Tuesday, April 24, 2007

You need to check your resting heart rate!


A few weeks ago a young professional boxer, from Belgium, called me to get some help in his training program.

He felt something was wrong but did not know how to fix it; he was feeling sometimes tired but, as many athletes think, it’s normal when you train hard everyday!

Here the problem: even a professional athlete cannot train hard everyday. It’s easy to accumulate fatigue and feel a decrease in performance during training: not a good sign!

After he told me about his training regimen, I ask him to check every morning, in the same condition, his resting heart rate for one week. You can do it manually, but the best way is to use a heart rate monitor.
His heart rate average was too high for an athlete of his level (international level, 21 and undefeated in 12 pro fights).

So I designed a new program, more specific, with a weekly balance between hard sessions and easier ones. The heart rate was recorded..

In about 3 weeks, his resting heart rate dropped from 80 to 45 and, you bet, he was feeling great and ready to fight.

Pro athletes are often like overworked businessmen: they want to do more and more. If you work a lot for your business and feel sometimes very tired, I urge you to check your resting heart rate. A few years ago I trained a guy in Los Angeles for a while: the first time I met him, I checked his heart rate at rest: 120!!! Damn! Too high, and you bet he could be in serious trouble very quickly.
Anyway if your resting heart rate is over 80, you need to check with your doctor, then you need to exercise and probably watch your diet.

For average people in good health, the value should be between 60 and 70. Sometimes in well trained people, it’s under 60, which is excellent.

If you want to know if you are in a decent shape, the resting heart rate value is a very reliable sign. Don’t sacrifice your health for the business, just find a solution, make a plan like an athlete does, you’ll be stronger and will have more energy for everything, including for your business.

Check out “The 3 minutes Gladiator Fitness Conditioning Program”, this is the solution for busy people, and drop your resting heart rate.

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