By Mark Yanai

My Morning Routine: Listening to My Heart

What’s HRV and why should I care?

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I’ve written about my morning routine in previous blogs and why it’s important to my wellbeing and me. Meditation and breathing exercises are key components of that routine and so is a movement practice that sets the tone of my day. But how do I know that this routine is effective? I did quite a bit of research to find some way to quantify my day-to-day improvement since I knew that using just my “gut feeling” wasn’t enough. Having a scientific background led me to look at measuring my heart rate, blood pressure and sleep cycles and I concluded that the best measurement of effectiveness was to look at Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

I first heard of HRV while listening to Ben Greenfield’s fitness podcast. He spoke about it often and wrote about it in his book, Beyond Training. He even has his own app to use for an iPhone. Unfortunately, I’m more of a Android guy and needed to look elsewhere. After an extensive search and multiple trials, I found one that I’ve used for the past year: Elite HRV.

So what is HRV? According to Elite HRV’s website, “Basic Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is the measured changes of the time intervals between successive heart beats. Unlike Heart Rate (HR) that averages the number of heart beats per minute, HRV looks much closer at the small fluctuations of the heart that occur in response to internal and external events. “

For those of you with the propeller hats, there’s a more scientific explanation. This one is from Polar.com:

Heart rate varies with every heartbeat. Heart rate variability (HRV) is the variation of beat to beat intervals, also known as R-R intervals. Electrocardiogram (ECG) is the electric signal originating from heart. The most distinct feature of the ECG is the QRS complex, which consists of the Q, R and S waves and originates from the electrical activation of the heart ventricles. Figure 1 illustrates the variation of time between R-R intervals.

HRV indicates the fluctuations of heart rate around an average heart rate. An average heart rate of 60 beats per minute (bpm) does not mean that the interval between successive heartbeats would be exactly 1.0 sec., instead they may fluctuate/vary from 0.5 sec up to 2.0 sec.

HRV is affected by aerobic fitness. HRV of a well-conditioned heart is generally large at rest. Other factors that affect HRV are age, genetics, body position, time of day, and health status. During exercise, HRV decreases as heart rate and exercise intensity increase. HRV also decreases during periods of mental stress. HRV is regulated by the autonomic nervous system. Parasympathetic activity decreases heart rate and increases HRV, whereas sympathetic activity increases heart rate and decreases HRV.

If you didn’t quite comprehend what was stated above, don’t worry. The takeaway is that HRV measures the balance of your nervous system. It lets you know if you’re more in the “fight or flight” or “rest and relaxation” mode. By measuring my HRV daily, I’m able to know if my morning routine, physical training, and sleep are being optimized.

Without fail, my readings have given me instant feedback about how my body is reacting. After hard training days, my HRV is usually lower and it gives me an idea about how I’m going to attack the day. It also gives me excellent feedback on when I’m over-reaching or over-training. It was interesting that after last month’s Spartan Race, my morning readings reflected the effects on my HRV:

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My HRV the morning of the race:

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My HRV the following morning:

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Due to the information and knowledge that I’ve gained by measuring HRV, I decided to use it as a tool for treating patients. For our Work Hardening patients, we’ve collected six months of measurements to track the effectiveness of the program as well as looking for trends in patients. It’s been interesting to note that patients who’ve come in with low readings often struggle with the program and exhibit weak cardiovascular systems. I believe monitoring HRV during our patient exercise routines will become an integral part of their therapy treatment program and in the future, I hope to be involved with a medical model that is specific to patients in this capacity.

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If you are interested in monitoring your HRV, you’ll need a heart rate monitor. I’ve tried several and so far we’ve had the best results with Polar’s H7. Also, there are several apps that are compatible with the Polar H7 (and other bluetooth HR monitors) and can be easily found on the internet. We use the Elite HRV app (compatible with Google Play and App Store devices) and you can download it here.  Start by taking a reading as soon as you wake up and then several more during your exercise routine. If you have any questions regarding this topic, feel free to email me or stop by our WORC site.

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Mark's Blog
By Mark Yanai

My Morning Cup

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I’ve been fortunate to work for F&L for ten years and during this time, I’ve had many patients return for physical therapy. Some have commented that I’ve lost a lot of weight since they last saw me. They all ask me the same question, “What did you do?”

Most of my life I’ve been in decent shape. I’ve always been active and practiced mostly what I’ve preached by having a movement practice that involved many of the things that I’ve learned while being a therapist for 15 years. I’ve gone through different phases of exercises and nutrition as the research has evolved. I’ve weighed as much as 170 lbs and as low as 135 lbs during that time period.

Last year, like most people, I made a New Year’s resolution to be in the best shape of my life since I would be turning 50 years old. I came up with a plan to work out, eat right, and have the right attitude. Like most resolutions, it went out the door after a week. But not for the usual reasons of unreasonable goals or loss of momentum and motivation. Turns out that it all changed with a cup of coffee.

The day after New Year’s 2014, my nephew Ramsey, introduced me to a cup of Bulletproof Coffee. It contained a fresh brewed cup of coffee blended with coconut oil and  grass-fed butter. It was smooth, delicious and the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. It really sparked my interest that something so contradictory, (butter in my coffee?!?) could be so satisfying. It led me to do some Google-ing so that I could make myself a cup the next day.

Bulletproof Coffee was created and branded by Dave Asprey, a self described “biohacker“.  Asprey came up with coffee idea after having a cup of tea that contained yak butter while hiking in the mountains of Tibet. He has gone on to create a brand that not only includes coffee, but other supplementations and technological tools to “biohack” oneself. He also created the Bulletproof Exec, which features a blog and podcast that is both informative and inspirational. His interviews are with other biohackers that have a specialty in exercise, nutrition, lifestyle, or performance.

Dave AspreyBP Diet Book

I’ve listened to every podcast that he has put out and it has led to significant changes in my life style. By being introduced to other people interested in improving human performance, such as Ben Greenfield, Jimmy Moore, Kelly Starrett, Hal Elrod and Ari Meisel, I’ve been able to attain my goal of being in the best shape that I’ve been in for years. My perception of “best shape” has changed as well. While  improving my physical presence was important, it was clear that focusing specifically on my diet, personal development and gratitude would make the most positive changes to my health. And with those positives changing first, my body changed as well. Most of my weight loss was body fat and i had increased energy, mental focus and a greater awareness to change.

There are many detractors of Bulletproof Coffee and of the biohacking community. There is the perception that many of the ideals behind it are not based on medical research and old views of what traditional medicine, nutrition and exercise should be. Yet our society continues to see increases in heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Challenging that traditional thinking has affected everything that I’ve done since drinking that cup of coffee and it’s led to a new life of fulfillment and gratitude. Starting my day with a cup of Bulletproof Coffee is part of my morning routine that I doubt will change for a while.

Over the next few blogs, I plan to talk about the changes i’ve made and how I think it can help others. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

References:

Biohacking. (2015, February 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:50, March 9, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biohacking&oldid=646035829

Mark's Blog
By Mark Yanai

Book Review: Cholesterol Clarity and Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore

BOYS

My First Book Review!

Today I received my blood test results and am ecstatic about my cholesterol numbers. About six months ago, i developed acute inflammation of my liver. My doctor took a lipid panel to find out what was going on and the results were not good. My overall cholesterol was 261 mg/dl, LDL 188 mg/dl, and HDL 28 mg/dl. Those numbers looked really bad when calculated and my cholesterol to HDL ratio was 9.3. The average risk for heart disease for males was listed at 5.0, so with my family history of both parents having heart disease, my doctor suggested medication to control my high cholesterol.

At the time, I had already been on the Bulletproof Diet and was having great results. I had dropped 20 lbs from the beginning of the year and reduced my body fat significantly. I felt great and had lots of energy so I knew that the bad numbers had something to do with the liver inflammation. But I didn’t like that my HDL, or what’s known as the “good” cholesterol was below the standard range and I needed to address that immediately. My motivation came from the fact that I needed to break my family history for my three sons.

When deciding what my next step was going be, I remembered listening to an interview on the Bulletproof Podcast with Dave Asprey featuring Jimmy Moore. Moore has a popular podcast, The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show and is also the author of two books Cholesterol Clarity and Keto Clarity. I decided to read his books in hopes of gaining some understanding and knowledge about cholesterol and then apply what i learned into my own diet and lifestyle.

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Both books are excellent reads. They’re full of citations from medical experts and studies so that you know the information provided is credible. Cholesterol Clarity explained the “why”, helping me to understand the invaluable lessons of cholesterol numbers, what I should be eating, and why I should avoid taking statin drugs. Reading Keto Clarity allowed me to execute the “how” in tweaking my diet. Moore does a great job in making a controversial topic clear for both sides of the argument. His life story is incredible and inspiring.

Armed with his valuable information, along with other experts like Ben Greenfield, Dave Asprey, and JJ Virgin, I made the necessary changes to address my “bad” cholesterol numbers. Below are the results of my latest blood tests.

Component Standard Range Your Valuei
CHOL <200 mg/dl 324
TRIGLYCERIDE <200 mg/dl 96
HDL >34 mg/dl 88
CHOL/HDL  Average Risk of Heart Disease
Females: 4.4 Males: 5.0		 3.7
VLDL, CALC 0 – 40 mg/dl 19
LDL, CALCULATED 10 – 129 mg/dl 217
<100 mg/dl for diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Some people would look at my numbers and gasp at how high my CHOL (cholesterol) is. But I learned that that number is not as important as my HDL and Triglyceride numbers. The books helped me look at the numbers and understand that I’m doing great. Another test, CRP (C-Reactive Protein) revealed that I have very good heart health.

Component Standard Range Your Value
CRP <0.8 mg/dl 0.1

You’ll learn all these things and more in the books. I highly suggest that everyone read them, especially if you or someone in your family has a history of heart disease. I share this information because I’m grateful for what Moore’s books have done for me. I am constantly asked what type of diet should patients be on while going through physical therapy. Many of my recommendations are based on the books I’ve read and I find myself referencing both of these books majority of the time.

Look for me to address this topic in future blogs.

Resources
Bulletproof Diet
Jimmy Moore
The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show
Dave Asprey
Bulletproof Podcast
Cholesterol Clarity
Keto Clarity
Ben Greenfield
JJ Virgin

Mark's Blog