Spinning® Master Instructor Mark Liu shares his favorite things and how every day is a perfect day for him.

1. How do you stay engaged and connected with being a coach?

Do you like Bon Jovi? I love him. One of my favorite songs is “It’s My Life”. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge, my experience, and most importantly, my passion. I love to see that I can make a difference in peoples’ life.

2. How often do you teach each week and where?

Now, I am teaching six Spinning classes in three different gyms every week.

3. What is a secret weapon that keeps your riders coming back?

My heart and my passion. I always try to make them feel that all participants in my class are “one”, so everybody has the same power, the same confidence, the same passion, and finally the same success. Nobody fails.

4. What is your favorite part of being a Spinning instructor?

Everybody’s eyes on me.

5. How do you get back on track when you overindulge or fall behind with your goals?

Keeping humble is something that I remind myself every day.

6. What do you eat for breakfast?

Carbohydrates like oat meal and wheat bread, fruits like apples, oranges, bananas and fruit juice, and protein like milk or eggs.

7. Where do you get your inspiration for class themes or profiles?

Sometimes from my outside experience, sometimes from music, sometimes from stories about peoples’ lives, or books and movies.

8. How do you motivate yourself when you don’t feel like getting on the saddle?

I tell myself that the participants who love you are waiting for you.

9. How have you had to shift your approach, coaching methods over the years or for different audiences?

Technically, I have different class plans based on different participant groups, and my teaching approach is mostly different in accordance with beginner, intermediate, advanced, or professional levels. As a coach, I understand my athletes’ personalities, then I have very different method to coach them individually. But, my style is my style, I guess it hasn’t changed too much over years. Maybe in different life stages, I am somehow different, but people can always recognize me.

10. What’s your favorite ride profile?

I have a special profile which comes from my “zen” practice. “Zen” practice is to stop our six sensors that always contact the external world. So, this profile is to do similar training on the bike. Firstly, just focusing one sensor, and finally stop every sensor.

11. What is your pre- and post-workout meal?

Pre-workout is a little bit carbohydrates. Post-workout is protein, vegetables and fruits.

12. Favorite time of day to teach?

Mornings. I like to give riders a good start for the day.

13. How do you avoid fatigue?

Resting and recovery; in other words, discipline.

14. Favorite fitness activity other than Spinning®?

I enjoy soccer and tennis.

15. What is your full-time job?

I had worked as an architect more than 12 years before I moved to Montreal, and now I am a full time student.

16. How do you find inspiration?

When I hear something by that moves me.

17. Are you involved in charity rides?

Yes, every year we have kids fundraising ride in our gym.

18. What is a training tip or mantra that you live by?

I tell my athletes that if you choose to quit, you don’t need to tell anybody the reason because the reason is quite simple: you are simply not tough enough.

19. What is a perfect day for you?

Every day is perfect. We live our mind, don’t we?

20. Please share with us an embarrassing moment when teaching a Spinning class.

I have dreamed that I am naked in a class, but that hasn’t happened yet.