Exploring Fitness Podcast

Episode 18: Living for Longevity with Michael Leary and Dr. Ben Hagopian

If you go back to episode #1 of this podcast, I discuss the 4 supporting models of CrossFit. One of those being the Sickness-Wellness-Fitness continuum. This continuum goes from sickness on one extreme end, to wellness being in the middle, and fitness being the other extreme end of the continuum. And almost any measurable health marker from things on a blood panel, to heart rate and blood pressure, to strength measurements can be placed along this continuum at either sickness, wellness, or fitness levels. Dialing in a majority of these markers can help someone stay as healthy and as functional as possible for as long as possible. This prevention of health and function slipping to a point of debility, can be seen as increasing the health span for as long as possible, or improving an individual’s LONGEVITY. And that’s exactly what my next guests are aiming to do! Their longevity health model has combined the resources of an integrative medicine family physician, a strength and conditioning coach, and a registered dietitian to deliver an all encompassing program to help people increase their longevity. Website: https://www.longevitymaine.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/longevitymaine/ Emails: ben@longevitymaine.co or michael@longevitymaine.co

Episode 17: Competing, Coaching, and Chiropractic with Dr. Ben Rogers DC

In this episode, we sit down with a doctor of chiropractic with an extensive CrossFit background to discover how his experience coaching and competing has shaped this approach to healthcare. It’s not often that you have the opportunity to meet someone who has coached and competed for one of the most well-known CrossFit gyms in the world. And even more rare for one of those individuals to relocate over 1100 miles to become a local healthcare provider in Portland, ME. But that’s exactly the journey our next guest took. From CrossFit coach and competitive athlete for one of the most competitive gyms in the world, to a doctor of chiropractic who recently opened his own solo practice, this guy puts the same passion and hard work into everything. Exemplifying the idea that “the way you do anything, is the way you do everything”. For him, that has meant accepting the challenges placed in front of him, putting in the hard work, and connecting with people along the way. More on Ben and Rogers Health and Performance: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rogershealthandperformance/ Website: https://www.rogershealthandperformance.com/

Episode 16- Relative Intensity in Fitness with Coach Sam Burns

In this episode, Dr. Dan sits down with return guest Sam Burns to discuss "Relative Intensity in Fitness". Intensity is a key term in the definition of CrossFit (constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity), but making sure each athlete hits the intended stimulus of a workout at the correct relative intensity can be tricky. Throughout the discussion, they hit on some key points including: - using weightlifting percentages or repetition maxes as a gauge - appropriate scaling to maximize intensity - and they recap results from Coach Sam's proposed workout from Episode 2

Episode 15: The Primary Care Healthcare Shift with Brianna Boutin, NP

This episode discusses the current shift happening in healthcare, so that you can make more informed decisions about choosing the best provider for your personal health needs. The current state of the American healthcare system is broken. We’re currently working with a system where 65% of all healthcare dollars are spent on the sickest 10% of the population. Let me say that again… 65% of the health insurance premiums and Medicare taxes you pay every month, go towards healthcare spending for the sickest 10% of Americans. Those insurance premiums and deductibles continue to increase at unprecedented rates, yet what healthcare providers get reimbursed by insurance companies continues to decrease. This is resulting in unrealistic productivity standards for healthcare providers, requiring them to see more and more patients in less and less time… which inevitably causes a decrease in the quality of care the other 90% of the non-sickest Americans receive, as well as an extremely high rate of burnout for healthcare providers. For these reasons an increasing number of providers have sought a better method of delivering a higher quality, more personable, and overall better healthcare experience for both the patient and the provider. This movement for primary care providers has been referred to as Direct Primary Care. My next guest is a nurse practitioner who has recently opened her own direct primary care office in an attempt to deliver healthcare services the way she feels is in the best interest of her patients and herself as a provider. Website: https://beacondpc.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beacondpc/

Episode 14: How Quality Accessory Programming Can Elevate Your Fitness with Chris Gahm

In this episode, we discuss how accessory work can elevate your workout so you can improve strength, mechanics, and help prevent pain and injuries. As a physical therapist, much of my job essentially involves the prescription of personalized accessory work. I evaluate someone, find their deficits directly contributing to their pain, deficits that could potentially lead to pain points down the road, or directly improve their performance and I give them specific exercises to help improve these deficits. So, I’m a sucker for good accessory programming when I see it. I have attended functional fitness classes at LOTS of gyms over the years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen accessory programming as consistently well programmed as it is by my next guest. Nobody knows the needs of gym members better than the coaches and owner of that specific gym. And this guy takes that to heart. He utilizes a unique blend of traditional CrossFit and accessory programming to deliver a daily dose of fitness that is exactly what will drive his community towards improved wellness. Livfit Athletics: https://www.livfitathletics.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livfitathletics/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livfitathletics/