#3
The third week of our senior project went really well. I will say that the fatigue is starting to get to me and I have been looking forward to this rest day all week. Like last week, the majority of my workouts were done individually as I am able to focus much more and it is more convenient for me.
Overall, I’ve felt great all week. I think it has to do with my improved diet and making sure that I’m getting all the nutrients I need to handle the intense workouts. My sleep has consistently been good and I’ve made sure to up the magnesium intake as I stated last week. I also think the nice weather is something to pay attention to when considering nutrition and wellness. With UV levels at around 6 to 7 in the last couple of days, my vitamin D intake has also increased and in general, I think the sun makes everybody feel better. I will say that I did a good job making sure that I’m constantly hydrating and replenishing my electrolytes because of this increase in sun exposure. Many people seem to forget that the body needs 4,700 mg of potassium and an overall 4:1 potassium to sodium ratio. My favorite way to get all the potassium I need is by drinking coconut water (has four times the potassium as a banana). As for sodium, most people already intake more than enough.
Something that I haven’t really touched on in these blog posts is organ health. Although aerobic exercise is a chore for me, it is vital for a healthy heart. I try to implement High-Intensity Interval Training at least 2-3 times a week as it is more time-efficient and gives a slight increase in growth hormone. I also play tennis 4 times a week recreationally which is also a pretty intense workout for your heart. With the help of my Apple watch, I am able to check my heart rate at all times of the day. One of my favorite metrics to measure my cardiovascular endurance is resting heart rate. The average adult has a resting heart rate around 60-100 bpm while athletes tend to be in the 40-50s range. At the start of this project, my resting heart rate was around 65-60 bpm. With all the exercise I have been doing in the last 3 weeks, my resting heart rate is currently in the 50-55 bpm range which is great. One thing I wish I could do is to get my blood work done so I could get a stronger analysis of my heart health along with the health of the rest of my organs. As a safety measure, I make sure to supplement with a daily multivitamin and Omega 3 fatty acids (anti-inflammatory), just in case I don’t eat enough fish and vegetables during the week.
To wrap things up, I think that I am getting much better at making sure that I hit my caloric and nutritional goals every day. It seems like the three of us are also improving in the kitchen and our bodies are able to recover much quicker from workout to workout. Hopefully, we can have a great final week and continue to reach our goals.
The improvement in your resting heart rate is really impressive! Kudos for all the hard work.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you updating us on your quantitative data. As you transition into planning for your final presentation, you might start thinking about how you want to present this data. Google sheets has all sorts of tools that let you translate data into helpful charts and graphs, so you might want to start playing around with those now to get a sense for your options.
Now, for the really important question: given your interest in maintaining good nutrition, how on earth did hot dogs make it into your list of acceptable foods? =)
It's so interesting how having access to immediate data (on your wrist) for heart rate and respiration really lets us know how work outs affect us in the short term. It's good that you are looking so closely at your nutrition and noticing the affects it has on your recovery from workouts. Although I really can't do the coconut water - I'll stick with bananas!
ReplyDeleteWhat other activities are you doing during your workouts? I've read this post about tennis & HI Intervals - what else are you doing? We miss seeing you in C&C - can't wait to see your final presentation.