Day 25 - Stress Test and Pictures
6/06/2019 - Day 25
6:00 am - Thursday
6:00 am - Thursday
This morning I had an early private session with one of the trainers to review my back and hip mobility and to do a heart rate stress test. The key for this test is to get my normal resting heart rate (RHR) up as fast as possible to my recommended maximum heart rate (MHR).
MHR is roughly calculated as 220 minus your age, this is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity. This does not take into consideration a persons overall physical fitness level, the MHR is usually a bit lower for someone who is overweight. For me that's 220 less my age (60) which is 160 beats per minute (BPM). My doctor suggested stopping any exercise at 150 BPM. Once I reach my MHR, the amount of time it takes for recovery is measured, then we wait 5 minutes and repeat the test for a total of 3 maximum heart rate / cool down sets. This is usually done on a treadmill, however to minimize impact on my right hip, the elliptical was the secondary machine of choice. The resistance was set at the midway point and I had to pump the steps rapidly as possible for 2 minutes or until my BPM was within 20% of my max.
It did not take long to get my MHR to 160 BPM on each try, that was expected. What was not expected, my cool down rates from MHR to RHR improved even more. The trainers were very surprised during Week 1 that someone of my age, size, BMI and and body fat percentage could have such a fast MHR cool down rate with elevated blood pressure readings. Now that my high blood pressure readings have been decreasing, seems the heart rate cool down recovery times are getting faster with little change in time as the exercise intensity is increased. Good news I am told but we still are having a full cardiovascular ultrasound scan when I get back home.
Cell phones are not allowed in the gym during our training sessions, however knowing I had a private meeting this morning I decided to bring my phone with me just in case I got an opportunity to take some pictures... and here they are... yes that's me in the mirror of the first picture:
MHR is roughly calculated as 220 minus your age, this is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity. This does not take into consideration a persons overall physical fitness level, the MHR is usually a bit lower for someone who is overweight. For me that's 220 less my age (60) which is 160 beats per minute (BPM). My doctor suggested stopping any exercise at 150 BPM. Once I reach my MHR, the amount of time it takes for recovery is measured, then we wait 5 minutes and repeat the test for a total of 3 maximum heart rate / cool down sets. This is usually done on a treadmill, however to minimize impact on my right hip, the elliptical was the secondary machine of choice. The resistance was set at the midway point and I had to pump the steps rapidly as possible for 2 minutes or until my BPM was within 20% of my max.
It did not take long to get my MHR to 160 BPM on each try, that was expected. What was not expected, my cool down rates from MHR to RHR improved even more. The trainers were very surprised during Week 1 that someone of my age, size, BMI and and body fat percentage could have such a fast MHR cool down rate with elevated blood pressure readings. Now that my high blood pressure readings have been decreasing, seems the heart rate cool down recovery times are getting faster with little change in time as the exercise intensity is increased. Good news I am told but we still are having a full cardiovascular ultrasound scan when I get back home.
Cell phones are not allowed in the gym during our training sessions, however knowing I had a private meeting this morning I decided to bring my phone with me just in case I got an opportunity to take some pictures... and here they are... yes that's me in the mirror of the first picture:
In the second picture, you can see a circuit course setup consisting of steps, bell weights and weighted gym balls. The circuit included 3 different types of step routines and 6 different exercises using the bell weights and gym balls focusing on upper body.
Since I was taking pictures this morning, here are a few of the exterior views and the condominium I am using (building location in 3rd picture) during my stay. This is not a luxury resort and the gym is not Planet Fitness, however its located in a very nice area... it simple and it gets the job done. I am paying for a weight loss program, not a beach holiday. We were told on Day 1, If you follow the program completely, there will be results and so far I am seeing those results.
Comments
Post a Comment