gym

Hi im back at the gym been back a week 30mins on cardio machines no weights i was working out 5 times a week before pm for about an hour again cardio. im taking things slowly and adding my time on the machines in mins as i go each day been 3 times this week going again in the morn am i ok to use the cross trainer iv used it this last week but held on the middle handles leaving the main handles free not sure if i can use these as its quiet repetative for the leads also can i use free hand weights only use 2 kg each hand for light arm excersie and side stretchs also can i use the leg abductors for inner and outer thighs i really need to get back to my full work out just scared what i can and carnt do im 8week post op.

thanks
kimbo

6 Comments

go for it

by Tracey_E - 2013-04-26 06:04:03

If you feel up to it and it doesn't hurt, go for it. 8 weeks is more than enough time to heal. You should be able to do anything you listed, and then some. The leads aren't going anywhere at this point.

Two years ago I switched from light hand weights and weight machines to barbells and kettlebells. Depending on the lift I go up as high as 100 pounds, my dr is ok with it and so far no problems whatsoever.

Kimbo

by lucyrubio106 - 2013-04-26 06:04:28

Hello Kimbo I'm almost 3 weeks after PM and I went to the gym this week and did cardio and light leg workout, leg extensions, leg curls and and both leg abductors and some squats, but my Dr. told me not to do upper body at least for 3 months.

going for it!!

by kimbo - 2013-04-27 04:04:52

Thanks im ready for this been looking forward to getting back to my gym workout its my space gunna just try out stuff and see how it goes if it feels not good will trust keep trying until it does.
Thanks again i feel reasurred now.

take care

kimbo

Hi Kimbo/Tracey - Workou limitations

by kgopalrao - 2013-04-27 05:04:44

Hi Kimbo,
Was interested read yr query dd 26th. Would u hve a look at my post of 27th in reply to ian and let me hear what u think. I'm inclined to go ahead with all the earlier exercises and accept a new lower limit only if I get a warning thro' some pain or uneasiness.

As 'Angry Sparrow' says, some docs are conservative, some are not. TraceyE seems to have the latter type of doc. I'd like to ask u Tracey, whether yr doc did any special checks before giving u a go-ahead for full-fledged workouts?

Was also wondering whether the much clearer outline of the PM below the skin after, 3 mths of gradually increasing workouts, is anything to be concerned about. Any views?

kgopalrao

by Tracey_E - 2013-04-27 09:04:19

As long as the device isn't uncomfortable, I wouldn't worry about it. When in doubt, show it to your doc next time you see him.

Special check? No, but he's pretty thorough. My blood work and bp are both good, my EF is the same as 20 years ago, xrays and echos have never shown anything out of the ordinary. I've been with him for almost 20 years now, since a few months after I got my first pm in 1994. At that time, I'd had a lifetime of being told not to overdo it and had not done much more than sleep and watch the world spin for more than a year before surgery, so I was severely de-conditioned. He said go join a gym and get in shape, keep your heart strong. He never said not to do anything in particular. By coincidence, I joined the same gym as his NP and we often did the same spin class. I figured if I was doing anything I shouldn't be, she'd say something.

My family is avid skiers so they wanted to teach me. I asked if it was ok, he said have fun and send a postcard.

When I got pregnant the first time, 1996, my ob was freaking out more than a little bit but my cardio called him and told him to treat me like everyone else. I worked out until the week my baby was born and had a normal uncomplicated delivery. She's 16 now, btw, and her sister is 15.

I have had the same St Judes rep since my first implant. I've had extensive conversations with him about activity because he has a lot more active paced patients than my cardio does. Both he and my dr say that the leads are small and flexible, they are meant to move with us. Our veins are flexible. If we wanted to take them out, it would take a highly specialized surgeon with a specialized laser to do it. Both very bluntly said nothing I do is going to hurt them.

I assumed that meant regular exercise, nothing extreme. When I joined boot camp 2 years ago, I had been reading here about others with lots of restrictions so I was a little paranoid about doing damage. Honestly, I never thought I'd make it through the first 5 weeks so I didn't bother to ask, just jumped in and tried it. I did not go heavy with the weights, did not do anything hanging from the pull up bar. I was most surprised to learn at the end of 5 weeks that I was having a blast, getting stronger every week, and did not want to stop. When I went for my next check, I expected him to tell me to cut back but he got a huge grin, said to go ahead and learn a pull up if I want to learn a pull up. I'm almost there, I can get my forehead over the bar, can't get my chin all the way up yet but I work at it every day at the end of the regular workout.

This is the only exercise I do not do, ring rows. I don't think it will do any damage but it gets a lot deeper in the pecs than other exercises and leaves the scar tissue aggravated for a few days, not worth it so I do regular push ups instead
http://www.hardexerciseworks.com/information/exercise/exercise-library/?id=content-1241
The coaches are great, have helped me work around anything I've had problems with. I have a challenge with anything head down (hand stands, too many burpees) from the beta blockers I'm on because my bp gets too low, the pm is not the issue.

Have you noticed I'm a little stubborn and not a worrier? ;o) My dr is a good fit for me, a super conservative dr would make me crazy. I do not think of myself as an invalid, I refuse to act like one and nothing annoys me more than being treated like there is something wrong with me. There WAS something wrong, but now it's fixed. Is this the right approach for everyone? No. Some people have more serious problems than me. Some people are less willing to take a risk than me. I feel that staying in the best shape I can be in is more important than any minimal risk I might be taking with a lead. I was born with a compromised electrical system. I refuse to end up with problems that could have been prevented by eating well and staying active. And yes, I'm just as fanatic about my diet as I am exercise.

One last thing, leads last on average 15 years. I got a new ventricular lead with my last battery change in 2010, so my first one lasted 16 years, a hair over average. Did my lifestyle speed up the lead going bad? I have no idea, and I don't really care, if I had it to do over again I'd do it all the same (except maybe join boot camp sooner!). My original atrial lead is still going strong.

sex

by Tensie58 - 2013-05-30 12:05:30

when can sex be added back into my life

You know you're wired when...

Muggers want your ICD, not your wallet.

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