Cause and Effect Mp3 Profile May 2011

Cause and Effect Mp3 Profile

Created By: Jennifer Sage, ICA Master Instructor Ride Objective: focus on the relationship between resistance and cadence Working cadence range: 68-108rpm Working intensity: Zones 3-5 (aerobic to anaerobic) Class Length: 60 minutes

One of the most important things we can teach our students is the relationship between cadence and resistance and how it affects our intensity and ultimately our fitness and success. Too often, students, especially those who do not ride a bike outside, will pedal with too little resistance at a cadence that is too high. Because the heart rate will often be elevated, they feel like they are getting a benefit, even if power output is low (and most won’t have a power meter to tell them that).

Sometimes it is the opposite. We’ve all seen students who prefer to strain against high resistance at very low cadences, erroneously believing that it is good for their fitness goals. This profile allows them to see that resistance doesn’t have to be “slammed on” to get a great workout.

It is up to the instructor to educate students about this important relationship, and to guide them into choosing a cadence and resistance combination that not only make sense from a cycling point of view (even if they do not ride outside), but will help them achieve their goals of greater fitness. By choosing cadences and resistances (gears) that more closely mimic what is used outdoors, you will lead your students to greater fitness and success.

This profile is designed to take students through a range of cadences, while asking them to pay close attention to the effects that it has on them – heart rate, perceived exertion, leg strain, and even discomfort. In doing so, it will help them identify where their own strengths and weaknesses are, and where their preferred cadence is. Students will learn how to be subtle in their resistance increases. Sometimes a ¼ inch turn of the knob is enough to elicit an increase of a couple of heartbeats. This is most helpful for those students who tend to add or subtract resistance with sweeping turns of the resistance knob, such as a quarter or a half a turn each time.

If focusing this intently on the cause and effect of cadence is new to you and your students, you might want to introduce this concept to them over a couple of classes. For this particular playlist, you’ll see I chose songs from the mid-climbing range of 68bpm/rpm on up to 108rpm. On a subsequent profile, I might choose to expand on the theme by focusing just on the higher end (flat road, 85-120rpm) or on the lower end (higher resistance, 55-80rpm). For this profile, I’ve chosen shorter songs (less than 5 minutes) that most of my students will recognize - I want their attention at all costs! On later profiles focused just on the higher or lower cadences, I would choose longer songs,

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance and perhaps more songs without lyrics so they can dissociate from the music, allowing them to go much deeper into the cadence and spend more time at perfecting it. (Upcoming mp3 profiles will show you how to do this).

Note that my verbiage used in this profile is directed at students who are not necessarily used to paying close attention to cadence. If your students are accustomed to this discussion, then you would modify how much explanation you give. Also note that there is a lot of dialogue here. I usually don’t talk this much, unless there is a lot to teach them. This is an educational profile. After you’ve taught your students the “cause and effect” of resistance on cadence and cadence on resistance, the next time you teach this profile, you will not have to talk so much. You will only need to point out the obvious and give them a few reminders to pay attention.

Standing climb versus a “standing flat”: Although much of this ride takes place in the saddle, it’s important to take breaks out of the saddle. I don’t usually condone a “standing flat” position for long periods (anything over about 15-30 seconds), because it’s not something that a cyclist would do for longer than a few seconds. (If a cyclist does stand up for a break – she probably would not be pedaling). If you stand up indoors, it should always be against a higher gear (more R) and hands should always move to the sides for stability, support and comfort. The traditional “standing flat” position used in Spinning® with the hands on the bars in front (HP2), unfortunately often causes students to “unfold” at the hips (i.e. stand too tall) and perch on their fingertips. You want to do whatever you can to avoid this – moving the hands to the sides of the bars helps to reduce this tendency. Also, as cadence approaches or exceeds 90rpm, it is unwise to stand up (unless you are sprinting against a high resistance, which we are not doing in this profile). This is also counter to the traditional Spinning® program allowances for a “standing flat”. The reason I do not suggest it is because very few students can maintain proper form standing up at high cadences; most lean on their hands and lose control of a smooth pedal stroke, and it usually spikes heart rate above what the rider can control. Therefore, I don’t recommend standing at cadences higher than 90rpm for longer than a few seconds. In this profile, when students stand up for saddle breaks at the higher cadences (90+rpm), encourage them to slow the legs down. Remember, the objective in this ride is to discover the effect of cadence and resistance, and that can most effectively be explored seated.

Music and Beats Per Minute I use the beat per minute (bpm) of the songs to dictate the cadence (rpm) at which we ride. A song that is 166 bpm indicates a cadence of 83 rpm because you are counting only one leg as it goes around. For ease of knowing the accompanying cadence to use with that song (instead of having to do the math every time), I write it as 83 bpm, which is really the half-beat.

It’s very important to realize that some students cannot hear the beat of music. If you have cadence meters, this resolves that problem. If you don’t have cadence meters, then you’ll have to have these students follow your own legs (presuming you can hear the beat), or pick out a student that you know can hear the beat and who is strong and

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance consistent with his or her cadence (if you know them well enough) and ask that person if he or she can be the guide for the students sitting further back.

You can help your students by counting the tempo out loud. I use my hands to indicate how fast it is. Typically, songs are more pronounced on the downbeat (the first and third beat of a 4-count tempo). I’ll hold my hands out in front of me and move them in a circle (palms facing each other) counting out loud “1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2…” I’ll tell them “These are your feet, right foot on the 1, left foot on the two. See how fast that is?” (Right/left doesn’t really matter…it’s just an example). If I see students lagging through the song, I’ll repeat it. This is an excellent guide to help students pay attention.

Can you use a cadence meter instead of the beat of the music, and use your favorite songs regardless of their beat? Certainly. The combination of the two together is optimal. But if you choose to use songs that aren’t the beat that you are asking while telling them to ride according to the cadence meter, I think you will be less successful in a profile such as this one. It’s perfectly fine in other profiles where the specific cadence is not as important to the success of the profile. If you are new to using the beat of the song to define your cadence, welcome to a wonderful experience! I think it will open your eyes to a new way of teaching.

How about YOU, the Instructor? This profile requires excellent form by the instructor in order to guide students in their quest for increased leg speed, mastering the resistance and improved fitness. Do YOU have good technique at high cadences? Be honest with yourself! It’s almost impossible to teach this to your students if you cannot exhibit good form yourself. Practice this profile by yourself to discover your own weaknesses, or better yet, with another instructor so you can coach each other on excellent form. If you find that you bounce in the saddle at higher leg speeds, acknowledge that this is one of your own weaknesses and something you too need to work on. Admitting you have a weakness is not a weakness! It’s a strength; a realization that we all have areas of our own fitness to work on. Spend a few weeks practicing this and similar profiles (such as pedal stroke drills) at higher cadences to make sure you practice what you preach and can sit deep in the saddle at the required cadence with absolutely no bouncing. You also may find that you can pedal quickly without bouncing, but that your aerobic fitness is lacking. If you cannot ride at cadences above 100 rpm without relying on the flywheel or without going into anaerobic zones above your threshold, unable to maintain it for longer than a minute or two, it may simply mean you need to spend a few weeks/months developing your aerobic fitness. Though the intensity may be fairly high, it should not take you into Zone 5b (very anaerobic). Don’t forget, these are not sprinting drills!

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

Cause and Effect – Coaching The Profile

(NB: Italics represent the coaching by the instructor, speaking directly to the students. Standard font is my direction TO the instructor.)

Song #1 Where the Streets Have No Name 5:37 Warm-up Today’s class has a very specific purpose, one that I believe will change the way you experience and perceive every class from this point forward. You know I stress the importance of cadence and having the right resistance, but today we are going to explore a range of cadences at various resistances so you can have a personal relationship with each one! I call this ride Cause and Effect, because I want you to pay close attention to the effect that each of the cadence and resistance combinations –the “Cause” – has on you. You’re going to pay attention to how it feels on your legs, how it feels on your heart, how your breathing changes. We’re going to start on the slower end, indicating a mild hill or a bigger gear and then gradually increase leg speed to close to 110 rpm, which is very fast. I have a feeling that for many of you, this class will be an eye-opener, a light-bulb moment.

In a sense, today’s ride is a “Whitman’s Sampler” of cadences – with short tastes of each one.

Right now, I want you to pedal at whatever cadence you prefer, as long as it’s somewhere in between 75 and 90 rpm – that’s a good place to warm up the legs.

[If you don’t have cadence meters you can suggest that they follow your legs. Pick a moderate cadence of about 85 rpm, and tell students they can pedal a little slower or faster].

I’m also going to ask you to pay careful attention to your resistance knob and where you put it [or gears, if your bikes have them]. Obviously, as we climb the ladder of cadence, if you kept the resistance the same, your heart rate would continue to climb, and eventually go too high. Each time we proceed to a higher cadence, you’re going to TRY to start at about the same resistance that you had on the previous one, or maybe just a little lower. Your job is to notice the effect this has on you.

Typically, a lower cadence with more resistance will affect the leg muscles; the muscles have to generate more force per pedal revolution, fatiguing the muscle fiber more quickly. As the cadence increases, the force required per revolution is reduced, so the strain is more on the cardiovascular system than on the leg muscles. Most people report that their heart rate is higher at faster cadences, for a given perceived exertion. Depending on where you spend most of your time training, you will be more skilled in one of these areas. You can always improve where you are weaker. That is one of the goals of todays’ ride, to discover your weaknesses so you can improve upon them.

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

I won’t give you a heart rate goal, except to say it’s up to you to stay in control at all times. I want YOU to find out what happens to YOU, how your body reacts to each level. If I gave you a specific HR, then I am putting controls on it. Understand? So take responsibility here. As we go faster and faster, I’ll give you opportunities to opt out or recover.

We’ve been warming up the legs for a while, I want you to add a little more resistance, getting ready for our first rung of the cadence ladder.

Before we do, I want to tell you that we’ll be seated for a lot of this ride in order to become really familiar with each cadence. I’ll get you out of the saddle a couple of times as a group, usually at the end of some of the songs, but if you ever need a saddle break, take a short one on your own. Once we get into the higher cadences over 90rpm, you’ll want to slow the legs down when you stand – don’t try to hold the fast cadence standing. We’ll do the higher cadences in intervals.

One final thing – pay attention to what you like and don’t like, and ask yourself why.

Are you ready?

Song #2 London Calling, 68 bpm 3:20 Grab onto that beat – it’s pretty strong in this song. You’ll have to dial in some resistance right from the start. It should feel like a mild hill, but let’s be gradual with the intensity here. This first one will ease you into this exercise.

(After a minute) This is a moderately fast climbing cadence of 68rpm. Let’s try building the hill underneath us – add some R, just enough to feel the difference. I want you to watch what happens to your HR over the next minute.

(After a minute) How’s that feel? Do you like this cadence? It’s the slowest we’re pedaling the rest of this hour! Try another increase, very subtle, letting the HR climb a few beats.

(After about 45 seconds) Now add some more and let’s stand for the final 30 seconds.

Song #3 She Sells Sanctuary, 72bpm 4:13 As you sit back down, don’t let the legs slow down, but go ahead and ease up on the resistance just a tiny bit – but not back to where you started the last one. Grab onto that new beat. It’s 4rpm faster.

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

(After a minute) First, look at your resistance knob – see where the arrow is pointing? This is your starting baseline – remember this for the next song. Now add a little more R. Feel how your legs respond to it. They have to work hard to get you up this hill. Feel the leg muscles contract.

(After a minute) What happened to your breathing? To your HR? This cadence of 72rpm is a fairly fast climb, on the more challenging side.

(After a minute) Add enough to stand. This is going to be challenging. Hold it, don’t let those legs slow down! (Stay standing 30-45 seconds)

Now without touching that dial, sit back down, hold that cadence. Only 30 seconds – but see what it does to your HR – I bet it feels pretty challenging! (This should be hard to do)

Song #4 You May Be Right, 75bpm 4:14 Back down your resistance to where you started on that last song – remember that baseline I asked you to notice? Let the heart rate drop back down, and grab onto that new beat, a few rpm faster, but can you tell the difference? It’s starting to get into a pretty fast climb. Keep it in control.

(After two minutes) Try edging the hill up a bit (add R), and then hold it the rest of the song, another 2 minutes. It should be moderately hard, but not too steep. You’re not going to stand up on this one; I want you to feel the difference in cadence when we transition to the next one.

(After two minutes) OK, the song is about to end, I want you to pick up the next cadence right away, at this same resistance, and focus closely. What happens? How do your legs react?

Song #5 Boys are Back in Town 80bpm 4:30 Don’t touch that dial yet! This is a new cadence, a few beats faster, start out by picking up the beat and hold one minute – see what happens.

(After a minute) If YOU need to, you can back it up a little – but hold that cadence. Just absorb how this feels, absorb it into your muscles.

(After a minute) Anyone else need to back off that resistance, those that didn’t do it before? This shows you how a faster cadence against the same hill will drive your heart rate. Let’s ease up, everyone, getting ready for more to come, bring it back down to your

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

baseline. But keep that cadence. 80rpm can be a fast hill, or a flat road with a bigger gear – depends on how you look at it.

(After a minute) Get ready, we’re going to stand up at this 80rpm, I want you to visualize a short steep hill. This should affect your HR, but the most important thing is to not break cadence. Ready?

(With less than a minute left to go in the song, add R and stand up on a steep hill. Stress good form. This should raise the HR close to threshold, for some students, maybe even higher.)

Song #6 You Wreck Me 83bpm 3:22 Sit back, and go back to your baseline resistance, exactly where you started the last one. Remember where the arrow was pointing? See how important it is to pay attention, and not just turn that dial without thinking? Grab that new tempo – it’s a few rpm higher. You’ve got to recover while still working here. Picture the road you’re on right now – it should be perfectly flat, maybe with a slight headwind when we raise the resistance.

Settle into this one. I bet for some of you, somewhere near this leg speed is where you like it the most.

(Give them time to ride here without talking. Halfway through, add a little more resistance, and pay attention. If you notice anyone struggling, ask them to back off the R just a bit).

(Just before the song ends…) We’re going to transition into the next song at this exact gear, and see what happens, OK? Try to hold it for a minute, then back off if you need to.

Song #7 Primary 87bpm Here it is….a very subtle increase in leg speed. Find that tempo. Sit deep in the saddle and let the legs work. Got it?

(After a minute or more…) How’s your HR? Do you need to back it off? If so, pay attention how much you do. It might be 1/8 of an inch, or ½ an inch – everyone is different. But learn to be subtle, with small incremental changes, so you can learn to recover without taking too much resistance off.

(After they’ve recovered a bit…) We are going to stand up together on this one, for a quick short burst of 15 seconds. I want you to recognize that standing up at this cadence is very hard when done correctly. If it isn’t, then you don’t have enough resistance. Ready? Add enough to have a good platform under your feet, and stand up! Hold that tempo!

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

(Stand up for 15-20 seconds – watch closely for good form). If you find you’re leaning on your hands, you probably don’t have enough resistance. This is not a Stairmaster!

(Sit back down, reduce the R a little – about where they were just before standing, and ride seated till the end of the song). That is about the fastest you would pedal standing up, unless of course you are sprinting, which we are not. Why not pedal faster standing up? Because for most people, it’s not very effective, form goes to pieces, and your power would drop. We don’t want that. It means burning fewer calories….

Song #8 Tusk 91 bpm 3:32 To start this one, bring the resistance down, probably a little lower than your baseline for the last song. Intensity is moderate here; recover if you need to. We’re getting into those faster legs now. You are going to start feeling this more in your hearts and lungs. I’m not going to stand up at these higher cadences any more, so if you need a saddle break, go ahead and take one, but please slow your legs down to stand. Then when you sit, bring your legs back to the beat. OK? (Get a nod out of everyone).

(Over this song, add resistance twice, in very small increments, asking them to pay attention to how it affects them). How’s that feel to you? This is a moderately fast, a good road riding cadence if you ride outside. Do you like this? Outside, it would be even harder to hold this though, because there is no flywheel to help you. We can’t erase that benefit completely.

Song #9 Say Hey I Love You 95 bpm (For this one you are going to give them a test. First dial in a resistance at or just below where they started the last one, then tell them….) For some of you we’re getting to the border of comfortable cadence. This would be a lot easier if you had hardly any resistance. You wanna see what I mean? OK, first look at your resistance knob. That is your new BASELINE. Look exactly where the arrow is pointing. Now, focus on how this 95 rpm feels. It’s work isn’t it? This is REAL work guys!

Now, keep this cadence…..and take the resistance down so you feel a big difference, maybe an inch or two. I bet this is where most people tend to ride in many Indoor Cycling classes when the legs are spinning around this fast. See how many of you bounce? Can you feel that flywheel pulling your legs around? Your HR may still be elevated, you may still think like you are working, but do you feel the difference?

(After about a minute…) Now, bring it back up to your new baseline. Hold that cadence! Don’t let it go – now THIS is work, REAL work. This is burning calories, this is increasing your

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

power, this is making you more fit. What you were just doing will not give you the results - this will! Hold this, you’ve got a break coming up soon….

Song #10 Sex on Fire, 78 bpm 3:28 BREAK time! Yes, I’m giving you a break. You can choose to ride at this beat (78rpm) or just ride where you feel comfortable. If you want to stand, go ahead and stand as long as you need to in this song, just keep your intensity on the lower end. We’ve got some real work ahead of us – we’ll be exploring cadences pushing 100rpm and above, and it will surely raise your HR.

(Then prepare them for what is coming) For some of you, this is going to start to be too fast for your legs. Do not worry if it is. The good news is leg speed is very trainable. But you won’t get the neuromuscular benefits if you continue to rely on the flywheel. That will NOT help you! Only making sure you are the one turning the pedals, and not the heavy flywheel, will do that for you. One way you know you aren’t the one turning the pedals, or that your leg muscles are not able to handle that speed, is if you bounce in the saddle. Bouncing is not good – it means you are not in control, it means you are relying on the flywheel and it means you don’t have enough resistance. So I will be watching, and I want you to watch yourself too (if there are mirrors, ask them to watch themselves in the mirror). If you bounce, the first thing you try is to add a little more resistance, and to focus on spinning circles with the feet, pulling back at the bottom, using your hamstrings, and pushing your toes over the top of the pedal stroke. If that doesn’t work, then slow the legs down a little. I’d rather have quality at slower cadences over poor technique at high cadence. Wouldn’t you? (Get them to nod and agree)

Once we get to 100rpm, I’ll give you the opportunity to hold that cadence in intervals. If you feel that you are skilled enough to hold it, great! If you tend to bounce, or it takes your HR too high, then try to hold it for 30-60 seconds, then take a break for a minute, then try it again. Or if it’s just too much, you can opt out. Remember – Quality is Job 1 here! (to borrow an advertising motto…)

Song #11 19th Nervous Breakdown 98 bpm 3:58 First thing is to grab that beat. Once you have it, start dialing in your resistance. Remember your last baseline for the last song? Let’s go just below that.

(Instructors, here is where you watch them closely. It’s important to let them see what good cadence control looks like, so you want to stay on your bike for part of each song, but you may also want to walk around correcting form, and suggesting more resistance or lower cadence for those who bounce. Too many times riders are unaware of their own bouncing).

(Depending on how your students are doing, you can raise the resistance by tiny amounts once or twice during this song. Or, if they are struggling, just hold it. This is getting very challenging.)

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

Song #12 Lust For Life 100bpm 5:13 Back off the resistance a little bit, and before you grab this next tempo, ride easy for a sec and listen up. This is a very important cadence. 100rpm is almost like a threshold of technique. Make sure you are not relying on the flywheel. We’ll hold it for 1 minute, and then I’ll give you a chance to recover IF you need it. Ready?

Grab that beat! This is 100 times per minute. Bring your resistance up just below your last baseline and hold. Here are some tips to be more successful: • Relax the upper body • Breathe • Let the legs work like they’re supposed to • Spin those circles with those feet

(After a minute) OK, if you need a break, if your HR is too high or you started to bounce, slow the legs down and if needed, this is a good time to stand up – but keep the legs slow, maybe around 70-80rpm when you stand.

(Finish this song with the intervals of one minute, letting them stand on the breaks. Your stronger students might be able to pedal all the way through, but encourage them to take a break for the next one).

Song #13 Looking Out My Back Door 105bpm 2:33 Grab onto this one right away. This is getting really fast. 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 – got it? Hold for one minute. You know what to do with your resistance by now, right?

(Work 1 min, break 30 seconds – stand if needed - and work the final minute).

Song #14 Keep it Up 108bpm 4:03 OK guys, this is the fastest! By now you know for sure what this higher cadence does to you, right? HR is high, but it requires total focus. Ready, let’s grab this beat…

(Alternate 1 min work with 30 seconds recovery, the final minute of work will bring you to the end of the song. Coach and observe carefully). Wow! Great job everyone. Now you know what a high speed leg workout really means, right? I bet that tomorrow you will feel your legs zinging in a way you might not have felt before.

Songs #15 and 16, Cool down and stretch. Let them ride at whatever cadence they prefer.) Now I want you to clear your minds. That was a LOT of intense focus, and you should be proud of yourselves! But I hope you learned a lot about the affects of cadence on resistance, and resistance on cadence, as well as discovered where your

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

own preferences and weaknesses lie. In the next few weeks, we’ll expand a little more deeply into cadence, both on hills and on flat roads.

Take this lesson with you into every class that you take. Make a promise to yourself that you will always strive to ride with good form and with the proper resistance. Never again will you let that flywheel do the work for you right?! Now you know that it’s cheating!

Now it’s time to breathe, relax, and drop your heart rates.

(Coach them through a good 8-10-mintue cool down and stretch.)

ICA Mp3 Profile Cause and Effect The relationship between cadence and resistance

Cause and Effect Playlist

[song title, (bpm/rpm), artist, album name, song length]

Warmup: Where The Streets Have No Name, U2, Joshua Tree , 5:37

The first ladder 68-95 rpm London Calling (68 bpm), The Clash, London Calling, 3:20 She Sells Sanctuary (72bpm), The Cult, Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995, 4:13 You May Be Right (75bpm), Billy Joel, Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II, 4:14 Boys are Back in Town (80bpm), Thin Lizzy, Jailbreak, 4:30 You Wreck Me (83bpm), Tom Petty, The 90's, 3:22 Primary (87bpm), The Cure, Staring At The Sea: The Singles 1979-1985, 3:36 Tusk (91bpm), Fleetwood Mac, Greatest Hits, 3:32 Say Hey (I Love You), (95bpm), Michael Franti & Spearhead, All Rebel Rockers, 3:56

Break – easy intensity, whatever cadence they prefer Sex On Fire (78bpm), Kings of Leon, Only By The Night 3:23

Second ladder 98 – 108 rpm 19th Nervous Breakdown (98bpm), The Rolling Stones, Forty Licks [Disc 1] 3:58 Lust For Life (100bpm), Iggy Pop, Trainspotting, 5:13 Lookin' Out My Back Door (105bpm), Creedence Clearwater Revival, Creedence Country, 2:33 Keep It Up (108bpm), Snap!, Rocky V, 15 yr. Aniv. Sountrack, 4:03

Cool down and stretch We're Not Right, David Gray, White Ladder, 3:04 Farewell Ferengistan, Banco De Gaia, Farewell Ferengistan , 6:18