I was born with a few heart defects and I was curious to know if barbell training or any specific training will help improve my stamina or my training capacity. I struggle already with heavy barbell training, especially squats and deadlift. I am extremely out of breath in between sets and can take easily 5 minute rests just to recover (80kg Squat, 120kg deadlift). Walking a few flights of stairs usually gets me pretty winded and some casual walking.
I was told by my cardiologist that no specific training would improve my condition or my training capacity but I wouldn’t mind a second opinion.
Thank for the reply and sorry for my late response.
Since my last review with the cardiologist (last had a consult in 2016, next should be the end of this year), he has not given me any physical restrictions but when I asked what I should be doing, I was not given a clear answer.
Since i’ve started training, I don’t feel any different, I still struggle/get out of breath walking around university, walking up a flight of stairs and sometimes my driveway these days. During my training sessions (following Stronglifts currently) I am always taking 5 minute + breaks just to recover from a set of squats.
I understand that this topic may be hard to discuss with or without a consult but it was worth a shot asking.