Thursday, May 03, 2007

The tortoise vs. the hare

A few weeks ago we began our Optimal Wellness Provisions series on Fitness. In this series, we outlined the output side of the Optimal Wellness hourglass, talked about getting enough sleep, talked about using breathing techniques and laughter to enhance your fitness, and talked about savoring the beauty in life to enhance your fitness.

In the May 3rd NY Times, there was an interesting article, titled "A Healthy Mix of Rest and Motion" that reported on the finding that "for at least one workout a week it pays to be both tortoise and hare — alternating short bursts of high-intensity exercise with easy-does-it recovery." The article mentions that "a workout with steep peaks and valleys can dramatically improve cardiovascular fitness and raise the body’s potential to burn fat." This claim is backed by a 2005 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

We at Life Trek Coaching are big proponents of this form of training, frequently referred to as "interval training." As was stated in Provision #503: Fitness 401, the use of interval training is at the root of the Optimal Wellness prototype:

"The secret of their fitness was not continuous activity. The secret was oscillating between activity and rest, including lots of sleep. Their activity-rest pattern meant that they were frequently raising and lowering their heart rates, promoting the very thing that researchers are now increasingly documenting as evidence of optimal wellness: heart rate variability (HRV).

As a diagnostic measure, and for personal training purposes, HRV refers to the variability of the heart rate at rest. The more variability, the more vitality. The less variability, the closer we are to death. Literally. As we age, HRV declines until it becomes a flat line. From beat to beat to beat, there are little to no variations. When that happens, the life force is on its way out.

Although biofeedback training is one way to increase HRV, it's also helpful to significantly increase and decrease the heart rate beyond its baseline through exercise and relaxation. These large swings in HRV, when practiced daily, are the natural healing rhythms that lead to optimal wellness.

That's why the output side of the Optimal Wellness Prototype Click includes both invigoration and relaxation exercises. We need to do both, at regular intervals and spontaneously through the day, in order to tap into our body's natural potential and inclination for wellness. It's the rhythm between work and rest, not just the workout, that determines our fitness."

Question: Are you incorporating interval training into your fitness regimen and lifestyle?