The human body is an incredible machine. I’m increasingly blown away by how accurately you can measure and influence its performance.
I started my zone 2 training session today with a 35 min run. My heart rate displays on my phone in real time as I run – which I usually keep around 135-140 beats per minute. I can achieve this with a slow run.
This morning my heart rate was too easily drifting towards the high 140’s. It’s no coincidence that when I checked my Whoop [1] stats this morning, my RHR (resting heart rate) was higher than usual. I also noticed that my HRV (heart rate variability) was lower than usual.
All this points towards my body not operating optimally. Again, it’s no coincidence that I’ve had poor sleep and been more stressed than usual over the last week or so. These insights will help me make some adjustments over the next week or so. I plan to go to bed earlier and dial down the volume and intensity of my workouts a touch. This will get things back on track.
Eighteen months ago, my blood pressure was coming in at 135 over 75. That’s considered high – normal. I want to be associated with neither. I’ve always accepted this because high blood pressure runs in my family.
I’ve made a lot of lifestyle improvements over the last 18 months. My last two blood pressure readings (I take it monthly) were 123 over 65, and 119 over 66. That’s a huge improvement – gold standard territory.
Here’s another good example. I recently had a DEXA Scan, a body composition test that gives an accurate measurement of body fat, lean mass and bone. I learned I was in the top 10% for my body fat and visceral fat, top 20% for bone density, and top 50% for lean muscle. I don’t have a previous scan to compare to, but I can guarantee the numbers would be nowhere near as good 18 months ago.
It’s incredible that I can manipulate my body composition so effectively. I know exactly how to lose body fat or gain lean muscle. It’s simply a measure of input (food) and output (activity) – both of which I track meticulously. The only factor is how consistent I am with the plan. When I retest with another DEXA scan in 12 months time, I will know exactly what I managed to achieve.
These examples show you how easy and inexpensive it is to measure and improve your health. Health wearables will give you a lot of information about your sleep, activity and how your body is doing. Blood pressure monitors are easy to use and inexpensive. A Dexa Scan tells you so much, and is very affordable at £150. You can even take things to the next level and measure your metabolic health with a private blood test (I use Forth).
You might ask, isn’t this over the top? No one did this 20 years ago. Why do we need to do it now?
You might feel normal, but it doesn’t mean you’re in good health (or that how you feel is actually normal). For example, only 12% of Americans are Metabolically Healthy. [2].
It took for me to make a number of lifestyle improvements to realise what I thought was feeling normal, was actually feeling lousy. Only when I became more active, ate less processed foods and kept better habits, did I start to feel like a completely different person.
So, the question is – will you take charge of your health and well-being?
By the way, you don’t need to go as far down the rabbit hole as I have. You can start by grabbing a half decent health wearable and then see what happens when you start to focus on being consistent with any of these eight habits. I think you’ll be surprised by how quickly you can make improvements. And once you do, it then becomes the start of a long, and valuable journey – one where you can realistically add a decade to your life. [3]
Notes:
[1] I love my Whoop, you can use this link for a free Whoop 4.0 band and first month
[2] Only 12% of Americans are Metabolically Healthy (metabolic health was defined as having ideal levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference, without using medications. These factors directly relate to a person’s risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke)
[3] #276 ‒ Special episode: Peter answers questions on longevity, supplements, protein, fasting, apoB, statins, and more (Peter Attia makes the claim that if you take all of the steps in his book ‘Longevity’, you could seriously add a decade to life)
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