Recent studies conducted at Harvard and Columbia Universities  have confirmed what many had hoped to be true, you need to rest and recover when you train hard. Short exercise intervals of about one minute each with rest to recovery in between seems to be more beneficial than once thought because this  training affects the active and passive phases of exercise and provides many of the positive effects of longer endurance aerobic workouts. This is actually wonderful news for anyone who does not have the time in their busy life to workout for hours a day.

How Important is Heart Rate Variability in Determining the Health of Your Heart?
Cardiovascular exercise is critical to our health and wellness not only for weight loss and preventing obesity but also to prevent diseases associated with leading a sedentary lifestyle. In addition, moderate  intensity interval training sessions which get our heart rates up quickly, affect our heart rate variability which is the flexibility your heart shows between beats.  A healthy heart will show high level of flexibility within beats, in other words, it is not a constant or monotonous pattern.  A 1994 study, The Framingham Heart Study, found that the only common variable associated with all healthy people was that they had a certain degree of HRV or heart rate variability.  Their hearts did not follow a distinct and predictable pattern.  In other words, heart rate variability is the common denominator in healthy hearts!

Benefits of Interval Training on Heart Rate Variability
Think of a plyometric exercise like a power jumping jack as a high intensity aerobic activity. Perform these jacks for 60 seconds and then recover fully. That is an example of working your activity and recovery phases of exercise and are regarded as an excellent way to improve your level of fitness.  

Beneficial effects of this type of training can be seen in:

Heart Rate Variability
Strength and Tone
Cardiovascular Fitness
Immune System Function
Fat Loss
Mood
Blood Pressure

Irving Dardik, MD, says "Heart rate variability is the key measurement of the body's rhythms. The body's rhythms control the body's chemistry, which determines one's degree of overall health."

You now have the necessary data to want to start a more efficient exercise program but does that mean you know how?  Not necessarily.  How do you know how hard to push in your moderate to high intensity bouts and how do you calculate your recovered heart rate so you start your next set?  

There are devices on the market today called heart rate monitors/ training computers and the latest technologies actually allow you to exercise in your target zones and recover to the level you need based on your individualized resting heart rate and other personal data. Polar has created a training computer, the FT80 which actually tells you on the display to start your next set. Not impressed? It also alerts you that you did not workout hard enough which means increase your intensity or the amount of weight you are using for your strength training.  Still not impressed?  The FT80 measures your progress and allows you to upload your data onto your personalized web page so that you can graphically see what your body is doing as you get stronger and healthier.  

No excuses, you don't need an hour of cardiovascular training to give your heart the most important health benefit, HRV, all you need is the will to push yourself and rest!