Renewing myself...or at least trying to!!

[Bulltahr]

Your still doing good Sensei, you have the self motivation. 80 pounds is a LOT! So you are still better off than before. See the Cardiologist, see what he says and go from there.

[JR 137]

I'm very sorry to hear this. The good news is you recognized it, were treated for it, and are here to tell us about it.

Hopefully your cardiologist can figure out what happened, treat it, and how to avoid it from reoccurring. Perhaps it was just a temporary setback and nothing more.

[mazzybear]

Went to the gym last night, but, it's not a good report!!

While on the StairMaster, I was struggling to maintain, and at the 10 minute mark, I stepped off. I was huffing and puffing like all get out.

Then I went to the TreadMill, and I was struggling as well, and at the 10 minute mark, I stepped off.

I usually breeze through my workouts, with no problems!!

My heart rate was at 189!!

My heart rate is usually around 134-140, depending on what I'm doing.

I went home, took off my workout shirt, wiped myself down in the attempt to cool down....NO SUCH LUCK!!

I felt as though I was reliving it when I first was diagnosed with Afib in September 2016.

I'm SCARED!!

My wife took me to the emergency room immediately.

Nurses hooked up the EKG, put an IV in, took some blood, gave me a few shots for the Afib. Then I had an X-Ray of my chest.

Doctor confirmed...

MY AFIB HAD RETURNED!!

Doctor admitted me into the hospital overnight for observations due to when I first came into the emergency, my Afib was uncontrolled, but 5 hours later, my Afib was controlled.

My heart finally settled down to 76bpm, but the Afib was and is still there.

I was doing so well...until...NOW!! Lost 80 pounds, watching my diet, exercising, I mean, I was doing good!!

I'll return to the gym tomorrow, but I'll be back doing my modified gym work; which is what I was doing last September.

I was going to buy a mountain bike...NOT NOW!!

I was going to run 4 more 5K runs...NOT NOW!!

Back to the Cardiologist for plan 'B'!!

Sorry to hear this, Bob. You were doing so great. But like JR said, you recognised the problem and dealt with it. It's unfortunate you'll have to adjust your workouts but, at least you're still able to do those workouts. Stay strong, you got rid of it once before, you will again!!! You're still in a better place physically than you were last year, so keep a positive mindset and one step at a time, you'll get to where you need to be!

We're all still behind you 100%

Mo.

[sensei8]

My battle is still waging forward; no give up in me!!

I do miss the hard workouts that I've become accustomed to since January, when my Afib was eliminated via a Cardiac Inversion...the shock of my life, so to speak, to get my heart back on regular sinus rhythm.

My modified workout as of late is better than nothing.

StairMaster

*20 minutes

*Level: 4 or 5 with a 2 minute cool-down at the 10 minute mark and at the end of the 20 minutes, both on level 1.

*Heart Rate: 154

*Calorie Burn: 235

TreadMill

*20 minutes

*Speed: 3.5 for first 5 minutes, then 3.0 for the remaining 15 minutes, with a 5 minute cool-down at 3.5

*Incline: 2.0

*Heart Rate: 170

*Calorie Burn: 300

***Note: With Afib, the heart will race!! My heart will race near 190bpm if I go any higher than 2.0 incline. Put me on my usual 8.0 and 15.0 incline, for the time I usually go, is very dangerous for me, and being able to calm down the heart at that rate, is, for me, difficult to do.

Rowing

*10 minutes

*2000KM

*Heart Rate: 150

*Calorie Burn: 180

Stationary Bike

*10 minutes

*2.5 miles

*Level: 5

*Heart Rate: 160

*Topography: Hilly with gears set at 6 out of 12

*Calorie Burn: 210

Free Weights

*1 hour

*Various [With this, reps outweigh weight]

*Heart Rate: 155

*Calorie Burn: 275

Battle Ropes

*30 minutes

*13 different exercises

*Heart Rate: 160

*Calorie Burn: 175

Hanging Bag/Kata

*5 rounds of 3 minutes each [Kicks]

*10 rounds of 3 minutes each [Hands]

*26 Kata's, at normal speed

*Heart Rate: Hanging bag = 160...Kata = 165

*Calorie Burn: Total of both = 325

Pace!!

That's key with Afib. Cardiologist has always said for me to do whatever I can tolerate. For me, that advice SUCKS!! Why? I can tolerate quite a lot; always have, always will. So I push myself, admitting so, because that's what I've done my entire life, especially when it comes to the MA...I don't know the word NO or STOP or QUIT; and if I'm not careful, I'll push myself into a coma or into a coffin.

So, pacing is difficult for me to adhere to. So, I'm speaking with a trainer this Thursday 7pm to conduct an assessment to help me to recognize whenever I might be pushing myself to close to the danger zone regarding my heart rate. Don't want to have a heart attack of any type while I'm at the gym.

Still on track with my weight loss...but I've hit another plateau of not getting lower than the 250lbs range, and I've still got until October 2017 to lose 35lbs to reach my weight loss goal. I'm still carefully watching my diet; very strictly!!

Will still do the four 5K's remaining in this year, with 2 in August and 2 in September. Be buying my mountain bike next month.

Just have to be smart...and PACING MYSELF!!

[Alan Armstrong]

That's right sensei8 just have to be smart and pace yourself; count me in.

The four heart attack stripes on my belt, were very painful lesson to learn; with two more, I will fill up the loyalty card from the hospital and get a FREE pace maker; till then.

Be smart and pace yourself, the alternative is to get a loyalty card like mine, so I will follow your advice and avoid the device.

[sensei8]

That's right sensei8 just have to be smart and pace yourself; count me in.

The four heart attack stripes on my belt, were very painful lesson to learn; with two more, I will fill up the loyalty card from the hospital and get a FREE pace maker; till then.

Be smart and pace yourself, the alternative is to get a loyalty card like mine, so I will follow your advice and avoid the device.

Solid post!! Thanks, Alan!!

I walked home this afternoon from WalMart after we went shopping for groceries; this is something I do on a regular basis.

That's a 1.5 mile walk on various topography. Armed with my cell phone and a bottle of water, I began my brief sojourn home. My wife called me every 10 minutes to make sure I was alright. It was quite warm, so I dressed very light and wore a baseball cap to keep the sun off me as much as I could.

That walk took me about 30 minutes. When I arrived home, I checked my heart rate, and surprising enough, it was 113bpm...AWESOME!! I was expecting it to be 170bpm - 180bpm, but I was glad to see that it wasn't

That walk was a brisk one, but I paced myself.

[Jahid08]

Best of luck... It's good to see you on very well position.

[sensei8]

Thank you, each and everyone who's supporting me on this journey; means everything to me.

Things are going great at the gym. Hired a trainer for just one session to provide me some more structure so that I don't give myself a heart attack while at the gym. Afib, causes the heartbeat to race higher than normal. And the way that I attack the gym, can put my heartbeat at a very high risk of having a heart attack.

Being smart at this moment!! Which will be new for me...being smart, that is a stretch for me.

While my goal is to lose 111lbs by October 2017 is still alive and well, I must be honest with myself, the Afib coming back, has slowed the process of losing the weight like I want to. Yes, I'm losing weight, but not at the rate I was per month.

Plateau's are a tad harder to break with the Afib, but not impossible. I have to remember this one thing...

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

So, I constantly change my approaches to my exercise: Health first...weight loss, a very close second.

Tomorrow...I'm entered into a 5K run again, starting at 730am...I'll be there. I'll pace myself, and I'll complete it. It'll take a little time to finish it, but it's not a race, and if it was a race, well, I'd come in last...and love it!!

[sensei8]

5K aside, I might've bit off more than I could chew...maybe!!

My number was 158 for the run. Or in my case, jog.

Another sea of participants, which with this being my second 5K in Tulsa, OK, I blindly thought that there wouldn't be such a large following. So much for what I know.

The run started promptly at 0730, partial cloud cover, which kept the direct sun at bay. I was in about the middle of the pack, and darn near got ran over by some of the overly enthusiastic runners. I suppose they really want to win the run, whereas, I just want to finish the run.

The overall run has 3 parts to it. There's the 1 Mile Fun Run. Then there's the 5K. Then there's the 10K.

The 1 Mile Fun Run is where you run in about a 4 block radius in downtown Tulsa, OK, all routes are very well marked. In the 1 Mile Fun Run, participants can either walk or run, and this is where you'll see strollers and a lot of kids.

The 5K is where you run 3.5 miles on a selected route through downtown Tulsa, OK. And I was surprised, more than last time, that this time there were more hills than I could've imagined there would be in downtown. In a car, one doesn't pay much attention to the hills, if at all.

The 10K is where you run 6.2 miles. In short, for the 10K, you will do the 5K twice, following the same well marked route as those who are only running in the 5K.

There are several "Water Stations" found throughout the route, for remaining hydrated throughout the entire run, no matter if it's just the 1 Mile Fun Run or the 5K or the 10K.

Yeah, I call it a run, but I was corrected several times yesterday that it's a race, and not a run. You race your race, and I'll run my run!

This is my first 5K with me having back my Afib!! Like I mentioned earlier, I might've bit off more than I should have. I did push myself. Even though I found a nominal pace in which to survive the run, and I did complete the 5K run in 47:51:19. Snail pace, to be sure of. I was darn near dead last place when I crossed the finish line. So slow, that some of the 10K runners had finished theirs by the time I had finally finished my 5K.

I drank the water slowly, and partook the advantages of each and every Water Stations along the route. Wore a hat, some sunscreen, and lose clothing.

I was alarmed after I crossed the finish line, I wasn't fatigued whatsoever, much, but I was a little winded, which is to be expected with Afib, and had just finished a 5K run. What alarmed me at the finish line was my HBPM [Heart Beats per Minutes]...195bpm...

My target rate HPM is 160bpm during exercise and the like. 195bpm can become fatal!! Standing under a huge fan blowing water mists, drinking ice cold water, and doing my breathing exercises to bring my bpm down, eventually helped; took me a solid 10 minutes to bring my bpm down to 84bpm-98bpm. Yes, that's still above normal, but not with my age and having Afib.

I enjoy the 5K; it's a great cardio, and I usually lose anywhere from 6-8lbs from the run. I've done the 5K back in Houston, TX in just under 30 minutes, and my hbpm averaged 113bpm, and in less than 2 minutes, I'd bring my bpm down to 64-68bpm without Afib.

There's one more 5K in two weeks, then there's 2 more 5K's in September to end the season.

I am on the fence if I'll do any of them because of the 195bpm I experienced. Don't want to run into a heart attack of any kind, just for the sake of exercise and the like.

I'll find out if I can walk the 5K or not. After all, it is a "race"/run, and not a 5K walk.

I did return to the gym last night, and spent about 1 hour and 45 minutes on the StairMaster, TreadMill, Rowing, and free weights doing some variety of things so that I'm not doing the same thing over and over expecting different results, and not achieving a darn thing.

[bushido_man96]

5K's Bob? You're a better man than me! Nice work!