competitive tennis?

I am 57, new to the site, and will be getting a PM shortly. I currently play competitive tennis 3-4 times a week and work out on the other days. I love the competition and social aspects of tennis. i play against ex pro and college div 1 players... Is there anyone out there that plays at my 5.0 to 4.5 level after having a PM put in?
Ray

4 Comments

PM Response

by donr - 2011-03-13 03:03:09

Ray: You are going in w/ the right attitude!!!

I learned a long time ago that tennis players function on a different level than distance runners. #1 Daughter & a friend were taking a physical aptitude test that involved a 300 yd shuttle run of 25 yd legs. Daughter was a cross country runner, who set school records for multi-mile distances. friend was a superb tennis player who had never lost a match in her HS career. Tennis player wiped the floor w/ miler!!! Then it was that I realized that tennis players spend a lot of time accelerating rapidly, running a very short distance & then screeching to a halt - whereas, milers get up to speed & stay there!

What does that have to do w/ a PM wearer? About two weeks after getting mine, wife dropped a can of soda (unopened) in a parking lot w/ a slope to it. Can started rolling down hill, accelerating rapidly. I took off like a shot after it & darned near passed out in about 15 strides. Scared the daylights out of me. Went in & saw my Cardio's head nurse in a panic & she explained to me that there is a little setting called ADL (Activities of Daily Living) that has an adjustable delay so that the PM doesn't take off like a shot after a spurious signal that you are going to demand a higher HR. She made the delay a bit shorter. I gave up sprinting & aspirations of running the 100 Meters in the next Olympics. The conclusion I drew is that in sprinting the 100 M dash, you could be finished w/ the race before your PM decides to join you!

You might want to talk w/ whoever sets up your PM & tell them your hopes & dreams & get them to discuss the appropriate settings for you so you don't get ambushed like I did.

If you are lucky, one of the PM heavyweights here will chime in w/ more detailed info on this situation.

Don

I'm not a tennis player but...

by Edouard - 2011-03-13 04:03:26

...I AM a competitive swimmer. I was "beached" for 6 weeks after surgery, but since last summer, I've participated in 4 swim meets and am planning to compete in this year's provincial Masters championship.
I'm not going to let a little thing like a pacemaker implant get in my way :-)
Seriously, we both have something in common in that our activities require some serious arm movements. Make sure your doctor is aware of your activities, but unless he (she) has serious reservations, go for it!
Edouard

57 also

by sallybags@email.com - 2011-03-13 05:03:38

just had mine installed 6 weeks ago and this week played basketball 4 times and had no problems. You should be fine and might find you have more energy. Good luck and keep playing tennis.

Why Not

by woody - 2011-03-13 12:03:07

If you were doing it before PM, there is no reason you can't do it after PM!
Why the PM?
Mine is for heart block - 1 year in May - I still play softball!
I am 72. The main thing is to stay active! Go get'em "KID"!
woody
PS - I assume the PM is not on swing side.

You know you're wired when...

You have a little piece of high-tech in your chest.

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My pacemaker is the best thing that every happened to me, had I not got it I would not be here today.