heart rate training
Kate Cracknell takes a look at some of the options geared specifically to health and fitness clubs
Belt up The Activio heart rate belt
suunto
S
uunto has just launched a brand new range of heart rate monitor watches to the
UK market. Designed with health club retail channels in mind, the new M Series caters specifically for recreational, fitness-focused users rather than the elite, performance end of the market where – through its T Series line of monitors – Suunto’s expertise traditionally lies. The focus of the new M Series is
on ease of use as well as inspiration, motivation and guidance. For example, the M4 starts off by instructing the user to undertake a 1km treadmill walk, which allows it to assess fi tness levels; it then structures the workout accordingly. The monitors are structured around
three broad targets – improving fi tness, managing weight or free training – with a personalised workout suggestion shown on the display each morning according to your progress. It also offers real-time guidance before, during and after training. A study is currently underway at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland,
looking at the M Series in relation to health benefi ts and improvement in cardiovascular performance. Also newly launched is movescount.
com, a sports and fi tness web portal that allows users to upload all their training data. As with Facebook, users can join groups of interest to them, also providing operators with an opportunity to create their own communities and interact with both members and prospects – it’s available to everyone, not just Suunto users, and is free to use. Suunto also offers a group exercise
heart rate monitoring solution – the Suunto Fitness Solution. Similar to other such systems, it involves participants’ heart rate data being transmitted in real time to a big screen at the front of the class, with customisable colour- coded heart rate zones allowing them to track their efforts. Individual results can be emailed to members at the end of each class, with the option to include marketing messages to promote club activities and/or special offers. The system can also be used for gym fl oor monitoring, such as small group or one-to-one personal training, with results automatically emailed to the members afterwards.
In addition to making classes more engaging, the Suunto Fitness Solution allows clubs to get members ‘hooked’ on heart rate training, educating them on its benefi ts before trading them up to the M Series of watches and thereby driving secondary revenue for the club; the
same chest strap can be used with both the group exercise system
Watch it Suunto Fitness Solution (above) and M Series watch
34
and the personal monitors, as well as with the majority of CV kit on the gym fl oor.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
Launched in 2006, the Activio Fitness System is the company’s group exercise solution: a large screen at the front of the class showing a heart rate ‘dial’ for each class participant, all of whom wear chest belts, with heart rate data transmitted wirelessly and in real time. These dials are anonymous – only the participant knows which relates to them – while the colour-coding allows both instructor and participants to easily keep track of their output. Being in the white zone, for example, means your heart rate is at less than 60 per cent of maximum – ideal for warm-up and recovery – while the red zone, at the other end of the scale, denotes 90–100 per cent and therefore maximal exertion. Launched in 2009 and expanding
activio
on this offering, the Activio Total Solution comprises a network of receivers located throughout a club or leisure centre. Able to pick up data from up to 200 metres away, this means that anyone working out in the facilities – from the gym and group exercise studios to the tennis courts – can wear a heart rate belt and have their data picked up. Able to cater for an unlimited number of simultaneous users, the system only recognises Activio belts. This data is then instantly sent to
the individual members’ password- protected web pages, via the Activio Feedback Solution. To allow members to extend this
monitoring option to out of club activities, Activio is also launching a range of memory-equipped heart rate watches later this year, to be available for retail through clubs.
june 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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