You know you’ve met a typical bodybuilder when the subject of cardio comes up and they say ‘Nah, I don’t do cardio’ followed by a little chuckle. Yep, that was me, up until 12 weeks ago. Even when I competed, I never did ‘proper’ cardio like HIIT or sprints. The most my cardio was, was steps and maybe some power walks. In the bodybuilding world, to retain as much muscle mass as you can for stage, it is important you’re not doing masses of it, so I’ve always had this attitude towards cardio. Until recently. The subject of resting heart rate came up in conversation, as did the subject of cardio and how important it is for heart health alongside many other benefits. I’d never really bothered to check or care about my resting heart rate at all, until my inquisitive nature started getting me to check it a few times a week. When every reading came up as 80, sometimes a bit higher, I was gobsmacked. Yes, call me ‘fit’ when it comes to weight training and strength, but in terms of cardio fitness, I had NOTHING. So, did I cry about it? No, I did something about it. I was more concerned that it told me a lot about my heart function (not to mention my dad had 3 heart attacks last year, but miraculously survived and his dad died of a heart attack before him at aged 61). So shortly after that, I made it my mission to improve my cardiovascular endurance in order to get my resting heart rate down and improve my heart health. Find out how I did it….
WHAT RESTING HEART RATE MEANS
To put it bluntly, your resting heart rate tells you a lot about your overall heart health. If your resting heart rate is constantly high like mine was, it means it’s not working as efficiently as it could be.
Your resting heart rate is the amount of beats per minute at rest. You can measure this using your smartwatch. A normal one ranges anything between 60-100 beats per minute in adults. If yours is under 60, it means you are more physically fit and have better heart function. Over 100, it could be a sign of infection or worse, a heart problem, even a sign of premature death. It’s worth noting that a normal heart rate does not imply normal blood pressure, that is different. There are many things that affect your resting heart rate:
· Age
· Activity
· Fitness
· Heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol
· Whether you smoke
· Whether you take medication
· Your emotions/ stress levels
· Other external conditions eg air temperature
IF YOURS IS TOO HIGH:
· Lose excess weight
· Practice relaxation exercises to lower stress levels eg yoga, pilates, meditation
· Exercise regularly
· Modify or introduce more cardio to improve endurance
· Switch to alternative meds if possible (ones that don’t increase your heart rate)
· Watch your caffeine intake: it can increase your heart rate
· Drink more water: when you’re dehydrated, your heart reacts by beating faster
· Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
· Avoid smoking
HOW I LEARNT TO RUN
Before I set out to achieve this goal, I was reminded of how breathless I would get after a 10min power walk to the gym from my car. The thing is, I didn’t want to be breathless running up a set of stairs or just walking briskly. I have the strength to lift in the gym, but I wanted to experiment with putting myself out of my comfort zone just to see what would happen if I started learning how to run. Also, keeping goals a secret is another thing I like doing, so no one until now knew this is what I’d been doing the last 3 months.
The first run I did was 1 min on, 2 mins of a walking rest. I felt awful; low confidence, breathless, and not being able to see the next stages of this journey or even thinking I’d ever progress. Did I enjoy it? No! My breathing was all over the shop, mentally I’d find it hard to get out for a run and often would lack motivation because to put it simply, I don’t enjoy it. Not to mention rainy weather would make me avoid it. For me, I love and enjoy weight training, so that’s half the battle won to get it done. But when you are doing something purely for your health and not because you enjoy it, it does make it much harder to stay committed.
Two weeks ago, I ran my first 10mins straight, with a 2min rest in between. I felt great. I was also shocked because I never envisioned I could ever run for more than 2 minutes straight without stopping. Like anything, if you practise it enough and get it done, in the longer term it gets easier. Last week I ran my first 5k (well, just over) in 40mins flat. Did I feel more confident having achieved this? Certainly! It has certainly benefitted me on the gym floor. I have noticed my breath recovery has shortened, something which became pretty obvious the more and more I would run for long periods. On some runs, seeing myself getting better, I may have actually started to enjoy it. But for the longer term, I’m mainly thinking of my fitness levels, my heart health and my endurance. I want to be able to run after a criminal if I have to! Most importantly, my resting heart rate has gradually lowered. Lately it has been ranging between 60-75 which compared to my 80+ is much better!
SOME RUNNING TIPS:
· Schedule them in like you would do anything else - I stick with Thursdays and Sundays
· Get a good pair of running shoes! Thankfully, I’ve not had any shin splints or other issues because I got a good pair
· Build your running up slowly - my partner who is a very experienced runner has been a brilliant coach
· Get a running phone-bra (you wear it over your clothes, it’s not an actual bra) - great for keeping my phone in and also a small pocket for my house key
· Have a good playlist - Spotify has some great running tunes!
· Wear short sleeves even if it’s cold - your body temperature feels about 10 degrees more when you run
· Fuel around your running: my fave running snacks at the moment is a bagel or crumpet with jam, followed by a proper meal afterwards
· Get that running technique spot on: my coach tells me not to avoid crossing the arms over the body when you run. Try and ‘bounce’ off your feet as well as taking shorter strides. Going up hills is where you need more arm movement to get you up. Downhill, leaning forward is a must. Keep your head up and look straight ahead as opposed to down. Control your breathing and keep to the same rhythm. A mental note: just keep going!
· Have a good route! Mine has been running to my local park and back
I hope this has given you something to think about in terms of how healthy you currently are and how much you value longevity of life. Give it a go. Measure your resting heart regularly at the same time a few times a week. Keep an eye on it!
Lastly, for you bodybuilders that claim bodybuilders can’t run, well, I’ve proven to you it can be done!
DM me on IG: @natashakostalas
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