Weightlifting

[Lauratx22]

Hi-

My cardiologist said "return to working out but no heavy lifting" I love doing push-ups and I forgot to ask her about those.. what is your take on those? Also, she said no more than 20 pounds on dumbbells....prior surgery I was lifting 15 pounds and slowly inching to 20 pounds...I know she doesn't put that limit on men so I am wondering if I should consult another cardiologist for weight limits who does not think "old school" about women and weights...

I had my mitral valve repaired on 01/30/2012 and had an echo done recently and it showed moderate leakage so something went wrong with the ring? so,I'll be lifting with moderate leakage........


Thanks-Laura

 

[Mom2izzy]

I would think pushups would depend on how much you think your upper body weighs. My surgeon lifted all of my restrictions at 5 weeks post op and told me I could lift my 35 pound little girl...

ETA: I had a mitral valve repair as well, but so far no leakage (knock on wood)

 

[Lauratx22]

Same here with my daughter who weighs 28 pounds. She meant repetitive lifting....

 

[TheGymGuy]

Majority of these restriction are for CYA (cover your butt) purposes, they would rather avoid a lawsuit or keep you waaaaay out of danger than let you try to push yourself a little bit. I have major issues with that. Though, you do have moderate leakage and that might be a sound advice - do you know what they want to do about that? What is the plan for next several years?

Lastly, you could either ask your current cardiologist their honest opinion off the record, or try another one that caters to runners and weightlifters. When looking for another one you can ask for anonymous patient profile and hopefully they will be willing to share.

 

[bocco]

Laura,

My opinion (and it's just my opinion) is that if you can do 10 or 12 reps without a lot of grunt you are probably OK. I plan to use that as my general rule when I get in the gym. But watch any chest exercise unless your sternum is fully healed. You can always start with a lighter dumbell press and work into it.

I got lots of grief about weight lifting from my Dr.s and most everybody in the hospital. Just may be CYA but it looks to me so far like those of us that work out recover faster.

Good luck

Gary

 

[AgilityDog]

You are only 8 weeks out. Your sternum and muscles are still healing. I'd go easy on the weights for another 6 to 8 weeks (speaking from experience -ouch).

As for the moderate leakage, talk to your cardio about your specific situation.

 

[hook]

I hit the weights about twice a week, and have good results. I use 35lb dumbbells (70lb total) on the flat bench and 30lb for military press; I use lighter weight for other supporting movements. I don't think it is the weight but how hard you strain and how well you breath. I do about 12 to 15 reps to get a good solid burn, but don't push it to failure like I used to. I also ensure I exhale on the push every time, NEVER HOLD YOUR BREATH. This is what I do, so I am not saying this is right for you. I told my Doc about this plan and he said he simply didn't want me to strain.

 

[Ovie]

I had Aortic Valve Replacement with a mechanical valve put in, I'm 8 weeks post op, I'm really looking to hit the weights when my sternum is nice and solid..I was told about 3months..anybody have insight on wether I can do that and if so about how long I should wait? Of course I'll get the OK from my Cardiologist first, figured I'd ask here first since I don't see him till June, and I feel as if I should be able to do weights before then..even if it's 10-15lbs.

 

[TheGymGuy]

Ovie, I had my 3 week appointment and we talked about me doing some leg exercises as all of these do not use sternum or upper body at all. Basically, it is better to do something than nothing. Here is a sample list I came up with: bodyweight squats, box squats, paused squats, 1 legged squats (pistols), wall sits and holds, lunges, reverse lunges, bodyweight standing calf raises, laying leg raises (should hit abs too), step-ups, hip thrusts/bridges....... You could even work your lower abs, but fixing your upper body on the ground and doing one leg raise, 2 leg raises, bicycles, scissors, static leg holds, etc....... You would need to keep your back, neck and head attached to the ground to make sure that your ribcage is flat and not pulling/pushing your sternum.

Lower body makes up for more than 50% of you muscle mass, and it is completely reasonable to challenge it just a tiny bit as your heart permits. Of course, run these by your cardiologist. You can always call him on the phone and chat for 2-3 minutes.

 

[Ray Norsworthy]

I would be exceedingly careful about doing pushups. Better off using a machine at your health club, concentrate on reps for now. If you do pushups, don't go too wide or it will pull on your sternum.

 

[Lauratx22]

When did you guys start doing jumping jacks?? I do them but hold the chest with the other hand....

 

[TheGymGuy]

Instead of jumping jacks for the same amount of cardio or more, you can just take stairs up and down without holding on. I'd say 3 flights up fast, walk down slow, rinse and repeat.
Same effect, no sternum usage

 

[ElectLive]

When did you guys start doing jumping jacks?? I do them but hold the chest with the other hand....

Funny you should mention this...just this week my daughter asked me to help teach her how to do real jumping jacks (she's been doing a very cute, but technically poor, 3 year old version for a while now). Anyway, I'm not sure I'd done jumping jacks since high school, but stepped right up to show her how it's done and....felt an extremely brief but very noticeable painful twinge in my chest after about 5 or so jumps into my lesson.

Now, I'm over a year and a half post surgery, so it's more funny, than worrisome, how little twinges like this still happen every now and then. It's usually when I'm wrestling my 18 month old, I should probably point out. Absolutely no harm, though, likely just one of the wires poking me when I twist just the right/wrong way.

So, you may be just fine, or you may have surprise sensations like me even much later, but either way, stairs sound like a great alternative for the time being.

 

[MarkU]

Prior to my AVR I was a heavylifter/bodybuilder. My doc let me go back to the gym three months post op, but under the condition that I switch to moderate weights/high reps and not to lift to failure. "Moderate" weight is a relative term depending on the individual; I'd define it as a weight where you can do 10-12 reps for three sets without straining too much.

The only real problem that I had was doing any exercise or machine that put pressure against my sternum; the area around my incision was extremely tender & sore for quite some time.

Good luck,
Mark

 

[SumoRunner]

I was never very big into lifting, so when the cardiologist said "no heavy wts" I was perfectly OK with it. The most I've done in the last 20+ yrs was maybe 155 lb bench, otherwise I just use 20 lb dumbbells. I am a shot putter but it doesn't really take a whole lot of strength to throw a 5 Kg ball. Speed of release is the key, so I do tons of pushups and try to do them fast, 8 sets of 40 this morning.

 

[TheGymGuy]

Prior to my AVR I was a heavylifter/bodybuilder. My doc let me go back to the gym three months post op, but under the condition that I switch to moderate weights/high reps and not to lift to failure. "Moderate" weight is a relative term depending on the individual; I'd define it as a weight where you can do 10-12 reps for three sets without straining too much.

The only real problem that I had was doing any exercise or machine that put pressure against my sternum; the area around my incision was extremely tender & sore for quite some time.

Good luck,
Mark

May I ask why your doc put such a restriction on you? Did you have some other issues that were not addressed during surgery? Were they afraid your heart stitches will not sustain the pressure heavy weightlifting will put on them

 

[MarkU]

My cardiologist was fearful that spikes in my BP during heavy lifting might be harmful. No other complicating issues, just a conservative approach on his part. He also put some limitations on my HR during aerobic exercise, not wanting me to get above 95% of my lactic threshold HR for any sustained period of time.
Ironically, my cardiologist is now a big advocate of spending more time in weight training to offset muscle loss due to aging (I'm turning 59 next week).
Mark

 

[TheGymGuy]

I know this is very individual, but how can spikes in BP be harmful when they fixed everything. Are they worried the stitches on the valve or aorta will come undone? Or are they worried that higher BP will cause new aneurysms. If this was said to me I would ask for justification 59 years young is the perfect age to workout, lift heavy and boost your T (yes, big T, stands for testosterone) count. Big T is great for all sorts of things and most men benefit from keeping it naturally higher since it starts dipping once we turn 40.

 

[SumoRunner]

An artificial valve has a greater tendency to form mini clots, hence the coumadin to reduce clotting factor. Higher thoracic pressure also has a greater chance of forming and then dislodging clots and sending them off into the smaller blood vessels. I had an mini-stroke in 1987, years before AVR. While doing a heavy workout (pull-ups) something flew off the defective valve and blocked the speech center in the brain. Since then, the cardio said no heavy lifting.

Of course, "heavy" is relative. As explained to me, it means do not take a lift to failure. I just got done doing pushups, 8 sets of 40. While I could do much more than 40 in a row, I choose a relatively comfortable number and go for endurance.

 

[TheGymGuy]

An artificial valve has a greater tendency to form mini clots, hence the coumadin to reduce clotting factor. Higher thoracic pressure also has a greater chance of forming and then dislodging clots and sending them off into the smaller blood vessels.....

I have been doing research for 2 days all over the web and cannot find anything that confirms or for that matter denies what you said about higher thoracic pressure causing more clots. I am seeing my surgeon on Monday and will ask him about it. If anyone else can shed any light on this I would be very interested. Also, any research I found points at unhealthy arteries where higher BP forms clots and sends them upstream. It mostly talks about a system where plumbing is restrictive and higher BP causes issues, so those patients go on BP meds and exercise restrictions.