Following on from an earlier write up about new years resolutions and how they can be a benefit as well as a burden we should take a few moments to look at the overall long term benefits a healthy heart will have not just on our quality of life but also our abilities to make more successful progress with our training.
Whilst watching an episode of The Royal Institute Lectures this morning Dr Mark Miodownik made some references to the size of a beings heart, the rate in which it beat and its inevitable shelf life. In short the faster it beat the quicker it would wear itself out. The figure he gave was that a heart had a life expectancy or 1 billion beats. This then had me thinking back to a history lesson where it was said that the ancient Chinese/Japanese had always thought that the heart had only so many beats within it and that to overly exert yourself and increase its beating too far would lower your life expectancy.
How right they were on one level.
At this Junction you have to wonder is this one of the fundamental building blocks that brought about the use of meditation and yoga. Meditation to relax the mind/body and bring the heart rate right down. Whilst yoga does the same basics as meditation but also helps to build some base strength and improve overall range of motion.
So if we look at the basic understanding that the lower the heart rate the longer its “potential” life expectancy is going to be then would it not be just easier to only exercise to a certain level that did not raise it too much?
Well yes and no. To make the heart beat slower you have to make it stronger and to do that it needs to be raised. Within the exercise fraternity these days there is, and has been for some time, a great swing towards high intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) with the that age old mindset of ” no pain no gain”. Whilst I will not deny that I have not myself fallen into that trap or that there are benefits to targeting that specific type of training it will not bring the whole host of benefits that steady state jogging/running will bring to heart health but also there is a greater risk of injury/ serious injury for someone who is out of condition starting a program of that nature.
For long term health benefits the use of steady state cardiovascular exercise at a pace which lets the exerciser still be able to hold a conversation comfortably when they exercise will have a profound positive affect with a much reduced risk of injury when compared to a new beginner or an individual who is in poor health to start with.
The trainee, once they have the okay from their doctor to begin an exercise program, should be looking at a minimum of 30 minutes with an aim to be able to maintain that comfortable pace for up to 60-90 minutes over the coming weeks and months. Training 2-3 times per week as they prepare their bodies to be able to handle greater workloads and intensities at a later date.
Always bare in mind that more is not always better and there is no rush to push the time limits up to the 60-90 minute mark to achieve results. What you should be looking for over the initial weeks is a slow & steady reduction in your resting heart rate which can be checked quite easily by simply sitting down for a few minutes then using your fingers to check your pulse on your wrist or neck over 20-30 seconds then you double or triple that number to give your heart rate over 60 seconds. Whilst this is not perfect it will give you a rough idea of where you are at in terms of progress. If money is available then a more perfect figure can be found by using a heart rate monitor.
Over time you will see your resting heart rate slowly fall as long as you allow enough time for recovery to take place after each run. I say run because I feel it is much better mentally and physically be be exercising outside in the fresh air using a larger variety of stabilising muscles rather than stuck in a stuff gym training exercising on a machine. To make it more fun you could join a running club with qualified instructors or even start your own with family and friends.
Steven. A. Barlow© 2010
got to agree on most of that
maybe something said for mediatations and controling heart rate, like the old “zen masters”
i think, following of from “resolutions” someone going back ion to, or never been into exercise needs a much longer steadier more gradual build up to exercise and in many cases that “all or nothing” attitude we in the west have, causes more heart problems within the “new year…..exercise period” than anything else………….with heart health, slow and steady wins the race
people should be looking at “comfortable pace testing” to work out what level of intensity they should be exercising at
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Agree wholeheartedly with that stupid notion of “all or nothing” causing more harm than good. Too many want results & want them yesterday not to mention they think that they can still do what they did 10,20 or even 30 years ago & then when they realise they cannot they just give up.