Exercise and You: Knowing When to Get a Diagnosis

So you’ve seen the commercials, the YouTube videos and the various testimonials of the various fitness crazes that appeared over the past few years. Despite being 60 years old you see people much older than you keeping up with their younger counterparts and you believe that despite the age gap you can do something similar. You have the utmost belief in your own personal strength and that such activities would help to enhance rather than detract from your personal health. While pursuing fitness goals at a later stage in one’s life is a worthy goal, the fact remains that you have reached a point in your life wherein you are far more vulnerable than you were in the past.

Lets face it, those wrinkles, varicose veins, white hairs and liver spots are not indicators that you have gotten younger. However, there have been reports of people of advanced ages participating in many of the new “fad” circuit training activities have grown popular these days. They all insist that it benefits the body and that all people of advanced ages should attempt to do so. However, before you go and do the equivalent of attempting a cross country trip in a rusted Toyota pickup, it is highly recommended that you visit a doctor first.

The Concept Behind Feeling “Fine”

You may argue that you are feeling “fine” and that there is nothing wrong with you; however, nothing could be farther from the truth. You are no longer as young as you used to be and your body has already been through a significant amount of wear and tear over the years. You are definitely “not fine” and, based on info from NIHSeniorHealth.gov, before you can be declared fit enough to actually participate in any of those intense circuit training workouts that you seem to be so fond of, it is necessary for a doctor to give you a clean bill of health before you are allowed to proceed.

Your Heart and You

One of the main reasons why this article seems to be emphasizing the need for caution is the fact that WebMD.com states that your heart may not be as stable as it used to be. People who have advanced ages have hearts that are more vulnerable to strain due to sudden strenuous activity. This is in part because of the gradual weakening of the walls of the heart and the tightening of the blood vessels that all occurs when a person ages. You need to have your heart checked and a cardiology transcription created by companies like Eyered Transcription in order for your doctor to state that it is safe for you to go and exercise strenuously. Without this approval, any significantly stressful activity that you participate in has the very really chance of causing severe pulmonary stress which could result in a heart attack.

Diagnosis and Results

The resulting diagnosis can come in two possible ways: you are either going to be allowed to go for circuit training exercise or you will not be. If you are not allowed then that should be that and you should not stress the point any further than you have to given the potentially deadly outcomes that can come about as a direct result of you exercising that intensively when you should not be. On the other hand, if you are allowed to exercise you will need to take a few precautions just in case so that you can at least exercise safely. One of the first precautions is to stop yourself from following along with the crowd. Yes, you want to keep up with them but you are not as young as you used to be. You need to slowly transition into the workouts and taking things slowly so that your body can adapt.

The next precaution that you should take is by having a portable heart monitor with you that you can use to check on the status of your heart before and after your workout. While this may seem to be an unneeded action, the fact remains that you need to monitor your heart and determine if it has been beating erratically. An erratically beating heart can be considered as sign of some greater issue that is plaguing your body and, as such, HelpGuide.org highly recommended that you keep a careful eye on it throughout your exercise regimen.

Pursue Alternatives Whenever Possible

Yes, you have been “bitten” by the exercise bug and want to be able to prove to yourself and others that you can still be fit despite your advanced again. However, please consider the potential risks that may come about and the fact that there are numerous other alternatives such as simply walking every day that you can do in order to stay fit.

Overall, when it comes to exercising when you are older, please be as cautious as you possibly can since it can literally mean the difference between life and death. You can also check out how to start your weightloss journey for more information.