Workout #7

I was now entering 6 months since the heart attack, and about 7 1/2 months of weight loss.  By then I was pretty much entrenched in new eating  habits, enjoying healthier foods, and my family was believing in the new me.  They recognized I was intent on working to improve my health, strength, and doing whatever doctors thought was best for my heart health.   For my birthday, my daughter gave me a great gift, at the appropriate time for me.  Membership to a fitness center. Five minutes from my home.  Open 24/7.  Trainers, pools, spa, indoor track.  It was great.  I keep forgetting you don't know all of my health background so I need to let you know a few things that probably a lot of you can relate to. Especially those of you my age who have had heart attacks.   I was not an exercise, workout, play sports, ride a bike, take physical care of myself kind of a guy.  But I had been doing my walking and was ready to step up to a real exercise routine.   Let me stop right here.The first step was to meet with my cardiologist and get approval.  Next my daughter arranged for me to have some beginner sessions with a trainer who worked with,  and had specific workout programs, for heart patients like me.  Michelle belonged to another fitness club,  had experience with this trainer and felt it was important I work with someone familiar with cardiac patients. So before beginning to work out on my own, I met with my cardiologist, and a trainer.  You may want to consider the same if you are a beginner.  My trainer gave me an orientation of the center, strength machines, treadmills, kind of how everything works.   My first day was pretty much intimidating, like the new kid in school.  A good mix of men and women, all age ranges, more young than older, and almost all in good physical shape.  In other words I saw I had a long ways to go.  Cindy decided she would  join and start working out with me.  Cindy worked with a trainer and got on a routine for herself.  She was like me, no experience doing this stuff.  Cindy was in good physical condition. She was never sickly, didn't have time to.  She had been too busy raising our three children while I was off running a business. I was gone a lot, eating out two or three nights a week. She was unlike me,  always ate the right foods, took care of herself.  Never complained once about my bad health habits.

Treadmill, 2 miles at 3.4 mph.  1 mile around the track at quick walking pace, carried a 5 pound weight in one hand above my head.  It helps circulation.   Let me be overly cautious here, you don't need to do anything I did unless you talk to your doctor first. That's what I did.....10 minutes on an elliptical machine.  Then I spent 30 minutes on some specific strength machines, trained on by my trainer, and approved by my cardiologist. A trainer can be expensive, and I was looking for a routine that would be good for me and my condition.  It took only  2 sessions with the trainer to get an established routine.  From then on I was on my own, which is what I preferred.  So I was exercising about 1 hour 30 minutes or so daily.  I worked out 6 days a week, for 1 year, then  I went to 5 days a week.  If on vacation I didn't skip working out.  I would find a way to do all or some of my daily routine. 

Cindy faltered, working out is just not her thing, she works out but I don't think she enjoys it as much as I do.  Kind of like  oatmeal, it's good for you, but you need to do it every day.
You know something else good I got from the fitness center.  Being around people. I really enjoy working out, my routine and feeling good after an hour and half of exercise.  It is a great place to people watch.   This was a large center and it wasn't unusual for 40-50 people to be working out around you.  A few older 60 plus, men and women. 45-60 more men than women. Most of the guys in this group are in pretty good shape, lifting weights, working on muscle building. Most of the ladies are a little bit on the heavy side. They do a lot of treadmill and track walking.  25- 45 year olds lots of young suburban moms in good physical shape, work out a lot on stairmasters, running on treadmills and stationary bicycles. Guys same as the gals.  18-25 year olds  spend most their time walking around center looking to see who's looking at them. 

I gave up working out on the elliptical.  I felt like I was pushing myself too far and my heart rate got too high for me while on that machine.  I wore a small heart rate monitor while working out to track my rate, and after several months eventually felt comfortable to stop using it.   I expanded my use of strength machine usage and increased my total bar-bell capacity from 5 to 70 pounds.  (10 months).
I use the treadmill for 6o minutes, no incline.  I have some good exercise people stories I can tell you if anyone wants to hear them.

My next posting I will spend a lot more time on blood pressure, more details on foods I eat, vitamins. In general some things I think I have neglected in telling you about myself.