A little something at home. Letting my body rest/heal from last weeks debacle, so no gym this week. Working on what program I want to start.
Health update:
Had ECG at cardiologist and am back in sinus rhythm. Went to GP today and will have more bloodwork drawn Friday along with a sleep apnea test referral. Have another cardiologist apt 8/31 of which I’m trying to get moved up to start working on next steps for how to deal with this moving forward.
For now though, all is good. Working on reducing stress and ‘letting go’ of things I cant control. Reduced my coffee intake from 10+ cups per day to 3-4 max and only in AM. Have a bedtime routine now that I will stick to in hopes to improve my sleep quantity. Letting my body heal.
Been away for a while since the first AFib came up.
Glad to hear you’re okay mate.
Hope you’ll find a way to stay in shape without going over the edge again.
Going to take two weeks off completely from lifting, then reassess. May then take two more weeks off. As long as it takes.
I went in today and it was a complete shit show. Aches, pains, extreme fatigue, no desire to be there.
I’m so deep in fatigue/adrenal debt it’s not even funny.
I chose a horrible time to give 120% in the gym. It didnt even dawn that I was also giving 120% at work. Not to mention I have a wife and 2 kids that need me more than anything else. I flat out have to learn to see the big picture more clearly.
So, this 2-4 weeks will have no weights. I will focus on clean nutrition, sleep, stress reduction and general recovery.
I’m in a good place now that I know what I need to do. Not even thinking about the gym will reduce my stress mentally and physically.
My dad actually has AFib and had a catheter ablation done for it. He’s had AFib since his early 20’s and after the procedure he said it got worse for a few weeks but has not had any issues the past 3 months. Is that something you have had ongoing?
Glad to hear your dad is responding. Many mixed results with ablation. First 3 months can be a roller coaster.
I’ve never had a run of 5 days in AFib. I have however gone to bed with AFib now that I know what it feels like and know what it is. I have always woken up back in rhythm. Or, this could have been atrial flutter. I often have flutters.
I believe stress and extreme fatigue sent me over the edge into full blown AFib. More tests to do, but feeling much better since I’ve been resting and destressing.
Yea man I hope you can figure something out. I know he had certain things to trigger his and once he nailed those down it for sure helped out his life from day to day but finally got fed up enough to give the procedure a try.
Plan is to slowly work back into things, but am going to keep it super simple for awhile until I’m fully healthy.
My big lifts will be DB floor press to allow my wonky shoulder to heal and trap bar deadlift. Will do sets of 5 on both and very submax. 5x5 working up to 8x5 then will reset back to 5x5 with a heavier weight. No rush on this though, will be taken slowly and will not work above about 70%.
The other portion of my training will be simple and sinister KB training. I’m going to try my best to do it daily. On days where I tbdl and floor press I will still do the swings and getups, but will cut the weight drastically. I love this shit. It’s so fun. I would like to achieve Sinister, which will take me awhile. I’ve got a 62lb bell to work up to for now. Will have to acquire some more bells along the way.
Plank Variations (rkc, captain morgan, single leg/arm)
Also did some kb curls during rest period on tbdls. I’ll probably continue to add some stuff in during rest periods.
Anyways, glad to be back in some form. Look forward to getting back to full speed. I also purchased 531 Forever for when I can get back to the big lifts. May be a year or longer, and that’s fine.
Got the work done in about 16 mins. Was not pushing it, very comfortable. Will stick with this weight at home or 50lbs at gym for awhile before I jump up to the 62lb bell. I’ll need to get a new bells soon. Thinking 80 and 106. This’ll cover both the Simple and Sinister goals and keep me working for awhile.
I’ll be taking some progress pics as I cut down. Already got clear abs back (never fully lost them though).
Single arm swings and TGUs easy at 50lbs. Will milk this awhile, in no hurry. 7 sets next time on tbdl and floor press. Will rep out floor press final set, but stay RPE7 or so. All reps paused on tricep and super controlled. Shoulder felt pretty good.
Another long work day, but got outside in my backyard this evening for S&S plus extras. Was a great release from the work day, especially being outside.
Simple & Sinister 4
Single Arm KB Swings
44lbs x 5x10
KB TGU
44lbs x 5x1
Bottoms up KB Press
26x3x10
-with-
KB Single Arm Row
44x3x10
Kneeling Single Arm KB Press
44x2x10
-with-
KB Single Arm Row
44x2x10
Bottoms Up KB Waiters Walk
26x2x50 steps
Will start transitioning in 62lb KB for S&S. Going to go ahead and order an 80lber too.
Did this in a rainstorm, not real smart. The swings were done under a shed though, to keep grip. It was dangerous and stupid though. Definitely a bit shaky with the 62lber, so I’ll be at this wait for awhile before mastery. Need to take more rest too.
ah damn holy shit. just now reading about the AFib. that’s very scary stuff. so good to see you’ve been recovering.
Other than random heart “jolts” i’ve been getting since my teenage years (docs said it was nothing, I doubt it tho lmao), I had two heart related experiences that made me make drastic changes. The first was work stress like you mentioned: i’d be trying to fall asleep, and my heart would just start racing, I felt like I was going to die. I actually quit that job - very much due to that. It just got too risky/insane by the 3rd year (the heart stuff started somewhere in the 2nd year IIRC). The other reactions were from caffeine: i stopped frequently drinking coffee a while back, started having some weird reactions. I have it rarely now, but it reminds me why I stopped. Sometimes my heart just seems to beat quicker/more erratic when I drink high amounts of caffeine. I don’t like it at all. I don’t think training itself has ever really made me feel it was causing problems, but caffeine/lack of sleep/work stress definitely caused some real problems for me.
Was really loving those high rep squats too, man you were crushing those. But you made a smart move, 100%. Health/Family #1
Yeah, the heart shit scared the hell out of me. More testing to go, but have been feeling better. Made a lot of lifestyle changes. Hope it solves the issue. Doubt it though.
Coffee is my drug of choice…or was. Obviously I was abusing it. Like everything else I do haha. 10+ cups per day. My go to when I was out seeing customers was an Americana or house with 2-3 espresso shots dumped in it. Probably equivalent to 7-8 cups right there.
I really enjoyed the challenge of the high rep squats. But I cant do that anymore. The intensity is obviously just too much. I think I can do 20-30 reppers though haha.
Another thing that sucks about all this heart stuff is how hyper sensitive I am to what’s going on in my chest. I can always feel my heart rate and any atrial flutters. Drives me crazy. Especially whenever I’m laying in bed and very still and quiet. Fireworks going on in my chest. Sucks!
Stress is an absolute killer. Got some self help books I’m working through. Since I’ve cut back coffee consumption to 4 cups before 8am, I sleep MUCH better. I think it was feeding my stress, anxiety and certainly sleeplessness.
You ever worry about all your running and your heart? I’ve read quite a few accounts of affibbers that were former runners. Hate it when stuff gets in the way of what we love to do, but that’s life eh!
just now reading about the AFib. that’s very scary stuff. so good to see you’ve been recovering.