Short rant

[bethtwenty4]

Some of you may remember my posts about my heart problems...

Anywho, I've since cut my dose (beta blocker) in half. Still can't run like I used to but I'm dealing with that by hiking. I get the same sanity benefits

Thought I'd take the next step and take it every other day (doc saI'd I can cut back as I see fit).

So I'm on the elliptical doing my 5am routine--135-140bpm. Yeah, well, my hr is in the upper 170's, will probably hit 180's before I'm done, and I'm sweatin a river.

This sucks. Means no lifting sesh today and probably no hike. Grrr!

[oregonchick76]

Some of you may remember my posts about my heart problems...

Anywho, I've since cut my dose (beta blocker) in half. Still can't run like I used to but I'm dealing with that by hiking. I get the same sanity benefits

Thought I'd take the next step and take it every other day (doc saI'd I can cut back as I see fit).

So I'm on the elliptical doing my 5am routine--135-140bpm. Yeah, well, my hr is in the upper 170's, will probably hit 180's before I'm done, and I'm sweatin a river.

This sucks. Means no lifting sesh today and probably no hike. Grrr!

What is your heart condition again, that requires the beta blockers?

I hated taking the beta blockers. Felt like I was moving through water all the time, in slow motion. Gained a ton of weight. I was being treated for atrial fibrillation - two ablations later and I am symptom free, no need for meds anymore.

My exercise heart rate used to get extremely high, like what you are talking about. Even after the ablations. However, I don't have this problem anymore, and I'll tell you what fixed it... I do HIIT. I do HIIT on stairs, or on the treadmill with the incline very high. I wear a heart rate monitor and run until my hr is up around 185 and then slow down. After training like that for a few months, 3 x per week, my exercise hr is MUCH lower - around 165 max.

The other thing that helped was lots of steep hikes with a backpack. I live near the Columbia Gorge in Oregon, so all my hikes have 2000-4000' of elevation gain.

[bethtwenty4]

I had a long haul with mono and hepatitis and was pretty much confined to a 4hr workday and then the couch/bed from October-March.

My max HR when doing 12mph sprints had never been over 172...after being sick it would go from 45 (resting) to over 100 from just standing and walking across the room.

Doc said either my heart is overreacting to adrenaline or my body is now overproducing it.

When I work out with it that high I get sick--fever, vomitting, super wiped out--it's weird and unpleasant so I don't push it. I use to but the side effects got old fast I've accepted not being the level I was, but I want to legit kick my butt once in a while!

I live in NorCal so the hikes are my saving grace.

Edit: I actually lost weight when i started taking the beta blocker. I was retaining SO much water. Doc said since I normally have a low resting hr it may not have any negative effects, which, luckily, it didn't.