Spin Instructor Try-out tomorrow- any tips??

Yayyyy! Congratulations!

So many great suggestions!

I'm also certified through Madd Dog & they will tell you to never do anything on a spin bike that you wouldn't do on a regular bike - with the exception of standing for more than a few pedal strokes. Push ups, hovers, etc., are worthless & dangerous.

I really work on getting playlists that are diversified & fun. People won't come back if it is drudgery. Keep it safe, make sure you work sprints as well as hills and always include a short recovery song - or part of a song - after a particularly difficult climb or sprint. I have my songs and what I'll do on a piece of paper that I can refer to. Watch your audience. If they're getting tired/not challenged enough, you may need to change on the fly.

I do use the 1-10 perceived exertion and remind my people that it isn't a number on the dial - it is how they feel. As the class progresses, be sure to remind people to watch their form because it usually starts to go south as people get tired.

As Tulip said, tie the cadence to the music. It makes it MUCH easier, although it will take work on your part to research the music. I always practice the session before I present it so that I know it flows well. Very often I'll need to make changes because what looks good on paper doesn't work.

Smile, make eye contact and remember this isn't your workout - it is their workout.

Music is one of the main reasons I only went to 2 spin classes ever! I actually like techno, dance and other fast music. It helps me pedal faster & harder. Maybe I am the minority? I guess I'll stick to outside cycling with my own iPod.

At any rate, congrats on your achievement!

Music is such a relative taste - I loved one of the spinning classes at my last gym and he used primarily good old rock and roll from the 60's-current and tied our workout to the music, it was great! He DID mix it up occasionally, which was also nice. Techno and dance music would have sent me running out the door screaming ;) We DID have another instructor who used either that or syrupy icky 70's disco <shiver> I avoided her class, though for more reasons than the music.

A survey of some sort of your student base would be a good idea, and I like the idea of asking them to list their music preferences with specific examples (*rock", or "techno" or whatever covers a broad range) so to help guide your class development.

Hey!
I did it!
Ironically, substituted for my favorite cycle instructor while she's out post surgery :( She was super supportive when I told her I wanted to try to become an instructor and helped me along the way.
I taught a class I normally go to and surprisingly, was not as weird or intimidating as I thought - maybe because i used to have a job at a zoo working on stage with wild animals ( yes, I know, my career path has been an odd one)- and probably in general, daily life I'm used to people staring at me with questionable or confused looks on their faces ;)
The class was super nice and supportive. A couple knew I was new, I think, while others I think just thought I'd been an instructor all along- one that just happened to sub this particular night.
I think it went well but I need to add some variety- some of the stuff I enjoy doing in class (when forced to) is not something that comes naturally to me (sprints, progressions , etc) so I will need to work on that, I think.
Overall for first class, it went as well as I could have hoped! That said, who knows what the rest of the class was thinking as they walked out of class...We'll see how many return as I will be subbing the same class next week.

Do keep all the advice coming- particularly what you like/dislike as far as variety- my default is to alternate hard climbs with fast paced, out of the saddle or jumps but I know I need to mix in some other stuff. Hard to find music to do progressions to (30 seconds at 70%, 30 sec @ 80%, 30 sec @ 90%, recover x 30 seconds, then 20 seconds each, recover 30 seconds, then 20 seconds, etc...)

Appreciate all the words of advice and encouragement here- nice group of people :)
Cheers!
Susan