Building muscle for the first time.

[Ashkir]

So. I suffered from lifelong heart problems. Mitral valve problems as a baby and when I was four I was misdiagnosed with Kawasaki disease because back then the doctors kind of was shocked to see a caucasian baby have it. They hounded my parents with a wealth of questions when they decided to get a second diagnoses. It caused damage to my heart, destroyed my aortic valve and part of my heart wall. It was a miracle I survive to the age of seven, and I have amazing doctors to thank for that and all of you whom had heart surgery before me, pioneering the way. My condition was severe enough that Make-A-Wish Foundation approached me and I got to meet my president, President Bill Clinton. I beat the odds, survived a second and third surgery. Third surgery replaced my valve, cut my left venticle chamber in half with donor tissue, repaired my inominate vein and incased my heart in plastic.

Besides a stroke I had a few months ago, apparently because of warfarin problems I've had hardly no pain, been feeling better than ever before in my life. With the new healthcare laws and not having to battle for insurance to pay for a three million dollar surgery, I may have a chance to finally have a life in my late twenties and explore the world for the first time.

My doctor gave me permission to break the weight limit I had all my life, fifteen pounds. I'm up to twenty pounds now. I want to learn to pick things up more, start to build some type of muscle. I can't run. I run out of breath fast. I'm in my 140s in weight. The doctors think I eat far too healthy and banned me from low-fat foods and want me on a high-fat diet because of my weight. They gave me a goal of 150 pounds.

Does anyone have advice of building muscle for the first time, slowly learning to lift? It has to be done slowly, and not stress myself out. But, this is something I really want to do for myself. I want to be able to keep up with my nephews whom are an endless bundle of energy and hopefully one day have a kid of my own (not even considering dating until we're confident my heart problems won't come back).

 

[epstns]

Ashkir,

Welcome. It sure seems that you've been through a lot. Congratulations on having the inner strength to come this far.

As for building muscular strength, I'm no expert, but maybe it would make sense to use a routine like they commonly prescribe for cardiac rehab patients after heart surgery or heart attacks. I don't have a link, but there are probably several around the internet if you start searching "cardio rehab" and "weight training." When I did rehab, the center had small one-hand barbells starting at 2.5 pounds, going all the way up to 25 or 30 pounds each. They had us try out the successively heavier weights until we found the maximum weight with which we were comfortable, then started a daily exercise routine using that amount of weight. As time went on and we became comfortable with the weight, they moved us up to the next heavier barbell. This went on through the 12-week program. I was a gym rat prior to my valve surgery, yet I had to start out with about 7.5 pounds in each hand. By the end of the 12 weeks, I was up to 12 pounds, and have gone only up to 15 pounds now. I just do more repetitions of the exercises. Of course, I'm now 64 years old, and don't need to build massive muscles to impress the girls any more. I just need enough muscle to maintain daily activities.

I would also suggest that you discuss weight training with your cardiologist. He/she may have some instructions specific to your own heart and vascular health.

 

[bocco]

Ashkir,

Check this link: http://bodyforlife.com/library/exercise/weight-training

Download the exercise guide to fill out for your work outs. There's lots of good info here for the beginner to make sure that you get all of the muscle groups and learn good basic exercises to start with. Most of them you could do at home with a bench and a small set of weights.

Also look for high protein foods or even protein shakes after your workouts.

I'm sure gymguy will chime in with more good advice.

Let's put some meat on your bones.

Gary

 

[dick0236]

About 10-12 years ago, I began to experience severe upper spinal pain due to a couple of degenerative disks and an orthopedic doc put me on a weight machine program to build up my upper body to help support my head and take pressure off my spine. After awhile, as I continued to increase the weights, the back discomfort began to return. When I questioned my ortho doc, he suggested I cut all my weights in half and double the repititions......unless I was trying to "bulk up" to impress the ladies LOL. In my case, the reduced weights and increased reps has paid off in keeping me stronger and more agile. My own experience is "eat the elephant one bite at a time".

 

[TheGymGuy]

I am going to chime in with the best advice I can give. Hire a personal trainer that has experience working with people post OHS or other major surgery (really anything would do). Tell them your goals which are mass gain (lean and fat) and strength, and work with them diligently for some time. Best thing about hiring a professional is that they will monitor and test your progress and make adjustments as needed as well as provide a personalized diet for you specifically.

I can give advice but it is tailored to me and how I do better or people with similar body types.

DIET:
If you are a hard gainer first thing we need to do is UPPPPP the calories. Healhty calories are simple. Extra large glass (2 cups worth) of whole milk in the AM, PM and mid-day if possible. I prefer organic whole milk. Also, a 1 handfulls each of nuts like Almonds, Pistachios and Peanuts for snacks here and there, so basically 1 serving per day of each of those nuts. This will up your calories enough to gain .5-1lb a week if you were to do nothing.

EXERCISE:
Resistance training is the best one to gain some mass (machines are the safest to use in the beginning). Anything works in the beginning. If it causes you to huff and puff and you feel that you are putting in effort it is working.

Hope this helps,
GymGuy

 

[H.E.pumper]

I like how my President, President George W. Bush did NOT let his body go to pot even with the stresses of his job. He worked out regularly and he's still very robust. And speaking of 'new healthcare laws' you mentioned, I am VERY thankful I had my operation before the hordes of government hack bureaucrats came between me and my Cardiologist and Heart Surgeon....whew! :thumbup: Since I'm only 5 weeks post-op I'm just starting cardiac therapy (3 days/week) and the therapists said they would get me back on free weights, eventually, since I told them I used them regularly pre-op. I plan to glean as much professional advice every time I visit.

Tom

 

[EnglishmanInShanghai]

Hi,

I think the first thing to do is get your whole body into some kind of physical condition before you engage in any weight lifting. This can mean doing simple exercises like low level aerobics type movements and using your own body weight to add resistance such as press ups. Yoga is a very good form of exercise too as it is low impact and can improve posture, build muscle strength and more importantly tendon strength, which can be overlooked when engaging in exercise and thus cause injury. Tai Chi is good too, very good for your legs. You can also add some basic cardio like fast paced walking to increase energy levels.

When you feel comfortable with this routine and think you are physical ready for it then you can introduce a free weight routine, with dumbells perhaps, doing simple exercises like biceps curls, triceps presses, etc. It would be best to consult a trained professional or doctor as to which movements are acceptable, I personally can not do movements above my head such as shoulder presses so I will need to restrict shoulder exercises to movements like shrugs and front/lateral flyes. For leg exercises you can do movements such as slow squats (just using your body weight for resistance or with light dumbells in your hands) and toe raises on the stairs for your calves.

With respect to weight lifting, people in our condition are restricted to low weights but this isn't an issue to build muscle. Traditional schools of thought have you lifting progressively heavier weights to build strength and muscle but you can get equal, or even better, results using slow motion weight training, it is all about intensity not the amount of weight you lift. This kind of training seems to be better too as you can still keep good form and have less risk straining or tearing anything. I'm looking into this kind of training myself for when I get back into a training routine. Here's a link to give you an idea Of what it is all about but you can also google it and get much more info.

Please don't take what I have said as gospel, I'm not a trained professional, this is just what I have looked into myself and from my experience weight training when I was a teenager (before I knew I had a heart condition). Always consult a qualified professional before engaging in any kind of exercise to make sure it won't cause you any harm. I think the trick is to go slowly and move up a notch when you feel absolutely confident about it.

Hope this helps and good luck!