Before we run through Rehab, I'd like to say that my favourite heart health WebSite is at
http://www.bhf.org.uk/
They are seriously good with FRIENDLY advice.
This is what Phase III Cardiac rehab looks like; I was on it from September through November last year. It is about gentle aerobics, gentle warm-up's and warm down's, meditation, you get the picture, don't you ?
Nor everyone is old, some are in their twenties or thirties. It''s not all down to fags and beer either; some have congenitial defects, or industrial injuries . . . you always have two physio's or trainers with you, in case you need a bit of guidance . . .
I am on Phase IV and it looks like this, using lots of gym machines (Cross-trainer, Treadmill, Recumbent Cycle, Chest press, etcetera). Nearly all the machines have monitoring panels, so you can see how your heart rate is getting on, as you incline the treadmill up past seven degrees (hard, I can tell you, especially when you push the speed up to a big seven (fast walking pace, nearly running.)) You spend max. ten minutes on any one thing, and alternate between cardio stuff (cycling and treadmill) and resistance stuff (Leg press, chest press, etc).
There's a physio dedicated for your cardiac team, but as it takes place in a normal gym where ordinary people go and pay good money for exercise, there's the usual trainers there looking after them, and they give us Cardiac Rehab guys advice, as well . . .
This is real life. Getting your Phase V exercise out there with the rest of the 'normal' folks who've not yet experienced medical intervention to the heart and lungs.
I cycle to the shops for the weekly supermarket run, and will one day soon cycle all the way to Paddington for college. I still use the bus and train, but I keep saying it is because where I work is twelve miles away, and I put in long hours. Do you buy that ?
