Been thinking for a while about joining a gym so I finally decided to do it haven't been yet I'm going on Thursday i was just wondering what equipment you guys recommend I use what is best for cardio exercise??. I want to build up my fitness level so I can gage whether my heart has detirated or I'm just unfit and next time I have a stress test then I will be able to see what my actual exercise level is 😅.
Just joined a gym today : Been thinking... - British Heart Fou...
Just joined a gym today
Written by
Yumz199725
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
36 Replies
•
Well done, don't go silly gradually work your self up, one bit of advice, try not to lift weights above you head, at this early stage.
Yumz199725• in reply to
That's some really great advice definitely will go easy 😆😉☺️
• in reply toYumz199725
Your welcome hope you get on OK. One other thing. Listen to your body. Even if you don't feel like doing too much, just pace yourself. My son gave me some advice. It's not the weights that matter its the number of repetitions you do.
If you join a gym as I have done in the past you will likely be inducted by an instructor who will show you round, make sure you understand the equipment, and set you up with a personal training programme to match your needs. I suggest you discuss your question with the instructor. Personally all I ever took was old comfortable clothing like a tee shirt and jogging bottoms or shorts whilst I 'worked out', and the only addition to that was a good quality roll up mat when I did floor work as in yoga.
PS. Congratulations! I have just noticed you are the originator of the 26,000th post on this forum 🏆
Well done you.Drink plenty of water and remember where the toilet is.x
Oddly after 25 years of gym membership I have just cancelled mine until after my valve op, no point paying for something I can't use.
What I would suggest is have your induction, get to know the equipment, get your programme, then do your own thing! All of the instructors in the past have given me targets that achieve a 'goal', as my heart started to get worse I would modify that goal to suit how I felt that day.
For example my trainer says 30 mins at level 5 but it's not a good day so I would adjust to 20 mins or go level 4, don't be afraid to stop early. Next visit I might go back to the recommended. Machine wise I found cross trainer was by far the best, followed closely by treadmill/rowing machine, can't comment on stepper because it used to kill my knees!
Weight wise, stick to machines in the beginning, free weights take a knack to use at the start. The only thing I didn't use was leg press as my cardio consultant said it put excess pressure on the heart.
And have fun!
Baz
Thanks for your reply, I know for a definite I can't use the rowing machine so definitely won't be using that been told along time ago by my heart consultant. Great advice I will definitely do that thank you ☺️
hi . Not sure why no rowing machine!!. I go to cardiac rehabilitation phase 4 class , we do 10 min warm up most important!! Then rowing machine, both types of bike , treadmill s upper body weights and leg weight machine s alongside step ups and core exercises, then cool down at the end , so it’s 10 mins warm up 36 mins in 3 minutes on each machine no breaks in between (good to go when gym is quieter) 10 mins cool down . It’s not about heavy weights it’s continuous exercise at around 70% of your recommended heart level ie 220 - age x.7 no weights above your head I was told was for 6 months but as with all of it take it gradually,,,,, it’s a marathon not a sprint race . When you get to the point your heart beat is well under the 70% increasing the weight/ resistance or if you have time increase the time . Best advice I was given … forget this saying “ No Pain No Gain” if you get pain ease back or STOP !!
Be guided by professionals on what you can do or should do. But basics are make sure you warm up and cool down.
Nice starting points for cardio are walking on a treadmill or going on a cross trainer.
Depending on the gym they might do group fitness classes. These are good for cardio in a social setting
Yeah I was thinking tread Mill or the bike, cause its the same one used for a stress test would be great practice.
Well done on taking the first step of joining. The next step is to book in for an induction and then get a programme that is specifically for you.I felt so self conscious when I joined as I have to start with a very slow 20 minute warm up walk on the treadmill. I now don't care now though as I'm onto my second programme and can see a tiny improvement.
Good luck!
😊
Firstly congratulations.
Just to add to the great advice already given (based on experience).
It doesn't matter what you do when you start off, for example if you can do 5 or 10 mins on a treadmill great, the secret for me was to slowly build up the speed and length of time you do, (for example set a challenge even if it only to increase your speed slightly by 0.1 mph or do a minute more/or a song more if you are listening to music), or lift a weight one more time. The achievement of doing it will leave you felling great.
Make sure you have rest days ultimately you should aim for 150 mins a week however as I said previously don't worry if it takes you time to get there and beyond. I aim to go 4 or 5 days a week.
Listen to your body, it will hopefully warn you if you are doing to much, for example my heart rehab nurses said to me as long as you can construct a sentence and still breath whilst exercising you are in a good place.
If you plateau and think you have reached your limit don't worry you might find after a week or so on that plateau that you all of a sudden find you can do more.
I am sure there loads more, but finally enjoy it😀 and good luck, and please share your successes with us, as I find this does me good (and I am sure other as well).
Aw thanks for your lovely reply. I find that when I'm tired my legs get very weak and I get very breathless so if I start to feel like this then I will definitely stop 😅👍😉 I usually feel like that when I do my stress test and know that I've reached my limit and I stop thats after bout 5 minutes lol so hopefully exercise tolerance will increase and I will last the whole test 😆😅😉.
When I started my cardio rehab, it was stressed how important it was to warm up and cool down at each end of the session, to give your heart time to adjust or something, and not to go beyond the point that you could not hold a conversation, even if slightly out of breath. I assume you have mentioned a gym to your medical team or GP.
I haven't mentioned it to medical team or gp I haven't had a chance to my next face to face appointment is January 2024 and I'm supposed to have a few tests before that but I will mention when I get a chance I must admit that did cross my mind to get there advice first but everything is so hectic with hospitals at the Mo never seems like the right moment to talk to anyone. I will definitely do the walm up and cool down though what do you suggest for this?? I definitely know my own limits more then I used to 😉. Good advice about knowing when your too out of breathe to carry on thank you.
My rehab sessions started with marching on the spot, gradually adding arm swings, gentle stretches, and sideways steps and back for about 10 mins. Similar for the cool down, gradually doing less and less. My cardiologist gave me the breathing advice.
Hope all goes well with your gym - just take it steady at first!
Hi,
My experience and twopence worth:
Had my heart attack 6 weeks ago,after meeting with cardio nurses they recommended joining a cardio class at local sports centre to regain my fitness.
First session 30 people in various stages of rehab. We did a long warm up then various pieces of equipment laid out in a circuit training scenario (steppers,rowing machines,cycles,dumbells etc.) Each exercise had 3 levels (easy,medium and hard) and 4 different routines for each level of which you did a minute of each . After 4 minutes you moved to a different piece of equipment and so on. Finished with a long warm down after about 45 minutes. Music playing and a trained Cardio Physical Trainer in charge of the class made it safe and fun.
I went too hard first time out and was absolutely knackered after the 1st session...🥵 learnt my lesson took it much steadier second time and felt much better...
It's nice training with other people in same boat who understand what you've been through/going through.
Good luck with your rehab 👍
You have quite a heart history on your bio. Presumably you got the go ahead to take this form of exercise in which case did the cardios set any guidelines?
I do I agree. But I don't want that to stop me keeping fit. I haven't discussed this with my consultant yet but when I get the chance I will. They always say about walking or are you getting enough exercise so I assume that's them encouraging it. My only concern are they any I should avoid because of my severe aortic regurgitation and moderate stenosis???
I try to walk 10000 steps a day and use hiking poles as they enable me to go faster and further and encourage me to swing my arms. I also try to include some hills. I am just concerned that Gyms are a bit specific in as much weights and machines might suit your condition but on the other hand they might exacerbate it. Hence I thought it might be useful to ask your cardio if you should follow any specific guidelines.
I agree I try to do that too today I managed 13000 steps let's just say I've walked alot this week and now I can barely walk 😅🚶. Im begining to think emailing my clinical team to pass on to consultant is a good idea so thanks.
congratulations on joining, a bit of resistance training is good as well as the cardio they always recommend. I would just take it all stupidly light at the start. Build up really slowly. Use machines rather than free weights in my opinion as they are easier to gauge as you slowly build up.enjoy it
Good Morning Yumz! 
I going to echo these guys about having a chat with your consultant/GP but I think in the meantime you can be sensible and go gentle in the gym. It’s essential that you listen to your body and if experience ANY pain you must stop. And stop if you feel light headed or really out of breath! Remember that gentle means you can still hold a conversation with someone. You should be able to say 5 words without gasping for breath.
If you have classes at your gym why don’t you go a long to a couple of gentler ones to start? Do some Pilates or yoga? Or some of the weight classes…you can use very light weights and it’s a good way to work out using your whole body.
From my own gym experience a year post CABGX2 with full permission from the hospital I warm up on the cross trainer and After the cross trainer I row but this is easier for me as I’m taller - my friend who I train with struggles because she is smaller! I then go on the stepper BUT WARNING the stepper is very hard lol!! Definitely CAN NOT keep a conversation going whilst doing that very easily!! But I’ve been told I can exercise so I now push myself to get out of breath I then do weights or do work on the mats.
Once you chat to your medical guys I’d be happy to be your virtual gym buddy xx
Aw thank you for such a sweet reply 😊☺️
Static bike, treadmill or cross trainer NOT rowing machine at first
Hopefully the trainer doing your induction-showing you round the machines-will be able to gauge where/how you should start. Worth asking if there are any group training sessions or separate classes you could join. It’s always nice to have an instructor when setting out on gym usage!
The machines are a lot less intimidating than they look and once you know how to set a few, you will get confidence. Usually other users are happy to help if you’ve forgotten how to reset seats etc
cardiac-rehabilitation.net/... check this out !!
I agree I wasn't a fan of gyms or treadmills, static bikes either, doing the same thing bored me and I prefered doing exercise outside.
However my heart problems gave me the incentive and also a reason to no longer consider ir boring and therefore enjoy the challenges instead😀
What I didn't say earlier was that when released from hospital my first walk was barely 50 yards, 20 months on it's 30 mins on the bike (2 sessions of 20 mins and 10mins about 10 to 11), and 25 mins on the treadmill where i can reach up to 4.4 mph on a 5% degree slope. I am still trying to improve a bit at a time. As i said the challenge and the purpose behind it keep me wanting to do it!
I wish I could too but with heart failure those sort of temperatures do not benefit my health!
Well done on joining the gym. When you completed your application to join did you give all your health issues? Most gyms these days have at least one trainer who has experience in cardiac health & should be able to write an exercise program suitable for you. However I would suggest that you let your medical team know that you've joined the gym, for almost a year my husband's nurse didn't want him doing anything more than a bit of walking & she definitely didn't want him joining a gym. Finally she referred him to cardiac rehab with the hope of getting a gym referral once the course was completed. Unfortunately due to his current health he's not been able to attend rehab yet. As an added incentive, some gyms give reduced rates for a period of time if their GP has referred them to the gym, might be worth looking into that. Good luck
I took everything every one said on board and I spoke with my consultant today and he was very happy for me to join the gym but not to lift any weights because that will raise my blood pressure and they really dont want that, also to ease in to it so I said I was gona go two days to begin with and he was very happy bout that he said to leave some days in between to rest and to not go on an empty stomach and to use the equipment best for cardio and I said the treadmill and exercise bike and he's said perfect. Sorry to hear bout your husband glad his cardiac nurse could advise on what was best aswell. Thanks for your reply.
Great news for you. Weights are often a no no for people with cardiac problems but bike & treadmill are great for cardiac health. Do ask your gym if they do reduced rates for GP referrals, gym memberships are not cheap so even a few weeks reduced rate could be helpful. Thanks for your thoughts about my husband, he's well looked after which is great.
Yeah I had no intention of lifting heavy weights but no I know to not even attempt any 😉😅. Its quite reasonable the price it's 26.99 and I haven't been refered by GP I wish I had now 😅😂. Glad your husband is well looked after. Take care ❤️
I joined my local liesure centre gym a month or so back but asked to speak to someone there. I had an appointment it was all very friendly he took me through an exercise schedule after listening to my condition as after surgery we were in to covid so I just walked my way back to getting fitter as there was no cardiac rehab. its only recently Ive felt confident about trying a gym I was advised not to drive myself too hard and the wieghts I was given were no more than 20-25kg. After a few weeks of attending every few days Ive started to build the reps up and using the rowing machine. Just ask because poeple are attending gyms for all kinds of things
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
I'm joining the gym today...
Yes, it's true. After years of putting it off, I am off to join the gym. I've been feeling very...
gym wobbles...
I've got a catch-up with the gym guy in a week to see how I'm finding the exercise programme we've...
Just joined today
Hi My name is Dee and I am being medicated for Angina Symptoms. I had a chest X-Ray that showed my...
Gym, week 3
I'm just about to head to the gym to catch up with them about how I'm finding the programme they...
Coronavirus and the gym
As a 70+ heart attack survivor, I have been very careful to maintain a regular exercise regime with...
Starting gym today 💪 
Just joined.
