Christopher Dean

Semester Evaluation Paper

Indoor Cycling
Introduction:
Mission Statement: In the 6:30am Cycle class I aim to wake the participants
up with a fun, intense, and challenging workout that can be tailored to every
ability level. My personal mission as the instructor is to provide an
environment where the participants feel comfortable enough to challenge
themselves, allowing for the most effective workout possible.
Goals
1) The first goal is to maintain an attendance of at least 10 people per
session.
There are 17 people in the class and 10 participants are just under
60% of the total. I believe that this is a realistic goal and if I continue to
provide a good workout, the attendance goal can be achieved.
2) Maintain or improve cardiovascular fitness via an improved heart rate
recovery.
Participants measure their heart rate at the end of a 5 minute climb,
where the intensity increased every minute reaching a 9 on a perceived
exertion scale (1-10). The participants then cool-down for a minute prior to
taking their heart rate again. The goal is to have participants be able to see
an improved recovery after the semester; this will be measured by how
quickly and by how much they can slow their heart rate down in one minute.
3) Improve or maintain the revolutions per minute (RPM) during a 7 minute
high intensity spin.
Participants will measure their individual RPM by counting the number
of times that their knee hits their hand in one minute. They will count two
times; one during the first minute of the spin and one during the final minute
of the spin. The spin will be high intensity which is determined as a 7 on the
perceived exertion scale (1-10). The goal is to at least maintain rpm if not
increase it.
Program Evaluation: The first graph shows daily attendance for the
semester. I was hoping to maintain an attendance of 60% each session.

When the semester started there were 17 people on the roster and 60%
would be 10 people; 3 weeks in there were 15 people on the roster and 60%
is 9 people. We were not able to maintain 9 participants for the course of the
semester but we did get 9 participants 2/3 of the time.

The second graph displays the ability to recover heart rate following 1
minute of recovery. Although there were 15 people in the class there were
only 8 people who were able to complete both the pre and post testing. All
but one of the participants was able to decrease their heart rate by a larger
amount during post-testing than they did during pre-testing. The only
person who did not decrease their heart rate was able to maintain the
decrease from pre to post-testing.

The final graph displays the participants RPM during the first minute of a spin
and the last minute of a spin. The goal was to be able to maintain the same
RPM for the entire spin and most participants were able to improve.
Participants were able to maintain a higher rate of RPM during the post
testing than they were during the pre-testing. There were two individuals
who were able to maintain their RPM without having any decrease.

The comment that I received the most was that I needed to vary the workout
more. Participants felt that there were times where the workout was slow
and they also thought that I could have made the workout harder. The other
suggestion that the participants had was ideas for music. There were a few
participants who provided ideas for music but others would comment during
class about the song choices and wanting new songs.
Future Instructor Information:
This class was the most challenging for me. The participants in this class
have been together for a long time and as such they spend the first few
minutes of every class talking with each other and catching up. They will
also offer advice and comments on how you can improve; dont take it
personally or get insulted. The participants are only trying to help you
become a more rounded instructor. Ask for music suggestions; several of
them will provide ideas and even some specific song suggestions. They are
a great group.
Tips of the Week:
1) Defined the RPE Scale, along with light, moderate, and vigorous exercise.
Also, introduced myself and welcomed them to the class.
2) Dont punish yourself. If you miss a workout opportunity, try a different
workout, even if its quick because its better than feeling down.
3) Rest is just as important as the workout. Take it when necessary.
4) If it doesnt challenge you, it doesnt change you.

5) There are many things that you can do on Campus to help you stay
healthy such as: walk or bike to class and take the stairs when possible.
6) I want to encourage you to keep up the hard work and dedication you
have shown by making it to class each week.
7) Fruits have many benefits and here are a few additional reasons to eat
these fruits:
Blueberries protect your heart
Grapes relax your blood vessels
Watermelon helps control your heart rate
8) Be active, be consistent, have fun!
9) A few easy ways to burn 100 calories at home; Washing the car and
weeding the garden for 20 minutes
10) Give your mind a break from the daily grind with a "time-out", some
great ways are meditation and breathing exercises.
Summary: I believe that the most important success of the program was
the relationships and friendships gained. I was able to connect with my class
on a personal level and get to know each of my participants. I was able to
get the participants to give their all and they encouraged me to continue to
grow as an instructor.

Core Training
Introduction:
Mission Statement: In the 11:50am core training class, my mission
statement is to strengthen the core through energetic workouts that are fun
for all fitness levels. My personal mission as instructor is to help promote
the idea of a healthy lifestyle built around a healthy body. I plan to help the
participants see that exercise can be fun.
Goals
1) Increase core strength by 15% as measured by number of crunches
completed.
Participants will complete maximum number of crunches possible. The
count will end if participant stops or instructor notices improper form or
technique.
2) Improve flexibility and range of motion in the upper legs and core.
Participants will improve flexibility in their upper legs and core by
utilizing stretches that focus on these areas. The participants will complete a
sit and reach test to determine flexibility and progress.
3) Increase core strength by 25% as measured by a front plank held until
exhaustion.
Participants will be timed while holding a plank for as long as they can
before they are either exhausted or the instructor sees improper form or
technique.
Program Evaluation: The first graph that I chose to display was for the
crunches completed. I was able to pretest all four of my participants;
however, only two showed up for the posttest day. Only one participant met
the goal of 15% increase but another increased by 7.5%, which was still a big
success for her.

The second graph is for attendance. This class was an interesting one as I
started the semester with one male participant and four weeks in I received
3 females. After week 6, the male dropped out and I was left with the
females. There were many days where only one participant was able to
attend. I believe the reason for the low attendance was that it was summer;
there were vacations planned and holidays to celebrate.

The final graph is one showing the measurements for plank hold time. My
goal to help the participants increase plank hold time by 25%. Again, only
one participant was able to increase her time by 25% but another increased
by 20% which was a large improvement for her. One participant was excited
to hear the improvements that she had made in such a short amount of time.

The comment that I received most often in my Core class dealt with the fact
that the location was bad for our class. For most of the semester there were
one or two participants and myself in the giant gym of N 101 with a poor
sound system. It made for a hard time hearing one another and what felt
like a lot of yelling. The second comment was usually in regards to the
workout because it can be very difficult to perform core workouts for 50
minutes straight; they usually wanted it mixed up a little bit. There were a
few occasions where they really didnt like the exercise and wanted
something else but they were rare and I was able to adjust fairly easily with a
new exercise.
Future Instructor Information:
The biggest obstacle you will encounter is the fact that HPER N 101 is a
difficult place for this class. There is limited equipment and the area is too
large for the size of the class (the most I had was 4 people). The second
obstacle was trying to teach core for 50 minutes; get creative and make sure
to change up the workouts. It might take a while to get used to the
equipment and area but once you do the successes will be much sweeter.
Two of the participants that I had for the second half of the semester tended
to do more talking than exercising but once you get them refocused they
have a good passion for the class.
Tips of the Week:
1) Defined the RPE Scale, along with light, moderate, and vigorous exercise.
Also, introduced myself and welcomed them to the class.
2) Dont punish yourself. If you miss a workout opportunity, try a different
workout, even if its quick because its better than feeling down.

3) Rest is just as important as the workout. Take it when necessary.

4) If it doesnt challenge you, it doesnt change you.
5) There are many things that you can do on Campus to help you stay
healthy such as: walk or bike to class and take the stairs when possible.
6) I want to encourage you to keep up the hard work and dedication you
have shown by making it to class each week.
7) Fruits have many benefits and here are a few additional reasons to eat
these fruits:
Blueberries protect your heart
Grapes relax your blood vessels
Watermelon helps control your heart rate
8) Be active, be consistent, have fun!
9) A few easy ways to burn 100 calories at home; Washing the car and
weeding the garden for 20 minutes
10) Give your mind a break from the daily grind with a "time-out", some
great ways are meditation and breathing exercises.
Summary: I believe that the most important success of the program was the
relationships and friendships gained. I was able to connect with my class on
a personal level and get to know each of my participants. I was able to get
the participants to give their all and they encouraged me to continue to grow
as an instructor.