Lemond

Enjoy!

Here are the playlist and profile, updated to include song links on iTunes and Napster. I hope this new format helps you with your planning and song-obtaining! After the profile, I have included a series of motivational cues to get you through the ride. 

Playlist/Profile

• 1. Indra – Thievery Corporation
• (05:24)
• 
• Napster

Warm Up, focusing on settling into the journey.

• 2. Air Batucada – Thievery Corporation
• (04:47)
• 
• Napster

Continue warming up, addressing the breath and mental outlook for the ride.

• 3. Revolution & Rise – Gionfriddo Bros
• (07:09)
• 
• Napster

A long a winding flat road that carries us off on our way. Use a slight adds of resistance to bring the workload to a moderate 70% of max. Can also perform pedal drills to prepare the legs for the long ride.

• 4. Follow the Light – Tya
• (06:11)
• 
• Napster

We will come out of the saddle for the first time and either stay in a standing flat or begin a series of slow, controlled jumps.

• 5. Alone Tonight – Above & Beyond
• (11:17)
• 
• Napster

Return to your seated flat for 1-2 minutes, then gently roll over two small rolling hills that bring you to position 3 and allow you to climb in the saddle for 1-2 minutes each. You have lots of time to play with these hills and craft them into exactly what you need to let your spirits rise. Heart Rates should come no higher than 75%.

• 6. Amma – James Asher
• (06:43)
• 
• Napster

Allow the road to rise underneath you as you build up a hill that will allow to push a litle harder. If you are fatigued or weary, a standing flat/run with resistance is an option.

• 7. Subandallah – Parijat
• (09:53)
• 
• Napster

Students choice. Flat Road to either back off and prepare for the second half or to press onward with a rising hill or even a potty break.

• 8. Read My Mind Ext. Mix – The Killers
• (07:19)
• 
• Napster

Medium rolling hill with a seated climb for 3 minutes, resistance load each minute, then stand for 2:30. Run with resistance 1:00, flat road 1:00.

• 9. Fall On Me – Gionfriddo Brothers
• (05:06)
• 
• Napster

Begin 2 longer, larger rolling hills with seated climb for 4.5 minutes, adding resistance each 1:30 Then start a standing climb.

• 10. Glow – Unkle
• (07:58)
• 
• Not Available on Napster

Complete the standing climb – 3 minutes, then RWR 1:00, flat 1:00. Use the last 3 minutes for the seated climb of the last rolling hill. Add resistance every minute.

• 11. Coqueta – Kinky
• (03:41)
• 
• Napster

Standing Climb fast and strong for the whole song.

• 12. Chain – The Fire Theft
• (03:42)
• 
• Napster

Flat Road to cool down

• 13. Most Beautiful Splendor – Parijat
• (04:00)
• 
• Napster

Additional cool down road, if needed.

• 14. Snow on the Sahara – Anggun
• (04:19)
• 
• Napster

Stretch

• 15. Operator – Toby Lightman
• (04:16)
• 
• Napster

Additional Stretching

iMix

Motivational Thoughts/Cues

1.  Settle In.   Remove your thoughts.  Shed your exterior and get raw.  Allow yourself to change in positive ways today.
2.  Don’t rush yourself to be somewhere else today.  We are settling in for a journey.  Allow your body to respond.  Be mindful of every motion and every moment.
3.  What will it take for you to commit to all 80 of these minutes?  What are you willing to give up so that your mind and body can be transformed?
4.  Feel every breath that it takes to transition into a higher workload.  Pace yourself while you allow the energy to flow freely and your enthusiasm for the task to increase.
5.  Spinning is about what is in your head and your heart, and this bike is how we bring it together with our bodies.  What thoughts are crowding your spirit?  What can you let go of to make room for success?
6.  You came here for a reason.  I guarantee it was not so you could be mediocre.  You came here to improve.  Tap into your inner strength to get the job done.
7.  Imagine that you are on mile 7 of a 50-mile ride.  What are you going to change right now to ensure that you get to the finish line?
8.  “On the bike, I am pure” – Luciana Marcial-Vincion.  What are you still clinging to that prevents you from being pure?  Imagine yourself as a perfect being.  Imagine the you that are striving to become.  The you that will not settle.  Be that person today.
9.  “This hill is not going to lie down and go flat, simply because you wish the journey to the top to be easier.”  Recommit to all of the reasons you are here today.
10.  “Leave no regrets on these hills.”  You still have time to get everything you want out of this ride.  Surprise yourself with how capable you are of getting the job done well.
11.  These final moments give us an opportunity to surge with energy as we approach the end.  By all accounts, you have succeeded, but you aren’t done yet, so let your pride show as you ride out this final hill.
12.  Celebrate!  Acknowledge your work.  Let your body embrace the recovery as you take the time to come down to a resting place.
13.  Give your body the gift of a long stretch and don’t forget to drink up throughout the day!

Enjoy!

 If you haven’t signed up for Pedal-on yet, it is a great resource for Indoor Cyclists.  I don’t think you’ll be able to view this link without registering, but now you have a reason to join.

 The music came from Cadence Revolution.  I used Mix #16.  The combination was an endurance ride that actually surpassed everyone’s expectations and helped my students see that you can accomplish good things in 65%-75% range. 

 Have a great day!

In order to help “sell” this work to your class, we want to get them into the right frame of mind.  If your class is serious, dedicated, and willing to put forth the effort you might skip this.  If you’re like the rest of us and have to coax it out of them, ask your students to think of the most accomplished athlete they know.  What are some traits that make that athlete a success?  They are focused, powerful, and talented, but what most often gives them an edge over the competition are traits that are learned, namely solid technique and efficient movement patterns.  Those athletes work on the fundamentals in order to deliver record-setting results.  You might even ask your students to pretend that they are that athlete as they work through the drills you’ve planned for them.  If they can imagine that they are a world-class athlete, then they can begin to train like one.

Now that you have a room full of Tigers, Jordans and Lances, you can explain to them how the pedal stroke works.  Don’t stress them out with a lot of technicalities — it is important that you read up on what the mechanics of the moves are and then translate that into palatable terms for your audience.  Check out the links at the bottom of the post for further information about pedaling so that you can be a knowledgeable teacher.  Basically, you want them to know:

The effective force is applied perpendicular to the crank arm at any given spot along the ellipse.
The ineffective force is applied parallel to the crank arm.
The negative force is the force applied in the opposite direction of the stroke.

But even that is pretty dry.  How are we going to help them understand it without breaking into a Physics lecture?  I use the following drill to help them begin to connect to this idea:  We are going to break the infinite circle into four basic pieces: front, bottom, back, top.  There are a total of six drills that you can perform with them to help them isolate these various pieces of their stroke.  I usually start by doing each drill for 60 seconds or so, with 1-2 minutes of rest and explanation in between.  Repeating is up to you, but I usually don’t (at least not the first time I’m introducing it) since it takes a good 15 minutes to get through the whole thing.  You can introduce it in stages over a course of classes to make it more palatable and then start to focus on putting it all together after a couple of weeks.

Drill 1:  Start with the first thing everyone does when they get on the bike: Mash.  This will correlate to the front of our circle.  Imagine the pedal circle as the face of a clock.  In order to apply the perpendicular force you need, you must push down as your foot crosses 3 o clock.  Tell your students to isolate just this motion: pushing down past 3 clock.  Practice pushing only for about a minute, then pedal naturally for a minute.

Drill 2:  Let’s now isolate the opposite of front: back.  This is similar to pulling, or lifting the foot up as it passes through 9 o clock on the back side of our circle.  Have your students lift or pull their feet up without any mashing.  A trick to have them imagine they have a tack in their shoes and any pushing will make their feet bleed. 

Drill 3:  Now have them put one and two together:  one foot pushing as the other is pulling.  This can be a lot for brains to put together the first time (like rubbing your head and patting your tummy) so have them take it slow at first if they need, then build up.  What you are effectively doing when you push AND pull at the same time is eliminating the negative or wasted effort.  The negative force is the equivalent of dropping sandbags on the pedals as you try to turn them, only instead of sandbags, it’s your non-pushing foot that adds the dead weight.  If we pull the foot up and effectively “get it out of the way” then the output of the pushing leg is increased drastically without an increase in effort.  Brilliant!

Now, let’s work on the other two segments:  top and bottom. 

Drill 4: To isolate the top portion of the circle, you’ll want to imagine kicking your foot across the top of the pedal stroke, or 12 o clock. 

Drill 5: To isolate the bottom, think of scraping your foot backwards, like trying to remove gum from the bottom of your shoe as you just work at 6 o clock. 

Drill 6: When you put the two together, you can imagine that you are moving your legs like the fixed bar that connects the wheels of a locomotive.  It moves horizontally to turn the wheels continuously, and fluidly, traversing entire countries without resting or slowing down.

You have now effectively demonstrated how to apply force perpendicularly to the crank arm at four positions around the stroke: 12, 3, 6 & 9 o clock.  The trick now is to put them all together in a fluid rhythm of give and take, balance and coordination.  This is Spinning — applying constant force at each point in the stroke to produce a fluid, continuous, and elegant movement.  It takes practice, and it will take more than one minute per motion to master this technique, but I guarantee that you will earn great rewards on your investment in this skill.

 For further reading, check out the following:

Anatomy of a Pedal Stroke - Spinning Newsletter Article from May 2005

Pedal Stroke Efficiency – An Article by Michele Ferrari

Pedal Like a Pro! – An excellent article with detailed mechanical information about pedalling.

Indoor Trainer “Skill Drills” for Improved Pedaling – A great list of many drills you can employ!

The profile is a simple idea:  You choose a destination, ride out to it, turn around and come back.  In this profile, I have also added an element of visualization.  You want your students to experience a purpose in riding out, climbing a heavy hill to get to a place, then have to come back and do it again to get “home”.  You can be very creative with your cues and your motivational assistance, but be careful!  Give your students the opportunity to come up with their own images — don’t make any suggestions, or give them your own ideas.  It is best left up to each individual to interpret your cue and decide what type of goal they will set.   Have fun and stay safe!!

OVER AND BACK Begin with an intention, a destination. Visualize the road that leads to the achievment of this goal. As with our own physical journeys, we encounter obstacles on our path to improvement. Bring to the forefront of your mind a goal you wish to accomplish and set it out in front of you. Between you and the accomplishment of this goal will be one large obstacle that must be overcome to reach it. We will be riding out toward our intention, overcoming a large hill, then once we have attained it, our second step will be to return to the place we started with our intention still intact.

1. Superstitious, Stevie Wonder (4:05) Flat road warm up. Prepare yourself for your journey. Add enough resistance and increase your cadence to bring the heart rate to 70%.

2. Just a Ride, Jem (3:20) Run in HP2 allowing yourself to feel refreshed, relaxed, and eager to pursue the work ahead.  Keep your focus on staying strong and steady through your ride while you continue elevating the heart gradually.

3. Keep Yourself Alive, Queen (3:45) We find ourselves at the bottom of our hill and begin a seated climb. This hill towers over us and tries to threaten us.  Add enough gear to feel that this is a task worth tackling and remind yourself that the object of your desire is on the other side. The hill should feel like a 6 on a scale of 1-10 or RPE should be about 7.5 on a 1-10. Continue adding resistance as you begin the climb to the top.  Keep it quick and energetic, all the way to the top! 4.  Woman from Tokyo, Deep Purple (5:35) We are not quite halfway to the top when this song begins. Stay focused, and determined and continue to load the resistance on in mangeable increments. By now your hill is a 7.5 – very heavy and RPE is 8 – Very Tiring. When you can no longer stay in the saddle, come to HP3 and use the pistons of strength you call “legs” to power your way to the top.