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When I googled what bradycardia means, it’s the scientific term for slow heart rate. My colleagues were kidding me that maybe the reco meant to see a single cardiologist who would make my heart beat faster. Wahaha…
Anyway, I did go to see a cardiologist. Here’s our conversation:
Doctor: Bradycardia means slow heart rate.
Me: Is there something wrong with my heart? During the ECG, the nurse told me to relax so I relaxed - close to the point of falling asleep. Maybe that’s it? <innocent look>
Doctor: Did you know that Borg had a heart rate of 40?
Me: <blank face... I wonder who Borg is.>
Doctor: Borg is one of the world’s greatest tennis players. His heart rate was only 40. So there’s nothing to worry about your heart rate at 56. It’s normal among athletes. It means your heart is very efficient.
Me: Doc, I think that’s the problem because I’m not an athlete.
Anyway, I did go to see a cardiologist. Here’s our conversation:
Doctor: Bradycardia means slow heart rate.
Me: Is there something wrong with my heart? During the ECG, the nurse told me to relax so I relaxed - close to the point of falling asleep. Maybe that’s it? <innocent look>
Doctor: Did you know that Borg had a heart rate of 40?
Me: <blank face... I wonder who Borg is.>
Doctor: Borg is one of the world’s greatest tennis players. His heart rate was only 40. So there’s nothing to worry about your heart rate at 56. It’s normal among athletes. It means your heart is very efficient.
Me: Doc, I think that’s the problem because I’m not an athlete.
Wahaha….
So the cardiologist asked me to undergo a 2-D echo test and treadmill stress test. Fortunately, all test results were normal (yay!) and I reached my maximum heart rate.
Do you know how it feels when you reach your maximum heart rate? You can no longer talk because you’re out of breath and your heart is pounding so hard against your chest. I reached this state in stage 4 of the stress test while running on an inclined treadmill and it was really stressful!
Now, as I am reading the book Effortless Healing by Joseph Mercola and David Perlmutter, I was surprised to know that there’s actually a health benefit if you’re able to reach your maximum heart rate when you exercise. In fact, reaching your maximum heart rate should be the goal when exercising.
What happens when you reach your maximum heart rate? According to the book, it triggers the production of the Human growth hormone or HGH which is essential for optimal health.
HGH improves insulin sensitivity, boosts fat loss and increases muscle
growth.
And why do we need to boost the production of this hormone? After the age of 30, HGH levels drop sharply - about 25% per decade.
How do you reach your maximum heart rate? Effortless Healing recommends High-intensity interval-type training or what is called HIIT. HIIT usually takes only 20 minutes or less and if you graph your heart rate during that 20 minutes, you’ll see that it peaks 8 times. And of those 20 minutes, you are only exercising hard for 4 minutes but of course, those 4 minutes are very intense.
I remember downloading HIIT video workouts before but there’s a lot of jumping which I don’t really like so HIIT never made it to my workout videos.
Another option which the book recommends to reach your maximum heart rate is via the sprinting method. Here’s how - from Effortless Healing:
1. Warm up for 3 minutes.
2. Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds.
3. Recover for 90 seconds, still moving, but at a much slower pace.
4. Repeat the high-intensity exercise-and-recovery cycle seven more times. But when you’re first starting out, the book says you may be able to do only 2 or 3 repetitions of the high-intensity intervals. As you get fitter, just keep adding repetitions until you’re doing 8 during the 20-minute session. It may take a few weeks to a few months to work up to 8 reps.
5. Cool down for 2 minutes by slowing the pace of your exercise.
Important note: HIIT should only be done 2 or 3 times a week. Doing it more frequently can be counter-productive, as your body needs recovery.
In between HIIT, the book recommends strength training or weight-bearing exercises to keep your bones strong. How? Use a weight that’s heavy enough to exhaust your muscles in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough that you can do a minimum of 4 repetitions. Also, you should NOT exercise the same muscle groups every day because muscles typically need 2 days of rest to recover, repair, and rebuild.
HIIT seems like a doable option even for busy people since it only takes 20 minutes and it's just a max of 3 times a week. But the big BUT is, it's like doing a stress test 8 times per session! Waaaaa....
Anyway, I haven't attempted doing HIIT yet - just sharing the info for now. :)
