I had a cool fitness orientated blog post written for you today (don’t worry I will post it mid-week), and then I came up against a situation which I feel needs to be addressed. The issue of desperately poor instruction in the group exercise arena is something which I am hearing about more and more, and not only is this just bad practice but is actually putting lives at risk. The message is particularly applicable to other instructors, but there are some good points for fitness enthusiasts as well.
I will warn you in advance, that some of my fellow instructors are going to be offended by what I have written. I am not concerned about this and only too happy to debate any of the points which I have raised. Equally, feel free to share this post with anyone who you think needs to read it, as only by confronting these types of issues as an industry is the quality of instruction going to rise.
As many of you know, I teach indoor cycle classes at a number of gyms in the Plymouth area. I am unusual in the group exercise world in that aside from my new Metabolic Magic classes and some semi-private personal training, I don’t teach any other group exercise. I have however been a participant in pretty much every other type of class out there, as I like to keep myself abreast of the trends within in the fitness world.
I am pretty flexible when it comes to individual teaching styles (mine certainly isn’t to everyone’s liking), class formats etc, but cycling is my passion. Unfortunately cycle classes, much as they are recognised as highly effective when it comes to building fitness, also seem to have become a playground for idiotic gimmicks. It seems like almost every week I hear about instructors getting their class to use dumbbells on the bike, do press ups on the handlebars, pedal backwards, complete movement isolations where the body is ‘frozen’ in one position whilst the legs continue to move etc. The horror list goes on!
Last week it came to my notice that a local instructor had decided to instruct the class to take the seat off the bike and ride without. Any fool can recognise that this is not only stupid but plain dangerous. Regardless of whether the seat was removed or just lowered, having inappropriately setup equipment can only lead to unnecessary fatigue and potentially injury.
The whole point of any well run group exercise class is that there should be options for the less able participants, and that everyone should be encouraged to work at a level appropriate to their current fitness, ability and goals. What was somebody with a bad knee supposed to do during this cycle class if they couldn’t sit down, they became fatigued and wanted to return to the seat for a beak, or worse still their foot slipped from the pedal and they fell off the bike! We can’t entirely mitigate the chances of accidents occurring, but instructors certainly have an moral and legal obligation to minimise the risk.
I was in a quandary for a few days thinking what I should do, knowing that this is not the first time this particular instructor has subjected her class to this woefully inadequate standard of teaching. Presumably she did it because she thought that it would add another ‘fun dimension’ to the class, but she evidently hadn’t given it what I call the common sense test. Even if she knew of other instructors doing it (sadly it’s not the first time I have heard about this idea), that still no excuse if she understood how to properly ride a bike or cared about the safety and welfare of her class members.
A part of me is quite relieved that no incidents occurred as undoubtedly she wouldn’t have been insured (no insurance will cover you if you are negligent), and the gym that employs her would have washed their hands of it if it came to court. She does have a certification to teach these classes, and although it isn’t from what I recognise as a top class indoor cycling certification body I know for a fact this wasn’t advised or taught.
Instructors need to be aware that they have a legal and moral obligation to make sure that their participants are safe. Teach in a negligent fashion, using contraindicated moves or with a complete disregard for the welfare of the people in the class and you deserve whatever is coming. Thankfully in the UK we don’t as yet have a highly litigious society, but that doesn’t mean an instructor will never be sued. Allow stupid things to go on in the classes you teach and you might just find yourself spending time in court for gross negligence, or with a very heavy fine and an inability to teach ever again.
Below is a brief critique of my top eight idiotic moves which I too frequently hear of happening in indoor cycling classes. Doubtless if you attend classes you have been subjected to some of these, or can come up with your own list of embarrassing teaching errors. Most quality instructors want to help their clients to greater fitness, not injure or kill them!
Press-ups on the handlebars – get off the bike and onto the floor as you may actually be doing a useful exercise! Last time I checked press-ups were a chest exercise, so what it the point if you are in a seat and supporting 95% of your weight? Worse still, let your hands slip and see what the handlebars can do for your front teeth or face.
Riding out of the seat with no hands to prove how wonderful your balance is – hopefully you will find out that it is not as good as you thought and put your hands back where they belong on the bars before you make contact with the floor!
Drawing in of the abdominals whilst riding – is this a core workout or cardiovascular exercise? Drawing in of the abdominals simply acts to restrict the breathing and prevent proper oxygen uptake when riding. Do you imagine for one second that Tour De France riders suck in their abs when riding….I think not!
‘Popcorn’ jumps, with transitions in and out of the seat at the speed of a deranged grasshopper on a pogo stick. The first question has to be why! It certainly doesn’t build strength, inevitably involves poor technique, and only causes a rise in metabolic demand which could have been more safely achieved by turning the resistance up and doing a controlled movement.
Hovers or movement isolations where the body is ‘frozen’ in a lowered position whilst the legs continue to move. This is a great way to wreck your knees, or at least put so much un-natural stress on them that you are asking for injury. The forces through the knee joint are huge if the natural flexion and extension of the leg is not allowed to occur (another reason for checking that you have the correct seat height before you begin riding). Hovers certainly cause the leg muscles to burn, but in this case it doesn’t mean you are getting a more effective workout, just that you are being highly inefficient.
Riding in the ‘aero position’ or staying in the seat with elbows on the handlebars or hands on the bar ends. This is not a time-trial bike and the geometry is completely wrong. Reaching the hands towards the end of the bars whilst in the seat inevitably causes rounding of the lumbar spine with the associated risks of disk herniation. It also forces the knees outwards to allow for the extreme spinal flexion, potentially causing issues here as well. Reach the hands forwards in the seat whilst maintaining a neutral spine…oh you can’t unless you are a pretzel!
Pedalling backwards – Yet another way to damage your knees. The knee joint was not designed to be loaded by the heavy flywheel whilst going backwards. Build any speed, and your leg will be pulled into hyper-extension (think that horrible moment when your knee locks out backwards when you are standing up) and you can see why this is not a good idea. Don’t do it.
Unloading the resistance to sprint – this is one of my personal favourites for dumbest move! With a 20-35kg flywheel on the front of most bikes, why on earth would you want to take off the resistance before you sprint? A true sprint lasts only around 20 seconds (often less) and takes an incredible amount of strength and power to overcome very high resistance and literally accelerate the bike forwards. Have insufficient resistance on the bike to allow you to push the cadence above about 110rpm and you are asking for trouble, and is only possible because indoor cycling bikes are a fixed gear with no free-wheel. Some highly experienced road cyclists may be able to cycle at higher cadences and maintain proper form, but there is no benefit to higher cadence work with inadequate resistance. If your body starts to rock and roll as you build cadence you are likely torqueing up your low back and doing yourself no favours.
I could keep going here, but it’s just too depressing. This is a bicycle, and in order to have a safe and effective training session it should be ridden like one. If you are a participant in a class where you think unsafe practices like those above are going on, my only request is that you walk out of the class and report it to the gym manager. Unless they hear about bad instructors and can make sure they don’t continue to teach, then these circus classes will continue and sooner or later somebody will get seriously hurt.
Allowing poor quality instructors to endanger the welfare of their clients brings the credibility and professionalism of all instructors into question. Similarly, if you are a fellow instructor who hears about dangerous and contraindicated movements being taught in other classes, report the person in question. It’s not telling tales, but what needs to happen in an industry which is already tarnished by fads, lies, weekend certifications, and low quality teaching practices.
Exercise can be great fun without needing to resort to unsafe practices and foolish gimmicks. If an instructor can’t explain why they are doing a particular exercise or movement, then the chances are it has no place in the class. The ideas listed above don’t add to the ability of the class members to get a quality workout and are just a mark of an instructor who thinks the class is a place for party tricks and not quality coaching.
If you wouldn’t or couldn’t do it on a bike outside, then don’t bring it inside. Oh and if your instructor hasn’t ridden a bike outside enough to understand what is and isn’t possible, then perhaps they shouldn’t be passing on their skills! Indoor cycling isn’t just another aerobics class, but a highly technical sport which takes a long time to master. Even after 17 years of indoor cycling instruction I am still learning!
Almost without exception, the best cycling instructors I know have all been quality recreational (and sometimes even professional) cyclists, with many years of bike riding under their belt. You wouldn’t expect to be taught to ride a horse by somebody who had only been on a fairground carousel and the same should be true of a bicycle, even the indoor version.
Sermon over for today! I certainly don’t profess to be the best indoor cycle instructor around, but I guarantee that you won’t be asked to do any of my top eight daft moves in one of my classes. Similarly if you are an instructor who wants to know how to find a certification which will teach you how to safely instruct a high quality class, then please ask as I can point you in the right direction.
As fitness instructors we have an incredible opportunity to truly change lives, but that comes with a moral obligation to promote safe practice and always do our best to provide exceptional service. Get it wrong and you could cause an injury which will negatively affect somebody for the rest of their life – not a pleasant thing to have on your conscience.
Your fitness friend,
Beth
