The Yellow Zone!
This is one of two infamous zones that are so highly sought after during workouts and classes!
But what does it mean and what is happening?
You will get into the yellow zone once you are into 80% and 89% of your maximum heart rate. It identifies vigorous/high intensity activity. Thats why you will see it a lot during Breakthrough Classes, Boxing classes and definitely in Spin Classes!
The energy system you are using in this zone is your Lactic System. Or your “PAIN” System.
You can’t maintain this system for very long, and it is known as the PAIN system because this is the the zone where you can feel lactic acid start to build up, and your legs start to feel heavy and “like led”.
This system is an unsustainable method of creating energy, hence why you can’t stay in it for too long until having to stop or change to another energy system.
Higher intensity exercise lasting 30 seconds – 2 minutes is where you will find the yellow zone!
How do you improve the Yellow Zone?
As you have probably noticed, you get into this zone with high intensity work so things like classes, spin and boxing are your go to classes for improving this zone.
You will essentially build time in this zone, thus improving your ability and capacity to do work in this heart rate range.
Outside of classes, things like interval training where you work for a certain period of time, then rest then work. For example in its simplest form: 30s on / 30s off.
Or fartlek training, which is similar to interval training however more random and not set in stone. So 30seconds may be very hard work, 20 seconds rest, 20 seconds medium paced and so on and so forth.
Typically this zone has been referred to as “The Fat Burning Zone” I personally don’t look to buy into that sort of thing as we know that you can lose weight without every going into that zone simply with increased physical activity by whatever method and adopting a calorie deficit but there you go.
Jack Coxall