A number of my clients have been telling me about this “insane” indoor cycling class and instructor. This morning I decided to check it out (eventhough it caused me to get up early on a morning I don’t teach myself).
Before I Continue…
I want to make it clear that I’m never down on an instructor. Almost all of the instructors I know are passionate, hardworking and want to give the best workout for their riders. Most of what we do in our classes (including that which is incorrect) we were taught. If I’m pointing a finger at anyone it is the indoor cycling industry that does not provide adequate training nor effective continuing education AND health clubs that are not providing professional feedback and development for instructors and maintaining group exercise standards.
On to the class
Now I’ve heard all kinds of crazy things about this class, but I tried to enter the studio with a clear mind and see for myself. The instructor entered the room and was very pleasant and soft spoken as he was wrapping up a conversation with a rider he walked in with. We rode for approximately 5 minutes in silience before the class officially started so I kept my iPod on low volume and waited.
Finally, the instructor looked and said that we were going to get started by warming up for 5 minutes and then “kickin it”. The music began and we started the warm-up. After 1 minute, he had us start stretching (for approximately 1 minute) and then it was time to “kick it”.
My thoughts at this point…
The instructor was not off to a good start. We began the class without an introduction (he didn’t say his name) and he didn’t ask if anyone was new, never taken indoor cycling or had any injuries. He then got off the bike to stretch with no instruction. I guess we were just supposed to imitate him. There was no description of the stretch, which muscle it was targeting or how to perform it correctly. He didn’t talk at all. He faced the mirror the entire time. He didn’t use the microphone so what he did say early on was hard to hear over the music. Ok, so let’s “kick it”.
Back to the workout
The warm-up was a total of 2 minutes (not 5) and we were off. His first instruction was to “keep it light and fast and come out of the saddle”. He stood on the bike with his hands together on the center of the handlebars, pedalling 120rpm. His shoulder were so tight that it appeared as if his arms were extentions of his earlobes. Then he started yelling (and I mean yelling) “TAU….THRA….TAU…TRA…” It took me a few moments to realize he was switching his hands from the top of the handlebars (2) to the end of the handlebars (3). Remember, he is still out of the saddle and pedaling at 120rpm. This went on for 4-5 minutes and then he yelled “saddle sprint” at which time everyone sat down and continued flailing away at the bike. No options were given and no cautions issued to riders who may be recovering from injuries, pregnant or have other physical issues. I scanned the room to find people making attempts, with little success, to follow him. I just maintained my form and either stayed in the saddle or out of the saddle at 90rpm. I was just their to observe.
Recovery??
He gave us a break and said we would recover for 30 seconds. It was bad enough that 30 seconds was far from adequate, but he actually only gave us 20 seconds. In reality we would have only gotten 10 seconds to recover if he had not spent so much time trying to find the next song on his iPod or iPhone. He seemed to be picking music randomly without a predetermined order. We continued with more super-fast drills in and out of the saddle.
My favorite quote…
During a fast seated section he instructed the class to “push your knees together because most of your muscle is on the inside”. OK….
Thoughts Continued…
Although the instructor didn’t say much, his quick, barely audible utterances were difficult to follow. There was no instruction and we had no idea what to expect next (at least I didn’t). We’d be in the middle of an out-of-the-saddle effort and he would yell “saddle sprint” seemingly out of nowhere. The only training zones I was able to extract were:
(1) Light, fast and hard.
(2) Light, fast and hard out of the saddle.
(3) All Out.
I’m not sure how to interpret the first 2.
Gun Show and Air Drumming
After 20 minutes of the above, he gets off the bike and starts posing in the mirror, flexing his arms and chest. He would walk to one side of the bike, pose in the mirror, and then walk to the other side of the bike and pose in the mirror. He would turn toward us from time to time and flex his bicep for us as he admired it himself. While he traveled back and forth across the room he continued to yell “All Out for 10 seconds”, “Saddle Sprint”, “Faster”, “Go…Go…Go” and “Dig…Dig…Dig” in no particular order. He stayed off the bike at this point and started bouncing up and down (sorta like dancing) and air drumming to the music. He was air drumming so much that I decided to time him. At one point he air drummed for just over a minute straight looking up at the ceiling and not saying a word. In between posing, air drumming and occational singing loudly (a semitone off pitch) he would walk over to the window that looked out onto the street. As he stared out the window with his back to the class and continued yelling “Faster….Go….Dig..” etc. This lasted for the next 20 minutes.
Stretch and Wrap Up
We turned off the intensity for the final 5 minutes as we ended with more undefined stretches (performed with poor form) and no instruction. He did use some good motivational music, particularly this one percussion piece that I really liked. Unfortunately, he never pedalled to the rhythm of the music or used the tempo of the music in any way.
After the class his voice was again soft-spoken as he talked to a couple of the riders. He seems like a great guy and appears to have a good report with his class. In the end, unfortunately, everyone suffers. The instructor is not given the necessary training, riders are subjected to poor and dangerous workouts, and other instructors at the same health club can recieve a bad reputation purely due to association. In a situation like this, the health clubs need to step up and evaluate and train their instructors. For the sake of the instructor and the safety of their members.
For Health Clubs and Group Fitness Directors
It is very challenging to stay on top of every aspect of your group fitness program. Stage5 Cycling would like to help. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our instructor evalutation form or would like us to provide training workshops and even instructor evaluations or auditions at your club.
