Athletes preparing for the Olympic games must push their physical condition to the limit. Athletes not at the Olympic level, often push their bodies to their own limits.
Some have suggested this can cause heart problems later in life. Reports indicate a higher incidence of arrhythmia in athletes later in life.
Jack Goodman (PhD) is currently examining the issue in a study called Cardiac Consequences of Excessive Endurance Exercise in his “exercise and cardiac health lab” at the University of Toronto and another study on the ‘athletic heart and exercise” at the University of Toronto
He is a professor there in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education.
ListenProfessor Goodman is studying the issue of this apparent increase in arrhythmia in athletes. While this has been reported as problematic in some media, Goodman points out that these cases are not life threatening.
He also notes that in fact athletes tend to live slightly longer.
He points out that for the average person two-and-a-half hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week is recommended to provide clear health gains in terms of weight loss, heart health, and other disease risk reduction.
He says the best gains in fitness and cardio-vascular health come from endurance type exercise such as cycling or swimming, but that all exercise or training efforts promote better health.
As for athletic training at the elite level, he says coaches are very careful to vary training regimes until bringing it all together to enable the athlete to be at their peak at the time of the Olympics.
Professor Goodman’s research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) which is the Government of Canada’s health research investment agency.
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