Intro

This chapter explores the vital role of the heart in health and performance, emphasizing the importance of breathing. It introduces the three I's of heart function—investigate, interpretation, and intervention—and begins to connect heart metrics like variability and respiratory rate to overall cardiovascular fitness.

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Episode notes

In this episode, I discuss the critical importance of building a strong heart and how to do it. I explain why the human body needs to breathe, the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness for sleep and exercise recovery, and its long-term implications for physical health, disease risk, and mortality. I explain how the heart functions, what determines heart rate, why the heart never gets sore, and the unique advantages of cardiac muscle over other muscle types.

I explain how to use the ‘Three I’s’ (investigate, interpret, intervene) to assess and improve your cardiovascular fitness. I explain what VO2 max is (and other related metrics, e.g., heart rate variability), describe ranges based on age and elite performance, and discuss exercise regimens to improve VO2 max.

Listeners of this episode will understand why cardiovascular health is vital for performance and overall health and learn a series of actionable tools to improve their cardiovascular fitness.

Access the full show notes for this episode, including referenced articles and additional resources, at performpodcast.com.