Tour de AOC – Friday Night Beers

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Everyone loves a beer on a Friday night – you know, the one after a tough week of work before you go home to start the weekend? Well, we do, and for the month of July, Friday nights at AOC is the place you should be having that beer. Nothing too late, 5 – 8pm, just a couple of quiet ones to catch up with friends and have a chat. Don’t be fooled, these Friday evenings are not just for the boys, it’s open to everyone. (Peroni’s Leggera $5 – that’s RSL prices).

The first Friday night is July 4, and to kick things off we will be having a guest speaker – John Beasley, a world renowned cycling road and track coach. He will share a few thoughts on training with power and propose what a ‘normal’ week of training could look like to us mere mortals – who love riding (indoors and outdoors) and who would like to improve. Don’t miss the first Friday night, its going to be a cracker.

 

Tour de AOC – Champagne Sunday

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The final Sunday (27th) of the Tour is always a special occasion. The Yellow Jersey rider (and future Tour de France winner) sips on a glass of champagne as he’s riding into Paris to finish The Tour in front of a million viewers. Let’s join him!  An excuse for a cool Sunday session? Sure, but that’s ok. Bring your partner along, and settle in for the arvo. Famous roast pork rolls $5. 12-5pm.

Tour de AOC – Riding challenge

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The Tour de France, whether you love cycling or not, captivates your attention. The fierce competition, the millions of dollars spent on equipment, the glamour, and the beautiful mountainous countryside. Our first Tour de France at ART OF CYCLING marks the start of something special. We are hosting a competition whereby you need to ride at AOC on the days the riders are racing – 21 Stages in total. Don’t worry, you get 2 rest days! If you ride every stage of the Tour at AOC, you go into the draw to win a 12 month membership, giving you unlimited rides at AOC.  Challenge yourself to ride every day, and track your progress on the ride board at the AOC.

So how does it work?

Running from Saturday 5th July to Sunday July 27th 2014, the 101st Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages (classes), with 2 rest days, and will cover a total distance of 3,656 kilometres (before ratification).

Can I ride outside and have this count to my challenge?

Of course you can – but it doesn’t count towards AOC rider challenge!

Can I use other training to count to the challenge?

This is a real riding challenge, and you don’t see the guys in the tour substituting a ride for a run. This is the real deal, and you’ll be shocked at what consistent riding can do.

What if I miss a day due to travelling, illness or something else?

You can make it up by riding twice the next day! A ride is considered a class or a 30 minute session on the bike. If you can’t get to  a class then you can come to any open ride session (anytime the café is open) and we will verify your session as a ride as long as you ride for 30 minutes or more.

If I’m not a current member or rider how do I join?

It’s just over 3 weeks (23 days) of unlimited session for $79 if it is your first time in the studio, and it starts on Saturday 5th July. You must sign up and purchase your rides on or before the first riding day. To purchase online click here. For current riders and members, you can register for free at the studio before the 5th.

What if I am already on a class pass but want to join the challenge?

It will cost you $79 to join, and then you can ride unlimited for 3 weeks (23 days) or you can use your current class pass or unlimited riding membership.

This is open to existing and new members to AOC. Purchase your sessions/passes then register when you are next in the studio.

 

 

 

 

Winter riding offers – a few extra rides on us!

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Ride Free

 

From Tuesday June 10th for the rest of the month we will be offering class passes with a couple of extra rides included. Here is what you need to know.

  • 10 class pass will come with an additional 2 rides (12 sessions – $40 value for nothing)
  • 20 class pass will come with an additional 5 rides (25 sessions – $100 value for nothing)
  • Passes can be purchased in advance then used anytime within 12 months (that means you can add this offer to a current class pass that you may not have finished yet)
  • Classes must be used by one person only (passes cannot be shared).
  • Purchases can be made online or in store from June 10th to end of month only. Just click on the 10 visit pass or 20 visit pass and the additional credits will be added once you have purchased.
  • Click here to get yours this month.

Class types – Which one should I choose?

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Classe Polka-Dot

Green? Yellow? Polka Dot? Sufferfest?  TRX? which one is for you?

Our classes have been designed with every rider in mind. Weather you are training for an ironman or you are coming back from injury, every class can be tailored to your goals. Even though we have different ride profiles (that means different efforts, focuses and intervals) because you are working to your own personal power zone, anyone can attend any session.

Here’s a simple reminder to help you plan the right sessions in your week:-

Yellow – A mixed ride with a bit of everything in it. It’s a good first choice if you are not sure about which class to attend.

Green – Speed and power efforts. Usually focused on training to improve power, and also speed up. Gaining control as you accelerate, and catching the back are skills you will learn in this session.

Polka dot – Hit the hills in this session, lower RPM, higher resistance. Sprints on the hills, efforts over the hills and down, it’s all in here.

Sufferfest – A class following the interaction of the screens. Focused on training a little differently than other classes. There is no other way to experience but to try.

TRX – TRX is a key compliment to any session. TRX is attached to a few rides in the week, and if you are an unlimited member you can use the space to compliment your riding before or after a class, or come in and use the space when the café is open. Focusing on mobility, core strength, strength and flexibility, you will also notice some posters up in the space to help guide you in what exercises to choose.

 

 

Spreading the love – care of the bikes

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We are committed to creating the best riding experience for  you, and to help us there are a few simple things we need your help with to ensure we keep all our bikes in action. The watt bikes are the best in the business, and like anything that is highly technical it needs some love every now and then.

 

1. Make sure you clean bikes after you have used them –give them a good clean where you sweat.

2. After a tough interval, pull the white fan down gently, they do break.

3. If you need your pedals changed over, arrive 10 minutes early and ask the instructor or front of house team to change them for you. Don’t do it yourself – let us do the hard work!

 

Pedal perfection – what do you look for?

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What does a perfect pedal stroke look like?

You may have heard the instructors talk about the small graph on the left of your watt bike screen, but not sure what to look for? The perfect pedal stroke is all about opening up the graph on the left of screen.

In very simple terms, the bigger the circle and the more open it is, the better. Most people only really use a percentage of the muscles available to them in the pedal stroke. Mostly people nail the downward stroke, driving through the quads. The real work is in lifting the knee, and driving it forward to avoid losing momentum and power.

Why does pedal technique matter?

One of the unique features of the Wattbike is the ability to monitor your cycling technique as you ride. This is shown as a force curve on the Wattbike Performance Computer known as the Polar View. The Polar View (or pedal technique graph) shows the force applied to the pedals and the position of the pedals when applying this force.

When cycling, you can play around with the graph – pushing on the left leg will create a large force shape on the left, pushing hard on the right leg will enlarge the graph on the right. You see a percentage beneath each side, telling you how much power each leg is generating. Standing up and altering your cycling technique will produce a change in the graph.

Opening up your pedal stroke with have you generate more power in each stroke, maximizing the recruitment of the glutes, hamstrings and driving more power in each revolution. So instead of going faster or pushing more load to drive watts up, you use all of your power generating muscles to make the most of every stroke – getting fitter faster.

Click here to download the images and document in more detail Polar view shapes

Unlimited classes and a coffee each day – Offer closes May 12th

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LAST CHANCE TO MAKE a habit of something this WINTER

Offers don’t come along very often that tick all the boxes and this is your last chance to grab this one before we close it off. A coffee each day and unlimited classes will set you back less than $30 a week* and we think this is an exceptional offer.

Here’s the evidence – If you ride 3 times a week then each class costs you less than $10, and your coffee costs you nothing. At that rate over a year, in coffee alone, you would save over $500 (that’s a damn good pair of cycling shoes or 80% of your entry into Ironman Melbourne) .

  • 12 month memberships can we direct debit monthly or paid in full
  • 6 month membership is paid in full only

Until Monday 12th May you can get both at the AOC on a 12 month or 6 month membership as our pre winter offer. Click here to find out more or send us an email here. From 13th May only our 12 month upfront membership will come with coffee.

*less than $30 refers to a 12 month memberships (paid in full).

Offer strictly ends 12th May EOD.

New Timetable Starts April 22nd

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Timetable 22nd April

A new timetable begins April 22nd, coverng classes for the next few months. We listened to all your feedback on class times, types of jersey classes, and have taken it all into account. Changes include the addition of a sufferfest class in the mornings, a polka dot session on the weekends, and a start time of 6pm for some of the evening sessions.

We have also considered additional classes which we will table for the next timetable revision, such as run/ride sessions and a few longer rides, and some additional fusion classes as possibilities. Stay tuned for the next set of TRX and rolling workshops to support your training sessions, and make sure you book online for the sessions as they are booking up. Click here to book a session in the new timetable, or to view the classes in detail.

Double up before Easter – Ride offer

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We know that Easter is a time when many of us take advantage of the Easter egg hunt and accidently eat too many easter eggs and hot cross buns. To combat this we have put together a special riding offer for new riders and existing riders.

Double Up your sessions and ride 2 classes in a row on Tuesday or Thursday morning, and you can ride both sessions for free. That means you ride both classes for nothing. The only condition we have is that you make it to the end of the 2 session block (even if you are riding very slow).

So how long will it take to burn off an Easter egg?

A 100 gram Easter egg roughly contains 765 calories, 26 grams of fat and 62 grams of carbohydrates. To burn this off you will need to do the equivalent of around 30 minutes on the Watt bike at an average Watts of 140. A 500 gram Easter egg roughly contains 2550 calories, 130 grams of fat and 310 grams of carbohydrates. The average person would need to spend over two hours on the bike to burn this off.

 

Here’s how to take this offer up:-

  • Log in to book in for any of the following sessions – Tuesday 5:30am + 6:30am, or Thursday 5:30am + 6:30am.
  • Select a single ride to add to your account and when you go to check out put Double Up in the promotion box. This will apply a $20 discount to each of the rides you book. The offer only applies if you book for both rides on the same morning.
  • If you are a current rider with us and have a pack of rides then you can still book these classes and they wont affect your sessions.
  • Email us at ride@artofcycling.com.au if you have any issues and we can book you in to ride directly through our team if there is still space.
  • If you are a Unlimited ride member with us then book then double and if you make it through to the second session we will give you a coffee on us!
  • If you already have coffee in your membership then just come along to challenge yourself for the double and their might be an Easter Egg in it for you (wait, not sure that makes sense!).
  • This is only available this week (starting Monday 14th), for the Tuesday and Thursday morning double sessions.

Easter Opening hours and classes

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EASTER TRADING

We are open for coffee and classes on Saturday and Monday. Opening hours and classes across Easter are as follows:-

Thursday

Cafe open 6-1pm

5:30am, 6:30am, 9:30am classes

Friday closed

Saturday

Cafe open 8-12pm

8:30am class

Sunday closed

Monday

Cafe open 8-12pm

9:30am class

 

Click here to make a booking.

Training for an outdoor cycling event

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Training for the Rapha women’s 100 or another distance cycling event for the first time? Ken has helped us develop a simple program which will support your training. The program follows principles of progressive overload, with distances gradually increasing across the weeks. It also includes some of these key principles:-

  • Power session at the AOC at least once a week – but any outdoor session can be substituted indoors
  • A core and TRX program designed to improve stability, mobility and strength for cycling
  • Gradual increase of distance on your outdoor rides, including some “bunch rides” to get used to the pack.

Download this Rapha sessions.docx program and ask the team at AOC if you have any questions.

Booking classes just got easier

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Managing our training sessions is probably the most important step in creating results week to week. It just got easier to schedule your rides each week. Art of Cycling is on MINDBODY Connect, the app that allows you to book classes fast.

Just create a free account with the email you’re already using to book with us (you’ll need a new password). You can view the schedule in detail, find the class you want to book and book directly. You can also cancel classes easily so you free up your spot for someone else. It also syncs with your calendar.

Download MINDBODY Connect for iPhone here, and for Android here.

We’ll see you at AOC soon.

Western Chics 100 Rapha Ride

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Have you wanted to translate your indoor cycling training to the road, but just not sure who to ride with or where to start?

 

Rapha Cycling have organized an international womens ride where 000’s of women ride a 100k, on 20/7/14. Click here to find out more. A group of local women have decided to come together to enjoy riding just for fun, coffee, food and great company and with the support of AOC have created a group to enter the event. The pace will be that of the slowest rider and the girls say “we will wait for everyone”. The ride will be for novice level and upwards.

 

Training rides will be leaving from the Art of Cycling and they have created a group called the Western Chics 100 Rapha ride on facebook. It will be fun , an opportunity to connect with other great chics, motivating, relaxed, and for those that haven’t been riding a lot, something to work towards, an opportunity to get out on the road in a group and develop some confidence on the road….there will be support vehicles and stops and regroups along the way….we will be eating, having coffee and enjoying conversations and laughs along the way.

 

The AOC are proudly supporting with training advice and support, as well as making sure there is damn good coffee and food after the event to celebrate.The group (which is so far around 70 women) will be meeting at the Art of Cycling for a meet and greet this Friday at 7pm, and if you want to find out what it’s about then join the group on facebook or send us a message at the AOC and we can connect you.

Bulldogs cross training session at the AOC

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Professional sporting groups have known the benefits of training with power for a long time, so it was no surprise to have the Western Bulldogs hit the AOC studio early Saturday morning for a personal session. They arrived in the dark this Saturday, hit the bikes for intense efforts then focused on skills in the stretching and TRX space.

Power training on the Watt bike has benefits that translate beyond just the cycling world, and it’s the perfect high intensity cardio session to really shift a groups fitness levels. The ability to measure your output is critical when every session counts. If you know a sporting group (cycling, triathlon, AFL, Swimming etc) that wants to experience a personal session at the AOC then just contact us here.

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Goals

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Setting goals can be rather daunting, so in March we are focused on supporting you to achieve some of the goals you have been thinking about. Watch out for a board in the studio which will be created to support you in setting and reaching a goal that is “just for you”. Stay tuned for more about this, and start thinking about something you might want to work towards, or something that inspires you to train better this year, live better and be doing things that you love. See below for some of our inspiration on how to be living a life that we really love, both in the studio and out.