IOL Strength and Conditioning

There’s sure to be confusion over Dave’s upcoming heart surgery (the Jim Fixx syndrome, am I right?), topped with a dollop of internet turmoil. I’ll do my best to explain what we know, and wherever possible, provide links to information that you can apply to your own goal of a healthy heart.

Dave’s surgeon will be repairing two distinct problems, one caused by alcohol abuse decades ago, the other from arterial blockage accumulated over time.

You probably already know part one: Years of excessive alcohol caused congestive heart failure — he flatlined in 1983. Every cardiologist Dave’s seen in the intervening years has commented on his remarkable recovery, and all have said, “Keep doing whatever you’re doing, Dave.” Still, while the heart muscle recovered to near perfect, a valve is loose, doesn’t close properly and leaks. This the surgeon will fix by sewing a ring around the valve opening to tighten it.

The second issue concerns the artery replacement — bypass grafts done using arteries from other parts of the body. This is needed when blood can’t flow well through arteries clogged by plaque. He’ll come home with three replaced arteries, but because one has a fork in it, it’s counted twice (we just have to assume the surgeon is smarter than this implies), bottom line: quadruple bypass.

One twist that’s still to be discussed — the elephant in the room: steroids. Steroids are known to cause heart problems, notably heart attack and stroke, as well as increasing LDL cholesterol while lowering HDL cholesterol. Dave did not have a heart attack or stroke; his cholesterol regularly rests in the 130s total (at the time of his first stent work in 2000, his total cholesterol was 118); and his cardiologist said under no circumstances did steroid use decades ago cause his problem today.

Next, let’s talk some more about cholesterol and blocked arteries, what we think caused Dave’s problem and how you can use this information.

Many of the forum members and IronOnline site readers are in the 50-year-old age bracket, making heart health, specifically cholesterol, a common topic around here. It’s a difficult one, too, because not only is there a good deal of money-making advertising going on, there’s honest disagreement among the research scientists.

Yet the Framingham Heart Study documenting patients since 1948 reports that 80% of cardiovascular disease patients, those with coronary arterial damage, have normal cholesterol numbers. Secondly, at least half of all clogged arteries don’t fit the standard risk factor mold. There’s simply more to this than those 30-second tv spots can tell.

Here’s an overview of cholesterol testing and treatment, and here’s a reminder how vital cholesterol is to our functioning bodies.

Several things we do know that we didn’t know just a few years ago:

~There’s a lot more to the cholesterol story than the two numbers (LDL, the low density lipoproteins, aka lousy cholesterol) and HDL, the high density lipoproteins, aka the healthy cholesterol). There are sub-particles of LDL and HDL, and it’s partly those elements that may contribute to problems. Still, the most current research conflicts with the common cholesterol thinking, and there’s more to be done before we can have confidence in medical recommendations.

~There’s some controversy over the importance of lowering cholesterol, even fairly high cholesterol. This is not to say dietary changes are not important, but it appears it’s more important for some than others; in some very important, others not important at all. You’ll have to do some research, and you’ll have to get some blood testing to find out in which category you fit. And then you may have to experiment, test and try again. This is sometimes a long process that can take a couple of years to sort out.

~Inflammation may be more damaging than cholesterol, and inflammation plus high LDL cholesterol might be the triple play. Stress inflames, bigtime, and this refers to all types of stress, stress over money and relationships… work and overwork stress… and, what I believe to be true in Dave’s case, overtraining — decades of pushing himself to the limit. You can’t go back for a do-over to see which method would have worked better, but there it is: It’s likely the demands Dave placed on himself, those that made him a champion athlete, combined with the next element to jam him up.

~The next element: Oxidation caused by iron, bad juju. Think rusty pipes. Iron causes oxidation that not even a cornucopia of anti-oxidant diets can neutralize. The main lessons here: Make sure your vitamins and food supplements do not have added iron (unless you’re a vegetarian or a menstruating woman); if you eat beef, commit to donating a pint of blood quarterly; and oh, don’t get any older. Age doesn’t help with the oxidation thing.

~High triglycerides contribute to plaque buildup in the arteries. Get a blood test and find out if this is a concern for you. High triglycerides is another danger marker when combined with high LDL cholesterol.

~High blood pressure gouges holes in the arteries by excessive force. It’s imperative to keep your blood pressure within optimal levels (120/80 or lower), either with exercise, food choices or medicine if those don’t work.

~High blood sugar damages arteries, causing more areas to be damaged by the deadly combination of inflammation, oxidation and cholesterol. Best way around that one is the Zone diet.

~Homocysteine: There’s a clear connection between it and atherosclerosis — arterial blockage — but the reasons are as yet unknown. Regardless of the whys, the fix is easy: B vitamins, specifically B6, B12 and folic acid. A B-Complex tablet should bring down homocysteine levels in the blood; plan to take a B vitamin daily for the rest of your life. Stick with the complex, individualizing the B vitamins is not recommended. Bonus point: B-complex may also lower fibrinogen and C-Reactive Protein, both factors in arterial inflammation and clotting.

~Lipoprotein(a) is a pretty clear marker for heart disease potential. There’s not a lot you can do about this genetically determined risk factor, but since it’s a good predictor — possibly the best — it does tell you of the importance of other controllable heart-health criteria. LP/a is highly susceptible to oxidation, causes blood clot problems and, in combination with high levels of LDL or even low levels of dense LDL sub-particles, is deadly.

~Menopausal women and hormone replacement: We used to take estrogen partly for heart health, we thought at the time, because pre-menopausal women are somewhat protected from heart disease. As it turns out, taking estrogen didn’t bring menopausal heart health up, and the thinking now is that iron is building up in women who don’t have a monthly period. Post-menopausal women need to do quarterly blood donations, too. Do it as a gift of life, and save your arteries as a side benefit.

~Stress causes inflammation; there’s no longer any question. Reduce all stresses. Whatever you have to do, do it. Change jobs, reduce debt, sort out troubled relationships, take a walk, pray, do yoga. Pick the one that hits home hardest and get to work. And if you train as hard as Dave does, well, either stop, get an extra day of rest between workouts, or find a way to relax fully. I dunno, get a hot tub?

~Trans fats we know to be deadly. Period. Saturated fats, that’s becoming a little less clear. At least, we’re not as sure as we used to be.

~Depression also causes blockage. If you’re depressed, do something about it, either try 5HTP for low-level, occasional or winter depression, or get a doc’s prescription for an anti-depressant. Stress and depression are absolutely, unquestionably linked to cardiovascular disease.

~Exercise, top of the list normally, but left to a lower position here only because you wouldn’t even have seen this if you weren’t already getting in your weight workouts. Still, the volume of weekly exercise seems to be preventative, 5-6 hours a week is optimum for heart health. Those of you doing shortened 30-to-45-minute training sessions or those on three-a-weeks (or less) may need to bring in more exercise. To keep overtraining at bay, cardio may be your answer… please accept my apologies in advance.

~I left off quitting smoking, which would otherwise have been at the top of the list as numero uno. You don’t smoke, do you?

We’re going to look closer at all of these puzzle pieces over the next weeks to make certain we’re each doing what we can to limit our individual risk.

Testing for heart health, how to get started

Further study material here:

More cholesterol research and commentary

More on heart health

The AOBS 2007 Awards Dinner information is now online at Artie Drechsler’s:

Quoting from the site:

We are pleased to announce that this year the AOBS will be honoring three legends of the Iron Game:

• Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. World, the “Blond Bomber” - Dave Draper
• 8 Time National Champion and 2 Time Olympian, Mike Karchut
• And (posthumously) one of the greatest weightlifters ever to mount a platform, the incredible John Henry Davis.

We will also be hosting a Historical and Collector’s meeting from Noon to 2 PM, and a bodybuilding clinic by former Mr. America and Mr. Universe, Joe Abbenda, from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM, both on June 9th. The Steve “The Mighty Stefan” Sadicaro will be performing during “Showtime”, as will National ranked weightlifters, Ericka Dice and Ed Herger. The pre-dinner reception begins at 5:30 PM, with dinner beginning at 7 PM sharp.

The dinner reservation form is here, and the cost is $60 for AOBS members, $70 for non-members. The room is limited and occasionally sells out. If an IOL group pulls together a group of ten people, Artie can make sure our group is seated together at one table.

What began as Vic Boff’s birthday part for Sig Klein in 1983 continues into its twenty-second year this summer as the AOBS (Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen) honors Dave, along with co-honorees Mike Karchut and John Davis, in Saddlebrook, New Jersey, on June 9th.

All are welcome to the event; I’m posting now in case you can slide a trip to Jersey into your early summer travel plans. When the dinner reservation form comes online, I’ll post again. Dinner cost will be around $60; there will be a special hotel rate at the Marriott (previously $80). I heard last year’s meal selection was chicken or fish — no beef for aging musclemen. No worries, it’ll probably be prime rib night at the hotel restaurant on Friday.
The event regulars have a collectors meeting and exchange Saturday, followed by a weightlifting clinic that afternoon. There’s a pre-event hangout from 5:30 until dinner at 7, followed by a strongman show of some type. What began as an accident is now a main attraction when the strongmen, grip and benders entertain the enthusiastic crowd.

Check the forearms of top strongman
performer, grip man and bender, Pat Povilaitis.
Photo by Kathy Leistner