Podcast:
In this article I present the latest findings from 5 years training, measuring and testing what works and what doesn’t to reach my peak feel good performance.
First, for the matter of accuracy, the tests were done with Olympic-grade Polar H10 chest heart rate sensor. This is the same sensor used by Canada’s national team due to its unprecedented accuracy and long battery life.
What is HR max?
HR max is the highest number of beats per minute your heart can pump under maximum stress.
To stress your young, beautiful heart, choose a hill and run up, maintaining max effort for 1 min, which feels like a lifetime at that intensity!
I have been training with H10 for the last 5 years, and now my HR max is 193 bpm, which gives my biological age between 21 and 27 depending on the formula:
In 2020, my HR max was 192. Which means….I am slowly getting younger ☺️
What is also interesting is that I do not train much. I actually have slowed down completely since the beginning of July when I crashed the bike and fractured my skull a little bit.
Anyway, now I do yoga for 15-40 min , combined with 2 min of skipping rope and TRX every other day. I add some Via Ferrata once a week or so.
I used to be way more active, with 60+ km rides, karate twice per week, running trails, marathons, ice bathing, etc.
What changed? How come I am in the best shape of my life despite pushing myself again and again?
I started to talk to my body. First, I used this method to get an extra mile, push those limits again and again, and the body obeyed.
But now, I moved from telling to listening and hearing it out. It is telling exactly what it needs and what it can do and when it needs a break.
If you are not used to listening to your internal voice, this may sound like gibberish to you. But hey, haven’t you noticed that the only true escape from madness is mindfulness?
Even some smartwatch manufacturers (Polar) started promoting mindfulness in sports and agitating to… cover your brand-new smartwatch with a sleeve to stop checking it, silencing all the notifications completely, leaving your music at home, and enjoying a mindful run. (Polar Article 1 and Article 2 )
When you run or exercise mindfully, first you start noticing the environment where you live (do you like it?), appreciating the nature. After a while, you start switching into a sort of meditation state where you feel your legs moving but your being is above it. For me, that happens after 15-20 km running at a conversational pace (where your breathing is regular and relaxed) .
I have combined this know-how with my passion for nature and seeking peace.
Wherever we go, we choose to live in a countryside, away from noise and pollution.
Now we are next to the mountains. I have a small garden and very seriously started managing my stress the same as unwanted weeds; I just pull it out with roots.
Our home is our sanctuary. We enjoy peace and quiet. We don’t buy meat. We prefer eco / bio certified, clean-grown vegetables, fruits, grains, some fish, some eggs, and some goat cheese. Even though we both consciously avoid all gluten and sugar products. I found that stressing about not eating something is much worse than having that slice of pizza and enjoying it in full.
This is my way and it works: listening to your inner voice, reducing stress at work, and eating what nature gives.
What was also important is a change of mindset.
Practising staying present has become high on the agenda: trying not to overthink about the past; I won’t recover it. Not worrying about what might or might not happen in the distant future. It may never come.
We build our lives with the choices we make in the present.
With love for life,
Audrius
