Why isn't there a Performance Zoneâ„¢?
We've got zones for everything else; fat burning zone*, aerobic zone, anaerobic zone, recovery zone, strength zone,interval zone, race day zone and my personal favorite, the puke zone.
Zone Systems numbered every which way; 3 Zones, 4 zones, 5 zones, 7 zones and we can't forget O³ (the ozone).
Zones based on; Max Heart Rate, resting heart rate, VT1 (aerobic threshold), VT2 (anaerobic threshold), metabolic tests, complicated math, the guy riding next to you's heart rate and others.
All in all an utterly confusing mess. So where's the harm in adding another zone... the Performance Zoneâ„¢?
Of course there are the naysayers who will respond; I don't recall hearing Joe Friel speak of this, or this isn't in any of Chris Carmichael's books... so it must not exist 🙁
The Performance Zone... is where you perform.
I do appreciate zones described by their feeling or specific training purpose. I've actually come up with a few myself, with the expressed medical purpose of helping me to communicate a range of heart rates and how they feel, to my classes. I love simplicity. So even though a five zone system is the standard at Lifetime Fitness, my preference is to always discuss heart rates based on the 2 Thresholds / 3 Zones system. Actually it's it's not conflict. VT1 ( aerobic/low threshold) tends to be the base of zone three. VT2 (anaerobic threshold) is the top is the top of Zone 3 / bottom of Zone 4.
The Chatty Zoneâ„¢
Below VT1, that first threshold, is what I describe as the Chatty Zoneâ„¢. You'll recognize it as the place where your class starts talking after recovering from a more strenuous effort. We know it's below VT1 because, by definition, it is the place where you have comfort speaking. For many of us aerobic activities tend to stimulate our creativity. Once our breathing has reduced to the point where we feel comfortable speaking, many of us can't help but express ourselves to our neighbors.
JRA - Just Riding Along
JRA is something I've borrowed from the mountain bike crowd. Many descriptions of particularly entertaining crashes begin with; "I have no idea what happened. I was JRA and the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air." JRA is the Zone where you literally zone out. Your body is on autopilot as you ride down the road. Heart Rate is hovering right at the VT1 and it's hypnotic.
The Performance Zoneâ„¢
I like to describe this zone as focused effort. Midway between JRA and Threshold... the place where we perform and what we are trying to improve by training above and below it.
What has me off on this tangent is the MS 150 ride Amy and I are participating in this weekend. We'll be spending about eight hours in total in our Performance Zone, sitting up front, pulling our team over the 150 miles riding the "Bus". I've written some past posts where I describe where Amy and I become a sort of machine; guided by my blink heart rate monitor, together we find that maximum, sustainable effort, where we can ride for hours. Post ride update: Make that close to 10 hours. The second day was spend piercing a hole in the 20mph headwind we faced all day, barely managing a 15mph average.
Does this sound like something you could introduce in one of your classes?
â„¢ Notice: When ever I add the â„¢ to any word or phrase I feel is clever or unique, it's only to identify that as far as I can tell, I was the originator of the concept. Indoor Cycling 2.0â„¢ is a good example. Anyone is free to use it. All I ask is that you credit where you got it from.
*Which by many accounts doesn't exist - It's on the list only as an example.
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Originally posted 2012-06-09 05:18:10.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
Please forgive the typos in the post. I’m in my hotel and my iPhone is driving me nuts while I tried to edit .
Impressive piece of writing for an iPhone and 50 something eyes. I suggest you take your bluetooth keyboard next time.
Hi, John.
Maybe I’m missing the point or some important details, but wouldn’t the Performance Zone change with the duration/distance of the event? In Performance Max®, which Jim Karanas created, we do performance pieces mainly on the rowing ergometer, although we’ve also had cycling tests by distance. One performance row takes as little as 6-8 minutes, some are 20-30 minutes, and still others may take as long as 6-8 hours or more (and more could be 24 hrs or beyond). The first one typically gets the participant’s HR to max, while the last obviously has to be aerobic, at least to start.
Focus would change, too. There isn’t much room for disassociated thought in a max 6 minutes, but attention could more easily wander over 24 hours, and probably would. The idea seems to be less a specific zone than a mental approach, as Jim covered in the Tao of Training post several weeks back.
Thanks,
Joan
Chuck I had the post ~80% done and foolishly thought I could easily finish it using my iPhone.
Joan you are exactly right – the Performance Zone is a place, a mind set, an attitude, etc… where we encourage our students to preform.
I spent a lot of time thinking through the Performance Zone this weekend on the bike and I will expand on my thought later this week.
Joan,
Interesting observations. I look forward to John’s expansion of his thoughts.
Here in Sunnyvale, CA I didn’t get that John was referring to a ‘specific zone’ related to heart rate. Rather, an existential feeling of a place (that, like heart zones, is different for everyone) above T1 but well below T2 that adds a couple of miles an hour but doesn’t blow the engine.
To the extent our riders are influenced by our Cues and in that context, ‘Performance Zone’ as John describes it here would – in my opinion – work well. It is essentially another verbal descriptor to add to our list. It is a place most of our fitness athletes spend their time riding in our classes and clearly connects the rider to the effort being cued.
I do believe Amy and John by & large have trained themselves to ride at such an effort for long periods of time but would agree with you that in their application it is more of a mental approach.
John, what was your average heart rate? Did it fall between JRA and Threshold?
Chuck I monitor – Amy doesn’t (she’s such a machine – more like an electric motor – with an amazing ability to create a continuous level of output).
My Blink showed me about two beats below my tested threshold for much of the weekend – 160 BPM. Your right that the Performance Zone is the place that’s right for you, where you feel comfortable performing any given day or time.
Well a good data point, i think…. that number is well above “…between JRA and Threshold”
Correct Chuck – historically I would have needed to stay around 155bpm – but this weekend I could perform a bit higher 🙂