Cadence and Creative Coaching

[Kathleen H]

Because Kent State is 11 hours away from Central Iowa and I was unable to make the trip as originally planned, I stayed close to home (Des Moines is 45 minutes away) and attended "Cadence, Heart Rate, and Class Design" and "Creative Coaching" with MI Terri Arends.

Both workshops were awesome. The bikes were missing the cadence computers which took a little away from the workshop. Although we must have had fun because different gym members tried to join us in the Spin Room during the practicum. Terri had to let them know it was a workshop.

Terri had lots of information to add to the booklets. The Cadence class also included a video starring Jennifer Sage and Doug Katona that I am going to watch tonight as DH studies Organic Chemistry.

I think cadence is one of the hardest concepts to pass along to students because so many people think they know how "fast" they are going and are surprised when you do a time check.

As always, I garnered additional good ideas from fellow instructors. Also a lively discussion on music selections ensued. I love the workshops for the instructor/MI and instructor/instructor interation as well as the learning.

All in all, a great way to spend a Sunday.

[JohnNYC]

Sounds great! I'm glad you enjoyed the classes. I look forward to taking them myself at some point.

This post is timely for me because I've been frustrated recently seeing instructors pay no attention to their cadence when teaching class. Although they tell their students that they will slow down when they pack on the resistance for the hill, the instructor maintains the same fast cadence -- I clocked three of them recently, and all were going between 90 and 100 RPM when we were supposed to be on a "steep" hill. I'm sure it's tough to know how fast you really are going, but I really think instructors need to make an effort at going at the appropriate cadence...students look to us for proper form.

Hmmm...maybe I can somehow suggest this class to my fellow instructors here.

[SpinBob]

I agree that cadence is hard to get across and the culture at where ever you teach or ride plays a big part. I had never heard of a cadence check while I was a student and when I became an instructor, the prevailing wisdom (not) at my facility was that it was necessary to the program.

To get around that, I try my best to keep a solid cadence and tell my class that if they are pedaling faster than I am that they need to add resistance and if they are pedaling slower, that they need to increase their pace and/or decrease their resistance. It's not a perfect world, so do the best you can.