The Rhythm of the Heart

Previous article from the same series: Turning 51

When we are talking about achieving the zone, we are talking about efficiency of the mind/body functions. Although the main characteristic of the zone is unique joy and pleasure, there are some physiological signs that mostly follow or precede the actual experience. Plainly stated, it’s about doing less, and achieving more. In physical sense, it means that your body is functioning on the lower level, consuming less "fuel", while in the same time performing the same or even more than before.

To transform usual athlete or recreational sportsman into zone master is like turning mean car engine producing 500 horse power and not minding consuming 25 or more liters of fuel per 100 km, into meaner 750 horse power engine, but consuming only 5 liters of fuel while doing the better job. Can it be done? Some say it can. Some shrug in disbelief. I know I was near that place once, and I want to come to it again.

What are the signs of high or low consumption of energy in our body while doing sports? Two things: the way we breathe and the rhythm of our heart. I will dedicate quite some time to breathing, but for now let's start with the heart.

The heart rate is directly related to, and a reflection of, the body’s oxygen need. It is important to know how your heart is working while you are training or compete. Probably every, at least semi-serious person about his or hers sport, have read something about heart rate zones. Everyone knows about heart rate monitors, of course. Nowadays, they can be bought for anything between 20 and 600 Euros, depending how fancy you want it to be, or how many functions you want it to perform for you.

Usual usage of heart rate monitors is to gather the important information about your heart. That is important to evaluate your state, but it can be of utter importance if you have or have had some heart problems.

However, heart rate monitors can be used as something more: as biofeedback devices!

Biofeedback is “the process of providing visual or auditory evidence to a person of the status of body function so that you may exert control over that function.” Biofeedback functions via awareness. For example, when you see your brain patterns on the screen, you may try to change them. It is not always clear how we do it: there are no visible switches in our mind to do something with brain patterns, but if we try, our body will learn what to do when we want it do something.

In ancient times there were people, for example yogis, who could lower, or heighten, theirs heart rate to unbelievable numbers. They used special techniques which are very demanding and time consuming. Today, we are lucky to have easier paths to achieve at least something from their repertoire.

The easier path in our case is a heart rate monitor! Buy one and play with it. See how your heart runs throughout the day. Later on, we will want to lower the heart rate, but in order to do so; we don't only need physical readiness, but also the live relationship between our awareness and the rhythm of the heart.

I don't know how many windsurfers ever used the heart rate monitor, but I assure you it is a very useful tool, if nothing from the standpoint of evaluation of your physical fitness. This will become even more important when you later understand what your heart is doing while you are windsurfing. I was quite surprised and somewhat shocked when I did! And of course, if we want the zone experience, heart rate must be low – probably much lower than you ever expected.

I used heart rate monitors before, but from this spring I have one purpose in mind: to examine how my heart behaves during different phases of physical exercise and during windsurf. I found something quite interesting and will write about it the articles to come.

But, the most important point at the beginning of the zone training is creating the biofeedback link between you and your heart. So, try it and play with it. My recommendation is that you don't do anything with it during the first month or so. Just watch and monitor what is happening when you are doing this or that during the day.

Next article from the same series: High Maximum, Low Minimum

Kouremenos, Palecastro, Crete

A little jump over the see to the island of Crete! Change of scene: Kouremenos beach is very beautiful sandy bay near village of Palecastro on the far eastern side of Crete. It is not crowded, quite a contrary. Most of the tourist on Crete stay in the central part, where the hotels are, and the most popular historical and archeological sites. To come to Palecastro you have to drive at least 2 and a half hours from Iraklion, pass through cities of Ageos Nicolaus and Sitia, and stop by the way and eat some delicious Greek food in one of the many taverns with breath taking view on the see.

Palecastro is occupied by peace lovers and windsurfers. Meltemi blows all the time; it's not so drastic as on Karpathos, but it's quite enough to give you a perfect windsurfing experience.

I was here 10 years ago, and now I found many changes. From almost desert place, Palecastro and its environment raised up to green oasis of windy peace. Looking forward to windsurf in this beauty!

Something to Dream About When Winter Comes

08.07.2103., Karpathos, Greece. Light wind, barely enough for 7,0, but more than enough for great pleasure!

I-107 (x2) on Karpathos

03.07.2013., beautiful and windy day on Karpathos, Greece, with Giuliano Raimondi and Alberto Possati!

Turning 51

Some windsurfers make 51 knots on a speed board, but this article is not about it! It is about something much less glamorous and even less glorious; it's about turning 51 years of age!

Ten years ago I was admiring people who windsurf at the age of 70 and more (I still do!), but when I crossed over 50 last year, some things really changed. My body started to call (quite loud) for an extra attention. I suppose, at some point everyone comes to the conclusion that he or she is not so young as before, and that some things that were easy, or hard but enjoyable, now become... well, not so enjoyable anymore.

For some lucky ones, that point is somewhere far away in the future. Some unlucky ones stumble upon it too early (actually, it's always too early, isn't it?). I am not talking about serious health issues, although with age you should consider what impact sport might have on your body, and do you carry some genetic risks that you should consider before you continue to be wild and young at heart.

So, with time, in spite of your mental attitude, you may experience some wear and tear of the material. Your sails and boards are not the only ones that suffer from this. Unfortunately, you cannot change your body as easily as you can change the old sail. Fortunately, the body itself has the way to regenerate and prolong its service, but you have to be careful with it and give it what it wants.

What I have noticed is this:

• I’ve become more sensitive on general fitness level (for example, if I spend some dull and sedentary two months, I need much more time to come back into windsurf mode)
• I’ve become more sensitive to skipping warming up exercises (before it was not so much important; now if I don't do them before windsurfing, I'll pay latter for sure)
• I need more rest after windsurfing than it was a case couple of years before
• I need to put more effort to achieve the same performance level (e.g. in speed)
• I lose interest as there is less enjoyment as body discomfort increases

My genetic material is clearly making me potential victim of heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes (quite often in my family). Until now, I managed to stay away from all this (thanks to nutrition, non-smoking, meditation and exercising - among other things, also to windsurfing). But, this winter I had thorough medical checkout induced by some minor problems. Doctors found that I am ok for now (literary, they examined every single organ in my body), but I was not satisfied with my general condition. On the level of everyday functioning, everything is fine. But if I want to continue to be a sportsman, as I have been whole my life, I have to do something. And that something has to be somewhat different than I was doing before, because... well, 51.

I did write before about zone training in general, and I did mention John Douillard's book "Body, Mind and Sport". I also mentioned some specific training procedures, but I never wrote about details. I decided to do it now.

Namely, I am embarrassed to admit that while I am acquainted with these methods of training, I abandoned them, in spite of obvious advantages, due to unknown reasons. Maybe I was just lazy. I intend to correct this mistake because I have at least 51 reasons to start again!

And, I decided to share this path with readers of this web site. I will not preach about this from some high place of achievement. I will do this from scratch, from zero. It is true that I have the advantage as I did this training 15 years ago. I suppose, some things will be easier for me, but it is not necessarily so.

My goal is this: to stay away from western synthetic medicine as long as possible; improve cardio and respiratory efficiency; prolong enjoyable hours, days and years with the wind.

Your goal may be the same, or somewhat different (I firmly believe that this kind of training can improve your performance as well, if you are so inclined). Maybe you will just want to inform yourself about some interesting methods of exercising, breathing techniques and zone training. Or you would try some of it. Whatever you do with it, it is fine. I imagine things I will write about could be useful to middle-aged windsurfers (40 to 60 and more), but I also believe, everyone could benefit from it.

One more important point: if you have any heath condition (especially related to the heart), consult your physician regarding anything you do.

My plan is to share with you most of the exercises I will do, starting from some basic concepts about the zone training. I will write as time permits, but I will try to do it without longish periods between the posts.

I hope that in couple of months, I will be able to say that I’ve changed the way I am doing sport. Hope some of you will join me in this adventure so we can share the experience.

Next article from the same series: The Rhythm of the Heart