Shop 'Til You Drop

Guest Instructor Profile Shop ‘Til You Drop An interactive games profile

Shop ’Til You Drop

Created by Chris Nielsen Objective: Games, fun, form review Working intensity: moderate to very hard Length: 60 minutes

I was inspired to create this profile by the publicity about the shopping madness that occurs on Black Friday. It will be most appropriate until the end of the year but could be used at any time.

Objectives This is intended as a fun ride that lets students make their own choices about level of effort. At this time of year, some people may equate “fun” with “not at home.” To others it means hard work. The profile is structured as a game that allows participants to partially control their own experience, but the instructor can also affect the intensity and “fun” factor. There are opportunities to remind riders about form and quality without repeating the same old cues.

Preparation Select 16 to 18 songs from your music library. They should each be approximately 4 minutes long and include cadences (bpm) from the lowest to the highest your students can effectively ride. Try to have half the songs below 80 bpm and half above. I recommend “catchy” tunes and diversity of styles/artists. A little “candy” at this time of year won’t hurt anyone. Sort the songs from lowest to highest cadence and create a playlist that layers them with a short (2-minute) spacer tune between all of the tracks. I use sound effects from a shopping mall for this purpose. Add your choice of warm-up and cool-down/stretch music. My playlist is included at the end of this profile.

Choose three colors of Post-it notes (the intensely colored ones work best because they are more opaque). Using a pencil and one color of Post-it, write the cadence of each of the hill songs (60– 80 rpm), one per note. On another color write the cadences of the flat songs (81–105 rpm). Fold each note over onto the adhesive so that the writing is hidden.

On the third color of notes write modifications of effort. These could include decreases or increases in cadence and resistance or references to RPE. Heart rate responses are likely to be too slow to use as criteria for this purpose. Throw in a couple of “Sorry. Please play again.” options. These are your “scratch and win” tickets.

I usually use –5 rpm, +5 rpm (x2), +10 rpm, –2 resistance, +2 resistance, and +3 resistance and two “play again.” (Note: I teach on Keiser bikes, thus the reference to specific increases in resistance. You may need to find another way to frame those changes.)

Write out a list of “manager’s specials.” (See below under Shopping.)

Indoor Cycling Association Guest Instructor Profile Shop ’Til You Drop

If you have a flashing red LED light of some kind (I borrowed mine from my road bike) bring it to class and mount it where you can reach it and the class can see it.

When people arrive at class, have the first eight choose one each of the hill and flat notes (without calling them by those names). These should remain folded and can be placed on their bikes or in their pockets.

Warm-up Breathless (Original Mix), SBP, 8:23 Lead the class through a warm-up that includes resistance and cadence increases. It is difficult to structure it to precisely meet the demands of what follows because there is an element of randomness to the order of events.

Today we are going to do what we all dread at this time of year—we are going shopping! Some of you are going to have an opportunity to make a purchase. You will be able to buy either a hill or a flat. When it is your turn to enter the store, pick up the pink note if you’d like to buy a hill or an orange note if you’d like a flat. Open it and read me the number that you find inside.

That‘s the price of your item—the cadence you will ride. How much resistance you add on will be your choice. It should be appropriate to a hill or a flat. Beyond