Heart to Heart with Anna
Revitalize your spirit and connect with the vibrant congenital heart defect (CHD) community through 'Heart to Heart with Anna,' the pioneering podcast that has been inspiring and informing listeners since 11-12-13. Join us as we dive deep into the personal journeys, triumphs, and challenges of Survivors, their loved ones, esteemed medical professionals, and other remarkable individuals within the CHD community.
With unwavering dedication, our heartfelt conversations bring to light the stories that need to be heard. Gain invaluable insights, expert advice, and a sense of empowerment as we explore the multifaceted world of CHD. Our mission is to uplift, educate, and enrich the lives of every member of this incredible community.
Embark on a transformative listening experience where compassion and understanding thrive. Discover the resilience and unwavering spirit that resides within each person touched by CHD. Together, let's build a community where support and knowledge flourish, bringing hope to the forefront.
Tune in to 'Heart to Heart with Anna' and embark on a remarkable journey that will leave you inspired, enlightened, and connected to the beating heart of the CHD community.
Heart to Heart with Anna
Fit and Fearless: Defying Limits with Tetralogy of Fallot
Ever thought you could lead an exhilarating life despite a congenital heart defect? Meet Ben Johnson, a formidable heart warrior born with tetralogy of Fallot. Tune in as Ben, now 45, recounts his spirited childhood and how his heart condition didn't stop him from being a vibrant, active child. From hospital memories to a loving family and supportive teachers, Ben's story is a testament to resilience and the power of a strong support system. He takes us through his childhood escapades, proving that with the right mindset and community, a heart defect doesn't have to define your limits.
Our conversation with Ben reveals the intricate journey of living with congenital heart defects, focusing on the visible reminders, including his scars and tattoos, and their role in shaping his life narrative. Delve into Ben's fitness journey where he embraces an active lifestyle with weightlifting, debunking common myths about limitations for heart patients. With the guidance of a personal trainer and self-monitoring, Ben exemplifies how managing health proactively can lead to a robust and fulfilling life, inspiring others with heart conditions to pursue their ambitions confidently.
The episode doesn't just stop at physical well-being. We explore the significant link between exercise and mental health, sharing personal triumphs over post-surgical discomfort and the incredible benefits of targeted workouts. From stretching and strengthening exercises to the profound impact of endorphins, discover how maintaining an active routine can elevate mood and reduce anxiety. Encouraging inclusivity in physical activities, we stress that everyone, irrespective of physical limitations, can find joy and freedom in movement. Join us in fostering a community of heart warriors, advocating for empowerment, and cherishing each milestone along our shared journeys.
Ben Johnson's contact information: https://tinyurl.com/y9yw53nj
Thank you to everyone who has helped HUG in creating our podcasts and other resources. Visit https;//www.heartsunitetheglobe.com to donate or join us!
HeartWorks: We Build Hearts
HeartWorks empowers the CHD community by advancing research and finding cures for heart defects.
Anna's Buzzsprout Affiliate Link
Baby Blue Sound Collective
Social Media Pages:
Apple Podcasts
Facebook
Instagram
MeWe
Twitter
YouTube
Website
anyone interested in getting started in a workout program, I recommend start where I did, which was just a few days a week, mostly bodyweight exercises, and then over time that intensity compounds.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Heart to Heart with Anna. I am Anna Jaworski and your host. I'm also a heart mom to an adult who was born with a single ventricle heart and is 30 years old. That's the reason I'm the host of your program. Today's guest is Ben Johnson, and I know I sound a little funny, sorry friends. I am recovering from laryngitis, but Ben is awesome and he's going to help me with this show today. Ben is a 45-year-old speech-based survivor who was born with Tetralogy of the Lepidomy. He's had one corrective surgery at four years of age in 1983, and he's been living the healthy lifestyle ever since. He runs his own pet sitting and dog walking business in Kenosha, wisconsin, where he grew up. Ben has a degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin, whitewater and enjoys lifting weights and working out. So welcome to Heart to Heart with Anna Ben.
Speaker 1:Thank you, anna, I'm very happy to be here.
Speaker 5:I'm so happy to have you on the program, and I understand that your first and only corrective surgery was at the age of four, so I'm wondering what memories of that time in your life do you have?
Speaker 1:Yes, I honestly don't remember a ton about my life around my surgery time. Being only four years old, I have little pictures in my mind of things happening. Pictures in my mind of things happening. I remember waking up in the hospital with electrodes and tubes attached to me and being fairly scared and asking for my parents. I also remember my mom telling me to take it easy shortly after my surgery, after I had gotten back home. I know that I used to like to ride my big wheel and my bike with friends around the neighborhood, so I don't know if she was telling me to calm down because of my surgery or if I was just being a general crazy four-year-old on a big wheel.
Speaker 5:I love it. I can just imagine you on your big wheel, so it mustn't have hurt too much if you were out there on the big wheel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't remember being out of breath. I do have a memory of wearing a Holter monitor I don't remember if it was right after my surgery or like six months after, to check in on things, but at the time it was like a tape recorder in a big backpack and I remember walking around with that thing and then I remember taking a tape out because you had maybe 90 minutes on a side so you had to take it out and replace it with a new cassette tape. I remember it came unspooled so my dad spent like an hour winding the tape with a pencil. Luckily those things have gotten so much smaller and easier to live with. I really don't remember my surgery impacting my activity in what I did on a regular basis at the time.
Speaker 5:That's good, and at four I wouldn't expect you to. I don't remember much from when I was four, except I had a baby sister, and I remember helping my mother when she was changing the baby's diaper, handing her the petroleum jelly and handing her the little safety pins for the diapers and playing patty cake with my baby sister. But that's it, and we're so much older now. That was a long time ago.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, I have like little flashes and honestly don't know if they were from that time in my life or if it was later. But yeah, it's hard to remember what I did four hours ago, much less 41 years ago four hours ago, much less 41 years ago.
Speaker 5:I love it. I love it. So after your surgery, it sounds like you had a new lease on life. You were back on your bike Now. Did you have siblings growing up?
Speaker 1:I did. I have two younger brothers, although my youngest brother is quite a bit younger than I am, so really growing up, I had a brother that was three years younger than me.
Speaker 5:Okay, so he only would have been a baby when you had that surgery. So it's not like you were running around with him.
Speaker 1:No, he stayed with some relatives, I think my grandma and grandpa here in Wisconsin, and I had the surgery in New York so he was with them for a couple of weeks so my parents could focus on me.
Speaker 5:Oh wow, that's good that you had that kind of support system, and he probably doesn't remember anything because he was just an infant.
Speaker 1:He doesn't. He'll say that being away from my parents for that time scarred him for life, but he's just messing with me.
Speaker 5:When you were a little bit older, say when he was five and you were eight, do you remember running around roughhousing with your brother doing the things that brothers do?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I really don't remember any time where I couldn't play and run around and explore with him or with other friends around the neighborhood that were my age. I really can't remember my heart conditions slowing me down too much. I remember in early elementary school teachers would sometimes check in to see how I was doing and at the time I'm like I'm fine, what's the problem?
Speaker 3:But obviously they were cheating, and so my parents had communicated my heart situation with them.
Speaker 5:Plus, I imagine if you wore a shirt that had a V-neck, part of your scar could be seen.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 5:And you wouldn't be looking at it but other people would see it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Easy to forget that. I have that, even though when I look in the mirror I can have weeks go by where I don't even notice it and then I'm like, oh yeah, I got that scar thing.
Speaker 5:I know I broke my arm when I was seven. I have a massive scar on my elbow. I almost never think of it.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 5:It's just part of who you are, but it would dwell on it all the time, and I think that would be a bit obsessive.
Speaker 1:Definitely, and I don't know that too many people even notice it. I do have some tattoos on my chest, so people usually ask about those and notice those before the scar.
Speaker 5:Interesting, so your doctor was okay with you getting tattoos.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't really talk to him about it. I probably should have, but I got him and he didn't say anything afterwards and they're fairly obvious Wow.
Speaker 5:But yeah, I mean when you're doing a chest examination if you have a tattoo on your chest, you're going to see it. That is really funny. So you didn't ask your doctor's permission or for any safeguards or anything. You just went and did it Just like any other person would do.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, it really didn't occur to me. I just made sure I went to a reputable tattoo parlor that had clean equipment and good recommendations.
Speaker 5:You mind if I ask how old you were?
Speaker 1:when you got your first tattoo. Let's see my first tattoo. I was probably about 34, 35.
Speaker 5:Oh so this wasn't a teenage thing. No, I was much older 35. Oh, so this wasn't a teenage thing. No, I was much older. Yep, Okay, what concerns did you and your family have regarding your heart defect as you were a child growing up?
Speaker 1:The surgeon that I had didn't remove as much muscle tissue as was traditionally done in tetralogy of flow surgery. I'm not sure why. It was kind of a method that he pioneered at the time. So one of the concerns that I've always had because I had more muscle tissue was right ventricular hypertrophy, which ultimately could lead to pressure issues and pressure imbalances in my heart which might require a second surgery down the road. I'm in the wait and see every year mode still at 45, so I'm happy for that.
Speaker 1:But when I first moved back to Wisconsin when I was seven, the new cardiologist I had was pretty concerned about it. He initially thought that surgery would be needed much sooner rather than later. But after the catheterization came to the agreement that we see what the changes were over time. That was probably the only time where I remember having a conversation with my parents and I was only seven but I remember them talking about if they'd seek a second opinion if that cardiologist recommended a surgery at the time and ultimately that didn't happen and I've been stable since. But that's really the only time I can remember having a major concern about it.
Speaker 3:Heart to Heart with Anna is a presentation of Hearts Unite the Globe and is part of the Hug Podcast Network. Hearts Unite the Globe is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing resources to the congenital heart defect community to uplift, empower and enrich the lives of our community members. If you would like access to free resources pertaining to the CHD community, please visit our website at wwwcongenitalheartdefectscom for information about CHD, the hospitals that treat children with CHD, summer camps for CHD survivors and much, much more.
Speaker 5:Then when did you first decide to work out and lift weights? Because I know a lot of people who are critical congenital heart patients are told they can't lift weights or if they do, it can only be very small weights. They can't do bodybuilding.
Speaker 1:I started on and off when I was in college In my mid-20s through mid-30s. I'd work out for a few months and then I'd stop for a few months and it was not very focused. I did not talk to my cardiologist at the time about it. I had a pediatric cardiologist through my mid-30s, when he retired, and I went to an adult congenital clinic. So he always felt that I was staying in good shape and encouraged continuing to be active, but didn't necessarily recommend lifting and lifting heavy weights. A few years ago, actually at the beginning of COVID, I started working with a trainer and that's when I really got serious about lifting and gradually building up to lifting heavier weights. A few years ago my cardiologist asked me what my routine was and I told him and he said, if you came in and asked me if I suggested doing that routine, I would probably say no, but I can't really argue with the results. So it was nice to hear.
Speaker 5:Yeah, from a cardiac standpoint, he felt that your heart was doing well and you weren't doing anything to damage it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he really didn't have any concerns over my heart function or lifting too heavy or pushing things too hard.
Speaker 5:Wow, now is the personal trainer that you're working with, somebody who has worked with other people with heart conditions.
Speaker 1:No, he is not. He's based in Brooklyn. I followed him and his brother for quite a while. They do a lot on social media in the calisthenics movement and have written a number of books, so I read and kept in touch with them and then they both went to virtual training when COVID started, because all the gyms were closed down, so that's when I started working with him. He's obviously well aware of my heart condition and depends on me to speak up if there's anything that I have concerns about regarding my heart.
Speaker 5:Have you noticed any sudden pains or anything amiss when you do the lifting? Because I know I talked to one gentleman who's much older than you but also a tetralogy and fallop patient, as a matter of fact.
Speaker 6:Oh cool.
Speaker 5:And he yeah, it actually is cool now that I think about it. And Jim one time lifted a canoe over his head. A canoe over his head, and when he lifted the canoe he felt a plow and a sternum wire busted through his chest. Oh jeez, can you imagine? And he went to the ER and they called Dr Marco, his doctor. The doctor came over and he snipped the wire off and sent him away with a bill. He wasn't happy with the bill that he got, as I recall, which is kind of funny because all he did was take some tool and just snip the metal off. But I would be really concerned if all this wire went through my chest.
Speaker 1:Luckily I've never had any wires pop out, thankfully, or any injuries. I've had soreness and other getting banged up a little bit from various lifts and things like that, but nothing directly heart related.
Speaker 5:Right. So just the normal aches and pains that any human being has when they push themselves physically.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 5:Let's hope that never happens to you. I've never heard of that happening to anybody else.
Speaker 5:Yeah, but the interesting thing is my heart warrior told me that when she was a teenager she was going through puberty, that sometimes her chest would hurt and I wondered if it had something to do with the sternum wires. And when I contacted the cardiologist he said it was probably growing pains and that kids go through that sometimes. Then there was nothing wrong with her heart and after a while it did go away. Did you ever experience anything like that when you were growing up?
Speaker 1:I did around my chest.
Speaker 1:I had really bad groin pains in my legs, so that kind of overshadowed anything else, but I mean it makes sense if you think that there is scar tissue Right, there is trauma to the chest area. So as any bones, muscles, connective tissue are growing, it's going to be a little bit more sensitive there than anywhere else. It's scary when you have a heart condition and an area in your chest is hurting, but it does make total sense that the trauma from the surgery would certainly affect how your bones and muscles feel as you're growing.
Speaker 5:Oh, my goodness, what you just said about having the aches in your legs too. Hope also had that, and now that I think about it, you guys have catheterizations, but you have scar tissue in your legs as well.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 5:In your groin area. So I wonder if that contributes to the pain in the legs as well. I never thought about that until you just said that Amazing. I've talked to other heart warriors as well, who tell me the same thing that they also had growing pains. But they're growing pains. Any kid goes through growing pains. But I think when you are dealing with living with a chronic condition like congenital heart disease, you're always questioning is this something to do with the heart? Is this something I need to be worried about?
Speaker 1:I still do with. If I have too much caffeine and my heart speeds up a little bit, my first thought is always oh, what's going on there? And then like well, I had two more cups of coffee than I normally have, so that's probably it.
Speaker 5:Absolutely, and my husband, who does not have a congenital heart defect, is really sensitive to caffeine. We've warned Hope, watch out. Dad's super affected by caffeine, as am I. I usually drink herbal tea.
Speaker 5:I've never been a coffee drinker and that is something that she notices when she drinks sodas. It tends to be caffeine-free, like 7-Up or root beer, but she tries not to drink too much soda. And that's my next question You've gone on a health kick where you have made dietary changes to boost your exercise regime. Can you talk to me a little bit about that?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. First, I love that you phrase that as what dietary changes did you make to boost the effectiveness of the routine? So many people, when they think of diet, they think of restriction, taking away, losing weight, which is understandable. We have obviously weight concerns in this country and around the world. But so many people often think I need to lose weight, I need to get fit, I need to get in shape, what do I need to take out of my diet? But I think thinking about your diet as what do you need to put in to fuel your lifestyle is so much better way to look at it. Psychologically. It's rewarding rather than punitive.
Speaker 1:When I started getting on this, I focused on making sure I have lean protein with every meal, fresh fruits multiple times a day, raw and steamed vegetables. I try to limit packaged foods. Check labels if there's something that has a name that I can't pronounce or I can't picture in the wild. I can picture blueberries and I can even picture honey as a sugar substitute, but I can't picture sodium bicarbonate If somebody asked me what that looked like.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't be able to do that. Generally, the more ingredients, usually the worst. But I make sure that I'm getting those fruits, those veggies, lean protein, eating plenty of nuts and seeds which have a lot of healthy fats to them. I also have a repetitive diet. I think people who generally are fit or who are athletes will generally eat the same types of things day in and day out, and it helps figure out what your body needs, what your body reacts to.
Speaker 1:I found personally that eating a lot of high grain carbs, eating a lot of bread, pasta, cereal it leads to inflammation. I feel more sore after workouts. My elbows and shoulders tend to be a little bit more sore. I feel a little bit sluggish. I think it exacerbates my allergies and sinuses. So I pretty much eliminate grain-based carbs for that reason.
Speaker 1:But by making sure I'm getting enough protein, enough vitamins, enough minerals on a daily basis and using that as my baseline, then I can add to that and see how it affects me. And if there's something like caffeine, generally I can drink a lot of coffee and it doesn't really affect me, where some people can look at a cup of coffee and their heart rate goes up. But for me grains and pastas and cereals. They don't make me feel well. That's the base level of nutrition. And then if I'm going through a phase where I'm lifting heavy and trying to add on muscle, I'll eat more calories. I'll be a little bit less conscious of whether the protein I have is quite as lean. I might even have more fat and definitely more treats and stuff of that nature, and then when I'm trying to lean out or lose a little bit of weight, I'll dial back. I'll pretty much eliminate those grain-based carbs, try to eat leaner proteins and limit rice potatoes, beans, nuts a little bit more.
Speaker 5:Wow, it sounds like a low-carb diet is something that you favor.
Speaker 1:It sounds like a low-carb diet is something that you favor. It is, but I do eat fruit as much as I want, which is usually four or five servings a day, with every meal. Oh wow, same thing with vegetables, salads, carrots, snap peas, steamed veggies with dinner every night.
Speaker 5:Okay. So you can eat the carrots and potatoes, and that's okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the potatoes. Some people don't do as well on those. They don't seem to impact my blood sugar too much. I feel pretty good when I eat those. I do eat rice potatoes and then a lot of fruits and vegetables.
Speaker 6:Okay, cool. Embark on a heartwarming odyssey with Baby Heart's Pressure Gateway to uplifting stories for the CHD community. Introducing the Heart of a Heart Warrior book series inspiring those born with heart defects and their loved ones. Discover the heart of a mother, the heart of a father and my brother needs an operation. Books celebrating strength, love and familial support. Visit babyheartspresscom and be part of our loving community. Uplifting hearts, one story at a time.
Speaker 4:This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The opinions expressed in the podcast are not those of Hearts Unite the Globe, but of the hosts and guests, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to congenital heart disease or bereavement.
Speaker 3:You are listening to Heart to Heart with Anna. If you have a question or comment that you would like addressed on our show, please send an email to Anna Jaworski at Anna at hearttoheartwithannacom. That's Anna at hearttoheartwithannacom. Now back to Heart to Heart with Anna.
Speaker 5:You mentioned that your workouts can help with neck and shoulder pain, as well as postural issues, and these are issues that a lot of heart warriors I've talked to have had to deal with, probably because they had to spend hours on an operating table and they're not in a normal position. They have their sternum cracked open and their ribs are splayed apart. So I know quite a few art warriors who have had to deal with scoliosis and other problems. Do you think that your workouts or some guided workout could help people who are dealing with those kinds of issues and, if so, can you tell us where they could learn more?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. This is something that I'm very passionate about. I'm not going to say that it'll fix scoliosis. That's a medical problem. People should talk to their doctors, obviously. But I dealt with pretty severe neck pain. I was doing some yard work in my early 20s and I pulled one of my trapezius muscles just under my right shoulder, and as soon as I did that, everything kind of seized up around it. I couldn't lift my head up, I couldn't move it left and right, so I went to a physical therapist. I had some pain meds, muscle relaxers. I did six weeks of physical therapy where we did massage in the area and then a lot of stretching for the injured area, and I recovered.
Speaker 1:Then about six months later, I think I was carrying some dining chairs upstairs and I did the same thing Went through physical therapy again and I dealt with it probably for about eight years or so, where it was like every six months to a year I would do something and it wasn't anything crazy, it was basic mowing the lawn or basic life skills and constantly pulling it. It was the point where I couldn't lift my head up, I couldn't move my neck. I kept going to therapy and I just knew that there had to be something more there. So I started to do a lot of research on my own and look at some different weightlifting programs.
Speaker 1:It started to make sense to me that because of my heart condition and having surgery when I was really young, before my bones and muscles and connective tissue were even close to being fully developed and my chest cracked open I still have scar tissue and realized not only do I have scar tissue on the outside of my body that I can see, but there's scar tissue underneath too, on my heart, all the way down my sternum. So it makes sense that I would be tighter in the chest area and then, like everybody nowadays, spend so much time in front of your phone or in front of a computer that it just reinforces that forward hunched head posture, forward shoulders. So I did a lot of research and found that there were three areas that I needed to focus on, and once I did that for about four months. I haven't had a single issue now for maybe 15, 20 years.
Speaker 1:So it completely, completely resolved it. So the first thing I did and I still do these exercises just about every day. So it's not something that you fix and you're done because the scar tissue is always there.
Speaker 1:The first thing I do is I make sure to stretch my pecs in the front of my shoulders, my anterior shoulders, doing like pec stretches against the doorway, stretching against the pole, just to kind of open that area up. The chest muscles get tight and shortened, which limits your range of motion and then because of that, if you don't stretch it, it's pulling on your back muscles, which is where my injury came from. And every time I went to physical therapy they focused on stretching my back muscles. The problem is those muscles were already stretched out and, like a rubber band, can only stretch so much before it snaps. So instead of stretching the back, I focused on strengthening the back, doing a lot of rows, some dumbbell flies, wall slides, y, t, ws and Ls on an exercise ball to build up those postural muscles in the upper back, at the same time stretching the front and restoring range of motion and normal posture to my shoulders.
Speaker 1:And the third thing is I do a lot of self-massage with my fingers on my scar tissue. I got a Theragun which I use to massage the front of my shoulders and my chest just to relieve that tightness and that soreness. I'm planning to make some videos to post on your YouTube page that show some of these stretches and exercises. I'll hopefully have those ready to go in the next week or so. If anybody has any questions, I'd be more than happy to coach them through that.
Speaker 5:That's amazing. You did not talk about the kind of exercises I would have expected, but now that you've explained it, it makes perfect sense. What led you to figure out that these were the exercises you needed to do? Going to physical therapy multiple times is that where you figured if I keep doing this, I feel better. Or is there some other way that you found out that these are the exercises you needed?
Speaker 1:No, it was kind of the opposite, where I felt like the physical therapy helped and I feel better, but a few months later the same thing happened. So I did a lot of searching on some different strength programs specifically that address postural issues and muscle imbalances. So that's where I started. I do these as warm up exercises and cool down stretches every day around my more traditional full body lifting program, but I still make sure to do these exercises. And then I also try to make sure I incorporate more pulling than pushing, more rows, more upper back work than I do chest exercises, bench press and that sort of thing.
Speaker 5:How much time every day do you spend exercising?
Speaker 1:About an hour, five days a week usually.
Speaker 5:Wow, five days a week, wow, that's a lot of weight lifting.
Speaker 1:To be clear, this is about four years of gradual increases in the frequency that I work out, the length of time I work out, the weight I'm lifting and the exercises I'm doing. Anyone interested in getting started in a workout program I recommend start where I did, which was just a few days a week, mostly body weight exercises, and then over time that intensity compounds to where you can work out multiple days a week without getting too sore and getting too run down. But it's not like I just one day woke up and said, hey, I'm going to work out five times this week. It was a long, slow build.
Speaker 5:Yeah, you'd be in bed within a couple of days. It would be hard to keep that up. So one of the things my husband and I are looking into and I really want to do it, I just need to be stricter with myself, with my time is Tai Chi. I don't know if you've ever done that before, but that's a beautiful way to start stretching gently. Wake your muscles up before you do an exercise regime. Have you ever tried Tai Chi or yoga?
Speaker 1:I haven't tried Tai Chi. I do yoga. A lot of the stretches that I do are from yoga practices, but I do have some friends that do Tai Chi and it's great for oiling your joints, getting that fluid going through your body, warming up your muscles, stretching your muscles. Tai Chi really any type of martial art is phenomenal for strength and recovery and muscle building, stretching and everything.
Speaker 5:Let's talk about the importance of working out and how that affects your mood, because there's been a ton of research now that shows that there's a connection between working out and your mood and your mental health. That seems to be something that's a big issue in our community. Can you talk to me about the importance of working out to exercise our mental health?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I've dealt with anxiety for as long as I can remember and along with working out I do some daily meditation. I've gotten really big into stoic philosophy, which has helped put things into perspective. But I do notice if I'm not feeling great or if I tweak something during a workout and I decide to take a couple of days off usually the first and second day off from working out it's like oh, this is so nice, I can relax, I don't have to get down and push weights around. But usually by like day three or day four I start to get antsy. I notice my anxiety starts to increase. It's very noticeable and usually after three or four days unless I have the flu or something I have to get back down and push some weight around.
Speaker 1:It feels good to release those endorphins. It helps burn off steam kind of that excess anxiety that's built up. It's a healthy way to push that out. I think it's great. Plus, it's the practice of working out I think is a huge boost to you mentally just being the type of person that is able to work out every day and that that's part of your routine. I think that's a huge support to your mental health knowing that you can commit to something like that, and that's not just working out, but any type of activity that you commit to, whether it's a career or a family, or even if it's a daily walk with your dogs. Just being able to do that helps reinforce the type of person that you want to be.
Speaker 5:I love that. I absolutely love that. That is so true. And we have a certain percentage of our population that can't even fathom lifting weights, because they may not even be able to walk, they may not have the energy to walk across the room. But I know that there are exercises that you can do from a sitting position and, like you were saying, where you just use your own weight, you don't necessarily have to get heavy weights. When I first was starting with the Body for Life program, I had never lifted weights before and I started with cans of corn. Then I was able to build up and I was doing pretty well when I finished. Now I'm going to have to start with the cans of corn again, because it's been years since I was working out, but I'm looking forward to starting a regular program. There is something to having that regular scheduled program where you know every day I'm going to do this at this time or for this period of time, and I think your body does like that kind of routine, don't you?
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely. It's hard. I know to think in the long term, because working out it's hard at first and people generally don't enjoy it a ton at first because you don't see the rewards immediately. But it's like investing money. People understand compound interest when they make an investment. And working out, running, eating well is an investment in your body and you will see that compound interest when years go by and you notice your body looks completely different than it did before. You feel stronger, you're able to get through your normal daily schedule more easily. It's the end of the day and your dog wants you to take him for a walk and you've had a crazy day at work and doing stuff with your kids and you've been running around all day, but you can still get up, walk the dogs and you're like yeah, I have plenty of energy for that.
Speaker 5:That's really where the payoff is. Yeah, absolutely. And when you get to be my age, I don't want to slow down. I want to still be able to travel and to get down on the floor with my granddaughter and play games with her.
Speaker 1:And I'm not going to be able to unless I stay fit Right. That's exactly it. Where do you want to be when you're in your 80s or in your early 90s? You may not be hiking up the side of a mountain at that age, but it'd be nice to be able to walk with your grandkids around the block, or maybe great grandkids at that point, to be able to go out for coffee with some friends and be able to park the car and walk to where you're going without needing a wheelchair or needing assistance. That's the goal.
Speaker 5:When I was first starting with this Tai Chi program. I have a video that I use and the gentleman who is leading us in the Tai Chi exercise talks about how being able to care for yourself and being able to move your body in space is one of the freedoms that we can enjoy as adults. And when, all of a sudden, you cannot move your body in space, you lose an amount of freedom and you don't want to do that. That's why it's so important to keep moving. You have to keep moving, otherwise you won't be able to get out of that chair or you won't be able to walk up that hill. When I was listening to him, he has this really then type personality, which I appreciate. Him. He has this really then type personality, which I appreciate. It's awesome that, as he was explaining all of this, I thought he's exactly right. That's why you see sometimes in the movies where there will be a whole park full of people doing these exercises. That's the way it should be.
Speaker 5:We should be, looking at this as something that we can all do as a community, because it helps everybody in the community.
Speaker 1:Right, absolutely. And talk about mental health. How great would it feel, at 90 years old, to be able to take a walk in the park without assistance. I can't imagine anything feeling better than that and having that freedom. You don't have to wait for somebody to wheel you somewhere if you want something.
Speaker 5:I just love that. I think your idea about staying healthy and working on your posture is something you talk about in Tai Chi as well. Your posture says so much about you. If you do feel yourself hunching over, that's when you really need to focus and work on standing up straight and tall, because the more you're leaning over like that, the harder it is to breathe. It affects your diaphragm, it affects your chest and for somebody who has a heart condition, you don't want that Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have different days of the week where I focus on different things with my business where I focus on different things with my business, but usually Tuesdays is when I do billing for clients and staff, payroll and scheduling and a lot of office work. I set an alarm on my phone for 60 minutes and every hour, even if I'm in the middle of typing a sentence, I stand up and do some of those stretches I mentioned earlier. Or I have my Theragun right next to me here and I'll blast the front of my shoulders just to loosen things up a little bit. Because if I sit all day without getting up for those quick movement breaks, then by the end of the day my whole front of my body is achy and, yeah, not good.
Speaker 5:It's not good for your eyes.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to do that too I have a puppy.
Speaker 3:Very true.
Speaker 5:And Legolas likes to get out and walk around, and he'll come to me and let me know, mom, it's time to get up and move. And I realize, oh, I'm starting to get a headache too. I've been looking at my computer screen too close for too long. I need to look further away. All of this stuff is interconnected. All of this stuff is interconnected, and I'm so glad we had a chance to talk about this, because this is not a topic that I've really addressed with anyone before, but it's so crucial, not just for people who have a heart condition, but really for anybody.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Things are very convenient and very easy, which is great, but the downside of that is we move less than we did 20, 30 years ago, we eat more than we did 20 or 30 years ago and as a society I think we're getting generally less healthy. And it doesn't take a lot, but regular movement and getting some kind of a fitness and nutrition habit can solve a lot of those problems and makes a huge difference.
Speaker 5:Absolutely. Thank you so much for coming on the program today and sharing your advice and your experiences with us, Ben.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's my pleasure. If anybody has any questions regarding working out, whether it's a heart condition related or not, they can feel free to reach out to me.
Speaker 5:Okay, I will have your contact information in the show notes. That does conclude this episode of Heart to Heart with Anna. Check out my YouTube channel because we will be posting the videos as Ben shares them with us. Thanks for listening today.
Speaker 2:My friends Hope you found this program helpful. If you have any questions about the show, please send them to me on the website. That's Archie archunitedlovecom. We also have the HARD to HARD with Anna Facebook page, so you can reach out to me there as well and I will put the link in the show notes. But remember, my friends, you are not blown.
Speaker 3:Thank you again for joining us this week. We hope you have become inspired and empowered to become an advocate for the congenital HARD community. Hard Heart to Heart with Anna, with your host, anna Jaworski, can be heard at any time, wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode is released every Tuesday from noon Eastern time.
