Indoor-cycling classes: Is there a difference between what instructors predict and what practitioners practice?

Abstract

Indoor-cycling, is one of the most popular modern exercises modality of physical activity. However, since most of the collective gymnastics offered in fitness clubs, their classes do not usually have to monitor the loads imposed on practitioners. Thus, main purpose of this study is to investigate if the internal training load (ITL) predicted by instructors is the same received and perceived by practitioners in indoor-cycling classes. Subjects were 5 practitioners and 3 instructors of indoor-cycling. The practitioners were 3 males and 2 females (n= 5; age= 45.6±5.5 years; weight= 84.3±6.1 kg; training experience= 1.9±0.5 years). The instructors were 3 males (n= 3; age= 36±3.4 years; weight= 79.9±3.3 kg; teaching experience= 3.6±3.4 years). The practitioners performed 9 indoor-cycling classes during the experiment, 3 classes with each instructor and 3 classes in different intensities (i.e. 3 classes easy; 3 classes moderate and; 3 classes hard) with 45 minutes’ volume. The data were collected in 3 times: A) before the class: i) blood lactate concentration and ii) Section rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) (for instructors only); B) during the class: i) Heart Rate (HR) and; C) after the class: i) blood lactate concentration and ii) sRPE after 10 minutes (for practitioners only). One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc used as statistical analyses. Significant differences were observed between the instructors and practitioners in sRPE and ITL in low and high intensity classes (p < 0.01). We conclude that there is a difference between ITL predicted by coaches and performed by practitioners in classes designed for low intensity and high intensity. Our results show that indoor-cycling practitioners tend to maintain moderate loads of intensity regardless of the coaches' planning and instruction.