By Jody Minalgo
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-TIMES
RIDGEFIELD ” Ironically, something Al Bruhn feared and avoided in high school is helping to strengthen his heart and keep him alive today.
After suffering a heart attack in 2003, Bruhn turned to wrestling as an alternative to more traditional heart rehabilitation.
These days, for Bruhn, wrestling is not just the therapy that’s keeping him healthy, it’s a sport he’s actively competing in.
Bruhn, a retired Danbury teacher and Ridgefield resident, completed the first two phases of rehab at the hospital before deciding he’d rather pursue his own plans for rehabilitation.
“I felt I was too young to be at Danbury Hospital (cardio) rehab, “said Bruhn, who is now 59. “To go there and continue with phase three was boring, and just wasn’t challenging enough. It had to be something I could buy into. I needed something very challenging and demanding.”
Bruhn not only conquered his fear of wrestling in college, he fell in love with it and ended up coaching it for years. So, when it came time to get himself and his heart back in shape, he turned to the sport that he had been so involved with in his past.
“Research has been done with college wrestlers, and shown that their hearts became stronger after wrestling, “Bruhn said. “I also had a cardio specialist with my team back in ’94 say that wrestling is the best cardiovascular exercise.”
Determined to get himself back in shape through wrestling, Bruhn enlisted the help of two trainers ” Ryan Adamonis and Vito Flammia ” and began developing a diet and exercise program to recuperate.
“I think it’s been successful, “said Adamonis, 24, who has been working with Bruhn for the past year. “We take his blood pressure after every session, and everything seems to be going good, and going as planned.”
“I’m just glad I have Dr. (David) Coppen as my heart specialist, “Bruhn said. “There are a lot of other heart specialists out there who would not approve of what I’m doing.”
Right from the beginning, Bruhn, a long-time public access television producer, knew that he wanted to document the process and write a book about it.
“I’m more concerned about helping other people, “Bruhn said. “This is either a program you buy into or you don’t. The underlying medical theme here is when you do these skills it definitely strengthens your heart. You have to outline step by step what needs to be done.”
Adamonis says from what he hears, the publisher they’re working with has been pleased with what they’re seeing.
“They like what we’re doing, “Adamonis said. “We’re sending them a chapter a month until December, and hopefully from there it will get published.”
Because he is a cardiac rehab patient, Bruhn has to wear a heart monitor while he works out, and says he can’t always work out as vigorously as he wants to.
However, Bruhn has had tests done to prove that his heart muscles are indeed stronger.
“It’s definitely working, “Bruhn said. “Back in December I had a physical with Dr. Yacono, and he said it looks like I never even had a heart attack.”
Two years after the heart attack, Bruhn is now competing in various tournaments.
In April he participated in an open tournament in Bristol, where he placed third. Something he believes, as a cardio rehab patient, is unprecedented.
“He did well, “said Adamonis, who has been training wrestlers for over seven years. “The whole point is that he does his best and that’s all I ask.”
Bruhn’s recently competed in the Nutmeg Games and is planning to take part in the 2005 East Coast National Beach Wrestling Championships, a brand new variation of the sport.
“My main concern is to leave the mat the way I enter it: healthy, “Bruhn said. “I’m not concerned about my heart. That’s in great shape.”
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