Here’s a wake-up call for all the cycle studios and instructors out there: if most of the people in your class can’t follow what you’re teaching, you aren’t leading.

It’s a real and growing problem in our sector – and it’s because, somewhere along the way, we’ve started rewarding instructors more for performing than for bringing people with them.

We see it everywhere now: super-fast jogs out of the saddle, endless choreography combinations, move after move thrown into a ride in the misguided belief that more equals better, more equals harder.

“An Olympian once asked me: ‘Why can’t I do those fast jogs?’ My answer: ‘Because you’re not supposed to.’”

But indoor cycling is already hard when it’s done properly. Why add so much that people stop feeling successful?

I had an Olympian once ask me: “Tash, why can’t I do those fast jogs?” My answer was simple: “Because you’re not supposed to.”

As an instructor, the goal shouldn’t be to see how fast you can move. It should be to move well enough that the room can move with you.

Yet we’ve normalised these unsafe movement patterns. We’ve created a culture where riders feel they should be able to keep up, blaming themselves when they can’t. Then we wonder why they don’t come back to class.

One for all

Stop press. If most of the room is lost, overwhelmed or disconnected, the problem is not the riders. It’s that the class wasn’t built for them.

At the end of the day, who are we teaching for: the whole room or the two die-hards in the front row? I’ve literally worked in studios where an owner told us: “Teach to the front row only.” Never!

As an instructor, you’re there for everyone in the room. The nervous first-timer. The three-times-a-week regular. The athlete. The returner who’s rebuilding confidence. A good instructor can lead all of these individuals at once and still make each of them feel seen, included, challenged and supported.

Flash over form

Before anyone says I’m anti-rhythm riding or anti-fun, absolutely not. I first built a full-body cycling programme in Canada way back in 2012. I love a party on a bike. But I call it an athletic rhythm ride for a reason. The choreography should be a complement to the ride, not the entire ride. That distinction matters.

I now see classes where the choreography has completely overtaken the foundation. Long combinations, endless add-ons, people riding out of the saddle so fast and so light that they look like Bambi trying to stay upright. And it keeps getting worse as instructors scramble to top one another by copying the latest thing they saw on social media.

It’s all about the reel now. Studios are literally pulling instructors into the front row because it looks better on video. Meanwhile, newer riders sit there thinking: “I suck at this.”

No, you don’t. You just walked into a class that prioritised performance over participation.

Fitness isn’t a talent show. The studio is supposed to be a space where people come out feeling stronger, more confident and more capable than when they walked in. Not embarrassed. Not excluded. Not like they’ve failed for 45 minutes straight.

“Challenge and exclusion are not the same thing. You can push people hard without leaving them behind.”

Challenge, not exclusion

In all honestly, I think we’ve drifted a long way from the foundations of great coaching. I’m training instructors right now who tell me no-one has ever taught them proper pedal stroke technique, resistance or the foundations of the bike. That’s outrageous!

The bike is not a prop. You have to respect it. And you absolutely need a foundation of knowledge and education before you start adding extra layers and party moves.

Yes, classes should feel exciting. I always want my room to feel as though we’re in a music video: everyone moving together, connected to the music, sharing the same energy. But the key phrase here is ‘moving together’, not watching the instructor do something unattainable while half of the room gives up.

Of course challenge matters. I’m not saying classes should become easier or watered down. But challenge and exclusion are not the same thing. You can push people hard without leaving them behind.

“Success isn’t about online likes. It’s the people in the room who actually matter.”

Podium, not pedestal

I also think connection matters far more than this industry sometimes realises. Some instructors walk into the studio, put their music on, disappear, come back when class starts and suddenly switch on their ‘fitness personality’. But did they say hi to anybody? Did they help the newcomer clip into the bike? Did they notice the person hiding in the back row?

All too often, the answer is no, yet this is the foundation of serving everyone in the room. How are we missing this stuff? In large part, it’s because we’ve forgotten who we’re there to serve and what success actually looks like, driven by online likes and applause from other instructors rather than the people in the room who actually matter.

To quote one of my beautiful former instructors, Jess Blaney: “It’s a podium, not a pedestal.”

People should not feel beneath you in your class. They should feel supported by you.

People should not watch you performing. They should be led by you to perform better themselves.

If most of the people in your studio aren’t following you, it’s time to ask yourself a very honest question: Are you actually leading?