Follow Your Heart
Workout by Heart Rate, Maximize Results
by Dr. Rick Kattouf II and Dr. Richard Vest III
Heart rate training is the ultimate key to success. Success
for what you may ask? Well, whether your goal is to lose 100+ pounds of body
fat, improve as a professional/elite athlete or somewhere in between, working
out/training/racing by heart rate is the key to unlock the door to success.
Why is heart rate training not used more often? Why do so
many athletes and coaches seem to shrug off heart rate training? Why does every
coach & athlete not embrace HR Training? It's simple; it's due to a lack of
detailed understanding and knowledge in the area of human physiology and how to
apply and implement it. Heart rate training takes a great amount of knowledge,
time, effort and energy. It is not something that someone learns in-depth by
taking online course or weekend course. In addition, for a coach to properly
apply the precision of heart rate training, not only does it take an in-depth
knowledge base and understanding, but it takes a tone of time, effort, energy
and patience. It's a lot easier for a coach to simply tell an athlete,
"Just go easy/moderate/hard" as compared to providing exact
parameters in terms of heart rate for the athlete to follow. This also requires
a lot of follow-up and feedback from the coach, as they have to be able to
properly analyze the heart rate data and give feedback to the athlete.
For similar reasons, athletes tend to reject heart rate
training as well. Often times, an athlete would rather work out more/harder as
opposed to working out smarter. (It is easy to workout hard, but it takes
time, effort, energy, focus, patience and discipline to workout smart).
The payoff is huge when one properly trains by heart rate. Often times you get
a knee-jerk reaction from coaches and athletes such as, "heart rate
training doesn't work!" Knee-jerk reactions like this simply stem from not
having a complete and detailed understanding in the area of human physiology, heart
rate and its application and implementation. Because here is a guarantee; heart
rate training works 100% of the time when it's properly implemented, applied
and followed 100% of the time. That's a pretty good guarantee.
Factors That
Affect Heart Rate
It's very common for athletes and coaches to want to follow
parameters such as power, pace and perceived effort. While there is value of
course in these, according to Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist, Richard N Vest
III, M.D., "only following pace, power and perceived effort is very
shortsighted because we are ignoring the most important factors that affect
heart rate.” Much like an airplane pilot needing to know factors such as heat,
humidity, altitude, etc.; because these factors will affect the engine, take
off, etc., the same holds true for the human body. As Dr. Vest III mentions,
heat, humidity, altitude, sleep, stress, etc., all affect heart rate even at
the exact same pace. Even though pace/power may be the same, VO2 max will
change. Pace/power does not determine exertion because oxygen consumption is
different in different conditions. Bottom line is this, if an athlete thinks
that they are going to hit the same pace/power in 100° temperatures as they do
in 50° temperatures, this is shortsighted because they are ignoring the only
number that tells us, physiologically, what the body is doing and that is heart
rate.
Recovery
In addition to proper heart rate training helping to improve
performance, it can also help significantly assist in improving one's recovery.
According to Dr. Richard Vest III, working out more/harder and not smarter
(proper heart rate training) can put a big oxidative stress on the body and
this can inhibit recovery. Just like pace does not determine exertion, the same
holds true for recovery. How we feel does not determine our recovery, rather,
heart rate will tell us exactly how we are recovering. Too much working
out/training/racing combined with too much intensity (too high of a HR) will
impede recovery. Therefore, when we commit to recovery by working out and
racing smarter by following the proper heart rate zones, recovery will be
enhanced which will lead to improved performance.
Cardiology &
Physiology 101
Richard Vest III, M.D. mentions that oxidative stress can
occur in both aerobic and anaerobic states. During anaerobic metabolism, lactic
acid and hydrogen ions will damage the muscles and physiologically, this is not
what we were designed to do. From an athletic performance perspective, this can
result in an athlete stopping completely, acidosis, acid in the blood, lactic
acid in the muscles and the inability to metabolize oxygen. Working out in the
proper heart rate zones of course can prevent this from occurring. Dr. Vest III
says that heart rate drift can and will occur and if we cross the anaerobic
threshold to early in a workout or race, the body cannot perform and we are
going to get crushed. Properly following heart rate will enable an athlete to
cross these barriers at the appropriate time and maximize their performance no
matter what the conditions.
Body Composition
Nutrition and body composition cannot be ignored because
these are two additional factors that greatly affect heart rate. There are many
marathon runners and Ironman triathletes that are overweight and obese. Despite
this, you will hear these athletes say things such as, "I'm healthy because
I can finish a marathon/Ironman." Dr. Vest III says, "just because an
overweight/obese individual finishes a marathon/Ironman, this does not mean
they're healthy; it just means, well, they are overweight and they finished a
marathon/Ironman.” Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist, Richard Vest III, M.D.
mentions that it is great to be active course, but body composition must be
addressed in order to avoid potential health issues directly associate with
being overweight and obese. Oxidative stress can increase with obesity along
with the production of free radicals, which can increase inflammation. And
again, even more confirmation as to why working out in the proper heart rate
zones is key. In addition, a higher body fat percentage can lead to increased
levels of cortisol, higher blood glucose, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance,
etc., all that can adversely affect heart rate, which in turn affects
performance and recovery.
Cardiologist Professional
Perspective
Dr. Vest III treats conditions such as Atrial Fibrillation,
Ventricular Tachycardia, Supraventricular Tachycardia, etc., and more and
research is showing the potential negative effects of endurance sports. Are
these negative effects due to anaerobic metabolism? Working out at too-high of
a heart rate for too long a duration is a set up for the creation of oxidative
stress and free radicals which will then bring about negative physiological
effects. Does the avoidance of higher heart rates have a benefit? We do not
know for sure because all we have is associations. For example, if you take
10,000 individuals and have them perform regular exercise and 10,000
individuals train for marathons, the result is that the marathon group is at a
higher risk for Atrial Fibrillation. And again, this is not proven causation, just
association.
Cardiologist
Personal Perspective
Prior to working with Dr. Rick Kattouf II and TeamKattouf® and implementing HR Training, Dr. Vest III ran 2 marathons. He ran these on
feel and perceived effort and ran between 3:29:53-3:33. He found he was not
able to push much beyond mile 20 and in his 2nd marathon; Dr. Vest
III was at risk of not finishing, experienced tunnel vision and almost passed
out. In 2012, Richard Vest III, M.D. joined TeamKattouf® and started strict HR
Training as instructed by Dr. Rick. The first 6 months were tough as Dr. Vest
III found himself having to run much slower than he was accustomed to in order
to hit the Rx’d heart rates. It took a good 8-10 months (this goes back to the
time, effort, energy, focus, dedication and patience) for him to really start
seeing positive results. In his words, “I started to notice that I was running
a lot faster at the same or lower heart rates and in addition, I lost 5-7
pounds of body fat." 90% of Richard’s training was done in heart rate zones
1 & 2. His next 3 marathons resulted in a 3:11, 3:05 and 3:00:35. At the
2015 Boston Marathon, Dr. Vest III only kept 1 number on his watch, Heart Rate.
That is the only number he looked at for 26.2 miles; he never looked at his
time or pace. And he crossed the finish line in a personal best of, 3:00:24. As
you can imagine, sub-3:00 was the next goal. In October 2015, this goal came to
fruition and once again, only following heart rate, and not even paying
attention to the time/pace, Richard Vest III, M.D. crossed the finish line in
2:58:13. Proper heart rate training for Dr. Vest III not only allowed him to
improve greatly on his overall marathon times, but it led a leaner &
lighter physique, strong closing final 10k of each marathon, reduced injuries and
not feeling crushed after training
and racing.
Are you ready to take your performance, recovery and body
composition to an entirely new level? If so, heart rate training is your key
success. It works each and every time. The only time HR Training does not work
is when its not applied and implemented. Are you ready to implement?
Workout Smart, Eat
Right, Get Results®!
Rick Kattouf II, O.D. is a 2x Best-Selling Author and Fitness & Nutrition expert and has been named one of America’s PremierExperts® and one of the World Fitness Elite® Trainers of the Year. Rick is a Sports Nutrition Specialist, Heart Rate Performance Specialist, Master Personal Trainer & Triathlon Coach. He has been seen on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates around the country as well as in the USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Ironman.com, Livestrong.com, FIGHT! Magazine, Florida Cycling Magazine and The Independent in the UK. Rick is the CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Inc, CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Nutrition LLC, CEO/Founder of Virtual Gym LLC, Creator of TeamKattouf® Nutrition Supplements, Host of Rx Nutrition, author of Forever Fit, Creator of 5-Round Fury® Nutrition Supplement, 5-Round Fury Fitness® workout app, Creator of Coach2CEO, Creator of Fuel Keeper®, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. Dr. Rick has personally coached individuals in 30+ states and 10+ countries.
Richard N. Vest III, MD, FHRS, graduated from University of Alabama School of Medicine in 2003. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at Duke University, Cardiology Fellowship at Emory University, and Electrophysiology Fellowship at Medical Univ. of SC. He has an active clinical practice and works with Birmingham Heart Clinic in Birmingham, AL. Dr. Vest is board certified in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, Cardiovascular Disease, and Internal Medicine and is a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society. Dr. Vest remains active with his weekly workout schedule that includes strength training and running. Dr. Vest continues to train for running events from 5k-Ultra Marathon. Dr. Vest has a 2:58:13 marathon PR (Oct. 2015) and has run the Boston Marathon twice.
