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When It Comes to Exercise, Less is More
Heart Rate Flexibility
Michael Stefano
Rest, recovery, and the body's natural variable rythms are
more important to fitness conditioning than previously
considered; so concluded a joint study at Harvard and
Columbia Universities that was announced during the Exercise
Physiology Conference in Finland, in June of 2001.
The Cyclic Exercise Protocol Study seems to suggest that
training in short bouts of intense activity (60 seconds or
less to target heart rate), combined with complete rest
(back to resting heart rate), works both the active and passive
phases of exercise, and achieves many of the cardiovascular
health benefits once associated, exclusively, with much longer,
and more vigorous workouts. This is great news for busy
firefighters, and anybody who wants to stay fit and healthy,
but at the same time is bogged down by the day to day chores
we call living.
Our need for cardiovascular fitness is very clear, not only
as a means to burn fat, but to protect against the ravages
of heart disease. As a firefighter, I've become keenly aware
of how important heart health can be to a long and healthy life.
Specifically, the need for a high level of heart rate variability
(as described below) that can be tested on a daily basis fighting
fires. When the alarm rings, firefighters go from zero to sixty at
a moments notice, and so do their heart rates.
The more flexibility your heart rate exhibits between beats,
known as heart rate variability (HRV), the healthier you are.
HRV is the measure of change in the heart's beat-to-beat rate.
The more monotonous, or constant the heart rate, the lower the
HRV. The well-known 1994 Framingham Heart Study, has
previously identified HRV as the only common factor associated
with all healthy individuals. Maintaining a certain degree of HRV
is obviously vital to overall health.
Study Details
Location: Harvard University, Columbia University
Title: Implementation of a Novel Cyclic Exercise Protocol
Participants: 11 women ages 32 to 58
Exercise: Short bursts of intense effort followed by
complete recovery
Schedule: Cycles (1 active, 1 recovery) of 4 to 7 sets,
3 times per week for 8 weeks
Findings
Short burst (60 seconds or less) off intense aerobic activity,
followed by complete recovery has a positive impact on health.
This is the first evidence that an exercise program designed
to train activity and recovery phases of exercise may improve
health and fitness.
So how should you handle this new information? By no means
abandoned your long standing exercise program. But it's nice
to know that when life gets away from us, and there are days,
or yes... even weeks, when we can't get in 30 minutes a day
of the proper exercise, a few intense sets done with the right
amount of rest can make a big difference in our overall health
and appearance. See our related articles for more information.
Improvements can be seen in:
Cardiovascular Fitness
Strength and Tone
Fat Loss
Heart Rate Variability
Mood
Immune System Function
Blood Pressure
Related Articles:
Cardio-Abs
The Six Minute Morning Workout
Target Heart Rate
The cyclic exercise regimen used in the study is based on a
program developed by Irving Dardik, MD, who says, "Heart rate
variability is the key measurement of the body's rythms. The
body's rythms control the body's chemistry, which determines
one's degree of overall health."
Source:
Aerobics and Fitness Association of America
American Fitness/September 2001
"Time to Completely Rethink Rest and Rythm"
FireFightersWorkout.com
About the Author
Michael Stefano is a captain on the New York City Fire Department,
as well as author of The Firefighter's Workout Book, The 30-minute-a-day,
Train-for-life Program for Men and Women. He is also managing editor, and
writer of many articles on health and fitness at www.firefightersworkout.com,
(where you can sign up for a FREE Train For Life Newsletter).
Michael Stefano's articles have appeared on such internet giants as
America On Line, Yahoo!, and eDiets.com
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