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Hey all,

Ok here is my thoughts....I always say that there is nothing wrong with any indoor cycling experience or group ex class, what does differ is who is delivering it. A particpant wants to know 3 simple things in a cycling class: what do you want me to do, how hard do you want me to work and for how long. These 3 things can be the difference between a great class and an average class.

From coaching and connection to fitness magic, nothing has made me an all around better group ex instructor than Les Mills. I will stand my ground on the benefits of a pre-choreographed model anyday to anyone wo dosen't see the benefits. Pre-choreo will NOT produce clones! Any RPM release will be delivered 10 different ways by 10 different instructor regardless of the fact that they are delivering the same ride. This is the reality.

Over the the last few months I have attended several freestyle cycling classes both in clubs and at conventions. Some of these classes have been delivered from top industry proffesionals and I have admit that I embarrased as a fitness professional of some of the things the public are being exposed to.

The lack of class structure, the absencse of connection - when will instructors realize that its not about us! participants have a choice and it is our privelage not our right to be leading a class - no coaching, no profiling. There is nothing worse than sitting on a bike or in any group ex class and have no idea what i am suppose to be doing!!

It is interesting to just be a participant every once in a while just to see what is actually happening out there.

Here is what I am thinking of doing :-) At somepoint I would like to create, probably at a large fitness convention such as IDEA WORLD an indoor cycling extraviganza 100 plus bike (in the expo space, not a closed room) and link it to a charity of some sort. I will invite any instructor from any program - schwinn, johnny g, tomahawk, freestyle, rpm - to agree to deliver a masterclass and possible have it judged. Hmmmm maybe like American Idol :-)  have the public, the participants and a live panel vote. the class would be judged on cetain criteria such as - coaching, connection, fitness magic, accessibility of class for everyone etc. Then over a 2 day period have the winner - Best Indoor Cycling Experience!! Voted by the people, for the people :-)

Thoughts??????

Live and Ride Strong,

Dan

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Live and Ride Strong, Dano

hey Dan

I don't really see the point of such a competition. It wouldn't prove very much, other than "a grain of sand on the beach of world indoor cycling" had it's opinion.

RPM has got nothing to prove, just keep doing your thing. People will vote by putting their bum on a seat all over the world, and that's the only measure that counts right?

I saw a graphic the other day that showed the spread of walmart across the USA since 1962. Have a look:

blog dot kiwitobes dot com /?p=51

Now I am thinking... why not show the spread of each cycling program over the world since 1980 (or whatever). Show each club as a dot just like the walmart example.

THAT would be a good indicator of what works and what doesn't. (help me get the data and I'll do it for you)

Anyways, that's my thoughts.

 

btw, my polar said 102% in track 5 at filex, so time to recalibrate ! 

 

Heya,

Good point, good point my friend :-)

Guess it just gets a bit exhausting sometimes try to prove the benefits of beng a Les Mills Instructor and an RPM Instructor to those who don't believe :-)

However the event would be great to expose indoor cycling in general hey? :-) Plus could raise lots of money for a chairty say cancer

Thanks for your thoughts and your input, thats why the forum is here :-)

Dano

 

 

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Live and Ride Strong, Dano

Heya Dano,

I understand Mr. Timothy's point, but I think such event would be truly awesome.

As an RPM instructor that has trained in other indoor cycling courses, I can safely say that RPM has nothing to prove; and nothing to worry about in such a competition. Other programs simply do not have the... I dont know.... feeling? Spark? Driving force? Soul? There is no other program in which you can walk into knowing exactly what the workout is going to do for your body, mind and soul.

Before I became RPM certified, I, like many, would go to a gym seeking out the RPM program because I knew the way release # 32 made me feel; and because the choreography is set, that was never going to change. Also, every RPM instructor has the same passion;a common goal and a Les Mills team feeling.

I don't know, I'm borderlining ramble.... I'm finding it hard to express my reasoning for RPM being the best because it is not something that you can put into words- it is a feeling; something that needs to be experienced, not read.

But, I think a massive event like that would be awesome, but only if you had it in Australia! I'd be up for it; to be chosen as an instructor to represent RPM in such an event would be amazing. I'm pretty sure my head would explode with pride half way through the warm-up track ; but hell I'd pay good money to go and see it.

Cheers,

 Colby
 

Hi Dan,

This is an interesting concept.  I have to give you my own personal experience.  We were out of town recently.  I decided to go to a local gym and try a cycle class.  I was pretty excited to try something new and maybe "steal" some ideas/cueing and things like that.  Well, I get there and the class was horrible.  I only lasted 1/2 way through before I left in disgust.  There was no cueing, no clue as to what was going on in the class.  During one track, the girl said, "This song is 12 minutes long and it is a steady seated climb."  She didn't talk for the rest of the track.  It was torture.  So I really believe in the magic of Les Mills, as I have been totally spoiled.  I don't know if we need to embarrass the other instructors. 

On a side note, I had an amazing experience today and it was a great way to raise money for LiveStrong.  We held an outdoor cycling class, with everyone paying $20 for a  bike to participate, with all money going towards the cause.  We had over 100 bikes full of riders.  Plus, we had people just donating to the cause. It was an awesome experience.  So it was a great way to use Les Mills to give back to the community.

Heya,

Ya we are kinda spoileda ren't we :-) If non-Les Mills fitness professionals only knew how much ed, guidance and up-skilling we recieve they would come over for sure! :-)

Fantastic work on the fund raising! That's what I'm talking about!

Way to LIVESTRONG!

Dano

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Live and Ride Strong, Dano

Hey Dan,

Well as a RPM instructor, I have also try some other free spin program in my fitness centre. The one thing i always notice the difference between RPM and free style is the riding position. I am not sure for other free style programmme, but in my club I notice that. RPM has something like a set of rules, guidance and most of all ride safe. Everything is tested and proven from head to toe of your riding, even myself have try to do wrong and see what's the effect, for example on your knees and working muscle. It prove RPM does really have a great and proper riding position. No wonder the top 5 element that we need, POSITION, PACE, PUSH, PE and PROFILE. Each track have a profile to work hard for different PE and muscle group.
I see free stlye riding does not really have a profile maybe because it's not pre chorograph. I am so worried one day the member will hurt their knees and injured them self from my club freestyle riding.
All I can see is result....what the member wish to see is also result from either RPM or freestyle riding.

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Johnathan- RPM

Dan, everything you said is so true.  I am cycle certified and RPM certified.  The certification for RPM is top class.  You come out of it  knowing how to teach. The freestyle cycle cert I got was worthless.  You sit there for 6 hours, never practice teach or are you taught how to put a class together.      We have both formats at our gym and RPM is the stronger program now.   RPM tells us what we are going to do,  how long we are going to do it, and at what resistance,  AND change muscle groups so as to keep working hard and then we get an expected recovery.   I have been in classes where you do a standing run with resistance at 7 for 3 min. and then do a mountain climb for 6 min with no break.    The classes tend to be boring.  People lose their form and start to turn down the resistance and lean on the handlebars.   I also noticed that most freestyle classes  are more about strength training than cardio respiratory training.  You have taught us so much about cycling, form, heart rate, training.  I am able to pass all this info to my classes and they love it.   I never get that from  freestyle cycle.   I don't think a cycle showdown will do anything.   Most of the resistance, if any, to RPM is ego and jealousy.   It is by far a superior program.  I now ride outdoors and many of my class participants do also.  RPM applies outdoors very easily which has given me a big advantage.   

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jen

Hi I am not RPM qualified but have tried the class and do love it and would love to be qualified in it one day( unfortunately our club will not take it on) I am however qualified to teach 3 different Studio Cycling qualifications - Reebok, Multitrax and Johnny G Spin.

I have to stand up for freestyle a little here and say that you get good and bad for all and that INCLUDES RPM!!  I pride myself in my cycling classes and my numbers speak for themselves - my class is always full. I take great care to deliver a safe and effective class working hard on my profiles and music and am a big stickler for proper form throughout on the bike.

My ride positions are identical to RPM and NO I did not copy RPM- I was riding this way for years before trying it! 

My husband is a cyclist who used to compete locally and gives me great ideas to help deliver even better classes and I have been told that my class is like no other classes in the area and that I am more Cycle true than any others.  Most seem to want to do silly upper body stuff on the bike which I totally disagree with.

 I suppose I am just saying - dont totally write all freestylers off - some of us are not up our own backsides and there to increase our egos!

PS I have been to masterclasses with supposed leaders in the cycling industry and been bored to tears too Dan

 

First, to Millie, two thumbs up.  Dan may cringe when he reads this, but when I read his original post, I understood him to be referring to the programs themselves.  Your class sounds great, and I'm sure there are many more like you out there who really put the time and effort in when they're designing their rides.  The benefit I see with RPM is that someone else has done that work, so I can spend all of my time practicing the instructing and presenting.

To Dano, I think that the charity ride is a fantastic idea!  Perhaps instead of voting on a winner, the winner could be decided by how much money each program raised by charging $5/ride.

Alternatively, each participant would buy a bracelet for, say $30.  They could then use that for entrance into any and all of the cycling classes they wanted to try over the three days, and before they left, drop that bracelet in the box of their choice.  For every bracelet in your box, you're credited with $30. 

Either way, if all the programs choose the same charity, you don't have people voting for their favorite charity, and you end up getting a feather in the RPM cap that can be used to help market the program.

Offering multiple sessions of each program would help spread the riders out and eliminate the "class with the best time slot wins" effect.

Making it a money-raising contest helps keep the focus on the charity, offers added incentive for each program to really up their game, and can significantly increase the total benefit the charity receives.  Depending on the charity you choose, you might be able to invite some of the recipients to join you in some way as well.

Have someone ride around the trade show on a unicycle handing out RPM tattoos with the class times on the back.

Ok, I'll stop with the expo now.

I do agree with Tim that the only point that matters in the grand scheme of indoor cycling is seats in the saddles, but a little friendly competition can truly help some people who need it by donating to charity, and the more people who fall in love with RPM the better for us all both in terms of demand for our classes at our gyms and the health of our population as a whole.  I love the idea of that graphic as well.

Ride hard, boys and girls.  We're launching 38 tomorrow along with the new releases for all the rest of our programs so our gym is about to blow its top!

Dan

 

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Always an Adventure!

Hey all,

First thanks for all of you responses :-) Second I apologize if I can across the wrong way in saying that 'freestylers' can not lead a great class. This is not what I meant and it was not my intention to offend anyone  It truly makes no difference what program it is rather about what responsibility an instructor takes to ensure they are leading a safe, effecting and enjoyable class for participants. I have taken an RPM class as well and have had a really bad experience. So please accept my apologies if I offended anyone. I has just come back from a convention where I was involved in a conversation with a group of non les mills instructors who where dissing the pre-choreo model and RPM specifically without ever having rode it before. I tried to explain the benefits of our system especially after I came from the freestyle market 4 years ago and was met with big resistance by them. 

Note to self - dont write emails that emotion based hey! :-) 

Kia kaha everyone!

Dan 

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Live and Ride Strong, Dano

I appreciate the apology/explanation-I got a little heated when I read the first post yesterday.

I'm a dinosaur-I've been triple certified (ACE-Group Ex, Personal Trainer, Exercise Specialist) for 15 years.  Also have a bunch of minor certs,including Schwinn and RPM.  It's not about which cert is the best-it's about what the instructor does with the information and how he/she practices the craft.  I was taught by Tom Purvis to NOT accept everything every presenter says at face value-he taught me how to analyze every movement the body can make and to design exercise around the client's goals and abilities.  There will always be program/presenters/ and instructors who misinform.  LM is not immune to that.  There have been some minor things that I have picked up from LM that are just out and out wrong-somewhere along the line they fell into the cyclist rat (like gym rat) trap.  They haven't been the only ones-it's so easy to do if you accept what "they" say at face value.  So when I get information I research it analyze it and accept or reject it.  It doesn't make the whole program bad-just that part.  Every good instructor does that.

If you went out cycling and was packing your gear bag-would you only take one wrench because you thought it was best?  Or just a tube and no wrench becasue the tube was the best??  Of course not-you'd take a mini wrench set AND a tube, because a wrench won't fix a flat and a tube won't tighten a loose nut.  Being an instructor is like that-all the information you get at conferences and workshops are tools-you have some favorites BUT you can use them all.  RPM is part of my tool set-not the ONLY or BEST one-but a good one none the less

 So the challenge is a great idea-especially if it benefitted cancer.  They always have an AIDS workout at the World IDEA- didn't see it advertised for this year.  I'm not sure if RPM would win-I think the winner would be the best instructor regardless of what he/she presented.  I know I'd probably vote for Jay Blahnik-if he entered-he was the one that really taught me fitness magic. He is so passionate about fitness and his members/instructors success.

So don't sweat the comments-just smile and say it's All Good!!

Best wishes, happy cycling

 PS-You're right about it NOT being about us-that's the first sign of a great instructor.  You're up there because you want to teach your members about fitness and in this case about indoor cycling.  You want them to be successful and share their passion for exercise with someone else and so it goes on and on.  It's a career of passion.  I teach both RPM and freestyle and my regulars don't care what I teach-just as long as I can get them up the next hill or through the next sprint with some visuals!!! 

Hi Dan,

I read your post as being a discussion on the effectiveness of instructors, as distinct from RPM vs other.

I do training on rollers and/or mag trainer for track (velodrome) racing as well as RPM classes and what is done is completely different.  However it's not a case of one vs the other as they have completely different purposes.  Anyway back on topic.

It strikes me that RPM is a good mix of cycling activities within a standard time period and targets general fitness, which suits most participants.  A well thought out routine, so the instructor can focus on inspiration.  Could you elaborate.
 

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Have a nice day Exercise log: http://bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4219&postorder=dsc

Hey Dan,

First, I agree about prechoreographed classes.  I have taught both and when I can go on autopilot once I know my music and chory, I am free to create the fitness magic.  In freestyle, you are always reiventing your classes, so you feel "restricted".  I never feel engaged in a freestyle class although some instructors are great athletes.  There always seems to be a disconenct between the instructor, the music and the participants. At least that has been my experience.  I love taking other instructors' RPM classes because they will hear things that I don't in the music and imitation is the greatest form of flattery!  I love to steal material.  I've been stealing your for 2 years now!  :-)

Second, what a great idea to have a Les Mills "Instructor Idol" ... it would be interesting to see how many master instrucotrs from the freesyle genre would have the guts to put their pedals where their mouths are.  I look forward to it! 

Thanks for evything you do! 

Kia Kaha!  Margaret O.- Rockville, Maryand USA

 

 

 

 

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Margaret O'Rourke RPM Addict

Margaret-interesting take on free style.  I actually am more connected to my freestyle than RPM.  Learning the choreo is easy,but putting well planned profiles together that connect with the music is an art.  I currently teach both and don't find it hard to create fitness magic in either.  But then I've been doing this a long time and having a mixing program on the computer helps blend songs and sound effects to help the students connect to my class.  And I'm good at bringing outdoor visuals in to get members to connect. Nothing like barking dogs added to Who Let the Dogs Out to get the class into a short hard sprint.

Again, it's not about who is the best.  There are plenty of us freestylers who have the guts to put the pedal where our mouths are.  But me personally, I don't feel it necessary to defend Freestyle or RPM-I let my ability to teach speak for itself.  As I've said I've been in the industry for 15 years as instructor and another 3 before that as a student and non teaching assistant.  I've seen a lot of things ebb and tide. 

Anyways, I like both Chorey and Freestyle-but freestyle is my favorite and I was taught to do it effectively.