También disponible en españolThe heart of an average adult beats about 70 times per minute. Its work ethic is even more impressive when we consider how much this organ actually does without rest or recovery: by the time you reach 72 years of age, your heart would have beaten over 2.6 billion times!! The heart is without a doubt one of the most important organs in the body, and it plays a vital role in the practice of just about any sport. It is no coincidence that instrument manufacturers have flooded the market with a myriad of HRMs, or heart rate monitors, to help athletes reach optimal fitness.
The primary purpose of an HRM is to ensure you train at the right intensity level. Using an HRM entails that you obtain your maximum HR, and that you monitor your “target zones” or the percentage of the maximum HR you can sustain for a certain period. Monitoring your target zones ensures you do not: (1) train too hard, or you will reach exhaustion faster; or (2) train too light and fail to push your heart to its potential. For instance, if you want to reach a good level of fitness, you need to spend the longest portion of your workout at about the 60% to 80% range of your maximum heart rate.*
Interestingly enough, your HR reveals your physical condition; as your fitness level improves, you will able to maintain a higher HR longer, which also means a lower HR when your body is not active (aka “resting heart rate”). Through the use of an HRM, your heart is in fact leading you to an optimal level of fitness.
Do you remember the last time you ran that trail, and you continued even when your heart was screaming “Slow down! Six miles at this pace is enough!” (or something along those lines)? You finished the route more fatigued that you anticipated, perhaps overworking other muscles. By the same token, we can overtrain or undertrain in our spiritual fitness plan by ignoring our hearts, by carrying out the opposite action of what it tells us. Haven't you reflected back on a rather poor life decision only to conclude that you should have listened to your heart when you made it? No wonder the Bible declares in Proverbs 4: 20-23:
My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
The heart is much more than a pulsating muscle that pumps blood; it is a guide to life’s “work out” of thoughts and emotions. Spiritual fitness improves greatly when we place the right dose of intensity into our actions, when we intensify our exercising on the word of God, and when we focus on our loved ones, our careers, our sport of choice or other important elements of our lives. Place too much passion for too long outside of those ‘target zones’, and you will end up exhausting in important facets of life. Not enough enthusiasm, though, and you will fall short of living life with the abundance of purpose and love that it is supposed to contain.
Even when faced with disappointments or losses, while there is no guarantee heartache will not occur, if you are listening to your heart and you have exercised spiritually in the word, you will be better prepared to withstand the troubles and sorrows that life's workout may bring. Proverbs 3: 5-6 reminds us:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
So, what has your heart been telling you lately?
*(For an explanation of how target zones work, visit Polar Heart Rate Monitors)
Jairo Ospina
jospina@race-of-faith.com
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