Weight lifting with valve and aneurysm replacement

[Brinntache]

I agree with the high rep strategy. The online guru debate seems to be volume training vs intensity training. My bff is all about max weight to failure in a set. I am about lifting to wear me out without bulging veins. I do some light exercises/weights with my morning coffee, a 45 minute video workout with the wife before dinner, and maybe some weight reps while I watch TV. It is giving me results. Not a max gains bulk, but I am bulking up (compared to before. )

 

[Froller2]

Sorry that you were not given the news that you wanted about heavy lifting. Although this is not the type of lifting that you want to do, you can get good results doing lower weight and higher reps, as your surgeon is allowing. You should give it a try. I've been doing push ups 6 days/week and leg lunges 3x per week and have seen results myself. I will never be able to get back to my college days when I was lifting heavy, but I believe that high rep has better long term health benefits, so I'm personally ok with it.

As to your comment about not eating green veggies, yes you can. I suggest you self test your INR and see how much change, if any occurs when you gradually eat more greens. And if it does drop, you just adjust your warfarin dose accordingly. There are several threads on this forum about this topic and those who have been taking warfarin for years will generally tell you the same thing. I've been on it for just over a year and I eat as much greens as I want. Most days I have anywhere from 1 to 3 large Mediterranean salads, loaded with greens. My INR is in range over 90% of the time.

There are also threads on drinking alcohol which I suggest that you check out. True, it is probably not a good idea to go out and get piss drunk- the that is primarily because you don't want to fall down and hit your head. If you self test, you can see how your INR responds to 1,2, 3+ drinks. I have had several days in which I drink a lot over course of the day, if I am with my friends watching the fights. I will usually check my INR the next morning. For me, it does not respond at all if I have 1-3 drinks. On the rare occasions in which I drink 5+, it will go up a little, but still stay in my safe range.

They key is to "know thyself", which is why self testing is the way to go.

Currently being taught to use the home inr machine, 1/3 seminars done thus far
And yeah but i was adviced to eat a 100g of greens a day.
And yes I know i technically could drink but til I'm fully done with the seminar I'm not keen on the risk. Thanks for the kind words

 

[Froller2]

Start swimming. A swimmer's body is a lot sexier to most than a "hulk." Plus it's good for your overall cardiovascular health. "Open a new door."

Haven't swam in ages, and honestly it is fun though there's no pool area anywhere near my area (30km)

 

[Froller2]

I agree with the high rep strategy. The online guru debate seems to be volume training vs intensity training. My bff is all about max weight to failure in a set. I am about lifting to wear me out without bulging veins. I do some light exercises/weights with my morning coffee, a 45 minute video workout with the wife before dinner, and maybe some weight reps while I watch TV. It is giving me results. Not a max gains bulk, but I am bulking up (compared to before. )

I Know that low weight high reps are good aswell, but for muscle mass low rep high weight is the to go and the thing I've been doing for the last 8months, i will have to adjust as life is more important, though i truly cared for lifting

 

[Froller2]

I agree with the high rep strategy. It pays off in the performance of everyday activities and gives you a well-defined lean look.

It's what I'm going to do, thoughts the workouts will be longer, and the muscles slower i will do that

 

[DDT77]

Used to throw hay bales and bowhunt with 75 lb pull bow, so the lack of strength aspects is not so nice. Bowhunting with a loud clicker is not destined to be a successful endeavor anyhow.

 

[pellicle]

Bowhunting with a loud clicker is not destined to be a successful endeavor anyhow.

hard to know ... they may not recognise what it is

 

[Chuck C]

And yeah but i was adviced to eat a 100g of greens a day.

Once you get comfortable home testing, you can eat more and see how your INR responds. I eat over 150g of greens per day, as well as probably over 200g other vegetables containing vitamin K.

The saying that I've heard, in terms of how to live life on warfarin, is to dose the diet, don't diet the dose. To me this means to eat what you want, with respect to foods which contain vitamin K, such as greens, then adjust your dose accordingly. At this point I don't personally measure how much I eat in terms of greens. I eat a ton. Some days I probably eat 2x as much greens and other veggies than other days and I see no movement in my INR when I do. But, your situation may not be the same as mine. The key is to test often and know thyself.

 

[d333gs]

It's what I'm going to do, thoughts the workouts will be longer, and the muscles slower i will do that

When I was playing lots of tennis I got an electro stimulator with TENS to reduce pain then started using it on my shoulders with a higher current to get tone.
Maybe a combination would work for you with less stress on your heart etc?

 

[d333gs]

delete

 

[hevishot]

One Dr. told me not to lift more than "25 lbs." Another told me "high reps low weight." Yet another told me "no limitations." So the only conclusion I could make from all this is that the medical community has no idea what the hell they are talking about. So I just said "screw them" and now I am a competitive powerlifter and and have been for the past 17 years. I train very heavy 5x per week. I am not giving advice here. This is just what I do. Good luck.

 

[DDT77]

hard to know ... they may not recognise what it is

Im quite good as a "driver", they know whatever it is, it's not friendly, and depart the area with vigor.

 

[Wiles Darkwinter]

@hevishot agreed. Get after it!

 

[Redone]

One Dr. told me not to lift more than "25 lbs." Another told me "high reps low weight." Yet another told me "no limitations." So the only conclusion I could make from all this is that the medical community has no idea what the hell they are talking about. So I just said "screw them" and now I am a competitive powerlifter and and have been for the past 17 years. I train very heavy 5x per week. I am not giving advice here. This is just what I do. Good luck.

Way to go!! Like you, I am a former bodybuilding competition and when my cardiologist told me my Bicuspid Valve needed replacing, I had an aneurysm at 4.5 and two Coronary Arteries in the wrong spot they said, no weight training, no mountain climbing. I did just the opposite and trained like a demon for 6 months. I was training before, but I added sets, and hiked a ton through the summer and right up to surgery. I was told after surgery that my heart was operating at 75% capacity. Now I'm looking forward to a summer full of hiking and hard ones too!

 

[Redone]

When I was playing lots of tennis I got an electro stimulator with TENS to reduce pain then started using it on my shoulders with a higher current to get tone.
Maybe a combination would work for you with less stress on your heart etc?

These electric stim machines are amazing!! A PT told one of my clients they weren't a good resource. As a Personal Trainer I was shocked to hear this. I have a frayed labrum and will need a hip replacement at some point and this device has helped me so much! It's allowed me to lift heavy and hike hard.

 

[Redone]

I agree with the high rep strategy. The online guru debate seems to be volume training vs intensity training. My bff is all about max weight to failure in a set. I am about lifting to wear me out without bulging veins. I do some light exercises/weights with my morning coffee, a 45 minute video workout with the wife before dinner, and maybe some weight reps while I watch TV. It is giving me results. Not a max gains bulk, but I am bulking up (compared to before. )

I used to lift super heavy when I was youger and competing. As a Personal Trainer I encourage clients to lift as heavy as their body allows them based on past/current injuries, any aches or pains they might have. Heavy weights could be 20's for one person and too much for another. Now I might squat 95lbs when years ago it was 185lbs for example. I don't have the same muscle mass as I did when lifting heavy, but to alleviate some muscle loss adding sets can work, also including cardio squat jumps (tiny one), burpees, or jumping jacks can give you an amazing cardio/strength workout. The best thing about lifting as heavy as you can for say 12 - 15 reps (try sticking with 12) is when you have more muscle your body burns more calories at rest even when you're watching TV.

 

[cldlhd]

After my aneurysm replacement I do some weightlifting but nothing extreme.

 

[cldlhd]

I agree with the high rep strategy. The online guru debate seems to be volume training vs intensity training. My bff is all about max weight to failure in a set. I am about lifting to wear me out without bulging veins. I do some light exercises/weights with my morning coffee, a 45 minute video workout with the wife before dinner, and maybe some weight reps while I watch TV. It is giving me results. Not a max gains bulk, but I am bulking up (compared to before. )

When I was a young man I would lean towards the bulging vein method but after I learned I had an aortic aneurysm in 2014 and had it replaced in 2015 I adjusted my opinion on it

 

[Wiles Darkwinter]

There’s a few threads on exercise on this forum. I think the general consensus is there isn’t enough (or any perhaps) research/studies on weightlifting pre and post aortic aneurysm repair. In terms of the valve replacement without aneurysm: AVR bio valve - can train no dramas. AVR mech, can train no dramas just watch your INR (see @pellicle for advice on this)

Theoretically, BP rises during exercise, and heavy weightlifting even more so, this would put pressure on a weakened aorta. My cardiologist did a BP response to exercise test on me and fortunately my BP didn’t go anywhere near the dangerous zone when I was lifting weights. Interestingly it was higher when I was almost at the end of the stress test on the treadmill.

The murky waters are pre repair. Unfortunately for those stuck in the waiting room for years I understand this would be frustrating. I personally would be taking the opportunity to get a new hobby in this time. I was lucky that my surgery occurred pretty quickly between my aneurysms discovery and it’s repair.

From what I’ve been told Post repair, you can pretty much lift as normal. But this is not a place for clinical advice. Go and find a sports cardiologist who works with athletes and they will be able to advise. The whole “don’t lift more than 20lbs” thing is generic advice not tailored to you.
If you’re not a powerlifter, and just a weekend warrior who likes to bench press and curl In the “hypetrophy” range. I think you’re fine. Im
12 months on, and i box, run, lift weights each week. Feel like nothing ever happened. But I’m not going for a PR deadlift, despite having no “restrictions”

 

[pellicle]

after I learned I had an aortic aneurysm in 2014 and had it replaced in 2015 I adjusted my opinion on it

learning without experiencing is a sign of intelligence, its the basis of education and training (why lose an arm when you can pay attention in safety classes).

However in the human population we have the whole gamut, its sort of sad that medical science enables this concept to not propagate as fast as it should. Although we do have the Darwin Awards