Okay - I'm in a real quagmire now - I have no idea what to believe. For the last year I've been weight training and have made steady gains. For the most part I feel better overall ( aside from the odd injury I've suffered). I went to see my doctor today and he told me that my systolic rate had increased and it may be due to weight training. He also said that weight training is hard on your heart and that at my age ( 46 yrs) it's not a good idea to weight train.


Uggh..

TB

Okay - I'm in a real quagmire now - I have no idea what to believe. For the last year I've been weight training and have made steady gains. For the most part I feel better overall ( aside from the odd injury I've suffered). I went to see my doctor today and he told me that my systolic rate had increased and it may be due to weight training. He also said that weight training is hard on your heart and that at my age ( 46 yrs) it's not a good idea to weight train.


Uggh..

TB

Tell that to Jack LaLane, Lee Labrada, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or any other number of people who enjoy a very healthy, high quality standard of living due to their weight training.

Jeremy

Hmmmm.... I don't thnk Arnie is a good example.

In 1997, Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent open-heart surgery to correct a congenital cardiac condition. In June of that year, Schwarzenegger was asked by Oprah Winfrey whether he had chosen a synthetic or pig valve for the replacement. Schwarzenegger's reply? "I'm not going to say which valve I chose, but now every time I see bacon, I start crying!"

TB

thats the first doctor i've heard of telling someone to be less active(thats if your not overdoing it, i assume you aren't since you have been keeping it up for over a year) :p

at your age weight training will help your flexability, and most importantly, bone density, weight training has so many benefits for "older" people it shouldnt be ignored
im not a doctor though, and i dont know your situation, but i strongly suggest you get a second, or third opinion!

"at my age ( 46 yrs) it's not a good idea to weight train."

The above is an incorrect statement, to say the least. Even at 90 years or older there are benefits to weight training, both mentally and physically. Make sure you don't hold your breath while weight training, but I'm sure you know that anyway. Look around the internet for causes of high blood pressure to see if you can find anything that might relate to you. Lots of people have high blood pressure. It's quite common. In fact I'd like to reduce mine, as it's a bit high. You don't say what your blood pressure is or how much it increased, etc. or if the doctor went thru a process of elimination to finally decide it was the weight training that was causing it, or if you train very heavy for a few reps as opposed to lighter sets with more reps. There's a lot of information left out but that statement in quotes above is definitely wrong. I suppose there might be some reason that weight training is somehow causing your blood pressure to rise, so you might want to stop weight training for now just to be on the safe side, until you get more information, but I do believe that weight training done properly will lower blood pressure, as it decreases stress and increases the body's capacity to do work.

My Doctor didn't say I should stop working out. He said I should do more aerobic workout as opposed to weight lifting itself. He said "You see these weight lifters and they're bulging everywhere and causing strain on blood vessels, I don't think that's good for you. I would recommend more aerobic workout for your age" He measured my blood pressure and said the systolic rate was 140 and the diastolic rate was 80. I was just plain shocked becuase I've always had a low BP and have been told on occasion it might even be too low. So I went to Save-on foods up the road which has a bp machine in the pharmacy and decided to double check this.

1st test Systolic = 148 Diastolic = 80 ( I was talking and moving around )

2nd test Systolic = 128 Diastolic = 78 ( stayed still)

3rd Test Systolic = 126 Diastolic = 76 ( stayed still - more relaxed)

I'm beginning to think the systolic is something that fluctuated highly and or can be eroneous at times. I've read some weight lifters when theyre lifting realliy heavy weights can go as 300+ rate! For the most part it's looking like my bp is preety good for a guy my age.
I sure wouldn't want to have to give up weight training but this is something I'm going to be keeping an eye on now tho. Can Weight lifting increase your BP or cause you to have a stroke while you're working out?
Don Ross was a champion weight lifter in great shape who died of a massive heart attack.

ps =- I go for high rep counts and low weight as I find it better for cardio.

tb

Maybe he ment that you shouldn't use weight lifting as cardio? I don't know how often you lift, but how about slowing it down to three times a week and add more cardio? If you thought his advice was weird then get a second doctors opinion.

Hmmmm.... I don't thnk Arnie is a good example.

In 1997, Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent open-heart surgery to correct a congenital cardiac condition.
Arnold's still a great example. As stated in your post, his condition is thought to be congenital (present at birth) and had nothing to do with his lifestyle.

Just back away slowly...get through the door and run to another Doctor!

I'm 47year old... Lost my thyroid to cancer....and This is the best thing I could've done.. Just know your limitations..if you have any ? Get checked out with a Doc to make sure you don't have any problems that could be made worse with lifting..Get a Physical .. and tell the "New" Doc what you want to do.. and get his blessing..

Plus I lift to look better and build a stronger body , not to compete, not to look like the hulk..(Maybe a JS but with alittle more weight on:) I guess maybe to look alittle more like Diesel (sp?) and not to pull my back everytime I lift something heavy :p

My Doctor didn't say I should stop working out. He said I should do more aerobic workout as opposed to weight lifting itself. He said "You see these weight lifters and they're bulging everywhere and causing strain on blood vessels, I don't think that's good for you. I would recommend more aerobic workout for your age"

I would cut down on the weight workouts and up the cardio. The doctor has a misinterpretation of what a weightlifter is -- he's probably seen body-builders cut down to 3-4% BF with super ultra vein popping definition pumped up and posing -- and this is not the vast majority of people you'll find in the gym. I would think there's more strain on the blood vessel when they're cold and constricted than when they're wide and open as with lifting.

I am not a 'heavy duty' lifter, but I do well for ME and what I can lift. No, I can't bench my bodyweight yet, but I am getting there. :P And my bp is outrageously low when I take it at my office (I'm a nurse (RN)) - usually between 88/40ish to 90-something/50. What may have happened is the 'white coat syndrome' - probably 99% of the blood pressures I take are higher when a patient is coming to see the doctor! (Including my own, which runs 110-120 if I have an MD appt).
Caveat is I do a lot of cardio as well (and I'm female). Maybe you should up the cardio a bit? I don't think you need to drop the lifting..

My Doctor didn't say I should stop working out. He said I should do more aerobic workout as opposed to weight lifting itself.
tb

Never listen to a doctor on two things - Sex and exercise/diet. The bum on the street corner has heard as much as they have on those two subjects. I would ignore him.

Genes are the determinate on life span. Increase your quality of life, the span of life will follow.

Never listen to a doctor on two things - Sex and exercise/diet. The bum on the street corner has heard as much as they have on those two subjects. I would ignore him.

Genes are the determinate on life span. Increase your quality of life, the span of life will follow.

No doubt. When I was a the gym yesterday, there was an 87 year old benching 135 lbs and doing pull ups. I was in awe. I have friends who can't do that at 21. I know if my doctor told me to stop lifting, I would find a new doctor. I have never felt heathier than now with loads of lifting and cardio.

Um, others have typed alot so I'm going to keep this simple and to-the-point(s):
- No disrespect, but your physician is full of CRAP
- Plenty of research out there (in sound, respected medical journals) about the benefits of resistance training and all facets of health, even vascular
(I know this b/c some of these articles I used in writing my thesis)
- You may want your doctor to clarify what he actually meant, but I would start shopping for a new doc.

Just my $.02, & MHO, but also kinda seems to be the consensus, too.
:gl:

It's very sad that we see yet another example of a doctor giving bad advice.

Regarding Arnold - I agree with John, I don't think it's the weight-lifting that forced him to have heart surgery. I think he's still a good example of someone being healthy because of weight-training. The only thing I can see that would be bad would be steroid use, but then you have the argument of the quality/type/amount of steroids he used versus bodybuilders of today. Very big difference (hell just look at the physiques).

Okay - I'm in a real quagmire now - I have no idea what to believe. For the last year I've been weight training and have made steady gains. For the most part I feel better overall ( aside from the odd injury I've suffered). I went to see my doctor today and he told me that my systolic rate had increased and it may be due to weight training. He also said that weight training is hard on your heart and that at my age ( 46 yrs) it's not a good idea to weight train.


Uggh..

TB

My cardiologist (one of the best in town) said it was okay to weight train but not too heavy to where I was straining too much. That can in fact damage your heart (from what I have read) .I do weight train 3 times a week, but never to failure. I do strain on bench presses somewhat, but not so I will blow anything out. He was also for high intensity cardio (up to about 85% using 220-age) long duration (30 to 60 minutes). By the way, I am 60 years old and have a history of heart problems in my family, so he might have been taking extra precatuions with me.

To keep blood pressure under check I would rather look to my diet than to stop weight training.

Regarding body builders, as opposed to weight lifters, as I know it the constant weight changes they go through put a lot of stress on the heart. This, also combined with sometimes using waaay to much steroids, would make them vulnerable to heart attacks.

What goes for all competitive weight training athletes, they are most likely doing things in the weight room that is far more extreme than what the average Joe does. Considering this, I think it's quite safe to keep weight training, as long as you still do cardio, since you need that exercise for the heart.

Wow - so many good replies. :tu: First I would like to say thanks to everyone who has given their input into this discussion. You've brought out some very good points and I'm sold on the fact that I should continue with my weight training.

I think "feathers" brought up a good point about office jitters when getting your bp checked. From what I now understand you should be taking your bp several times a day at various intervals and doing it over the course of a few days to get the average. So when a doctor or nurse gives you a quick bp check I dont think you can say that number is etched in stone.


Right now I do about 20 mins of cardio, 10 minutes of stretching followed by about an hour of weight training. I think I might change it up for maybe 30 mins of cardio a few less reps and see how that affects me.

As for Arnie ... Unless I saw his actual medical records I would be hesitant to believe anything coming out of Hollywood. One things for sure, congenative or not, I wonder if steroids didn't contribute to the problem. Like most of you tho I doubt it had to do with his bodybuilding at all.

tb

My Doctor didn't say I should stop working out. He said I should do more aerobic workout as opposed to weight lifting itself. He said "You see these weight lifters and they're bulging everywhere and causing strain on blood vessels, I don't think that's good for you. I would recommend more aerobic workout for your age"

I think your doctor's advice is sound. I'm close to your age (50) and I aim for an equal mix of cardio and weight training. If anything I probably favor the cardio a little over the weight training but both are important as you get older. I'd favor the cardio for awhile and see if your BP drops down to normal. Consider this:

The American College of Sports Medicine has established that effective lowering of blood pressure can be achieved with moderate intensity exercise conducted three to five times a week for 20 to 60 minutes per session. In fact, moderate-intensity exercise such as brisk walking may have an even greater blood pressure-lowering effect than higher intensity training (like running).

ACSM does not recommend weight training as the only form of exercise for hypertensives. Weight training does not appear to be as effective in lowering blood pressure as aerobic exercise. Lifting weights, however, is an excellent way to increase muscular strength, and is recommended for overall physical fitness.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0826/is_n1_v12/ai_18001426