Understanding Heart Rate Variability: Improving Your Health & Performance | Joel Jamieson

When it comes to performance, more isn’t always better. In this episode, I sit down with conditioning expert Joel Jamieson to explore the science of recovery, aerobic fitness, and how to use heart rate variability (HRV) to train smarter. They dive into why elite athletes recover so quickly, the long-term value of zone 2 training, and how HRV reflects your resilience—not just your readiness. Joel shares lessons from two decades of working with fighters, Olympians, and NFL players, along with powerful insights from his own cardiovascular health journey. Whether you’re a high performer or simply want to live longer and stronger, this episode is packed with practical takeaways.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What HRV actually tells you—and what it doesn’t
• Why aerobic fitness is one of the strongest drivers of recovery and longevity
• The surprising downside of too much strength training
• How to monitor training load and avoid overtraining
• Why lifestyle stress matters more than your workout

This episode will change the way you think about training—and reveal why recovery deserves a central role in your performance strategy.

Who is Joel Jamieson?

Joel Jamieson is a leading coach and educator in recovery-based training and heart rate variability (HRV). With over 20 years of experience working with professional athletes, including NFL players and world champion fighters, he’s known for translating complex performance science into practical tools. He’s the creator of Morpheus, a system that helps tailor training to daily recovery status, and the founder of 8WeeksOut, a resource for conditioning and performance education.

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Find Joel Jamieson at:

• Instagram: @coachjoeljamieson
• 8WeeksOut: https://8weeksout.com/
• Morpheus: https://trainwithmorpheus.com/

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