Podcast
I Lied to Myself About this Season of Life
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 83
I Lied to Myself About This Season of Life
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
In this Episode of the Live Loud Life Podcast, “I Lied to Myself about this Season of Life” Dr. Antonio shares his journey of self-reflection as he evaluates the season of life he is in, and how his needs have changed in family, business, and health care. Through the process of self-auditing and utilizing the 80/20 rule, Dr. Antonio discusses his biggest take aways to clearly define goals and more effectively move forward to achieve the Live Loud Life.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
[01:01] Creating Generational Health
[02:34] How I’ve Been Lying to Myself
[08:01] Clearly Defining Goals to Drive Efforts
[11:55] Releasing in Order to Move Forward
[15:37] Return on Effort May Include Support
About Dr. Antonio Gurule
Background:
- Father
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Owner of Live LOUD
- Personal Trainer & Health Coach
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
I Lied To Myself
[00:00:00] Dr. Antonio Gurule: What’s up guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Live Loud Life podcast. My name is Antonio, your host of the Live Loud Life podcast. Uh, I just wanna say, first of all, thank you for being here. Thank you for falling along on our journey. I hope that this information has been both informational, uh, and motivational to you, to helping you along your journey.
[00:00:17] Um, we don’t have, we don’t have a lot of housekeeping, A lot of, uh, a lot of introductory short talk. Be sure though to check out, uh, our website if you have not liveloudlife.com. We have a number of just different blog posts, resources out there that really just kind of expand upon the conversation that we provide here on the podcast.
[00:00:37] Uh, that being said, Our Instagram handle is @live.loud.life, and, uh, that’s a lot more of just short form content that, uh, you can take in little bite size. Uh, we talk, obviously our focus is families, right? And we do have a, a strong love for helping prenatal, postnatal population. And the, and the families and the kids along with that.
[00:01:01] Creating Generational Health
[00:01:01] Dr. Antonio Gurule: But we can’t forget about the dads. We can’t forget about the grandparents, um, and everybody else that’s involved in that family because what we’re trying to create here is generational health, right? The wisdom and knowledge around what healthy living is and how to live long, healthy life. That’s generational, right?
[00:01:19] It starts with grandparents passing down to parents, passing it down to their kids on and so forth. You can break the stigma or habits. That might be in, involved in your family and set, set your fu future generations up to live better, to live louder, to live longer. And that’s really what our focus is. So we obviously hit that in a number of different avenues and facets.
[00:01:46] Uh, while we are not specialists in everything, we try to bring specialists on to talk about certain topics. Uh, but what we, what we really focus on a lot of, Excuse me. It’s a lot of movement based stuff, right? Uh, having a background as personal trainers and strength conditioning coaches and mo mobility coaches, we help a lot with.
[00:02:07] Like, Hey, you’re in pain. And pain is a big de deter for motivation and momentum, right? So how can we help you in this, in Trump to continue on? And then from there, as you’re, as you, as you’re gaining momentum and rolling forward and living and living loud and living your life, How can we polish the edges?
[00:02:22] How can we take some information to maybe expand upon that? And that’s kind of the, that’s kind of the, the, the segue into what I wanna talk about today.
[00:02:34] How I’ve been Lying to Myself
[00:02:34] Dr. Antonio Gurule: Today’s today’s show topic is, I lied, I’ve lied to myself, I’ve been lying to myself. And that then creates a slippery slope of, of what I’m actually able.
[00:02:50] To produce what I’m able to or how I feel about certain things, um, you know, so on and so forth. So I’m gonna dive a little bit more into obviously what that means so that we can clarify that and why I am sharing this. So I hope you enjoy the show.
[00:03:15] All right. So lied. As I was stating, I’ve, I’ve been lying to myself. Now, this is where things I think get very interesting in the role of social media and. Individuals not, I wouldn’t wanna say finding validation, right? But oftentimes when we get stuck or something like that, we’re finding we’re, we’re reaching out, we’re looking for motivation, we’re looking for inspiration, we’re looking for ideas, we’re looking for information about others that have maybe been down this journey or this path before to figure out maybe how to get unstuck or, or get back on path.
[00:03:52] Um, or just a complete change. Like, let’s say I’m, I’m stuck with, uh, I don’t wanna be here anymore and I wanna be over there. And this is, this goes for any. Facet of life, um, finances, um, of career, um, how your, your, your body and your health, right. So this is not unanimous to just any one of those, those things.
[00:04:14] And, and, and I think that’s really important because we can’t do this on our own. And if there is someone who’s done it before you, they’ve obviously forged a path and understand that. So it’s good. Uh, they, as they say, success leaves trails, right, uh, of following the breadcrumbs of information to determine what’s best.
[00:04:35] But the hardest thing is then when you are doing it right, when you’re doing it as being honest with yourself about, um, more or less the efforts putting in, because you can’t really judge, You can’t really judge the results, right? Judging the results. Is is only a byproduct of the efforts put in. That’s just what it is.
[00:05:01] There are obviously extenuating circumstances that could change the results, but even then it’s like, what are you gonna do about it? Right? You can’t go back and change that. So it’s either then prepping yourself better for those random circumstances that might come up. Right. Or just forging forward again, and this is where I have not been honest with myself.
[00:05:26] There is, and, and I do, I do understand grace. I do understand forgiveness. I do understand, um, you know, reflection of giving credit. And, and, and, and being proud and, and excited of what we have accomplished. And I, and I am like, our life is wonderful. Um, you know, I, I am, I am extremely, extremely grateful for the opportunities that we’ve had, not only for our business, uh, my for my education, being in a, being in a place, uh, within the world and in the United States where, where that is and could be possible.
[00:06:04] Um, you know, being able to. Uh, being able to raise a family, being able to buy a house, I am extremely grateful for where we are. And it is one of those things, like, this is a funny thought. I, I honestly go back and forth. I go back and forth between, I. Watching and listening to inspirational, motivational type.
[00:06:30] I, I really enjoy doing that stuff. And it’s, uh, it, it is just something that, you know, motivates you and charges you. And, and I, and I love doing that. And I go through these waves and forms, right? But then on the flip side, I’m, I’ve been digging country music lately. I so funny growing up. I mean, my dad listened to like old school kind of country.
[00:06:50] And then I didn’t really listen to it too much, but now I honestly feel like the, the other side of that is like, there’s so much a part of me that’s like, You know, what do you need in life? Die a happy man. Family, food, roof over your house, type of thing, right? And there’s, So I’ve like, okay, on this side I’m getting amped.
[00:07:11] I’m, I’m psyched. I’m ready for that next level. I’m ready to do this, this, or this. And then like, sometimes I’m just like, Hey, I just wanna. I just wanna, I just wanna sit on the back porch and, and, and do X, y, and z and there’s a time and a place for both of those. And I think that’s what’s important of understanding where you’re giving your time and attention and, and carving out the time and attention to be able to get that other side out of it.
[00:07:33] Cuz it can’t be just go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
[00:07:39] It can’t , it can’t just be go, go, go, go, go. Um, and there are some people like that, God bless our souls, who can just, just rev and grind and just hit it hard all the time. And, but, but when you start getting, when things start kind of getting washed out, Right things, Things will start to get washed out when you’re not taking a consistent audit and being honest about the effort.
[00:08:01] Clearly Defining Goals to Drive Efforts
[00:08:01] Dr. Antonio Gurule: So when I’m talking about this, Go, go, go, go, go, go. It’s, this is, uh, let me rephrase this. It’s not Go, go, go. It’s, it’s being. Uh, specific, it’s being intentional, it’s being direct, it’s being clear about goals, aspirations, next level, whatever it might be, right? Because that helps you define the efforts that when you put in, and this is where again, I have struggled the most, is maybe not defining things as as clear, um, uh, which would be super helpful in certain facets, right?
[00:08:30] But being honest about the efforts I’ve been putting in, because when you start mixing all this stuff, you can’t do everything at once. There’s a great book called The One Thing, and that’s what’s so hard about being a business owner, a. Relatively young. So I mean, we’re not, we’re over the five year hump, but we’re not heading the 10 year hump.
[00:08:47] Uh, but having a family and having this, all this stuff is, you can’t do all the things. And when you try to start doing all the things, your efforts start getting diminished, um, in any one of those things. And then the effort, or sorry, the output and the results start to start to start to drop. And that’s just how it is.
[00:09:04] And, and yet then I say, you’re doing, you know, you’re doing good, you’re working hard, but I’m confusing. Oftentimes movement with moment or sorry, movement with actual progress. And that’s, that’s a harder thing to measure all the time, cuz the day in and day out grind, you’re not gonna see daily progress.
[00:09:20] It’s about being consistent and being honest about the consistency of the efforts that you’re putting. Right, And, and that’s what I encourage you guys to look back and audit in your life in different areas of life. Have you, if you’ve ever heard of the wellness wheel, right? You have some of examples and there’s different, there’s different.
[00:09:41] There’s different ones out there, right? But you have like business relationships, spirituality, health, um, uh, health, a subset or a different one. Could be like even like nutrition or something like that. But you start to look in, there’s like, and each one of those, there’s like really being honest with yourself and not lying.
[00:10:00] How, how, What are the efforts like grade yourself. If you wanna put a scale of one to 10, abc who cares? It doesn’t really matter, but grade yourself. Not where they stand necessarily, but uh, what I’m gonna start doing is grade myself on the ef the actual honest to god true effort that I’m putting in and the effort sometimes, like this is an example that’s hard to sometimes major, that right.
[00:10:28] But think about, this is like for the most part, for nutrition, it’s the effort of what you’re not obviously consuming, right? Most of us know we should be getting easier or more fruits, veggies, whole foods, meats on and so forth. But that takes more time and effort. So it’s a lot easier to just grab the bar to do this, right?
[00:10:49] It’s a lot easier to say, Hey, I’m a little tired. I’m gonna take, I’m gonna take my work out a little easier today. When in reality, It should. Its, I don’t wanna say that’s the lack of motivation, but we’re not doing anything that actually makes us that tired. Like we should be able to kind of dig deep and push ourselves a little bit.
[00:11:08] And, and this does, you know, we’re not confusing physiology. We obviously know the need for sleep. And this, there’s a, there’s a whole nother conversation that has, that has to be had around recovery, obviously. But I think so many of us we’re just, we’re just, we’re. Beat down to a certain degree from having all these other things that we need to do, and we’re just feeling too scattered.
[00:11:29] So having pen and paper, notebook, um, uh, uh, computer, whatever that is, and just trying to just start, start writing down and being more clear about those things and trying to find the patterns of, okay, I wanna need to allocate more time here. I need less of this. And in reality, when you start doing this, when you really just take a few minutes and start doing this, It all, it opens up pretty, pretty clearly, right?
[00:11:55] Releasing in Order to Move Forward
[00:11:55] Dr. Antonio Gurule: We, we tend to know the things that we need to stop giving so much time and effort towards, or maybe need to be a little bit more efficient towards, so on and so forth. And I always think about this. I was raised, uh, as I was growing up, I was Catholic. If any of you ever heard of Lent before, most people know what Lent is.
[00:12:12] But you give something up. Um, for Lent and, uh, it’s supposed to be a sacrifice. And more recently, I was thinking about this from a, from a, just a habitual thing, right? Obviously I have these, these goals and these accomplishments that I wanna hit in a number of different areas. and then I was just thinking, well, oftentimes we think about, well, what do I need to do in order to get to that, to get to those goals, to reach that marker, or whatever that is.
[00:12:46] And then, uh, it started then reflecting as well, what more than, what do I need to do? What do I need to let go of? What do I need to release? Because there are a number of things that are not aiding me or helping me actually get to those goals. And this was partially a reflection we had. Um, Uh, we were at a conference this past, this past weekend and, uh, one of the keynote speakers was essentially reflecting on, on the 80 20 rule, right?
[00:13:14] So the 80 20 rule, for those of you don’t know, is essentially that 80% of your results comes from 20% of your efforts, right? So if we were to break this down, Uh, let’s say, let’s say for instance, business wise, right? We do a lot of marketing and advertising, right? 80% of the revenue brought in from patients or whatever that is, comes from 20% of really what those marketing efforts are.
[00:13:43] So the goal is you gotta determine what that is so that you can double down and triple down or focus on that, right? But that, but it’s interesting, 80%. The, the 80% of our efforts only result only gives us 20% of our role results. Right? So it’s really. It’s, it, they, so it goes both ways, right? I need to understand what things I need to stop doing, but then the things that are working, that’s where you need to feed forward and in, and, and it’s a, it’s, it’s, it’s different for everything.
[00:14:10] It’s a constant reevaluation audit, as we had already indicated to, to figure out what those things are, because they’ll, they’ll change. Still change, like markets change as a result to business, right? Uh, seasons of life change. When you’re talking about, you know, if you get a, you have another kid, or you know, you move or works crazy, like how do you, how do you keep getting the results that you want, uh, uh, and making sure that you’re putting enough time and effort in the right.
[00:14:38] The right input, the, the 20% as opposed to putting more time and energy into the, to the 80%. So that’s been more of a reflection that I’m going through is not lying to myself and being honest. What are the 80 per, what’s the 80% that I’m still doing? That’s only, that’s only giving me 20% of my results.
[00:14:53] Cuz that’s the, that’s the fat that I need to trim off. And get rid of, and then that can focus on everything else. Right. And and most of us know, like when I was thinking about this, I knew right off the bat a few things that came to mind that, that, that just, just was, it’s not helpful, It’s not wrong, it’s not wrong, but it’s just not, it’s not like it was bad and it was creating negative results, like going backwards.
[00:15:17] It just was not helpful in the overall goal. And really, as you think about it, it’s kind of like, it’s, it’s, it’s slowing you down if you want to get to X, Y, and z. If you’re focusing or you’re doing too much of the 80% that’s only yielding 20% of the results, you’re just dragging dead weight. And there might be a time and effort where, a time and place where that might come back around and be advantageous.
[00:15:37] Return on Efforts May Include Support
[00:15:37] Dr. Antonio Gurule: But that’s what we’re trying to like dive in. And that’s why I’m such a big fan of, especially if we’re busy, we’re all busy. But, uh, I would call bang for your buck, right? When we’re talking about like movements, right? That’s why I’m so biased towards, um, things that, uh, have great impact with the littlest amount of E right?
[00:16:01] And for me, that’s kettlebells. Um, there’s, um, For me, it’s kettlebells. I think they’re, they’re great. They elicit, um, strength components if used appropriately. They obviously offer a lot of metabolic conditioning and cardiovascular training. Um, they can be utilized very effectively for mobility, training and stability as well.
[00:16:21] There are certain avenues that are, that you are missing out on it, but I think that’s one of the best bang for your buck, 20% that elicits a lot of the 80% or the results that most people are looking for. That’s a fantastic choice. That’s a little bit of a sidebar for this, but all in all, we gotta stop lying to ourselves, right?
[00:16:41] Creating a little bit more honesty. I, I don’t want you to beat yourself up, right? But it’s just, it’s just having an honest. An honest to God truthful reflection about where we are in certain things, and, sorry, more importantly, not where we are is the efforts that we’re putting towards that. If you’re not where you wanna be in some avenue of your life.
[00:17:05] Reflect back on the efforts that you’ve actually been putting through there. Now, if you feel honest and truthfully that you have been putting in as much effort as you possibly can, well, there’s ways to accelerate that, right? We have catalysts, uh, Support groups, coaching probably the easiest, Right?
[00:17:25] Mentors, whatever that might be. Someone that can help you figure out like maybe we’re just blind to the 80 20 role and we’re not quite sure. Right? And someone else can come in and be like, This is, this is the issue right there. So sometimes you just need a little bit of extra help to help you break through.
[00:17:42] But more times than not, you get a ton out of just doing this self reflection and audit and figuring out what to trim out. So hopefully this was helpful for you guys. Um, I’m gonna, this is, this is the transition and the change that I, again, this I’m just sharing my journey and what I’m gonna be focusing on, um, in this, this third quarter, sorry, fourth quarter.
[00:18:02] I’m 2022. Um, getting into 2023 and just kind of really prepping what this next year looks like as we’re winding down 2022, wrapping up a few projects, but then looking forward in a six months, one year, kind of three year point in time and, and doing some, um, some. Uh, some back, back casting to figure out what I actually need to focus my time and tension on and what I need to take my time and tension away from.
[00:18:34] So until next time, guys, live loud.
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First Trimester Woes & Remedies with Baby #4
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 82
First Trimester Woes & Remedies with Baby #4
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
In this Episode of the Live Loud Life Podcast, Dr. Nichelle shares her experience the early stages of her fourth pregnancy, throughout her first trimester. In addition to book recommendations and other resources, Dr. Michelle discusses the shared experience many people have in first processing their pregnancies and the mental and emotional dynamics that play into each choice that is made. Then Dr. Michelle shares personal remedies she has used to alleviate pregnancy related symptoms and pain points as her pregnancy progresses and body continues to transform while accommodating the needs of her growing baby while managing her toddlers tandem nursing routine.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
- [01:36] Understanding the Whole Reproductive Cycle
- [02:48] The Fifth Vital Sign
- [03:54] Fertility and Cycle Expert – Dr. Deb Merin
- [05:13] Processing the Big New of Baby Number 4
- [09:20] How We Announce Baby 4 to our Friend and Family
- [10:17] First Trimester Symptoms
- [11:24] My Tandem Nursing Experience
- [12:46] Remedies for my First Trimester Woes
- [16:33] Chiropractic Adjustments for Pregnancy Symptoms
- [23:02] Leaning into the Pregnancy
About Dr. Nichelle Gurule
Background:
- Mother
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Owner of Live LOUD
- Personal Trainer & Health Coach
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
Baby #4 First Trimester Woes & Remedies
[00:00:00] Dr. Michelle Gurule: Hey, Michelle here, and I decided that with my fourth pregnancy, I am going to do my best since I am busy with three other children in homeschooling and. Being a chiropractor and online course creator and all these things, and being tired in pregnancy, that I would like to document a little bit of my own journey, which I am now outta the first trimester and I have more energy, um, that I’m hoping that I can do this more consistently.
[00:00:38] So, um, this is a little bit of a blog slash I’m on Instagram live right now. We’re all posted as well underneath my page. And so this intention is just to give you an idea and. To what pregnancy can look like during the different stages and what it’s looking like for me, cuz everyone’s journey’s gonna look so, so, so different.
[00:00:56] So, um, I’m gonna start going into second trimester in my next blog, but I’m going to be focusing on what just happened in first trimester because this is my fourth time and. My goodness. Like it still comes as a shock as to how exhausted I am and I feel like most people feel at least that exhaustion symptom.
[00:01:19] So a lot of people may not feel nausea. Yay, lucky them. Um, they may not feel some of the other symptoms that I’m gonna go through, but most people do feel that just extreme fatigue, just like what? I just got hit by a bus. I’m so tired. So, Let’s start off with first trimester in that the first two weeks of quotes, pregnancy, you’re not actually pregnant, right?
[00:01:40] That is your first part of your cycle before ovulation when you get pregnant, but it counts on tax onto your, uh, Overall time, if you will. Um, so first trimester, some people find out right away cuz they’re tracking and they just have this beautiful body intuition of, I’m pretty sure I just got pregnant on the ovulation cycle.
[00:02:00] Or they know exactly when they ovulate, they know exactly what side they ovulate on. And they’ll just know they’re pregnant. And then some wait for their period to come cuz they’ve been trying. Then period doesn’t come when it should. And then they wait a few more days and then they check with the pregnancy test.
[00:02:15] Um, and then some people it’s a complete shock. They find out weeks and weeks later when they’re like, My period should have come a while ago. So for me, this um, is our fourth kiddo and I had a pretty big suspicion that I was pregnant. I did have an intuition cause I was tracking my cycles as to. Which side I ovulated on and the sensation that I felt along with, if you track your cycle, which I highly encourage at some point doing because it’s really, uh, empowering to know, um, when you ovulate and you can check that in a lot of different ways.
[00:02:48] So there’s a book called, um, The Fifth Vital Sign. I’m spacing on the author’s name. I think it’s Lisa somebody. Um, I can put it in the comments later, which is a phenomenal book. I think every female and even male should read it cuz it goes through. All of the things about your cycle. And the fifth vital sign is essentially that your cycle, your period, your whole like 28 to 35 days tells you a lot.
[00:03:09] If it’s too long, too short, you’re bleeding heavy. Bleeding light tells you a lot about it, but it also goes into uh, how to track your cycle and know where you’re at. And there’s also another book called Taking Charge Your Fertility. That’s also really. Same kind of page with that information. So you can check your cervical fluid, you can check your cervix position, you can check your cervix.
[00:03:32] Um, how soft it is, how hard it is, um, open or closed. There’s all these things you can check. Of course you’ll have heard about checking temperature temperatures. Interesting because it gives you an idea if you’re tracking multiple cycles as to when you ovulate it, but it’s information after, so it’s not really the only thing you should rely on until you’re getting consistent cycles and there’s so many fertility.
[00:03:53] Like classes out there that you could take and do and learn? Um, my, one of my best friends, um, she’s in Chi, she was in chiropractic school with me. Um, her name’s, uh, Dr. Deb Merin. She has a course that teaches like patients or even, you know, anybody layman who wanna learn about their cycle, um, to learn more about this.
[00:04:12] So she’s a great. Uh, her Instagram handle is Coronado chiropractor, where you can learn, uh, more about that fertility information. There’s a great Instagram handle called, uh, I think it’s Fertility Friday. Um, and so there’s just a lot of resources where you can be empowered to know your own body, and so if it grosses anybody out to hear cervical fluid, You should really question yourself, Like, why does that gross you out?
[00:04:34] Because it tells you quite a bit about what’s going on. And I truly believe that if more women were aware of this, then they would be able to not get pregnant, or it would really help them be able to get pregnant. And, um, taking charge of your fertility and the fifth vital sign really helps with that. So first off, like I said, people are gonna find out different points in time when they’re pregnant.
[00:04:52] So I had some, some suspicions. A couple days after I missed my period and kind of sat on it, sat on it, and just really, um, before I talked to my partner, was like, Okay, how do I feel about this? Because I need to process this before I ask somebody else to process this, Right? So, found. Pretty sure that I was pregnant.
[00:05:13] So I mentioned to my husband Antonio, like, Hey, I think this is what’s going on. I think that I’m pregnant again. Um, to which I did one a fourth kiddo. So this is not a bad thing in any way, shape or form. I did want four kids. Um, but it was like, whoa, okay, this like might actually be happening. And wow, this is a lot cuz we had just moved into our new house and just a lot going on with the property.
[00:05:36] And so that can be a lot of shock to some people is like finding out. It can be a shock in a oh crap way and it can be a shock and like a yay way. But either way it’s a lot to process. So some people will process it first, tell their partner maybe they’ve taken a test. I processed it, then said I think we need to take a test.
[00:05:54] Then took a test and we looked at it together and was like, okay, guess we’re doing this. Um, and then there comes the next thing of like, okay, so maybe you find out in, you’re four weeks pregnant, so you are. Right around the time of your period is missed and you’re about four weeks at that point, cuz you have the two weeks prior to ovulation and then you have your, um, two weeks that you’re pregnant before you’re missed, period.
[00:06:18] So people are finding out between four and six weeks commonly. And that’s usually a zone where most people aren’t feeling sick yet. They’re not having a lot of the symptoms. Some people will, but there’s not a ton of breast tenderness quite yet. There’s not the nausea quite yet. They’re in this like in between spot.
[00:06:34] So, You’re thinking now, Okay, find out in four weeks. When do I announce? And so a lot of people hear the, I’m gonna announce at 12 weeks or 13 weeks when I am into my second trimester. Placenta is well formed. A lot of the chso issues and, um, common issues with miscarriage will have happened before then.
[00:06:54] Not always, but will happen before then. And so then it’s a safe time to tell people, well, for some like. The 13 weeks is a long time to sit on a secret if you feel like it’s a secret and it’s not anybody’s news but yours. Um, but for me, I don’t like sitting on that. I’m like, I have patience on cha on chat with every day.
[00:07:12] I am a chatty Cathy. I’ve got close friends. I got family. Like, it just seems weird for me to wait that long. So as soon as we found out, we knew, we wanted to make sure both of our families knew. And we wanted our kids to know before them, but the kids see the families all the time. So we had a kind. Tell them and then know we’re gonna tell both families right after that.
[00:07:35] And then once we did that, we were happy with anybody knowing. So the reason why I let people wait is because if you happen to have a miscarriage, everyone you just announced it to on Instagram or all the friends you told, They might still be checking out on you, How’s pregnancy, how’s this and that? And then it’s a lot to then tell them like, Oh, you know, we actually had a miscarriage.
[00:07:54] And you know, there’s a lot of people now who are being really open about their miscarriages because it’s really common. I think it’s something like one in four might even be more common. So, um, it, it’s just, it’s, it’s a topic that should be discussed, but it may be not be something that you wanna discuss with everybody.
[00:08:09] So it’s really a matter of you tell the people who you feel okay telling. If you were to have a loss, that’s the really one of the bigger things about it. So finding out shock in a great or bad way depending on what thing going on in your life. And then when do you announce is gonna be a big thing, and that’s gonna be totally family and person dependent on what things look like.
[00:08:30] And then who do you announce to? Do you wanna do a big. Seen on Instagram or you know, a big party or do you just wanna tell your close friends? And there’s nothing wrong with either way, right? It’s just what goes on for you and then how do you announce it, right? So, um, first kid, you know, sometimes you’re like, come do something really cute and like let them know in a cute way.
[00:08:49] Um, and then, you know, it changes each kid. So for us, um, for our families, we didn’t do anything like super grandiose this time. We basically just had the kids say, Guess what? We have a surprise for you. And then t is our third kiddo and we. Tage is gonna be a big brother. And they’re like, Wait, wait. Oh, oh.
[00:09:06] Um, so there’s so many different ways you can take pictures. You can have them wear a shirt that says, I’m a big brother. You can have so many things you can just, you know, have a card that has an ultrasound in it, but there’s so many different ways you can do it. And then we had a fun post because of our new farm property that we just said.
[00:09:20] We made a sign that said One more set of farm hands. We had our barn in the background and all the animals and things like that. To announce to like the Instagram world and just a cute picture. Um, so let’s talk about first trimester because it is a whirlwind, which is honestly why I have not come on here and do done this vlog and live yet because I’ve wanted to.
[00:09:38] And then it’s just like, it’s just like too much to handle. It’s like way too much so, Uh, because you’re just too tired. So, like I mentioned, I have a chiropractic practice with Antonio. I have an online course, I’m building an online course, uh, like company with my friend, uh, Katie Braswell and. It’s just like one of those things that’s like, I, I’m too tired with that.
[00:10:02] And then having three other kids and homeschooling and doing all this work on our, our, our new property that’s an acre. It’s just, it’s been a lot. So, uh, but I do think it’s important to share what’s going on with each person because it helps people feel less alone, get ideas as to what you can do for certain symptoms.
[00:10:17] So I’m gonna tell you some of my symptoms and what I have done for. Um, and then also just like I’m coming from the perspective of this is my fourth time around, so everything, I feel like the first time was just so much more like, ugh, this and that. And I know like when things are gonna end for me and I know how things go, and so it’s, no, none of this is a shock for me.
[00:10:37] I don’t have the nuance of it being the first time I’m becoming a mom on top of all these other things. So, The first symptom, like I mentioned, is being tired, and so one thing that I was able to really let go of with subsequent PR pregnancies after my first is just being okay with taking naps and being okay with going to bed at 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM and just not feeling bad about it.
[00:10:59] Now I do just if anyone knows me, love being productive and efficient and just getting stuff done, and that is the part that I’ve had to like dig deep and be like, It is okay. It’s okay. Being tired, letting myself take those naps because I know it’ll go away. But each time I forget how stinking exhausting it is, how tired it is in first trimester.
[00:11:24] Um, another big symptom is starting to have breasts that are like getting fuller again. So I was breastfeeding the whole time. So, um, my two and a year old is still breastfeeding. Symptoms have been fine until actually the past two weeks, which is the start of my second trimester, which is showing me there’s a hormone shift.
[00:11:41] And then it’s been a little uncomfortable, but he, he’s still getting milk. I’m still nursing him because he wants it morning and night, sometimes around nap time. Um, I’m happy to answer any tandem nursing questions, pregnancy, nursing questions cuz there’s a lot that comes along and I’ve now nursed through this will.
[00:11:56] Third pregnancy I’ve nursed through, so I’m happy to share that. Um, I’ve had a two year old on one breast and a newborn on the other. I don’t know what it’ll look like this time. Each journey is different, but I’ve basically breast fed for seven years. So it’s interesting because breast size goes down over the course of time.
[00:12:11] Breasts start kind of sagging a little bit. They’re no longer full, and then suddenly they’re like full and lifted again, which is interesting to see again. And then they’re starting to be tender as well. So that’s a symptom. Nausea and vomiting. So luckily this time I’ve only thrown up a couple times and.
[00:12:27] It does actually end up making me feel a little bit better, but it sucks. Like no one wants stuff to throw up and the nausea is just a bummer because it’s just like, you wanna enjoy food? No food sounds good. Like, you know, you needed something. And this time I had like some really bad like stomach cramping, um, where I was like, I wanna eat, but it hurts and it’s like cramping.
[00:12:46] And it was not just nausea. So that was really uncomfortable, but different this time is that I had, um, nausea from. Six, seven weeks until 11 weeks with only intermittent days of nausea and I can’t figure out why. Cuz the other three pregnancies, I was sick until about 18 weeks. Um, Throwing up a lot, and I do have a suspicion that because I’ve gone a different route this time with my supplementation for pregnancy, I’ve actually chosen not to do a prenatal, which sometimes I’ll still recommend for patients because that’s easier for them.
[00:13:19] But I’ve gone more of like the whole foods route and done like beef liver. Cod liver oil, Um, an ionic magnesium. Really focused on making sure I’m eating eggs every day, really tuning in to those types of foods. Um, I think might have been what’s helped my nausea also, what been really conscious of making sure I’m eating consistent meals to keep my glucose balanced and eating, making sure I’m eating a good amount of protein.
[00:13:45] So I think that even though I knew some of this stuff before, I did some slightly different. Ways of doing it, and that’s the only thing I can figure that is making that different for me, or it’s just a different baby and it likes me more. I don’t know. Um, One thing that’s frustrating that I’ve found is that like food is all over the place.
[00:14:03] So, um, I eat really healthy in my everyday life and I’m eating things like salads for lunch and definitely eggs every morning and like amazing veggies at night. And it’s like, do not give me a salad during first trimester. I probably don’t want very many veggies. I’m gonna try to eat them, but like, ugh, like they’re not gonna digest and be great.
[00:14:22] I want carbs and I want. I don’t wanna say shitty foods. I don’t like to call food bad or good, but like I wanted french fries this time and in the past I’ve wanted like sub sandwiches or pizza. And I’m not saying those things are bad, but it’s like all I want type thing. Um, and it’s the only thing that’ll get my stomach to settle.
[00:14:37] Like why would like fast food french fries be the only thing that makes my stomach not feel nauseous, but like a beautiful meal would not, It’s just, it blows my mind every single time. For me, I have to let go of that and be like, It is fine. First trimester. Not trying to be a hero here. This is just when I need to accept that I ate really well prior to pregnancy.
[00:14:58] I was, I’ve been still able to take the, the way that I’ve chosen to, in quotes, like supplement, um, and. Make sure I have all those beautiful like foods added in and just be okay that I can’t get all the veggies I want, or exact levels of protein and carbs and just eat right. And just trying to be not nauseous, essentially.
[00:15:18] So it’d be like one day, it’d be like chicken noodle soup is all like all the, it seems like it can settle. And so then like Antonio makes a bunch of chicken noodle soup and then it’s kind of like, I don’t really want that anymore. And the next day I. I can’t even think right now, but like, you know, some other type of soup or I want some other type of food and it’s like, Ooh, I want this as a snack.
[00:15:34] And the next day different type of snack and it’s like just food is all over what sounds good. And so just leaning into that. So I lean into just whatever feels good. So for nausea, I’d suggest try to keep your blood sugar as balanced as you can. Making sure you’re getting protein, even if it means like maybe you just got a spoonful of like peanut butter or almond butter.
[00:15:53] Um, or you know, maybe you don’t need a ton of dairy normally, but adding in like a raw cheese might be helpful. Um, and trying not to have naked carbs. So if you’re like, I have to have crackers okay. At the crackers, but see if your body’s okay with adding cheese to them. Or some other protein, or if you can do avocado, like does that work for you?
[00:16:11] Um, and just plain with different ideas. Um, one, something that really has bothered me during this pregnancy has been constipation. Got really bad actually. I feel like the worst it’s been. And I, I was doing so many different suggestions with teas that people had. Of course, the magnesium increasing my water, you know, I knew I just wasn’t gonna have a hard time with increasing the veggies, so that was challenging.
[00:16:33] Um, and one day I had been like four days, which is like not good like I was supposed to, doing an n. Um, I hadn’t gone to the bathroom. I just could feel it. Like I’d said so much in my like, intestines. Uh, my mom even said like, Oh, I can see the baby bump now. I was like, No, it’s not even the baby bump yet.
[00:16:50] It’s straight up like bloat in that I haven’t gone to the bathroom. It’s like, you’re supposed to poop every day, you know? And I do, and I just couldn’t this time. Um, so I actually been having, starting to have some sacral stuff going on. I kept forgetting, having Tony adjust me, and finally I was like, Okay, can you adjust me this morning?
[00:17:06] Kid you not after four days and trying all the magnesium and upping all the things, he adjusted my sacrum. And then upper cervical as well, which are two areas that make babies poop a lot. Um, when I’m working on them and. I would do a bathroom like two minutes later and it was great. And then that day, like four other times.
[00:17:22] So chiropractic truly affects the nervous system. It can get bowels moving for sure. I can really attest to that. A lot of my baby’s gonna attest to that as well. Um, and then one other suggestion that I actually got from a doula that used to be my area, Alyssa Mcgi. Um, her Instagram handle, I think is at St.
[00:17:40] Augustine. Doula I think is what it’s, But she suggested a couple different teas to me and then she also suggests to eat raisins throughout the day. So I’ve been eating raisins throughout the day cause we had ’em anyways. And I actually think that that with chiropractic has been really helpful for my body cuz I haven’t increased my magnesium.
[00:17:56] But it could also be a hormonal shift cuz now I’m in second trimesters. So that is a suggestion that I would’ve never thought of before because you hear like prune juice and things like that. But I’ve just been chewing, not a time, but a little raisins throughout the day. And that seems to. Helpful. And it’s like a, a lot of times I’m like, Why do I want like gummy bears during pregnancy?
[00:18:14] I want some of these sugary gummy bears, but the raisins have like, made me not feel the need for that. Um, let’s see, uh, other symptoms, So pregnancy rhinitis, which is where you can just get super, like just congested. There’s more mucus and fluids during pregnancy and um, a lot of, um, congestion inflammation can happen from that.
[00:18:35] There’s really only if it’s not allergies, which I also have allergies into the mix of this, which, um, course 10 has helped me a lot with allergies. And then I have a homeopathic, uh, remedy that I’ve used as well that has been helpful but hasn’t seemed to be able to hit the allergies that are out here in Colorado right now.
[00:18:52] But two things that are really helpful, um, that I’ve found to help me breathe at night so I’m not mouth breathing cuz then you wake up with a sore throat and like, you don’t wanna mouth breath, you don’t wanna be a mouth breather. That’s not great. And I’m not classically, but my nose has been really stuck from this pregnancy rhinitis, um, is.
[00:19:08] There’s the breath right strips, which I just have an off brand nasal strips. But the problem with this is it actually helps really well like lifting up and helping like open that nasal passage but you can’t wear too many days in a row or like makes this skin really sensitive. And I ended up having like a little piece of skin get so sensitive, like peeled off and I was like, Ow.
[00:19:25] So this little like sc for a little bit. So I then I was like, I don’t wanna wear those for a couple days. So then I got these really cute and sexy antis snoring nose vents and I don’t believe I was. Snoring. We got these off Amazon and this is what they look like, and you put ’em up your nose and it opens and, and allows you to breathe.
[00:19:42] So that’s been helpful for me as well. Um, Amazon, they come in in 12. I’m like, I don’t need 12 of these, but I have 12. Um, and that’s helped a lot. And then, As a chiropractor, I do hate admitting this cuz it definitely can crank on the neck a little bit. I’ve done like a slight, ever so slight incline just so that I’m not flat laying back.
[00:20:00] Um, so I’ve done a little slight incline, but I’ve been really aware of the angle to help with my neck. And then I live with a chiropractor so it can help my neck. Um, but I’d rather breathe at night cuz that’s really, I notice that if I’m not breathing well through my nose it increases my nausea. Um, and it just makes me feel more fatigued cause I’m just like, I’m like heavy breathing.
[00:20:17] So something to consider there is, If you’re not breathing well, that could be impacting these other symptoms. Like breath is really important. Making sure you have nice good breathing. Oxygen flow is really important. And then, uh, a neti pot is really helpful as well. And you can make your own salt and baking soda solutions.
[00:20:35] Um, but that doesn’t always cut it either. So kind of a combination I’ve had to flow through. Um, other thing, during pregnancy, I am hypermobile, so I screen all my patients to the bait and scale, seeing if they’re hyper mobile because hyper mobile patients I’ve found. More likely to have pubic bone pain and si pain during pregnancy.
[00:20:53] And I am hypermobile. I have not been working out as much and doing stability exercises, so then I added them back in cuz I know what I need to do. Um, I’m just tired and it’s hard to do it. So it really helps me reminders like, relate to your patients. This is how they feel too. Um, but that sacred. Um, I’ve been feeling at night, so I have to shift a little bit more, and I’ve already had to add in a sleeping pillow, add in my stability exercises, so things like glute bridges, squats, uh, possibly cla shells, um, lateral walks.
[00:21:25] And when I add those in and just strengthen my glute muscles and hip stability muscles, that really helps with the sac issues a lot. And I haven’t had them during the day, but the fact that they’ve been sneaking in at night is let me know, like, Okay, really time to do these things. So, I love people to come in and see me to do the chiropractic and rehab work before they’re in pain, um, so that we can get ahead of things so that they’re not in pain during pregnancy and at the start of anything come in so that we can help you.
[00:21:49] Um, then there’s also, so actually I wanna touch note on that is that like I have fitness as part of my life. It’s part of my identity, but as I mentioned, one of my first symptoms, a lot of people feels tired. I have to let go of that. Life is just a little bit different in first trimester. Working out is really just not high on my agenda.
[00:22:07] I’m tired. I have so many other things to do that I let myself. Be okay with not working out. And I’ll do my rehab. I’ll fit in a few squats. I do a lot of yard work and I’m like, I’m moving. That’s what I want is movement. It is okay if I’m not working out. During first trimester, I really was fitting in walks, again, yard work.
[00:22:27] So I encourage patients, can you fit in a few strength things just to help stability. So maybe just a few glute bridges, a few squats. Can you go on some short walks just to get outside and get a little bit of movement. But in terms of going to Orange Theory or CrossFit, your HIT training or going on runs, if you don’t feel like it, lean into that and be okay with it, you will get back into it.
[00:22:47] And I already feel myself getting back into it now that like I’m getting my energy back and I’m feeling better. I’m not nauseous, but when you’re nauseous, you’re not gonna go for a run or lift weights. Like it doesn’t feel good. And there are studies that say the exercise can reduce nausea. It never did for me.
[00:23:02] So fourth pregnancy, I’m like, I’m just leaning into, I’m not working out right now. And that is okay. I’ll get back into it. And so that is what I’m getting back into in second trimester. Um, so first trimester sleep struggles can also start. So I’ve found some nights I’m like waking up every other hour. Um, magnesium can really help with that.
[00:23:20] Um, and working out can actually help with that quite a bit too for me. Um, so once I start working out again, it really helps, uh, getting into deeper sleep. Um, and then, let’s see. Oh, the last thing I wanna mention and then I’ll stop here, is that one of the hardest parts for first trimester for me is not feeling like I’m being productive, which I had mentioned already, and that’s really hard for me within the family because it’s like, I don’t wanna cook meals cuz I’m nauseous and I’m tired and I, you know, I was like making bread all the time.
[00:23:51] I didn’t wanna do that for the family. It’s like, oh, going out and helping with the chickens and ducks. Like, no thanks, like I’m too tired and helping get the kids to bed. Tired and don’t feel good, and just like not contributing the way that I wanna contribute doesn’t feel good for me. Um, and then in the bi in my businesses, it’s tough to just be like, I, like not like I’m gonna go to bed
[00:24:11] I’m like, I have emails to send out, I have notes to do. I have all these things to do to get going on another online course that I’m doing. It’s like, just can’t. Um, and then I could feel my energy ramp back up around like 13 weeks where I’m like, Yes, get this done. Get that done. I knew it would be temporary, but in first trimester, if you are not feeling productive or efficient or feeling like, man, like your partner’s having to carry so much of the load because you don’t wanna cook and you don’t wanna like, help the kids get to better, whatever it is, like, it’s okay.
[00:24:42] It, it won’t last forever. Your fatigue and exhaustion is real. Your nausea is real, and like no one expects you to be a superhero at this point in time. And so that’s also me speaking to myself like it’s okay. And I will say it did take at least a full pregnancy, maybe two for me to be okay with that.
[00:25:01] This is my journey. Um, I added just extra stuff to it, but those are some of the main symptoms that I’ve had. Um, Bloating’s another one. So a lot of us will feel like super flat stomach in the morning. At night. You’re like, Am I eight months pregnant? What’s going on? Um, so bloats really normal. It can be uncomfortable.
[00:25:18] I spend a lot of time because of the constipation and bloat in first trimester, already starting to add belly oil. So I really like wish gardens belly oil. I have this in the office and so I just rub this on at night. I rub into my muscles. Um, I note where my uterus is. So, um, you know, by, 10, 12 weeks, it’s reached past the pubic bone.
[00:25:39] So then I start feeling for it. It’s a little hard, and then I kind of watch and observe and feel it grow up and just feel that like I’m like, This feels hard. Oh this, that’s like my uterus. And feel those shifts and changes in my belly. And it’s a really great way to connect before. The baby’s moving. Um, and then just starting early with the oils and nourishing that skin, that’s gonna go through a lot.
[00:26:00] Um, and then I’m just in the habit of, I’ve just massaged my belly at night and I do that every night during pregnancy. Um, and it feels great and it’s really helpful to keep your abdominal wall muscles, um, just like. Loose and pliable and not like super tight and tense. And I did a lot of wheelbarrow like, like dig like bunch of dirt into the wheelbarrow and like lifted it and moved it over here and did a ton of loads and I noticed that.
[00:26:24] So I have like a trigger point in my abdominal wall. And so I don’t want that trigger point to get worse and worse that it’s an extreme pain as things start like expanding. So it’s like I grab this oil. Then I got all over my belly and was digging in and, and working on that. So, um, just a few things. My first trimester, next time I do a live in a blog, I’m gonna come on and talk more specifically about what I’m doing each week or every other week and dive into the movement.
[00:26:47] I’m doing symptoms I have. Um, the rest of it will be shorter, but this has been like encompassing all a first trimester for myself. Um, letting you feel like you can give yourself some forgiveness if you’re not doing a lot right now. Um, and if you have any questions, just reach out to me, cause I’m happy to answer those pregnancy questions.
[00:27:04] All right, Bye you guys.
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When Your Strength Becomes a Weakness | EP 81
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 81
When Your Strength Becomes a Weakness
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
Welcome back to another episode of the Live Loud Life Podcast! In this episode, Dr. Antonio Gurule discusses When your Strengths Become a Weakness. Through this discussion, Dr. Antonio will share personal insights to his own life-journey as well as key considerations for identifying your own personal weaknesses before exploring how to overcome weaknesses and gaps with the proper support.
Episode Highlights:
- [02:22] Susceptibility to re-injure
- [04:41] Identifying Potential Weaknesses
- [07:23] Using adaptability to be too casual
- [10:49] Diverting Attention Dilutes Progress
- [12:00] Seeking Support to Overcome Weaknesses
About Dr. Antonio Gurule
Background:
- Father
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Owner of Live LOUD
- Personal Trainer & Health Coach
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
When Your Strength Becomes a Weakness
[00:00:00] Dr. Antonio Gurule: What’s up guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Live Loud Life podcast. My name is Antonio, your host of the Live Loud Life podcast. Um, couple short, housekeepings, whatever you wanna call that. I can’t remember. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve honestly, uh, recorded anything. We, um, we’ve been doing a lot of, um, Outdoor backyard projects, uh, which I’ll give you a sidebar for that too.
[00:00:31] But this dang chicken coup I’ve been building for, I swear it was like months now that is finally finished. The chickens and the ducks are in their new home. They’re happy as can be. Uh, we have two, um, compadres, two males that are, that have been a little mean and bully-ish so they’re off to the side. But anyways, that is completed, um, which is fantastic.
[00:00:52] Um, for those of, I think I said this in the last one, I can’t remember from when we announced it, Uh, but we’re expecting baby number four, which is crazy. This is a surprise for everybody, but we’re very, um, amped, so we’re adding a another little regret to the live loud, uh, Gurule clan, which is gonna be fantastic.
[00:01:11] Come March. Late February, early March of next year. Uh, we may have three birthdays in March. Uh, everyone’s telling, uh, Michelle and I to keep our hands off of each other in June. Apparently there’s something going on there. Um, but that’s quite exciting and to not, and to add anymore onto that, we decided to get a puppy.
[00:01:31] We’re getting a new puppy at the end of October of this year, and, uh, the kids and I are just so amped about that. Uh, it was a funny story about that. Um, Michelle doesn’t recall it as such, but I recall it just as this was, I was originally, um, hoping for just three kiddos and she really always wanted four, and so she basically made me a deal that said if we have a fourth child that I get to have the puppy that I’ve been wanting for a few years.
[00:02:00] And lo and behold, baby’s not coming. So puppy’s coming. But we figure now’s a good time to, you know, do the early training before baby comes. Cuz I feel like getting a puppy afterwards in training would be a lot more difficult. Um, so that’s all, that’s new in our life. Uh, hope everyone’s doing, uh, well, we’re trying to keep ourselves busy.
[00:02:17] Oh, the side part. So, um,
Susceptibility to re-injure
[00:02:22] Dr. Antonio Gurule: This is not what the topic is today, but it’s kind of like a sidebar. Cause I had someone else coming in with back pain and you know, they’re very active and they had fallen hunting and they hurt their back again and kind of fr and, and, and they didn’t necessarily go as far through our little back program as I’d wanted.
[00:02:38] They kind of, uh, decided to go their own round and get back into CrossFit and other things, which was fine. They were doing okay, but. The frustration was like, Why do I keep hurting my back now the number one cause of injury, previous injuries, if you have hurt yourself before, you’re more susceptible to just hurting that area.
[00:02:54] Again, it’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. Now, obviously we would go through an extensive amount of rehab and training and strengthening to mitigate that risk. Um, but that does unfortunately make you slightly more susceptible. Now we wanna build resilience around that to reduce that susceptibility.
[00:03:10] And that’s what I’ve been suffering. I mean, there’s, I do a lot of conditioning and resistance training and core training and, and understanding obviously the principles about how to better, uh, stabilize. But I also know that I have my shortcomings on things that I should be working on. Slight with more, um, mobility in certain areas, but also some more odd object.
[00:03:30] Training, uh, an odd object kettlebells might be included in that, but we’re talking about like sandbags and, and um, stones and medicine balls and different things like that which force you to learn how to leverage and move your body in unique different positions and holding on objects. Now, I would say I feel fairly comfortable about doing a number of odd objects, but.
[00:03:52] I’ve been suffering some from some low back pain over the last week or so because of all the odd object lifting and all the bending over I’ve been doing from, from, um, you know, uh, putting up post and, and lifting up fences and just a number of different things and it just caught up to me. Now it’s nothing that’s bad or debilitating.
[00:04:11] Good thing. I know the things to do to help wipe out and clear that as fast as possible. But I just wanted to add that as a little caveat is sometimes we get frustrated by these nagging injuries because we’ve had substantial injuries in the past that we either haven’t adequately rehabbed or or, or gone through, or we’ve kind of fallen off the wayside of what had been working previously to help us, and then we kind of get back into those old patterns now it kind of segues into this next, next topic.
Identifying Potential Weaknesses
[00:04:41] Dr. Antonio Gurule: Because, uh, the topic is, um, when your strengths can actually become, um, a weakness or a deficit to use, right? So, That segue is we get comfortable about kind of what’s going on and, and, and we’re finding like, Hey, I feel good about this and so I don’t need to direct so, so much time and attention to that which, which I would argue and validate that that would be, that would be true, but sometimes we use that strength as a crutch.
[00:05:05] Like, I’m okay because. This is strong to me, but, uh, and there’s, there’s a lot of talk about this where there’s, there’s one caveat that talks about triple down on your strengths, right? If you’re good at this, don’t do the things that you don’t need, that you don’t need to do, you’re not good at, because you’re really good at this.
[00:05:22] Now, from a business standpoint, And, and, and, and maybe communication standpoint, relationship standpoint, that makes sense. Um, but more so from just a general business standpoint, but from like a health and wellness standpoint, that doesn’t really make sense cuz there’s weak spots that obviously need to be addressed.
[00:05:38] Right? And, and what I have been realizing and trying to be more honest with myself is I have been using my quote unquote strengths as an excuse for certain things. Now this goes beyond the just health. Side of it, maybe in the wellness side, but from the business side. But this is, this is also just from a, we’ll just say a general more global behavioral side, right?
[00:06:03] So one of my, and, and we have taken a number of, uh, um, personality tests, strength tests, um, Colby Index, strength finders, minor Briggs, you know, all those different things. I’ve taken all them over the years. Um, uh, and what I have found from, you know, when I’m, look, when you’re looking at all those, Uh, I’m an initiator.
[00:06:26] I’m an activator. I have, I’m very high in adaptability. Um, low, lower on research and strategies, kind of in the middle, but my, but my flow tends to be. You got an idea, Let’s go. Oh, that didn’t quite go the way we wanted to. Let’s, let’s shift laterally over here, which there’s, there’s obviously huge pros to that, but there’s, there’s a lot of cons to that because there’s not as much maybe strategic implementation.
[00:06:54] And that’s the thing that I’ve been, this is a sidebar for another show that’s something I’ve been struggling with is while I do set goals, I struggle to set goals. Um, and because. I feel that the adaptability, the adaptable side of me does not like being pinpointed to one thing because I like being able to shift and, and understanding that the goals can be bigger than that.
[00:07:18] There’s multiple roads in Rome and understanding that there will be constant shifts in navigations. Right.
Using adaptability to be too casual
[00:07:23] Dr. Antonio Gurule: But I’ve been using this quote unquote “adaptability” to, to be too casual. Uh, I was listening to a podcast and essentially, It was, it was saying you’re too casual, right? Like, like those that are doing extremely well, they’re not casual about it, right?
[00:07:41] They’re, they’re, they’re focused. Their intention is there. And, and I 100% agree with that. And I find that when I feel frustrated about where I am from a health standpoint, Could be diet, could be mental, could be relationships, um, could be, you know, whatever part of that wellness we, we wanna look at. But also from a business standpoint, it’s just like, man, I’m super frustrated with maybe where our numbers are and things like that.
[00:08:07] I take full responsibility for that, but I’m, I’m looking at it and I’m seeing as just like I’m using my strength as adaptable and this, this implementer and this action oriented. To be almost too chaotic, right? I’m being too casual about it cuz I want to allow myself to shift and navigate as I see fit, and that has always been a struggle.
[00:08:34] And this is also true from like one, one thing I’ve been, uh, I would say more invested in and, and very curious about and, and trying to learn a lot is about, um, financial independence and just finances in general. Um, I would think. I think a lot of people, at least that I know and talk to from our age, we came from kind of the more, I don’t wanna say blue collar cuz it’s not necessarily blue collar, but like our, our, our parents’ age was, you know, go to school, you work, you get a job and you save.
[00:09:04] Right? Um, reading this is actually have it right here. Um, Psychology of money. Um, Morgan, I don’t know to pronounce the last name, I apologize, household hostel. Um, but it talked about how, you know, how new, even just the stock market and 401ks and all these other investment opportunities really are. And so that’s why it was so ingrained within a lot of our parents’ age and my parents’, uh, particular is that’s just what you do and, and.
[00:09:34] And, and, and it works. It can’t work for you. And it depends, obviously, if you have, you know, if you’re entrepreneur or W2 and all those different things as an employee. But I’ve been, I’ve been thinking about that and that’s been the, this frustration is just like, how do you, how do you narrow in when you have so many elements within your life that have.
[00:09:53] A lot of importance. Family, finances, your health. Uh, and it’s, it’s a big struggle. It’s a big thing to, It’s a big thing to balance and you can’t say that. Well, you know, the, the top priorities get put to the top, um, because they all. Could be top priorities. And that’s the, that’s the big struggle again, that I’ve been having and just sharing kind of like where I’m at, how I’m feeling, and, and knowing that you can’t do all the things.
[00:10:19] And I, I feel like we’re at a good position where I can, you know, hopefully hire more people to help me. And, you know, from, for as a listener, if you’re not an entrepreneur or you don’t earn a business that would be hiring a coach, you’re still in a position to hire other people to help you. Um, and, and you, I mean, you know, I’m trying to do that.
[00:10:36] I’m trying to figure out where I need more help, but it’s also just, it’s also just researching and learning and trying to figure out, but understanding and, and this is a long, I really apologize, this is a long way of saying is like there was this other book that I had come across just called One Thing, Right?
Diverting Attention Dilutes Progress
[00:10:49] Dr. Antonio Gurule: When you start diverting your attention too much, My fault as an adaptable or implementer person is you start diluting everything that you do. So when you’re thinking about. Goals, whether that be financial, health, wellness, uh, relationships, business, employment, you know, all that stuff is. You have to, you have to start to narrow down and I am literally speaking out as I am talking to myself.
[00:11:18] Like this is me talking through my own thoughts of sharing what hasn’t been working for me and hearing what Hasn been working for everyone else and finding the, the struggle of, of that. Now, that’s not to say, again, multiple rows in Rome, that, that those things that I’m doing now might not come down the road at a certain place in time.
[00:11:37] And, and I know they will on, I wasn’t gonna say I hope they will, but I know they will because it is important to me. There are certain pieces I’m trying to put into play while doing other things, but knowing that if I focus too much time over here, I lose attention here. And, and the moral of it is, and maybe, I think, I think all those people do struggle with this, and maybe you have the same strengths that I do because of that.
Seeking Support to Overcome Weaknesses
[00:12:00] Dr. Antonio Gurule: Uh, we’re seeing maybe a behavioral pattern based on personalities. But that is, that is a lot of reason why, and I tell myself, and I validate myself. I’m being, uh, this is okay because, uh, these are my strengths. It’s just, it’s my strengths at fall. Right. I’m just, I’m just a person. It’s like the person who constantly is, is is getting burned or hurt, right? I’m just a loving person. Uh, I care too much. I give too much. Is there’s a point in time where that strength might become a fault or a weakness to you where you have to protect yourself. And the more you know about yourself, the better you can. Realize that and recognize it, which is, which is a huge turning point, right?
[00:12:38] Um, uh, or you just, and then ask for help and support. And that’s where I know I need to, is we have all these different things that we’re trying to put in place that’s trying to help with this, but then I’m trying to take this so it’s not just sitting there doing nothing and make it in and turn it into something else.
[00:12:54] And it’s, it’s, it’s a, it’s a navigation game that just growing up, I didn’t really, I didn’t see too much. And this is, again, no fault to my parents or anyone else. It’s just the way it was was just you work and you save. And we’ve done, we’ve done well. I’m, I’m not complaining about where we are way, and I’m super grateful that we have the opportunity to be entrepreneurs, to help people to, to be in this situation where we can share, um, information like this to be in a situation where, I can have four kids and not feel, um, uh, you know, super strapped from paycheck to paycheck.
[00:13:29] So this is in no way I’m complaining about that. It’s just how do you go from where you are to where you wanna be? With the strength that you have, but also realizing that those strengths could be, uh, turning into something negative or more or less, you’re using them as an excuse. So it was just something I want you to ponder about and think about.
[00:13:50] Um, we see this as a, you know, as a limitation for many of the people that come into the office. Um, uh, you know, I sympathize with everyone because I’ve been in the position of obviously being a, a parent before and the time and detention that it takes, you know, I, I do. It’s, it’s tough. It is definitely tough, especially when you start adding, when you start adding more of a man, the time you have, uh, greatly diminishes when you go from one to two kids, two to three kids, and I don’t even know.
[00:14:19] Um, everyone says once you get past three, like once you have four, it’s just, it’s just all the same. It’s just, it’s just crazy all the time. So we’ll see how that actually goes. Um, But it’s, it’s like, Oh, well, you know, I have to divert so much time and attention to this, so I can’t think about myself. Um, and we’ve all heard the saying, you can’t pour from an empty cup, right?
[00:14:40] And, and so you have to, you have to just kind of navigate it, whether it’s, whether you wanna look at a wellness wheel or anything like that is what needs more time and attention. How can I use my strengths? To fulfill that. If I, if, if it is not a strength that I have, then that’s where you would then reach out for support or help, whether it be through us or somebody else, coach who, you know, who knows what it is.
[00:15:01] It could be financial coach, it could be, um, uh, not doing your own taxes and hiring accountant, know who knows what that might be. But, but I find that to be, uh, a super, super valuable when we’re having that conversation. And I had this realization, and I think it was like my, it wasn’t. I wanna say it was like one of my first.
[00:15:23] Five podcasts. Um, I interviewed, uh, a mentor of ours who’s a chiropractor, and he’s currently the president of college down in Texas. And I had that realization just this week when I was having a conversation with my son about something and, and my, my oldest, and I wouldn’t say we butt heads, but you know, he’s older.
[00:15:42] He’s, he’s extremely bright and smart and he, you know, the conversations you have with him and as I’m talking to him, it was literally, The conversation I was having to was just a self-reflection and realization, and it just opened up my eyes to these, you know, quote unquote crutches or, or excuses that I’ve been making based on my strengths, uh, which were supposed to be able to be helpful.
[00:16:05] So, uh, something hopefully valuable for you to think about, uh, if you’ve never taken these evaluations, One is called Strength Finders. Um, that one I really like. It’s actually got a number of strengths. So it looks, the whole premise is you, Something that might be low on that list. It’s not a weakness, it’s just not your strongest strength.
[00:16:24] Um, so you really, you can get a breakdown of your top five, which is obviously the most helpful, but it’s kind of nice to see all of ’em in the spread. Um, and then working from a team aspect, the Colby Index has been good because it really shows you. Who needs to fulfill the spaces or the gaps that you don’t obviously have.
[00:16:42] So, um, uh, they’re also just, they’re also just good cuz you can do this from like a family perspective too. It’s like, Hey, as a family you’re better at this than I am. I’m better at this than you. And let’s con divide and conquer. Right? And it could be helpful too, um, from a coaching perspective of, you know, find that could be the, that could be the element of what helps you find the right coach for you is they really help you fill in the gaps.
[00:17:05] That you don’t have, not from a knowledge human standpoint, from more of just a personality and how they addressed and approach certain topics, communications on and so forth. So, som gonna think about. Hopefully that helps y’all, uh, until next time live loud.
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My "Season of Life" Training Philosophy & Program Revealed
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 80
My "Season of Life" Training Philosophy & Program Revealed
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
If you are someone who likes generating your own fitness training and workout programs, or you are wanting to learn how to get more out of your training routines during this current season of life, this episode of the Live Loud Life Podcast is a must listen.
In this episode, Dr. Antonio Gurule, discusses the Season of Life Training Philosophy, outlines his current training plan and schedule, before walking you through the thought processes behind it. Dr. Gurule also highlights specific health care considerations for achieving your personal training goals and continuing to move forward in your fitness journey. Finally, he will share the training elements he uses and ways you can incorporate them, to maximize effectiveness in reaching your personal goals.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
- [01:36] Seasons of Life Philosophy
- [03:39] Family Life & Creating Appropriate Routines
- [05:37] Training Adjustments for Your Life Season
- [06:34] Maintenance in Movement
- [09:45] Understanding Movement Pattern Biases
- [14:31] Resistance Training for Mobility & Movement
- [15:25] Maintaining Mobility Without Stretching Daily
- [19:17] Mind Your Personal Achievements
About Dr. Antonio Gurule
Background:
- Father
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Owner of Live LOUD
- Personal Trainer & Health Coach
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
My Training Program & Philosophy Revealed | EP 80
[00:00:00] Dr. Antonio Gurule: What’s up guys? In this episode, we are gonna be talking about some of the, if you wanna call it training philosophies that I use, but just kind of outlining, uh, my current kind of training plan and schedule, or lack thereof. Um, And kind of walking you through at least the thought process behind it and, and some of the elements, if you will.
[00:00:20] So, uh, if that interest of you, if you feel like if you’re someone who likes kind of generating your own programs or you’re just wanting to learn a little bit more about that, uh, I think this episode can be super helpful and handy for you. So stay tuned.
[00:00:41] Welcome back to another episode of the Live Loud Life podcast. My name is Dr. Antonio, your host of the Live Loud Life podcast. Uh, and. Uh, as in, as mentioned in the intro here, we’re gonna be talking about some training elements, uh, some of my training philosophies and principles that I follow. Um, kettlebells, of course, if you know me, I love kettlebells.
[00:00:59] Um, so on and so forth. So, before then, uh, sorry, before we get started, uh, please subscribe, uh, whether you’re watching on YouTube, following along on Apple Podcast, uh, hit notifications if you wanna, uh, get or see when these, uh, drop and if you have any topics. That you are interested in or you want us to cover or, or anything like that, it helps us generate more specific content to the needs of you, the listener.
[00:01:23] So, um, we’d love to hear those. If you’re not following us on Instagram as well, handle is @live.loud.life. All right, so let’s jump into it training now.
Seasons Of Life Philosophy
[00:01:36] Dr. Antonio Gurule: Uh, I’m a big fan of this concept called Seasons of Life, right? In the previous episode, I just shared that we’re actually expecting baby number four. So in March of 2023, the season of my life will be a little bit crazier that we will have four kids.
[00:01:58] Um, fortunately, let’s see, our kids will be seven, five, and three with a newborn. We’re currently thinking about getting a puppy too. Uh, I don’t know if we’re crazy or what, but, uh, I’ve been want a dog for a while. So , I think it fits well into this. Um, but that season of life shit is a little bit crazier than it is now.
[00:02:19] And then three kids over to two, it was a little bit crazier, right? So different elements starting different, um, you know, different side businesses or different programs and different courses and things like that. So the season of life will obviously change. Um, when I had one kid versus two kids, working out was a lot different.
[00:02:40] I had a lot more time to allocate. Now this. Has a little bit of, well, obviously, certain elements that are important to our, our, our, our life and our, and our health need to be prioritized. So it’s not just, Hey, throw this aside. We’re just simply saying, like, and if you, if this is important to you and you wanna get it in, and time is tight, or, or whatever that is, you know, this is, this is how I’m doing it right now.
[00:03:05] So there are certain days where I definitely have an hour to work out. Like there’s no, there’s no question about that. I have a, I would argue a little bit more time than my wife cur currently, obviously based on how she feels and different things like that. Um, we’re starting, um, this is fall. We’re starting homeschooling this year for our two oldest first grade and pre-K.
[00:03:27] So, you know, the school load for that is not intense, but, you know, we’re trying to set up the foundation of what homeschooling might look like for our family. So that’s different. Um, but one element that.
Family Life & Creating Appropriate Routines
[00:03:39] Dr. Antonio Gurule: That we obviously encourage and try to push is like you have sometimes you have to work out with your kids around and your family around.
[00:03:45] So encouraging independent play time, uh, safe play time around wherever you’re working out and doing, uh, is important. Now, obviously the type of training you do would. Suggest that they can be near you or not. Obviously Olympic lifting, I would not suggest your kids being around, um, heavy deadlifts, uh, heavy squats on and so forth, you know, so on and so forth.
[00:04:03] But, but what, But, but you have to be able to get it in. And if they’re around, then you can’t just say, Oh, I can’t do it cuz my kids around, I half my workouts, at least when I’m at home and not the office are with the kids around and they’re playing with themselves or doing independent play time. If they were, if we were young, if they were younger and they only had one or two, they’d be just doing their own thing.
[00:04:22] So that’s part of it. Now, with that season of life’s right. Having kids, sometimes your sleep sucks. Now, in a perfect world, we’d be able to sleep all that we want. We’d be able to eat all the right food and be able to work out as we want, as much as we’d want, and that those dials will shift and change.
[00:04:43] Right? So, you know, sometimes, uh, you know, on the weekends we’re bouncing around seeing family and while we try to control what we eat as best as possible, sometimes it’s eating out cuz it’s easier. So on and so forth. Um, uh, sometimes the kids have a crappy night of sleep and you didn’t sleep all the night before, and so your workout that was planned the next day cannot be executed, uh, to the same degree.
[00:05:04] And so those are all the things that you have to take in consideration when you’re talking about seasons of life and trying to get your, your training in. And so I, I’m, I’m ideally trying to get in five days a week. Realistically it’s three to five. Um, uh, in the last month, I would say I’ve been on a better kick about getting five in.
[00:05:25] And then on the weekends I honestly don’t get much in uh, cuz we’re both home. We’re both home. We’re trying to do more outdoor stuff, family stuff. Uh, we’re also trying to build things like chicken coops and stuff in the backyard now.
Training Adjustments for Your Life Season
[00:05:37] Dr. Antonio Gurule: We have to say, I’ve had a couple videos based on, uh, our, our new move here is looking at training in a different lens too.
[00:05:45] Sometimes we think has to be just structured in the gym doing X, Y, and Z. Like as I was mentioned on a few other things, landscaping, that is a good workout. That might be your quote unquote training day or workout of the day. If you’re outside slinging a shovel or an ax for like three to four hours, that’s a pretty good workout.
[00:05:59] So don’t sell yourself short on what you’re doing on a grand total throughout the day, but, Sum up into simplify what I’m trying to accomplish, and I’ve been very honest about this. I know I have gaps in holes. I know I have certain. Stability and mobility limitations that, uh, could be addressed. Um, that could enhance maybe some of the achy spots that I have in maybe the lower back or the shoulder or some of the tight spots that I have in the back or the shoulder.
Maintenance in Movement
[00:06:34] Dr. Antonio Gurule: Uh, some of the limitations in my thoracic spine that comes from sitting down, creating content, typing, working with patients, so on and so forth. Uh, I try to. Put in what I need, where I can, whether it’s warm up or in between certain sets to try to get that stuff in. Um, there are some days where I just call, call it, and rather than doing the thing that I’m meant to do, it’s just like, today’s gonna be a mobility movement day, cuz that’s what my body’s telling you.
[00:06:59] That’s the whole point of season of life training is listening to your body. Now some of us enjoy the structure of a program of saying, I wanna be told what to do every day and I wanna see the progressive layout in playing. Wonderful. I love that. I can’t do that because of this season of life. When things get thrown off on something like that, then it throws off the whole progression on that scale.
[00:07:21] Now you can, you can figure out how to get back on track. It’s not, it’s not impossible to do so, but I am going for maintenance in movement. Now, part of this is through my health journey. I believe that I have set up a fairly good foundation of baseline strength that allows me to do near the majority of everything that I wanna be able to do.
[00:07:42] Now, obviously, if I wanna go run a marathon, I’d have to shift that and, and create more of an aerobic capacity baseline of just running. Um, but because I’ve done enough, Strength training, mobility work, stability work and movement work. My, the base foundation of my movement pyramid or triangle is, is pretty solid, so that allows me to make shifts and move or miss days and weeks.
[00:08:10] And be able to bounce back quicker. And I think this is an element that so many people miss. We talk about training history, right? So a lot of times we’ll ask people like, Well, what are we doing for training? And we talk about resistance training. They’re like, Yeah, I’ve done resistance training. Like, Well, when?
[00:08:24] When? The last time, Oh, in college. It’s 15, 20 years ago. While that might be a foundation back then, we’ve lost that, right? That that was a while ago. We’ve lost that. But if it was someone like, Yeah, I was, you know, I was on a consistent program, you know, maybe six months to a year ago. They have a pretty good lifting and it was for an extended period of time.
[00:08:44] That’s a pretty. Good recent, um, uh, baseline program to bounce off of. Now they might ha have everything that’s associated with it, but there it’s more recent to the fact where they can extract that knowledge from that and some of the movement patterns and behaviors to catch back up. So I’m constantly trying to, in a way, in knowing my body, refine certain elements and add certain things in, but sometimes it’s just, it’s just doing work cuz I know I need to do work.
[00:09:11] I know I need resistance training. I know I need to make myself breathe hard and heavy and I’m biased towards certain movements such as kettlebell work and other things like that where I know I can get it in and I know I can get what I need fairly quickly. Now again, argumentatively. If I had a coach or someone else looking at this, you’re missing this, you’re missing this, you’re missing this.
[00:09:32] Yeah, I probably am. But again, maintenance of my baseline foundational movement capacities and patterns on and so forth, this is what’s working extremely well for me. It’s still allowing me to progress in certain areas.
Understanding Movement Pattern Biases
[00:09:45] Dr. Antonio Gurule: Uh, again, I’m, I’m trying to be better about understanding also my movement pattern biases.
[00:09:50] My long, lengthy body is very good at pulling, uh, meaning. Pull up and rows and swings and deadlifts. My body’s built for that. It’s not so strong at pushing vertical, pushing pushups, horizontal bench press, squats, lunges on and so forth. The way my body’s structured it is much harder and, and I would veer away from that from time to time, missing those elements.
[00:10:13] So now my big focus has been kind of back to like, okay, well, If, if my body naturally is good at some of these other things, I do need to work on some of the, the, um, not weaknesses, but weaker links of those movement patterns, which would be pushing and squatting to help just create a little bit more of, um, uh, a dynamic balance, if you will.
[00:10:33] So that’s again, In my knowledge of knowing where I’m at, where my past has been and everything else, I’m focusing on that now. The, the training hasn’t really changed all that much. It’s just trying to maybe add more of those movements in and or on those movements. I’m trying to be more intentional and or on those movements, I’m trying to go a little heavier, whereas before I would’ve been like, Yeah, it’s okay.
[00:10:55] I’ll go a little lighter. Right. And so this is just kind of, again, coming, coming back, uh, um, uh, I’m being honest with myself about really what those are. In the past I was like, I’m getting by. I’m getting fine by fine, right? And, and, and it just kinda let those slip and slide. So it’s, it’s trying to be progressive from a micro scale, not necessarily a macro scale, understanding that the micro, the days of the compounding interests are adding up upon each other.
[00:11:23] And that’s really how I got to where I am today. I could, I could have gotten further when I had more time and gaps by, by being a little bit more specific. 100%. Um, but right now it’s the consistency of at a minimum, three to five days, um, um, uh, of doing these types of things. So what does, what does a training day look like?
[00:11:45] Well, we’re, we’re trying to hit the big movement patterns, the big compound movements, because that allows me to get the most out of what I’m doing on each individual movement or day. So, For the majority. For the majority, I have some sort of a push, a pull, a hinge, a squat, um, squat and or lunge. I’m trying to add more carries in.
[00:12:05] Uh, but that’s, that’s the quote unquote kind of baseline of movement patterns that I’m looking for. Now, I can sometimes integrate and combine those things, right? So it might be like, Uh, a clean and press or a clean and squat, so on and so forth. But that’s why I love kettlebells. I can take one, I can take one element or one, um, one tool, one.
[00:12:29] A piece of equipment and do multiple things with it without having to transition and change. And that is what works best, again, for my season of life and for a lot of, uh, a lot of parents, uh, whether it’s a dumbbell or kettlebell barbells, just take up more space. They need more preparation, they need more.
[00:12:46] Awareness and also more foundational practice of understanding the movement principles and how to do those things in the first place. So if you have that, great, I’m not saying you can’t do that, but for the kettlebell, it makes it that much easier. So, for instance, today’s workout, Uh, I was, the, the whole purpose of today was level change is making my body go up and down.
[00:13:07] I did bento, I did a bent over row variation. I did pushups, I did kettlebell cleans, and I did squat. So I gotta push a pull, a hinge, and a squat. Um, I didn’t do a carry, uh, just cuz I was inside today, but you could simply just add in, Hey, after that last set I’m gonna carry, I’m gonna take the kettlebells and I’m gonna carry down and back.
[00:13:24] Or after that whole complex, I’m gonna do a few rounds of just loaded carries to just add that little element in. Now, within that, that was the circuit and that was a complex, That’s primarily what I do because again, I can hit all those things. It helps get my heart rate up, so on and so forth. If I wanna be more specific, I simply just break that up into, uh, like a super set.
[00:13:44] I’ll do two things paired together, or I’ll do one thing with a stretch or a stability exercise. Integrate it in. For example, it might be bent over rows, and then I might flip onto my back and do some sort of a dead bug variation or some sort of a anterior core chain movement to hit more of the anterior core, if I’m wanting to work on that.
[00:14:03] Or I might do a vertical press. I’m working on a press ladder, kettlebell, pressing overhead, and then I might drop down and do some sort of a 90, 90 or a pigeon stretch to work on loosening up my hips. So it’s a way for me to, again, sprinkle in the stability and mobility or the rehab exercises or the stretching elements that you know you should be getting in.
[00:14:23] But it, it’s e but you oftentimes will tell your body, Hey, it’s an either and, or you need to stretch or workout. You can do them together, You can combine them together.
Resistance Training for Mobility & Movement
[00:14:31] Dr. Antonio Gurule: And what most people forget is that when you are doing resistance training, if you make it intentional to elongate, open up, you’re actually providing a lot of stretching and mobility in that movement.
[00:14:45] Uh, what would be an example of that? Well, if I’m doing a trx, uh, if I’m doing a, a trx, row, right. Rather than keeping my shoulder blades pinned back the whole time and just moving my upper arm in my forearms, when I lower myself down, I could really reach my arms out in front of me long to allow my shoulder blades to wrap around.
[00:15:04] So I’m getting a good upper back stretch and my rhomboids my mid traps, my lower traps, um, so on and so forth. So, If we were able to work on depth mobility and other things like, or like that while you’re lifting, you kinda kill two birds with one stone. But sometimes we get so focused on moving faster, moving harder, moving heavy, that we forget that element.
Maintaining Mobility Without Stretching Daily
[00:15:25] Dr. Antonio Gurule: So I’m able to actually maintain a lot of my mobility even though I’m not stretching on a daily basis by simply being more intentional about how I’m moving, setting up. My technique and my, uh, in my movement patterns to allow me to move into, to, to deeper depth, such as in a squat or a sumo deadlift or using, or programming in certain movements like a cosac squat or even a lunge pattern, which would stretch and open up my hips every time I go down.
[00:15:55] So, you know, it’s looking at it from that element while we said, just push, pull, hinge, squat. And carries, that seems very simplistic, right? But based on the exercise selection, I’m able to get multiple elements out of it other than just strength training or loading, right? So let’s lay this out as another example.
[00:16:14] Let’s use a double front rack, dumbbell and or kettlebell double front rack. Rev, uh, split squat, right? So I’m in a split stance position. One foot forward, one foot backwards, and I have two kettlebells racked on my shoulders. This is a quite an extensive shoulder exercise. Depending on the weight that you’re using, you’re isolating or your, sorry, you’re isometrically, holding that kettlebell in front of you, which will require your shoulders to be a strong foundation in order for the shoulders to be strong.
[00:16:41] Your torso, your pillar has to be set. That has to be strong. And then all of that basically, More or less stabilizes and stiffens while you move your hips and your knee joints to descend down. So I’m getting a ton of stability training in my shoulders and my torso, and then when I descend down, my glutes and my quads are what’s going to eccentrically.
[00:17:04] Lengthen, right? Gives me a good stretch in both my glutes and my quads, depending, especially on my width. And then it also then concentrically, uh, contracts to bring me back up. Now on that back leg as I go down, I’m actually getting a hip flexor stretch. So if I’m actually holding my torso up nice and tall and I’m stacked on top of my back knee, I get a wonderful.
[00:17:23] Hip flexor stretch. I can enhance that hip flexor stretch by doing a rear foot elevated split squat by putting my foot up that bends my knee more, which enhances that quad stretch or that hip flex stretch. So you’re we’re seeing how we can get different elements of stretching and mobility while also strengthening at the same time.
[00:17:41] So, If you, if you really just take a second and look at any movement pattern and, and, and, and look at how it’s being performed or how it should be performed, you’ll see that there are these elements that come up quite consistently. So to recap, push, pull, hinge, squat, squat and or lunge. Some sort of a loaded carry.
[00:18:00] You could put a, you could put another element in there and say some sort of a specific core exercise if you really want to. That’s it. I rinse and repeat. I have a lot of the same movements honestly, that I do because I know they hit so many things. Right. So I’ll kind of just rattle off a few, uh, not that this is, um, Uh, uh, um, the only things that I do, uh, renegade rows Bent over rows gorilla rows incline pushups.
[00:18:25] Floor press, bench press, vertical press, uh, TRX rows, um, goblet squats, double front rack squats, some sort of a, uh, kosac squat. Um, front rack, reverse lunges, split squat. Dead lifts, uh, kettlebell swings, kettlebell cleans, kettlebell snatch, um, Turkish get ups, um, uh, split, um, split stance. RDLS um, uh, I’m just, I mean a little, just random these off.
[00:18:53] Right? So that was, what was that? Maybe 10 to 12 exercises. Now, if you were to look at 10 to 12 exercises, And run that through some, run that through an equation and see how many variations of workouts you can get. You get a lot of different workouts in that. Not to mention you can vary reps and intensity just with that and do really well with just a few basic movements and one piece of equipment, or two pieces of equipment without having to overcomplicate.
Mind Your Personal Achievements
[00:19:17] Dr. Antonio Gurule: What you’re trying to achieve, you always have to, again, keep that angle in mind. Right now I’m trying, I’m still moving the needle forward. It’s not as fast. If I was able to set five days a week progressive lifting program as far as strength, but I’m still able to move that needle forward pretty well, uh, either from a maintenance perspective, but also from a strength and mobility perspective.
[00:19:37] By running through this type of, um, uh, training cycle. So right now, I’ve been in a kettlebell complex kick. So basically, I’m doing one or two kettlebells and I basically put a circuit together. That’s all a complex is I’m picking, uh, anywhere between two to five exercises and I, and I add those in an element so that, that, that workout I just talked about today, the bent over row to pushups, the cleans, and the squat.
[00:20:01] That was a com that was a complex, five movements of each limit. Rest. Try to try to navigate and, and recover respiration and heart rate in between. Set the time for 20 minutes and just go, right. You get a ton out of that sweating heart rate up. Uh, good strength. I’m, I picked the movements out of that in which I, I needed a little bit more attention to, which was the pushups and the squats as mentioned.
[00:20:24] And, and I, I, I got a great workout that being done. Three, five days a week, four weeks out of a month, 12 months out of a year, you will be in a very, very different and great spot a year from now, even three months from now. So, uh, if you want some ideas on kettlebells complexes on posting those on Instagram, @Live.Loud.life
[00:20:46] I’m also posting those on YouTube on what they have now, which is those YouTube shorts, which is like Facebook reels and Instagram reels. Um, so we’re just putting those out if you want some ideas on some different movement patterns to do. Uh, again, this is all with the understanding though, is I know how to do these movements, so if you don’t feel comfortable yet to be able to explore those, you gotta reach out for help to understand technique and movement selection.
[00:21:09] So thanks for tuning in. Live loud.
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Rehab Purgatory & Why You Are Not Progressing
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 79
Rehab Purgatory & Why You Are Not Progressing
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
Rehab Purgatory is the center of today’s discussion on the Live Loud Life Podcast with Dr. Gurule. Rehab Purgatory is when someone gets locked up or stuck in an element of needing to be able to achieve a specific set of goals before being able to work out, train, or return to regular fitness and exercise routines.
In Dr. Gurule’s experience, it is a critical to have a conversation about Rehab Purgatory and overcoming it with many of his injured patient, epsecially those with chronic pain who feel like they’re kind of stuck in this loop of not getting better.
Episode Highlights:
(00:44) Big Announcement, Baby News
(02:34) Rehab Purgatory Basics
(07:32) Root Causes Phrased in Context
(09:48) Neural Drive in Movement Patterns: Post Injury
(11:49) Moving Beyond Rehab Purgatory
About Dr. Antonio Gurule
Background:
- Father
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Owner of Live LOUD
- Personal Trainer & Health Coach
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
Why You Are Not Advancing | EP 79
[00:00:00] Dr. Antonio Gurule: What’s going on. So, in today’s episode, we’re gonna be talking about, uh, what we refer to as like rehab purgatory. Basically, a lot of us get locked up and stuck in this element of, I need to be able to do X, Y, and Z appropriately before I’m able. To workout train or, or, or, you know, return back to fitness or exercise or some or something like that.
[00:00:22] So this is a, uh, this is a critical conversation that we have a lot with our injured patients, but also even more importantly, with, with chronic pain patients who feel like they’re kind of stuck in this loop of not getting better. So, I hope you enjoy the show.
Big Announcement, Baby News
[00:00:44] Dr. Antonio Gurule: Welcome back guys. Welcome to another episode of the live loud life podcast. My name is Dr. Antonio, your host of the live loud life podcast. Um, Short bit of exciting news. Uh, I’m not sure when these episodes necessarily air, um, I just try to film ’em and, and get ’em out onto seven, any particular schedule, but we’re expecting baby number four, uh, surprise to both of us, uh, still kind of wrapping my head around that we’re are Michelle, my wife and I, we’re gonna be doing some recaps too, of like first trimester recap.
[00:01:15] And then she’s gonna be doing kind of like a weekly vlog that just kind of. Updates on, you know, how pregnancy’s going, what this stage looks like, her nutrition, her supplementations, and things like that. So, so for those of you who are in this phase of life, uh, and you’re curious about that, be sure to check that out, we’ll have a whole different section, uh, within our YouTube page, that’ll be highlighting that.
[00:01:37] And we’ll probably air a few of those episodes here on the live wildlife podcast as well. Uh, and be sure to be sure to subscribe hit the little, uh, bell notification. If you follow, follow us on YouTube, uh, subscribe, whether that’s on. Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcast, uh, to get that information as well.
[00:01:54] And then if you’re not following us on Instagram, uh, our handle is live.dot life. Um, uh, that’s on that’s that’s our Instagram handle. So, we, we post obviously a lot more short form content there, but you can, you. Get a little bit more of that because our podcast episodes, the narrative that we’re describing is less demonstrative purposes, right.
[00:02:15] Uh, you’re hearing to me talk more theoretical concepts on and so forth, but if you’re interested in seeing some movement breakdowns or getting some Kele ideas, we’ve been dropping that, uh, more recently, some Kele complexes, be sure to get that on YouTube and Instagram, because that’s where that information is going to be.
[00:02:33] Enough of the housekeeping.
Rehab Purgatory Basics
[00:02:34] Dr. Antonio Gurule: So, rehab purgatory, um, as, as described in that intro there, what happens commonly is. Everyone’s marketing and advertising is around getting to the root cause. And that is important. And we talk about that as well, but sometimes we see that taken too far and providers and practitioners, or even individuals feel it is they’re responsible to understand what all the tiny little nuances and underlying.
[00:03:09] Potential triggers or cause that might be there in order to quote unquote, fully heal and make yourself able and ready to return. Now, this is a very, very broad concept. Um, and, and, and topic, because while I am, while I’m saying this, I am not negating or downplaying the, the importance of understanding.
[00:03:32] Baseline movement principles or certain restrictions or weaknesses within the body that obviously are attributing to. To a, to, to pain, to, to your recovery, so on and so forth. But I do find that, and we’re, we, we treat gen population, right? While we do have athletes that we work with, uh, this narrative and conversation changes a little bit, but even more importantly, with athletes, they’re trying to get right back into their, their field to play as quick as possible.
[00:04:03] And. For, for the majority of us who are following along and paying attention after an injury, after you get injured, there is a, there is a period of obviously recovery, right? And, uh, there’s, there’s, there’s, there’s certain elements that we need to be able to hit and do during that recovery process. Now, when we’re returning.
[00:04:25] We see from PTs massage, chiropractors, personal trainers, anyone who’s kind of involved in this quote unquote rehab, um, world or rehab, uh, profession, is we wanna give exercises that help stairstep you into the next level. But. The foundation of progressive, meaning you are progressing is progress, right?
[00:04:51] You need to be able to show progress in order for us to feel like we’re actually going anywhere. And this was, this was sparked by two of our more recent patients who were stuck in this element of. I, I don’t feel ready, or I cannot do something until I loosen up and I stretch, and I work on these imbalances or these weaknesses within my body.
[00:05:14] And we, we just, you know, we encourage the question of like, well, what do you think would happen if you started working out or training and you did not have those elements completely, uh, fixed or dealt with. And. Essentially the conclusion came to well, I, it wouldn’t change all that much. Um, uh, you know, some were worried of running the risk of potentially re-injury again, but, but, but going through the assessment and the orthopedic evaluation and, and highlighting that the likelihood and, and through the assessment process, we don’t think anything’s actually broken or damaged the likelihood of you re-injury or doing something bad because your imbalances or your weaknesses or your tightness, your tightness is not fixed.
[00:05:53] It’s pretty low. Right? So, what we try to encourage is just trying to gain some momentum, right? When you’re an acute injury, sometimes we have to slow people down, but there’s still a lot that you can do early on in your acute phase of maintaining the progress that you had, maintaining mobility strength in other areas of your body, while that healing process go is going on.
[00:06:15] But more importantly, this is for these chronic patients who have had. Issues realistically more than three months, but we’re looking at six a year or even two years down the road and they just get stuck. It’s just like, my body feels off. It feels tight and I need to stretch all the time and I need to do this or this, but I’m not working out cuz I don’t.
[00:06:37] I, I, I’m just not ready to do that. And, and so we need to encourage them and, and show them, prove to them that their body is in fact, ready.
[00:06:45] Now you’re gonna be sore because you haven’t been working on a training. You can’t downplay that, but, but laying out that conversation, the narrative of just the expectations of like, you will be sore, but that’s different than what you’re experiencing.
[00:06:57] Now. That is a good thing. That means we’re actually working and training muscles and joints and tendons, uh, and tissue so on and so forth. So. If you are finding that you’re stuck in this, this, this loop of, you know, I’m doing all the right things. I’m just not getting anywhere. Or I feel that I’m always having to stretch in order to feel better, to feel looser, or I feel like I always have to activate my glutes are activate my lats or activate a certain muscle group in order to be ready to go.
Root Causes Phrased in Context
[00:07:32] Dr. Antonio Gurule: I think you need to start. Asking different questions and, and figuring out how to just, you know, skip ahead a little bit and see how things go. And the reference that we, we will commonly use is context. Right? All of those things are important. The activations, the stretching, you know, opening up whatever we want to call.
[00:07:55] Are things that we discuss and the things that we, we definitely use, there are certain limitations, quote, unquote root causes that are the reason why we’re not able to progress or deal with a chronic injury or something like that. Right. But unless you phrase it with some context, uh, your body’s not gonna know what to do with it.
[00:08:16] Right? So, uh, just this morning we had a new patient who was talking about firing his, firing his glutes, right? He’s worked with PTs personal trainers, a number of different people where he’s just had this issue where he is not been able to fire his glutes. And he’s just wrapped up in this idea that he cannot do squats and other big quote unquote movements, unless he’s able to fire his glutes.
[00:08:38] And so, you know, the, the first question was, well, how do you even know if your glutes are firing? And simply was, it was well, they get sore. Well, soreness goes beyond activation and firing, right. Soreness means you’re actually working ’em out. So that movement you’re doing is still good. But if you’re just doing that without any progress, you’re not able to create more context for your body that allows it to understand how the movement principles are applied and how you start connecting the dots to be able to hike longer.
[00:09:11] Be stronger in a sport to be able to lift more weights, to feel more able bodied with, you know, yard worker projects around the house. So we use this phrase of context commonly because it helps create a better narrative between how your body operates. Again, all the majority of what we’re really talking about doing is we are making physiological changes by loading.
[00:09:36] Excuse me. By loading the tendons, the muscles, so on and so forth, they will get stronger. They will become more robust. Um, they will, they will become more resilient. That is true. But
Neural Drive in Movement Patterns: Post Injury
[00:09:48] Dr. Antonio Gurule: when we’re talking about recovering from injuries, acute or chronic, a lot of the conversation is, is working on the neural drive in the movement patterns that help you.
[00:10:01] Move again after injury, create confidence after injury, so on and so forth. Cuz we, it is, it has been well documented and showed that we do have decreased muscle activation after an injury. Why? Because your, your body doesn’t want you to injure it again. It suppresses that. And so part of this is, is, is creating movement opportunities or opportunities in which you move that your body can then reintegrate and figure out those pathways again.
[00:10:27] And the more you do that in the different ways that you do that provides a wider range of content, which makes you more able bodied.
Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands
[00:10:34] Dr. Antonio Gurule: So that’s why the, the said principles, specific adaptations to imposed demands, um, can be a benefit and sometimes a detriment, right? Because that’s that says through specificity, we get better when we do specific things.
[00:10:49] Right? So, if I which the, I have this conversation. Quite often through my biased, likes and wants. I primarily do kettlebell work, right. So I have become very efficient and good at doing kettlebell workouts. Now I can progress it to make it harder for me so that I continue to get stronger. Uh, I try to mix in other elements of kettlebell work that I don’t normally do so I can get some more variety, but my body has become efficient.
[00:11:17] And, and created specific demands, uh, specific adapt adaptations to those imposed demands. Now it helps me, I would have some good carryover to other movements such as barbell and different things like that. But if all I did was ever that and never other things, I, I would lose the ability to lift the barbell well or to do cer certain gymnastic movements or certain body weight movements, because I’m only doing one thing.
Moving Beyond Rehab Purgatory
[00:11:49] Dr. Antonio Gurule: So, this is, this is what happens with the Rehab Purgatory is you get really good at doing glute bridges. You get really good at glued activations, but you can’t do anything more. Your body. Tapped out. So then when you try to return back to fitness, you feel, you feel weak, you feel, um, like your body’s not able to actually do more than, than that.
[00:12:11] And that’s the issue at hand is we just get wrapped up in this. I need to stretch. I need to activate; I need to wait. I need to do this before we actually challenge the body to do. The things that the body needs to do now, what would that be? Well, it depends on the person, right? That’s why you have to have a conversation about your goals and your expectations of what things you actually run, wanna run into, or wanna return to, sorry.
[00:12:34] And, and, and what we always refer back to is, well, so that’s, that’s exactly what we need to do. I have a postpartum patient who wants to return back to running. Is that okay? Have we tried it yet? No. Okay. Well, you need to try it so we can get an idea of where we actually stand. Now we don’t say go run a 5k walk, run, walk, run.
[00:12:51] So on and so forth. Same individual or different individual. Hey, I wanna get back to dead. Great. We’ve built up the foundation of understanding how to activate or how to brace your core, how to hinge, how to do certain things. You have the green light to do it. Nothing’s broken. Nothing’s wrong. Do it, get feedback, come back, give me that context so that we can help reframe re-pattern, reposition, or do whatever we need to do to change it.
[00:13:15] Or you might literally feel, I felt great. Good. Go with it. That’s that’s what we’re looking for is to get that, that, that green light of just. It’s it’s. It’s all good.
Moving to the Next Level when You are Ready
[00:13:26] Dr. Antonio Gurule: So, don’t let yourself be held back just because someone told you you’re not ready. If you feel like you’re ready, you need to start pushing the envelope.
[00:13:35] If you’re getting frustrated, that probably means you’re ready to go to that next level. Um, now I will sidebar. Make a side note, some of you are frustrated cuz you got injured and you can’t rush physiology as far as healing. But again, there are a, a, um, there are many things that you can still do while you are recovering from an injury that allows you to maintain the momentum that you had from working out before.
[00:13:56] Right. So, it’s not just sit and wait and then get sucked back into that loop. Um, So I hope that helps some of you more specifically, this is a little bit more tailored to those that have chronic pain. Who’s just been like, you know, I wanna get back. I’m not sure I’m not ready. I feel like I need to do this, this and this before.
[00:14:13] I know nothing’s wrong, but you know, I, I, I don’t know. Something’s telling you, you need to hold back for whatever reason. And part of it just is a lack of confidence. I can, I completely agree with that. I’m not trying to downplay and say, you’re not doing enough. You’re not pushing yourself. All I’m asking you to do is to try.
[00:14:33] Doesn’t mean, go be dumb about it. Just try it. Then you’ll get some information. You’ll create more context to help your body understand where you actually are at. And then, you know, here’s my starting point or here’s where I’m at right now. I wanna be here. I gotta bridge that gap somehow. And that’s setting up a program.
[00:14:52] That’s understanding movement patterns, that’s understanding lifting, uh, but it doesn’t have to be. That complex. Uh, we’ll, we’ll do another episode here um, coming up, talking about kind of, uh, it’s an integration on my health journey, but why I love kettlebells and just some of the programming that I do now, I will be biased and say, I do have gaps and holes in this programming, but this is kind of a season of life.
[00:15:13] This is where I’m at. And it allows me to get the majority of what I want and what I need out. Training, um, when it’s set up this way. So, if you’re interested in that, uh, be sure to check out the upcoming episodes to get that story. Um, that’s all I got for you guys today. Hopefully that was helpful. Again.
[00:15:30] Uh, one last word of advice is reach out for help. If you feel like you’re stuck, that’s the whole reason why there’s professions like ours. We’re, this is what we’re, this is what we’re good at. We’re good at helping you find the holes, find the gaps, understanding where you are to where you wanna be able to be to, to set up a plan for that.
[00:15:48] And sometimes just to, just to, just to navigate. A conversation with you to say, no, you’re good. You can do this. Right. Uh, sometimes people just want the blessing to be able to move forward. Uh, and, and that gives them all the confidence in the world. So, if, if that’s you and you’re having hesitation, you know where to find this, you can reach out to us, uh, www.live loud, life.com.
[00:16:11] Hello. At live loud life.com is our email. Um, you can call our office (303) 717-6323. Uh, we do virtual Consults as well. So, if you’re, if you’re not local and you want some help, um, again, we just have a conversation like this. I get to know your injury, your chronic injuries, where you are now, what you’re doing, what you wanna be able to do.
[00:16:33] And even if I’m not able to provide hands on care, I promise you that we’ll be able to help set you up with the. Moving forward. Thanks for tuning in guys. Live loud.
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How to Train & Reduce Pain When Traveling | EP 78
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 78
How to Train & Reduce Pain When Traveling
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
For many, work and travel is a big part of your lives. You’re on the go, you’re busy, traveling, you’re in a different city, you’re not sleeping in your bed, and this routine is tough on the body. There’s a lot of aches and pains that can come about which are associated with travel. Additionally, It’s tough to stay consistent with your routine of working out, training, consistent diet and eating properly. In this episode, what we’re covering are a couple tips to help you better cope with the chaos due to having active lifestyle, and extensive travel.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
(00:00) Intro to Traveling and Reducing Pain
(01:23) Dr. Antionio Gurule : Coaching you to understand your body
(03:52) Pain & Tightness from Workout Crutches
(07:54) Fundamentals of How Your Body Feels, Works, & Operates
(11:04) ISO Metric Movements & Injury Recovery
(15:17) The End Game is Function
About Dr. Antonio Gurule
Background:
- Father
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Owner of Live LOUD
- Personal Trainer & Health Coach
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
Ep. 78 | How to Train & Reduce Pain While Traveling
[00:00:00] Intro to Traveling and Reducing Pain
[00:00:00] Dr. Gurule:
All right. So for many of us work and travel is a big part of a, uh, for, for many of your lives, right? Um, you’re on the go, you’re busy. Uh, you’re traveling, you’re in a different city. You’re not sleeping in your bed. And this routine is tough on the body. There’s a lot of aches and pains that, uh, can come about this in, are associated with travel and, and, and there’s a part two.
[00:00:23] It’s it’s tough to be. It’s tough to stay consistent with your routine of working out and training and diet and eating. And so what we’re gonna talk about today is a couple just tips to help you, um, better get through that active lifestyle of traveling a lot. Uh, everyone’s life is different. I have a buddy who travels sometimes four or five days a week, uh, where others are doing longer trips.
[00:00:45] Um, because they’re, you know, they’re doing seminars and different things like that, but. What we wanted to highlight at least was the principles of helping reduce aches and pains when traveling and also how to just stay consistent. And, and the consistency standpoint has, is a, has a sidebar of how to work out with.
[00:01:08] You know, maybe not the same equipment or minimal equipment. Okay. So that’s kinda the avenue of where we’re going.
[00:01:21] This is the live loud life podcast.
[00:01:23] Key Point #2 : Dr. Antionio Gurule : Coaching you to understand your body
[00:01:23] Dr. Gurule: My name is Antonio, your host of the live loud life podcast. Um, and our aim is to help guide you to the adventurous life you’re built for. We do that through obviously our hands through chiropractic care. Um, but more importantly, through a framework. And a foundation of coaching and understanding how the human body works and what you can do to best prepare.
[00:01:42] Right. Um, and, and, and so our, our conversation starts with that, right? Knowing your body and knowing your body, this, this is the foundation that answers both of the questions in the topics that we’re concerned about. Now, when you’re traveling many times. You’re, you know, you’re just sitting in the car to, and from the airport, you’re sitting on the airplane, you’re sitting in meetings and you’re just stagnant.
[00:02:10] Now, a lot of us have stagnant lives here, but the element of travel adds on another whole layer to this right. You’re not sleeping in your same bed. Um, you’re not, you’re not driving your same car. You know, all these things basically affect how our body recovers and how you just operate. Now, that being said, as a sidebar to that, there’s an argument to be made about how much of this preparatory foundation you have so that when life gets thrown off, Does that deviate you?
[00:02:41] Right? Uh, I was listening to this other podcast today where, um, uh, Alex Ori, HERI, um, Basey was talking about crutches, right? And, uh, how these crutches in our lives, we become dependent on them. And these dependencies, when, when things change all of a sudden, your dependencies. And you don’t have those dependencies that completely knock you off your rails.
[00:03:09] Right? So for some people they need, um, you know, uh, aids to help them go to sleep, whether that’s, uh, you know, alcohol or CBDs or, or smoking or something like that. Right. And that was the example he used. That’s just one example. Right. And so. You don’t have as solid of a foundation as you think, because you’re dependent on certain things in order to get through life.
[00:03:32] And his argument would even be coffee, right? Um, people were able to live their lives and fully function without coffee before. But yet we, we say, I need this, or I am this without this type of thing. And that’s a crush crutch. It, I dependency. So when you’re traveling for many people, it basically derails what their life was.
[00:03:52] Key Point #3 : Pain and Tightness from Workout Crutches
[00:03:52] Dr. Gurule: And because they don’t have this solid foundation and they have a lot of crutches that they are dependent on. It completely throws everything for a loop. And then your body responds oftentimes with pain and tightness. So from a, from a physiological baseline perspective, what we have to understand is movement is going to, and will always be your best friend, right?
[00:04:11] Moving your way through pain, moving your body so that you can prevent pain. Maintain healthy joints, lubrication, so on and so forth. That is the key when you’re traveling right, is setting up and knowing again, as a sidebar, knowing your body and what areas are maybe quote, unquote, more vulnerable due to previous injuries.
[00:04:33] Um, other areas that just need a little bit more time and attention because you have traveled so much and you know, the problem areas I E lower back, tight knees, tight. Cramped in tiny little, um, airplane seats. Those are the things that you have to preemptively tackle and know, rather than just sitting and looking at your phone while you’re waiting on the computer, you might be doing some mobility exercises off in the corner, in your seat, right?
[00:04:56] So the best fix for understanding a painful, lower back or different things, or just different areas is you have to preemptively. Start moving and create this buffer system that helps. And then in between, and break it up. Now, for many of you, you might be thinking, well, not everyone has to do that. Why don’t I have to do it?
[00:05:15] It’s it’s just how it is, right? Not everyone. Uh, not, not everyone has to lift as much weight in order to get a physiological response to maybe you or, or some people just tend to put on more muscle and they don’t have to live as much. It’s just, it’s just what it is. Right. You can’t make excuses of like, well, why me and not them.
[00:05:32] It’s just what it is. You either can deal with it or you can. Not deal with it. Right. And most of us would argue that dealing with it would be better than just complaining. So you have to just know what that is now. Again, this is the argument of knowing your own body, too many of us. Don’t actually take the time to understand where our.
[00:05:53] Our kinks are, are, are these tight spots or these quote unquote underlying problem areas because we don’t wanna take the time to jail. And I’m guilty as that. I know I have gaps and holes in my training. Um, and so that’s not a perfect system by any means. Um, but there is an element of this exploration model of, again, understanding to knowing your body and also like what, how it responds.
[00:06:16] And Michelle and I, uh, were just talking about this the other day, because. Through, we are rewarded with this, this kind of click bait mentality for things. Right. And I saw this, um, I don’t even know how, or when this would be important, but I was on YouTube, looking up some exercises to prescribe to someone that I didn’t have a video for.
[00:06:39] And. Someone had a video that talked about how to stretch your Sartorious muscle. Now, for most of you, you’re gonna be like, what the hell is that your Sartorious muscle is this very, very thin muscle that runs from the, the front of your pelvis, kind of near your hip. And it kinda wraps down and across your thigh to your inner knee.
[00:06:58] And I, I, I, I, I can’t, you can’t, you can’t even isolate that, but yet it’s one of those things that from someone’s like, oh yeah, that’s a super important muscle. I, I would need to do that, but. It comes back down to movement exploration and understanding like, well, when I move my hip in this way, it feels tighter kinky.
[00:07:17] Okay. Well, I’m gonna try to see if I can help unlock it and move it. Or I’m gonna do a little bit of fascial work or a little bit of soft tissue work or a little bit of something to gimme a response that helps loosen it up and then I’m gonna train it and move it some more. But we want this, Hey, this hurts do this one thing and it’ll fix it.
[00:07:32] Now we’re guilty of creating those because again, we need clicks and we need likes and we need shares so that we can get more and more information out to you. But we, we, we, we wrap it up in that pretty bow, but hopefully the narrative of what we’re saying makes more sense than just, Hey, do this and see if it helps help you.
[00:07:49] Right. Um, top three exercises, those types of things.
[00:07:54] Key Point #4 : Fundamentals of How Your Body Feels, Works, & Operates
[00:07:54] Dr. Gurule: It’s having the basic fundamental understanding of how your body feels works and operates. And that is the key to helping you reduce pain, eliminate pain, uh, prevent pain, and maximize, uh, how your body can operate. Now with that is okay. Well, how do you work out and train?
[00:08:16] Well, here’s the thing. When you sometimes have a crutch such as my workouts revolve around X, Y, and Z, oftentimes this could be like, well, I do CrossFit. Well, when I’m traveling, I might not have access to a CrossFit gym, so shit, what do I do? Right. Um, I need, I need. Equipment in order for me to have a good workout crutch, right?
[00:08:40] That’s a crutch. And, and if you, if, and if you, if you don’t have that ability to fulfill what you need, then it is going, shit’s gonna hit the fan. But if you have. A better basic understanding about again, how your body moves and operates. You can easily find and get creative with, with ways to, to, to get a workout and, and, and train, uh, with just your own body weight.
[00:09:07] It could be incline pushups. It could be using chairs for a dip. It could be running, it could be walking, it could be walking lunges, right? There are so many things that we have the ability to do, uh, that we just, again, Get pigeonhole and narrow down into these crutches, assuming that I can only do, or I can only get something out of this if I have X, Y, and Z.
[00:09:29] So when you’re, when you’re traveling and you do not have equipment, you have your body weight. And for most of us, our body weight is very sufficient for getting us. An appropriate workout. I would argue that no one would say my body weight is too light and I can’t get a sufficient workout. Um, uh, even even bodybuilders who might be extremely lean, they’re familiar with calisthenics and know how to obviously then work their muscles and body in a certain way.
[00:10:00] Uh, now what are some of the ways you can do it? Well, you’ll probably, you might need more repetitions because your body weight might be relatively lighter. What you’re doing in the gym now, as a, as an opposite side of that, your body weight might be too heavy for some of these things. For instance, if someone is not strong enough to do a pushup, well, pushups, aren’t really the best option.
[00:10:23] So bench press would be better for them because the, their strength. Related to how much they weigh is a little bit too heavy in the, in, in dumbbells or something like that would help load them appropriately. But we can reduce our relative body weight in order to achieve pushups by doing incline pushups, you could do this on the wall.
[00:10:41] You could do this. Um, one of my favorite hikes would be like a kitchen sink or, or a bathroom. Uh, countertop, right? It puts you at such an angle that it re significantly reduces your overall relative body weight to what you’re pressing, and it allows you to, again, effectively get a very good upper body workout. Okay. So, um, What do we say? Oh, maybe higher, maybe more repetitions.
[00:11:04] Key Point #5 : ISO Metric Movements & Injury Recovery
[00:11:04] Dr. Gurule: Right. Um, but one of the keys that many of us forget is the power of ISO metric movements and exercises right now, ISO the same metric, meaning distance. Basically, you’re doing a movement in which you are not moving. You’re doing a movement, but you’re not moving.
[00:11:27] Does that make sense? So what would this look like? Well, this would be like a chair squat. So you go up against a wall. You slide down and you pretend like you’re sitting on a chair and then you don’t have a chair. And so you’re basically forming this chair position in which you’re having to have your muscles hold and sustain you.
[00:11:43] And you basically hold that movement as an isometric movement and your muscles are gonna get a very, very. Good workout. You can change levels in depth, back and forth. Mix that in. That is one of the things that oftentimes get so overlooked in exercise prescription.
[00:12:00] And this is especially true, just as a kind of a sidebar when you’re talking about injury recovery.
[00:12:05] And we want to, we want to load tissue during injury recovery, but oftentimes it’s the movement and the stretching of the tissue that might be damaged that can be problematic. But yet when you do isometrics and the load and the distance, or sorry, the distance doesn’t change, this can be in a very effective strategy for helping you recover through tissue damage and injuries.
[00:12:24] Okay. So to wrap up the moral of the story and the theme here is you have to know your body. How do you figure that out? Well, exploration. This is something that we strive for and, and try to, um, encourage and teach as much as we can. And this was, these are principles that, uh, and there’s many that, that talk about this.
[00:12:49] When I name these two names, it’s, it’s not like they’re the only ones, but, um, Katie Bowman. And she has a wonderful, she has a few books, but one of ’em is called move your DNA. And then another one, or, sorry, another author is Todd Hargrove. Um, both. Our fantastic authors are great, uh, educators in, in the, the health and wellness and kind of movement world.
[00:13:13] But a lot of their principles is just an exploration based model. Right. You will understand so much more about your bodies and your joints when you just explore and move and. This as, as everything else that I say provides more context. If you, if you take, we’ll just use an easy example. Like if you take your shoulder and your shoulder only does like three movements and we’ll just say a, pull, a push.
[00:13:41] Um, and maybe some sort of like rotational type of movement. Right. And we’ll say like a throwing. So let’s just say some sort of a poll, like a TRX row pushups and a throwing movement. If that’s all you did, that’s fairly dynamic, especially when you have throwing, you know, you’re going through external rotation and you’re being functional.
[00:13:58] And, um, from a throw, obviously like a throwing and. Maybe beneficial area and then you can definitely develop some strength through the point and the pushing motion. But what, but what about if you fell on the ground? Well, yeah, you did a push up, but that’s a pretty straightforward movement. What if you had to roll to your side and like prop yourself up?
[00:14:18] Um, now you could probably accomplish it, cuz most of us are able bodied humans. But the point we’re trying to get across is when you do different things, all of a sudden you provide more context of the shoulder’s capabilities to your brain and that brain can map out and utilize that it’s like, oh, look at this, look at this.
[00:14:38] When I’m, when I did this, I felt like I could really leverage and push off and I felt strong and I felt stable and I was able to transfer force. Right. That’s kinda how your body thinks and operates from a movement perspective. And all of a sudden starts coding this, these, these different abilities so that if you ever to come across one of those things, again, it puts the pieces together and it’s like, oh, I know that framework.
[00:15:02] You could, you could be dumb doing something. Not, not even remotely similar, but it has, or sorry, the same, but it has like minor similarities. And again, with more of those pieces of the context put together, you have this greater movement map and that map allows you to do so much more.
[00:15:17] Key Point #6 : The End Game is Function
[00:15:17] Dr. Gurule: Cuz again, the end game here is function, right? Yes. We wanna be able to reduce back pain and stiffness when we’re traveling. But when you have better function, that will be an awesome byproduct, right? You wanna be able to have an effective workout without equipment? Well, when you have a better awareness about how your body moves, you just start moving and you can again, create an effective workout or training session without any equipment.
[00:15:41] So coming back down is know the thy self and how to leverage and move and pull and create tension. And create length and create openness. This is all part of the movement code index that you should know about your body. And there’s always gonna be some gaps in holes. Like, you know, it is what it is, but that’s, that’s the powerful thing is there’s clinicians such as myself and personal trainers and other people that can help you fill in that void.
[00:16:10] But before you do that, before you do that, I want you to see me. I would love to help you out, but before you do that, You need to explore yourself, right? This is the, no one. We always say this too, in the office, like I can’t fix your body. I will help guide you. I E right. I will help guide you to, to, to the place that you wanna be.
[00:16:30] But the changes happen with you and yourself. You know what I mean? Like I can’t, I can’t do it for you. I’ll expose certain things or, you know, I’ll make a suggestion about a shape or a position that could be more advantageous for you. But you ultimately make the changes through your own self exploration.
[00:16:47] So that is how the wrapping it up. That is how you reduce lower back pain. Neck pain and stiffness when you’re traveling or sitting on an airplane. And that is how you get effective workouts without having the crutches of a, uh, what, sorry, what could sometimes be the crutches of needing equipment? All right, guys.
[00:17:07] Thanks for tuning in this live without life podcast. If you have questions, comments, concerns, please feel free to leave us a five star review. Uh, well, if you have concerns, you can still leave a five star review, but we wanna know what your comments are. We’d love to hear from you. Uh, if you have any topics of consideration, uh, that you wanna discuss, uh, coming up, we’d love to hear ’em.
[00:17:26] Uh, again, we make this very. Little bias towards, uh, movement modifications and getting out of pain. Uh, but that’s, that’s what we enjoy talking about. And that’s what we love helping each other out, whether you are prenatal, pregnant, uh, whether this is, uh, you know, your kids going through developmental milestones and, and you’re trying to encourage them to help get through some of those road bumps, whether you’re dealing with injuries.
[00:17:49] Um, um, there’s always a way to rebound and get through this stuff through movement. I promise you that it, it will always help him. So until next. Live that.
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Relationships and Adventures on Two Wheels with Jenny Johnson of CYCLERIE | Ep. 76
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 76
EP. 76 | Relationships and Adventures on Two Wheels
With Jenny Johnson of CYCLERIE
Jenny Johnson is the founder and president of CYCLERIE, a children’s cycling education company based in Erie, Colorado. There is a huge decline in kids outdoors doing organic play that is healthy. Therefore, CYCLERIE was born from a need to have children to get outdoors and getting them to appreciate the nature and the open air, rather than turning to their iPad or TV screen
Jenny Johnson created CYCLERIE in 2019, and it launched in 2020. They offer bike programs like camps, kids’ cycling training, and events. Today, CYCLERIE not only attracts people from the Erie community but also from Lafayette and Broomfield.
Episode Highlights
00:38 – Jenny Johnson’s motivations for founding CYCLERIE
02:50 – Overview from CYCLERIE’s Learn to Pedal and Adventure Bike camps for kids
03:41 – How COVID impacted CYCLERIE
08:02 – A tip for getting your child to ride a bike
09:51 – Biking trails to consider taking your family
13:30 – What to consider when buying a bike for your child
17:45 – Other biking events and camps to consider for children
About Jenny Johnson of CYCLERIE
Background:
- Founder and President of CYCLERIE in Erie, Colorado.
- Passionate about children’s outdoor lifestyle.
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
Dr. Antonio Gurule 00:09
Awesome. Well, welcome back to the Live Loud Life podcast. Today I’m sitting down with Jenny Johnson, and we’re going to be talking about her newish-
Jenny Johnson 00:19
2020
Dr. Antonio Gurule 00:21
Okay, 2020. Newish, but been around for a few years. But what they’re doing in the local community East Boulder County, Weld County, with biking and family. So welcome.
Jenny Johnson 00:32
Thank you for having me.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 00:33
Yeah. So talk to us a little bit. It’s called CYCLERIE. What is CYCLERIE?
Jenny Johnson 00:38
Yeah, CYCLERIE. CYCLERIE, the name, was sort of tossed out there. It’s French for the word cycling. So it’s kind of a play around words, Cyclerie. I didn’t know that at the time because I’m a Spanish person more than a French person. But that was kind of a fun twist. But it’s Cyclerie meaning, you know, based in Erie, tried to circle around the Erie Community. But also, we get a lot of people from Lafayette and Broomfield. I created it, probably in 2019. It had been brewing for a while, but 2020 was when we launched it.
01:17
I always had neighborhood kiddos coming over to our house, and we were constantly just kind of exploring together on the bike. I was kind of the fun mom, but it was something I love to do. So I thought, you know, a lot of these kiddos aren’t getting the chance to go outside. Or maybe their parents are busy, or they’re usually just turning to an iPad or the TV screen. I started researching it, and there’s a huge, huge decline in kids outdoors in that organic play, which is so important in life. And as children, especially if you try to speak to a kiddo about climate change, when they’re seven, or you know, environmental facts, you’re just not going to get anywhere with a seven-year old or an eight-year old. So, or as young- our campers are as young as three and four. So but getting them outside in nature and having that experience just, I don’t know, it invests the value in them, I think, for future appreciation of the outdoors and just being a kiddo and playing.
02:18
And so that’s how CYLERIE started. And then the bike aspect of it is so cool because we’re able to get from point A to point B, much faster than we would walking or hiking. So it’s just more kids on bikes, and you get more adults on bikes by getting more kids on bikes. So that’s my philosophy is just getting more people outside in nature and building confidence.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 2:40
So walk me through a little bit like- so they’re on bikes- I think you just had a camp that just ended?
Jenny Johnson 02:50
Yeah. So we have multiple camps. Right now this summer, we had two. So we have a Learn to Pedal camp for the really young kids. They’re just maybe on training wheels. Or it could be older kiddos that just haven’t learned yet. And we’ll usually break those age groups up. There is a Learn to Pedal camp that’s Monday through Thursday, three hours in the morning. And then we have another camp, which is alternating weeks called Adventure Bike Camp. And that’s where what I was talking to you about, where we go somewhere. We have a destination. We usually meet at Star Meadows Park in Erie, and we ride to various nature areas. And then the last day of camp is Ice Cream day. So Dairy Queen, usually, but we try to hit up some other local spots if they’re open at 10 a.m.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 03:41
That’s really cool. I think that- obviously, that kind of self-developed or starting to develop in 2019, but then 2020 launch, if you will. I think that came around in a good time because so many kids were then yet put in doors for longer periods of time having to catch up with school based on COVID and everything, just being stuck. And or, you know, they’re kind of like hesitant about playdates because it was inside. So it’s like, this is all outdoors. It’s all exploration. And I think that’s so important, too, because so much of what we try to, at least, encourage for other parents, or at least for our own kids, is just that exploration model of just seeing where things go and develop.
Jenny Johnson 04:19
Yeah. I was devastated, honestly, in 2020 because I had been brainstorming this idea for several years, really, since my oldest, who’s now almost 10 started riding a bike. And then whenever March 1st, I was going to launch it 2020, and then that was right when the pandemic really was starting to become full swing. And I was just crushed, but like you were saying, turns out there was a bike boom, a whole bike, what are they calling it, evolution or revolution, that’s happening.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 04:50
You couldn’t buy bikes anywhere.
Dr. Jenny Johnson 04:49
Couldn’t buy bikes anywhere because so many families were getting out on bikes. And kids’ bikes were booming. I also sell children’s bikes. It’s not my primary business at all. It’s just more of a complementary aspect for kiddos that are at camp.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 05:06
Is it like specific types? Or is it like Striders for just like introductory type of stuff?
Jenny Johnson 05:12
It’s kid-specific bikes anywhere from the Strider size, which would be the 12-inch size tire all the way up to 26 inch tires for the older kids. So pretty much any kiddo that’s not yet able to fit an adult bike.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 05:25
Yeah. So that being said, obviously your passion for biking and kids. How would you- I mean, obviously, I think most people know Striders like the thing to do, but why is that such a beneficial tool for kids learning how and or, as a sidebar to that, should they be using training wheels at some point in time?
Jenny Johnson 05:48
Yeah, so, you know, I hate to say it’s one way or another because if you’re willing to get your kiddo outside, like whatever works for your family. However, from an expert’s point of view, training wheels are a lot harder to teach to balance. If they’ve been on training wheels before, I can always tell at camp, which ones are the Strider kids and which ones are the training wheels because training wheels are essentially converting your bike to a tricycle? You’re not really learning to balance. So if you can’t get a Strider, that’s even your size for your kiddo, if say they’re seven and they haven’t rode yet, you can always take the pedals off of any bike and turn it into a Strider bike. And that’s much more beneficial teaching them to use certain core muscles and balance rather than leaning from side to side.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 06:35
Yeah. That’s a good point. Now, I do have another question. Well, my oldest what he struggled with was he could kill it on the Strider. Like he could go down hills and do everything. But the point when then trying to get them on the pedals, he never could understand like propulsion was all like this. How do you then encourage kids, from a propulsive mechanism, to being here grabbing your feet and pushing versus understanding how the pedals actually work?
Jenny Johnson 07:03
Yeah. It’s tricky. It’s incremental, just like with anything. So a lot of repetition. There is some an option to bring a trainer bike, a stationary style bike that can set up where the bike is still stationary, but the kiddos are on the saddle getting that motion without going anywhere or with risk of falling, just like an adult does at spin class around a peloton. It’s a stationary bike. It teaches them the different cadences.
But when they’re really young, that’s hard for some of that to click. So we just incrementally go from picking our feet up, gliding, frog jumping, and then eventually they’re putting one foot on the pedal. So it may just start with that quick, they have a dominant side. And then it just natural progression and over. Usually our camps are four days, the private lessons I’ll do are usually three to five lessons, 30 minutes each, and it’s just that small incremental repetition.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 08:02
And well, the good thing about kids, too, is like they catch on to things mostly fairly quickly when you have the repetition. They just get it so fast. Yeah, well, it’s funny. Speaking of ice cream, my oldest, he was being a stinker about- we got on this because we bought them new bikes. We got him a new bike, it was bigger, all this great stuff. And he was kind of intimidated by it. And, you know, we kept asking him, it was like weeks until he even wanted to try it. So he’s into bribery. Like, “Hey, we’ll go get you ice cream if you go ride your bike.” And this was Saturday 8 a.m. He’s like, “Are you serious?” I’m like, “Yeah.” He’s like, “All right. Let’s go do it.” We went outside and he rode it like he’s been doing it for like a year. Just like that, he just took off.
Jenny Johnson 08:41
I hate to call it- yeah, it is bribery, and it almost always works. But I think part of it, too, is just autonomy, like giving them- they have the power and the vehicle to get to where they want to go. And once they figure that out, it’s pretty inspiring, I think, for them, even as an adult. I rode here, and it’s pretty nice.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 09:00
That’s, I think, the hard part as you had mentioned with kids like in commuting and stuff, sometimes you can have that opportunity. I would love to be able to commute every day to work just on the bike. I think it’s such an amazing. I did it in college. I lived at CU Boulder okay. I had a car. I think I put like 1,000 miles on my car in like the four years I was in college. I never drove anywhere. I rode my bike everywhere
Jenny Johnson 09:25
Then you run into people that organically you wouldn’t in a car because when we’re in a car, we’re-
Dr. Antonio Gurule 09:30
You’re shut off from everything.
Jenny Johnson 09:31
Not to say that I commute everywhere. I still use my car yeah a ton with three kiddos and multiple pickups, and we do activities in Boulder, but just having that ability when you have the time to go on your bike is pretty cool.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 09:44
So being now, so you’ve moved from Texas. How many years have you guys been here?
Jenny Johnson 09:49
Since 2018. So four years.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 09:51
So figuring out the area, I think a lot of people like to know, too, what are some of the more family-friendly. Most trails around here are family-friendly, but it could also be like elevation gain and things like that. What are some of your favorite trails around here to take let’s say like a family that either has someone on a Strider and/or learning to pedal but not too intense?
Jenny Johnson 10:13
Yeah, and you can- before I get to the location specific, you can bring a bike trailer and maybe get your kiddo to pedal halfway with the agreement, like hey, if you get tired, the bike trailer’s here. We can throw you a small bike safely in there with you and get from point A to point B. The Coal Creek Trail is very flat and docile. If you’re looking for more of a mountain bike trail, Heil Valley Ranch, H-E-I-L, Heil. People get it confused with Haul. Heil Valley and Boulder, they have a fun schoolhouse loop.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 10:46
Okay. I didn’t know that.
Jenny Johnson 10:46
Oh, yeah. It’s a mountain bike trail. So I probably I would think starting at like age four, maybe even boulder. You never know. [crosstalk]. Yeah, if your kiddo has never been on mountain bike trail, it’s a good starting point. There is some elevation gain, but Valmont Bike Park is great, too.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 11:05
Yeah, we love that one.
Jenny Johnson 11:05
Just to test out your skills, and you’re not far from home. The cars usually, you know, they’re in the parking lot if you need to go grab a snack. I guess the main thing is always bring snacks. That’s what we always say at camp, ride, snack, you know, game, ride, snack, game. And yeah, Coal Creek Trail. And also just if you have bike paths in your neighborhood, we have several where we are, but it’s kind of easy if you can go from the house or find a quick path to school. Before you take your kiddo out, maybe do some of your own research. I just say keep it simple and try to find somewhere fun that has a destination. It doesn’t have to be ice cream. We have a ton of fun. The kids love just finding any kind of water.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 11:47
Yeah, water is key. Anything they can [crosstalk]. That’s awesome. What have you heard of the TowWhee strap? That just reminded me.
Jenny Johnson 11:56
Yeah. I haven’t used one.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 12:00
Yeah, that was a huge game changer for us. My oldest, for some of our rides, because he could go far. And he actually- it was crazy. At four-and-a-half, we love going to Frisco for the marinas and we would ride from Frisco to BRAC. And his little legs, he rode from Frisco to BRAC and back. It was like 10 miles round trip. But some of those hills were tough and elevation’s different, too. So the TowWhee strap is a retractable toe strap, which is huge, because what we had used previously did not retract and it almost got caught up in the tire. So that’s super helpful. But even just small little things, we’re just like, hey, do you need a boost, hook up, and then pull them over the hedge and you can go. That’s a fantastic tool to have.
Jenny Johnson 12:43
You probably don’t want to hear this being a chiropractor, but I tend to push them up by grabbing their shoulders, which is so bad probably for your back.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 12:52
No. I do the same thing, too, because oftentimes you don’t want to hook it up.
Jenny Johnson 12:55
I’m like, oh, what did I do? That’s right. I pumped.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 12:57
You’re pushing them.
Jenny Johnson 12:59
Yeah, I’m riding up the hill pushing their back. We call it giving it a boost. Like do you need a boost? And I’ll do it for kids at camp, too. Even though it is Erie, there are still some significant hills. They’re not for kids. That’s the other aspect is getting a quality, lightweight bike is pretty key because imagine if you were or I were trying to ride an 80 pound bike somewhere, but that’s the weight to power ratio that we’re dealing with in some of the big box store bikes. And you would never expect yourself to be able to do that. And we’re expecting our children to do that and up hills.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 13:30
That’s a good point. We’ll talk about some of the- you had mentioned spikes you saw because that was some of the things we ran into is first and foremost, A, it was kind of tough when you have a kid, you’re like, well seems crazy to spend X amount on a bike when they’re, A, growing out of it fast or, B, just learning. But it has made a significant difference because some of the ones we had, A, they were heavy, B, being that they were used, not really tuned up well. So bearings are very dry and gritty and it’s cracked, to say the least. When you’re thinking it, you’re just like man, not even also having gears, their torque output or [crosstalk] based on torque is significantly change. What makes it so much harder for them, even when they’re just trying to learn. So what do you guys recommend?
Jenny Johnson 14:13
You know, if you can find a good use bike, if you don’t have the budget, because some of these entry-level kids bikes, say for a four- or five-year old can be $300 or $400 that are the high quality bikes. If you don’t have that upfront money, if you could look for a good quality used bike and, you know, obviously take it to the bike shop and make sure everything is functioning and safe. But if you do have the ability to get into the $400 or $500, depending on the size, market, you can buy that, hand it down to siblings. The resale value is excellent on the higher quality bike. So you almost always get back at least 50% of what you paid for.
I don’t want to drop any name brands, but I would just say that there are kid-specific design, not something from the bigger box stores. They’re designed specifically for children, meaning like their brake levers are the right size. Because so many times, you just go into these big stores and the brake levers, it’s a flashy looking beautiful bike, but they can’t even break and stop. I’ve seen that so many times. At camp, the kids or their parents will come to me, like, Oh, they’re just really timid. And I look and they can’t even stop on their own because the brakes are adult levers that they just throw in a kid’s bike and then throw it on the shelf and sell it with the cute basket.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 15:34
Yeah. That being said, do most kids bike from an early standpoint? Do they start with a coaster brake or are they trying to get more to lever brakes? Because I found maybe it’s because levers are too big, but I feel like just the grip strength of kids, it’s kind of challenging to pull levers. So is that partially why they have coaster brakes or are coaster brakes advantageous?
Jenny Johnson 16:00
I personally don’t like coaster brakes. But even some of the higher quality brands will put a coaster brake on their teeny tiny bike. But when you’re going downhill or if you’re in any kind of loose gravel, the coaster brake can cause you to skid. And when kids are naturally trying to find that cadence and that pedal forward, a lot of times they’ll pedal backwards and then they stop and they don’t know what’s going on. But you and I probably grew up with coaster brakes. We’re obviously totally fine. I didn’t learn ‘til I was, you know, a little bit older, five. But you see these two- and three-year olds riding and they’re able to grab the handbrake. You can adjust the brake, too, on the kid brakes so they can grab them a little easier.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 16:42
There is. If you have a bike that has coaster brakes, there’s a way to take the coaster brakes out. It’s actually not that hard. You just YouTube it. You just take apart the hub and you just take the pads out.
Jenny Johnson 16:51
Yeah, a lot of the companies that they sell they have a free wheel kit. If it comes with a coaster brake, you can buy the free wheel and swap it out whenever your kiddo is ready for that handbrake set. All the bikes that I used to teach with at camp and in my experience teaching tons of kiddos, they’re absolutely fine with the handbrake, even some Strider bikes now that have no pedals come with a great practice to teach them that because it’s the stopping power is also so much quicker. They can stop a lot faster with handbrakes than they do that the coaster brake action.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 17:23
And I think just, like you said, the coaster brake as they’re trying to learn that cadence is just so confusing when they’re thinking pedals move, I go forward, but then they go backwards, and then they stop and it just throws them all off. That was at least one of the tougher things for our kids. My son, though, now that he knows how to do it, he loves coaster brakes.
Jenny Johnson 17:43
You can do those with the handbrakes, too.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 17:48
True. So one camp just ended. How often do these camps run?
Jenny Johnson 17:53
So normally, it’s just the summer okay. And 2020, when school was out of session, we did fall programming and a lot longer summer session. But with the weather in Colorado in October, it can be dicey. We ended up having to cancel a few later fall sessions. But yeah, I might do a fall program. 90% sure of that just waiting for staff. I’m always unsure of- the staff that we have is usually college kiddos transitioning off to college or they just graduated high school and they move out of Erie after school. So once we get our staffing figured out, then we go ahead and open the program. So it’ll probably start in like September, October, and it would just be four or six weeks, once a week. So in the summer, we do pretty much daily, Monday through Thursday, 9 to 12. And then the fall would be once a week, just like you would go to dance class or you could go to soccer practice weekly.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 18:53
So that’d be like an evening class, not weekend?
Jenny Johnson 18:55
It’d be like an afternoon, probably like 4 to 5:30 is what we’ve done in the past.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 19:01
You guys ever go up to the Erie Bike Park with the age group?
Jenny Johnson 19:06
Yeah, we do. Our summer camp this year, we always have- naturally there’s sometimes more of an advanced group. And then there’s a group that’s a little more cautious. And so those breakout into two different age groups, advanced and beginner. So the advanced group this year, they went to the pump track because they’re able to ride longer, too. So from Star Meadows Park, it’s probably, I would say, five to six miles round trip to get to the pump track and back. So the group that wanted to hang out closer to home, we did that and still explored and saw, you know- we think of ice cream store that day we went nature discovery. And then the older kids were like, we really want to go to the pump tracks, so we made it happen. Sort of let them decide what they’re going to do and when there’s a safe route to get there. The pump track’s really fun. It is one of those places is where you just have to know the rules, which way to go, because there can be other kids there and it can be dangerous.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 20:06
I’ve seen a couple collisions there. But it’s fun. And the kids love that. It’s such a fun thing for them to do.
Jenny Johnson 20:13
Yeah. And it’s a great starting point, too, if you are thinking about doing some mountain biking. The pump track is a great way to just get used to the hills and gravity.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 20:21
That’s awesome. Well, I know it’s kind of in the infancy- well, not infancy. It’s been around for a couple years, but what are some of the- do you have any other plans or things with it moving forward that you want to be able to do with it?
Jenny Johnson 20:34
Yeah. I would like to get more grownups involved. So we’ve thought about doing-
Dr. Antonio Gurule 20:41
I think that’d be huge. Because I know like my- I mean, my wife knows how to ride a bike. But, you know, we’ve tried doing some mountain biking and stuff. And she’s like, I just don’t really know how to approach or deal with even obstacles and things like that.
Jenny Johnson 20:54
100%. I learned to mountain bike in Texas. So mountain biking in Colorado, I had to step up my game, big time. So I can see why the barrier to entry is there. because mountain biking trails in Colorado aren’t green trails always. And there’s this machine that you have to learn how to operate and make sure the tires are aired up and the chains lubed and everything has to be dialed. Then that’s half the battle just to get out on the trail. So I can see why there are a lot of people that are hesitant to get involved in the sport. So we’ve thought about having some clinics, obviously teaching families and parents. All right, here’s what to do if you get a flat tire. Here’s a flat tire clinic. If something were to come up, we’re going to give you the tools so you feel empowered to go out there. If something were to happen, you can change your flat.
21:42
Also, just basics in mountain biking classes, maybe just starting out with trail etiquette. Like if someone’s coming up behind you and you feel panicked or nervous, you don’t have to get over right away. You get over when it’s safe and announce when you’re coming. Just basic trail etiquette, just to feel comfortable. And then we’ll get to maybe more of the small drops or going over big hills or big rocks and roots. But yeah, that’s how I see it moving forward is doing some group rides, family group rides, then maybe some clinics, especially more for the moms that are involved, because there’s so many moms that come to me saying I don’t even know what bike to buy. What about the bike trailer? And what do I need to connect a bike trailer to my bike? Like there’s a lot of details? And I’m always trying to remember, okay, not everyone’s been doing this for 10 years. And this is new to everyone. So what may seem easy for some people, I just tried to break it down and make it open to everyone because there are so many people in the last two years that have gotten into cycling with the pandemic. And it’s sad to think that their equipment is just sitting in their garage because they’re feeling stumped.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 23:00
I think that I was thinking too. We saw a lot of people just like, What do I do? And then just bought it? And like you said, just kind of sits there and not actually being used?
Jenny Johnson 23:07
Yeah. So we’re thinking about- not just thinking. We are planning some programming and have that-
Dr. Antonio Gurule 23:15
And we’re going to have some races and all of that.
Jenny Johnson 23:20
Yeah. It does need a location to have a hub to get this all started. And then oh, man, I have so many ideas for the racing. I would like to call it events more than racing.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 23:27
Yeah, no, yeah. It’s great.
Jenny Johnson 23:29
You know, some kids just love the competition. And, you know, just having- giving to kids what we would have as adults, like a little podium and some pedals and just fun prizes, quality giveaways. That’s also on the radar, too.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 23:45
That would be awesome.
Jenny Johnson 23:47
Yeah. The single track is a little dicey to have a race there. For some kids, it can be intimidating, but it could be somewhere in like a flat field. It doesn’t have to have huge hills or jumps. If anyone has any recommendations or any opportunities that they’re aware of, please connect with me because I’m looking for some opportunity.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 24:05
Yeah, I’ll keep my eyes open. Speaking of races, there was an obstacle course race I recently saw on some random farm in East Erie near I25. Yeah, it was off a county road. It was off Erie Parkway. And south of that, and I was just like, what are these people doing? And they were running an obstacle course race out there.
Jenny Johnson 24:29
Okay. It may have been The Recess Factory.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 24:33
I didn’t look up what it was. I just saw an obstacle course.
Jenny Johnson 24:37
[crosstalk] open anymore, but it used to be like a mud run type setup.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 24:41
It was only like a month ago.
Jenny Johnson 24:42
Okay. Yeah, I’ll have to have to connect you with that person, but I’m pretty sure that would have been what it is. But yeah, but it was on foot, right? Like a foot obstacle
Dr. Antonio Gurule 24:51
Yeah. It was exactly like what you’d see like a Tough Mudder or Spartan Race, but it was just in this field out there.
Jenny Johnson 24:59
Because I know the RadRover event that the town does is really popular.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 25:02
RadRover, I have not heard of that. What is that?
Jenny Johnson 25:06
So RadRover, the town of Erie, they do that every- I think it’s July. It might be coming up- I’m not sure. Don’t quote me on the dates, but last year it was in July about this time. I think they used to try to have like a kids triathlon, and it wasn’t as successful. And so they just focused more on keeping it simple to RadRover, like one sport, and that seemed to do really well.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 25:27
So that’s a biking event?
Jenny Johnson 25:28
No, sorry. It’s an obstacle course event. It’s put on by the town of Erie, but I would like to do something like RadRover, but only do the bike instead of incorporating any kind of like swim bike run. Keeping it simple for kids that’s key.
Dr. Anthono Gurule 25:45
Yeah. Limit the variables.
Jenny Johnson 25:45
Yes. Yes. Yes. But kids’ triathlons do happen, but there’s a lot involved to get there.
Dr. Anthono Gurule 25:50
For sure.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 25:50
For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Well, also from just set up, but liability issues with water and stuff. That’s a whole another game.
Jenny Johnson 25:56
And I think just exposing kids to that, not even competition, but just hey, like, my neighbor is doing this. Like this is a normal thing. Like we go out and we run together and we have fun and we high five at the end. And, like, I don’t know, for me, I’m not super-fast, but I love doing little races, cyclocross events and things like that.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 26:19
I don’t even think of- I just think of two. Like we did the turkey trot last year and our kids had a blast. And it’s the thing that everybody does every there’s five knots and races all the time, but there’s really not- and granted, I think it’s harder to structure bike events like that because there’s road closures and things like that from my kids’ perspective. They love anything like that.
Jenny Johnson 26:39
And it can be small. Doesn’t have to be anything grandiose. And I don’t know, I just love the community aspect of events like that, whether I’m going fast that day or not. Yeah, like at the end, you know, everyone’s hanging out, it’s family oriented. So I pursue that for Erie.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 26:56
Have you done the Venus de Miles since being out here?
Jenny Johnson 26:59
No. I do cyclocross. And actually, funny enough, my kiddo got me into that last fall because it’s basically like riding a road bike on gravel. So it’s a unique kind of- richer in a way.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 27:16
Jump over obstacles, do crazy stuff.
Jenny Johnson 27:19
Yeah, you carry your bike. So I primarily mountain bike. I do some road biking, but the cyclocross was really fun. And most of them are in Boulder. I would love to see one in Erie because the cyclocross races have men’s, women’s, and little kids. And so it’s a family event that everyone can do on a Saturday.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 27:41
I think they could do. They just need to find or there’s enough open-
Jenny Johnson 27:45
Permitting and getting people out to Erie. I think a lot of people, in Lafayette too, I think a lot of people think this area is still like cows and pasture. But you know, there’s such a market for young families. And no, it would be great to not have to drive into Boulder for every event.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 28:04
That’s awesome. Well, I’m looking forward to seeing all those things come up. I think that’s going to be awesome. And we’ll keep an eye open for what happens for fall. And so I should say, before I forget because I’m always bad about this. How do people learn more? Where do they find more information? How do they connect with you if they wanted to get into the camps or just stay in the loop about when camps are, when events are, so on and so forth?
Jenny Johnson 28:28
Yeah, so it’s cyclerie.net, C-Y-C-L-E-R-I-E. cyclerie.net. I’m most active on Instagram. It’s @cyclerie. So you can find me there. I’m Jenny Johnson. I have a Facebook page as well and a website that has all of the program information. So we always have summer programs. The registration usually opens March 1. And if you’re ever interested in private lessons or getting a group of kids together, too, we do that year round as long as it’s not too cold. If there’s not snow on the ground, we’ll usually have our bikes out as a family
Dr. Antonio Gurule 29:04
And then do you guys have like a newsletter or anything? Or is that where most things are announced? Like if there are group rides or anything coming up or anything like that?
Jenny Johnson 29:15
Yeah. We’re actually kicking off a newsletter this fall. Previously had just relied on social media. But I know a lot of times that can just be inundated with so many events. So the newsletter and direct email is going to be our next method of communication for bigger events.
Dr. Antonio Gurule 29:32
Great. Well, thanks for spending time and sharing about this. I think this is awesome. I can’t wait to see how it builds and grows because we’re huge on just family bike rides together, too. We have the trailer, we have the TowWhee, we love packing up and just be like, Hey, we’re going to go somewhere new, ride, see what happens. So this is amazing what you’re doing.
Jenny Johnson 29:54
Thanks for having me.
–
EP|75 with Rebecca Bach of Mecha Fitness | Being Your Best Even When You Are At Your Worst
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 75
EP |75 Being Your Best Even When You Are At Your Worst
With Guest Rebecca Baack of Mecha Fitness
About Rebecca Baack
Background:
- Owner of Mecha Fitness
- Diverse Training Philosophies
- Has an extensive background in the Colorado Fitness Industry.
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
Can you be at your best, when you’re at your worst?
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
mecha, people, denali, cardio, summit, strength training, core, hiking, yoga, grit, locations, altitude, pandemic, fitness, training, love, add, guide, deadlifts, power
SPEAKERS
Anthony Gurule
00:29
All right guys, welcome back to another episode of The Live Loud Live Podcast based in Lafayette, CO. I’m here with Rebecca Bach. She is the owner of Mecha Fitness. we’re going to talk a little bit about her background, as she was sharing her extensive fitness journey in the fitness industry, especially in the Colorado area.We’re also going to get into some of her training philosophies. Finally, we’ll get in to some of the more recent adventures she’s been doing. I’ve been following along on social media, which actually looks really epic. We’re just gonna kind of chat and see what Mecha and you’re about. So thanks for having me. Yeah, so Introduce yourself. Give us a little bit about the as far back as the history if you want to. My name is Rebecca. I am the owner of Mecha Fitness in Boulder and Louisville two locations. I’m the co owner of 34 core power locations around the US and a co owner of Ape Co Movement school which is located in Boulder and in Edgewater down in Denver. When did you first start? You were the first franchise with Core Power correct? That was back I want to say mid 2000s. I opened core powers first franchise location, Broomfield east, okay, so over on 144 symbol, and then core power franchise for a while to a couple of their partners. Then they stopped franchising for a while I had I opened also the Flatiron small location, okay. And then I joined forces with some other co workers I knew from the telecom industry. So my background is in telecom, corporate strategy. And we combined our locations and then continued to expand. So in total, we have core powers in North Denver, South Denver, suburban Chicago, the Carolinas, Charleston and the Phoenix, Arizona area. Wow. That’s awesome. Yeah, a long time. Yeah, a long time. So I did that was the core power for probably like, little over 15 years. And then so you guys probably can’t see on the video here. But we’re sitting in a very different room than what core power would be. So walk me through what was the journey of starting Mecca? Like how did that transition into in now? What is this.
02:52
so I, there’s a lot, there’s a big journey on this. So core powers, corporate parents had exercised a buyout option of the core power locations. I’m part of that transition was set to occur in April 2020. And we all know what happened in April 2020. And so we kind of got stood up at the altar in that transaction, and then took them to court for that. And that’s still in the legal process right now with them. But as part of that journey, I could see that that was coming to an exit, whether I wanted it or not. Yeah. And started looking for other opportunities. Mecha was owned by two other owners. So I I’m not the founder of Mecha. It had shut down during the pandemic, like everybody had to you know, so I purchased it out of COVID shut down, and then reopened it. And then grew it to this location here in Louisville.
03:50
So obviously you had a very strong feeling about the possibilities of Mecha. Yeah, to be able to revive for Yeah, I tried it when I was at core power. So it used to be on the Pearl Street Mall, and it was called Coco fit. Not on the Mall area, but on the east East Pearl Street. And a lot of yoga teachers were were going there because they loved it because it’s similar to yoga and that it’s really slow paced and about mindful alignment, but more strength training focus to it. So I loved the brand. I love the concept back then, since then, the owners had added on the cardio element to it as well. So there’s a second, there’s kind of two concepts under one roof. So this this room that we’re sitting in, which is the low impact strength training room, and then the other room which is the low impact cardio hitt room so took that on and expanded it to Louisville in 2021. So I’m curious to get your perspective on this because someone who does not do enough yoga, but having conversations with those that enjoy yoga is a I think it’d be valuable to get your perspective for someone who has so much background in that, but yet also doing strength training. And then also seeing you do deadlifts and things like that. Right? We’ll get into that is, how do you where do you how I’m gonna say one is better than the other? But how does this benefit someone who strictly does yoga, thinking yoga? Is enough strength? And that’s obviously a very specific definition for the person. Sure, right. But I think enough people do yoga, we’re like, Well, I’m getting strength training through yoga, but I feel they need some more. So how could this be different? How would this benefit them?
05:35
Right? Right. I mean, I would say, like, the first principle is just do movement that you love. So if you love yoga, and it keeps you coming back, then awesome, keep doing yoga. At some point you sort of tap out on yoga, it’s all bodyweight-based in yoga. So you can’t add weight to it in any kind of realistic way. So you just get to a point where there’s no juice in the squeeze anymore. What’s nice about the resistance classes we have is it’s all spring-loaded tension. And so you can add weight as you go, you can constantly be progressing in this room. It feels, in your body, similar to yoga, and that it’s mindful and slow. So that’s really why I think people in some ways, I mean, they you know, yoga is awesome for a lot of different things to but it I guess, quote unquote, kind of graduate from yoga as their physical practice, because they just top out and you know, the bodyweight holds of it, and they need more resistance to
06:41
- Yeah, that’s, that’s such a good point. And like you said, there’s, it obviously depends on the goals, the context of the person. And yes, doing the thing that you enjoy keeping you back is huge. So that’s good. It’s a good stepping stone and into some other stuff. So then the cardio piece, which is in the other room right next to us, right? What are some of the equipment that are pieces of equipment or things that you guys utilize over there? Yep. So
07:03
we use Versaclimber. Over there, which now there’s not that many gyms around that use it and it is killer. It’s a great low impact, contralateral workout too, so good for your brain. You can add resistance to that machine as well. So you can do a resisted climb on it. So we use Versa climbers, we use assault bikes. So rogues assault bike, and which is common in the CrossFit industry, most people are familiar with that. But that is also killer piece of equipment. And then we use skiers, so a standing skier, platform, and then we have weights, free weights, we have a pull up rig, TRX, slam balls, all kinds of equipment. So you know, it’s different every day, depending on what day you come. And, but you’ll always be on those three cardio machines and doing like some kind of cardio challenge. And then some sort of floor work challenge as part of that.
07:52
That’s awesome. I mean, that was, I think that’s what’s so great. It’s just it, it gives you the taste of what people liked, but then also like diversification, because I know for me, and bias Lee, I have certain things that I enjoy more, and I don’t diversify enough, which is, you know, that’s another conversation. But that’s good. It’s good, because you can hit all those different things in such such a different time. Yeah. But for you and your training, you’re adding another layer to that walk us through some of the training that you currently are doing.
08:21
yeah. So I also do just heavy strength training. As we’ve talked about before, I have a gym in my garage. So you know, classic lifts, front squat, back squat, deadlifts, benchpress, you know, the classic ones. And so I like to do that as a compliment. Actually, I would say that’s like, my main probably my main focus is strength training. And then I’ll take resistance maybe twice a week. I like resistance because it’s unilateral work largely. So it’s good for stabilization of both sides of your body because as you know, as a strength trainer, you tend to in any move like a deadlift, like dominate into one leg. Yeah. And so you have to be you have to constantly be managing that trying to make sure both legs joints are equally strong and you’re getting like same tension both sides to prevent prevent injury or weightlifting, you know, so a lot of people love this room that do that kind of bilateral work like cyclists or runners so that they can work on one side of their body and the other and get symmetry. So I like this work for kind of my this is sort of my accessory in my core work yeah, and then I’m a big believer even though cardio is not my favorite thing to do. I mean, I love hiking, I will get cardio hiking, but hitting that like max heart rate threshold like one to two times a week just a minimum dosage, you know of a couple minutes of maybe some sprints or whatever it is that’s like really pushing your cardio threshold. I’m a big believer in that for just health and wellness and longevity in your life and also being able to then pick up when someone asks you if you want to climb a 14 or and it’s like right away no problem you know you don’t get altitude sick and it’s it’s fine. So
09:59
does Your training also include like a subset or baseline of steady state or is that just basically the hiking that you get? So yeah, is sufficient for that. Yeah. I mean, I would say that for steady state cardio, that’s when I just do the stuff I enjoy, like a walk with my dog or a hike or something like that. But yeah, I never just get on a treadmill or just, you know, go for 45 minutes or something like that. That’s not my, my personal preference. Yeah, that’s no, that’s great. I mean, and that’s what, that’s what so many people I don’t think are doing well, I see. I see. I feel like a dichotomy of not doing enough and or doing too much of it. We’re not seeing the balance of having some steady state. They think just redlining all the time. Oh, yeah, is the best.
10:44
Yeah, I definitely, you know, try to talk people out of that coming every single day to Mecha, taking Dell, you know, double up both classes, because what’s great about Mecha is the workouts are short, they’re only 50 minutes long. And they’re very intense. And that’s how I like if I’m going to, if I want an adaptation in my body, like hit the intensity really hard and do it for a short amount of time, like minimum viable product, you know, no more than that. Because then you get wear and tear on your body and just things start breaking down. And I think in Boulder County, in general, we all like fitness, because it’s like our mental health, too. So you got to be mindful about the overtraining, just like you said, because we actually enjoy it. You know, a lot of people just didn’t enjoy the fitness and can tend to overdo it.
11:29
For sure. Yeah. And I think I mean, the minimal viable product term is something I use a lot too, because it’s like, wow, we enjoy fitness. Like, wouldn’t you enjoy doing other things other than just fitness? If you can get what you want out of just doing this? Would that be enough? For sure. And most people would agree. But then yet they think, Well, if I get it out of this, if I do more than wholesale get more, right. But sometimes it goes the opposite direction. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. That’s a good point. So with that a lot of this has been obviously supplementing and supporting some of your recent adventures. Yeah. I’m curious to hear how some of those were. Sure. So what you’re referring to is I just I attempted to summit Denali. Let’s see that was last month. And my training for that was largely like strength training, a lot of spine stabilization and isometric spine strength. So a lot of one arm heavy, carries nice, you know, for a mile on the other eye, that is where you would use a treadmill sometimes. And strength training work for that, getting a lot of like load in the hips. So my hips could stabilize my knees, you know, work in that whole chain up and down. And, and then the, you know, cardio realm, because I needed to work that but sort of hypoxic state that you have to be in at altitude. And it’s a great way to do it in a short period of time. Like, it’s hard for me to do sprints, or like run outside sprints or something like that. So being able to do that on the Versaclimber where it’s not impact. And I could just completely gas myself and like hit that max heart rate threshold in 30 seconds, and just do that a couple rounds. That I mean, I went into Denali being just feeling really strong really fit until I got to the top. And when we crashed and burned, was it. Do you think it was sheer altitude? Factor? Yeah, for
13:25
sure. So I was starting to show signs of of high altitude pulmonary edema. Like I really fought for that summit hard. I got to summit day, I lasted, I don’t know, seven hours through summit day. So got through all the technical terrain. And you’re at your like the very last part, you’re literally like at the base of that final Hill, it’s maybe a third of a mile. It’s the first time you can actually see the summit from the entire time you spent on Denali, like you can’t see the summit until really right there. And I started having like wheezing, you know, with my breath. And like we were at a final break the break where you get to take off your backpack and go without your backpack. And that’s it, you’re done. And I was just like a puddle on the ground. And it like really terrible flu like symptoms, and the guide was like you still gotta get down. Yeah, so I don’t think you should I think like you need to just chill and rest and I sobbed. It was all I mean, I just was so crushed. And I was you know, I was also just crushed because the youngest guide had to stay with me. So I limited his ability to summit so I just felt terrible about that too. And that was super humbling. But then the hardest part was in getting down because all the technical part of the route I’d already done, so I had to get down that piece. And the guide you know, there’s there’s all sorts of like protective equipment on Denali, like stuff where you clip in. So in case you fall like not everybody falls and you’re safe. Because of the state I was in, they were worried about me bending over and clipping and unclipping into the carabiners. Oh, yeah. And so the guide was like you, me, and in this another client that was on the trip, are going to travel down unhooked. And I was like, I’m not comfortable with that, you know, because I like that. I mean, we’re all going to risk our lives, like, Isn’t there another way? And he’s like, No, this is the safest way. Like, I don’t think you should bend over, like clip in and clip out. And so none of us will clip in. And I was concerned, because, you know, I had done a lot of research about Denali, and where are the places where there’s been accidents in the past. And so, you know, we had to travel down these sections, which are, you know, you’re literally walking a tightrope ledge, foot in front of foot, and it’s a sheer drop off, and we didn’t clip in. And so I just was like, you know, I really am a believer of training grit. And one of the levels of grit is like, can you be at your best when you’re at your worst? And so I just like, the whole time, I was thinking, like, I gotta be at my best, even though I’m at my worst, because if I slip and start sliding down, and they can’t self arrest me, like, all three of us go down. So just trying to make every step perfect. On the way down, which I did, and we got down. But then like, once I was at kind of the bottom of each technical section, I had to melt into a puddle for a while. Yeah, sure, recover is just took everything out of me to get down there and keep every one that was on my team safe and be safe. And it was, it was pretty challenging. I mean, one of the most like humbling experiences I’ve been through for sure, to where, like, at the end of those two days, there’s sort of two days of technical climbing to get down, you know, I would just be a puddle, and my, my tent mate, who was the one who was on my rope, would like, take off my boots, change my socks for me, you know, bring me food, just do everything she could to take care of me, like the whole team carried a lot of my weight. But right around right around 11,000 feet. Like it’s just changed, I just perch right back up. So it really was that altitude and, you know, like, I really, I would like to try it again. I hope I get a chance to try it again. I learned a lot. One of the big things I will do differently next time is I will take the freakin Diamox which is altitude sickness prevention medication, I wasn’t taking that in the dosage that was recommended. And so you know, that in addition to a whole host of other things that I learned, but it was also I don’t regret any of it too. Because like if I just strolled to the top and been able to take like the sweet Instagram photo, you know, to my eyes, sacks and everything like that. I learned so much from this and it really cracked open my heart in a way that I think I needed you know, to experience having people need to take care of me and to be the vulnerable one and to be the weak one. And so no matter what I don’t regret like any moment of that journey it was a fantastic and amazing
18:14
that’s an amazing story. I’m so I’m so obviously medication helping outside of that. I mean, we have big peaks, but is there any way to get additional high altitude training? Yeah, I mean, you you can like step on a mountain, right? Like you can like buy the expensive tent that you sleep in, you know, in your house. So you can like do that. Yeah, I think that’s what a lot of people that live at sea level do. Yeah, I I did like some winter fourteeners a lot of winter hiking. And I have no problem at 14,000 feet. I mean, a lot of the people on the team were feeling sick at 14,000 feet, and not doing well. And I was I was fine there. It was 17,000 feet was where I started not to feel great. I didn’t sleep the night before we summited. And I, when you get to the next camp, the high camp at Denali, you have to build camp too. So I was like sawing ice blocks out of the mountain. Like we had to like stack ice blocks up around our tent. You probably didn’t get to bed till 11pm that night. And then you’re at 17,000 feet, so it’s hard to sleep. I didn’t sleep at all that night. I woke up the next morning already nauseous, no sleep, having a hard time getting water down. I mean, it was kind of like already a train wreck from from the start, which was the summit of Denali
19:30
20,330 I believe or 20 Somewhere around 20,300.
19:35
so in you had mentioned being a believer in grit, right being your best at your worst, and just from a cause. I mean, I think most people would understand this, but how does your everyday training philosophy and mentality like built into it?
19:51
I’d say a lot of it is doing things that suck. Doing stuff you don’t want to do. I did a lot of cold weather hiking. I did a lot when I was tired, still getting up in my garage doing back squats, even though I just was exhausted or didn’t feel like it. Just pushing through and that, you know, that sort of saying embrace the suck. Trying to find situations where you have to embrace the suck.
20:24
Do you do anything? So this is a failure because Jaco willing, he talks a lot about this, right? And a lot of people do, right. And it’s using physical suck to harden you mentally. Right? Which, which makes sense, right? Because you just have to overcome something. Is there anything that you do from a mental perspective that’s consistent that helps with that?
20:46
Yeah, I would say opening opening gyms in the middle of a pandemic. That’s definitely a good mental challenge. I opened really like three three gyms across two different fitness concepts throughout the pandemic. So that takes a lot of hard work, a lot of grit, a lot of smarts, a lot of just scrappiness. So that is one of them. You know, I haven’t been back since the pandemic, but I was a practitioner of jujitsu prior to the pandemic. And I think that is an also a fantastic way to build grit and calmness under pressure, you know, literally under pressure. They’re like, so somebody laying on top of you and just like waiting for them to make a mistake. You know, that patience? Yeah. So that that one as well. And it’s something I’m always seeking out and thinking about, like, if I’m if I don’t feel like I’m being challenged, emotionally and spiritually, I’ll think about like, what would be something that I could take on? That would be a struggle that would push me in that way? Where I could learn.
21:54
That’s amazing. I love that. Yeah. Thanks. I mean, I think that’s a kind of a cool way to wrap up. I don’t have any other questions. Other than maybe if there’s anything you wanted to add about how you added it’s the cardio, the resistance training, being supportive of obviously bigger goals, but Yet can be a standalone as well alone. Yeah, obviously, not everyone has Denali goals. Sure. I know it’s a little bit better or differently tailored. But is there anything else you wanted? I mean, that was an awesome story. Is there anything you else you wanted to add or any other like big mission that you have coming
22:31
big mission?
22:33
You know, just like enjoying life, figuring out work life balance? I have kids too. We talked about that, and figuring out like, how do you get them to build grit? You know, how do you push them? Let’s add a little bit that I mean, because I wouldn’t say the majority of people listen, our parents but a lot of people who are part of Live Loud, are parents, but a lot of us are younger, right? Parents, right? Meaning our kids are like my oldest is six. What are some of the ways you’ve tried to instill that mental toughness and grit and teaching your kids like, hey, the worlds not all roses and butterflies?
23:08
Definitely. I mean, I’m a big believer in chores. It Oh, and giving your kids chores. I had a lot of chores growing up. And that was what like someone who used to work restaurant industry told me that’s the first interview question she would ask people is what choice did you have growing up? They couldn’t answer that. She’s like, interviews over. Yeah. So I’m a big believer giving them chores Yeah, just a simple response for that. But yeah,
23:33
it works really well. Yeah. It also just, I mean, from early get go, to his chores, and a sense of not like you have to do these things like hey, we’re part of a family. This is a collective thing together as part of this being a unit. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. That’s awesome. For sure. Well, this was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing. I love the gym. This is an amazing setup. And I loved hearing that story. And hopefully we get to see a Denali Summit. Fully someday, maybe in a year or two. Yeah, really. Back to the drawing board. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Thanks so much for Antonio. Perfect, that was fun. Thank you a super wild adventure. I mean, I loved it. And you know it’s funny because we the only
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The One Question Your Provider Should Be Asking You EP|73
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 73
The One Question Your Provider Should Be Asking You
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
Sometimes we’re unable to do the things we want because of pain, being out of shape, or simply lacking energy. Therefore, we need help from a professional. With many chiropractors and physiotherapists to choose from, sifting through to find the right one can be difficult.
In this episode, I uncover one way to tell if a chiropractor, physiotherapist, and healthcare provider truly cares about your interest and will get you the results you’re looking for.
Episode Highlights
01:13 – Alarming musculoskeletal pain stats in the US
02:03 – The pain management crisis
06:10 – What’s your motivation for dealing with pain? What do you want to be able to do?
07:44 – My problem with functional improvements and assessments
10:23 – The question your provider must ask
13:00 – One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to achieving your pain treatment goals
14:50 – Trustworthy coaches, personal trainers, physiotherapists, and chiropractors are an investment, not an expense.
About Dr. Antonio Gurule
Background:
- Father
- Doctor of Chiropractic
- Owner of Live LOUD
- Personal Trainer & Health Coach
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
Antonio 00:00
What’s up guys. Welcome back to another episode of The Live Loud Life podcast. My name is Dr Antonio, your host of The Live Loud Life podcast. happy that you’re here. I’m happy that you’re listening and you’re jiving with our content and our message here.
00:25
What we’re about. If you’re new here, our role is to help guide you to the adventures that you’re made for. Obviously being chiropractors and coaches, we do that through a multitude of different approaches, but we try to meet you where you are. And that’s a little bit of foreshadowing into what we’re talking about today.
00:45
What we have found is families deserve more from their healthcare providers, and we hope that we can fill in the gaps of the message and the questions that you are not getting answers to through the knowledge and expertise that we have. And we do this in a subset of different niches and specialties of which is, primarily prenatal, postnatal, and pediatric care, which is what my wife Dr. Nichelle does. But then outside of that is just musculoskeletal pain. And I heard a stat the other day. This was kind of a reflection off of COVID 2020 and 2021. This is not what we’re referring to, but it started with the mental status of the United States adult. This was just the adult population, not to mention what was happening on with adolescents, teens and, kids is that 40% of them were at an elevated stress level, compared to what they were previously. It just added so much more stress on that.
01:46
But on top of that in, and stress having part a play in that, is at any given point in time, it’s estimated that 35% of us are dealing with some form of musculoskeletal pain. That’s a lot. When you look at the total population of the United States, we’re just talking about United States stats, 35%, a third of you, one out of three, is dealing with some form of musculoskeletal pain.
02:11
Now we know that a lot of this is being mismanaged. i.e., there’s an opioid in pain medication crisis. That’s been what’s going on with fentanyl from just a drug perspective of what’s being prevalent on the streets as well, is there is a crisis around how to manage pain. And most of this is dealt with a numb suppressing sort of approach. In reality, when we have a better understanding of what pain actually is and what’s happening, we can take grasp and form some form of autonomy around our pain.
02:50
Now, there are a subset of cases. I always say this because someone’s like, oh, what about this? What about this? There is obviously a subset of pain that needs a multifactorial approach that might include some form of medication. But as seen this week in particular with three hot low back cases. When we say hot low back cases, this is your typical, I bent over and my back went out situation. I can’t walk. I’m about to go to the hospital to get medication, but I don’t want to.
03:20
It was all dealt with a movement approach, of which we were able to retrieve 50% reduction in pain mitigation with a few basic exercises, explained in a certain context and form to help these individuals get control of their pain in this immediate set so that they can start gaining some momentum in a positive direction rather than going through a negative feedback loop. So what we’re seeing is this approach of not understanding how to actually manage musculoskeletal pain.
03:55
Now, when you’re in this world, as obviously most of the listeners are not, is you see this constant battle of- and this is true in any industry, to be honest, of like how to best approach these. You know, you have one side that thinks this, you have another side that thinks this. Look at just how our nation’s run of just a two-party system, and then the complete opposing views of those and realistically not getting a lot of stuff done in that, but this is not a political show is.
04:25
But that’s what we see. We can’t find a middle ground of understanding that you have to have a patient-centered approach. And that’s what today’s show is. If you feel that you have been, or your case or your musculoskeletal pain or your injuries have been mismanaged, because you got one person saying this, you got another person saying this, you want conservative methods, but you don’t want to take medication, but yet at the same time, they’re not getting you anywhere because you’re self-reliant on not only medication, but maybe physical therapy or chiropractic adjustments. If you feel that your case has been mismanaged, this is the show for you. This is how to manage musculoskeletal pain. And this is through one question and one question alone.
05:07
Now this is a ‘who’ not ‘how’ question. Meaning, this doesn’t necessarily tell you the how; this just indicates the appropriate question to determine if you have the right provider who will provide you, who will be the ‘who’ for you providing the how, the means, so on and so forth.
05:29
And this is a question that we’ve heard in multiple different areas from multiple different people in one way or another. Some have obviously coined the term to be theirs, but it’s something that’s been around coaching and marketing and advertising. Realistically, this comes down to the trust factor and the trust factor is whether you as the client, patient, or member trust the individual.
05:56
And if the individual is asking this question and they’ve gained your trust, then you know you’re on the right path. But the question sheds light to the underground or the underlying truth message or goals that you’re trying to accomplish. So it’s really more about you as the client and patient as a self-reflection, but it’s hard to know that if you’re not being asked the question.
06:30
A thought process is important because when you’re dealing with musculoskeletal pain, if asked incorrectly, the answer is, well, I just want my pain down. Well, why is that important? This has been asked, like the five whys. You just keep asking why, you keep asking why until they finally break down and cry because they know the real answer.
06:58
I’m just kidding. They don’t always break down and cry. They know the answer because you’ve dove in far enough to determine their true motivation. Now, when we’re dealing, obviously, with musculoskeletal pain, it’s less about immediate pain. It’s more about, well, I can’t do X, Y, and Z, which are important to me. And I would like to do that.
07:22
And to name off a few of these most recent back cases is I love gardening. It’s summertime in Colorado. I want to be able to garden. I want to be able to enjoy my yard. I want to be able to enjoy the outdoors. And I can’t do that right now because of my pain. Or I lead an active lifestyle. I want to be able to go paddle boarding. I want to be able to go hiking. I want to be able to do those things. I want to be able to get down on the floor with my grandkids or my children to enjoy time with them, but I don’t feel comfortable about that. I want to be able to sit in a meeting and not feel like death when I get up.
07:55
And this is more of a motivating factor for vocational improvement, whatever that might be. And in reality, what it looks like is it’s very draining mentally and you want your energy back.
08:09
And so we now start to see a different criteria on what goal outcomes we should be looking for. Many a times, providers, such as myself are looking for “functional improvements”. And this is dictated by the insurance model. Meaning they want you to go through a checks and balance list to determine if there is functional improvement to understand if your treatment is showing improvement.
08:42
Now, there is validity to that. Meaning a lot of times these functional assessments are based on, well, getting dressed in the morning is easier. I’m able to do more activities, but from a functional improvement, what others are looking for is just like, I’m able to measure your stability or quantify your stability or quantify your range of motion.
09:08
And that has improved. Thus you must be improving. And I think there’s a time and place where that could be important, but for me, I hate that. I don’t think it’s valuable. I don’t think there’s a lot of great carryover to the conversation to you as a client, member, or patient of really understanding what that even means.
09:28
Now I could say, yeah, you look like you have about 30 degrees range of motion, and I can ballpark that and describe it, but it has to be put into the total narrative of what we’re actually trying to do, i.e., your goals of getting back to X, Y, and Z.
09:42
So I always ask, what are the things that you want to be able to return back to? That gives me a clear, defined movement pattern or criteria of which we’re trying to achieve. And then we mold and blend our treatment approach to be able to do that. So if you want to be able to do gardening, oftentimes you have to pick up a bag of mulch or some compost or something like that that could weigh anywhere between 30, 50, or maybe more well. Here’s a kettlebell. I’m going to teach you how to pick up an odd object or a box or something like that that weighs a certain amount. And that way, you gain a specific parameter idea and feeling and more context – again, context, context, context – around how to move, navigate, and manage the pain that you currently have, but then also in the future to reduce it.
10:32
Now, coming back to the question. So the question that we ask on every single new patient that comes in the door that we’ve been treating and, or if there was a new issue or a new problem that we’re trying to solve is, Hey, if we’re sitting down here now, depending on obviously the length of what we’re talking about. Sometimes this length will change, whether it’s three, six, a year, or three years. We’re just going to pick three to six months to just start the narrative.
11:05
I’m just going to read you here to make sure I kind of get it right. Obviously this speaks off differently depending on the person. But if we’re sitting down here having the same conversation three months from now, and you’re looking back over the past few months, what has to happen for you to actually feel confident or happy about the progress that you’ve made in your recovery to make that this was a successful investment in your time, energy and money.
11:43
This is an open-ended question to allow you describe what’s important in your life. What are the things that you can reflect upon that you really want and that are really important. And oftentimes this is described in a way that is not forced upon, but someone will ask you like, well, do you want to be able to do this? Yeah that would be nice. That’s not motivating enough for you. And it’s not that motivation is the key to this, but if I’m able to tap into and understand realistically what things you want to be able to do, I can better approach that.
12:26
Now this is the question, again, that every single healthcare provider should be asking whether you’re coming in for cardiac support from your cardiologists, maybe your rheumatologist, so on and so forth, so that they can navigate not only the management of that, but then address it appropriately with maybe medication, but also with an appropriate referral, not just the standard cookie cutter.
12:51
Well, you need physical therapy. You need to get your heart stronger. You need to get your joints stronger. More times than not, musculoskeletal conditions should be managed on, we’ll say a progressive subset of physical therapy in chiropractors and rehab professionals, but personal trainers and strength conditioning coaches, with the caveat of understanding about pain management. I think there’s obviously a subset of personal trainers and strength conditioning coaches who are just kind of the same run of a mill. Hey, we’re going to put you in a group, bootcamp, doing this and make you stronger. Things need to be tailored.
13:29
That’s the approach that we’re trying to get to is when you’re dealing with musculoskeletal pain, unfortunately, and I do apologize that this is the way it oftentimes goes, is unfortunately this changes the narrative and context about how things should be approached. And some get more musculoskeletal complaints than others. And that’s just the nature of it.
13:55
But I always try to emphasize the gift of injury. Be blessed that you’re able to actually move and navigate through a lot a lot of these situations. Many people are actually not able to do that. But be blessed in understanding that your body’s trying to tell you that, Hey, what we’ve been doing in the past is not working. And if you want to live a long, loud, active life, something has to change, and this is your body’s way of telling you, just like I wish I was able to have a certain thought process that I see others are able to accomplish. It’s just not the way that my brain thinks. And I have to go through sometimes along the route in order to achieve a certain goal, results, or just even a mindset and thought process that I’m trying to go through where others it just seems to click.
14:44
It’s just how it is. And unfortunately that takes more time, energy investment. Based on my knowledge, I don’t have to invest as much time, energy, and money in coaching from a health perspective as far as like nutrition and personal training, so on and so forth. But for me, I have to invest more time and energy on someone who can help me navigate my thoughts and mentor and coach from that perspective.
15:15
It’s based on our strengths. The question again, helps you navigate well, what are the important things? This same question is asked in a different context professionally and personally. Well, what has to happen if I was to go with a coach? What has to happen in my life?
15:33
For me, reflecting back, that would say this was a successful investment of time, energy, and money, both professionally and personally, over the next three, six months, year or three years. I would answer with, well, I want to be able to be here. I want to be able to do X, Y, and Z. I want X amount of revenue. I want to diversify into maybe other investments or something like that.
15:57
So you just have to understand that the friction that you have in your life, whether it’s mentally, whether it’s musculoskeletally, whether it’s, a form of health cardiac– but basically just your lifestyle, your health. We all have some friction at different points of life. And your investment is an investment. Your payment is not a cost, it’s an investment, but the due diligence of making sure investment is properly allocated should be navigated through questions such as this.
16:40
If someone’s just going through this, you know, checking on the box and saying, yeah, we can help you. This is pretty standard. Here’s our protocol. So on and so forth. That’s not what you’re looking for, right? You’re investing a lot in this and your provider should be diving in and trying to understand what your goals and motivations are in, in relation to musculoskeletal pain and why that’s preventing you from being able to do that so that they can bridge and connect the gaps to get you back to that quickly.
17:09
Obviously it’s very motivating, but more importantly is getting you back to that with the utmost confidence in whatever you were dealing with before. So for instance, in that case before of gardening and lower back pain, my patient Michelle, that was dealing with, it was not about getting her back to gardening.
17:27
It was getting her back to a point where she felt confident in any sort of gardening task that she would come past: picking up a bag of mulch again, picking up a bag of compost, picking up a large rock that needed to be moved from A to B and having the knowhow of how to pick up odd objects, but also how to leverage her body to be able to do it, but also have the strength and capacity to be able to accomplish it so that she didn’t fear having a recurrence or something like that.
17:57
So, once again, the question that I want you to consider, not obviously asking, but if someone’s not asking you, this is like, Hey, this might not be the person to team up with you. This might not be your who for your how, is if we were sitting down having the same conversation three months ago, and you’re looking three to six months ago, and you’re looking back over the last few months, what has to happen for you to feel confident or happy about the progress you’ve made and the investment of your time, energy and money and your care. And then you share it.
18:39
So if you’re not getting these questions as described previously here, it’s a thought-provoking question. It’s intentionally framed in a way to have you reframe and reference what is actually your goals outside of just pain reduction and management, when we’re talking about musculoskeletal pain and finding the right person and provider.
19:11
Oftentimes while, as we know, manual therapy is very beneficial, oftentimes it’s just having someone work through these questions with you to help you get the right answers and the right direction. In this same example, obviously Michelle, who saw me with some lower back pain for gardening. She was nearby and she was able to come see me and the power of manual therapy and adjustments provided a catalyst to the system.
19:42
But we have worked with other individuals from San Diego all the way out to New York that are going through the exact same thing. And we simply frame the same question and did an evaluation virtually to help guide them. Hey, this is what I’m seeing. This is where you are. This is how your pain’s being described. Based on that history and examination of what I’ve asked you to do, I have a strong feeling it’s this. And if you want to get back to X, Y, and Z, gardening, snowboarding, hiking, riding your horse, whatever that is, here’s the best approach that we can do, that we’re going to build mobility around these joints because it’s really important for you to have mobility here and here to reduce added load onto your lower back, as an example.
20:24
It’s really important for us to go through stability exercises, oftentimes seen as core exercises when we’re talking about the lower back, but here’s how I want you to approach it. So more times than not, this is a conversation of navigation, not essentially implementation. And then finding other obviously resources if manual therapy or adjustments or something like that might be needed.
20:45
So, we always say the foundation of recovery is that narrative in that conversation of understanding that, and there are obviously proper diagnostics of knowing the context of the situation. And then the manual therapy is simply a catalyst. It does help you get there faster if someone knows what they’re doing and they do it well, but it’s not always needed.
21:07
So I implore you to dig deep. You are vetting me as a provider. Obviously, if they’re a referral, they come trusted from obviously who referred you, but it’s still, in my opinion, your responsibility to vet your providers. I encourage anyone coming in to ask questions about what we do so that I can get them to get to this, so I can have a conversation and be able to ask these types of questions, so that I can know if they do trust me. Because if there’s no trust in that relationship, it’s not going to be a successful relationship. You’re not going to see the amount of success that you could see if you’re working with someone that you actually trust.
21:52
So, if you don’t trust your provider, I encourage you to find a new provider. There are plenty of providers out there. Now, those trusted providers sometimes come at a premium, and that premium should not be again as a cost. This is an investment, and oftentimes it saves you actually time, effort, and money in the long run because you’re able to get the results that you want based on that question a lot sooner than if you were to go with your standard run in the mill situation.
22:21
So if you are digging this, please share it with someone else who’s been frustrated of going through the system. We appreciate if you’re digging this to give us a comment, to like, to subscribe, to share this so that we can get this message out that there are providers out there that want the best for you, and that are not just trying to push you through the system and push you through the wheel.
22:44
And if you have any questions specifically about certain topics, we’d love to be able to address those. So please shoot us a comment and you can shoot us an email at hello@liveloudlife.com. Our social media is @live.loud.life on Instagram. And then we have you can check this out on YouTube. We have a number of different pieces of content and videos on YouTube, helping you deal with musculoskeletal pain from a number of different issues, prenatal, postnatal, pediatric care, so on and so forth.
23:17
So thanks again for tuning in, guys. Live loud. I hope you have a wonderful week, and we’ll see you next time.
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Progressive Play, Developmental Milestones & Pediatric Physical Therapy EP|72 W/ Nicole Schremp PT
Live LOUD Life Podcast
Lafayette Colorado
Episode 72
Progressive Play, Developmental Milestones & Pediatric Physical Therapy With Nicole Schremp PT, DPT, PCS
With Dr. Antonio Gurule
How do you know if your infant or child is progressing appropriately?
You want the best for your kids and while some would argue not hitting certain milestones are not an issues, addressing these issues earlier than later will help the gain strength and confidence to interact with other children as they grow in any situation
Episode Highlights
What are developmental milestones?
What are some of the ways a pediatric physical therapist can help?
How is pediatric physical therapy different from what is considered “standard” physical therapy?
Why is “play” considered to be so important?
Nicole Crippen Schremp, PT, DPT, PCS
Background:
- Mother
- Doctor of Physical Therapy
- Pediatric Pediatric Specialist
Check Out Some of Our Other Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes
00:09
Alright guys, welcome back to another episode of the Live LOUD Life podcast, I am with Nicole Schremp. She is a pediatric physical therapist, we just wanted to have a conversation and chat around what really what, you know, pediatric PT could look like some of the common things to look for, that might indicate or warrant, you know, consults or a conversation with a pediatric physical therapist. She’s, she’s at Children’s Hospital here in Denver today, for those of you who are local, and want to have a conversation, but I’ll let you introduce yourself, talk a little bit about you know, your history, what you what drew you to Pediatric Physical Therapy, so on and so forth. Awesome.
00:55
Well, thank you so much for having me, it’s an honor. Um, so as we talked about, I am pediatric physical therapist. So I completed my doctorate physical therapy at the University of Colorado. And while I was there, I actually had my first clinical in pediatrics and really had no idea what this field was I came into school thinking I was going to go into sports. And during the first clinical, I literally fell in love with the population. I have always had this motherly instinct and loved like babysitting and being with kids. And then I went, I found out PT and I get to be with play with kids all day, I just, it was wonderful. I continued to explore different avenues throughout school. However, kind of circled back to my last clinical, I went down to Texas Children’s and was inpatient there. And it really just solidified that I wanted to work with pediatrics. Knowing that I also knew how much more there was to learn, I was like, we only got so much when we were in school. So I applied and was able to complete my pediatric residency after I graduated, so that just gave me so much more exposure and experience in all different settings. It was a 13 month program that just finished last July. So I feel so fortunate to have continued my learning and every day, I just have more more questions. And love, literally love what I do.
02:35
That’s amazing. So when now, at least for me, and I think for most people, when they hear physical therapists, they usually think about, well, a something hurts and or post surgical. Right. So like I had surgery. And so let’s go to a physical therapist. So how would this? How would this conversation differ? And obviously kids do get injured and unfortunately have to go through surgery and things where that would be applicable. But my understanding is your role is separate from those Correct?
03:06
Yeah, that is correct. So I do a lot more with the developmental side and children. As a pediatric physical therapist, just broadly, we work with children and families, we want to assist the child in reaching their maximum potential in whatever capacity is the goal is that they can be active participants like in their home, in their school and in their community. So we want to make those everyday activities easier for kids. This can range from a child who might not be hitting their milestones. As the CDC puts them out there, we know that all kids have different trajectories in development. But sometimes, some kids need a little bit more help to start rolling or walking along those lines. And that’s more of that early intervention through the hospital. Now I am in a more developmental role. So children that have longer term care in the hospital, they can’t leave for one reason or another. I am helping them with those opportunities, giving them more opportunities to work on their city and and they’re rolling and all of those foundational moments and movements that we need later in life.
04:25
So obviously, in a similar field and understanding this but for for listeners. And we had on I had a conversation via messenger with a pediatrician at one point when the CDC took out crawling as a necessary developmental milestone. We’re not gonna get into the details of what the conversation was. But why is why are rolling, crawling and these types of things foundational Are these importance for the listeners or parents, you know, people just like, Oh, it’s okay, they didn’t crawl, they’ll be okay.
05:06
Well, in a broad sense, we want kids to have opportunities, we want them to move and explore their environment. So whether it’s them developing strength or improving their range of motion, or crawling really helps develop those fine motor and all of those arches of the hands and helps open up our hands in preparation for different activities. So all of those different areas, I really want a child to develop that symmetrical strength and range of motion. And we also need to be able to weight shift our body when we’re little, which we don’t think about to move forward and back or side to side and be able to catch herself, which helps us start with that balance. It’s going to help develop core strength as we’re moving in and out of, you know, our bases support. So where do we feel really stable? But are we able to go out and go get something and then come back without falling? All of those different pieces are going to be really important to start developing for children. So that they can, when they’re older, be able to do what they want and move around? Well,
06:13
yeah, no, I think that’s such a good explanation of it. Because I mean, when you look at, and I’ve heard multiple people say this in a number of different ways, but but rehab, rehab, training, whatever that might be, is really just a an extension of training in general, because when you’re talking about adults, it’s really no different. The more exposure you have to certain things makes you well rounded and better able to handle situations.
06:39
Yeah, that’s it. That’s exactly it. It’s key after PTS that we play, we do so much play with children, we just are trying to give them opportunities to explore their environment that they might not be either getting because they have an injury or, or we have to teach families to help them really learn how they are involved in their child and how we can make these activities. Functional, and really fun. But parents are really the driving force behind who we collaborate with.
07:14
Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, kids aren’t going to do it on their own right. So when, when you’re having let’s say, for instance, you’re you’re at a barbecue at a you’re at, you know, whatever else having a conversation with somebody, what are some of the things that you encourage people to to look out for that might indicate outside of a pediatrician saying, hey, it looks like we’re behind on certain things. Because with a lot of things, there’s silent or subtle markers or indications that something might be going on where obviously the better to intervene before it starts to develop into a obviously a poor pattern.
07:57
So that’s, you know, it’s a broad question, but also not so I think some different things, especially for thinking about a child and their development. So what does that zero to 12 months kind of look like when we’re supposed to be able to roll and be in our belly and lift your head and set all of those as kind of progressive to help us walk it and move. So some things that, you know, we’re looking for, we want a child to be when they’re on their back, like kicking their arms and legs against gravity, and like kicking them in a symmetrical pattern. So we have both arms and both legs are be able to move, they’re able to bend and straighten and bend and straighten. That’s not only showing, there’s the good range of motion, but it’s also showing they have some strength, they’re actually moving their body against gravity, which for them is a little bit heavier than it is, you know, for us. We’re also you know, thinking about if a child is standing, that they’re able to stand and kind of move their body side to side versus are they only standing on their left leg? Like, maybe they’re not strong enough to move back and forth? So some other pretty common ones that we’re hearing more about our children just do they only turn their head to one side? Is there a flatter spot on one side of their head? So that’s where you know, there’s some different indications of torticollis or plagiocephaly? Or, you know, those those more? I guess like, is a child just only looking one way? Or are we able to have full range of motion in our neck to look both ways? So I think those are some of the big things that we’re looking for. And some children just aren’t as motivated to move with others. So is that a child and if it is like that might be their personality, but how can we keep encouraging them to move and want to explore by giving them fun activities, or something that they really want to get to is a cause and effect toy really appropriate for them? So They hit something that lights up and they’re like, oh my gosh, I want to do that again.
10:04
Yeah, no, I mean, and that’s what’s so interesting too. I mean, part of a lot of this is just obviously general observation, right? Because a kid is not going to be able to dictate and tell you if something’s wrong, or if they feel unbalanced or pain outside of crying. But yet, I think just overall perception and awareness for our own bodies is something that a lot of us lack. So I think just paying attention is such a big important thing, not only to your own body, but also to the kids to see what, what seem what seems off, outside of, you know, more serious things. Why do some of these things occurred like, like a strengthen bounced, outside of like a, you know, a significant neural disorder, which would be obviously more prevalent, or I guess, more, more prominent? First, I want to see, how do these strength imbalances occur in kids, when you would think there’s like, well, they’re just a kid, shouldn’t they just be naturally doing these things?
11:05
Yeah, it can be a hard question. It can be some, you know, sometimes, kids, our families need them to maybe be in a carrier more, or they’re in their mercy more, or they’re not exploring as much, or sometimes they might just, we might always hand them something on their left side, not even thinking about it. But there were only handed on their left side, or sometimes, however, we lay them down, everything might always be on the right. So they might only be rolling to the right. So their strength in the, you know, some core muscles and our arms and neck muscles only in one direction. So sometimes it just might be things that we’re not even thinking about. But when it would, kind of back to what you were talking about, in terms of observation, so much of what I do my first session is just watching a child move. So the power of observation of seeing how, what are their movement patterns? How are they moving? Do they have a variety of movements, or some things that we run into in the hospital, we only walk in on one side of the room. So if a child’s head is always to one way, they might only be strengthening moving as they roll to the you know, left, because that’s where everyone is, that’s where action is. Which could be true at home with changing tables or crib, they might just environmentally get exposure more on one side than the other.
12:32
That’s a good point. Because as I’ve had this exact same conversation with individuals that have multiple monitors, that you know, it’s I have two monitors, but ones over here and they gotta catch in their neck because they’re doing they only look right, they never look left and or we just live in this world. We don’t look out and around to create more exposure. Do you? Now obviously, being a pediatric physical therapist, do you see any adults do you intervene with adults? And my my curiosity with that is and I’m not sure if you’ve heard I’m sure you have though, is DNS dynamic neuromuscular stabilization. A lot of that’s based on developmental patterns, where they use these principles to intervene even with adults and getting people back into developmental patterns to fix issues. Do you find benefit in what you’re doing with adults as well as exploring these developmental patterns?
13:26
That’s a great point. So I don’t I ever since graduation, I’ve really been focused on now are named pediatric. Yeah, I have heard of it. But I don’t feel like I can really speak to it right now. Because that’s not where gotcha I’d be shocked if I wouldn’t see. I wouldn’t find it valuable for them just because knowing what I know about kids. So that’s something that I yeah, I do really have my niche right now. Most of the time, sometimes there are more adults with congenital or more pediatric diagnosis that I see right throughout the hospital, but most of the time, I’m working with children more on that developmental side. So working on those, those early motor skills.
14:17
What’s the obviously there could be put with plagiocephaly separately in Georgia call us like a fairly early intervention. What’s kind of like the the, I guess, average range of kids ages that that you do see or is it is very broad and wide.
14:35
It’s very broad and wide. I think I most I guess if I had to pinpoint it would be like zero to probably five right now is most of what I’m seeing at the hospital. During my residency, I was I spent time outpatient and did do some sports, pediatrics. I also was in the school district at Cherry Creek, so I worked with first and second graders. I’m so I have had that early experience. So from that zero to three year old all the way up to you at 1920. Knowing that right now I’m back to the younger age group.
15:14
Now, for adults, when, interestingly enough, sometimes when we’re dealing with like a weakness issue, their body weight, as you had indicated for peds, which is different, obviously based based on the age, but their body weight is too much for them, is there a time where you’re, you’re using resistance training outside of their own bodyweight, ie, different modalities or bands or something like that?
15:42
When I was in the sports, kind of doing more ortho for one day a week, for those nine months, when I was in the residency, we definitely were using a lot of bands using different probably very similar modalities that you would use on the chiropractic front. But definitely ankle sprains or low back pain or rehab from a sports injury, all those things that I think when you think about physical therapy, and kind of where your mind tends to go
16:11
outside of that in your specialty of zero to five, it’s pretty much just exploration, crawling groundwork, so on and so forth.
16:18
Yeah, it’s a lot of like giving these children opportunities and making it fun and exciting. And like, it’s a lot of play, we want them to want to do the movements, like it’s, I will do some facilitation to help them get into certain positions. But we’ve found more and more research of just like that cause and effect of them doing it and we get really excited or like they roll up, we’re like, oh my gosh, that’s amazing. Or they roll and they get some reward on the other side, whether they see a book they see mom, or you know what that looks like. So a lot of it is just using the child and letting them explore their environment and that reward of clapping or you know, some of those things, so they get really excited. Do you
17:03
is there any? I’m sure there is benefits? I don’t know if it’s the questions asked correctly. But if you do intervene with it, but is there advantages to doing soft tissue work in any situation to help facilitate a you know, some massage or vibration to activate something
17:21
100% And I was just in a continuing education course over the weekend, looking at how breath really impacts the body’s movement and core and thinking about some of the children I work with have tricks and bent. So they’re the top of their breathing, you know, is impacted because they have that open hole. So what is what can you do for read mobilization or some soft tissue massage on the ribs to really help expand and improve breathing, which is also going to help in so many different ways?
17:56
That’s interesting. Yeah, that’s a really good point. What are what are a few things just, I mean, obviously, in our industry, there’s certain there’s certain things that we want people to, I guess Miss tuberous, if you will, but not even Mr. Buzz, just like what are a few things that you think you would you’re trying to get out that people that people should know, about Pediatric Physical Therapy?
18:24
Yeah, that’s a great question. I think the big thing that I want people to know is encourage your child to explore like, it’s okay to let them play on their own and be able to move around in their own environment. And it’s also okay, if you have some questions on things that might not seem right for your child to ask your pediatrician and really use them as partnership. If they’re, you know, think everything’s fine, and you just still have your like parent instinct that something’s going on, reach out to a PT or look into early intervention. If it’s if you’re zero to three years old, it’s something that would be a it’s really great service for children with any sort of delay to receive services in their home. So I would just, I would just say, if something doesn’t feel right at all, whether it’s, you know, your chiropractor or another PT or your pediatrician, and if you don’t get an answer, just continue to ask.
19:33
How might I mean, this is? This is such a funny question, I think, because we kind of get the same. For adults, it’s harder because creativity, especially in that type of setting is is harder to intentionally elicit. But But if play bass is so important, what things do you tell your parents Now granted, you’re seeing them in an intervention status, if you will? But what things do you encourage people to do? If clay base is so important? How do you encourage parents to help their kids play more at home?
20:09
Yeah, I so one thing is really just talking to parents, what is your routine at home? What is your day look like? And then how can we put little pieces into their day that you don’t really think about as therapy, but therapy, so say diaper changes is, is something that we’re really working on some for strings. So we want parents who After every diaper change to help the child bring their hands to their toes. So something you know, you’re already bringing your self, the child on their back. So we’re really working on touching our knees or our toes in that position, or did the child love bubbles, like, let’s play bubbles down the hall and see if we can encourage them to crawl to the bubbles or to stand up to pop the bubbles. Putting little squiggles on Windows to have them stay in there and just pull off the little swigs. It’s really a ton of core strength and balance and reaching. So there’s a lot of different play based activities that we can get really creative with, and really seen the big pieces like how does it fit into their life and their routine? I don’t want to give parents a laundry list of homework, I want to give them some things that they are like, oh, yeah, we basically do that. But I can tweak it this way. And that’s actually going to help their child their individualized program of whatever that child needs to get stronger, or more whatever, like developing those skills.
21:41
And I think that’s I think that’s such an important way of getting at it because we say something very similar, right is it’s like, oftentimes, what we’re doing is no different than what you’re already doing. But the intention of how you’re doing it just changes slightly. And that makes the world a difference.
22:00
Portal. That’s the I love that how you set that the intention? Yeah, that’s exactly it. We’re making it fun and enjoyable, but they’re just a little, there might be a little different tweak, to really help us get that result that we’re looking for, or the child is going to start doing something just a little bit different. And parents are like, Oh, my gosh, this is wonderful.
22:21
Yeah, yeah, that’s awesome. I think that I think, I think that’s all I think that’s amazing like to it, because obviously, there’s there’s extenuating circumstances of more serious conditions that require a lot more obviously, one on one, but for the general type of public of having these things, most kids are doing fine with it, because they have this natural exploration, but making it fun in in seeing the games can also highlight certain things. I mean, I know for our kids, we talk a lot about like, they naturally go, I’m gonna pretend like I’m a dog, and you’re seeing how they crawl or do all these other things. And you really start to see discrepancy, so on and so forth. So that’s, that’s a lot of great information. I honestly, I learned so much. I don’t have a lot of other follow up questions. I think this has been wonderful for me to share to give people an idea, especially not to, because I think there’s a number of great pediatricians out there. But I think a lot of times these in our world, these movement based things of what we find to be super important, sometimes just get swept under the rug, they’ll grow, they’ll grow out of it as what we commonly hear, right. But we, you know, my thought is, well, maybe, but we might as well optimize them so that they can be interactive with their peers at school at home.
23:46
Yeah, I think that’s the big piece, we just want the child to participate with their family, friends in school environments. And you’re right, they might grow out of, but they might not and why not get evaluated by, you know, whatever setting that is, if it’s, if it’s a PT like to have a PT just do an evaluation, see where they are some other ones that we hear a lot that they might grow out of is to walking. So definitely that’s one that I did bring up before but something to be on the lookout for. So anything a child does all the time that they their only way of moving W sitting into another one. So it’s okay if we’re you know, going in and out of it or using that to transition but if we can’t move outside of sitting, you know in a W position or we’re only looking into our head to one direction or only walking on those toes, it’s kind of when we get siloed that that might you know, something that we definitely want to look at it. We want just kids to move. We want that variety. We want them to just do different things in different ways.
24:55
That’s such a good that’s that’s a good point too, because I think I think it’s kind of hard to say They sometimes like, well, what’s normal is like, well, when you walk when you look at anybody walking, we all pretty much walk the same way. And when you see something else like, well, we kind of use general general common sense. Like that doesn’t seem natural to how everyone else moves or walks. Same with crawling or scooting. Yeah, they’re like, well, they get around fine. Well, yeah, cuz they can, like we’re the other example that we commonly use is like humans are very task oriented, goal driven, as you said, I want to do this because I get a reward. We’re no different. If the task is to run a mile, you’re going to figure out how to do it, regardless of its efficient or not,
25:42
right? Yep. And that’s it. Some kids, there’s so many different ways of crawling, if you like, look on the internet or research, there’s like, I mean, so many different ways, we would ideally like a child to hands and knees crawl, because they’re getting cemetry, they’re getting reciprocal movements, they’re strengthening both sides. Some of these other ways of crawling, the child is efficient, they’re getting around, but might only be strengthening one side, or they might be putting one side of their body in a less optimal position. So we want the reason they’re doing that as they figured out how to move and get that reward. But we want them to let them keep going. But we also want to strengthen and you know, work on whatever other piece there is to that?
26:25
Yeah. Well, I appreciate the time this has been this has been extremely helpful for me as well. And obviously good to always see like, what are what are certain things that are coming up that are like, hey, it’s always that’s a hard conversation to sometimes like, this doesn’t look normal. But it’s just it’s, it’s worth asking a few questions and knowing who to talk to. Is there. Is there anything else that you would like to leave people with that has come to mind that maybe I didn’t ask a question about,
26:55
you think that it, I really, just to circle back, let your child explore, be able to have fun and play inside outside all of those different areas. And just trust your instinct. If you feel like you want to ask them questions, please do?
27:12
How can how can people reach out to you? If they want to work with you or or anything like that?
27:19
Yeah, I would love to hear from you with questions or anything. So I have an email address that I’ll pass along that we’ll be putting this in the show notes. Nicole dot c that Trump dpt@gmail.com. It’s a little bit of a handful. So we’ll just put it in the show notes. Have it be there?
27:38
Well, perfect. I really want to appreciate you taking the time out of busy day and chatting with us and sharing your knowledge.
27:46
Awesome. Thank you so much. One last piece that I want to put in the show notes too. If you’re if you have questions on milestones, work, and the CDC has different avenues for milestone trackers and milestones. And then
28:02
for early intervention, because this does come up every now and then where would one reach out to or who should they who should they be researching or looking out to for those early intervention resources.
28:12
So early intervention is a federally mandated program. So it’s like support for an education for children, you know, developmental delays and their families. So it’s anyone from the zero to three, you can go on. And I think if you just type in early intervention, there’s different community center board. So you want to reach out to your community center board or ask your pediatrician for a referral.
28:39
That’s probably Yeah, so it’d be a pediatrician be a good resource early intervention. Yeah. That’ll come up. Yeah. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate the time and chatting.
28:50
Thank you so much for having me.
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