Redemption!

Further reading and research on Sally Reed's site indicate possible new information. Unfortunately, the site is more about sales than information. But, it appears that there may be some different or updated information about the zones higher than 90% of max. I am hesitant to throw more money at her new book, so I'll have to find some other way to locate the research. Here's a little more about Heart Rate Zones.

The idea that my KB training should go a little slower then what I have been going is supported by the ETK book. The Right of Passage (ROP) protocol is a light, medium and heavy day; with two variety days; and two days off. The end goal of the ROP is to perform 200 snatches with the 24 Kg kettlebell in 10 minutes, and to press a KB half my weight. (Looks like a bulldog may be in my future Swami – 88 pounds of torture. Love it.)

I’m trying to reconcile the LMH + variety days with my visitation schedule too. I have not fully implemented the variety days, and I should back off a little during two of my three weekly workouts. Not easy for me to do. Really, according to the ROP, I would only push on one day. I also need to reconcile pulling back to give myself sufficient rest without feeling like a wimp, and interfering with my burning desire to lose weight and get in shape. I suppose I could eat those dumb power bars two times a week to artificially hold myself back, but that's not a very attractive alternative.

A related effort that I'm not having success with is finding my resting heart rate. My ambient, or 'sitting' heart rate, averages out to be about 63 bpm. The resting heart rate is supposed to be taken first thing, before I even get out of bed. I've tried twice without success. The first night the sensors dried out before I woke up, effectively cutting the reading. The second night I woke up several times to readings varying from 63 to 73 bpm. The band around my chest is not very comfortable and I have trouble sleeping as it is. The reason the resting heart rate is important is because a 5 bpm increase could indicate an over train. This would be helpful to measure after a swing workout. It would also help to tell me when I can resume a hard training.

Actually, I wouldn’t have any trouble at all if it weren’t for the swings, and eventual snatches. The grinds don’t really affect my heart rate over 120 bpm, and I can easily ride at about 120 bpm too. It’s the ballistics that get my heart really pumping. It’s a shame, cause I love the ballistics – they make me feel like a mutant! I’m torn about how I’m going to proceed. I’m making gains. I’m amazed at the little progress I’ve already made. I’m feeling good. I’m not losing much weight, but the belts gone down two notches. On the other hand, I don’t want to compromise my long term health. I’m not sure if I mentioned that an impaired immune system is also a result of acidosis. I don’t want to be as sickly as I was when I was in TKD in the 80’s and 90’s.

After a little additional research on the internet I found what appears to be a well researched article on Blood Lactate and acidosis. A decade makes a whole lot of difference! The results are still out, but my previous reading is being refuted. The conclusion read: "This is clearly an area that is far from resolved but what seems clear is that lactate can no longer be labeled definitively as the athlete’s enemy. On the contrary, gathering evidence suggests that many aspects of lactate production are beneficial to athletic performance."

That's good enough for me. I won't throw the baby mutant out with the bath water though. I know enough to listen to my body, and the heart rate monitor will force me to be objective. I just had a hard time intuitively understanding how athletes can excel under less than intense circumstances. The body is a wonderful, miraculously adaptive, yet fragile creation!