Bit of exercise

 With the season closing on us fast and no nets again this year, exercise has been few and far between other than stuff that I can do indoors. I'm not one for running around the streets or muddy woods as it bores me to tears, but over the Easter break I've been doing some serious gardening and that's helped out a bit as in the last couple of days I've been for a walk and round my circuit in the local woods and bowled 60 balls in a session yesterday and both went okay. In fact the walk/run around the circuit has gone pretty well with recovery rate data to suggest I'm doing quite well.

The wood walk/run takes about 19 mins and I use and interval timer that bleeps every 2 mins. I walk as fast as I physically can and on the bleeps I run for about 20 seconds. Dependent on fitness levels the 20 second run bit is done as fast as I can physically do it and this is supposed to replicate cricket scenarios - running between wickets and fielding where, you're not continuously running, but running sporadically. 

The first of these run/walks yielded a recovery rate of 26 two days ago and today with some bowling done yesterday the recovery rate improved to 36. So over the next couple of weeks I'm going to see if I can get it up to the 59 + region as per the chart below.

https://www.sundried.com/blogs/training/heart-rate-recovery-and-fitness-levels

Heart Rate Recovery

How fast your heart rate can return from high intensity near max bpm to resting rate is known as your heart rate recovery.  HR Recovery is measured after performing strenuous exercise for a given period of time and then measuring how far your heart rate drops two minutes after stopping that exercise. For example, sprinting on a treadmill as fast as you can for around 2 minutes. Follow this with a heart rate reading and then rest for 2 complete minutes and take your heart rate again. To calculate your heart rate recovery rate you now subtract the two numbers.

Findings: (These recovery results were taken from Enhanced Medical Care).

• Less than 22: Your biological age is slightly older than your calendar age.
• 22-52: Your biological age is about the same as your calendar age.
• 53-58: Your biological age is slightly younger than your calendar age.
• 59-65: Your biological age is moderately younger than your calendar age.
• 66 or more: Your biological age is a lot younger than your calendar age.

The bottom line? The faster your heart rate returns to normal, the higher your level of fitness.

Medical research also supports this analysis of heart rate recovery. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, people whose heart rate recovery times are longer are at a higher risk of death than people with shorter recovery times, regardless of physical condition or other risk factors. Another study by the National Emergency Medicine Association found measuring heart rate recovery rates is one way to tell whether an exercise program is effective.