John Kowalski
Level 2 Valued Member
"Prolonged training at maximal stroke volume is, figuratively speaking, “stretching exercise” for the heart. Muscles pump the blood, and the heart get stretched by the increased flow. As the consequence the heart dilates. It is possible to double its size, and 30-40% is almost a guarantee. That’s what is meant by coaches when they say “building the base”; it is, in fact, stretching of the heart.
D-type hypertrophy is stimulated by the work at heart rates close to maximal – 180.min and higher. Again, a little reminder of physiology. The heart is the muscle and therefore needs the blood in order to contract. The blood is delivered to it mostly during diastole, or relaxation phase. When working at maximal heart rate, the heart does not fully relax, and the blood supply is impaired to some degree.
What follows is the accumulation of acidic substances leading to acidosis which, in turn, stimulates growth of the heart muscle. This is typical interval training, the rave of the fitness crowd in recent years. The problem starts when this kind of training is done too often. If the heart does not relax, its blood supply is impaired, the delivery of oxygen becomes inadequate and anaerobic glycolysis starts.
As the resulting lactic acid is produced and leads to the acidosis inside the cell. If it lasts long enough, some cellular structures die. And if it lasts some more, the whole myocardiocytes – heart muscle cells – can die. This is microinfarction. If the training of this intensity is repeated again and again, more cells die and are replaced with the connective tissue which, in turn, is poorly distensible and does not properly conduct electric impulses necessary for adequate cardiac contraction. Apparently this has been confirmed by autopsies of athletes who suddenly died during physical activity.
That is why it is important to first build the base – dilate the heart – and only then increase intensity. Working at heart rates close to maximal must be introduced gradually and done infrequently, especially at the early stages of training."
~Selouyanov
Full article: http://rugbystrengthcoach.com/steady-state-cardio-rugby-co…/
There are studies claiming that weight training is good for the cardiovascular system, but it's due to the peripheral adaptations, but how about the central adaptations of the heart? Is that left ventricle dilating adaptation from continous training even desirable for regular folks? I was always curious why training doesn't lower my resting hr - it's usually somewhere around 70 bpm - same as my relatives who never workout. There are also coaches like Joel Jamieson who preach "cardiac output" workouts, keeping the hr around 130-150 for 20+ minutes to decrease the rhr. I was wondering if this pursuit is even worthwile.
D-type hypertrophy is stimulated by the work at heart rates close to maximal – 180.min and higher. Again, a little reminder of physiology. The heart is the muscle and therefore needs the blood in order to contract. The blood is delivered to it mostly during diastole, or relaxation phase. When working at maximal heart rate, the heart does not fully relax, and the blood supply is impaired to some degree.
What follows is the accumulation of acidic substances leading to acidosis which, in turn, stimulates growth of the heart muscle. This is typical interval training, the rave of the fitness crowd in recent years. The problem starts when this kind of training is done too often. If the heart does not relax, its blood supply is impaired, the delivery of oxygen becomes inadequate and anaerobic glycolysis starts.
As the resulting lactic acid is produced and leads to the acidosis inside the cell. If it lasts long enough, some cellular structures die. And if it lasts some more, the whole myocardiocytes – heart muscle cells – can die. This is microinfarction. If the training of this intensity is repeated again and again, more cells die and are replaced with the connective tissue which, in turn, is poorly distensible and does not properly conduct electric impulses necessary for adequate cardiac contraction. Apparently this has been confirmed by autopsies of athletes who suddenly died during physical activity.
That is why it is important to first build the base – dilate the heart – and only then increase intensity. Working at heart rates close to maximal must be introduced gradually and done infrequently, especially at the early stages of training."
~Selouyanov
Full article: http://rugbystrengthcoach.com/steady-state-cardio-rugby-co…/
There are studies claiming that weight training is good for the cardiovascular system, but it's due to the peripheral adaptations, but how about the central adaptations of the heart? Is that left ventricle dilating adaptation from continous training even desirable for regular folks? I was always curious why training doesn't lower my resting hr - it's usually somewhere around 70 bpm - same as my relatives who never workout. There are also coaches like Joel Jamieson who preach "cardiac output" workouts, keeping the hr around 130-150 for 20+ minutes to decrease the rhr. I was wondering if this pursuit is even worthwile.