Resistance changes

[Schenely]

I'm a little unclear on resistance changes. For profiles other than resistance loading, when do you instruct your students to add/reduce resistance? It up to the students to change their own resistance based on their heart rates, or is it up to us as instructors to tell them to change?

Thanks

[Bike4ale]

As an instructor, you need to be more than the guy/girl up there saying, "Come on"......"You can do it".........."Great job"....etc. You need to CREATE A RIDE that includes resistance changes. Otherwise, they might as well be out there on the stationary bikes.

The hardest part as a beginning rider is learning HOW MUCH resistance to use for certain activities. Instructors can use an exertion scale based on levels 1-10, or 10%-100%, the higher number being the maximum exertion, of course.

My method is a little different. Rather than confuse people with numbers or percentages....."Hey teach! Are we supposed to be at 50% or 60%".....my description of resistance KEEPS IT SIMPLE.

CLIMBING:
BASE TENSION - The start of a climb. Nothing too steep. Pace starts to slow down. It should be something you can add to.
MEDIUM TENSION - Getting steeper. Should slow your pace a little more. Working harder to get towards the top.
HEAVY TENSION - Steepest part of the climb. As much tension as you can take, but still keep those pedals moving smoothly...without stopping or hesitating at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

(Keep in mind, base, medium and heavy tension out of the saddle MUST be more than in the saddle)

or, another CLIMBING technique:
Start with BASE tension and tell the class how many times you will be adding tension to get to your MAXIMUM TENSION. (4, 5, 6....whatever) Just make sure to keep that maximum tension to the guidelines I listed above.

TENSION WITH GEARS:
Pick an imaginary number of gears that your bikes will have. (I usually use 4-6 gears) Tell the class that you're riding on flat ground, maybe in a long pace line with other riders. The goal is to keep the same pace for each gear. SET THE PACE by giving a 15 second count where the riders are counting how many times 1 foot goes around. Their goal is 20-25 rotations (80-100 rpms). After your 15 second count, tell them to adjust their tension/speed accordingly to stay in that 20-25 rotation range. THIS IS FIRST GEAR. You can time each gear or just go by feel. Instruct them as you add gears to add just enough tension to FEEL A DIFFERENCE.(usually a quarter turn...or less) As you take them through each gear, remind them to hold the same pace you started with. Maybe do another pace check when you get up to 3rd or 4th gears. Once you get this down, you can even throw in some short sprints during the gears (maybe to simulate passing riders, etc.) Have fun with it.

I hope this helps.

[Bike4ale]

Sorry...me again. I don't mean to be a "post hog", but I'm new to the forum and somewhat addicted...plus I have a rather boring desk job. Come to think of it, if I don't get some work done, my boss is going to give me a TON of free time to get out and ride. Hmmmmmmmmm.

Lets face it....resistance IS WHAT IT IS.....pads touching the flywheel. If we call it resistance or tension or 70%, it can get pretty dull. Instead, try giving resistance a face that riders can identify with. Hills, gears, headwind, standing water, gravel, mud.......ANYTHING you can think of that might slow you down and make you work a little harder on a bicycle.

I'm out...I need my paycheck!

[bluenoser]

I ask riders to add resistance when the profile calls for a change in intensity: cadence plus resistance equals intensity. Essentially, choices about resistance and cadences depend on your objective for the profile that day, and most importantly, your riders' goals for that day.

Specifically, when riders are coming out of warm up and are ready to get into more active effort, I'll remind them to add resistance (i.e., "tap on that resistance so you feel the brake pads grab the wheel"). When we are transitioning from a flat to a hill, I'll ask them to "lay a little heat to their wheel." We can "resistance load" (and gradually ramp up heart rate), as the hill gets steeper, or as the flat road gets tougher (i.e., "feel the road start to swell under your wheel"). When I invite them to add resistance to a flat road, I may relate that feeling to pedaling through water, then pedaling through mud, the pedaling through concrete.

Bottom line for me is intensity, and the intensity that they want to (or should be--depending on what else they've done that week, how their bodies feel after warm up, and where this Spinning ride fits into their bodies needs), and only they can control their intensity.

I also think it's part of my job to translate that intensity for 16 different individuals, some of whom wear (and know how to use!) heart rate monitors, some who are new riders, some who are kinesthecally in tune, some of whom relate to a 1-10 scale etc. So, I may mention %#s briefly, but more importantly for the groups that I lead, I focus on respiration, how close they are getting to breathlessness (i.e., 15 min in . . . if you're feeling like you need to suck wind through your mouth, sit back, fade away some resistance, then rejoin the pack), heaviness in the legs, how much time is left etc).

My profile is full of suggestions of where effort is greater and greatest, but the riders themselves need to determine when to add resistance, and they need to realize that the key to their ride (in terms of intensity level, anyway) lies in that resistance knob as well as cadence.


Funny story: we were doing some ladders the other day and every 2 minutes x3 (for 5 ladders) I asked them to make a change--we got to throwing out adjectives for each rung of the ladder. My favorite was happy, happier, happiest, so that at their greatest effort they were "happiest"!!
:wink:

[bluenoser]

I had a nice response all typed out, then somehow hit the CLEAR button on my computer!!!!!!!! Had to start all over . . . and the fix my "bold" mess. :roll:

[Cheeze]

When discussing resistance I think three things are important. First Spinning is individual training in a group setting. Second, students must have a training goal in mind for each class. Riding without a goal or plan is like taking a trip w/o a map or destination. Third as their coach we should walk our students through the profile at the beginning of class so they can develop their HR plan for that class based on their training needs or how they feel.

To answer your original question - Yes........and Yes. If the class profile is very technical as a lot of IEZ profiles are as the coach you will more than likely be telling your students where their HRs should be. But students always have permission to dilute the HR parameters down to something they can handle.

However during most of my classes I let my students determine the resistance based on the HR parameters and their individual goal/plan for the day. Remember as Janet posted Cadence + Resistance = HR. Also keep in mind the resistance helps us simulate terrain. As I guide my students through the profile I will alert them to changes in terrain (ei. hills, flats, against the wind, off road, switchbacks, evil part of the hill, more grade, monster hill, sun on your shoulders/wind at your back, time to go crying to your Mama*, etc) or recommend/suggest HRs or HR ranges. They already know how steep/long the hills are because we walked through them at the beginning of class. Subsequently they should already have a resistance and HR in mind when they reach them. IMHO my job is to guide my students along the profile and it's their job to dial on/off the resistance according to their plan or training goals/needs for that day.

That's the way I slice it - Cheeze

* Borrowed from Danielle Foster - but she delivers it much better than I ever will.

[AC]

The simple precision of the fixed gear bike used with the HRM is connected to cadence>effort(either HR or a RPE)>result. It is the actual attraction of the whole class concept, otherwise you can just drop in some music and just walk out and come back in 40+ minutes or so. If there is no cadence established to ride to, what need is there for an instructor, a profile or even a class?

On average, how many times do you do a cadence check in class so that the participants can get a sense for the appropriate range? I find that when I have them count their cadence for 15 seconds, those who are pedaling with too little resistance are more likely to realize it (even if they don't necessarily add it).

[bluenoser]

On average, how many times do you do a cadence check in class so that the participants can get a sense for the appropriate range? I find that when I have them count their cadence for 15 seconds, those who are pedaling with too little resistance are more likely to realize it (even if they don't necessarily add it).


For me, there is no average. I'll do a cadence check on an "as needed" basis, for instance if I see a few "bouncers" or people pedalling way too quickly where they don't look smooth.

But if we're doing a class where part of the focus or objective is on cadence changes (i.e., a cadence building class, or a "hill and vale" profile), I may do a few more just to match a "feel" for a cadence number.


More often than not, I'll commend them on a "fine looking flat road cadence" and not do a check 'cause it looks grand already.

[madcyclist]

Interesting discussion and I have to agree with almost everything that is being said here.

My philosophy is this and some of ua share this perspective: the ride is an individual undertaking. As Cheeze said, I am a coach and I motivate and guide the rider through the profile of the ride. However, I stress at the beginning of my classes that the intensity of the ride is up to what the rider can handle. I tell them I don't know what kind of day they had or how they are feeling - if they don't have the energy to give, don't force it.

Now with respect to cadence: I have a diverse population of riders - younger and older folks. I don't expect my older folks (or some of the younger ones for that matter) to maintain a cadence say of 90+ rpms for a sustained length of time - if they can cool, if not cool too. Now I will do cadence check and let them know how fast a cadence is. If I see someone pedalling under or over the extreme limits (like 50 rpm on a climb or 120 rpm on a flat), I will step in. Nonetheless, I look for everyone to tap into their innerselves and find that cadence that matches their energy level - I don't care if it's 85 or 90 rpm as long as the energy is there and the output matches. Nothing is that perfect. Now if I were training Lance for the TdF then yes I would be very specific and demand a specific cadence at a specific HR. But that's not going to be the case for 95% of our population.

So far as for resistance: As an instructor you really can't tell who is using it and how much they are using. I remember I taking a class in Santa Monica and there were some folks in that room who should have been nominated for Oscars b/c of the acting they did on the "hills" - including the instructor (she admitted it to me after class). I guess you can go around and feel everyone flywheel to see how warm they are after class, but, what does that prove? They cheated and weren't true to themselves. But, I find that is not the case with most folks. I stress to my riders to learn how to use resistance - don't fight it, embrace it and use it as a tool. I know someone has found that point of resistance that is good for him/her when I see them dancing on the pedals - knees not locking, lifting their legs with relative ease, and in control of their breathing and form. It's a beautiful sight as many of you know. I tend to favor easier resistance with a higher cadence rather than heavy resistance with a slower cadence for safety and realistic reasons. This is a technique I bring indoors that has value - may not seem like a big deal indoors, but, when you are climbing steep graded hills, it makes a difference.

Paix.
--

[Cheeze]

Good response Janet. Keep in mind that a cadence check is one of several tools available to you as a coach to help a rider get started on their journey and to help keep a rider on course. If everything is cooking and the cadence is grand - I don't mess with it.

Also it may seem like an obvious point but it bears mentioning. Give your students permission to do their own cadence checks when ever they feel they need one. And especially if they lock into a very comfortable cadence and want to make a mental note how fast they were turing the pedals when everything was flowing for them.

Wow Mad - we agree on things. Hope all is well on the coast.

Cheeze

[BFSpin]

"More often than not, I'll commend them on a "fine looking flat road cadence" and not do a check 'cause it looks grand already."

Nicely put, Janet! Bet your riders leave your class feeling like a million bucks. I know I would...


Beth

[bluenoser]

I see there's a taste here for Blue-Cheeze? :lol:
We are indeed saying the same things . . . sometimes blue cheeze is crumbled, sometimes it's dressing.

The challenge (and fun) for me is continually looking for ways to individualize the ride; thus, using language in various ways to describe effort metaphorically, or referring to a scale, asking rhetorical questions if the hill starts to grow for some of us: "can you add any more to your wheel? should you? only you can answer that question." I speak in terms of making choices, and making conscious decisions: "do the right thing for you . . . as long as it's your conscious choice, it IS the right thing".

I guess my main "thang" is persuading them that their ride is always in their control, and based on their decisions. This is not a dog and pony show, and they aren't Pavlov's dogs.

[AC]

I do a cadence check if I want the cadence to change by more than 5 rpm's, in either direction. I feel they are necessary, but can be very tedious if done more than every 10 minutes.