It Depends

 No body likes being told what to do. Or do they? 

Almost from its inception, our attempt to level all playing fields for all people, had a fatal flaw. I refer to the literal while suggesting the rhetorical. It seems that when we announced a counter strategy to the contemporary, sexy, digital use of power data in training, a counter revolution immediately formed with the zeal of an angry flash-mob. 

There are two dominant types of people who come to spin class. On the right are those sincerely interested in improvements to their athletic performance, be it group riding, long distance randonneuring, racing, triathlons, duathlons or because of the low-impact nature of the activity. 

And on the left, all political association purely coincidental, are the folks who appreciate the group camaraderie, live experience, interaction and of course a concert-like environment. Much like the centrist politician looking for ways to sway opinion outwards from her core, the goal of any instructors class is to connect with as many of the citizen/athletes as possible. How one does that is the dilemma we addressed in the open. 

Having worked for the leading indoor cycle training manufacturer, Racer-Mate of Seattle, for over a decade, I have several  thoughts on the subject, as well as a few opinions and even an inside perspective or two. Being a certified spin instructor for ten years and operating my own boutique indoor cycling studio, The PowerBarn, offers countless opportunities to explore both the scientific and the secular as well as the physiological and philosophical. It has always been my feeling that optimal results are found only when a positive connection is established between mind and body. We can measure one but only manage the other. The partnership of mind and body in this application almost always results in the eventual involvement of what we call the spirit, or the soul of the athlete. As far as I am concerned this is the area that holds the most meaning, excitement and value. 

For these reasons, addressing the ‘how do we be all things for all people’ challenge, we devised a few novel ideas to unite both camps in a common objective. 

For five years we used a very simple calculus for our PowerBarn training, a number taken from what soon became a daunting test of will, knows as the FTP test, functional threshold power. This was a measured twenty minute all-out effort that took even the toughest riders to their knees. It was painful, torturous and demanding, so of course we learned a lot about ourselves in the process. The results of the test established ones 2x20 number, where we set the ergometer to 85% of the total watts averaged during the test. Everyone knew their number and simply showed up two days a week and executed a set of 20 @ 85%, with a five minute break and another 20 @ 85%. Simple, straightforward and effective. Also one of the most boring things since watching lawns grow. 

It was our standard training protocol to use spin class as high-intensity interval sessions compounded with the steady-state efforts on the 2x20. It provided a solid cycling foundation for many. 

Two things happened. In the PowerBarn, the monotony of the program eventually could not compete with new technologies offering a greater visual experience and hardware offering advanced user friendliness. In the club where our spin classes are staged, our ’novel ideas’ created the division of participants into two additional sub-categorial classifications, those wanting complete instructions and guidance and those wanting the freedom and responsibility to manage their own workout, sessions all occurring at the same time and in the same place. 

We invented the ‘standard disclaimer', an agreement between the rank and file to monitor, measure and manage their individual power levels, intensity and response to the protocol of the day, always seeking the groove zone of dynamic flow. Which in turn relentlessly either augmented or diminished their existing ACQ, athletic character quotient, the definition of which is a living organism, changing and evolving daily and growing into the complex and powerful entity we all see as our best-selves, across-the-board, here and now, with everything included, warts and all. 

We found that not everybody wanted this responsibility. There was a group who wanted to be led through the morass, followers willing to be led to somewhere obscure and mysterious, but known generally as fitness and good health. It matters little what numbers detail and assist in this process as long as the experience is pleasant, the music acceptable and as many calories as possible used in the process. 

I ask myself, having long been on both sides of each debate, which I most prefer. My answer is:

It depends. 

On exactly what it depends upon we will address tomorrow.