Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I've written. But, I'll tell you, this has been one of the busiest months of my life. Work transition, kids school and sports, life, they all have been in full swing. I'll share a few of the highlights with you.
As far as cycling goes, it's non-existant. I am almost embarrassed to say that I've only ridden my bike 2 times in the last 8 weeks. I am still, however, teaching spin class so at least I'm getting in a little training. The two times I rode my bike were eventful to say the least. The firt ride after about 5 weeks of not riding was a blast. The weather was perfect that day. The goal was to get in miles, time on the bike as well as lots of climbing in preperation for the big event, 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge the following weekend. Mission accomplished. We climbed Lookout Mountain on 3 different sides and got in a little over 5 hours on the bike. After that ride, pollen out in full force by the way, I started getting some pretty bad congestion in my head, sore throat, etc. Yep, I was getting sick. Well, with the big day coming in a few days, I really couldn't back out. I had 7-10 friends doing this ride and I couldn't let them down. My goal was just to ride the 100 miles, have fun, and finish the ride when I felt like it. I was going to take it easy. Well, as we were preparing for the ride that morning the skies looked scary. The good news is that it didn't start raining until all 2,000 cyclist took off but the bad news is that it literally flooded for the first hour of the ride. The temp was about 65 deg, so going up the mountain wasn't that bad. The rain was horrible, it was raining harder than I've ever experienced on a bike. The misery started as I started the decent. The rain felt like little ice pellets hitting me in the face. I didn't have a rain jacket, all I had was arm warmers. I really didn't think it was going to rain that hard for that long. Note to self: If there is a chance of rain, take a rain jacket. Did I mention I was sick and felt like crap? Long story long, when we got to the bottom of the mountian, everyone was stopping to kind of regroup. As we sat there waiting on the rain to slack up a little and for it to quit lighting, we (tons on people) started shivvering uncontrollably. It was miserable. Of course I couldn't be the one to whine, but I was so cooperative when several people were asking the shortest route back. Yep, we DNF'd (Did Not Finish) the ride. A couple friends actually called for a ride home. It was that bad, but another friend and I turned back and went back over the mountain. Overall we still got in 45 miles for the day but were really disappointed that we couldn't finish the ride. As we started back over the mountain the rain slacked off and we obviously warmed up as we climbed but we both agreed that we made a good decision to live to fight another day. A. We are not getting paid to do this and B. Did I mention I was sick?
Baseball and softball are winding down. This is the last week! Whooo Hoooo!! It's been a fun season but it is so tiring. We are at the ballpark almost every night except Wed's and Sunday's. Nicholas' team is doing soo well. They have only lost 1 game all year and he is contributing every game. I am so proud of him. Noel's team on the other had had only won one game until last week. But, they've won two straight. They are on a roll baby! She is awesome as she loves to play and is having fun doing it. BTW, she made cheerleader last week.
Hope you didn't get too bored with the updates but I thought I would give you some good excuses for being awol! Lastley, I'm going to WSSC, (World Spinning and Sports Conference) in Miami in a couple weeks. I am pretty excited about this opportunity to gain even more experience and grow as a Spinning Instructor. To be honest, I need the break to recharge my batteries. With everyting going on, I've gotten a little burned out lately. I hope it hasn't shown in my classes but I'm not nieve enough to know that it could happen. Hope not though. Please feel free to leave your comments. I would love to hear from you and see what you think!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Shifting Priorities
What's up fella's? It seems like a year or so since I've written about cycling stuff. That's because I haven't ridden my bike in a whole month. This weekend makes 4 weeks since my last ride. What happened? How can that be?
Well, both my kids, Noel 10, and Nicholas 8 started softball and baseball respectively. With two different teams and two practice and game schedules, it is hard to fit in any extra time on the road. Oh, I also have a wife, have a social life, teach spin class, have a job, go to church, and just started P90X. Here I am making excuses again. The truth be known, I have shifted my priorities to something a whole lot more important. I am not only coaching and helping them grow as little people, I am having fun doing it. See, in the past, I use to stress about when I was going to fit in a bike ride. I would do all the kid and family activities but in the back of mmy mind I was always stressing to see when I could ride. Did it ever cause conflict, uhh, somewhat but not noticable. So, when I fins that perfect balance, weighted heavily towards family, I'll do it.
There will be plenty time for riding bikes, but everyday I neglect or fail to capilalize on time with my kids, I miss out. It's gone, never to be again.
Well, both my kids, Noel 10, and Nicholas 8 started softball and baseball respectively. With two different teams and two practice and game schedules, it is hard to fit in any extra time on the road. Oh, I also have a wife, have a social life, teach spin class, have a job, go to church, and just started P90X. Here I am making excuses again. The truth be known, I have shifted my priorities to something a whole lot more important. I am not only coaching and helping them grow as little people, I am having fun doing it. See, in the past, I use to stress about when I was going to fit in a bike ride. I would do all the kid and family activities but in the back of mmy mind I was always stressing to see when I could ride. Did it ever cause conflict, uhh, somewhat but not noticable. So, when I fins that perfect balance, weighted heavily towards family, I'll do it.
There will be plenty time for riding bikes, but everyday I neglect or fail to capilalize on time with my kids, I miss out. It's gone, never to be again.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Question Behind the Question
Just read this little book called The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller on the flight home last night. Little did I know that I would be tested right off the bat in Spin class this morning. Our Spin room is really nice with a great sound system and a nice big fan which makes it pretty loud in there, especially with all the bikes spinning and the music and fan roaring. The room is shaped like a diamond with the instructor on a raised platform in the point of the diamond. There's a lower level and another raised level in the back of the room, nice huh? I think so. Well, I've rarely ever had a problem with the sound system because I can normally figure things out before class starts. Not too difficult, just hook your iPod up and adjust the sound a little. Not today. Oh, and did I mention that my flight arrived in Chattanooga around 11:30 last night so I didn't get in bed until 12:30 or so.
I show up for class after getting about 4 hours of sleep feeling pretty good about things and very glad to be back. I do NOT like getting subs but I'm really thankful that Misty filled in for me. Anyway, enough rambling, I showed up this morning as usual, about 30 minutes early, to find the microphone not working. I have taught without a microphone but it's been a long time. In fact, I was just bragging to myself how good we have it at our gym because the microphone always work. But, the few times early on in the life of the gym, when the mic didn't work, it was horrible. Our spin room is not designed for teaching without a mic. The speakers are in front of the instructor making it really hard to hear without one. I couldn't get it to work no matter how long I played with it. I tried everything only to find that nothing worked. So, I had a choice to make. How was I going to respond, especially after just reading the QBQ.
The QBQ is a little short read about personal accountability. Something I feel is lacking in our country right now. It's not my fault! I often find myself, and don't think I'm that uncommon in doing so, pointing the finger at someone else, or at least asking the wrong questions. I bet you're asking, "what are the wrong questions", or "what do you mean". Well that's precisely what the QBQ book is all about. When we are faced with situations, are we asking correct or incorrect questions. I had a choice to make this morning, was I going to ask the correct or incorrect questions? Here's what an incorrect question consists of: It begins with "Why" or "When" or "Who". It also contains "They", "Them", "We", or "You". The correct question or correct response in most every circumstance involves sentences that begin with words like "What" or "How" and contain the word "I". Can you see where I'm going with this.
This morning, I had a choice to make. Was I going to blame the mic not working on someone else? Don't laugh. Don't think I haven't before. I've found myself asking things like "Who left the mic on and drained the batteries?" I've also probably (have) said, "Why doesn't this mic work? They just don't know how to use this system". Notice the words in these questions. Do these questions sound familiar to you? I hope not but can honestly say that I find myself asking those type questions sometimes, rarely, but sometimes. haha! But, this morning was different. I found myself asking questions like "What can I do to fix the problem" or "How am I going to teach the class today without a mic" See the difference in the wording? I was taking personal accountability for the mic, even though I wasn't totally responsible for it not working. It is, however, my class and I had to teach. It really felt good not pointing fingers or blaming others. Have you ever experienced anything like this? Have you really ever even considered this? Am I the only one? The correct questions or QBQ's focus on action! It felt good to ask those questions. The result was a very positive atmosphere that worked out just fine. You know what I did? After trying for 30 minutes to get the mic to work without success, I turned one of the bikes on the front row around and taught from there. The front row is in front of the speakers, not behind like the instructors bike, which allowed me to hear how loud the music was and make adjustments as necessary. I was able to keep the music just low enough for us to hear it really well but allow them to hear me at the same time. The mic will get fixed. I could have let it spoil the whole class by placing blame and creating a negative atmosphere but I didn't. The class turned out great in my opinion. If anyone thinks differently that was there, please let me know.
So, give it a try. First of all, what kind of questions are you asking? Take a look at the way you are responding to different circumstances tomorrow. They could be at work with co-workers and managers, at home with your family or wherever you might be, notice what your questions look like. Do they begin with "Why", "When", or "Who" and contain "They", "Them", or "We"? Try to change them to "What" or "How" and contain "I" and remember they always focus on action! Good luck!
I show up for class after getting about 4 hours of sleep feeling pretty good about things and very glad to be back. I do NOT like getting subs but I'm really thankful that Misty filled in for me. Anyway, enough rambling, I showed up this morning as usual, about 30 minutes early, to find the microphone not working. I have taught without a microphone but it's been a long time. In fact, I was just bragging to myself how good we have it at our gym because the microphone always work. But, the few times early on in the life of the gym, when the mic didn't work, it was horrible. Our spin room is not designed for teaching without a mic. The speakers are in front of the instructor making it really hard to hear without one. I couldn't get it to work no matter how long I played with it. I tried everything only to find that nothing worked. So, I had a choice to make. How was I going to respond, especially after just reading the QBQ.
The QBQ is a little short read about personal accountability. Something I feel is lacking in our country right now. It's not my fault! I often find myself, and don't think I'm that uncommon in doing so, pointing the finger at someone else, or at least asking the wrong questions. I bet you're asking, "what are the wrong questions", or "what do you mean". Well that's precisely what the QBQ book is all about. When we are faced with situations, are we asking correct or incorrect questions. I had a choice to make this morning, was I going to ask the correct or incorrect questions? Here's what an incorrect question consists of: It begins with "Why" or "When" or "Who". It also contains "They", "Them", "We", or "You". The correct question or correct response in most every circumstance involves sentences that begin with words like "What" or "How" and contain the word "I". Can you see where I'm going with this.
This morning, I had a choice to make. Was I going to blame the mic not working on someone else? Don't laugh. Don't think I haven't before. I've found myself asking things like "Who left the mic on and drained the batteries?" I've also probably (have) said, "Why doesn't this mic work? They just don't know how to use this system". Notice the words in these questions. Do these questions sound familiar to you? I hope not but can honestly say that I find myself asking those type questions sometimes, rarely, but sometimes. haha! But, this morning was different. I found myself asking questions like "What can I do to fix the problem" or "How am I going to teach the class today without a mic" See the difference in the wording? I was taking personal accountability for the mic, even though I wasn't totally responsible for it not working. It is, however, my class and I had to teach. It really felt good not pointing fingers or blaming others. Have you ever experienced anything like this? Have you really ever even considered this? Am I the only one? The correct questions or QBQ's focus on action! It felt good to ask those questions. The result was a very positive atmosphere that worked out just fine. You know what I did? After trying for 30 minutes to get the mic to work without success, I turned one of the bikes on the front row around and taught from there. The front row is in front of the speakers, not behind like the instructors bike, which allowed me to hear how loud the music was and make adjustments as necessary. I was able to keep the music just low enough for us to hear it really well but allow them to hear me at the same time. The mic will get fixed. I could have let it spoil the whole class by placing blame and creating a negative atmosphere but I didn't. The class turned out great in my opinion. If anyone thinks differently that was there, please let me know.
So, give it a try. First of all, what kind of questions are you asking? Take a look at the way you are responding to different circumstances tomorrow. They could be at work with co-workers and managers, at home with your family or wherever you might be, notice what your questions look like. Do they begin with "Why", "When", or "Who" and contain "They", "Them", or "We"? Try to change them to "What" or "How" and contain "I" and remember they always focus on action! Good luck!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
If You Can't Come to My Class, You Must Get This!
Weather, time restraints, and basically life often times gets in the way of training outdoors forcing you to spend those dreaded hours on the trainer. It takes a lot of dedication and commitment to train indoors, but for the most serious cyclist, it has to be done.
I was recently introduced to some cool indoor cycling DVD’s by http://www.globalride.net/ . I got an e-mail from them asking me to review their product and I immediately said, “You’ll have to go through my agent”. Right! Of course I said I would be glad to take a look at it and to be honest, was flattered by them asking. Who isn’t looking for a way to keep from going insane on their indoor trainer? There are three DVD’s in the set but I’m only writing about the Rolling Hills Ride. I’ll let you know about the other two when I get time to look at them.
I asked for volunteers to stay after class my Spin class this morning to participate in this virtual ride. Most people looked at me like I was crazy and suggested that I was lucky to get them for the first hour. I did, however, have two brave souls stay and do the ride with me. As a Spin instructor, I’m always trying to queue my class to help them visualize climbing or descending or going up and around a switchback, or cruising along on a flat with a strong headwind. This is one of the most challenging things for a coach. What are we doing at this particular time? How steep is the hill? Certain coaches are better than others at getting the class to visualize the ride. That’s why I think you’ll like this DVD set. It makes it easy for you to visualize riding in some of the most beautiful parts of the world.
This particular ride was a rolling hills ride in Maui, Hawaii. Here are some of the things I liked about this ride. The scenery is incredible. How cool would it be to go to Hawaii to ride your bike? Just looking at the views as you are riding is enough to make the time go by quickly. It was very easy for me to visualize me hammering over the beautiful countryside of the “Big Island”. You have the option to listen to a coach guide you through the ride or you can mute him if you want. The same goes for music, you can listen to music they provide or you can blast your iPod as usual. I really liked the music selection. The coach does a really good job of coaching you as you approach the rollers, helping you to feel like you are there. He also does a great job of motivating and encouraging you to stay on target. The goal of this particular ride is to sustain your target heart rate. I chose to keep mine around 75-80% of my max heart rate given the fact that I’d just completed a hard interval class in the previous hour. The coach also did a great job of reminding you to stay focused and to stay on target. I like that because, especially indoors, you can easily allow your HR to go too high or to drop down too low if you’re not paying close attention. He helps you stay focused. There’s not too much instruction, just enough to let you know what’s going on. Additionally, there is a bonus Yoga tract on this particular DVD. I have found this to be extremely beneficial. As a cyclist, I have neglected to stretch properly over the years and it has just recently started causing big problems for me. I am convinced that you have to stretch or else you are an injury waiting to happen. These bonus tracts are awesome.
Here are a few things that I would recommend adding or changing. One of the participants this morning was new to indoor cycling and cycling in general. After the class I asked him for some feedback and he said that he would have liked more instruction up front. There is not a lot of instruction or coaching during warm up and I think that’s a perfect opportunity to set the stage for the ride. It will be different if you purchase these DVD’s and are able to read the instructions and box they come in but for many people who don’t read the instructions, like ALL men, more guidance up front would be helpful. I also really liked when you could see another cyclist in the picture. In fact, I want to be that guy for the next DVD! ;) I liked it when you could see a rider in front of you or behind you. It helped to see his cadence, his speed, his body position on the bike. I liked that but think there should be a lot more. In fact, I think it would be good if you could see a rider or even a group of riders the entire ride. It made it feel a little more realistic, almost as if you were on a group ride or something. The last thing I’ll say that I would improve is the coach’s tone and voice inflection. Maybe it’s because I have some experience in announcing certain sporting events and love that stuff, but I feel like he could have been a little more enthusiastic in his voice. His voice was good, but could have articulated and annunciated and not been as monotone.
Overall, I liked this ride. I thought it was very professional and nicely done. You can tell the folks who produced this video knew what they were doing and aren’t just trying to sell you another gimmick. I don’t think they are going to throw in a set of ginsu knives for buying these DVD’s and that’s a good thing. They are practical and very realistic which makes for a great tool for indoor training. If you do any training indoors, I highly recommend you take a look at these DVD’s. Go check out their website. I think this is a great tool to help you endure those long hours on the trainer. Check it out!
I was recently introduced to some cool indoor cycling DVD’s by http://www.globalride.net/ . I got an e-mail from them asking me to review their product and I immediately said, “You’ll have to go through my agent”. Right! Of course I said I would be glad to take a look at it and to be honest, was flattered by them asking. Who isn’t looking for a way to keep from going insane on their indoor trainer? There are three DVD’s in the set but I’m only writing about the Rolling Hills Ride. I’ll let you know about the other two when I get time to look at them.
I asked for volunteers to stay after class my Spin class this morning to participate in this virtual ride. Most people looked at me like I was crazy and suggested that I was lucky to get them for the first hour. I did, however, have two brave souls stay and do the ride with me. As a Spin instructor, I’m always trying to queue my class to help them visualize climbing or descending or going up and around a switchback, or cruising along on a flat with a strong headwind. This is one of the most challenging things for a coach. What are we doing at this particular time? How steep is the hill? Certain coaches are better than others at getting the class to visualize the ride. That’s why I think you’ll like this DVD set. It makes it easy for you to visualize riding in some of the most beautiful parts of the world.
This particular ride was a rolling hills ride in Maui, Hawaii. Here are some of the things I liked about this ride. The scenery is incredible. How cool would it be to go to Hawaii to ride your bike? Just looking at the views as you are riding is enough to make the time go by quickly. It was very easy for me to visualize me hammering over the beautiful countryside of the “Big Island”. You have the option to listen to a coach guide you through the ride or you can mute him if you want. The same goes for music, you can listen to music they provide or you can blast your iPod as usual. I really liked the music selection. The coach does a really good job of coaching you as you approach the rollers, helping you to feel like you are there. He also does a great job of motivating and encouraging you to stay on target. The goal of this particular ride is to sustain your target heart rate. I chose to keep mine around 75-80% of my max heart rate given the fact that I’d just completed a hard interval class in the previous hour. The coach also did a great job of reminding you to stay focused and to stay on target. I like that because, especially indoors, you can easily allow your HR to go too high or to drop down too low if you’re not paying close attention. He helps you stay focused. There’s not too much instruction, just enough to let you know what’s going on. Additionally, there is a bonus Yoga tract on this particular DVD. I have found this to be extremely beneficial. As a cyclist, I have neglected to stretch properly over the years and it has just recently started causing big problems for me. I am convinced that you have to stretch or else you are an injury waiting to happen. These bonus tracts are awesome.
Here are a few things that I would recommend adding or changing. One of the participants this morning was new to indoor cycling and cycling in general. After the class I asked him for some feedback and he said that he would have liked more instruction up front. There is not a lot of instruction or coaching during warm up and I think that’s a perfect opportunity to set the stage for the ride. It will be different if you purchase these DVD’s and are able to read the instructions and box they come in but for many people who don’t read the instructions, like ALL men, more guidance up front would be helpful. I also really liked when you could see another cyclist in the picture. In fact, I want to be that guy for the next DVD! ;) I liked it when you could see a rider in front of you or behind you. It helped to see his cadence, his speed, his body position on the bike. I liked that but think there should be a lot more. In fact, I think it would be good if you could see a rider or even a group of riders the entire ride. It made it feel a little more realistic, almost as if you were on a group ride or something. The last thing I’ll say that I would improve is the coach’s tone and voice inflection. Maybe it’s because I have some experience in announcing certain sporting events and love that stuff, but I feel like he could have been a little more enthusiastic in his voice. His voice was good, but could have articulated and annunciated and not been as monotone.
Overall, I liked this ride. I thought it was very professional and nicely done. You can tell the folks who produced this video knew what they were doing and aren’t just trying to sell you another gimmick. I don’t think they are going to throw in a set of ginsu knives for buying these DVD’s and that’s a good thing. They are practical and very realistic which makes for a great tool for indoor training. If you do any training indoors, I highly recommend you take a look at these DVD’s. Go check out their website. I think this is a great tool to help you endure those long hours on the trainer. Check it out!
Could Have, Should Have, Would Have
Check out this website. I have already committed to go to Miami at the end of May to the World Spinning and Sports Conference (WSSC). While eating breakfast this week-end, my wife looked at me and said "is it too late to get out of your trip to Miami?". I really didn't connect the dots but she went on to say that because I was turning 40 this year, she thought it would be a great early present to go to Italy and ride the first five stages of the Tour of Italy. I almost spit my grits and coffee all over her. After thinking it thru, I decided that it was a little too late in the game to switch gears. Talk about a tough decision. I am looking forward to going to WSSC and I'm sure I will get a ton out of it. However, riding in Italy would likely be the coolest thing EVER, not to mention it is for a great cause. Check out this site www.cyclingfusion.com
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