Every bike is different, every person is different. So to avoid confusion over "what is a seven", I cue my riders to find the resistance that gives them the HR or exertion level that we are going for if they don't wear monitors. Unless I am teaching a cadence class, I tell them they can toggle with cadence and resistance to get the intensity we are looking for, ie more res, slow cad or higher cad. less res.

No where in Spinning certification training does it teach to cue resistance the way this instructor did, although it is common, and a lot of gyms want their instructors to do it. I don't know how that came about.

The instructors sounded defensive - which is too bad. It is nerve racking to be new and have to perform in front of another instructor. I think Blue's suggestion about revisiting the conversation in private with the new guy will probably get you somewhere. If he is really a newbie, he was probably nervous, and for some reason the other one was protecting him.

I love to get feedback - even if (maybe especially if)it is about something I wasn't so hot at - that is like gold if you use it to improve.

Just for yucks, the instructors who cue resistance by number at one of the gyms I teach say that a ten means so much tension you can't move the pedals. Is that true for your gym?

Good luck "breaking in" the new guy. It is surprisingly difficult to teach something that looks so easy.

Julie