Picture this…. your members love the Spinning® classes and your class schedules are filling regularly. You have probably managed to get 15-20% of your riders to wear heart rate watches (if you are lucky) to monitor their feedback and gauge intensity but the rest are quite happy to just use the RPE scale by rating their perceived exertion. It really depends on your instructor’s approach and delivery. Interestingly when polled, most club managers / owners didn’t really know what the instructors were actually teaching and whether it matched up with the messaging or safety guides that other instructors in their clubs were supplying.

Are you offering real results?

The challenge we will always face is providing measurable and real results to our riders. Yes, initially results do come thick and fast if Spinning® is a new form of exercise added to their weekly regime, but then the dreaded plateaux shows its face and no matter how you try to guide them to eat the right nutrition and hit the right heart rate or RPE, their results don’t shine through as they once did. For some riders this levelling off can have a great affect on the performance and goal setting progress, not to mention their confidence. 

Until recently there has been a limited supply of options available to fitness clubs to truly display the real data. The real deal that allows for real results that change lives in more ways than before. Spinning® is in the business of life changing experiences and week after week we hear stories of success, of overcoming adversity and reaching great heights just pushing a few pedal strokes in a room with other like minded individuals. So what has changed?… or should I say, WATT has changed?

I was first introduced to the idea that we could develop a bike that shows a true measurement of your effort with Josh Taylor at a fitness show in San Francisco at least 7 years ago. A few indoor cycles had tried to display Wattage (a WATT is a unit of POWER) of the rider but hadn’t really been able to demonstrate accurate or reliable methods.  In 2013 The dawn of SPINPower® had arrived and I for one was thrilled! We now take that a step further with newer more refined technology to accelerate the accuracy of strain-gauge measurement together with magnetic resistance and a super strong Kevlar Belt, whilst retaining the inertia sensation that the perimeter weighted flywheel is well known for, giving the Spinner® bike a real sensation of being on the road.

So back to my original point, how does this change lives? It’s really all about physics and facts that cannot be argued about. As the WATT is a unit of power, via a few simple calculations of Work, Force, Time, Distance, Angular Velocity etc. etc., you end up with being able to measure a unit called Kilojoules. Now you may not have recognised any other word in the last paragraph but for sure you have heard of a Kilojoule (1 Joule =1000 Kilojoules) because in your subconscious, you probably read it on the back of your orange juice carton alongside the KCALS! (Kilocalories)

Quick Lesson: JOULES = Mechanical Energy; CALORIES = Thermal Energy.

In simple terms:  JOULES = Energy OUT, Calories = Energy IN

And in those simple terms, knowing the amount of WATTS and JOULES that you are putting into the bike to make it move during a fantastic class, you can work on your training and weight management goals so specifically that RESULTS are guaranteed. And that is worth its weight in gold!

WHY SPINPOWER®?

• Provides the most accurate measurement of performance in the industry
• Stores training history with the Studio SPINPower Computer
• Maximise training time by eliminating the guesswork out of reaching your training goals
• Track amount of work to further challenge your body
• Allow riders to be their own coach by providing biometric feedback, recording their training results
• See how you are getting fitter
• SPINPower® is approved as a continuing education course provider from USA Cycling and USA Triathlon. USAC and USAT are the national governing bodies for cycling and triathlon in the United States. Both are members of the United States Olympic Committee.

SPINPower® really does provide you with the tools you need to help your clients achieve real results and fine-tune their training. No longer are you offering a form of monitoring response to exercise on the body, but you are measuring actual workload on the bike for each rider. As Angie Sturtevant, creator of SPINPower education says “understanding what power is, how it is measured and its application in exercise will help you to understand the overall principles of science-based training. Knowledge is power and power is the science of fitness and performance.”

So let’s continue forward from 2017 with a fresh outlook on what tools and training principles we use to help our members gain those real results. Upgrade your equipment to the Spinner® Chrono Power for accurate calibration free technology unlike any other indoor cycle. Then, combine this with the only science based and most complete indoor cycling power training for indoor cycling to enable you to understand the data and implement individualised and specific training to your riders.

So far from my experience, members that are already using power are using the resistance more effectively and say they are “working harder than before and not taking as many rest periods” and feel like they are “getting better results in such a short space of time since the bikes arrived”. One club that I work with are already implementing a Weight Management course based on Energy-In and Energy-Out principles based on measured values rather than guessing. Managers are delighted that members aren’t skipping as many classes as they have another reason to stay engaged with the training provided. SPINPower® Instructors are happy as they are able to truly train members more accurately and members are delighted as they are already seeing the benefits.

Nothing can compete with using accurate facts and figures to provide results and you can’t argue with science. Don’t delay and jump on board as soon as you can.  SPINPower® is the way to go.

See the new Spinner Chrono here

Sarah Morelli: Power Specialist Master Instructor: SPINNING®