"I can't remember reading about people obtaining a resting heart rate of, let's say, 47 (since that's mine currently), with just diet and weight loss alone. Is there somewhere someone can point me to regarding this? For sure my heart rate dropped by losing 100lbs, but it was still over 60, only running pushed it below 50."

I'm the same. It's a nice 60 while sedentary and 48 with running.

I can't remember. I can confirm what most athletes eat is horrific. One of the sprinters at the Olympics kept getting flack for eating McDonald's three times a day. Or Michael Phelps - we all know the crap he ate. Low carbing runners I suspect would be fine.

Proof?


Proof?


Agreed.
And we probably would sit around all day. Without the proper diet, we wouldn't have energy to do a single thing.

Circulation slows at rest and blood can pool. Slow moving blood can lead to oxygen deprived cells. Without oxygen, cells can't heal. Seems about as logical to say that a bit of movement will enable cells to heal.

I'm not sure how you can say the "benefits aren't that great", re: pneumonia. It sets in hard and fast in the sedentary.

Neither of my parents had a bicycle, wore running shoes, nor had even heard of a health spa or an exercise class. They were born in the early part of the last century. While there was no TV, they read, listened to the radio, played cards, etc. I am of the opinion they didn't exercise any more than today's generation.

Ah yes, that would be the way to go then. Physical therapy world is the bomb.

A slower heart rate lessens the stress on the heart. Your heart is a muscle and will respond just like any other muscle and it will become stronger through conditioning. If your heart muscle is stronger, then your heart rate will decrease. Your heart will be putting out less effort to pump the same amount of blood. I don't know about everyone else, but I think a stronger heart = healthy. Besides, I love being able to keep up with my teenage track stars (I'm a runner)

But then why do so many athletes die of heart failure? There are assumptions made about exercise that just have not been proven, but they SOUND good. Much like "fat makes you fat" sounds good.

Do athletes really have a higher rate of dying from heart failure than the rest of the population? That would mean that 'athlete' would have to have a very clear definition. Someone who decides to go out for a run is not necessarily an athlete. That person may run sporadically and without good preparation.
Reminds me of husband's uncle who went for a walk after dinner when the weather was good. Dropped dead while on such a walk. Is walking dangerous for you?

BTW: Today I exercised with my cast iron skillet. I have a hard time with that thing so I decided to build up my arms and used it as my "weight".

Athletes are notorious for sacrificing long-term health for whatever gives better performance. So they aren't a good example for drawing conclusions in general about exercise. Like in the middle of Goldilocks' "not enough - just right - too much."

A cast iron skillet for exercise. In the shot put category of the Olympics, maybe...

I think it's just because we hear about them. Even the three runners who died inthe Detroit marathon it's not certain they died of heart failure. Some people think it's likely they took in something toxic. I'd much rather be an Alberto Salazar (flatlined for nine minutes and survived) than the person who keels over from shoveling their walk.

This is an anecdote, not proof.

Not only that, but the anecdote didn't tell us how much they walked vs. driving, what they did for work and how active they were in terms of housework.

Not only that, it failed to include statistics, as well as graphs in color. I expect to see all posts include this from now on.