PAMPY’S POST – DECEMBER22B

Eyes wide shut!

The secret to lowering your raised heart rate more quickly!

Typically, the lower your resting heart rate, the better.

There is less strain and more efficiency the fewer times your heart beats while giving the appropriate amount of oxygenated blood to your brain, muscles, and organs.

The sooner your heart rate returns to "normal" after working out, the better.  This is also an advantage when intermittently spiking your heart rate & effort while exercising.

The less overall stress the better, therefore the lower the HR, the lower the blood pressure, stress hormones, and breath rate.

Try this now, providing you’re not driving.

Step 1 - for those with a smartwatch, note your current heart rate (in beats per minute). Alternatively, record your HR via your radial pulse (wrist).

A normal or healthy pulse sits around 70bpm for men and 75bpm for women.  Typically, the better one’s fitness, the lower the resting HR.

Eluid Kipchoge (Current Olympic Marathon & WR Holder) sits around 28 bpm.

Step 2 - Inhale (nasally) for 5 seconds allowing your tummy to extend, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and then gently let it out.  Repeat 5 times.  This will increase your aortic pressure and lower your heart rate.

A healthy HR typically drops by 2-4 beats.

Step 3 – Shut your eyes and focus on slow rhythmic nasal breathing for 30 seconds.  The darkness and innate focus on your breath will lower your stress hormones (corisol, adrenaline etc).

A healthy HR typically drops by a further 2-3 beats.

Step 4 – With eyes shut, engaging the ocular reflex is to place light pressure on your eyes and, in turn, relax the 7 muscles directing the eyeball.  Hold this lighter pressure for 20 seconds.

A healthy HR will typically lower by a further 2-5 beats.

The key take away.

1) if you’re training strongly and throwing out spiked intervals, safely permitting, shut your eyes to lower your HR, breath rate and lactate level faster.

2) If you’re emotionally stressed, place your hands over your pupils and re-centre your inner peace.

Exercise can improve your disposition, focus, and alertness.

You might even benefit from having a more upbeat attitude in life.

Exercise and mental health are intricately related.

For instance, mental disease can be both a cause and a result of inactivity.

However, there are a variety of ways that exercise can enhance your mental well-being, including:

When you exercise, your brain's levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, stress hormones, and endorphins alter.

You can have better sleep if you exercise frequently.

And getting enough sleep aids in mood management.

Your sense of control, coping skills, and self-esteem can all be improved via exercise.

Socialising Recovery!

Step 1 – On waking, rehydrate immediately.

Regardless of the volume of liquid consumed the previous evening, yes, you are likely well dehydrated.   Rehydrating with water alone will typically leave you short of your optimal hydration.  Include a little electrolyte through hydrolyte or NUUN supplements.  A small pinch of bicarb soda mixed in water will also do the job.

Step 2 – Move, easily.

Flushing your (somewhat toxic) system is best practiced with increased blood flow.  Harder exercise is usually counter -productive and will add to further dehydration.  Therefore, a brisk walk is best for most.  20 minutes will engage a healthy kidney & liver flush.

Step 3 – Caffeine & Healthy dietary fat.

It is best to avoid a further blood glucose spike.  A ‘natural’ caffeinated drink (coffee, tea, green tea, etc) and the inclusion of MCT oil is a good energy-boosting practice.  Also, a low gut-stress yet appetite-satisfying inclusion is a small cup of salted macadamia and/or almonds works well.  I don’t recommend a monster continental breakfast – despite its appeal.

Step 4 – Mid-morning citrus cleanse.

Again, think about adding a piece of lemon, lime, or orange to water to further cleanse the intestinal balance. Citrus fruits are naturally acidic, but once they are digested, they quickly increase your alkalinity.  Usually, a heavy evening will leave you feeling well-acidic.  I advise including some freshly chopped ginger as well.

Step 5 – Gut-friendly lunch.

Make a salad of green leaves with all the usual ingredients and add basil. Add salmon, haloumi, avocado, sunflower seeds, olive oil, and a dash of sea salt.  You're almost back.

Step 6 – It’s a Test Match, not a Twenty 20.

The Australian unwritten law is waiting until beer-o-clock (5 pm) until you entertain starting again.

If you play up, turn up!

Turn up = rehydrate, exercise, cleanse.