broseph wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:33 pm
Nice. I appreciate the update on this.
I forgot if you mentioned it previously... Have you adjusted your caffeine intake since the initial episode?
Yes, I did! The day of my first appointment, I stopped drinking caffeinated coffee; I switched to decaf. I've had regular coffee on 3 days since then, and a couple days I've had those new Dr. Peppers. So maybe 5 or 6 days having caffeine.
Given what I read about PAC and PVC, I think it's PAC given that tiredness and excessive caffeine consumption are risk factors for it. The risk factors for PVC were slightly different. I can certainly abstain from caffeine, but the gainz goblins are tough on getting adequate sleep...
DCR wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 4:12 pm
Glad things are looking up on this alek. I had a few years of drinking - literally - a dozen or so cups of coffee a day. Eventually bad shit started happening. I don’t touch caffeine now but sometimes wonder if my late in life shortness of breath and panic attacks somehow have something to do with what I was doing years ago. I know that doesn’t make any sense.
Thanks, man.
Yeah, that was essentially me. People would make jokes about where my coffee mug was if I didn't have it with me. I brought a to-go mug of coffee to the doctor's appointment about this "hiccup". I switched to decaf, and I haven't missed the caffeine; I just really love coffee.
alek wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 4:40 pm
Yeah, that was essentially me. People would make jokes about where my coffee mug was if I didn't have it with me. I brought a to-go mug of coffee to the doctor's appointment about this "hiccup". I switched to decaf, and I haven't missed the caffeine; I just really love coffee.
That’s hilarious. In my case, I was working actual 14-16 hour days on the way to making partner, and would go to the Keurig essentially every hour on the hour. I told myself it was out of boredom / taking breaks but I’m sure that I was absurdly addicted. It was my favorite vice - at the time, I loved a night out at a hookah bar or the like, sipping Turkish coffees, sans alcohol. That all said, when I switched to decaf, I didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms, and I drink a ton of decaf now. Like you, I just love drinking coffee.
alek wrote: ↑Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:26 pm
The tl;dr is that I'm taking a break from it because I probably went too hard too quickly with it.
The long version is that I recently had a heart "thing". The best way I can describe it is that it felt like a hiccup, but my heart instead of my lungs. My rhythm would be normal and then I would feel one, and only one, slower and stronger beat. Then rhythm would return to normal. It started the evening after I had done one of the sandbag calf carries; I had also been lp'ing the powerbreathe I had, and it had gotten difficult to complete the 30 breaths without stopping. The "hiccup" happened several times a day, but never on back to back beats.
Went to the doctor; EKG was clean other than I have an RSR(V1) abnormality, which the doc said happens in athletes or is a precursor to RBBB. They don't think I have RBBB. One possibility is that the RSR(V1) is causing a re-polarization of the heart, which is causing that lone stronger beat. Anyway, it didn't happen in the office, my blood work was even better than last fall's, and the EKG was otherwise great. I'm waiting on a referral to a cardiologist for a full workup, but I otherwise feel great. They did ask interrogate me on my coffee consumption, and I've since switched to decaf.
I think that I did it, whatever it is, to myself. I was drinking too much caffiene in general, I was cutting, I was going hard in the gym, I added the sandbag carries, and I added the PowerBreathe. I do plan to start using the PowerBreathe soon, and I'll be more intelligent less stupid the next go round.
I saw the cardiologist today, and his initial opinion is that I'm just fine. What he thinks is likely going on is either premature atrial contractions (PAC) or premature ventricle contractions (PVC) that are exacerbated by caffeine intake.
I had another EKG, and it was totally normal. Doc isn't going to do an echo cardiogram or stress test as he feels that I don't need it given that I lift and am in pretty good shape.
He actually thinks the breath trainer would help with the PAC or PVC. He was super happy that the "hiccup" did not happen during exertion. I don't know that I've felt it since January.
He wants me to wear a Holter monitor for a couple weeks just to make sure, but he's generally not concerned that I have anything pathological.
Well this is good news.
Sucks about the caffeine, though.
I don't normally drink coffee at work, aside from whatever I bring in the Zojirushi. But once I get home, the coffee maker puts in work. Couple the copious intake with shitty sleep, and ... well, I guess I might have to follow suit and get one of them fancy PowerBreathe thingies too.
DCR wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 7:21 pm
That’s hilarious. In my case, I was working actual 14-16 hour days on the way to making partner, and would go to the Keurig essentially every hour on the hour. I told myself it was out of boredom / taking breaks but I’m sure that I was absurdly addicted. It was my favorite vice - at the time, I loved a night out at a hookah bar or the like, sipping Turkish coffees, sans alcohol. That all said, when I switched to decaf, I didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms, and I drink a ton of decaf now. Like you, I just love drinking coffee.
I weirdly didn't have much withdrawal symptoms either; I had one mild headache a day or so after switching, but I was expecting much more than that.
Renascent wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 7:29 pm
Well this is good news.
Sucks about the caffeine, though.
I don't normally drink coffee at work, aside from whatever I bring in the Zojirushi. But once I get home, the coffee maker puts in work. Couple the copious intake with shitty sleep, and ... well, I guess I might have to follow suit and get one of them fancy PowerBreathe thingies too.
Thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty relieved.
I thought that as the kids got older, my sleep would improve. It has, but not to the extent that I was expecting/hoping. It's not quite at the level of Jim Gaffigan's joke about how his kids come into his bed every night and wets it, but it's close.
I should have told my wife that the cardiologist prescribed a 2-hour nap whenever I have a bad night's rest.
Paused Squat
295 x 4 @ 6
315 x 4 @ 6,6
335 x 4 @ 7; e1rm = 413 Under 10 minutes.
TnG Bench
185 x 5 x 6 Under 12 minutes. Last set @8
Paused Deadlift
315 x 4
335 x 4 @ 6
355 x 4 @ 7,8; e1rm = 438 Under 10 minutes.
Upright Row Rest paused
75 x 15,13,10
Dumbbell Fly
30's x 8,12,12
Cable Y Raises
25 x 8,8
20 x 8
Session Length
1:41
Notes
Good session; pretty wore out afterwards, but felt good.
The GHR hit the hammies in a way I haven't felt in a long time. I liked it, and I think I'm going to switch the lying leg curl to the GHR for a while. I feel like the GHR is going to have more carry over to the deadlift than leg curl does.
Breathe It In
PowerBreathe Setting 0.5
21 cmH[math]_2[/math]O x 6 x 5
Maxed out at 66 cmH[math]_2[/math]O; couldn't do 74 cmH[math]_2[/math]O. If I work at 75% intensity, that puts me at 49.5 cmH[math]_2[/math]O, which is setting 4 on the device. Around 75% was the threshold shown to reduce blood pressure.
Pec Deck Slow eccentric; pause at top; rest pause on last set
80 x 10 x 4
CGBP
185 x 2 @ 6.5
160 x 8 x 4
Upright Row
85 x 8,8,12
DB Skullcrusher
25's x 15,10,7
DB Biceps Curl Rest pause
25's x 15,15
Facepulls
55 x 10 x 3
Session Length
0:53
More TMI
Been wearing a Holter monitor for about a day and half; I'm supposed to wear it for two weeks. The cardiologist wants me to drink caffeine to see if we can induce the "hiccup" while I'm wearing the monitor. I'm going to give it a few days to get a baseline before doing that.
Sloppy, close-grip barbell rows from the floor, aka Pendlay Row
135 x 8 x 4
For @DCR and @Testiclaw
Barbell Hip Thrust
195 x 8 x 4
TnG Bench Press
225 x 1 @ 7
185 x 4 @ 5.5,5.5,5.5, 5.5 OT 2:30
Used a wider bench today.
RDL
205 x 8 x 4
Upright Row
85 x 8 x 3
Leg Press
Sled + 450 x 8 @ 7,7.5,8.5
Session Length
1:22
Notes
Good session. I think the reason I quit doing Pendlay/Barbell rows is because of lowback fatigue. Even with doing the rows first, I could tell there would just a bit of lowback fatigue from them, which is why I generally like doing some sort of chest supported machine row if the gym has a machine I like.
I'm switching my bench training since my bench seems to super stuck. I'm going to do the Sweet Smell of Easy Training Method with it--a top single and then around 75% of e1rm for sets across every MWF, increasing weight weekly to see how that goes. It can't be worse then being stuck, right? Right?!
Storytime
I generally consider myself a good person, but I saw an opportunity to be a dick today, which I took advantage of. It was very satisfying.
My wife has started training the barbell lifts, lifting since January. She's doing well, but taking it slow and steady, which is great. There are a couple of guys that lift the same times she does pretty regularly. One is in his mid 50s and the other is probably early 30s I'd say. They're kind of full of themselves, and they like to take up two racks when they're in the gym--sometimes taking a bench up, too. They also like to throw weight around when they're using bumpers, making gratuitous gestures when they're done. Whatever, it doesn't bother me because they don't get in my way. But... a few times they have kinda sorta pushed my wife around at the gym. In the middle of a squat session, they asked if she was still using the rack she was on. Another time, they were just sitting on a bench and wouldn't let her have it even though they weren't using it. That kinda shit has happened a few times, and they're just general douches.
This morning, when I enter the gym, I see them at the racks, of which there are four lined up along a wall. The far left is taken by a guy doing stuff; the far right has weight on the bar, but I don't know if anyone is actually on it. They have weight on a bar one in from the right, and they've got a kettlebell on the one that's one in from the left. They're not standing on the platform, but they're really close to it.
I walk onto the rack/platform with the kettlbell on it, set my bag down, and ask, "Are you using this one?"
They look at each other, kinda fumbling their words, "Well, how many sets do you have left?" "I don't--"
Me: "Yes or no," loudly in my best irritated dad voice, hands on my hips.
Them: "No. Go ahead. Take it."
As I was setting up for rows, I texted my wife that I had just run her "friends" off one of the platforms. She was pleased.
Breathe It In
PowerBreathe Setting 5
58 cmH[math]_2[/math]O x 6 x 5
Caffeinated Coffee Cups Count 1.5 2.5
Last edited by alek on Mon Mar 27, 2023 7:07 pm, edited 3 times in total.
