What makes a participant do these things??

[Raindrop]

I've been a cyclist for a long time and a cycle instructor since 1997 and after reading some of the comments here, I thought I'd ask some of the questions that I have regarding participants.

Why would you insist on riding with your hands behind your back, or crossed over your chest, or just hanging by your sides when I caution that you need to keep at leat one hand connected to the bike unless your wiping off sweat or getting a drink? I've seen pedal spindles break at least six times in the last eleven years and it still amazes me that people want to pedal away (sometimes even standing!) with no hands. When it happened again this last weekend I just said, "I understand they're doing great things with dentures these days" and let it go.

What benefit do you think you'll get by pedalling backwards? This isn't for those brief moments before or after class that I see members doing, this is for those people that are really going at it like it's going to enhance their performance in some way. Then, when I caution them against it...it's a personal affront.

And the last, why come to a class with your friend if all you want to do is talk, talk, and then talk some more during the class. I actually had a member tell me that they had to plan a wedding and this is when they had time to discuss it. I pointed to the bikes out on the general aerobic area and said that was where they could do their wedding plans. Yeah...I get a little testy because I know the majority of people (and I know cyclists are among the top end) just want to get their ride, and their training in.

I guess I'm just venting a little after a week of having too many distractions from the "off the norm" participants and not enough actual riding on my part.

Still, I know a lot of you take classes from the instructors that are filling their classes with contraindicated stuff (hovers, push-ups, a gazillion moves just to fill the hour etc.), but I wonder how many of you realise many instructors face the other side; those that want to do unsafe moves (even if they stem from other instructors) that we need/want to correct without alienating the member?

[crazycanuck]

It's the public & people are stupid...That's my 5 Cents

I'm sure you're a cool instructor

[Running Mommy]

OY! Must be in the air...
No real advice or anything, but MAN do I feel you!
I've been wanting to vent about some things I've had to deal with at the bike shop lately, but I didn't want to send out a negative vibe, or give the wrong impression... (but here I go anyway, hope this doesn't come across wrong)

For example, WHAT on gods green earth would make someone think it's ok to come into a shop and proclaim/ask "Well I buy all my stuff online from like nashbar and Jensen, but the idiots on the phone don't seem to know what they are doing. So if order the wrong thing I can come to you guys and you'll tell me what I need right? So then I'll know what to ask them for when I need to excahnge it"....
My manager who is normally SO restrained actually looked at the guy point blank and simply said firmly "NO"....
Yes, a guy actually said that pretty much verbatim!

Or the guy who rebuilds 80's style bmx bikes. He never so much as buys a tube from us, but he has no problem coming in and taking our mechanics attention away for 20-30 minutes at a time while he asks them to explain to him in detail how to fix something. Or he'll ask to borrow a tool??!!
Ok, I have no problem giving advice, or answering questions, but it has to work both ways. Give us a few bones every once in awhile. I pay my staff PER HOUR whether they are doing something earning me revenue or not. And when you take them away from whatever is on the stand, you are also cutting in front of the person who IS paying us for our services!

WOW. I feel MUCH better!
Sorry to hijak this thread, but it's kind of related as to why sometimes dealing with the public can be so frustrating.
Tho I must say 99.9% of the folks who walk in my door are fabulous!
It's that .1% that grate on my last little nerve!
I'm sure it's the same way in your class.
Sigh.... (shrugs shoulders)....

[Zeek]

It's the public & people are stupid...That's my 5 Cents

That's it in a nutshell.

[Raindrop]

You know...sometimes it just helps to vent...and then read other peoples vents and realise that the simple answer came to us on this forum...from Craxycanuk

It's the public & people are stupid.

I don't even want to mention the guy that takes my class and partakes in ironman competitions...well, yeah I do want to mention him cause it feeds right into this thread

He shows up, and while I'm explaining the process to a couple of newbies, I include the warning not to take their exertion to panting because that leads to puking and it disrupts the flow of the class (my attempt at humor). Meanwhile, the ironman guy pulls the garbage can from the front of the room and tells me, "I don't feel too good, so I might need this." I told him that I'm a sympathetic vomiter and he needed to get his "not feeling-too-good-self" out of my class because there was no way in hell I was going to chance him pukeing (sp?) during my class.

Gawd! What nerve!

[Raindrop]

Oh... I forgot to mention that he did leave. I'm short but aggressive!!!!

[Dogmama]

How about the people who arrive early & "save" bikes for all of their friends by placing towels, spinning shoes, etc. on the handlebars? Then, the working class folks come in & can't get a bike. THAT really p*sses me off.

Or, the guy who does back-to-back classes when others are waiting for the second class? I talked to management & they said they can't (won't) do anything because he's a paying member like everybody else.

Centers of the universe, indeed!

[aicabsolut]

I used to do back to back classes if I could get them, because I needed 2+ hrs on a bike for my training. Usually, these classes would not be during peak times, so the 3 or 4 of us who did it weren't taking bikes away from anyone else. During peak hours, if I needed more time, I'd use a spin bike in the general rec areas, if there was one at that gym.

Anyway, as for the people who really shouldn't be there...I have no idea. I've seen people bring their own music into classes. I saw one woman bring a book. I see plenty of people only do 30 min (of a much longer class) and then leave. I guess that's ok if you have a tight schedule some days and want to squeeze in a workout, but not when some people were shut out of the class who would've stayed the whole time. Sometimes, these are classes not covered by membership (but cost extra), so I wonder why they wasted their money...

[cyclingmama]

Why would you insist on riding with your hands behind your back, or crossed over your chest, or just hanging by your sides when I caution that you need to keep at leat one hand connected to the bike unless your wiping off sweat or getting a drink?

raindrop, I'm not challenging what you said, I'm sincerely requesting more info. I routinely during cool-down, or if there is a quick reprieve between songs, will sit all the way up on the bike (i.e., no hands) and spin, usually with my hands at my side or on my hips. I'm especially inclined to do this after a more intense track, as I find the position allows me to "open up my chest", breathe better and bring my HR down a bit. Is this really a bad thing? (several people in the class tend to do it, and the instructor has never said otherwise). I wouldn't dream of doing this while standing.

[Smilie]

Instructors here have that as a normal routine. Hands behind your back, bend as low as you can to engage abs. One that I don't do as it hurts my back, is hand behind your back while standing, then switch. Must be how the instructors were taught to give you a varied routine perhaps?

[KSH]

Eh, I can only guess that people put their hands behind their backs so they won't lean on the handlebars and hold their weight up with their arms... thus engaging their abs and core muscles more. I don't get it though. One lady I know who has been going to spin classes for years... I think it's produced a hunched back with her. Or she just has really bad posture.

As for bringing in your own music... I've done that. I won't lie. A couple of years back I had to go to spin classes to get my rides in, as I didn't have a bike trainer at home. The music that motivates me is music that doesn't motivate anyone else... and thus, I always hate the music that is being played in class.

So, I would go to the back of the room, in the corner and take the class from there with my headphones on. I would try to stay away from being in front or anything like that. I just wanted to ENJOY the class without having some horrible music being blared in my ears.

One instructor finally told me that I couldn't wear them because her manager said no more... because it was a liability... if I couldn't hear what she was saying I might get hurt. OH REALLY? Oddly I can run on a treadmill, with headphones and not get hurt... but somehow I'm going injury myself on a stationary bike? I followed up with her manager and found out it was a lie. Which really ticked me off.

Thank goodness I have a bike trainer now and I don't have to go to spin classes anymore.

[Crankin]

Well, I had a participant come to my aerobics classes with her own music. And she sang out loud to the music while I was try to cue the participants.

[Raindrop]

Hi Cyclingmomma. I just now saw your post and wanted to clarify that I should of added during cool down I regularly have the participants sitting up without their hands on the handlebars. But, during cool-down, the pedaling is much slower and even if there is a pedal spindle break, the person has time to catch themselves.

As far as listening to your own music in class...well, I have to admit that I'm coming from a biased point of view. I spend a lot of time planning the focus of the class, the profile and selecting music to fit that profile, so I do sort of look at it as a personal affront to have someone come in and use their own ipod. Additionally, I use an eclectic choice of music so usually, if you hate one song there's a very good chance that you'll like the others. I also [B]always [B] say at the end of my classes, "if you had any issues with the bike, the music or me, please let me know". I know that not everyone will like all of my playlist and that music is very subjective. However, if you hate the music that I choose, there are other instructors that play other types of music and everyone can vote with their feet.

Luckily, my classes stay full.

[teigyr]

Raindrop, I'd ask where your classes were but I'm mostly content right now. Of course it's summer too so I tend not to do indoor classes.

I don't know why people take a class and then talk through the whole thing. I've always felt sorry for instructors when they say "at this stage you shouldn't be able to carry on a conversation" and people are I always thought there might be pressure from the gym to not alienate people just due to the fact it's a fairly competitive business.

I've run a limited gamut of indoor cycling instructors. Some are cyclists and don't know how to instruct, some are 80's aerobic type people who aren't cyclists, and one just tried to talk about how awesome he was. (This was the one who had people in awe because he could cycle 12 whole miles in an hour!!!)

I do think being a good instructor is a talent and the music and class plan is important. It's funny because I am a music purist and give it all up for the right spin class. Tempo, mood, and all of that matters because hill climbing songs are different than sprint songs and I appreciate the work that goes into the planning. I've even climbed hills in reality and a spin song will come into my head and help me pace myself on the hill.

So I guess I'm saying for those instructors who do a good job and actually DO speak out if someone is disrupting the class, there are those of us who appreciate it. As rude as it is to be talking during a class, it is just as frustrating to those who want to be there and keep hearing about what somebody bought at the mall.

Now, how's about those people who get on the list (there are gyms that require a sign-up list if the classes fill up) so there are people turned away. The sign-up list people only stay 20 minutes or so before they decide they have something better to do and then there is a vacant bike the rest of the class. What the heck is up with that?!

[Raindrop]

Oh...I totally get your frustration with the sign-up list. What I've always done is give away any empty bikes if the signed-up rider doesn't show within five minutes of the class start.

My real frustration comes from the gym management at one facility. After using a perfectly executed sign-up sheet (which took awahile to train the participants), the general manager (who has absolutely nothing to do with the aerobic/cycling program) decides it's no longer needed. This, even though the classes (mornings particularly), are over-filled. The reason he gave? Too much paper. I suggested the use both sides or even one of "them new-fangled white boards). But no....he wouldn't budge.

So now we're back to people throwing towels on several bikes to save them for friends who don't show up.