Quit Playing Games With My Heart

Joe and I finished up our three day weekend at the doctor's office for a follow up to discuss his blood pressure. From what I understand, Joe has had high blood pressure his entire life, and the range he has been in qualifes him for hypertension. Joe is dead set against taking medication, for reasons I'm not 100% positive of. He likens it to BMI as a measurement, that it is fine for the population as a whole, but doesn't take into account individual idiosyncracies.

The doctor is giving him four months to see what we can do to lower his blood pressure without drugs. We've been talking about an exercise plan for months now, and there's room for improvement in our diet. It's been one of my goals to get more servings of vegetables into my day, so I'm going to try this meal planning deal with that in mind. I'm hoping that he'll have that annoying quality in men that once he changes his diet and exercises outside of work, that he'll lose weight easily. I'm to the point if that if I gain any more inches (I haven't gained weight at all), my pants won't fit anymore, so I'm motivated, too.

What I don't like is that now I find myself worrying about him. I knew he had high blood pressure, but I didn't know how bad it was, and I'm concerned about his attitude. He stopped smoking, he is eating better (with the aforementioned room for improvement), he's pretty much cut out drinking pop, and he has lost weight since I met him. He hasn't seen change in his blood pressure from those changes, and I think maybe that he thinks that since it's genetic, it won't hurt him?

I'm contemplating my approach on this: it is in fact his decision, and I can't do everything for him. I do have the most influence over diet and exercise, and I'll do all I can there. I'm just hoping that this four months will help him get used to the idea of the need for medication. I just want "the rest of our lives" to be as long as possible.

Run Away!

It's time to make a change. I love CrossFit dearly, and I enjoy my classes and the people in them, but I can't go on giving myself heat exhaustion every couple of weeks. I've come to the very difficult decision that I'm going to quit my gym and try to design my own workout program, better tailored to my limitations. The best bonus to this (aside from not throwing up all the time) is that Joe and I are going to do it together, which gets him back into a regular exercise routine as well.

I think we're pretty compatible with where our interests lie: we're both experienced lifters (although I'm going to be less help spotting him than he will be for me) and hate to run. He likes to bicycle and I'm open to that. We've got a lot of decisions to make, like how to fit it in to our days and what limitations we'll have in lifting in the low-ish ceiling-ed basement.

I think I want to get a few kettlebells, as I do want to still do swings and snatches and Turkish get-ups and such. Joe already has a weight set, although he is pretty envious of my brother-in-law's lifting cage. We might be able to get one of those, though, with the money I save in gym fees. I already have a treadmill from when I thought I could run. I would love to get a rowing machine and a hanging bag, but that might be down the road a ways, when we have a better idea of how much room we have. Or a different house.

This is a change I've had in the back of my mind for a while now, and I'm only just now fed up enough to act on it. I'm feeling pretty good about it, so I think it's the right one. Wish us luck!