Today I met with Min van Velzen, a Cardio Rehab and Metabolic Program specialist at Lions Gate Hospital. Their program assists individuals with getting back to a normal work-out routine. Following paperwork and a brief conversation, I was asked to start my tread-mill test. The fifteen minute test began on a slight incline with me walking briskly, than increasing in speed and elevation every three minutes. While Min monitored my heart condition via an EKG machine, I managed to get past eleven minutes at a jogging pace before I was out of breath and had to stop.

I was never a jogger but apparently I performed well enough that neither Min nor Dr. Kevin McLeod, the doctor who came in later to go over the results, had anything negative to say about my condition. Min’s gym recommendations were as follows:

Cardio Exercise:

• 20-40 minutes on a tread-mill, bike, stepper machine, etc. where my heart rate is somewhere between 93-118 BPM (beats per minute).

Strength Exercise:

• 30 reps, 1 set, 1 exercise for every major muscle group using a substantially reduced weight level until I was fully recovered.