can you strain your heart ?

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ctyguy

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Feb 14, 2008
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Given that the heart is a muscle is it possible to strain it ? I was lifting weights the other day and I decided to try something new. 10 reps at a moderate weight (140 lbs) on the bench press. Then take 50 pounds off and do 15 more reps. Three sets of that. No problems while lifting (other than normal fatigue) but the next day and for several days (including today) I've had issues with my heart like its pulsing when I do certain movements (bending over, certain stretching movements, when I first lay down or recline in a chair). Its an indegestion type feeling and only lasts for a few seconds, 15 or so tops. My chest muscles has been sore as well, more than usual when doing something new, but as of this AM thats pretty much a non-issue. Seems the the issue Im feeling that Im attributing to my heart is improving as well. However I bailed out of a 5 mile turkey trot today just trying to be cautious. Im going to give it at least until tomorrow and see how I feel. Just wanted to see if anyone who does weight training has experienced anything like that.
 
Since I don't do weight lifting Scott, I really don't have an answer for you, but it is a rather interesting one & hopefully someone will come along w/some insight.

I would just advise you to take it easy for a while & if these symptoms persist, call your cardio & see what he thinks. Take care
!:)
 
Hey Scott - I don't know the answer to your question, but I resumed my weight training a few weeks ago. I know I have pushed the envelope a few times but nothing major. I have not experienced what you're describing, only natural pectoral soreness from using atrophied and surgically damaged muscles. My cardiologist keeps telling me the heart itself is fine and can handle pretty stressful aerobic work. My concern with your weight lifting is that it specifically elevates the pressure within your heart. 140 lbs might not be a big bench number for you but if it's a sudden increase....well, you're an experienced lifter I presume, so you know you can hurt yourself...even without having had OHS earlier this year. My completely unqualified opinion is you strained part of a pectoral muscle and the inflamed area has been more sensitive to the blood flowing through those vessels, especially in certain positions. Keep an eye on it and take it easy big guy!
 
Scott, I am not athletic at all, but I do have the pulsing heart feeling when bending over, laying down or reclining.
I attribute it to a change in BP when doing these movements.
Are you monitoring your BP before and after working out?
 
I'll never really know for sure, but about 3 months ago I had my annual checkup, I had a scan and everything seemed fine, I felt normal and had even lost weight...
Just 1 week later I was in hospital with heart palpitations, and again 3 weeks after that I had the exact same thing - I had to be cardioverted each time...
Now it could just be coincidence, and all the doctors can tell me is "perhaps", or maybe I was lifting too much and it accellerated the situation...

But basically I had started a new exercise routine - I had put on 1 stone of weight in the last year, and in the last 5 weeks I had lost it all - now I've generally always been fit and healthy, but this time I trained intensively - with a proper exercise routine - exercising 6 days a week at the gym - 45 minutes weight training then 45 minutes cardio (as well as eating small, HEALTHY meals 5x a day..). I was pushing heavy weights every day - as heavy as I could manage...

It could just be a coincidence, and I have a different body to you, and probably a very different heart condition, but that was the first time I had been in hospital in 8 years with palpitations and the only difference was this exercise routine.. I will never train like that again... its lighter weights and more reps for me and more cardio... heavy weights are gone...

... just my experience...
 
just an update, seems as the chest muscles recovered theother symptoms I was having that I attributed to my heart also subsided. So I think it was the free weights that did it. I didn't have alot of weight on there, but evidently it was enough to dork me up a bit.

But I've decided to officially throw in the towel regarding free weights. I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and saw a workout book by Hershel Wal ker the ex football player. He was/is in incredible shape. His philosophy is purely body weight exercises. He said he never used a bench press in his life, did everything with pushups, pullups, and variations. I normally do 40 or 50 pushups a day anyway but now Im going to "try" to do 100 a day. I also tried to do some pullups in the gym and realized I got a whole lot of work to do. I can do a fair amount of weight when curling (I use 35lbs per arm) but pullups are whole different story. I could BARELY do 5 ! Boy was I shocked ! So now my goal is 4 sets of 10 for pullups and 4 sets of 50 for pushups. Those two things alone will do wonders for my core and upper body. Im not trying to get all buff or anything, I just don't want my waist line to get bigger than my chest !
 
Sounds good CT, I will do some light weights and use my body weight to exercise too.
Bronson2DM_228x345.jpg

There is also a book by a guy called Charles Bronson - hes a pyschopath here in England, he spent his life in prison as he kept beating people up - described as "most violent prisoner in Britain"... he wrote several books... one of them being:
Solitary Fitness:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solitary-Fi...=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228379297&sr=8-5

"Whilst in prison, Bronson has developed an extreme fitness regimen and regularly performs 2,500 press-ups a day." - I'm sure hes won awards for bodybuilding and praise for his book too - its all about exercising using your own body, in a limited amount of space...

err I don't even know why I've written all this, I haven't even read the book - just always fancied it, and I've heard its good... :)
 
just an update, seems as the chest muscles recovered theother symptoms I was having that I attributed to my heart also subsided. So I think it was the free weights that did it. I didn't have alot of weight on there, but evidently it was enough to dork me up a bit.

But I've decided to officially throw in the towel regarding free weights. I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and saw a workout book by Hershel Wal ker the ex football player. He was/is in incredible shape. His philosophy is purely body weight exercises. He said he never used a bench press in his life, did everything with pushups, pullups, and variations. I normally do 40 or 50 pushups a day anyway but now Im going to "try" to do 100 a day. I also tried to do some pullups in the gym and realized I got a whole lot of work to do. I can do a fair amount of weight when curling (I use 35lbs per arm) but pullups are whole different story. I could BARELY do 5 ! Boy was I shocked ! So now my goal is 4 sets of 10 for pullups and 4 sets of 50 for pushups. Those two things alone will do wonders for my core and upper body. Im not trying to get all buff or anything, I just don't want my waist line to get bigger than my chest !

I've never understood why people feel the need to do so many reps. You don't need to do that. Want to keep your waist slim and reduce body fat? Get going on a cardio program...running, cycling, swimming, take spinning classes...or a number of other things. Core work? Tried working with a BOSU or one of those inflated yoga balls? Those will work your core more completely than any of the activities you described. In fact, you can do a number of exercises with nothing but a floor that will strengthen and stretch your core safely. Go online and google "Crossfit". It's a similar approach to Walker's but based on more research and expert input. If it's not outside the budget, hook-up with a personal trainer. By the way, I see guys at the gym all the time who curl ridiculous amounts of weights. Not one of them has "guns", not one...the secret is in the technique, not the amount of the weight. Good luck!
 
Weight training is relatively ignored for weight loss - and shouldn't be - thats not to say train beyond your limit and damage your heart :p

Lifting weights will boost your metabolic rate, which means you burn food off faster, and also having more muscle means you need a greater amount of calories in the day - if you need a greater amount of calories you have more room to play with and can create a greater calorie defecit and lose weight, also as your muscles grow if you don't greatly increase your calorie intake and eat more protein they will feed off your fat too - to a point where you reach your optimum level and start to balance out...

Those guys probably don't have guns as they either dont eat right, or more likely they don't do enough cardio - they will have guns, but just surrounded by fat, and if they did more cardio their fat should soon fall away and reveal muscle much more defined.

weights + cardio + healthy balanced diet = weight loss
 
I only lift two times a week, the rest of the time Im doing cardio. Today for example I did 20 minutes on the treadmill running, 20 minutes on a recumbent stepper and then 20 minutes on a bike. I running 8 to 10 miles a week as well and once I week I take a core class at my gym. The wife and I are pretty much 5 day a week exercise folks, especially the weekends.

I also have read that by doing weight training prior to cardio, which is how I usually do it, you will burn 50% more calories in your cardio session compared to cardio alone. The fact that your muslces are fully oxygenated already is the supposable reason.
 

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