Hello,
Last week I saw an article about a musician. It struck me that the mature athlete has something in common with musicians...listening.
If you've ever watched a musician they constantly are listening to their instrument and fine-tuning it.
As a mature athlete, whether you want to improve your performance, train for a long distance event or simply want to live a healthy active lifestyle free from injury...there is one thing you must do.
Truly listen to your body.
Often, we don't listen to our bodies until something goes wrong. Then we see a doctor so he can tell us what he "hears" our body telling him--so to speak. Of course if you don't understand your body, you have no way of knowing what it is telling you.
Here's another way to look at it. Try driving your car without looking at your dashboard. Your dashboard is simply a group of meters and gauges that are "listening" to your car's engine, gas tank, lights, radio, etc. If you were to cover your entire dashboard with tape for a week, do you think you would be an improved and more relaxed driver? I don't think so! If you are not monitoring your body before, during and after exercise, aren't you doing the same thing?
Here are some simple ways for you to listen and understand your body:
Now here is a secret to make this a snap to do. Buy a heart-rate monitor
. It is one of the most important work-out partners
you could ever have.
You might be thinking you can record your heart-rate yourself and keep track of all your stats yourself. Truth is--the heart-rate monitor is going to trump you every time.
For example, when you want your maximum heart-rate during your workout--you shouldn't stop to take it. Stopping can alter your heart-rate and give false information--especially in a fit athlete. Reason: fit hearts recover more quickly. With a heart-rate monitor--you don't have to stop.
Heart-rate monitors can also record a lot of essential details for your work-out journal. Things like length of work-out, maximum heart-rate, average heart-rate and more. You can even find models which are specific to your sport to record unique details.
Pretty much the only thing it doesn't do is read the results and listen for pain. Sorry you'll still have to do that!
So make it a priority to get a heart-rate monitor this week. And if you want to learn how to use your heart-rate to determine what your magic number is for maximum calorie burning and why this is right for the mature athlete, check out my answer to Sam K.'s question this week.
With Healthy
Regards,
Last week I saw an article about a musician. It struck me that the mature athlete has something in common with musicians...listening.
If you've ever watched a musician they constantly are listening to their instrument and fine-tuning it.
As a mature athlete, whether you want to improve your performance, train for a long distance event or simply want to live a healthy active lifestyle free from injury...there is one thing you must do.
Truly listen to your body.
Often, we don't listen to our bodies until something goes wrong. Then we see a doctor so he can tell us what he "hears" our body telling him--so to speak. Of course if you don't understand your body, you have no way of knowing what it is telling you.
Here's another way to look at it. Try driving your car without looking at your dashboard. Your dashboard is simply a group of meters and gauges that are "listening" to your car's engine, gas tank, lights, radio, etc. If you were to cover your entire dashboard with tape for a week, do you think you would be an improved and more relaxed driver? I don't think so! If you are not monitoring your body before, during and after exercise, aren't you doing the same thing?
Here are some simple ways for you to listen and understand your body:
- Know your heart-rate. Your heart-rate not only reveals your level of fitness, but it signals problems too. It also tells you when you are getting fitter -which translates into the tuning message that it's time to increase the intensity of your workout.
- Keep a journal. Record your workouts. In addition to recording the obvious such as what activity you did and how long--record details. Were you sore at all? What was your maximum heart-rate? What was your minimum heart-rate? These details paint a picture which can not only help you tell when something isn't right...it can help your health-care team determine how to help you.
- Listen to pain. You must decide...am I feeling a painful injury or is this feeling more fatigue and typical soreness from my activity? Is it different than I've experienced before? Where exactly is the pain coming from?
Now here is a secret to make this a snap to do. Buy a heart-rate monitor
. It is one of the most important work-out partners
you could ever have.You might be thinking you can record your heart-rate yourself and keep track of all your stats yourself. Truth is--the heart-rate monitor is going to trump you every time.
For example, when you want your maximum heart-rate during your workout--you shouldn't stop to take it. Stopping can alter your heart-rate and give false information--especially in a fit athlete. Reason: fit hearts recover more quickly. With a heart-rate monitor--you don't have to stop.
Heart-rate monitors can also record a lot of essential details for your work-out journal. Things like length of work-out, maximum heart-rate, average heart-rate and more. You can even find models which are specific to your sport to record unique details.
Pretty much the only thing it doesn't do is read the results and listen for pain. Sorry you'll still have to do that!
So make it a priority to get a heart-rate monitor this week. And if you want to learn how to use your heart-rate to determine what your magic number is for maximum calorie burning and why this is right for the mature athlete, check out my answer to Sam K.'s question this week.
Mike Ryan PT, ATC, PES
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Always consult a physician before beginning or changing a fitness program.
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