How does ASOR support instructors and clubs? With each new release comes new music, a complete 55-minute class format, a detailed multi-option choreography booklet and marketing materials for clubs and/or instructors to use. We’re also able to provide branded clothing and accessories, which means ASOR is fast becoming a complete package to support clubs and facilities as they move back to in-person operation. Each new release has its own unique objective, music and feeling, with tools and guidance for instructors to ensure a consistent experience is delivered time after time within the ASOR format. I firmly believe it’s consistency in class delivery that underpins long-term adherence.
I FIRMLY BELIEVE IT’S CONSISTENCY IN CLASS DELIVERY THAT UNDERPINS LONG-TERM ADHERENCE
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us anything, it’s that the future of indoor cycling is a healthy balance of online and in-person. Gyms are no longer the single point of distribution for class content, nor the single point of connection of a passionate community. We’ve therefore worked to develop as much quality content and support resources as possible, which clubs and instructors can now use fluidly – online or in-person – to suit their changing circumstances. We’ve also been brutally, if not embarrassingly, honest around how basic our own set-up was to start off: a cheap webcam, a terrible lapel microphone and a coloured LED light from a hardware store. We’ve done this purposely, so instructors watching us aren’t put off venturing into the digital space. What’s your secret to engaging remotely? During the live stream itself, it’s about having a clear understanding of the objective – the workout profile – and an intimate knowledge of my resources, such as my music and visuals.
Just because it’s pre-choreographed, though, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for an instructor to shine. There’s plenty of flexibility within the framework for instructors to inject their own personality and deliver the programme their way. An ASOR instructor is free to use their own vocabulary, and can focus on the metrics they like to work with; all are built into the choreography booklet, as well as the livestreamed masterclasses.
From there, it’s about finding connective pieces within the programme to draw people that little bit further in. Sometimes it’s the music, other time it’s the physical demands of a track. One important point we reinforce to our instructors is that, a lot of the time, it isn’t about what you say. In fact, it’s about what you don’t say, what you let naturally occur. My coaching model is ‘less is more’. Leave people to connect to the music and the athleticism of the programme design itself.
What’s the balance between in-club and online? Mostly, our instructors use ASOR in the clubs where they teach, but if the last year has shown
It’s about being in the journey together, too. I’m 100 per cent accountable with my own efforts and people can see on-screen how hard I’m working. It’s infectious.
RIDE HIGH May 2021
