Latest / From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing / Exercise Beyond Rehab: Long-Term Strength

Transcript

Exercise Beyond Rehab: Long-Term Strength · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:07
  Welcome back to the podcast where we focus on
• 0:09
  real life tools, education and support for heart
• 0:13
  health, recovery and long -term wellness. I'm
• 0:17
  Ernita, your host. And today we're talking about
• 0:19
  what comes after rehab, exercise beyond recovery
• 0:23
  and building long -term strength. You've made
• 0:26
  progress. You've completed. are completing rehab.
• 0:31
  Now the question becomes, how do I keep going
• 0:35
  safely? How do I build strength without overdoing
• 0:39
  it? Today we're going to talk about cardiovascular
• 0:42
  training, strength integration, and pacing so
• 0:46
  you can move forward with confidence. Let's start
• 0:49
  with cardiovascular training. This supports your
• 0:52
  heart health. This includes activities that get
• 0:55
  your heart moving at a steady pace, such as walking,
• 0:58
  light cycling, and low impact aerobic movement.
• 1:03
  Cardio supports heart strength, circulation,
• 1:06
  and endurance. The goal isn't intensity, it's
• 1:10
  consistency. Start where you are and gradually
• 1:13
  increase your time and comfort level. Even regular,
• 1:16
  moderate movement can make a mini difference
• 1:19
  in your heart health. Now, let's talk about strength.
• 1:23
  strength integration and building it safely.
• 1:27
  After heart surgery or rehab, strength training
• 1:30
  should be reintroduced carefully. This might
• 1:34
  include light resistance exercises, body weight
• 1:38
  movements, and gradual use of resistance bands
• 1:42
  or light weights. Strength training supports
• 1:45
  muscle stability, joint support, and overall
• 1:49
  functional movement. The key is to start light
• 1:52
  and progress slowly. and always follow your care
• 1:55
  team's guidance. And that's where I have, it
• 2:01
  has sent me back to the emergency room after
• 2:03
  my open heart surgery. I went back to the emergency
• 2:07
  room two separate times because I'm thinking,
• 2:11
  well, you know, I can do a little bit more or
• 2:15
  I can do a little different type of an exercise.
• 2:20
  Well, I was definitely wrong both times. So I
• 2:23
  said, I'll never try that again. And so now I
• 2:29
  just stay with this is just what the doctor has
• 2:32
  recommended for me. I can either do or both light
• 2:36
  walking or swimming. And so I walk every day
• 2:39
  of the week. Now, the only way that I pumped
• 2:41
  that up, that I enhanced that instead of going,
• 2:46
  becoming more intense with my exercise since
• 2:48
  I'm not allowed to, which again, that is what
• 2:51
  sent me to back to the emergency room twice,
• 2:54
  becoming more intense. What I've done is I've
• 2:57
  extended my, the length of my walks and So instead
• 3:06
  of doing 30 minutes, I do an hour a day. And
• 3:09
  then also I extend the not only the duration,
• 3:14
  but the length of days that I do it. I used to
• 3:17
  do five days a week with three days of that being
• 3:21
  a walking and strength training. Now I do seven
• 3:25
  days a week of an hour of walking. And the way
• 3:29
  I do that walking. the way I do my walk is I
• 3:34
  do 30 minutes in the morning when I get up and
• 3:37
  I stretch and do my strength training if that's
• 3:40
  the day I'm to do my strength training because
• 3:41
  basically my strength training amounts to doing
• 3:45
  it every other day and so that way I remember
• 3:49
  and I don't miss and then when I do the 30 minute
• 3:53
  walk in the morning Then after every meal, I
• 3:57
  do 10 minutes and that gives me a whole hour
• 3:59
  for the entire day and I do that seven days a
• 4:02
  week. And so that's how I get my hour a day in.
• 4:06
  And it's no stress, no strain. It's no overexertion.
• 4:10
  It just works right in very nicely. But now that
• 4:14
  is my prescription around what my doctor, in
• 4:19
  addition to what my doctor has prescribed. So
• 4:22
  check with your care team once again to see what's
• 4:26
  best for you. And one of the things that brings
• 4:33
  us to, again, I'll reiterate, is listening to
• 4:36
  your body and pacing. Pacing is one of the most
• 4:39
  important skills you can develop. Again, that
• 4:42
  means I just said it before, I'm just actually
• 4:46
  laying it out here. But not pushing too hard,
• 4:50
  too fast, allowing time for rest and recovery,
• 4:54
  and paying attention to how your body feels.
• 4:57
  Okay, signs to slow down may include unusual
• 5:01
  fatigue, shortness of breath, and dizziness.
• 5:05
  Now, I had pains in my chest and side. That's
• 5:10
  how I discovered that I was doing too much. Progress
• 5:15
  happens when you balance activity and recovery.
• 5:20
  Now, using your toolkit as a strength system,
• 5:23
  This is how you connect with it. Your rehab and
• 5:26
  your strength tracker helps you to track your
• 5:29
  activity and workouts, monitor your progress
• 5:33
  and stay consistent over time. So instead of
• 5:37
  guessing what you've done or what to do next,
• 5:40
  you have a clear system that builds confidence
• 5:43
  and helps you stay on track safely. Now, I also
• 5:46
  want to add that if you're doing a rehab, I have
• 5:52
  a few peers that have opt out of cardiac rehab
• 5:59
  and they do it at home. If your insurance will
• 6:02
  cover it or if you can get it somewhere where
• 6:05
  you don't have to pay a fee, that's even better.
• 6:09
  But I would just highly recommend that if your
• 6:12
  doctor recommends cardiac rehab. please take
• 6:19
  it because they do some different things that
• 6:21
  you can't do at home like putting the leads on
• 6:24
  and monitoring your heart rate to make sure that
• 6:26
  you're stable. The doctor is there nearby on
• 6:30
  site. And so I was just blessed enough to be
• 6:33
  able to go to the heart center in my town and
• 6:39
  do my cardiac rehab on site for 36 sessions.
• 6:44
  So that worked out well for me. And then I came
• 6:47
  home, when I was sent home, I was sent home with
• 6:49
  a prescription to monitor my weight, body mass
• 6:53
  index. They gave me a nutritional guide. Some
• 6:57
  of it was like preaching to the choir. A lot
• 6:59
  of things I already knew. But, you know, it never
• 7:02
  hurts to go back over those things because there's
• 7:05
  always something I found within myself. There's
• 7:08
  always something. And I go in expecting something
• 7:11
  new to learn. Even if I've heard something a
• 7:14
  thousand times, I always pull something new from
• 7:17
  it. And so that's always beneficial. And so,
• 7:22
  like again, I highly recommend that don't, to
• 7:27
  try to take up on the cardiac rehab at your heart
• 7:33
  care center, you know, with all of your technicians
• 7:37
  and your therapists there on site to kind of
• 7:42
  guide you and show you the... the exercises to
• 7:46
  do, the equipment to use, you know, and other
• 7:49
  things that you can do to, you know, to support
• 7:54
  your heart health by exercise. Okay, now. Let's
• 8:02
  connect all this to your toolkit. Your rehab
• 8:06
  and strength tracker helps you to track your
• 8:08
  activity and workouts, monitor your progress,
• 8:11
  and stay consistent over time. Instead of guessing
• 8:14
  what you've done or what to do next, you have
• 8:18
  a clear system. This builds confidence and helps
• 8:21
  you stay on track safely. Did you know, excuse
• 8:26
  me, physical activity after cardiac rehab can
• 8:30
  improve long -term outcomes and help reduce the
• 8:33
  risk of future heart events? Movement continues
• 8:36
  to be one of your strongest tools. Now, the reflection
• 8:42
  question for the week, something to ponder, is
• 8:46
  to ask yourself, am I moving in a way that supports
• 8:51
  my long -term strength? And am I pacing myself
• 8:54
  in a sustainable way? Consistency matters more
• 8:58
  than intensity. The food of the week are starchy
• 9:04
  vegetables. So let's talk about these heart -supportive
• 9:10
  foods. Starchy vegetables include sweet potatoes,
• 9:15
  squash, corn, and peas. They provide energy,
• 9:20
  fiber, and important nutrients. These foods support
• 9:25
  sustained energy for movement, overall nutrition
• 9:29
  balance, recovery and activity levels. Simple
• 9:34
  ways to include them. Roast or bake with herbs,
• 9:39
  add to meals as a balanced side, and or incorporate
• 9:43
  into soups or bowls. They're a great source of
• 9:47
  energy to support your active lifestyle. So in
• 9:51
  closing, exercise beyond rehab is about building
• 9:54
  strength that lasts. Move consistently, build
• 9:59
  gradually, and pace yourself and use your tools
• 10:04
  to guide your progress because your long -term
• 10:07
  strength is built one day at a time. So thank
• 10:11
  you for being here, for taking care of your heart,
• 10:14
  and for continuing your journey towards lasting
• 10:17
  wellness. Until next time, take care of your
• 10:21
  heart and be well.