RealRyder® was featured this week on the American Council on Exercise’s (ACE) Certified News. ACE is the largest nonprofit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world with nearly 50,000 certified professionals who hold more than 55,000 ACE certifications. ACE is among the most respected fitness organizations in the industry and a resource consumers have come to trust for health and fitness education.

RealRyder’s Indoor Cycling Certified Instructor Training Program became recognized by ACE as an approved continuing education provider. We were VERY excited to have our education program, led by Douglas Brooks, M.S. (Exercise Physiologist & ACE-certified), recognized by such an incredible organization. Below are a few excerpts from the ACE article, RealRyder: Taking the Training Wheels Off Indoor Cycling.

It has been more than 20 years since Johnny G introduced Spinning® and transformed the stationary bike from a solo piece of cardio equipment into a new group-fitness phenomenon called indoor cycling. The Spinning bike’s design, with the heavy flywheel, chain drive and friction resistance, offered a pedaling experience that mimicked that of an actual road bike. “It was a brilliant design that created the ability to get on top of the gear and keep it rolling,” says Colin Irving, creator of the RealRyder® bike and co-founder of RealRyder® International. Douglas Brooks adds, “Since Johnny G introduced the Spinning bike, there has really been nothing new about the riding experience, until now.”

But beyond the joy factor, it is the quality of the ride that Brooks and other cyclists are referring to when they say that Colin Irving “got it right” when he developed the concept of the RealRyder bike more than 15 years ago. “As a competitive cyclist, I spent many hours training on rollers in the hallway (for balance) and thought how nice it would be to just turn,” explains Irving, describing how he came up with the concept for the RealRyder bike. This led to sketches on training logs, cardboard, paper or whatever was available. “I wanted to create a riding experience, not just pedaling,” he says.

RealRyder is hard at work on its installments featuring studios across the United States that have taken their indoor cycling studios to the next level (see our first installment on Real Ryder Revolution in metro-Detroit Michigan). What is their secret to selling out cycling classes, creating waiting lines and leaving their customers hungry for more? Watch the second part of this installment, featuring Qi Ryders, to learn more about the secrets to their success!

“Every month has been better than the last.”
“In 5 months I’ve never had one class not sell out.”
“Customer retention has been easy. We just put them on the bike.”
“RealRyders provide 100% more benefit – to everything.”

Qi has an incredible story in terms of its business success, but the classes featuring RealRyder® ABF8 bikes have also changed the lives of their participants. Below we have the story of how RealRyder changed the life of one of Qi’s top trainers and their Boxing Director, Nick Spinosa.

Nick has been on his feet for most of his life, growing up working his family’s restaurant in Pennsylvania. As an avid athlete, Nick played many sports – baseball, football, basketball – and continued to play baseball at the collegiate level at Penn State. He also developed a love and passion for boxing, which runs in his family. Nick’s grandfather was  a professional boxer.

Nick’s love of sports and time spent on his feet caught up with him. During his collegiate years, while playing both baseball and boxing, Nick had to undergo surgery for damages to his feet, also dealing with arthritis pains from being on so many surfaces. Surgeons had to fuse the bones of his feet together in a series of surgeries. Three surgeries, in fact. Not an easy thing to swallow for an active person. And that wasn’t the end.

Following college, two additional surgeries (for a total of 5 surgeries on his feet!) the newly-minted kineseology grad headed out west to live with his brother in Denver, Colorado. Nick said he could barely walk or bend over when he arrived in Colorado in early 2010. It was time to get back in form. His brother proceeded to introduce him to Chris Lindley, one of the co-owners of Qi.

The two hit it off immediately, bonding over boxing and the Army-style workouts Chris provided at Qi. Enter the RealRyders at Qi. Nick was re-learning to walk when RealRyders arrived at Qi, and with the RealRyder® ABF8′s, he was able to accomplish his goals of walking again, becoming physically active and shedding weight gained over multiple surgeries. Nick is now 60 pounds lighter, teaching at least 13 filled or sold out classes a week and directs the Boxing programs at Qi. Nick’s personal triumph is one of the many stories we are proud to highlight and share. Qi continues to make an impact in the Denver community and on the lives of its participants and employees.

Do you have a story to share? We would love to feature your story on RealRyder’s blog!

Have you heard the buzz about our RealRyder® Indoor Cycling Certified Instructor Training Program? We could tell you about it, but we’d much rather you hear (and see!) a few words from our recent indoor cycling trainings.

2011 is a BIG year for RealRyder, as we roll out the education program, bringing a new level of excitement to indoor cycling with our bikes and instruction. We have over 20 trainings scheduled this year alone, in both the U.S. and internationally. Our Certified Instructor Training Program sets that stage for club owners and instructors to “lead the pack” with one of the hottest pieces of fitness equipment on the market!

The RealRyder Indoor Cycle Certified Instructor Training Program builds on the history of indoor cycling, using a teaching system that eliminates guess work, so that planning intelligent and creative workouts is easy. Join a pack of enthusiastic RealRyder ambassadors and become part of a new era of indoor cycling today!

Have you taken the training or are you participating in an upcoming training at one of our many locations? Please share your thoughts and/or what you’re hoping to learn from the RealRyder® Indoor Cycling Certified Instructor Training Program.

Check out photos from some of our recent trainings at studios throughout the U.S. and Canada! RealRyder Cycling Studio (Los Angeles), Body-n-Mind Ryde (Miami), Equilibria Fitness (Doral, FL), Execl Fitness (BC, Canada)

Earlier this month we were at the SCW show Boston MANIA running our popular indoor cycling classes. This was the last SCW event of the year and a chance for New England to see the hottest innovations in fitness equipment and training.

We are always looking for feedback on what people think of our version of indoor cycling and the Boston audience didn’t let us down. We could tell you, but we’d rather let them tell you in their own words – the next era of cycling is here!

Some great testimonials and quotes! We regularly talk about RealRyder introducing a new era of indoor cycling and how our stationary bike is more realistic, but it is still reassuring to us when we hear it from the riders!

“It was incredible!” (RealRyder Indoor Cycling)

“Works your body much more than a Spinning® bike!”

“Riding indoors can get a little mundane and boring………this is definitely not mundane and boring – it’s exciting, it’s rad!”

“Closest thing to an outside bike.”

“Even with the learning curve, it was fun!”

“You won’t go back to a stationary bike!”

Boston is an ideal venue for this time of year, winter is coming in the North and for many outdoor cyclists, thoughts are now turning to spending more time indoor cycling. Our version of the indoor bike is equally at home as a more exciting alternative to the usual spin bikes or bike trainers.

Our favorite quote on the video is the last one:-

“Get off the old bike, get on the new and move into the future!”

Change up your indoor cycling classes or get your own RealRyder for training this winter – you won’t be disappointed. Welcome to Indoor Cycling 2.0! Time to take the training wheels off!

The indoor cycling equipment sector has become a broad category and includes several sub-sectors of cycling related training or fitness equipment.

Spinning bikes or spin bikes have become very popular with thousands of indoor cycling or spin classes worldwide. The names “Spinning Bike” and “Spin Bike” are both trademarks, but are used generically by many people when they are referring to group indoor cycling bikes.

Exercise bike is a term used for indoor bikes that are used in gyms and as home fitness equipment. They tend to be more upright and built for comfort, not performance or high intensity training.

Then we have the indoor bike trainers, which are used with a real bike to create an indoor training tool. There are a huge range of these trainers, going from simple fans which attach to the rear of the bike and are driven by the rear wheel to computerized models with varying resistance and power measurement. You can also use cycling rollers, where the bike is free standing on what is effectively a rolling road.

What is the best type of fitness equipment for indoor cycling? All of the above options have some limitations. Apart from the cycling rollers none of these bikes move, so you are riding a rigid set up that does not feel much like a real bike. The rollers only allow you to move from side to side and you cannot really lean the bike. Also most rollers only have light resistance, so they are good for cadence, but not so good for developing strength or power. Bike trainers can suffer from a lack of stability if you make aggressive out of the saddle efforts.

One other piece of fitness equipment you should consider is the RealRyder stationary bike. Our indoor bike is unique due to its articulating frame which enables the bike to turn and lean, making it a much more realistic bike simulator.

Not only does it feel different to other indoor bikes, it also helps you train differently! You will recruit more muscles on a RealRyder stationary bike, effectively training your upper body, arms and core muscles in addition to legs and lungs.

So if you are looking for the most realistic piece of indoor cycling fitness equipment take a good look at the RealRyder moving stationary bike! It will spice up your training and make indoor cycling more fun, whether you are looking for home fitness equipment or the best bike for an indoor cycling class!