I've been asked a few times about this in my classes and alluded to it in my previous post - why am I using colours to indicate heart rate zones and levels of effort?
I've always referred to the "red line", your lactate threshold (LT), and the red zone beyond it, where all effort is doomed to be short-term due to its intensity. This is where oxygen is in short supply, breathing is uncontrolled, lactate is accumulating rapidly, legs start burning and we're all waiting for the instructor to tell us we only have 5 seconds left, because that's all we feel we can do. Definitely "red"... as in red alert!
While I was in Miami attending the Kranking seminars and workshops, Johnny G & Co. explained that they used colours to represent HR zones, as this was more easily interpreted by the members than numbers and percentages. Initially, I didn't see a problem, as I like numbers - I've always been more logical than arty. But, having taken part in a Power Kranking session, I could see how the concept really worked in practice. The colours become an indication of your state of being - not working, relaxed, comfortable work, uncomfortable, panic stations - and were more easily communicated by the instructor and, for my part, more easily assimilated when focusing on the task at hand.
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This concept was so simple and yet practical, that I resolved to introduce it into my Spinning rides. So, here are the colour zones, highest to lowest:
RED - approx 85% to 95+% of MHR - above LT
YELLOW - 75% to 85% MHR - the uncomfortable Strength zone in Spinning
GREEN - 65% to 75% MHR - the more comfortable Endurance zone
BLUE - 55% - 65% MHR - the relaxed Recovery zone
GREY - below 55% MHR - warm-up and cool-down only!
These zones worked even better when combined with a Suunto or Activio HRM system. This is where everyone is given a heart rate monitor strap and their data is transmitted to a central system that projects their HR on a large screen. Everyone is given a nickname, so there's no "naming and shaming" - only the individual knows whether they're really working hard enough, not recovering, etc. The Suunto system was used by the Kranking team and this also gave a clear block of colour along with the percentage of MHR. Not tried the Activio system yet but will use it this weekend, as the Pedal Studio has it.
So, next time you hear me asking you to bring your effort down into the blue zone, it doesn't mean I want you to enter a walk-in freezer!
4 comments:
I wonder if they have a "chart" where it lists the colors and the coordinating HR? I think my members would forget what color meant what when introducing this new concept. Great idea.
I know Polar has this, with a chart they provide. It was awesome to see my heart rate on the big screen color coded.. It also gave me something they called training load after and the class all compared their loads. Great experience.
I like the use of the colors. The metric is one more value-added service to be offered. Is that in real time to offer immediate feedback? Do you use any training videos for the class?
Yes, it's in real time, just as with a HRM. I discovered at the new Pedal Studio (who also use Suunto) that the colours and corresponding zones can be changed to suit your own preference. I still like Johnny G's colour scheme, though, so it'll be more or less the same in the new gym.
No videos - none of the gyms really have that facility or room to put a table with a projector. Besides, no video can match what your imagination can conceive!
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