Hey everyone,
My girlfriend has Postural tachycardia syndrome aka PoTs and wants to start training with me in the gym. As the “expert” (according to her anyway) on training I was wondering if I should have any special considerations for training someone with a fairly severe case of PoTs. I have noticed several issues that I suspect will be a barrier to training, hopefully the forum can help with some solutions.
first and most obvious, she gets very lightheaded from exercise, especially cardio. I taught her how to squat, deadlift, overhead press, row, and bench when she tagged along with me to the gym, and aside from needing a bit longer rest periods, she tolerated it well, granted with low RPEs. I suspect this will become more of an issue with higher RPE work.
second, her conditioning is extremely poor, and she has very low motivation to improve it via cardio. She has the mindset that she simply “can’t do it” because of her condition. Obviously simply telling her she can has not worked, so ways to show her she can would be appreciated.
related to this, she takes beta blockers and (at least according to her smart watch) her heart rate spikes to the 150-180 range very quickly from even a flight of stairs. I am concerned that cardio training may cause this to reach dangerous levels.
third, she gets extreme fatigue after exercise, specifically cardio. She tolerated weight training fairly well at low RPEs, but often says she feels exhausted for a day or more after fairly mild cardio exercise (for example, a trip to the mall). I am not sure how to combat this as she doesn’t have any glaringly terrible recovery habits like sleep or nutrition, though they could be better.
the good news is, she is very motivated to train weights and has picked up on technique very quickly. I am just concerned about how to effectively manage fatigue while still getting enough training stimulus to drive adaptation and hopefully improve quality of life. Thanks in advance for your responses.