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View Full Version : Betablockers; Not to worry, my journey.



ireland
06-05-2016, 09:37 AM
Ok , this is for anyone who like myself is on beta-blockers, it is intended to give advice from my own experience and also to seek input from other members who may face similar trials.
Many of the old guard will remember me from the primordial performance days, the great forum and brotherhood we had going and which my ego likes to tell me i was a big part off lol. For those who remember me you will also recall my training ethos was heavily based on "usable strength" ,body weight exercises and in general an "iron fit"mentality . Having come from the bike industry , cycling also played a role in keeping lean.
Anyway for the last 4/5 years i have been on various beta-blockers , both selective and non selective in an attempt to help with "palpation's and etopic beats" (thousands a day). A dodgy thyroid was what set this rolling, but alas the train never stopped so here we are. I currently take 400mg of Sectral split in two daily doses.
Enough background. How has it effected my training and results and how have i coped with the changes?
Let us split it down into bite-size mouthfuls which can easily be digested (or thrown back up, the choice is yours).
First off anyone who gets put on heart medication probably has a mental block to overcome , the fact you still can train and not drop dead is a real concern. This monkey wouldn't get off my back for the first 6 months; i started to train, i stopped ,i started i stopped, i panicked, i calmed down and started again. The mental effort was the first hurdle and once overcome the rest was surprising and for the most part encouraging.
The bike work suffered the most, working with a restriction built in made training rides harder and less rewarding , until i learnt to work in the new parameters; in other words through adapting my style to a less explosive one, i could still maintain my work-rate without too much of a drop off in average speed.
Body weight workouts (mine were high intensity , i was the chin up king lol) took a back seat to more measured compound movements. In fact now my training is 100% compound movements with extended rest periods between sets (up to 4 mins) i lift heaver than ever and body composition is improving . Size is coming back and i am not as fat as i was in my avatar pic (which is 2 years old and after 6 months of no training, it will be updated). I have found a system which works for me and i am open to taking any questions or any advice from the members.
One area i do need advice on is supplementation; i would love to feel confident in taking something that wouldn't interact, and also clearly all stimulants are a no go.
I hope this outline starts a few conversations going ,and hopefully i can help ,or indeed be helped.