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Indoor cycling instructor development pathway | ICI
Instructor development pathway

Where can indoor cycling take you?

Initial instructor training is the starting point. From there, the ICI instructor development pathway gives you a structured way to build your knowledge, skills and professional practice.

01 Initial training
02 Certification
03 Experience & CPD
04 Instructor grade
05 Advanced development
The principle
A certificate tells you what somebody has completed. It doesn't mean there's nothing left to learn.

Indoor cycling instructors don't all stay at the same level after their initial training. Some teach occasionally. Some teach several times a week. Some continue learning, broaden their skills and build years of experience.

The ICI instructor development pathway gives that continued development some structure.

It connects training, continuing professional development and instructor grades without pretending that somebody's original certificate has expired.

The pathway

One starting point. Plenty of room to develop.

Development isn't a conveyor belt and instructors don't all need to follow exactly the same route. The pathway provides some structure while leaving room for different interests, experience and different kinds of teaching.

01 Train Complete appropriate indoor cycling instructor training and assessment.
02 Teach Put that learning into practice and develop experience with real riders and real classes.
03 Develop Continue learning through CPD, practice, reflection and areas of particular interest.
04 Demonstrate Build evidence of continued professional development and current instructor practice.
05 Progress Move through the ICI instructor grades and continue into more advanced areas of professional development.
Instructor grades

1★, 2★ and 3★ instructors

ICI grades recognise continued instructor development. They aren't three different versions of the original instructor certificate.

1★ instructor

The first level within the ICI instructor grading system.

It provides a starting point for instructors who have completed appropriate training and are beginning to build their professional development record.

★★

2★ instructor

Recognises an instructor who has moved beyond the starting point and can demonstrate further development.

That may include continued learning, relevant CPD and the development of their instructor practice.

★★★

3★ instructor

The highest grade within the current ICI instructor grading structure.

It recognises a stronger record of continued development and professional practice rather than simply the passage of time since initial training.

An important distinction

Your certificate and your current status aren't the same thing

We separate the training somebody has successfully completed from information about their current relationship with ICI and their continued professional development.

Your certificate

Successfully completing your ICI instructor training and assessment is an achievement that remains part of your training record.

We don't make instructors repeatedly buy their original training simply to keep that achievement alive.

Your current status

Membership, instructor grade, continued development and other current information can change over time.

The ICI Instructor Register can therefore show current information without rewriting an instructor's training history.

Continuing development

CPD should make you a better instructor

Continuing professional development isn't supposed to be a collection of certificates for the sake of collecting certificates.

ICI CPD is designed to let instructors deepen existing skills, explore new areas and continue developing the way they teach.

Session design Build purposeful sessions and understand why the elements belong together.
Coaching Develop instruction, communication and rider support.
Training knowledge Develop understanding of intensity, physiology, power and training principles.
Specialist areas Build knowledge relevant to particular riders, environments and approaches to indoor cycling.
Explore ICI CPD →
Beyond the grades

Advanced instructor development

Instructor grades aren't intended to be the end of development.

ICI is developing more advanced learning for experienced instructors who already understand the fundamentals of safe, effective indoor cycling and want to go further.

Advanced doesn't have to mean power-based. Power can be one route into more advanced coaching, but an instructor can be highly skilled without working in a studio equipped with power meters. Advanced development can include coaching, session design, delivery, music, rider experience and other areas of professional practice.
For studios and employers

What does an instructor's status tell you?

The pathway is intended to make instructor information more useful, not simply add another badge.

Employers can distinguish completed training from current professional information and see evidence that an instructor has continued to develop after their initial training.

Your next step

Keep developing

Explore ICI CPD, professional resources and advanced development for indoor cycling instructors.

Explore Develop →

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