Fitness and the mind

I wrote a great little piece whilst sitting on the beach the other morning and was excited to share it in a blogpost with you. But as often happens I read it back to myself later and decided it was crap and didn't really have any helpful content. So as always I've returned to the drawing board that is my keyboard to tap out an impromptu post about the last few days.

Over the last few weeks I have been using a chest heart rate monitor in combination with an app called EliteHRV to monitor my internal stress levels. The app takes the data from the HR monitor and tracks the heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is the "measured changes of time intervals between successive heart beats". It is focused on the small fluctuations of the heart rate as opposed to heart rate (HR) which averages the number of beats per minute. These small fluctuations are in response to internal and external events, so they provide an accurate picture of what is occurring inside our bodies.

What does this mean?

In essence if we monitor HRV we can train intelligently by responding to what is happening inside us. I would say that most of us stick to a rigid training plan or just go on how we feel (very subjective). Using something like EliteHRV (there are other apps out there) we can look at the data and adjust our training/daily lives to manage our recovery and make the most of our 10/10 days.

I have been using it for several weeks now after my friend Cj Swaby recommended it to me. Before testing HRV I record my mood via Grid Diary so I can cross reference the two. When I feel great and excited to train is often the time when the data is telling me to take recovery, to stretch and focus on breathing exercises. On the other hand I was convinced this morning that I would need to take a rest day after two heavy days of training. I had woken up after a long sleep and didn't feel super energised. However I recorded my best data of the week and so I'm happy to cycle into work after a swim session this morning.

Aside from this amazing feedback I am fascinated by how the hard training on good days has helped my brain. I felt amazing all of yesterday after a morning of 2-3 hours cardio training. I'll admit my brain was a little rusty, but nothing out of the ordinary after that amount of work. My good mood lasted well past my 8pm shift and into the evening when I am usually Mr. Grumpy. For me this is more important than anything else and is something I will monitor with my mood tracking in Grid Diary. I have always known the benefits of exercise on the mind, but in combination with a tool as effective as EliteHRV it takes the guess work out of training and helps you balance the stresses we place on our bodies everyday.

I would highly recommend you invest in a heart rate strap (see EliteHRV website for the monitors that record the raw data) and start using the app. I am not sponsored by them, but have seen the benefits of intelligent training using their creation. It's science wrapped up in an easy to use app, so let's all start looking after ourselves properly.

Tom :)