Resting HeartRate – Overall Fitness Indicator?

Resting HeartRate – Overall Fitness Indicator?

I’ve been doing some research lately on resting heart rates and how that relates to overall fitness.  What I’ve found is that just like most things out there, the camp is divided.  Some believe that it is a very good, maybe even the best indicator of overall fitness.  Some believe that while it is useful, [...]

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When is it time to get a bigger kettlebell?

When is it time to get a bigger kettlebell?

This is a question that is often asked on the Dragon Door forums. Lots of people will weigh in with their suggestions, mainly revolving around already being able to hit certain goals with the KBs already in one’s possession. The impetus for moving to a bigger kettlebell is to give the muscles more work to [...]

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Resting HeartRate – Overall Fitness Indicator?

Posted by Clif in Articles, Clif
Comments Off 16 Sep 2009

I’ve been doing some research lately on resting heart rates and how that relates to overall fitness.  What I’ve found is that just like most things out there, the camp is divided.  Some believe that it is a very good, maybe even the best indicator of overall fitness.  Some believe that while it is useful, it does not present the entire story.
 
I can see both sides and actually agree (albeit slightly) with the second statement. 
 
My current resting HeartRate is about 55-57.  That puts me at the excellent group (yes I’m 35…), but I’m not where I want to be in terms of Strength or overall Conditioning (haven’t completed the ROP yet).  I’m just in better shape that most people.  It is a great measure of where I am in my training, and I’ve been checking it every morning for about a month now.  What I’ve found is that on days where I worked out harder or didn’t get enough rest, my HR was higher than on days I didn’t work out as hard or got a good nights sleep.
 
A low resting HR would be common for a marathoner or professional cyclist, Lance Armstrong is rumored to be around 32-34.  But what about a KB’er?  I know mine has decreased this summer as I’ve concentrated on snatches and presses, and expect it to come down to low 50′s by the completion of ROP, but it still doesn’t answer my first statement.  Is this the only indicator?
 
I believe that resting HR, functional strength (kettlebells), mobility (Z-Health) and a 10K run time would be a measure of overall fitness.
 
Below is the current chart on Resting Heartrates to compare.
 
MEN
AGE 18 -25 26 -35 36 -45 46 – 55 56 -65 65+
ATHLETE 49-55 49-54 50-56 50-57 51-56 50-55
EXCEL’T 56-61 55-61 57-62 58-63 57-61 56-61
GOOD 62-65 62-65 63-66 64-67 62-67 62-65
ABOVE AV 66-69 66-70 67-70 68-71 68-71 66-69
AVERAGE 70-73 71-74 71-75 72-76 72-75 70-73
BELOW AVG 74-81 75-81 76-82 77-83 76-81 74-79
POOR 82+ 82+ 83+ 84+ 82+ 80+
WOMEN
AGE 18 -25 26 -35 36 -45 46 – 55 56 -65 65+
ATHLETE 54-60 54-59 54-59 54-60 54-59 54-59
EXCEL’T 61-65 60-64 60-64 61-65 60-64 60-64
GOOD 66-69 65-68 65-69 66-69 65-68 65-68
ABOVE AVG 70-73 69-72 70-73 70-73 69-73 69-72
AVERAGE 74-78 73-76 74-78 74-77 74-77 73-76
BELOW AVG 79-84 77-82 79-84 78-83 78-83 77-84
POOR 85+ 83+ 85+ 84+ 84+ 84+

When is it time to get a bigger kettlebell?

Posted by Matt in Articles, Product Reviews
Comments Off 12 Aug 2009

This is a question that is often asked on the Dragon Door forums. Lots of people will weigh in with their suggestions, mainly revolving around already being able to hit certain goals with the KBs already in one’s possession.

The impetus for moving to a bigger kettlebell is to give the muscles more work to do. It is common knowledge that moving heavier weights builds bigger muscles, faster.

With all that in mind, both Clif and I have considered moving up to a 32kg kettlebell. In Old Russian Measurement, that’s Two Poods of serious iron, my friends. We think that will help us prepare for the test in December where we will need to press 2.5 poods, which is approximately 89lbs. There is an 88lb kb (The Bulldog) that we would need to press once with each arms to call ourselves “men among men.” (Hmm. That turns out to be awkward construction when used in the plural.)

What it looks like might happen is that Clif will go with an Ader kb, which he can get with free shipping for a limited time only. I am thinking of staying with The Party and getting a Dragon Door kettlebell. I’m just too scared to try new things, that’s all. I know what I’m going to get with DD.

We’ll let you know what happens.

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