.gif "IP Gear")
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2011
- Messages
- 2,578
Stewie,
I wish I could give you a clear cut answer to your question. I'm a thinker by nature, and have spent lots of time thinking about these matters and I still don't have an exact all inclusive clear picture.
For as long as I can remember I've always had a stress test every two years.
Never a problem, everything always good. BP good, resting heart rate 50-60,
cholesterol good, maybe a little elevated, but with the guidelines of what the Western world views as OK. If we were raised in China before the evils of the Western influence took place around the turn of the century, 120/80 would be considered very unhealthy. 80's-90's were prevalent.
Anyways, it was time for my two year stress test, so looking at it as almost a waste of time, I went and had it done. Keep in mind, the day before the stress test happened to be leg day. I remember doing 10 sets of 15 reps with 1000 pounds on the leg press supersetted with calf raises. I followed that up with a 30 minute cardio session on the bike at a moderate level because my legs were so tired.
I felt fine, no shortness of breath, no chest pains, nothing, ready to take on the world. I think I was on some test e and deca at the time. I later learned that many times diabetics don't notice the usual warning signs, because of something called neuropathy, which is a condition that usually effects the extremities, especially the feet, where a loss of sensation occurs over time.
But it can effect all areas of the body, but people notice it mostly in their feet.
So I'm all hooked up, on the treadmill, maybe 5-6 minutes into it, when the cardiologist stops the treadmill, reviews some stuff and comes back into the room and says "we have a problem" . Next thing I know I'm having a cardiac cath, waking up from some mild sedatives, and being told the bad news.
Two weeks later, 4 1/2 hours of surgery, I wake up with a endo-tracial tube down my throat, in the ICU, morphine drip, bad time, man. A couple hours later they pulled the endo tube, a couple hours later I asked to get up to use the bathroom and with the help of a nurse and my wife (who is also an ICU nurse), made my way to the bathroom. Two days later I was released because I was doing so well. Hugely painful, on lots of pain meds. The next day I got on my Lifecycle and rode for 1 minute. I knew then that I would conquer this.
So what did I learn? Was it strictly a function of being diabetic for most of my life - definetley a contributing factor. Was it from using gear - I'm sure that didn't help. Was it from 30 years of being a huge animal protein consumer - I believe so. So in this order, after endless hours of thinking and researching, here's my analysis to what contributed to my blockages:
1. Diabetes
2. Animal Protein
3. Gear
In our lifelong quest to be our best, I would recommend buying a movie called "Forks over Knives" and watching it a few times. Use it as another tool in our "bodybuilding tool boxes".
Peace,
Mack
ps: my last leg workout (Christmas Day) I did 10 sets of leg presses for 25 reps using 630 lbs supersetted with standing calf raises. I followed up that with a 20 minute HIIT cardio session on the stepmill and yes, I'm about half way thru a very short-light gear cycle plus some peps. :yeahthat:
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