Originally Posted by
readytheharpoon
I am 33, male, 230 pounds and six feet tall.
Recent training history: Did NLP from June to September, transitioned to the Texas Method for a month, suffered through some back tweaks, returned to training in November after a layoff and reset. My logs are in the SS and Intermediate forums.
Health: I had COVID starting on January 8th, recovering by the 21st. On the 27th, after coughing up some blood, I was admitted to the hospital with COVID-induced bilateral pulmonary embolism - several blood clots were found in both lungs. I also have a small infarct of the right lung from lack of blood flow. I spent three days in the hospital and was discharged with a prescription for blood thinners. My doctor expects to have me on blood thinners for three months. I'm improving, although any exertion at this point leaves me out of breath. My doctor's advice for returning to hard physical activity is to wait six to eight weeks and "build up slowly". I'm not in a great hurry, so I don't have a personal issue with that.
My plan:
1. After a week or so, once I'm mostly free of chest pain, start riding my Airdyne at a slow to moderate pace for ten or fifteen minutes three times a week. My intent is to keep the blood moving and try to get my lungs working a little as the infarct heals and turns to scarring.
2. Wait eight weeks and re-start NLP as if I were doing it for the first time.
My questions:
1. Does my plan seem reasonable? If you have, in fact, been cleared by your physician for physical activity, then your plan seems exceptionally reasonable.
2. Has anyone trained a client on blood thinners or recovering from pulmonary embolism? Yes. Many times.
3. Should I approach NLP more cautiously than normal, maybe starting with two days a week instead of three? Would it be smart to pretend like I'm an old person for a while? Not unless you want to think of yourself as an old person. Start where you normally would, progress like you normally would. The totality of the effects of the bilateral PE won't be know in the setting of hard training until you get to the point where you are training hard.