Healthy and athletic people please respond.

[Tobin S.]

I'm a trucker and to be a trucker I have to be medically certified by a doctor or a nurse practitioner. That means that I have to pass a physical once a year. It's usually once every two years, but I have to do it once a year because I have a couple of health issues. One issue is sleep apnea and the other is bipolar disorder. Both of those issues are likely to be with me for the rest of my life, so I don't have a problem with doing the physical once a year. The issue is simply passing that physical.

I took the physical today, and I barely got by it. But I think this is something I can control and make better. The problem is that my pulse is a bit high, and they almost failed me today because of it. My pulse rate has to be below 100 beats per minute, and I am right at that right now. So I need to make my heart stronger.

My question to you is, if I start a workout regimen now can I effectively lower my pulse in the next year? I'm overweight and out of shape. Can I make my heart significantly stronger in the next year and therefore lower my pulse? Another thing is that I am 46 years old, so I'm not a youngster.

[Phoenix61]

1. Yes, you absolutely can get your resting heart

rate down. Forty-six is not old. Walking is amazingly effective. Start with 20 minutes and increase by a couple minutes every week until you’re up to 30. Then you can work on distance.

[Tobin S.]

3. Thank you.

[Niagara]

2. Yes, absolutely

I'd start slow by either walking daily, strength exercises or yoga. I love yoga, my muscles feel worked out without the pain.

You can always change your routines daily so that it doesn't get boring. On the days that I don't walk or engage in yoga, I'm doing strength exercises. When I was younger I had 7% of body fat and it was easy to do push-ups. It's not so easy anymore, so I'm having a slow start on the strength training and that's okay. I'm also resting on my knees for the push-ups, once I get the upper muscles strengthened, I'll be trying for regular push-ups.

I would also cut down on caffeine, take fish oil supplements and try to consume more vegetables to effectively lower your heart rate.


Good luck, Tobin.

P.S. Don't forget to change your daily routines so that you don't get burnt out. I can't stress this enough.

[Tobin S.]

4. Thank you.

[roody]

5. Walking is cheap and easy.

It is also the meaning of life.

[mnhtnbb]

6. Another vote for walking

You don't need to join a gym, either. Outside in the neighborhood works fine. Or do laps around a small park. When it gets too cold, too hot, rainy or snowy, head to an indoor mall and do circuits there.

[Anon-C]

7. You can "be a new man" in a year, Tobin, and have some amazing results in...

...as little as four months with some changed behaviors. Not only can you strengthen your heart and reduce your hypertension, said changes *may* help with some aspects of your bipolar disorder. But the big gift to yourself would be the increase in your driving stamina.

Actually OTR driving can accommodate a lot of opportunities for fitness and good diet, but I don't see any of that in the culture of trucking. I would perhaps find which fitness chain has gyms in cities where you can stop and make the gym your truck stop.

[DFW]

8. I am also a big fan of walking.

One thing that many don‘t have to contend with is trying to maintain health with highly irregular hours. I sometimes do 20 days in a row on the road, averaging four hours of sleep a night. It‘s nearly impossible to maintain a regular routine or a healthy diet under such work conditions, and I‘ve been doing this job for over forty years.

[diva77]

9. I highly recommend subscribing to the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter

All articles are supported by scientific evidence but are written for the general public to be able to understand. Lots of great info.-- you can look up articles that address your situation too -- and the cost of the subscription is worth its weight in gold!

https://www.berkeleywellness.com/

[enough]

10. As everybody says, walking is great, and you can really start small.

If 20 minutes is too much at first, start with 10, or even 5, and it will be easy to work up from there. You don’t even need to find a park or any special location. Just start wherever you are.

Best of luck to you Tobin.

[Wounded Bear]

11. Driving truck is hard work, but it also involves hours and hours sitting.

I actually have a similar problem, though I'm not a truck driver. I worked many years at white collar jobs.

Now, I try to walk. It gets hard sometimes to force myself to do it, but with my diabetes, it's a necessity. I'm 66 and basically live in senior housing. There are numerous examples of what will happen with me if I don't. Lots of folks rolling around in scooters and wheelchairs. That's my motivation.

Best of luck, and stick with it.

Oh, and a diet would probably help. Apnea and elevated heart rates are both associated with being overweight. Take a good long look at your eating habits and don't spare the water. Drink lots of it. I basically only drink water and coffee.

[Major Nikon]

12. Cardio is how you get your resting pulse rate down

Walking isn’t bad exercise, but it does next to nothing for your heart unless you are doing it at a brisk pace or going up a steep incline. You need to do some form of exercise that raises your heart rate. The higher you can get your heart rate up and the longer you maintain it, the faster your resting heart rate will improve.

Figure your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. In other words if you are 40, your estimated max heart rate is 180. 70-85% of that number is the cardio zone where optimum heart exercise is achieved. So if you are 40 and can get your heart rate between 126-153 for 15 mins per day, 4-5 days per week you will see dramatic improvement to your resting heart rate in about a month. Your stamina will also be greatly improved.

You don’t really need to measure your heart rate. If you are breathing hard, but not so hard that conversation is impossible, you are in the right zone.