Unclip Your Pedals and Take the Leap: Teaching off the Bike

As a STAR 3 Spinning® instructor for just over two years, I was consistently filling the studio and feeling very confident in my abilities. And then a knee injury forced me off the bike. Rather than find a substitute instructor for the duration of my rehab, I decided to take the leap and teach my classes off the bike.

I had only ever seen Master Instructors teach off the bike, so I believed it was beyond my capabilities as an instructor. As comfortable as I was teaching, I found safety and security behind the handlebars, much like a public speaker does behind their podium. Could I take that step away from the bike and effectively deliver a class without an anxiety attack? And more importantly, would my riders, who’d never experienced off-bike coaching, accept me like that?

Despite my hesitations, I dove in completely: I taught entire classes, from warm-up to cool-down, all on my feet. Here’s what I learned:

Making it my students’ ride—completely. I may multitask well as a parent, behind my computer at work, or eating while watching TV. But I quickly realized there’s no way that I could effectively control my personal workout intensity, monitor the class’s intensity and coach a ride simultaneously. Pick two of those three, because one of them has to give. By eliminating the subconscious concern for my own body and ensuring I wasn’t pushing myself too much or too little, I am now fully tuned in to monitoring my class and delivering the ride. Each class truly became all about my riders.

Cueing with more than short sentences. The fact that I wasn’t riding gave me more oxygen to cue more thoroughly. For example, I illustrate the sharpness of a switchback: my arms lead my body upward into a sharp curve as the road bends into a tight turn. I cue an increase in intensity by pretending to grab on to the back of someone’s seat and adding my bulk to their load. Instead of just short phrases or words, I am offering them verbal and physical imagery.

Someone is watching them, all of them. Rather than remain on the instructor’s bike with a limited view of my semi-circle of riders, I now prowl the room. From the floor, I can see how both knees are moving, that all feet are flattened throughout the pedal stroke, that riders are pulling up and pulling down around the circle, that upper body posture is correct from all angles. I’ve identified certain veteran riders who “have always ridden with this setup” that need to be re-fit.

Off the bike, I can give my students one-on-one attention. I can gently rest my hand on a student’s shoulder blades to remind him or her that they are creeping up. I can stand in front of a rider with pedal stroke problems and demonstrate the flat-footed circle. Teaching off of the bike is a great way to reach riders who usually disregard the verbal cues to the entire class.

Building the bond. The biggest benefit I’ve found is the emotional connection I’ve formed with every rider, even those who come in late or scurry out right after class. A wink, a nudge, a subtle thumbs-up all go a long way to encourage them and reassure them that I want them to benefit from my ride.

Three months later, I have gradually added more saddle time back into my routines, but I continue to teach off the bike. Sure, there have been uncomfortable points during this learning process, where it was difficult to unclip from the pedals and step away from the bike. But even when I’m fully recovered from my injury, I plan to spend a good portion of my classes off the bike.

There are definitely times when being on the bike is the best way to lead the ride and demonstrate form, but I want to maintain the benefits I’ve cultivated for my classes in the past weeks. It’s proven to be an invaluable experience to me and the feedback from my classes has been overwhelmingly positive. So, unclip your pedals and take the leap.