Irregular pulse in athletes - getting to the heart of the matter

Now that Rob Waddell's heart condition is out in the open, we should discuss the issues surrounding athletes who are troubled with an irregular pulse. This is a topic that I am very interested in and have come across many cases of over the years, including myself.

Please read my earlier article about the Drysdale-Waddell clash.

When attending a workshop on heart disease by a cardiologist some time ago, he mentioned that Rob Waddell had a problem with an irregular heartbeat that interfered with his performance as a rower. Apparently, the only options were medication medication for life and/or a risky operation. This heart problem was a factor in his retirement from rowing and becoming a grinder for the Team NZ Americas Cup challenge. What really intrigued me was the observation by the cardiologist that the heart problem disappeared completely while he was with Team NZ and he could not explain why this was other than that some people seem to grow out of these things. I think I know why.

Rob Waddell subsequently made a spectacular comeback in a bid to make the NZ team to the Beijing Olympics, only to fall at the last hurdle with a reported return of his irregular pulse. It now seems his only options, if he wants to stay in rowing, is medication and/or a risky operation that has no guarantees of success. Or does he? I think there are other options that should be explored.

Irregular pulses are very common in high intensity endurance sports like rowing, running and cycling. Most go unreported. I usually suffer episodes about once every year and once to such an extent that I consulted a cardiologist. Interestingly, these always happen to me about this time of year. In fact, I have just gotten over a lengthy episode and consequently posted a 48 second improvement in my seasonal personal best over 5 km! Spectacular! This most recent episode came about when I made a crash return to running and mountain bike training four weeks after breaking both the radius and ulna of my left wrist. With just three intense rides under my belt, I entered the 80km Gentle Annie MTB race. In this event I ran out of gas and even described it in my report that it felt like riding in porridge (Waddell described feeling like rowing in mud). I finished about 20 mintes slower than last year despite being in better condition and a faster bike and tyres. I came 3rd last year and 14th this year.

I think the reasons Rob Waddell's heart problems disappeared was because he reduced the exhausting cardio exercise and dispensed with the carbo-soaked, vitamin and mineral depleted endurance athlete's diet and replaced this with nutrient rich meals prepared by A-grade chefs designed to put on bulk. When he switched back to the previous routine, including a diet that resulted in a significant weight loss, the heart palpitations returned once he hit several days of unrelenting cardiovascular intensity.

For me, the irregular pulse and the sluggish performance during the Gentle Annie signaled that it was time to ease off the intensity and to sort out my nutrition. An irregular pulse in an athlete can be from a combination of physical and nervous exhaustion coupled with one or many nutrient depletions or imbalances. It is a matter of easing off the intensity of the exercise and systematically working one's way through the nutritional possibilities - minerals, B vitamins, amino acids, body salts, fatty acids. This takes time and patience and it is not advisable to just throw in a whole lot of supplements, including the kitchen sink, since doing so makes it near impossible to figure out what is really working and not working. A hair tissue analysis can be invaluable in helping work out the most effective options. Other factors may include excessive use of stimulants, including caffeine and ephedrine. Most athletes overcome these heart palpitations and continue to have successful sporting careers.

Please read my articles here about top cyclist, Hayden Roulston who was advised by his cardiologist to stop cycling after suffering similar problems to Waddell.

Please bear in mind that heart palpitations can be a sign of serious things such as a silent heart attack. Just as I did, there is no harm in getting it checked out by a specialist.

Mahe Drysdale sinks Rob Waddell in rowing showdown

So, as of today, Mahe Drysdale is off to Beijing representing New Zealand in the single scull rowing after an emphatic third race against former world champion, Rob Waddell.

Waddell, the bigger and stronger athlete of the two, looked like he might take the third of the three race series; but all that changed when the gun went with Drysdale clearing out to win by several lengths over a tiring Waddell.

Why and how did Drysdale manage to pull such a big performance out of the bag in the 3rd race against his bigger opponent? I think it was all in the conditioning and all sports could well take note of the lessons inherent in this thrashing.

The late Arthur Lydiard once said this to his athletes:

"You will come to your peak slower than many others and you will be running last when they are running first. But when it is really important to be running first, you will be passing them."

And this is what his athletes did time and time again. As his athletes worked their way through the heats and semis, they steadily worked their way to the front of the field, athletes like Snell, Walker and paddlers like Ferguson and MacDonald.

They were all superbly aerobically conditioned through years and years of base training.

I met Mahe Drysdale at the Halberg Awards just over a week ago. His appearance is that of a tall, lean highly conditioned endurance athlete, conditioined in the calssic Lydiard style.

For Waddell to make such a spectacular comeback in so little time after several years of working as a bulked up strength athlete on Team NZ's Americas Cup yachting team, his endurance base must have been minimal, since it takes years to properly develop. Waddell must have relied mostly on his strength and most of his rowing conditioning must have been high intensity interval training to bring him to peak for the NZ rowing nationals. Incidentally, this kind of training is making a huge comeback after various studies showed that this type of training produces the fastest results. This is misguided.

Of course, all athletic training is a mix of aerobic and anaerobic - interval and distance work. What we are really taking about is the relative emphasis and structure of the training. Its not really one type of training versus another. All Lydiard trained athletes did heaps of intervals; but only after several weeks of base aerobic fitness that builds to a seasonal peak. This process of building is steadily worked on over an 8-10 year period.

While high intensity interval training on a minimal aerobic base may produce spectacular results, this is at a cost during competition that is spread over several days or weeks. A highly aerobic conditioned athlete, like Drysdale recovers much quicker, like almost overnight, as compared to his interval trained opponent. The less aerobically trained athlete will waken more acidic, with tight muscles and less muscle glycogen to play with compared to his opponent.

The athlete who initially appeared to be the stronger and fitter will croak in the finals. I think this is what happened in the rowing today between these two awesome athletes.

For more about the Lydiard training system, here are my presentation handout notes for my lecture/workshop: "Train to Win".

I will comment about Waddell's reported irregular heartbeat in another article shortly. While it was undoubtedly a factor in his poor performance today, I think it is a symptom of things going on, rather than a cause. There is a very important and critical distinction between symptoms and cause when dealing with such matters. Resorting to surgical solutions right away may be premature and exceedingly risky.