I say I have had enough of this sitting around stuff, well I have never been that lazy. I was a huge fan of Cigarettes and Coffee and certainly I never really met a doughnut I didn't like. But I was lucky and never had a weight problem either, until lately that is. So the things I know from school is muscles get stronger when you work them out, train them so they say. So I have started walking again, as I mentioned earlier in the blog. I recommend talking with your Doc before starting any workout with heart issues especially. I am pig headed and stubborn as all hell most of the time, so I just jumped back in with both feet. I will say this, on the initial 6 weeks of my SCD / ICD adventure I was depressed and freaking out. It took some time to start walking, 5 minutes the first few days and that wore me out. then 10 minutes for a week or so and slowly built this up. Before I went in the hospital the last time I was doing 4+ miles a day. That is the key I understand, not 4 miles a day but 20 minutes a day of elevated heart rate. I understand walking is the best exercise for you as well. It increases heart rate, it is low impact on your joints and it builds some core strength. I hear if you hold your stomach and butt a bit tight it works your stomach and butt as well.
Richard Simmons!
Well I never thought I would say this, But Richard Simmons has to be a genuine hero. Certainly one of mine now. I remember seeing him on TV as a kid and then I saw him again about a month ago. We all can learn something from this man, lady's and gent's. This guy is always up beat, and always cares about everyone! This man has to be in his 60's now and he is still going strong. I suppose what I like most about him is his encouraging words. So how to really start getting healthy and in better shape is to get off the couch or the easy chair and start doing something about your situation. If all you can do today is one minute, then get up and do it! Walk in place, walk in your bedroom, walk around the block, just get up and walk. Things are not going to get better while you sit on your duff, that is for sure. Oh Negatory Big Bear! Yes, I know thats not a word, but it should be, I use it often. So my thoughts are, I let myself get into piss poor shape. Even though I was on my feet for at least 10 hours a day for most of my adult life, it is not the same as working out. Don't beat yourself up too much, I understand an awful lot of people have to deal with this, like you and me. So if working out and exercising makes muscle stronger, then it stands to reason that exercising will make your heart stronger. Right? If you have a typical Doc, just ask for the permission to start exercising. I have had the conversation with mine and he is a rare, he agrees with me wholeheartedly. I have heard of other Docs that do not believe you can recover from heart ailments no matter what.
The best way to live a long time is with a strong heart. So when I started walking I would go for a few minutes and be wheezing and mucus filled the back of my throat and I would cough a bit. My heart rate would jump up into the 150 Bpm range and when it got to 160 Bpm I would rest. It took a couple weeks to get to where I could even walk for 20 minutes non stop. When I would get done it would take a long time for my heart to settle down and the sweats to subside. But my PTSD did interrupt my exercise program, more then once I may add. It is not an easy thing, and I do not have that burn to exercise at all. But slowly it is getting to where I don't feel right if I don't walk for a while every day. I know my heart is getting stronger, simply because I do not feel the skipped beats and flippy feeling in my chest that often any more. What a creep feeling that is, it freaks you out and sometimes there is some pain with it. So I have a few sources of exercise motivators. One is my heart, another is the way my heart is responding to my efforts, my family members talk to me about it all the time. It gets old hearing about it, but it does make it easier to buckle down and do it. I figure I am going to make Monster Muscle Heart, lol. So we run down to the local body builder store and we get sum roids and build that lil wussy thing into a muscle bound freak! OK, Probably not, but I do need to make it stronger. There are a lot of walking programs out there, and if you swing your arms and pump them in and out it becomes quite an aerobic workout as well. Face it, we are probably not really ready for an extreme workout. But maybe that could be a goal.
This is a picture of Castlewood Canyon State Park in Colorado, A very small section of it I may add as well. It is a great place to go and hike, it is one of my favorite places to exercise, because it is close and beautiful. There are sidewalks in the upper canyon, and there are easy and moderate trails to hike on as well. As you get stronger, maybe you have a favorite place to hike as well. It's all about getting the old ticker working right again, if possible. The places that you can get in some exercise can be fantastic as well, so do your best to get out and enjoy it. It sure does beat the alternatives, I am certainly not a big fan of hanging out with my Doc. I would rather have a beer, and fire up my smoker and cook some chicken or beef. I really do not need to listen to any more direction that I can't understand either. Take the 76 to the whiskey barrel exit. Hang a dilly bar into the field and stay straight through the barn and peel out some cookies. You may as well have me do calculus in my head!
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