push ups and pull ups

Exercise

by piglet22 - 2024-10-31 20:55:50

Your doctor has given you good advice.

Think about it.

Pull ups and push ups are putting strain on exactly where the delicate parts, leads, generator, vein insertion, sutures are located.

Maybe when things are bedded in it might be possible.

Personally, I think the risks are on the low side and just don't overdo it.

If it goes wrong, your doc was right.

Push-ups

by Good Dog - 2024-10-31 21:28:32

Hi Krusty! I had my PM implanted a couple of weeks after turning 38. So, at the ripe old age of abou 43 I decided that I wanted to get in better shape by doing calisthenics. At the time I weighed about 200 lbs and when I started doing push-ups I could barely do 25 in a set. So I worked my way up to 110 and eventually 3 sets for a total of 300 to 400 every other day. I was also using dumbells, doing situps/crunches and a few other resistence routines. Frankly, I surprised myself with my progress and the results were extremely gratifying for me.

I would never want to tell you to do somethig your Doc warned against, but I will tell you that I continued doing 300 to 400 push-ups every couple days for at least 15 years. After about 15 years I had to cut-back due to arthritis in my shoulder. My point is; that it had a huge positive effect on my wellbeing and no negative impact on my pacemaker leads whatsoever. In-fact, I continue to have the same leads now that I had when I began. One of my leads was recalled by Medtronic 2 years after it was implanted. So it was capped and replaced at my first battery change. So the new replacement lead is now 30 years old and the other original lead is 38 years old. No problems at all. 

You see, as you will often hear here; a PM is an enabler, not a disabler. So I believe that we should do whatever we are able to do. I am not suggesting we should take unecessary risks, but we should not allow our PM's to prevent us from doing anything that is important to us, within reason. You need to balance the risks and your willingness to accept the consequences against the benefits. Unless there is something peculiar with the routing of your leads, or perhaps due to your age there may be risks I would be unaware of. I do not see the risk as very significant at all, but I cannot quantify the risks specifically for you.

I wish you the very best!

Sincerely,

Dave

would help if you would fill in your bio information

by new to pace.... - 2024-10-31 21:35:13

as sometimes where you are or the make, model of what you have helps in our answers.

new to pace

Stay active

by Amyelynn - 2024-11-01 01:53:37

I do push up and lots of other body weight workouts. I'm not big into pull ups just because they are hard for me.

ive never had any issues...

I would say don't do them when your pacemaker is newer than 8 weeks.

i have been warned against continuous heavy weight lifting (as can cause lead fractures) 

hope this helps!

different doctors say different things all the time...

Amy 

Planks

by Nemo2 - 2024-11-01 05:55:38

Are planks acceptable as a moderate alternative to pushups?

exercise

by Tracey_E - 2024-11-01 08:48:41

Does your doctor have a lot of young, paced patients? That can affect their responses to us. The percentage of paced people that are young and active is relatively small, so many will give conservative advice because they don't have a lot of experience with active patients and simply don't know what is safe. Some are just conservative. My doctors have never been like that, they've always encouraged me to live my life and not worry about it. And so I have. 

I have never heard of, and can't imagine, ripping off the skin. I've been paced 30 years, have never held back, and have taken some hard hits directly to the pacer. The worst that ever happened was I got a bruise. I was scaling a wall in a Spartan race and caught the edge of the pacer on the wall. Bruised like crazy, permanently changed the position of the pacer so now it sticks out more than it used to, but leads and box were both fine, no skin tore. And I got over the wall and finished the race lol. 

Lead fractures do happen. Sometimes it's from excessive activity, particularly repetitive motion, but sometimes it's just normal wear and tear. 

Like Dave, I was paced at a young age and have always been very active. I did Crossfit 5x week until my joints started to protest. I still lift and do pushups but stopped the heavy barbells and pullups a couple of years ago (I'm 58 now, btw).  I never held back due to the pacer, and my doctor was well aware of and fully supported this. I asked once what would happen if I broke a lead, he shrugged and said we'd fix it. Good enough for me. Not everyone is comfortable with that, you have to decide what's right for you.

Everyone has different priorioties and tolerances for risk.  I'm ok with a bit of risk if it means doing the things that make me happy and feel good, and keep my heart strong. I can't control the electrical problems I was born with, but I do have control over how strong my heart muscle is and I can do my best to prevent additional problems that come from not being fit. My leads are 30 years old and I'm just now looking at replacing them, which means with all of my activities, they still lasted double the average lead life. I've seen members not active at all getting leads replaced at 10 years. How long they last is not always related to activity. That said, we've also had members need leads replaced due to activity, so please don't take my comments to mean it doesn't happen. I'm just saying activity doesn't always cause problems, being sedentary doesn't prevent problems. Learn the risks, discuss with your doctor, and decide what you are comfortable with. 

Nemo, planks are safe. 

Follow your doctor’s advice

by Rch - 2024-11-02 02:10:07

Hi

You got some great advice and suggestions on this club but please discuss these with your provider first and then follow his/her advice. If you are not satisfied with your provider's recommendations, please get a second opinion. Also, it would greatly help if you would fill your bio. No doctor treats his/her patients without a medical history. I wish you well! 

Yes to pushups….for me anyway

by JHCOON - 2024-11-02 18:43:41

I'm 71 and have a dual-lead PM - and as an added life bonus I have been dealing with Parkinson's Disease for 15 years. So...if I want quality of life exercise is an absolute must in my life. I start the day with posture work, stretching, 3.5 mile walk wearing a 25-lb pack, and end the day with more stretching and posture work. 3 days a week I do dumbbells and body-weight workouts. My cardiologist said I should do now whatever I did before - except for the "bar-hang". I kind of miss that one. Everything I do is what I think everyone my age, who is able, should do. I had to have the "upper limit" of my pacemaker adjusted because it was limiting me. I am fortunate that I have had an exercise program, as part of my life since my 20's. Parkinson's would be much worse if I was unable to do this work.