Today was a landmark in my athletic career (if not in my life). I walked into a cardiologist’s office for a stress test, with the goal of determining the cause of the intermittent and mysterious heart flutters I have experienced over the past year.  Needless to say, these have been a bit alarming in the wake of some other 40-somethings that have had heart problems in recent years. Cases in point: Steve Larson dying while running a couple years ago in Bend, OR (where I was living at the time) was a huge shocker; 2-time Ironman World Champion Norman Stadler of Germany just had emergency heart repair surgery for an aorta enlargement. Surgery was successful, but career ending. I did not want to be the next guy on the list.

As a life-long athlete, I have always prided myself in maintaining optimal health.  And as a health advisor I have also made it a priority to “walk the walk.” As the big picture has become clearer in recent years  with regard to the overall impact of excessive endurance exercise, I have had to come to terms that what I thought was the best lifestyle for wellness and longevity, is not. Like puzzle pieces coming together, the picture has taken shape and I can no longer deny the facts, which are: 

Excessive endurance exercise creates a catabolic environment in the body. It exposes your body to excessive oxidative damage (cellular breakdown). It exposes your body to excessive time under stress, which creates elevated cortisol levels (stress hormones), thus depleting hormonal resources over time. It causes muscular breakdown. I recently found this article written by Mark Sisson from several years ago that describes things perfectly. You can read it here: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/Mark_Sisson_says_training_is_no_guara...

So what are we to do? If you choose to continue pursuing endurance training and racing, it is important to honor the inherent dangers and take measures to limit the damages. The sad truth to all us endurance addicts is that over-doing it is as bad as other negative lifestyle factors like smoking, drinking, poor diet, drug use, not sleeping, etc.

Getting back to my stress test, I was happy to learn that I only have an “extra” heart beat from time to time, which is considered normal. Whew! I was given a clean bill of health and left the office feeling glad that I chose to get it checked out and will have the knowledge that this “fluttering” is not something that will kill me out there some day. In recent months I have just gotten back to triathlon training after an extended time away from serious racing due to family and lifestyle restraints. I’m taking this on as a new challenge to figure out how to train smarter and still be able to perform at a high level. I hope to create a new paradigm for training and in the process make it completely beneficial over the long-term. I plan to give periodic updates as I navigate this new world of conscientious endurance training.

Thankfully, I have Bioletics assessments to help guide my progress. I will continue to monitor my Key Performance Factors and utilize my HRV (heart rate variability) tool to guide my training intensity. In our ongoing quest to establishing new paradigms for health, performance, and longevity, we here at Bioletics combine cutting edge science and real world factors to help people reach their goals. If you have any real world experience to share, let us know!

Have comments or questions? Please e-mail me at tim@bioletics.com or call #888.371.1033.