Cycling Class Profile and Playlist #5 – Ride to the 80’s

Happy Monday, my friends!

This week’s Cycling Class Profile is called “Ride to the 80’s”.

Special thanks to Sue over at Mrs. Fatass for song ideas! 🙂

I taught this class last Saturday and my riders really enjoyed it. I love teaching Saturday classes – they are one hour long vs. my usual 45 minute class format, which is challenging by itself 🙂 Also, Saturday class is taught by a different instructor every week and usually has better attendance numbers than weekday classes (looking at you, weekend warriors 🙂 ).

And – you never know who’s coming to your Saturday class vs. having your regulars in your usual scheduled classes.

Anyway, I thought I’d do something fun this week – both with the music and the routine.

But before I dive into the drills and routines, here’s a video that inspired me to do one of the fun drills in Saturday class.

I don’t necessarily agree with what he does in this class. In fact, I strongly disagree with most of the things he does 🙂 But I really loved the idea of him having the riders do the count down on surges so I used it in my Saturday class. See how I did it below.

Cycling Class Profile and Playlist #5 – Ride to the 80’s

Class Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes

1: “Walking On Sunshine”, Katrina & The Waves, 4:01 – Warm up.

Select base cadence in the beginning of the song (80-110 RPM), accelerate by 5 RPM at 0:51 and 1:48. Transition to a standing flat at 2:45 for 28 seconds, return to the saddle and accelerate by 5RPM at 3:13.

2: “Addicted to Love (Edit)”, Robert Palmer, 4:04 – Seated/Standing Climb

Add the base of the hill in the beginning of the song, add more resistance at 1:13, transition to standing climb at 1:51, add resistance and return to the saddle at 2:09, get back to standing climb at 3:22.

3: “The Loco-Motion”, Kylie Minogue, 3:13 – Seated/Standing Flat

Take off most of the resistance from the climb returning to flat road. Transition to standing flat at 0:37, 1:18, 1:59 and 2:33.

4: “Dangerous”, Michael Jackson, 6:59 – Seated/Standing Climb

Add the base of the hill in the beginning of the song, add more resistance at 1:29 and 1:46, transition to standing climb at 3:03, add resistance and return to the saddle at 3:28, get back to standing climb at 4:28; add resistance and return to the saddle at 5:02; transition to standing climb at 5:28 until the end of the song.

5: “Hot Stuff”, Donna Summer, 5:15 – Seated/Standing Flat + Speed Drills

Take off the resistance in the beginning of the song and return to flat road. Find the base cadence that you can maintain comfortably. Accelerate by 5 RPM at 0:47. Transition to standing flat at 1:51 for recovery, return to the saddle and accelerate by 5RPM at 2:24. Repeat the drill  two more times taking a standing flat break at 2:56 and 3:44, returning to the saddle and accelerating at 3:11 and 4:15.

6: “Circle In the Sand”, Belinda Carlisle, 4:26 – Seated/Standing Climb

Add the base of the hill in the beginning of the song, add more resistance at 0:38 and 1:18, transition to standing climb at 1:49, add resistance and return to the saddle at 2:16, get back to standing climb at 2:52; return to the saddle at 3:27 and accelerate by 1-2 RPM for 20 seconds; continue seated climb until the end of the song.

7: “I Think I’m Paranoid”, Modern Rock Players, 3:36 – Seated/Standing Flat with Speed Drills

Take off the resistance in the beginning of the song and return to flat road. Find the base cadence that you can maintain comfortably. Transition to standing flat and accelerate by 2-5 RPM at 0:25, 1:27 and 2:26 for 20 seconds returning to the saddle after each interval. After the last interval – return to the saddle and keep the speed until the end of the song.

8: “Never Gonna Give You Up (7″ Mix)”, Rick Astley, 3:28 – Active Recovery

Transition back to flat road and find the base cadence that’s easy to maintain. Accelerate for 20 seconds by 2-3 RPM at 0:42, 1:25, 2:17 and 2:42 returning to the base cadence after each acceleration.

9: “Every Breath You Take”, The Police, 4:13 – Seated Climb

Add the base of the hill in the beginning of the song, add more resistance at 0:49, 1:22, 2:14 and 3:02.

10: “Heaven Is a Place on Earth (80’s Dance Version)”, Ultra Flirt, 3:14 – Seated/Standing Flat

Take off the resistance in the beginning of the song and return to flat road. Find the base cadence that you can maintain comfortably. Transition to standing flat at 0:34 for recovery, return to the saddle and accelerate by 5RPM at 1:04. Repeat the drill  taking a standing flat break at 1:35 and 2:35, returning to the saddle and accelerating at 2:05.

11: “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, Starlite Rock Revival, 4:16 – Seated/Standing Climb

Add the base of the hill in the beginning of the song, add more resistance at 0:42. Transitions to standing climb at 1:04, 2:09, 2:55  and 3:34. Returning back to the saddle and increasing resistance at 1:28, 2:30 and 3:14.

12: “Right Here Waiting (Dance Mix)”, DJ Skillmaster, 3:40 – Sprints

Keep the resistance simulating moderate hill. At 1:06, 2:12, 2:55 and 3:08 ask one of your riders to shout out the countdown from 15 to 1. The rest of the group is sprinting to the countdown. The person counting doesn’t have to 🙂 This drill was a huge hit on Saturday! I actually had to skip the last countdown at 3:08 because one of my riders decided to be tough on his friends and counted really slowly 🙂 It really engages the student and makes them feel involved more in what’s going on. Suddenly it’s them having to project over music and the AC. Tip: call the names of those chatty Betties first – they’ll appreciate what you’re doing more next time 🙂

13: “Don’t Stop Believin'”, Journey, 4:09 – Seated/Standing Climb

Add the base of the hill in the beginning of the song, add more resistance at 1:06, 2:02 and 3:05. Transitions to standing climb: 1:21, 2:33 and 3:22 till the end of the song.

14: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, The Countdown Singers, 3:46 – Cool Down

15: “Human Nature”, Michael Jackson, 3:47 – Stretching off the bike

Yeah, I know I snuck in some songs from the early 90’s 🙂 Just to keep my riders on their toes. Nobody noticed, though – they were too busy working 🙂

And here’s the iTunes Playlist for the class:

Are you wondering how on Earth I keep track of all those seconds and minutes and intervals in the class? I use Class Builder™ App by Cycling Fusion. You are welcome 🙂

I hope you find this cycling class profile helpful – be it music or drill ideas. If you need more, here’s where to find more of my profiles.

Please, feel free to comment below with any questions.

Know someone who could use this profile in their class? Let them know:

Ride on!

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that while I make every effort to capture and present these indoor cycling class profiles accurately, the class profiles and class descriptions posted on this blog do not constitute complete instruction for teaching the indoor cycling class.

No statement is made to the suitability or otherwise of the indoor cycling profiles presented on this blog. Care must always be taken when riding an indoor cycle. Please, consult your physician before starting an exercise program.

The indoor cycling class profiles presented are not meant to be exercise and/or personal recommendations, but only examples of workouts that the author completed in the past. The owner and authors of these class profiles will not be responsible or liable for any injury, illness or death resulting from the use of the information contained in this article.