Increasing heart volume training. Heart training and endurance development (1 photo)

Friends, hello everyone. Today we have a very important topic, namely training the heart and developing endurance, for the most part we will talk about the heart, because it is the most important muscle in our body. Our precious health depends on fitness and heart size.

The human heart is very strong and very resilient. For it constantly drives blood through the whole body, it constantly, without any rest, contracts and contracts. Do you know why I named the topic: heart training and endurance development? This is especially for some figures, they say, who are not interested in training the heart, give them a bitsuha. Oh, these beachgoers :). However, friends, you are very mistaken, because: a trained heart increases the functionality and endurance of the body as a whole.

The heart constantly pumps blood through the vessels of our body. In fact, this system is the cardiovascular system of the human body, whose task is to supply all organs of our body required quantity oxygen and other nutrients that are so important for life.

Why is the heart so important for bodybuilders?

The fact is that, the larger the body, the more blood it needs. And the more blood the heart needs, the larger the heart must be, or the more often it must contract. In bodybuilding, I think the situation is clear to everyone, we are constantly gaining muscle mass, therefore, every kilogram of muscle gained (for example, 10 kg gained will require about 3 liters of additional oxygen per minute). In this case, if the body weight has increased and the heart is not trained, then it will not have time to satisfy all organs with a sufficient amount of oxygen and other nutrients. In terms of training, you will have to reduce the intensity of the workout, because you quickly begin to get out of breath.

How to deal with this bullshit?

It is necessary to increase the internal volume of the heart and the blood that is distilled at a time. Please note that I said increase the volume of the heart , not INCREASE HEART SIZE. These are different things that inexperienced people sometimes perceive as one and the same. This is not true.

Enlarged heart can be BAD or GOOD:

1. If the increase in volume occurs due to stretching of the walls of the heart muscle (so-called L-hypertrophy) - then this is very good!!! This is what we need, because it allows us to pump more blood at a time.
2. But if the heart grows due to thickening of the walls of the heart muscle (this is called D - hypertrophy) - then this is bad!

Okay, how then to increase the internal volume of the heart?

You need to perform cardio workouts (for example, walking or running) at an average heart rate (110-140 beats per minute). The main thing is that the pulse is 110-140 beats per minute!

Why walk or run?

When a person starts to run or train with iron or walk quickly (does cardio), then his pulse begins to increase in order to supply all the organs of our body. Those. at rest, a person’s pulse is about 70 beats per minute, when fast walking or running (cardio) begins, the pulse begins to jump (this is what we need to train the heart) and We need to reach an average heart rate, which is about 110-140 beats per minute. When you reach this heart rate, there is no need to change the intensity, just continue the workout. Those. you can’t increase the intensity (if you increase it), the heart rate will jump even more (up to 180-190 beats per minute) this is not good in terms of training the heart!

CONCLUSION: if your goal is heart training, you need to raise your heart rate to 110-140 beats per minute (BUT NOT MORE) and maintain such a heart rate for a long time (from 15 to 60 minutes, it depends on your current time, and your time that specifically dedicated to heart training). For example, during the entire time I trained my heart (the last time was in the summer), I trained it for only 15 minutes, 3 times a week. And for some it is important to do it faster (i.e. speed up this process), he trains it for 60 minutes, 3 times a week. I think the point is clear.

How to control your pulse?

The best thing, of course, is to buy a heart rate monitor! This is such a fashionable piece of garbage that is hung with an elastic belt under the chest and the display is attached to the wrist, looking like an ordinary watch on the wrist (the pulse will be shown there). It costs about 50-100 bucks. For the majors, this is it.

Another way is manual. For ordinary guys :) You will have to right hand, attach your middle finger (only the middle, thumb and index finger will not work because they themselves have a strong pulsation, this can confuse you) and so take your middle finger and place it on your left wrist (with inside) or in the area of ​​the carotid artery (on the neck) and now you need to feel the pulse. After you have found your pulse, you need to count the number of beats in 6 seconds. Let's say you get 8 hits in 6 seconds, your actions are as follows: multiply the result by 10. That is our result is 8 beats, therefore 8x10 = 80 beats per minute.

Alternative to running or walking

By the way, friends. You don't have to run or walk fast to achieve these goals (110-140 beats per minute). It doesn’t matter to the heart what the load is (whether it’s running, whether it’s training with iron or boxing, swimming, jumping rope or anything else), it’s important to give it the required pulse (110-140 beats per minute). Only in this case, everything will be ok.

I hope you found it interesting to see this writing; I tried to be concise in my writing, until we meet again.

Best regards, administrator.

Take care of your heart, what to do for this until it makes itself felt. Problems usually accumulate unnoticed, without appearing until a certain moment. Mortality due to heart disease is high on the list, with heart attacks and strokes becoming younger. That is why it is important to pay timely attention to the heart and blood vessels, to strengthen them, first of all, through physical activity. Training the heart and developing endurance, stress on blood vessels - all this important elements life of a healthy person.

Why is it necessary to stress the heart and blood vessels?

1. A decrease in the amount of C-reactive protein, which favors the appearance of inflammatory processes in the body.
2. Reducing blood pressure and triglycerides.
3. Raising good cholesterol levels.
4. Regulating blood sugar and insulin.
5. Weight loss.

Inactivity provokes problems with the heart and blood vessels. Cardiac training occurs when the strength of contractions increases and the heart rate increases during periods of stress. At the same time, the blood vessels are also trained.

Exercises to train your heart

In fact, the range of such exercises is quite wide. Heart training is carried out through cardio and aerobic exercise. You can go jogging, ride a bike for at least half an hour a day, jump rope, swim in the pool, do aerobics and step, dance, or just go for walks for 20 minutes in the evening, and give up the elevator. It is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

1. The optimal heart rate is one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty beats (not higher than 130 and lower than 110).
2. You cannot arrange training sessions lasting more than an hour (for weak blood vessels - 30 minutes).
3. Conduct these classes two or three times during the week.

Heart training by running is also beneficial. Don't turn it into a routine. Jogging three or four times a week for 20 minutes, monitor your condition. If you feel any discomfort, go for a walk.

Other factors

Stress, environment and nutrition gradually lead blood vessels to increased tone, which affects blood pressure. In such a situation, do not rely only on the help of pharmaceutical drugs; you need to restore full blood circulation, and above all in the capillaries. Training your heart and blood vessels will help you with this. Vibration exercises will be effective: in the morning in bed, raise your arms and legs, shake them for about two minutes. This is how the capillaries are vibrated and the lymph is redistributed, through which the body is cleansed of toxins and waste. It is advisable to repeat the exercise in the evening before bed.

1. Stop smoking.
2. Lose weight if you are overweight.
3. Follow your doctor's recommendations for taking medications.
4. Eat less salt.
5. Sleep 8-9 hours.
6. Eat a varied, wholesome, healthy diet.

“Panangin” nourishes and strengthens well, influencing metabolic processes in the heart, improving its functioning, preventing early aging of the myocardium, preventing the appearance of atherosclerosis, high pressure, arrhythmias. It is recommended for healthy people as a means to strengthen the heart muscle and for the prevention of vascular diseases. Panangin contains potassium and magnesium, which can also be obtained daily from food. Eat spinach, seaweed, lentils, oatmeal, sunflower seeds, wheat bran, flax oil, fish oil to cleanse blood vessels.

Heart training: pulse and its indicators

How to determine the intensity of training to achieve results? We determine the maximum heart rate, it is individual. You need to subtract the number of your age from 220. The result obtained is your maximum heart rate. The heart improves at 50-60% of the maximum heart rate. At the same time, the condition of the cardiovascular and respiratory system. A rise in heart rate to 80% of the maximum covers a larger number of blood vessels, pulmonary ventilation increases, and the size and strength of the heart increases. Training in the red line zone (80-90% of the maximum) is carried out with good physical fitness, under medical supervision.

We are developing further

Don't forget that training your heart and developing your endurance should receive equal attention. All stages of increasing the intensity of exercises must be completed gradually, slowly, so as not to harm the heart and blood vessels and develop their endurance. The key to success is regularity. If you go to the pool, ride a bike several times a week, then morning exercises must be done daily. In addition to the previously recommended shaking and turning, we recommend a number of exercises for the heart and blood vessels:

1. Walking on your toes, raising your knees high.
2. Hands above your head in a lock, legs apart. Deep
3. Hands to the sides, bring them together, slap your shoulders.
4. Rotation of the arms forward - up - back and vice versa.
5. Simulation of cycling in a lying position.
6. Cross-shaped movements of the legs at a height of 30-40 centimeters from the floor in a lying position.

We remember: it is not the number of exercises and the intensity of the load that is important, but the regularity. The load should increase gradually. After it, relaxation is necessary so that muscle fibers increased, and the heart muscle and blood vessels strengthened, their endurance increased.

Strengthening the heart and folk recipes

It is very important that the heart muscle receives the necessary vitamins; training alone cannot do this. Here are some tips from healers:

1. Mix chopped dried apricots, Walnut, figs, lemon with peel, raisins, honey. Take 250 grams of everything. Keep refrigerated. Take a tablespoon three times a day.
2. Take a tablespoon of hawthorn for one and a half glasses of water and boil for thirty minutes. Drink a quarter glass three times before meals.
3. Take 10 grams of lemon balm, St. John's wort, birch leaves, 30 grams of fireweed. Steam a tablespoon per 300 ml of water. Take a glass three times a day.
4. Place a tablespoon of buckwheat in 500 ml of water and leave for 2 hours. Drink one glass three times.
5. Pour five tablespoons of rosemary herb into 100 ml of vodka and leave for 7 days. Take twenty-five drops three times half an hour before meals.

The heart is the main muscle in the body. Failure in its operation can cause diseases that often end fatal. Lack of exercise for the heart leads to rapid fatigue, increased sweating and deterioration of the condition after any exercise. Excessive loads contribute to its rapid wear. In both cases, this leads to a heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, heart training is the first thing any fitness program should include.

Blood circulation throughout the body depends on the work of the heart. Blood delivers oxygen to all organs. Therefore, to ensure their vital functions, nature provides for the continuous functioning of the heart. The additional stress of fitness classes adds even more work to him.

If this is not done, the body will not receive enough oxygen. This will affect the effectiveness of training and well-being after it. At the same time, than more weight person, the more oxygen is required.

In order not to have to deny yourself fitness activities, you need to increase the volume of the heart vessels by correctly performing cardio exercises. If you ignore this fact, the walls of the heart and blood vessels will become denser, allowing less and less blood to pass through. This can lead to irreversible consequences such as stroke or heart attack.

How to properly train your heart to prevent cardiovascular diseases?

Death from cardiovascular disease is more common than from other diseases. Therefore, heart training is one of the measures to prevent them.

Exercises for the heart are no different from other cardio exercises. This could be running, brisk walking, jumping rope, aerobics, swimming, elliptical and cycling exercises. The main thing is that such activities are enjoyable and done correctly.

Heart training involves following the following rules:

• You need to monitor your heart rate.

The indicators should be average between the heart rate at rest and its maximum value during intense cardio exercise. This is approximately 120-130 beats per minute. But different people this indicator may change up or down. You can calculate the average by measuring your heart rate at rest and at the peak of the exercise. By adding and dividing by 2 these indicators, you can find out the desired heart rate value for training.

• The heart rate should be increased to an average value gradually.

When it reaches the desired level, you need to maintain it by maintaining the same pace of exercise.

• The duration of fitness training must be at least 60 minutes.

This will help develop endurance.

• Classes must be regular.

If not daily, then at least 3-4 times a week (every other day).

If you follow these rules, the heart will pump more blood, supplying the entire body with oxygen. In addition, at rest it will need fewer contractions, which will significantly extend its lifespan.

On average, the heart volume of a person leading a passive lifestyle is 600 ml. In many cases, this is not enough to saturate all organs with the required amount of oxygen.

Those who exercise regularly can double this figure after just 5-6 months of daily training. When exercising every other day during this period of time, the average value can increase by 1.5 times. A professional athletes with extensive experience they can increase the initial value by 2.5-3 times.

So there is a limit. But serious work remains to be done to achieve it.

How to control your heart rate while doing exercises?

You can control your pulse in two ways - manually and using a special device.

The manual method involves measuring the pulse by counting the number of contractions in the carotid artery. To do this, you need to place your finger on your neck or wrist in the place where the pulsation is felt. Calculate how many contractions occur in 10 seconds and multiply the resulting value by 6. This way, the heart rate per minute is calculated.

An easier way is to use a special device. It's called a heart rate monitor and can be purchased at a pharmacy or sports store.

There are many varieties of such devices. So, there are models for running, fitness, swimming, cycling, etc. They can also be attached in different places - on the wrist, ear, finger, under the chest. The cost of the device depends on the mounting method and additional functions (stopwatch, pedometer, alarm clock, etc.).

For those for whom the prevention of cardiovascular diseases through exercise is important, the second option will be more suitable. After all, you will have to train for a long time and a lot, and a heart rate monitor will greatly facilitate this task.

If you do not monitor your heart rate during training, then there is a risk of exceeding its average value. This risks the fact that instead of increasing the volume of the heart, its walls will increase. The reason for this is overstrain of the heart muscle, which works for wear and does not have time to relax. This process is irreversible and leads to the death of heart cells.

If dead cells have already formed in the heart, then only those that have not yet been touched by hypertrophy can be trained. Athletes who have not paid enough attention and effort to proper cardio exercises are at risk.

Therefore, heart training and prevention of heart diseases should be carried out in a timely manner. In addition, do not forget about proper nutrition, proper sleep and saturation of the body with vitamins and minerals. Compliance healthy image life will help to avoid problems with the cardiovascular system.

represents physical activity at a certain pulse and pace, allowing the heart to stretch in volume. There are two types of cardiac hypertrophy, one of which makes the heart more powerful, larger, increases its service life and, in general, is what we will strive for. The second type of cardiac hypertrophy leads to the formation of dead tissue, which ultimately leads to myocardial infarction. This bad type of hypertrophy occurs when an athlete trains incorrectly, both during his usual training and during the heart training itself. If you want to progress in your training, increase muscle mass, in general, work on muscle qualities, then you definitely need to train your heart. If you don’t do this, then you will have a “sports heart”!

The relevance of heart training for a bodybuilder is especially acute, since an untrained heart will be overloaded not only during the training itself, but also during Everyday life. The essence of bodybuilding is to increase muscle mass, which naturally forces the heart to pump blood more intensely. If the heart is trained and large, then it works at a normal pulse, but if the heart is untrained, then the pulse is constantly rapid. Everything is very simple! Big and strong heart in one contraction it produces more efficiency than the heart of an ordinary person. If you have muscles twice as large as the average man, and your heart is the same as his, then, of course, it will not cope!

During training, the situation looks even worse, and if you go out to play football, you will begin to choke within a few minutes of the game! Why? The cardiac cycle is the contraction and subsequent relaxation of the heart. In scientific terms, atrial and ventricular systole occurs, and then diastole occurs. When the heart's work becomes very intense, diastole is very short. The heart contracts, does not have time to relax, then immediately contracts again. At this moment, the pulse rises above 180, and growth factors, including lactic acid, begin to form in the heart. As a result of this work of the heart muscle for more than 1-2 minutes, heart cells begin to die. In the end, we get a “sports heart” - large in size, but mostly dead.

To finally convince you of the need to train your heart, you need to note that the heart is the only muscle that works constantly. All other muscles tense only when performing some special task, but the heart does not. More precisely, the task that the heart performs is to ensure the vital functions of our body. Therefore, if you want to live a long time and you are interested in maintaining health until old age, then you need to train your heart! In addition, as a nice addition, you will have the opportunity to increase the intensity of your workout gym, due to which the KPS will increase significantly.

Methods heart training

D-hypertrophy– this is a bad hypertrophy of the heart, which leads to the formation of “ sports heart" But this process occurs because lactic acid is formed in the heart, it “acidifies,” and this only happens if you exercise at a pulse rate of 180 for more than 90 seconds. However, if within 60 seconds you increase your pulse to 180, and then train at this pulse for another 30 seconds, after which you rest for a minute and a half, then do the approach again, rest again, and so on, then such a workout hearts will go It's good for you. The problem is that no one trains like that! Usually, especially in group sports, various sections, the coach gives everyone one task, and the athletes practice in the group different levels preparation, as a result, half of the guys’ faces turn red, their eyes bulge, and the coach yells at them so that they don’t whine. This is not how you should do it!

Training your heart in short bursts of 90 seconds with rest is correct option training, but the heart rate must be kept within 180 beats per second, and such training can be carried out no more than once a week. The duration of such a workout is no more than 40 minutes. It is necessary to start practicing according to this scheme gradually, without fanaticism. If you decide to become a champion in a week, then the consequence of such training will not be a strengthening of the heart, but an increase in the volume of the heart walls. In other words, the walls of the heart thicken due to dead tissue, which ultimately leads to myocardial infarction.

L-hypertrophy – this is a good hypertrophy of the heart, which occurs due to the stretching of the heart in volume, without the formation of dead tissue. In order for such hypertrophy to occur, the heart must be trained at 120-150 beats per minute. The duration of such training ranges from 2 hours to 12, but the latter is used only by cyclists to achieve special tasks. The optimal training time is 2 hours. It is recommended to train your heart every day, and if you do two workouts a day, the effect will be even better. You will most likely achieve sufficient cardiac hypertrophy within 5-7 months of training. You should not give up training the heart muscle, because, like any muscle, the heart can become untrained.

Exercises to train your heart

Race walking - This The best way exercise your heart as it makes it very easy to control your heart rate. Of course, it is advisable to purchase a heart rate monitor, which will allow you to more quickly respond to changes in its frequency. And, in general, a heart rate monitor is very convenient! However, we recommend starting without it because it is better bad workout than its absence! And a heart rate monitor is an excellent excuse for a year and a half why you can’t start training your heart. Start walking every day, in the morning, for 2 hours, measure your pulse with your middle finger and everything will work out for you! Actually, this training method allows you to achieve L-hypertrophy of the heart.

Basic exercises - these are all multi-joint exercises that you use in your weight training . It is best to use the bench press, barbell squats, deadlifts, military presses, wide-grip pull-ups, and dips. You should train with light weights that allow you to perform exercises in 40-50 repetitions, while you will train for a long time, the rest is short, so the working weight should be appropriate. If you chase two hares, you won’t catch either! This is exactly the principle that works here. Therefore, choose a weight with which you can perform 40-50 repetitions, rest for a minute, then do another repetition, and so on until the end of the workout. With these exercises you can train both in L-hypertrophy mode and in D-hypertrophy mode. The last option, of course, is very suitable for combining it with strength training, but it’s better to train with a trainer.

There are many other exercises for training the heart, since it is trained when the pulse starts to go off scale over 120, and the heart has to work in this mode for quite a long time. It doesn’t matter what exactly you do, even if you train your forearm, your pulse is important. Another thing is that walking, running and basic exercises make it easier to achieve such a pulse, but, in fact, only the pulse and the time that the heart remains in the desired pulse matter. For L-hypertrophy, the pulse is 120-150 beats per minute, the training duration is at least 2 hours, you can train twice a day. For D-hypertrophy, the pulse is over 180, but the duration of continuous stress on the heart does not exceed 90 seconds, and the workout lasts no longer than 40 minutes. You can train for D-hypertrophy of the heart no more than once a week.

Main muscle human body- the heart, without its work, there will simply be no meaning in all other muscles. But sometimes we often forget about such an important organ and wear it out. But cardiovascular diseases rank first in the world in mortality, confidently surpassing even cancer. While studying strength exercises, athletes often overlook heart training, but in vain...

The heart and its importance in bodybuilding

The heart is a muscle that is not at rest for a minute, because it has to contract constantly, supplying the entire body with oxygen, pumping blood throughout the body. The biggest mistake many novice athletes make is that they do not consider it necessary to train the heart separately or do it incorrectly. Only a well-trained heart will give you endurance and endurance. It doesn’t matter what kind of muscle mass you have, if the “motor” is weak, then after just a minute of intense running you will begin to choke due to lack of oxygen, you will be covered in a hail of sweat, and your face will turn crimson. And all this is the result weak heart and it’s good if everything ends this way and does not become the result, for example, of a stroke and its sad consequences.

Besides this, than more mass human body, the harder the heart has to work, pumping more blood to supply all organs with sufficient oxygen. Accordingly, a bodybuilder, while building up muscle mass, constantly increases his weight and the heart has to contract more often, and the more it does this, the faster it wears out, resulting in a kind of cycle.

Every 10 kg of weight requires an additional three liters of oxygen every minute.

But all this is good, you say, what should you do, after all, you shouldn’t give up the muscle mass that has been building up over the years in order to facilitate the work of the heart? No, losing weight is absolutely not necessary for this, although this option is possible, but not for a bodybuilder. There is only one way out for athletes - to increase the volume of the heart to be able to transport more blood with a lower frequency of contractions, that is, wear and tear. And this can only be achieved through training.

Please note that the volume of the heart should be increased, not its size; these are fundamentally different things. In both the first and second cases, hypertrophy occurs, that is, an increase, but what exactly is the volume of blood vessels or the thickness of the walls of the heart, this is very important.

Hypertrophy can be positive and is designated by the Latin letter L, in which case there is an expansion and increase in the volume of blood vessels main muscle. This allows the heart to easily pump the required amount of blood, and at the same time, without working too hard.

The second version of hypertrophy is called D-type and does not have such bright prospects as in the first case. Enlargement of the heart occurs as a result of hardening of its walls; this occurs when it cannot cope with the required amount of blood and does not relax. At this moment, the walls of blood vessels begin to thicken, leading to various diseases, for example, to micro-strokes.

Secrets of proper heart training

To achieve L-type cardiac hypertrophy, and not vice versa, you should exercise with a pulse in the range of 110–140 beats per minute. You should not push it to the maximum maximum of 180 hits, this is common mistake, leading to sad consequences. The average rhythm is better, but work longer. For comparison, the frequency of beats in a calm state of a person is about 70 per minute.

You should “accelerate” your heart to 130 beats gradually, and having reached this point, continue to maintain exactly this rhythm, and the duration of such training should be about an hour, no less. During this time, the elasticity of the muscle increases, the amount of blood passed through the heart during this period increases several times, which contributes to gradual increase its volume.

In order to achieve the desired result, such training should be done at least three times a week and should be no less than an hour each. By doing this, you will achieve more pumped blood per contraction, and as a result, less wear and tear on the heart and, of course, thus you will be able to develop endurance. And at rest, the heart will need to beat less, which will also significantly reduce the load on it.

The training can contain absolutely any exercises, as long as the pulse stays at the same level all the time, does not fall below or go off scale. Running is usually recommended, but this is most likely a stereotype from the past. If you don’t like to run, you don’t need to, there is swimming, jumping rope, boxing, an exercise bike or just intense walking, the main thing is that in this process you constantly monitor your heart rate, that’s all.

“Stretching” the heart, is there a limit?

The average person has a heart volume of 600 ml, a trained athlete doubles it to 1200 ml. But a very trained person, for example, a renowned track and field athlete or hockey player, achieves a volume of 1500–1800 ml, well, this is already a very serious level. From this example, it is clear that the volume can be completely doubled, that is, by 50%. This result can be achieved in six months, provided that an hour of training takes place daily. If you are not ready for such daily stress, three times a week will be enough to start with and this will allow you to stretch the heart muscle by 30-40%.

Heart rate monitoring

There are two methods to control the contraction of the heart. The first is to measure the pulse using the middle finger, which should be applied to the carotid artery in the neck or on the wrist of the left hand, where this indicator is usually measured in the hospital.

Having felt the pulse, you should count six seconds and multiply the resulting number of beats by ten. The longer period of time you take, the more accurate the result will be. For example, you can count the number of beats in 15 seconds and multiply them by four to get your heart rate per minute. You need to measure the pulse in this way with your middle finger, since the thumb or index finger have their own strong pulsation, which can confuse you.

The second method, more modernized, is a heart rate monitor (in the photo above). Such a device is capable of measuring pulse with the accuracy of an ECG, only in modern times. This miracle of technology is a sensor similar to a wristwatch dial, which is attached under the chest using a special elastic belt. Of course, such a device will become good friend, for those who have decided to seriously engage in heart training, and will also be useful for those who want to burn off excess body fat. Since it is precisely such cardio training that is best, it turns out to get rid of excess weight. Probably the only significant drawback for many will be the price of the heart rate monitor. You will have to pay from 50 to 200 dollars for it, depending on the manufacturer, design and promotion of the brand.

Harm of heavy loads on the heart

Too much is not good, this is also a fact, since there is also such a disease as myocardial dystrophy. The problem with this pathology is the excessive stress on the heart. When there is an average load on the heart muscle, at a number of beats of 130 per minute, the heart contracts and relaxes. When the training is too intense and the contraction frequency is at the limit of the heart’s capabilities, it does not have time to relax.

Due to the fact that it has to constantly work, overstrain occurs in the heart and leads to hypoxia and, as a consequence of this, hypertrophy occurs, that is, the growth of the walls. Over a long period of time, this process can lead to necrosis (death) of heart cells, and this, in turn, causes microinfarctions. As a result, the heart is increased in volume, but not due to stretching of the walls of the blood vessels, but as a result of dead tissue that has formed unnecessary, additional ballast on the heart.

Myocardial dystrophy develops when the load on the heart is within the range of 180–200 beats per minute, which is unacceptable for its normal functioning and can ultimately lead to cardiac arrest. This is why athletes often die, usually in their sleep.

In addition to all this, too intense training, which leads to cell death, is an irreversible process. If you have already allowed such pathological changes, you will only be able to stretch the volume of the heart in its “living” part. But dead cells will interfere with the further, proper functioning of the heart throughout life.

As a rule, a bodybuilder’s heart is not very trained, unless, of course, he does additional cardio exercise.

There are two reasons for this condition. The first is that the heart muscle has to pump more blood due to the weight of the muscles. Second, a long period of rest between approaches, which entails restoring the heart rate to below the required minimum level. But with less rest, the bodybuilder would lose weight, which is also unacceptable for him, but the heart was trained more intensely. For weightlifters and powerlifters, the situation looks even worse, since they have even less rest between approaches.

When starting training, remember the golden mean; too much can sometimes be as harmful as too little. Include cardio in your regimen, but keep it moderate. In addition to training, do not forget to strengthen your heart with a vitamin complex and remember the dangers of excess cholesterol and fatty foods, they also negatively affect the functioning of our most important muscle. A properly functioning heart will be the key to long life.

Video on how to train your heart: