Healthy and athletic people please respond. [View all]

[Tobin S.]

I'm a trucker and to be a trucker I have to be medically certified by a doctor or a nurse practitioner. That means that I have to pass a physical once a year. It's usually once every two years, but I have to do it once a year because I have a couple of health issues. One issue is sleep apnea and the other is bipolar disorder. Both of those issues are likely to be with me for the rest of my life, so I don't have a problem with doing the physical once a year. The issue is simply passing that physical.

I took the physical today, and I barely got by it. But I think this is something I can control and make better. The problem is that my pulse is a bit high, and they almost failed me today because of it. My pulse rate has to be below 100 beats per minute, and I am right at that right now. So I need to make my heart stronger.

My question to you is, if I start a workout regimen now can I effectively lower my pulse in the next year? I'm overweight and out of shape. Can I make my heart significantly stronger in the next year and therefore lower my pulse? Another thing is that I am 46 years old, so I'm not a youngster.