Wellness

[SouthernBee]

@software: Pool exercises would be great. Also dealing with balance issues. My doctor never mentioned my name to other patients but relayed chicken pox info to his wife. I was one of his first patients when he started in my area and that was 26 years ago. I had an emergency before Christmas and was in the hospital. Doctor indicated his wife wanted him to work 10 more years before retiring. I am referred to as his precious but someone that he will always remember as a special unforgettable person and will cherish the memories. At first, I always called him what was it the doctor series where the doctor was very young looking and small. Doctor still looks the same but his hair is totally a beautiful grey and a full head of hair that I wish I had. Southern Bee 

[sidsmom]

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@hckynut wrote:

@sidsmom

What type of Max VO2 tests did you take, and what were your numbers. Please be very, very detailed.

I have taken many and unless there has been a new evolution of how these are done, I am curious to hear exactly how the ones you have taken came up with your Maximum Oxygen Uptake numbers.

hckynut(john)

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@hckynut

I have all the data but they would just be regular random numbers to you & anyone reading.  This was in a gym environment (Life Time Fitness), on a ‘Spin’ bike using a face mask.  It was not to total exhaustion so the maximum HR was calculated.

Here’s a video showing a Life Time Met Test (fast forward to 9:00 for the active met test).  It’s e.x.a.c.t.l.y what I’ve done in the past.

https://youtu.be/g2VbSHqUF4E  (9:00 mark)

I have done the to-exhaustion-max-HR Test waaaaay back 15yrs~ ago (boyfriend was conducting the test & needed a guinea pig!) in a lab environment & I sooooooo didn’t know what I signed up for...it wasn’t purdy. Never.Again.  Life Time’s assessment is plenty for my needs! Ha

[tsavorite]

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@sidsmom wrote:

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@tsavorite wrote:

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@sidsmom wrote:

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@tsavorite wrote:

However there is another formula Mafftone Method I think (read that on some other topic here) that uses 180 - (your age) = HR you should workout at. 

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@tsavorite

That had to be me!  

I love The Maffetone Method...really makes everything simple

to remember numbers, etc.

I’ve taken a lot of VO2 tests & really studied up on heart rate training

and most of them are pretty much in the same ballpark.

If doing structured movement, you should leave the gym feeling like

you could turn around and do more. 😀

There are so many tests, charts & monitors to guide you

but at the end of the day, just put a little ‘giddy up in your go.’

😀🐴

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Yes I believe it was...just can't remember which topic it was under!  Anyway can you go into some detail further....your not saying I need to be really accurate or am I misunderstanding "giddy up and go" ?  

Thank you for your comments and help!

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@tsavorite

I believe for the greater Public, numbers aren’t necessary.

Just make your movement ‘with purpose’ & you’ll still gain the benefits.

If you’re not able to keep up walking w/ hubby...maybe cycling next to him.

Bicycles even have 3 wheels for better balance...maybe that’s an option?  

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@sidsmomLOL no it's not like that LOL....he is taller and just walks very quickly when we are supposed to be out on just a nice walk thur the park....I think I walk at a normal pace but for some reason he just ignores that and goes even quicker.  I ask him to please slow down so we can enjoy the walk but well he just gets ticked off at me and says he is slowing WAY down.  It's not true...I think he just doesn't realize it...or it's habit because of who he is with...he wouldn't do that if a neighbor was there not walking so fast.  It's not supposed to be a workout just a nice stroll looking for bunnies in the wooded areas. 

Ok back to the important stuff on HR....that's kinda what I have been thinking as my doctor doesn't say I have to be doing MAX HR at 160's!  He laughed at me when I asked him that.  He said no....so I do 30mins on the elliptical and have been trying to be able to do 4.0 or 4.1 rpm thur most of it.  Not over pushing myself at all.  

Thanks @hckynut I do understand what you are saying....and back on the challenge thread I was doing that....I just feel disappointed that I am not at the goal I listed in the paragraph above.  I have to look at some other things going on in my over all life and consider that too.  I will consider using the HR chest monitor....I have one that came with the elliptical but it doesn't seem to work.  Husband couldn't get it to either.  Perhaps they give you a junky one with these as a purchase gift.  I know for me to be truthful if something doesn't work easily I'll toss it aside...that's what both husband and I did with it.  

[sidsmom]

@tsavorite

If you’re thinking of buying a HR monitor, you have an iPhone?

A Polar watch w/ chest strap is good, but they make a 

Bluetooth strap that transmits to an app on your phone.

Cool graphs showing zones, etc.  It also gives you audible ques

for zones, etc. I see several people in my gym who use this app.

[tsavorite]

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@sidsmom wrote:

@tsavorite

If you’re thinking of buying a HR monitor, you have an iPhone?

A Polar watch w/ chest strap is good, but they make a 

Bluetooth strap that transmits to an app on your phone.

Cool graphs showing zones, etc.  It also gives you audible ques

for zones, etc. I see several people in my gym who use this app.

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@sidsmom  no I have a android....too bad that looks nice.  Thanks

[tsavorite]

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@sidsmom wrote:

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@hckynut wrote:

@sidsmom

What type of Max VO2 tests did you take, and what were your numbers. Please be very, very detailed.

I have taken many and unless there has been a new evolution of how these are done, I am curious to hear exactly how the ones you have taken came up with your Maximum Oxygen Uptake numbers.

hckynut(john)

---

@hckynut

I have all the data but they would just be regular random numbers to you & anyone reading.  This was in a gym environment (Life Time Fitness), on a ‘Spin’ bike using a face mask.  It was not to total exhaustion so the maximum HR was calculated.

Here’s a video showing a Life Time Met Test (fast forward to 9:00 for the active met test).  It’s e.x.a.c.t.l.y what I’ve done in the past.

https://youtu.be/g2VbSHqUF4E  (9:00 mark)

I have done the to-exhaustion-max-HR Test waaaaay back 15yrs~ ago (boyfriend was conducting the test & needed a guinea pig!) in a lab environment & I sooooooo didn’t know what I signed up for...it wasn’t purdy. Never.Again.  Life Time’s assessment is plenty for my needs! Ha

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@sidsmomWOW I just watched this video....amazing!  I think I kinda understand what it's all about LOL!!  So this kind of thing is done at local places like Life Time Fitness or other gym's??  

This seems to be much more information to go on rather then my annual labs from doctors visits.  I think I need/must get something like this done.  I suspect I am doing it all wrong and am basically in the basement as my starting point.  But with the right information perhaps I can make true fitness improvements then after all.  I have been kinda down in the dumps lately about it all.  

Thanks so much for posting this....really everyone should check it out!

[sidsmom]

@tsavorite

Noooo....you’re doing everything right by being active, you are!

I think you need to go out and stroll with the bunnies!

It’s so nice out during the summer, they should be enjoyed.

Something to be said about,

”Stop and Smell the Roses”. Yes?!

You’ve got this...

[jubilant]

@hckynut

Yes, my EF was around 35, I think.  After a few months they did the test (echo) again and all I remember him saying is they were happy with it and it was in a "normal" range. I have been reading, with interest, all you and others have written here.  I will mention the stress test when I go to my August appointment.

In the past few years, I have chalked my fatique up to everything but heart.  Big mistake. I almost got a stress test a few years ago but it ended up I was just hyperventilating so I canceled it.  I have not had chest pain all my life or shortness of breath. I have always been able to walk at a pretty good clip and talk without being breathless ( DH can confirm that!) As a matter of fact I was on my treadmill for 15 minutes 3 days before my heart attacks.  I did have a small chest spasm.  It seemed odd to me but since I've never had any chest pain...I again chalked it up to something else.

My cholesterol and tryglycerides have been high for many years.  I tried 4 or 5 different statins and they all had a bad effect on me.  Now they want me on something called Repatha which is $14,000 a year.  My insurance will pay $8,000 of that. My cardiologist wants me to take it but I have decided not to. He says the latest studies show that someone like me will do ok for about 5 yrs. but after about 9 yrs. I will probably have to go through heart surgery again.  While he says exercise, eating right, and keeping my weight at a normal weight for me is good....it won't be enough..... he tells me.

  I've got it figured if I live another 10 yrs. I'm ok with that.  I'll be 78 by then and that's good enough for me.  After all it took me till 67 to get where I was heart wise.  Needless to say...my cardiologist isn't happy with my thinking.  His last words to me were....."if you were my mother, I'd tell you to take the Repatha".  This was a hard decision for me to make.  I don't think there is a right or wrong but I do realize I need to make every effort I can and do what is within my power to do. Thanks for all the information to me and others as well.

[hckynut]

Hi @jubilant,

My EF after my 2nd heart attack was 32. My Cardiologist considers 40 to classify a patient in the CHF category. My last Echo my EF was 45-47, while not high, is ok with him. I feel good and to me that is what counts.

I just turned 79 in June and I have said here many times, how many years I live is not important to me and it is not something I even think about, haven't for decades now. What I am able to do in the years I live is much more valuable than a chronological age number.

I made a major life decision in 2011. I have suffered PE(lung blood clots twice) and had a Greenfield Vena Cava Filter installed in my groin. I was on Coumadin/Warfarin for over 7 years. I had to get full blood drawn on average of 3 times every week, some weeks all 7 days. My INR/ProTime numbers would never stabilize.

That was bad enough, but then I spent weeks in the hospital with my Right Colon bleeding. 15 Colonocopies and 5 Double Balloon Enteroscopy's/120+ blood transfusions/15-20 Iron Infusions later, plus being Anemic most of those 7+ years. I had a choice of needing Blood Transfusions about every 3 weeks/being Anemic, or risking deadly PE. 

I chose to quit taking Coumadin/Warfarin and risk the PE. Took me a couple years to regain my strength and energy level, plus reduce the number of Colonoscopy's, and start to live my more normal life once again.

Nothing has changed since. I still need Iron Infusions 2 or 3 times a year, which is fine with me. I am as physically fit as a 79 year old can be, and mentally pretty sound. Being happy with my life is, and has always been my goal. That is where I have been for about 16 months now, and hope to stay there.

Neither of my 2 heart attacks involved Chest Pain. The major symptom for me was a sore throat. I have been physically fit since my early 30's, when a changed my whole lifestyle little by little. Being Anemic and pretty much limited on my activity level for close to 15 years, was not easy for me. With Optimism and dedication to fight on to gain back some of what I lost, was and are still my goals.

Gotta pack up to go skating! Take care,

hckynut(john)

[Nightowlz]

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@MoJoV wrote:

@Harpa I walk 3-5 miles almost every day.  As you said,it's too hot to walk outdoors lately.  Our local park district has a fitness center with an indoor track. I walk there when the weather is bad. Anyone can use it free. Its cool and pleasant there. My point is I hope you can find somewhere like that in your area. It's worth investigating. 

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@MoJoV @Harpa

A lot of people here walk the Mall for exercise. Nice & Cool.