@thatgirl1961

Hi: I’ve been alway active my entire life with high level sport so strength training and VO2 Max training has always been part of my life. It was only at an annual checkup at 62 years old that my Doc insisted I get an Echo to check out my heart to ensure I wasn’t elevating my HR too high. So it was diagnosed at 4.5 cm and a Bi-cuspid valve. My Vascular surgeon suggested I limit my HR to under 150 (my max was about 175) and to keep an eye on my blood pressure which average about 120/70.

So the last 8 years (I’m now 70) I followed his advice with HR limits but kept doing medium to heavy weights with the intent of building strength for a 200 meter race. Then this last year I was training pretty high for the World Master’s Canoe Kayak Championships. This included pull ups; pushups; 5-7’ planks; Bench Presses, etc etc. All things I shouldn’t be doing with my condition. Thought I wasn’t informed of this. It was only after that I started reading this chat that I’m learning. This. I also starting taking 10mg creatine about a year ago; put on 5 lbs and started seeing some great gains with muscle growth and strength.

So then when I was told my aneurism has increased to 4.7cm is when I felt it times to get more info on what I was to expect. So now I still train; reduced my kayak workouts to 70 of max and have kept my highend in zone 3. To put that in perspective my on water workout would be 12 x 3 min at 70% with a 1 min breaks. Then followed by 30 min in my gym with sets of 50 reps with weights about 40% of what they were before. So now working more on endurance rather than strength.!
I alternate days so that one day it’s 50 min of kayak and the next day 50 min of walking on a treadmill at a 15 degree incline at a speed that keeps my HR in zone 3. This has been going on now for 3 months and I actually love how I feel.