Zone Compression™ is a trademarked term coined by Ho’Omau founder Andy Funk and generally refers to an athlete who can perform at a wide range of exercise intensities without substantially increasing or decreasing his or her heart rate. Zone compression most often occurs in athletes with extremely high fitness levels, usually professionals.
For example, let’s take a middle-of-the-pack 32-year-old age group triathlete who has a resting heart rate of 55, an active recovery (Zone 1) heart rate of 85, a Zone 2 heart rate of 130, a threshold heart rate of 165 and an all out anaerobic maximum heart rate of 185. This athlete’s active zones (1-5) span across 100 beats per minute, and with a maximum heart rate of 185 and resting heart rate of 55, that 100 beat span makes up 77% of the athlete’s entire available heart rate range. With an increase in intensity always comes a noticeable increase in beats per minute. All zones are identified with relative easy. Lacing up for a Zone 3 run is generally easy as there is a wide enough heart rate range for the workout.
Now, let’s take a professional triathlete, also age 32 and with a resting heart rate of 45, an active recovery (Zone 1) heart rate of 80, a Zone 2 heart rate of 105, a threshold heart rate of 140 and an all out anaerobic maximum heart rate of 160. In comparison, this professional’s active zones (1-5) span across only 80 beats per minute, making up 50% of the available range compared to the 77% of the age group athlete. Yet even more notably, the pro’s Zone 2, 3 and 4, which make up almost all training hours of this athlete, are all condensed into a range of only 35 beats per minute. In other words, this professional can do a leisurely Zone 2 run or a threshold effort on the bike and only access 30% of the entire available heart rate range. This compression of zones doesn’t just start at the pro level – it starts as soon as an athlete is on a path of continued improvement. The higher the fitness level becomes, the more compression usually occurs – the more can be accomplished at different intensities with a much lesser heart rate range.
On the flip side of Zone Compression is Zone Inflation, which occurs in extremely sedentary individuals, more likely than not obese, and possibly suffering from a variety of health ailments.
