Exercise & Physical Fitness in ER

[wildcat]

Interesting topic and an important one as well. I was diagnosed with a Mitral Valve Prolapse condition (born with it) when I was 15-16 yrs old. The doc said it could get progressively worse as I got older. He told me valve replacement surgery could be a likely event. Scared the hell out me and it was all the motivation I needed to eat good foods and exercise on a regular basis. I have had annual visits since then and luckily my condition has not worsened but I still feel the effects of it.

I guess I was lucky to adopt (or to be scared enough) a healthy lifestyle early. Never a better time to start.

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm good about regular exercise, but every year or so I tend to strain my back doing something. Having a sore back instantly adds 8 years to how old you feel.

I find that using a rowing machine helps keep the back strong, but I really need to do other regular back exercises, and they are especially boring -- I usually quit after a few weeks.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Yup, Health issues are the real worry for enjoying retirement.  Not health costs! - Health!  I have a couple of friends that both came down with Type II Diabetes in the last couple years. Not fun to watch.

I try and hit the Health Club about 3-4 times per week and keep weight under check. It is a losing battle in the end, but making it to age 80 without major problems is my goal.  Also I plan on doing everything important to me by age 80 as well. Every day after that age is mostly living on borrowed time.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I'm good about regular exercise, but every year or so I tend to strain my back doing something.  Having a sore back instantly adds 8 years to how old you feel. 

I find that using a rowing machine helps keep the back strong, but I really need to do other regular back exercises, and they are especially boring -- I usually quit after a few weeks.

I fish with a Doc friend of mine that specializes in back pain. He often comments that the best thing to have to protect your back, is strong stomach muscles. Crunchies for the Abs work the best and preventing the 'beer gut' profile.

 

[Jarhead*]

Hi I'm trying to eat right and exercise.  I'm nearly 58 and I want to live to see my (early) retirement and more importantly, enjoy it!!! 

Professor: I,m 69, and that statement begs the question, "what is that old Phfart doing on this forum?" (I was an early retiree, but that was close to 20 years ago. Mostly for entertainment value, and in the last couple of days have enjoyed my "dirty old man" status by telling dirty jokes to Cube-Rat. But I digress.

Can't give you advice on the "nutrition" end, as I've always been on a "sea food diet". (See food, and eat it). However, maybe on the staying active I may (or may not) be helpful.

I've been active in sports, as a player, and a coach my entire life.

But enough about you, let's talk about me a little more.

Working out (to me) is never a helluva lot of fun, especially without a specific purpose in mind.

Pick a specific sport you want to excell in. (Never too late, unless you want to be a wide receiver in the NFL

Say, Tennis, Golf, etc. I will guarantee you that there will be areas that a work-out routine will be required to become a better player. (Thus, the workouts will have a purpose, and be a helluva lot easier to tolerate.)

In any case, good luck to you, and your new life.

I have a 9:30 Tee off so have to scoot.l

 

[wabmester]

At the same time that happened, my BP became elevated.  I was told this was probably an offshoot of the diabetes and job stress.  Not too much later, I had a kidney stone that required surgery.  That was due to too much protein from a low carb diet I went on and from failure to drink 2 to 4 litres of water each day.   

Kidney stones?  Ouch!  Another hypochondriacal fear of mine!  That's another good reason to drink lots of wine.

I hope you whip this thing, prof.   Everything I've read indicates that losing weight will help a bunch.   In the old days, they used to think that fat was inert, but it's now well established that fat cells are active.   Those nasty buggers appear to be responsible for aspects of insulin resistance, systemic inflamation, and they actually make you eat more due to the way they screw-up your satiation response.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I have a nine month old running around the house wreaking havoc.

I dont have time for tv. Or exercise. Or sleep.

But chasing him and throwing him around to keep him amused is pretty good exercise I guess.

 

[Nords]

Kidney stones?  Ouch!  Another hypochondriacal fear of mine!

Not so hypochondriacal, they're the scourge of the submarine force. They're even more feared than appendicitis.

Lack of sunlight inhibits the body's production of vitamin D, so submariners have trouble fixing calcium. Just as that problem gets started, they're probably chronically sleep-deprived and staying awake with massive daily doses of coffee or tea. Caffeine's diuretic effect boosts the body's calcium-flushing efforts while the extra calcium is floating around looking for somewhere to go. It ends up in the kidneys and the result is an unscheduled portcall.

As far as kidney stones go, there's a strong similarity between submarines & office buildings. Maybe I should develop that theme for Funny Joke Thursday...

 

[sgeeeee]

I fish with a Doc friend of mine that specializes in back pain. He often comments that the best thing to have to protect your back, is strong stomach muscles. Crunchies for the Abs work the best and preventing the 'beer gut' profile.

That's been my experience. I used to injur my back 2 or 3 times per year -- badly enough that I would walk around like an old man before I was one. About 8 years ago I went to see a doctor during one of these episodes and he gave me this list of stomach exercises to do. I thought he was nuts, but it worked. I started out doing the simple exercises he gave me, but it worked so well that I became more fantic about it. Now I do 150 sit-ups along with some other stomach exercises every day and haven't had a back problem since.

 

[HFWR]

Crunches are good for strengthening the abs, but to burn fat you need to exercise the big muscles, i.e. legs... This means walking, running, stair-climbing, bicycling, etc.

I recommend weight training for everyone, preferably on machines, to increase muscle strength, tone, and mass. Dead weights will undoubtedly build larger muscles, but at an increased risk of injury.

Muscle burns calories, even at rest; fat, well... Think metabolism.

But since I'm not training for anything but fitness, I keep the level of exertion challenging, but not intense. Reduces the chance of injury, burn-out, etc.

As for diet, lean protein, veggies, whole-grains, WINE... 8)