so i checked this morning, it has been a good 3 weeks since i have posted. it's kind of amusing that is the reality, as in my head i've thought of many things i've wanted to blog about. i guess the lesson learned here is there is a huge variance between writing a post in your head and actually committing pixel to monitor.
one of the things i've been meaning to cover is the results of my cardiac tests. i believe i mentioned wearing a 24 hour heart rate monitor and the subsequent visit to the cardiac specialist. the good doctor looked at my EKG's and pronounced them identical and further did not think they suggested any sort of heart problem.
of course when he took a look at me and found out that i was a competitive bodybuilder he immediately ordered a cardiac ultrasound. he explained that heavy weight training effects the size of all the muscles in the human body, the heart muscle included. so he wanted to ultrasound my heart to see if it was enlarged from training. he said we would then discuss modifying my training and he wanted to know how i would feel about that. i'm guessing the smile on my face said exactly what i didn't.
the results of the ultrasound said that my left ventricle is 'slightly' enlarged. i really don't know what unit of measurement 'slightly' is, but i digress. the specialist told my doctor to recommend i stop lifting heavy, which she did. i smiled at her too.
if it makes them feel better to think that i am not going heavy, so be it. but here is the thing, from what i've read online it is inconclusive that heavy weight training alone enlarges the heart muscle. i can be enlarged by a multitude of factors including stress. well i think we can all agree that 2008 was a banner stress year for me. as well the articles state for heavy weight training to have any significant effect on the heart muscle the athlete has to be taking performance enhancing drugs.
which of course leads me to an important thought. even if heavy weight training did have significant effects on the size of the heart muscle, as a natural athlete who is in effect limited in muscular growth and strength by genetic predisposition, exactly how big could my heart muscle get anyway?
and while i'm asking questions, how do we know that my left ventricle was enlarged sometime during the last 9 years? how do we know that i wasn't born this way, after all this was my first cardiac ultrasound. sometime next year i will be having another, as i understand it, i will be having them annually from here on out. if they truly want to impress upon me the severity of this 'condition', they will need to tell me next time something a bit more conclusive. i want the report to say the muscle is bigger in some form of unit of measurement or percentage. 'slightly' or 'kinda' just isn't going to cut it.
and finally i leave you with the best part of this whole experience. the results of the 24 hour monitor. my average heart rate was 85 bpm and my resting heart rate was 66 bpm. but the coolest thing was during training my heart rate got up to 150-180 bpm! i'll guess that my 315 lbs squat got the 180 bpm. hmmmm i wonder what heart rate a 340 lbs squat gets??
WHAT??!! that is not sick :-P
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