I'm Spin-Certified now!

BikeSwimLaugh

BikeSwimLaugh

0
Nailed another one of my goals on the "list".....when I started taking spin-class I thought to myself, I can do this! Put together some great tunes and get up there and yell at people ;)

So last Sunday I spent 9 hours in an orientation course and I got certified, now I'm on the "sub" list at my gym and they'll call me when they need someone to fill in. I really don't have time nor interest being a regular full-time instructor, but this sounds like fun.

Instead of telling you about the class I took, I'll instead mention two of my humoristic highlights:

1) When we were all introducing ourselves I started-in on an elaborate explanation of how my parole officer said I could aquitted of my crime by taking this course.....etc. After about a good minute with all the woman looking at me like I'm psycho, I stopped, paused and said "are you guys actually buying this?"...and it was all funny.

2) But my best comment was when the instructor was emphatically explaining that there are ONLY 3 hand positions on the handlebars...and then he went on to show some bad positions and said "not this, not this, or this, or this, just and only THREE"....so I innocently raise my hand and say "just three?" to which he replies (almost in disgust that I didn't get his emphatic explanantion & demonstration) "Yes, just three positions!"....to which I responded with "But the Kama Sutra Spinning manual depicts SEVEN positions!" :D

So anyways, now I'm good to instruct and am looking forward to my first experience where I'm sure I'll post "I choked in spin class today" :)
 
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I am certified through Keiser on the M3 and love teaching cycle classes. You can really use any music that inspires you vs. music that has to be a specific beats per minute.

Best of luck to you! I am sure you will do GREAT!
 
~LV~ said:
Congrats dude.

I used to spin a long time ago - VERY hard stuff.
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LOL....it's only as hard as you bluff it ;)

Seriously, it can be a tough/hard workout, but it's really up to the individual and how hard they want to push themselves. You can cinch-down on the tension to the point where you can't turn the peddles..or just spin loose and fake it. but thanks for the support!

BasketLady said:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I am certified through Keiser on the M3 and love teaching cycle classes. You can really use any music that inspires you vs. music that has to be a specific beats per minute.

Best of luck to you! I am sure you will do GREAT!
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Yeah....I was thinking that's how to start...find great music and then put a routine behind it. The instructor at my course was saying you start by designing the routine and then finding the right music. That makes no sense. I figure you take the song and use various points to change tempo.

So tell me....should I start by putting my songs together and then spinning to them on my own and making notes on where and which positions to run positions....or just learn intuitively how to wing-it??

We've got one girl who tells us "You've got 3 intervals with increasing tension, etc, etc"...and then there's the instructors who just play cool music and just kinda wing-it as we go. More then anything I think it's about making the class fun...so while the technical workout is good, people are more inclined towards great music and energy. Please: any input or suggestions would be great.
 
Personally, I feel that music is at least 90% of the class -- if you have horrible music, it doesn't much matter what you do on the bike. But if the music is motivating to you -- you will emit that energy to the rest of the class.

In my certification, and many of the conference classes I have taken, they have stated that you should plan your class, and then pick the music -- but I am like you -- I find the music I like, then I think 'oh that would be a great sprint/recover song' - then I plan my class. So I guess I do a combination of the two. You do not want to huge hill climbs back-to-back, but I know which songs I like to use for hill climbs, so I can put them where I want in the routine.

I really do not "wing" my classes, as I really feel I need to put the music in some sort of order -- I am actually a little anal about that.

The more you do, the more you will start to hear the beat and tempo's in the music, and have a better idea of what type of drill you would like to do to it. Sometimes I feel like I have to ride my ride before I do it in a class, and sometimes I just hope it will all work out how I have it in my head. You will also come to a point where you can 'wing' it more if the song is not going as you had hoped.

LOL....it's only as hard as you bluff it
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It's funny your wrote this -- I had actually typed something similar in my first post, but erased it. The beauty of the bike is that you definitely can fake it if you are having a rough day ;) I know I have been known to lower a gear while telling everyone else to increase theirs :eek:

I do have to tell you that I have spent more $$ with iTunes (and Walmart music - they are a little cheaper) since I started teaching cycling classes :11doh:
 
LOL....I think this thread may evolve into a personal dialog between the two of us, but trust me...sooner or later another spin-enthusiast/instructor will drop-in and add to it, and even years from now someone will stumble on this while doing a search. It's all good.

I know an experienced spin-instructor can wing-it. I once brought-in a CD of music and 'dared' my instructor to play it for class. She quickly previewed each song and I assured her I'd put the compilation together based on a slow warm-up song and then a series of alternating fast/slow songs....such a flow really makes sense.

I suppose I start with a song I really like, and it would seem that pretty much anything that made it to the top-20 on popular charts is a safe bet: if it made it to the top-20, then it has to have some appeal, no? So I have my list of songs that I've collected on my iTunes and then I sort them: slow, medium, fast...high-energy, recovery, endurance hill-climb, etc. I do a lot of mountain biking (actually, I use a mountain bike to ride the dirt fire-roads...so it's not tricky single-track nutty stuff, just long hills)...while riding, I envision how they'd play in the class and how I imagine myself instructing. Some songs have great sections where I imagine sprints or long grinds up a hill.

I agree that music is a huge part of the equation, I'm just concerned that what I think it awesome/amazing music may not be the ticket for other people. An extreme example is A System of a Down, let the bodies hit the floor.....a shi!tload of high energy but the older folks will freak and I'd expect people to even leave the class and complain!

Please drop me an email....got a HUGE tip for you regarding saving some serious money on music! Homeinsulation@aol.com

-Steve
 
Email on its way -- I'm always for saving some $$.

As for music - while I do not know many of their songs, I am not sure that System of A Down is the best for class -- I really try to keep it clean and not too much screaming stuff ;) But you will know what motivates you, and you will be able to read feedback from the class as to whether they were motivated. You also can always ask what they like, and try to mix things up. I know I have some top 40, dance/club stuff, country, rock etc. I planned one class with all classic rock (classic to me) songs -- Lynyrd Skynard, Billy Squire, Aerosmith, Steppenwolf, etc.... There are several of us that teach the cycle classes, and even though we are all completely different, sometimes we all seem to wind up with the same music.

I do not have my music separated, just one big list, but I definitely could see how having it separated would help in choosing. I know on iTunes you can put some notes in for each song too. You just want a nice mix in your class to have warm up, hills (rolling and steep), flats, sprints, cool down, etc.

I teach a high school Advanced PE class once a week (not necessarily spin, just fitness) - and I always offer for them to bring me music to use -- but I tell them it has to have a beat, and has to be clean....the later usually deters them from bringing me stuff. ;)
 
I'm at Spectrum Gym, in both Thousand Oaks and Canoga park...and I'm definitely going to have to gear my music to appeal to a wide-segment of the general membership.

I've now assembled several 'playlist' on my ipod and each is geared towards a different mood/intensity/speed. As much as I love some hard songs, it'd pretty much 'pop' the spin-bunnies and send them reeling. Best to keep it upbeat & fun. I routinely attend 4 different spin-classes and I've pretty much absorbed the different instructors styles, music and approaches. My plan is to assimilate and incorporate all the best aspects of each instructor and try to mimic as best I can...at least until I develop my own style. Ya know; if you can't be original, copy someone who can! ;)

Let's put it this way....I've given a bunch of music to one of my instructors and when she plays 'my' music in class (aside from never giving me credit)...everyone likes the tunes. So I'll run with that and see how it goes. More then anything, I just want to make the class fun.

It's been determined through studies that listening to music while working-out can reduce perceived exertion by as much as 30%. It's true, I've really gotten into a song and been going at it...then I look down and realize I'm pumping 165 bpm and it feels like 135. My plan: a rockin' song, a mellow song to recover, then another fast song, etc. And I think I'm going to ask people for their comments (if you like a song, make some noise...a lack of noise will suggest I might drop the song from the playlist). As I see it, we're all going for a ride together and as a group we go...

And to be selfish, I'm figuring that my being an instructor will give me further push to try to get and stay in optimum condition. Just like people go on diets months before a reunion, I'm going to have to stay fit enough to be the center of attention for a whole class: the pressure's on to stay fit & trim!!! Do you see how evil I am when it comes to battling weight-loss...I'll utilize any and all forms of motivation! :D
 
Don't lie man... We all know you got Spin certified so that next year on Valetine day, you can give all the guys a rose!!! btw, what did you wind up doing on v-day in that class, hand out a beer?
 
tic said:
Don't lie man... We all know you got Spin certified so that next year on Valetine day, you can give all the guys a rose!!! btw, what did you wind up doing on v-day in that class, hand out a beer?
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LOL.....as it turns out, I had to miss that day in class. As it turns out some negligent parent who didn't care about other kids sent their sick kid to school where they infected my kids who in turn infected me: I got to sit home with a hasty-horribble-terrible respiratory deal...I could barely breath, let alone execise. Plus, I have a strict don't-go-to-the-gym policy when I'm sick.

I'm just being put on the sub-list...I get called when a regular instructor can't make their class. I don't think I have the time to commit to teaching a regularly scheduled class, plus I'm not in it for the $45 they pay per class...just in it to have fun and fulfill an interest. Plus, the woman in these classes hold the instructors to such high regard..it's gotta be good! :)

blackbeard said:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

How much ya squat BTW bikeswimlaugh? In the 300+ lb club? :D
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I'm gonna be honest: I don't know! But all things considered I'd like to think I could do that without any problems. This may sound weird, but I don't really bother doing much lower-body when it comes to weights. Between my cyclings, spinning, running and racquetball...my legs get quite the workout; calves & quads are pretty darn big and the muscles get quite a weekly pounding as it is. I just do upper-body & core. At this point I'm still weighing in at the upper 220's and I'm 5' 8" and my projected BF% is around 12%...the weights are, at this point, for muscle preservation...I just wanna lean-out some more. I also don't do weight at my gym, I'm convinced the weight-room is a garden of blossoming viruses, bacteria and bugs in general...and I'm not set-up for heavy squats in my home gym.
 
BikeSwimLaugh said:
I'm gonna be honest: I don't know! But all things considered I'd like to think I could do that without any problems. This may sound weird, but I don't really bother doing much lower-body when it comes to weights. Between my cyclings, spinning, running and racquetball...my legs get quite the workout; calves & quads are pretty darn big and the muscles get quite a weekly pounding as it is. I just do upper-body & core. At this point I'm still weighing in at the upper 220's and I'm 5' 8" and my projected BF% is around 12%...the weights are, at this point, for muscle preservation...I just wanna lean-out some more. I also don't do weight at my gym, I'm convinced the weight-room is a garden of blossoming viruses, bacteria and bugs in general...and I'm not set-up for heavy squats in my home gym.
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You don't do much lower body ... so no squats or deads. You might turn into a cardio bunny if you neglect the weights. I've never been in a spinning session/yoga/dedicated cardio but even if I could do those I would never neglect weights. I'm surprised that you have preserved muscle just doing cardio, the typical cyclist doesn't.
 
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Oh....I quite agree with you!!!! Most cyclist look like stripped-down nerds with the upper-body of a 12 year-old girl.

For me, it probably comes from 2 things: 1) years of being heavy have my legs built-up to carry all that weight and 2) years of working in the field; we used to load about 180 bags of insulation, weighing 35-pounds each, into a truck each day...that's about 3.15 tons, and I'd have to lift 2 bags at a time, carry them 30 feet and toss them onto a truck....yeah, do that for 15 years and see what happens to your body!

Also, I've got strange metabolic issues. My nutritionist has declared that I am by far and away the most "off the charts" metabolic freak he's had to work with thus far...and mind you, that's NOT really a flattering or bragging thing. For weeks on end I would come in and he'd be pinching less and less fat...so I was dropping body-fat% quite consistently, but the scale would often refuse to drop and on several occassion it would actually go up! VERY FRUSTRATING. Very simply put, I have an uncanny ability to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

In class or on the bike, I can not turn fast rpm's like other people, I max-out at 110rpm while others can do 130-160 (more then you'd want to go anyways)...my legs are like tree-stumps and there's not a hint of flab, it's just thick & dense muscle; the last thing I want is more muscle on my legs. If anything, I really want to lean-out and look more like a triathlete....ya know, a bit more swift & light. Looking at my legs, you'd think all I do is squats. leg presses, etc. Mind you, I'm not really happy about it. Being built like a thick ox may be great for rugby but when I wear regular pants/shirts, I just look cylindrical & thick/dense....and this look prevails no matter how lean my stomach gets! :confused4:

Just the same, my trainer still has me doing lunges and when I mountain bike I often get out of the saddle and grind these long/steep hills until the burn in my legs is just like acid. Even my former trainer gave me a 'waiver' for not doing lower-body on account of my condition. So there ya go, more explanation then ya bargained for! ;)
 
Congratulations on your spinning certification. As a somewhat newly minted instructor myself (Sept last year), I can say it's quite the experience to be up front leading the class as opposed to taking it.

I agree with what's been said (I believe by BasketLady) that music is really what makes a class go. My style til now has been to find some good techno or hard rock instrumental tracks that make me want to work, and I hope it does the same for my class.

At any rate, very nice job - will look forward to see some of the rides you come up with.
 
I have to agree...it's all about the music. As Basketlady (Beth) says "it's a stationary bike...it doesn't go anywhere, so making it fun is all about the music, the energy and what you bring to the class"

So often I find myself groovin' to the music (whether it's in class, on my mountain bike or even listening to my underwater ipod while swimming)....good music has been clinically shown to reduce perceived exertion by as much as 30%...and it's gotta be true! I sometimes look at my HR-monitor and I'm cranking 165 and it feels like 130; you don't realize how hard you're working, and that's the magic of the music!

The formula seems to be a slow song or two to start, medium song and then fast song...from there the flogging begins: alternating back & forth from slow to fast, etc. Good music is the key, but it's tough because not everyone has the same taste in music. But I will say this: when a really bad song comes on, it pretty much stuns my energy and it's like tasting something spoiled....you just want to spit it out and get past it to better stuff.

Ya know. I've been enjoying exchanging emails with Basketlady and discussing issues. I think it would be super-fun to exchange playlist and checkout what works for each of us.

Just FYI: anyone can go to Playlist.com and listen to pretty much any song for free. There's no cost or any obligation. You can NOT download any of the music, it's pretty much like a jukebox for listening only, BUT it serves as an excellent means to find and check-out good songs, you can even assemble playlist as well and share them: this is how we should do it (assemble playlist and share with eachother). Stingo, I'd love to hear some of your good techno!

Beth turned me on to Scooter's Behind the Cow and I fired-back with Fatboy Slim's Right here, right now....lol, we both had the Rockafeller Skank already...but I've got more stuff including The Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, Paul Oakenfeld, etc. Let's get our tunes on! :)

Heck, maybe we can get the mod's to start a section "Spin Central" where us instructors & enthusiast can post, eh???

If not you, who?
If not now, when??
You wanna win, SPIN!!!! :D

(And thank you to everyone for the congrats! I'm stoked, super-stoked!)
 
Reading all this makes me want to go to a spin class soon :p
 
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