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What Value Does Physical Therapy Have?

A lot of our personal training clients mention orthopedic issues they have accumulated over the years and have been seeing physical therapists for. Their results have been mixed. Some have had excellent results with their therapy and others have not. The question is what made some of my clients successful and others not?

Several factors play a role here. Obviously not every physical therapist is a good therapist same as with personal trainers but let us assume that the physical therapist is decent and knows what he/she is doing.

I think that physical therapy is of high value to get you back on your feet if you have certain issues and several factors come together:

  1. Make sure that the physical therapist knows their stuff. That is one of the most difficult things to discern, since most people are laymen and don’t really know anything about training or rehabilitation. This is what you should pay attention to:
    1. Make sure the physical therapist does a thorough assessment which should consist of medical history, lifestyle history, functional movement assessment (how well do you move overall).
    2. Let the therapist give you a ROUGH layout of what he/she is planning to do with you over the course of the next couple of weeks.
  2. This is what you need to do:
    1. Once you found a therapist do not just listen to their advice but heed it as well. Do exercises they give you and do them regularly. Ice when you are supposed to, apply heat when necessary.
    2. If you continue your life exactly the way you lived it before the chance of you having the same issues again is quite high because unless you had an accident you got their somehow.
    3. Take responsibility for your actions. If you are supposed to take it easy or supposed to exercise and you don’t, don’t blame the failure of your rehab on the physical therapist. It is yours, own it! YOU HAVE TO MAKE LIFESTYLE CHANGES!
    4. Be patient. Most chronic issues do not come on overnight, and they won’t go away overnight. Gradual progress is good and in some cases you just might be able to slow down the progress of certain chronic issues or diseases.
    5. Coordinate your health care and fitness professionals. WE MAKE SURE to work closely with our clients’ health care professionals together. This way we all work on the same goal, getting YOU fitter, healthier and into better shape. Not every physician, physical therapist and personal trainer does that automatically, some might even be disillusioned. Request them to work together if they won’t, fire him.

The Charlotte Observer posted an interesting article in regards to it.

 

I would love to help you accomplish your goals. Feel free to post your questions.

 

Michael

 

 

 

 

The Financial Damage of a Burger Outweighs a Down-Market!

Not too long ago CNNMoney.com posted and article that stated exactly what I mentioned in my headline. They quoted a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research which found that clients who are among the healthiest 20% in the their fifties retired with three times the assets of the least healthy. The reason for that is quite obvious: because of lower health costs their resources don’t get drained. Picture1

If you feel like this is you then you need to take action now. I have seen it over and over in my personal training clients. The ones really making an effort in their fifties and maintaining it are doing better health wise and pay considerably less in doctor’s visits and medication.

  1. Be aware of your health stats:
    1. What is your blood pressure (normal is 120/80, high would be >140/90 mmHg),
    2. Total cholesterol, this number should be below <200 mg/dL
    3. LDL should be below 129 mg/dL
    4. HDL should be >50 mg/dL
  2. Know who you are: Be aware what your family history is and talk to your physician about it and what you should do!
  3. What habits do you have?
    1. Do you smoke?
    2. Do you drink excessively? More than 7 drinks/week and you do!
    3. Do you have an eating disorder? Are you overweight, underweight?
  4. What to do?
    1. Get help from your physician with your medical issues.
    2. Start exercising, even small amounts of exercise spread out over the week (30 min/day) can make a huge impact on your health.
    3. Start eating unprocessed foods. Stop buying foods with an ingredient list. We don’t have anyone count calories, it is not what we do, we help people lose weight by eating healthy, eating a normal diet again. Clean out your pantry. Healthy food is not cheap but medication and surgeries are more expensive!
    4. Get some help from a trainer. Why? Simple, do you know what to do, or do you listen to infomercials and believe what they say? At least talk to someone for one or two training sessions and get their help getting started. You don’t have to stick with them but you want to have a good start that gives you a feeling of success.
    5. Change your lifestyle: Be active, spend time with your kids (not in front of the TV), hike, bicycle  run, park the car away from the door, take the stairs, walk an extra mile each day and increase slowly, go kayaking, etc. You name become a new you and more active.

Let me know if I can help you with your goals! We are dedicated to you and your fitness and wellness.

 

Michael

 

Tired of Training?

First of all I apologize for not posting for so long. We had some issues with the website host but it finally was resolved.

In personal training we don’t see people getting tired of training nearly as much as when people work out by themselves. Because we as trainers often have odd hours our training is primarily solo and we do experience workout fatigue occasionally. The motivation is dropping, we might want to skip workouts and consequently the nutrition has a tendency to fall of the wagon.
Sometimes my personal trainers and I get asked: “How do you stay motivated?” The solution to that consists of several factors.

Weight Training

 

  1. Scale your training – Don’t always go all out, some days need to be easier, take the time to smell the roses, so to speak. Your body cannot take 100% all the time. 
  2. Pamper as hard as you work – If we work hard we pamper our bodies as well. Take a nap in the afternoon, have a massage, enjoy a long hot shower, soak your feet, you name it. Your body deserves it.
  3. Log your workouts: Some of us log their workouts social media websites like Fitocracy designed for it. It keeps us accountable.
  4. Socialize with like-minded people – If you don’t have friends who are into fitness, above mentioned social media websites can provide you with a network that supports you in your quest for fitness.
  5. If you like running, go do running events, even if it is just for fun, if you like lifting maybe check out a bodybuilding event. It really is a motivation boost to be among others who have the same goals. You get the idea.
  6. Talk about it – Talk shop to others about it, you might learn something and you keep your motivation up.
  7. Find the right environment – If you seriously like to lift weights the YMCA might not be for you but if you like the social atmosphere then maybe it is. You need to find the environment that keeps you happy that supports who you are.
  8. Train with a trainer – Haha, you think I am promoting myself? I guess I kind of am, but listen to this most of our clients have been with us for years (up to 8 years) whereas most people give up exercise after two months!
  9. Use exercise as a way of reinventing yourself! If you are overweight, imagine the skinnier you. If you feel like you are weak, imagine you being athletic.

These are just a few ways that can help you with your training.

Let me know if we can help you,

Michael

 

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