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 Pinkhouse:
Pals Outside Workouts continued...
"When Colo first came, she was frustrated because she thought
she was an active person and expected her physiology and heart-rate
data to say she was doing a good job," Edwards says. "But
the results were, no, she was not in good shape."
Collette's "recovering" heart rate after near maximum effort
originally was 10 beats a minute, Edwards says.
"Now, she's up to 40 beats," Edwards added. "That's great.
But Pinkhouse is the champion of recovery. He can sometimes
recover 50 beats per minute. For someone his age, that's astonishing
to get back to that resting state."
Not that anyone's competing, Edwards is quick to add. Sure,
each participant's pulse and percentage of effort is flashed
on the screen for all to see. But, in the heat of a workout,
everyone seems more concerned with her or his own "heart zone"
than with comparisons.
The riders are highly motivated to maintain and increase fitness
levels. And that means pushing themselves on the bikes.
This morning's workout was a one-hour endurance ride downloaded
by an Atlanta cycling acquaintance of Edwards. Called the
Hog Pin Gap ride, it featured two segments, lasting 15 and
12 minutes, in which riders had to maintain 90 to 95 percent
of effort and resistance with no recovery in-between. The
whir of the windtrainers was the only noise, save Arnold's
calling out of the time, during those intense stretches.
Duffy roused from sleep and started meandering between bikes,
stopping to lick the sweaty calves of two riders.
When a one-minute full recovery was finally called by Arnold,
audible sighs escaped throughout the garage. On the screen,
heart rates were plummeting.
"The importance is to know what your exercise intensity is,"
Edwards says. "If you don't have heart-rate data available,
how do you know for sure how hard you're working out?
"This gym gives you immediate feedback and something to focus
on."
And a place to bond while the rest of the city snoozes.
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