Tuesday, July 8, 2014

3 Reasons why I DO NOT do "Push-Ups" on a bike!

1. They are unsafe– these moves strain your knees and lower back.
2. They do not add anything to your workout – in fact, they can reduce power output, and lower the number of calories you are burning.
3. They look stupid.
Don't get me wrong, push-ups are an great upper body exercise, but doing them on a bike where 95% of your body weight is in your legs?  Come on...Check out your watts (aka, how hard you are really working)  next time you are doing "push-ups" on a bike, I bet you they drop significantly (aka, you're not working that hard while looking ridiculous). Save the push-ups for off the bike!   

Sunday, June 29, 2014

My Perceived Scale of Exertion

* this is a scale from 0-10 I use to describe how hard a ride should feel they are working during class.  



Please do not confuse this Perceived Effort Scale with tension, use RPMs/Watts (effort) if available/and a description of terrain.   

This is not a linear graph
0-6 gradually builds in difficulty but once you break out of the endurance zone the perceived effort/difficulty increases rapidly.


Thursday, June 26, 2014

Great Rules to Follow!

20 (Unspoken) Rules of Indoor Cycling

spinning: spin class indoor cycling picture
Courtesy of Rachel Buschert Vaziralli
Indoor cycling can be a high-energy, addictive way to torch calories—400 to 600 in a 40 minute class!—but only if you’re doing it right. Maximize your studio time with these etiquette tips from Rachel Buschert Vaziralli, a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and Schwinn Master Trainer with more than 10 years of experience teaching in New York City.
1. Don’t text, email, update Facebook, play Words with Friends, or chat on your smartphone. It’s rude to the instructor (who has essentially created a presentation), to your classmates, and it diminishes what you could be getting out of the class.
2. Don’t pedal at 120, 60, 54 or 133 RPMs when the instructor says to pedal at 90. Do 90 or something close to it. Anything else is like doing squats when everyone else is doing push-ups.
3. Do try your best. If the workout is too difficult, you can always back off. But slacking from the start is like standing in the weight room, not picking up a weight, and expecting something to happen!

4. Don't ride with your arms crossed, your hands behind your back, or while doing crunches to “strengthen your core.” There’s a misconception you can get a great cardio workout and a great strength workout on the bike, but what you end up getting is a mediocre version of both. What’s worse, doing strength exercises on a bike is inadvisable and possibly dangerous. There is no nationally accredited cycling certification program that teaches these moves and it’s because they produce no physiological benefit and are biomechanically unsound. It’s better to get the full benefits of what the bike is intended for. If you want to do upper-body or core exercises, do them in the appropriate environment: the weight room.

5. Don't wear headphones. And if you do, don't call the instructor over to ask what you should be doing since you couldn’t hear them explain it the first time. If the music bothers your ears, wear earplugs. If you prefer your own playlist, then ride on your own time.

6. Don’t bring your oversized gym bag or enormous coat into the studio. Indoor cycling rooms are small and the instructor needs to be able to walk around to assist students without tripping over your stuff. If you have personal items with you, put them in a locker.

7. Do inform the instructor before class starts if you are injured or have a medical condition that cyclng may affect. It’s reckless to assume the instructor will know or pick up on it.

8. Don’t bounce—whether seated or standing up. Both indicate a lack of resistance and can put stress on your knees and limit the effectiveness of your workout.

9. Don’t stand up on the pedals with a vertical spine. It reduces your power, grinds away knee cartilage, and compresses lower spine vertebrae. Instead, stand as you would on an outdoor bike: hinge slightly at the hips, keep your hips over the cranks (the levers that attach the pedals to the bike), and your torso slightly forward of your hips.

10. Do save conversations for after class. If you're talking to your neighbor, you're not working hard enough. Maybe you meant to meet them at the cafe?

11. Don’t read a magazine or a book or a Nook or a Kindle or a newspaper. If you want to read, go to the library.

12. Do follow the workout. If you have your own agenda planned, then give your bike to someone who would like to participate in the group fitness experience and relocate to the cardio deck where it's completely appropriate for you to do your own thing.

13. Do leave your negative attitude at the door. A bad attitude sucks away the life and energy of those around you. Indoor cycling is a team workout. If you don't like the music, the teacher, the temperature, or the bike seat, then find a class that better suits your needs.

14. Do remember that an indoor cycling class is not a personal training session—the 39 other people around you may have different levels of comfort. If you're always cold, instead of always complaining, wear layers and stop reserving the bike under the air conditioning vent. If you're always hot, take off the turtleneck, bring a cool hydrating beverage, and stop reserving the bike furthest from the AC vent.

15. Don’t pedal backwards. There’s no benefit. You might as well just sit on the bike like it’s a recliner.

16. Don’t pretend to turn the resistance. Do it or don't—what’s the point of pretending?

17. Don't be mad at the instructor who gave your bike away—or the student who took it—if you’re late. If you’re going to get angry, be mad at yourself for being tardy.

18. Do inform the instructor before class if you have to leave early, and choose a bike close to the exit to minimize distraction.

19. Don’t stand in between the bikes to stretch while others are still participating in the class. If you leave class early and want to warm down, go find an empty mat in the gym.

20. Do have fun and get a great workout. (Don't be upset with the results you don't get because of the work you didn't do).
Rachel Buschert Vaziralli
Courtesy of Rachel Buschert Vaziralli
To keep up with Rachel, visit her website rachelvfitness.com or follow her on Twitter @rachelbuschert.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Instructors -To Talk or Not to Talk?

Is talking motivational or distracting?
My style is NOT to talk. I like to run my classes with clear cut drills explained prior to execution. I give time updates, i.e. 2 mins to the top, 30 second sprint, 20, 10…., and a motivational comment here and there, i.e. do not give up on this hill, earn the downhill, etc.. For the most part I let the music motivate, because that’s what dose it for me. I put a great deal of time and energy into making playlists that have a perfect BPM : RPM ratio. I like hill climbs with gut retching music that makes you feel like you’re attacking a castle and sprints that have you running for your life. I personally can’t stand an instructor that talks and talks with a cheer leading attitude trying to encourage me to reach my goals, asking me to smile, or to raise my hand if my ass is on fire. All I can think is please shut up; I’m trying to concentrate here. But am I wrong? Is this what the people want? As an instructor my job is the motivate the class, not to take a my way or the high way approach. At the end of the day it’s about the client and their workout. Is constant chatting and encouragement motivating? Feedback please!