Redhat Posted January 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Thanks to both of you :) I shall be trying other suggestions.. but Luton isn't the place for evening walks :( GP thinks BP is to do with my medication. Psychiatrist doesn't have a clue why. I really want to go for runs early in the morning but with my BP like that I can't really :( But I was quite stressed that day, when the BP was taken... it's never been that high before.On a side note NTL just turned up WITHIN the timeframe I was stated :0 Miracle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 RH, my BP was 170/90 and the medics were starting to prescribing all sorts of things (they had their hooks into me because I had had a mild stroke). Started me off with thin (75 mg) asprin then Linispril and bendroflumethiazide. Bp tailed off a bit but I thought bu**er this and took up jogging. Not running but jogging. The difference, as far as I'm concerned is that running is going hell for leather while jogging is gently working up to a steady run. My BP now comes in at ~130/65. My target is to do The Great North Run (a half Marathon 13.1 miles or 21 km) each year. Ultimately I want to crack the 2 hour mark. The important thing is if you want to do this as a form of exercise is to start off very gently. Get a pedometer and limit yourself. first time just do a mix of trot and walk. Just half a mile first time, try and pick a loop circuit say round your local house block and slow down to frequent walks. Don't worry about catching your breath because first time you will be short. Very important to ignore whatever anyone else says. Rest a few days and do it again. When you first start It will take quite a while before you start to feel any benefit (months in my case). After a while you will probably get a map of your area and start plotting different loops and circuits for distance and interest. You will also find that you are passing milestones. I vividly remember when I was able to keep running up particular slopes and hills and distances achieved. Be warned do not set excessive targets just go for easy options.Once my BP settled down I tackled my GP regarding my medication with a view to eliminating one or more but no luck - all he would say was that the brilliant course of medication he had prescribed was working so well! :censored: Me I would like to start reducing it but he's the "expert" but I'm thinking of the 1p/day it costs the NHS just for the Asprin. If I should pop my clogs I'll have him up before the General Medical Council for mispractice.Anyway if you are serious about running - I would recommend it - check with your GP first and if he doesn't say no then go for it. Do start slowly though and after a few months you will start to feel a different person in many ways. You will be exercising the heart and lungs. Your muscles in the legs and thighs and to a lesser extent and your other muscles will improve. Jogging/running is not the only option. Cycling, walking, swimming, sex etc are all worth considering. Think about it. Contact me either here or PM and we will take it further we could run a dedicated thread for this as a general subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redhat Posted January 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Thanks for the great post doug! Much appreciated :) Without sounding posh, we do have a gym room in our house. It has a treadmill, a cross-trainer, a weight-machine-come-giant-crane thing, a punchbag, and a mahoosive stereo. But I am really scared of touching it all now, I don't want to over do it. What would be the signs of me doing too much? Someone from my highschool recently died from a heart attack, and I am getting increasingly worried that anything I do is going to do something like that. Granted, she had an eating disorder, but still. God bless her.I am planning on starting up Tai Chi again, I'm reckoning that's going to help tremendously. On the other hand I had a good night's sleep last night :) I think I was just so overtired, that I couldn't be awake anymore. I don't really mind the reason, just glad I got some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Anything that gets the old cardiovascular thing going must be good. At the end of the day "if youre gonna go do it in style". Failing that don't leave your bed. More people die in bed than anywhere else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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