Magic- For the Ride Inside’s Steve Canum Celebrates a Birthday- New Year & New Motivation

Featured Blogger:  Steve Canum
Author of:  For the Ride Inside

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Guest Blogger Intro

Who the heck is Steve? 

I found Steve’s blog- For The Ride Inside through a facebook group where Steve and I both offered endurance rides from our treasure trove of indoor cycling workouts.  I was inspired by the amount of work Steve has put into building a free resource page for other indoor cycling instructors that is inspirational and also full of kick butt workouts.  

In Steve’s world it really is all about the ride and all about his love and passion for it, which made me reach out to Steve and ask for his voice to be here on my blog.  His vision for his space is about sharing resources and information for you to get the best ride possible, which I love! I wanted his voice to share with us HOW he stays so motivated, inspirational, and in top wellness shape mentally and physically to share his passion with the world.  So here’s Steve sharing his passion for indoor cycling!  

Enjoy!! 

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For the Ride Inside’s Steve Canum Celebrates a Birthday- New Year & New Motivation

Learning the Dimensions of Wellness

Even though Wendie and I have never met in person and have only exchanged a few messages, I feel like we’ve made a great connection through our blogs, our passion for studio cycling, and interest in the many dimensions of Wellness.     

About 10 years ago I was a member of a project team on a corporate wellness strategy, statement, and implementation plan.  We talked about four pillars of Wellness: 

1. Diet & Nutritional, 
2. Physical health & Fitness, 
3. Social & Spiritual, and
4. Financial.  

There was much discussion about these Pillars…how many, which ones…but eventually the team was disbanded due to lack of budget (and buy-in at the highest level of corporate leadership).  So I bring this up because I believe that Wellness isn’t one single thing… it’s a balance of multiple dimensions that even go beyond the four Pillars discussed above.

Balancing a Physically Healthy and Fit Lifestyle

And speaking of balance…when it comes to the Physical health & Fitness dimension, I will admit that I have some work to do…a ”work in progress”.  Today I finally made it to a yoga class…my first in over a month! Getting my spin on is easy enough, I’m on the schedule and get paid for leading the class, as a participant there’s too much room for “not today…tomorrow”, etc.

I have another birthday in June, and so for my personal NEW YEAR, I will do better to balance my wellness and fitness routines. In an ideal state, my weekly fitness/wellness would look something like:  2-3 cycle classes (1 as a participant), 1-2 yoga classes, 1-2 strength class or training sessions, 1-2 rest days. I may at the same time need to take another look at how much time I spend with my Studio Cycling blog…

For the Ride Inside- Building an Indoor Cycle Community Online

I started the FOR THE RIDE INSIDE blog initially as a way to share my class ride profiles and music playlists with class participants, and anyone else who was interested.  It was also a way to create something and keep me accountable as an instructor, focused on bringing a little MAGIC into a cold, dark and silent Cycle Studio, sharing some inspiration and new music. 

I’ve added more content and features to FOR THE RIDE INSIDE to balance the content.  I started with very basic playlist and ride profile posts…one or two a week. Over time (it’s already been about 7 years now!), I’ve added First Ride / Studio Reviews of other Cycle Studios I’ve been to.  When traveling outside of my hometown (Grand Rapids, MI), I always explore the Cycle Studios in the area. Sometimes I can squeeze in a class…sometimes not. One very memorable First Ride wasn’t actually a ride, but a Grand Opening of a smaller, locally owned and operated studio in Detroit…Rebel Cycle. You’ll have to read the post for details.

Other features include guest blog posts by other cycle instructors around the world (I had one per month for a recent year), class participant guest posts (also monthly and about half way through a 12-post series), surveys, Wednesday Poll (random topics on random Wednesdays), Class Schedules (updated quarterly with changes in my class schedule and rotations), A Look Back (a short post that basically revisits a ride from 1, 2, 3, 4 or more years ago), and other various resources related to indoor / studio cycling.

Even with all these other posts…the focal point at FOR THE RIDE INSIDE is the ride playlist and summary ride profile (sometimes I skip the profile when I don’t have the time).  These posts have also evolved into a larger multimedia post: music links (via Spotify), a featured YouTube music video for one (or more) of the songs used in the profile, a current news story that touches on cycling (indoor or outdoor).

Thanks Wendie for following and touching base…I’m so glad I discovered your MAGICAL blog along the way.  Keep up the great work and ENJOY THE RIDE.

Steve

Guest Author Bio: 

You can Find Steve on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & other places on the web…or at hislocal YMCA in the Cycle Studio!  He’s recently been ICG® WATTRATE® POWER certified and has been a certified Mad Dogg Athletics Spinning Instructor since October 2012.  He has taught classes at Davenport University, The University Club, SNAP Fitness (Watermark CC), Grand Rapids Parks & Recreation Dept., and Greater Grand Rapids YMCAs.

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Thank you and happy birthday Steve for your contribution to the Wellness Grind community and for your years of sharing on your own Blog- For the Ride Inside.  Which I hope everyone who reads this will visit and follow for more indoor cycle playlists and workouts. 

Check out the Magic workout and playlist below! 

Magic Workout

Check out the workout that inspired this post! The Magic indoor cycle workout and playlist are available now!

• Not Your Fault Playlist Available on: Apple Music
• Workout