Word of the Year New Year’S Profile
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Class Profile Word of the Year New Year’s Profile Word of the Year Created by Christine Nielsen Working HR Zones: Zone 2 to 5a, b Class Length: 60 minutes Profile Description We are in a privileged position as instructors and coaches. The participants in our classes choose to spend a part of their precious day with us. We see them at their best and at their worst, at their weakest and at their strongest. As a result we develop a somewhat intimate relationship with them. For that reason, at a time of year when most people’s minds turn to thoughts of change, I feel that it is appropriate to offer words of wisdom based on my experience and knowledge. While I might not offer similar advice to someone outside of class, I feel comfortable doing so for the people with whom I have created meaningful relationships. This class profile is based on my personal experience with the techniques it describes. I have de- personalized the script but have added anecdotes related to my experience. Feel free to offer these to your classes with the prefix “A friend...” and/or provide your own experiences in the form of stories. Objective A mixed-effort ride is offered as an opportunity to present a model that can replace traditional New Year’s resolutions. The music choices and activities are subordinate to the message. Copyright © 2013, 2014 Christine Nielsen, Jennifer Sage and ICA Page 1 Indoor Cycling Association Class Profile Word of the Year Pre-class Change is Good, Rick Danko, 4:11 I enjoy prefacing my classes with music that hints at the material to come. This song sums it up well. Change is good. It is even better if we can control the change through our thoughts and actions. Warm-Up You Have the Choice (Original Mix), Jivasonic, 8:21, 125 bpm There is something about this time of year—with the lengthening days and the opportunity to turn the page on our calendars—that inspires people to make changes in their lives. In the Western world this often takes the form of New Year’s resolutions. You know what I am talking about… “I will quit smoking.” “I will spend more time with my family.” “I will lose weight.” Studies show that about 50% of Americans set some sort of New Year’s resolution. Unfortunately about 88% of them fail to complete their resolutions. Why is that? There are many reasons and most of you can probably identify one of the major problems with the resolutions I quoted earlier. Most resolutions are vague. There are no clearly stated and achievable goals and very few people go on to create a plan which will help them achieve what they desire. On the other hand, I find that resolutions are problematic because they are so specific. They are not structured so that the success, if you have any, on one resolution can leak into and influence other areas of your life. You are faced with an uncountable number of choices each day. Some of those are consequential, some less so. What if you had a guiding principle for those choices? Would it help you become more aware of your path through life and how each little thing you do either removes or installs obstacles on that path? I want to introduce you to another way to approach the New Year. This was made popular by business coach Christine Kane starting in 2006. She suggests choosing one word that will guide your actions throughout the year. Each time you are faced with a choice you invoke your word and evaluate your decisions in the context of the word. http://christinekane.com/resolution-revolution-a-better-way-to-start-your-year/. Any word will work if it is right for you. It can be a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. (Note: This link contains a long list of suggested words.) [Personal anecdote: I have been doing this for several years and it has been one of the most important steps I have taken to reshape my life. I’ll give you an example. One year I chose the word “Risk.” I chose it to remind myself to think about the consequences of my actions and also because I hoped it would help me to take on greater challenges. It worked! I had an amazing year. It started with a Polar Bear swim on New Year’s Day. Since I detest being cold I took a risk that the discomfort would be offset by the sense of achievement and the camaraderie with others. It did—so much so that I repeated the swim the following year.] Copyright © 2013 Jennifer Sage and Indoor Cycling Association Page 2 Indoor Cycling Association Class Profile Word of the Year Today we are going to do a mixed ride and as we encounter various scenarios along the “road” I will propose some words that might help you in the year to come. These are a small subset of the options but I want you to reflect on how you could extend the words we use today to deal with other aspects of your life. Structure the warm-up according to your preferences. In the text that follows, the capitalized words in bold represent those that your students should consider as possibilities for their word of the year. Try to place additional stress on them in the rhythm of your speech. You may also want to develop a visual cue to accompany the emphasized words. I hold up my hands and count the words on my fingers. The script of this profile alone contains more than forty words. You will likely add more as you teach the class. You might want to start recording them as more occur to you. Flat road Exploration, Karminsky Experience, 5:35, 94 bpm Let’s start out on a flat road. Grab the beat and put on enough resistance to put your heart rate in Zone 3. We will use this time to heighten our AWAREness and review some LEARNing about your form on the bike. 0:00–1:30 Awareness of body, starting with feet and moving up to head and neck. 1:30–2:50 Awareness of four quadrants of pedal stroke. 3:00–3:00 Awareness of what supports you on the bike. (At 3:00) As you think about your next year give some thought to what you would like to MASTER. Do you want to REFINE some skills or learn new ones. Is there someone you could ASK for assistance? Or are you in a position to ASSIST or MENTOR someone else? 3:30–5:30 Leg isolations, 30 seconds each side repeated twice. Start with non-dominant leg. Climb Fearless, VNV Nation, 6:16, 70 bpm Add enough resistance to slow your legs to around 70 rpm. We are going to tackle a 6-minute hill with resistance increases every minute. Try to stay seated as long as you can (so long as your cadence doesn’t drop below 60 rpm). If you want to CHALLENGE yourself and your cardiovascular system you can ATTEMPT to maintain your cadence as you add resistance. Give yourself PERMISSION to drop your cadence if the intensity of the effort becomes too difficult. Hills are an important place to test ourselves. They require PERSISTENCE, STRENGTH, and DETERMINATION. Think of those words as the work gets more difficult. Copyright © 2013 Jennifer Sage and Indoor Cycling Association Page 3 Indoor Cycling Association Class Profile Word of the Year Remind your students of the choices they will face in the next 45 minutes and encourage them to evaluate each choice using the words you provide. During this song, look out into the room and reflect on what you know about your students, their journeys, and their goals. You will be inspired to add additional cues with appropriate words. Do not be shy. You may say something that will have amazing consequences for just one person. Flat road Stand My Ground, Within Temptation, 4:28, 89 bpm Drop your resistance back to a flat road and grab the beat. I have a new CHALLENGE for you. I want you to drop your heart rate to Zone 2. I selected this for all of you keeners, especially those of you who have performance goals in the spring and early summer. It is easy to be lured into doing lots and lots of high-intensity work. You should BALANCE that with some long duration periods of work at Zone 2, especially at this time of year. You must show RESTRAINT and PATIENCE and avoid “effort creep.” This is an important part of preparing for ENDURANCE events. I have deliberately chosen a song that will tempt you to higher and higher intensities. RESIST the temptation! Climb Bigmouth, Underworld, 4:10, 61 bpm We are returning to the hills. Drop your cadence to 61 rpm and add resistance that makes it just possible to turn the pedals at that speed. We have 4 minutes of climbing at this grade ahead of us. COMMIT to the work. TRUST that you have the skills and strength and mental STAMINA to finish the hill as strong as you started it. Use the TOOLS you have DEVELOPed. Monitor your breathing, use your mantras, CONCENTRATE on your form. Attacks on the climb Do or Die, Thirty Seconds to Mars, 4:08, 67 bpm Drop a little resistance so that your legs speed up to 67 rpm. This next part of our route will require you to ATTACK.