I hear about it everywhere.
A triathlete on a bike suddenly experiences life-threatening pain. A golfer suffers a heart attack while playing. A young athlete collapses on the court despite being perfectly healthy. Famously, trainer Bob Harper of The Greatest Loser fame suffered a massive heart attack while weightlifting, and is still alive today thanks to a doctor who happened to be there and administered CPR to him.
Stories like this regularly appear in the news or are heard from people we know. In most cases, the cause is heart-related, and the public doesn’t know if they had pre-existing heart problems. (Bob Harper was unaware of his genetic history of abnormal cholesterol.)
Over the past year or so, I’ve been thinking a lot about the possibility of sudden death during training. I mean, it could happen, right? This is a first for me. Needless to say, having a cardiac-related incident is a risk of exercise, and I’m well aware of it. In my line of work, I have to assume it could happen at any time to any of my clients. I’ve been CPR certified for years and keep an AED at my training facility because the risk is that high. In all these years, I’ve never had a problem. I’m so thankful!
But I’d never worried about myself until now, until a few months ago when I realized I was at an age where I should be considering this. (Just a reminder: anyone, regardless of age, who has never exercised or engaged in vigorous exercise should always consider their heart and lung health before beginning an exercise program!)
Why bring this up now? I think that as a normal process of aging, we start to think and feel differently about our capabilities. I am certainly older, and maybe I can no longer take for granted how much a younger body can do. I am also upping the intensity of my cardio after some time off. (Peloton is a great workout, but it’s pretty taxing on the cardiovascular system!) And, over the past year, I’ve seen so many people lose loved ones to illness or accidents, or are suddenly diagnosed with serious health issues.
Anything can and does happen at any time.
And my own family has a significant history of heart disease, something I was completely unaware of until five years ago when my mother was rushed to the emergency room in India after two days of “indigestion” and diagnosed with a completely blocked artery and myocardial infarction. It turned out that two of her brothers and my father also had heart disease, and I was later informed of this by a cousin.
That, and the fact that my vegetarian, teetotaler, mostly organic, non-GMO father died of stage 4 colon cancer less than two months after his diagnosis, has made me think about my own death in a very different way. It’s not that I don’t care about my health. I do. But so did my parents…
These experiences will make you think more deeply about what you and your body, something we all take for granted, can really withstand. Perhaps that same realization will inspire you to treat the one and only precious body you inhabit with a little more care.
Learn how to best care for yourself while continuing to have a fulfilling and challenging workout.
1. Don’t be afraid. Exercise will definitely improve your overall health, wellness, quality of life, and of course longevity. Exercise carries risks of injury and death. But so does driving a car every day. We all still drive our cars regularly. Exercise smarter, not harder.
2. Exercise is inherently stressful, depending on the program you choose. Cycling is more taxing on your body than gardening, but the overall benefits are greater. Lifting heavy weights develops muscles and increases strength more than lifting lighter weights. Any movement is good movement.
3. Check with a medical professional before starting or resuming any exercise program, especially if you are sedentary or older (older means you may have some uncertainty about how your body will react to being pushed through exercise). Sure, you can’t completely rule out the possibility that something might happen one day, but it’s a good foundation to build on and will give you peace of mind.
4. Start with minimal intensity. Exercise for short periods, with little resistance and slow movements. Your body needs to understand that you are asking it to do more, but don’t push it so hard that it can’t keep up. Exercising at any intensity has many benefits, so do it judiciously.
5. Know yourself and listen to yourself. If you feel unwell, sick or out of breath, listen to your body. Don’t push yourself, tell yourself “I’m done with this workout” or ignore the signs. When in doubt, stop.
6. Take a step back if necessary. If you’ve taken a week off, aren’t feeling your best, or are feeling distracted, it’s okay to work out less, lift lighter weights, or choose a different type of activity to accommodate the situation. Our bodies don’t always function at their best, and workouts don’t have to be the hardest or most intense every time. Your health and mind will thank you for it.
7. Find an experienced coach. This works both ways. A good coach will not only push you, but also provide objectivity as to how much you should or shouldn’t challenge yourself. We all need perspective, guidance, and support.
A natural consequence of aging is that your body will no longer function as optimally as it once did. Even if you’re in top shape, as you age you will have to make compromises that you didn’t have to make when you were younger. And you can’t go wrong at any age as long as you’re aware of the inherent risks associated with exercise and take steps to reduce those risks.
Few of us, myself included, will ever need to worry about suddenly dying while exercising, but even a little awareness of our own mortality can be a positive force if it encourages us to be more conscientious and careful stewards of our own health and well-being.
Pritam Potts
Coach Pritam Potts is a writer and strength coach. As co-owner of Edmonds-based Advanced Athlete LLC, he now lives in Dallas, Texas after many years of training athletes and clients of all ages. He writes about health and fitness, grief and loss, love and life at www.mrsathlete.net and www.advancedathlete.com.
