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by Ben Hackney-Williams on Thursday, 20 July 2023
It’s no longer ‘us and them’ in fitness, health, and wellbeing. It’s more than that. We’re better than that. We work together, with communal goals through shared experiences. We rise together and we move together. We leave our ego at the door.
As we navigate the dynamic terrain of health and fitness, one component has consistently proven its worth – the strength of community.
We find ourselves on the brink of a transformative era where technology and community merge, giving birth to a fresh perspective on fitness.
Welcome to the world of the community app, a digital platform engineered to unite individuals, stimulate transformation, and foster healthier lifestyles for the long term.
More than just a digital platform
The Myzone app transcends the boundaries of a digital platform alone. It's a virtual hub where fitness enthusiasts, novices, and even those who have traditionally been hesitant about exercise can unite.
Yes, it’s still just a tappy square on your smartphone, but it unlocks a community that brings together the CrossFitters and heavy lifters with the weekend warriors, sitting room yoga squad, the parent playtimers, and morning run club.
It's a realm where common accountability is applauded, competition is amicable, and motivation is a shared pursuit.
How do you bring people together in fitness?
A focal feature of the Myzone app is heart rate training, a scientifically validated technique to maximize workout efficiency. By tracking your heart rate, you can ensure your workout intensity is just right to suit your goals – not too strenuous, or not too relaxed.
Myzone Effort Points (MEPs) offer up a reward for every minute spent in the five different heart rate zones – grey, blue, green, yellow, and red.
This personalised fitness approach levels the playing field, enabling everyone to compete against their own benchmarks; not just against others.
It's less about who can lift the heaviest or run the fastest, and more about personal progress and enhancement. That’s something you can share and celebrate.
What are Myzone Effort Points?
Your colour zones are set as percentages of your max heart rate. This is unique to you, based on your age, using some clever maths (the HUNT formula, if you’re interested in the details).
Every time you move, you’ll earn Myzone Effort Points – or MEPs – for every minute you’re in a zone. The heart rate zones look like this…
The Light Grey Zone is under 50% of Max Heart Rate, where you get 0 MEPs per minute It’s when you’ve just put your belt on, or you’re fully recovered after an activity.
The Grey Zone is between 50-59% and will earn you 1 MEP per minute For walking, yoga, Pilates, or dynamic warm ups and cool downs.
The Blue Zone is 60-69% for 2 MEPs per minute This is best for light cardio, active recovery, relaxed swimming… That kind of thing.
The Green Zone is go time! At 70-79% you’ll get 3 MEPs per minute Start kicking it up a notch with moderate cardio, dance or Zumba classes.
The Yellow Zone is more of a challenge at 80-89% with 4 MEPs earned per minute Here it’s about hard cardio and HIIT. You can sustain it but it’s not easy to hold a conversation.
Lastly, the Red Zone tops out at 90-100%, also for 4 MEPs per min Here it’s full-on sprints, HIIT, race day and personal bests.
Why do you earn the same number of MEPs for the Yellow and Red zones? Because you shouldn’t be able to stay in the red zone for long. Push to your limits with a sprint, but not to the point of injury.
The zones are all about effort over ego. No matter if you’re at the start of your physical activity journey, or if you’re an elite athlete, your effort is the same.
70% of effort is 70% of effort.
The colour of a community
The charm of this community app lies in its capacity to engage even those who traditionally resist exercise. Elements of gamification, such as challenges and rewards, infuse workouts with a sense of fun and engagement.
MEPs bring a new level of understanding and achievement to the gym floor, the sports field, or anywhere you want to move. That spirit of camaraderie and shared accomplishment cultivates a positive atmosphere that can transform even the most exercise-resistant individual into a fitness enthusiast.
Furthermore, the community app promotes movement, not just within the confines of the gym, but in everyday life. It's about integrating fitness into your lifestyle, not viewing it as a burdensome task.
The app's features encourage regular activity, nudging users to opt for the stairs, or to choose a walk over a drive. It's about small, sustainable shifts that lead to lasting health benefits.
Technology for any fitness ability
Meet Joana Calado and Rebecca Guy. Jo is a Paralympic swimmer and data scientist, and Bex is a British Championship medal-winning sprint freestyler, in addition to her role as a health and sports performance nutrition coach.
Both of them appreciate the power of technology that offers something to keep everyone moving more, regardless of their ability or experience.
“Something that we really enjoyed about Myzone is that, when you’re doing high performance sport, there’s just data everywhere,” explains Jo.
“You just get these numbers spat at you from all sides. It’s so nice to have something that’s so useable and accessible.
“You just look at a colour and there are no numbers that you have to process if you don’t want to. You can just get a good workout without having to look at a screen until you want to.”
“Myzone’s smart because, for me, I’m juggling full-time work with my training and I’m still trying to compete at a high level,” adds Bex.
“It’s all about training smarter, not harder. I’m not interested in battering myself and not being able to function.
“The biggest way in which I use Myzone is to cap my heart rate to make sure I’m in the lower levels zones. It’s usually not for me to chase the high heart rates, because I know mine is high when I sprint. It’s so that my recovery sessions are actually recovery. That’s being savvy so that I can go again.
"I’m a sprinter, so it’s either all-out or it’s recovery, and I don’t really need anything in-between.”
More than just a fitness tool – it's a movement
The Myzone app is more than a fitness tool – combined with heart rate monitors and its collective community, it's a catalyst for positive behavioural transformation.
By nurturing a sense of social benefit through heart rate training, and by making fitness enjoyable, it holds the potential to redefine our approach to health and wellness.
Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a newcomer to fitness, join the community and embark on your journey towards a healthier, happier version of yourself.
Visit the Myzone app page to learn more and download the free app, and get your own heart rate monitor and have every effort rewarded.