Corona Daily 032: Run but Slowly

This week the South Korean government has introduced some novel coronavirus restrictions. Novel refers to the restrictions, not the virus. Violators face fines of up to 100,000 won ($87).

The residents of Seoul and its suburbs have gotten accustomed to the variety of rules introduced in the last eighteen months. Last week, the number of cases exceeded one thousand every day. That made the government particularly worried.

Nightclubs are shut, but gyms are allowed to stay open – with conditions.

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Two key novel restrictions relate to the runners’ speeds and the music played at the gyms.

From Monday this week, treadmill speeds are capped at 3.7 miles per hour (under 6 km/ hour). Many Korean gym-goers walk faster to the gym. Once they enter the gym, and get on the treadmill, they will need to reduce their speed.

After extensive research and prolonged consultations, the government has also regulated the speed of the music at gyms. Gyms are now forbidden to play songs that exceed 120 beats per minute (bpm).

As a regular gym-goer, I would like to explain what this means. A tempo of 60 beats per minute signifies one beat per second, while a tempo of 120 beats per second is two times faster, signifying one beat every half a second. Fans of classical music may remember the Italian terms Allegro (Cheerful), Andante (walking-pace) or Presto (quickly). Korean gyms can play Andante, but not Allegro or Presto any more.

For the benefit of gym administrators, newspapers have given examples of songs and their BPMs. Call me maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen) can be played. Born in the USA (Bruch Springston), Bad Romance (Lady Gaga), Respect (Aretha Franklin) and the apt New Workout Plan (Kanye West) are permissible. Boombayah (Blackpink) at 123 bpm becomes illegal.

Thousand (Moby) holds the Guinness record for the fastest tempo at 1015 bpm. You can listen to it here to understand the dangers of such speeds in pandemic times. (Listen to it only if you are not inside a Korean gym.)

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Yesterday, gym-goers in Seoul said they were relieved gym facilities were not shut entirely. Every gym-goer is required to wear masks all the time, even if fully vaccinated, and class size is limited. Nobody is allowed to use the gym showers.

Kang Seung Hyun, a teacher and former Rugby player said his gym had opted to shut off the treadmills. That will save some electricity, and save the runners from the effort to adjust to the novel speeds. The cardio bikes are open, and members are using them at speeds faster than usual, in the process sweating profusely. The new regulations apply only to treadmills but not to bikes or other cardio equipment.

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When fitness freaks talk about bpm, they generally refer to the resting heart rate. The beats per minute are the beats of the heart. Resting heart rate for an average person could be around 72. Marathon runners would have it lower, around 50. Elite athletes such as Federer or Usain Bolt may have it in their 30s. The lower the resting heart rate, faster the heart pumps, which is healthy.  

Ralph Yun, a crossfit Korean coach said listening to music at a pace similar to your heart rate doesn’t necessarily make you work harder.

Costas Karageorghis, a professor in London, said he understood why the Koreans had selected the speed of 120 bpm. It is the common rate of walking. Wedding DJs have told professor Karageorghis they use 120-beat songs to entice people onto the dance floor. The disc jockeys offered the example of I wanna to dance with somebody (Whitney Houston) to prove their point.

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Son Young-rae, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health, defended the new measures. He acknowledged that masks, mandatory in gyms, were effective. However, the delta variant is more easily transmissible, he pointed out. “When you run faster, you spit out more respiratory droplets, so that’s why we are trying to restrict heavy cardio exercises.” He said.

Ravi