You Only Get So Many Heart Beats Per Life

Health magazine reported this week that a recent study conducted by the Journal The Lancet shows that "Obesity shaves two to four years off the average lifespan, while being very obese can shorten your lifespan by 8 to 10 years..." on par with life expectancy reductions of a heavy smoker.

Wow! Why's that?

Well, not too surprisingly, it's because your heart has to do the work of a lifetime in a shorter period of time when you're overweight.

You see, we all inherit a finite number of heart beats per life from our parents. We can either use them conservatively, or use them quickly. And the quickest way to use them is to carry a lot of extra weight, requiring your heart to work hard to support all that extra tissue ... effectively using up your quota early!

Here's some quick math for proof:

Suppose your resting heart rate is 70 beats per minute (bpM). At 70 bpM your heart beats (70x60x24x365=) 36,792,000 beats per year (bpY). But suppose instead, we reduce your resting heart rate just two (2) bpM to 68. This, in turn reduces your bpY to (68x60x24x365=) 31,536,000 bpY.

That's a difference of 5,256,000 beats per year! Uh huh: Over 5 MILLION BEATS PER YEAR!

Now, if you really want to track to the nat's ass, go ahead and take out the three (3) 40 minute cardio exercise events per week (165x40x3x52=) 1,029,600 bpY it will take to get and keep you fit enough to maintain this bpM condition.

Over a one year period, you've still reduced the total number of times your heart beats by (5.36 bpY - 1.03 bpY = ) over 4 Million!!! Wow!

At 68 bpM (instead of 70), you're now banking almost 2 months of heart beats each year ... or an additional 4 years of heart beats over the the next 24. And if you started at 72 (which would be low for an obese person), that's 8 years!

So, while I regularly rant on the need for consistent resistance training to look and feel terrific, a complete fitness program also includes 60 to 120+ minutes of cardio work each week.

Because reducing your resting heart rate, my friends, is what it's all about. A lower resting heart rate reduces blood pressure, and can extend the life of your heart by years ... apparently up to 10!

Want more info about Reducing your resting heart rate and Living Stronger and Longer?

1. Check out my Heart Rate Zone Training to Look and Feel Fantastic Report on our website; or
2. Enroll in our new Targeted Heart Rate Training Program (email me for details)
3. Attend our April 25th Getting to Know Your Heart Seminar, Downtown Minneapolis