In this episode, I discuss the critical importance of building a strong heart and how to do it. I explain why the human body needs to breathe, the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness for sleep and exercise recovery, and its long-term implications for physical health, disease risk, and mortality. I explain how the heart functions, what determines heart rate, why the heart never gets sore, and the unique advantages of cardiac muscle over other muscle types.

I explain how to use the ‘Three I’s’ (investigate, interpret, intervene) to assess and improve your cardiovascular fitness. I explain what VO2 max is (and other related metrics, e.g., heart rate variability), describe ranges based on age and elite performance, and discuss exercise regimens to improve VO2 max.

Listeners of this episode will understand why cardiovascular health is vital for performance and overall health and learn a series of actionable tools to improve their cardiovascular fitness.Access the full show notes for this episode, including referenced articles and additional resources, at performpodcast.com.

Thank you to our sponsorsAG1: https://drinkag1.com/perform Vitality Blueprint: https://vitalityblueprint.com/perform Rhone: https://rhone.com/perform Momentous: https://www.livemomentous.com/performLMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/perform 

Timestamps00:00:00 Heart00:02:48 Sponsors: Vitality Blueprint & Rhone00:06:20 Muscle Types00:08:47 VO2 max, Health & Mortality00:14:42 Overall Health, Cardiorespiratory Fitness & All-Cause Mortality00:24:16 Sponsor: AG100:25:47 Disease, Health & Mortality00:28:55 Cardiac Muscle & Heart00:37:22 Cardiac Muscle vs. Skeletal Muscle, Cardiac Advantages00:42:46 Pacemakers & Heart Rate, Vagus Nerve00:49:28 Why Doesn’t the Heart Get Sore?00:53:25 Heart & Exercise, Stroke Volume, Ejection Fraction, Cardiac Output00:58:14 Heart Rate Variability01:01:34 Sponsors: Momentous & LMNT01:05:47 Why Do You Breathe?: Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide & Respiratory Rate01:12:30 Respiratory Rate & Stress01:14:01 Tool: The “Three I’s”, Investigate: Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, VO2 Max01:18:46 Tool: Interpretation, Resting Heart Rate & Ranges01:22:09 Tool: Interpretation: VO2 Max & Ranges01:29:38 Athletes & Highest VO2 Max Scores01:34:46 Elite Athletes & Context for VO2 Max Scores01:40:35 Tool: Intervention, VO2 Max, Varying Exercise Intensities, SAID Principle01:47:13 Tool: Varying Exercise Intensity; Intervals & Continuous Training; Frequency01:57:41 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Subscribe & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Social Media

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