Pursuing Health

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Julie Foucher MD, MS is a four-time CrossFit Games athlete and family physician. Her passion lies in bridging the gap between fitness and medicine to empower individuals to live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Every third Tuesday, she shares insightful content from a diverse lineup of guests, including medical experts and elite athletes.

Episodes

Tuesday Jul 14, 2020

Overcoming Grief & Losing 65 Pounds PH152

Tuesday Jul 14, 2020

“We have life changing events, and at the time, they feel as if they are life-ending but they really mold us into somebody who we are meant to be.”
- Marti Giambruno

“My first memory of waking up in the recovery room was the consent beep of the monitor. A feeling of impending doom consumed me as my doctor leaned over the stretcher and said, ‘Everything went well. We got it all, and the biopsy came back benign. Marti, 80% of your problem is what you put in your mouth and the stress you carry.’”

Another 9 months would pass, and Marti’s weight would top out at 198 pounds before she was ready to act. It was one year after her husband, John, lost his battle with lung cancer, and on his birthday Marti had the first of many epiphanies. She was tired of the pain, fatigue, and the shame of being overweight, and unhealthy.

She wanted to change, but had no idea where to begin. She realized she just needed to make just one small step to start. So, she rose one morning, laced up her shoes and walked. Each day Marti added a few more steps. Within a couple of weeks, she was walking 1.5 miles around her lake. “I felt something I hadn't since before my husband was diagnosed: control.”

Next, Marti made adjustments to her diet. She added new forms of exercise. Before she knew it, she had lost 65 pounds and was sleeping and feeling better than she had in years. Says Marti, “I felt like I was winning. Imagine feeling like a success while mourning the loss of your husband.”

In January 2015, Marti found the courage to walk into CrossFit Hyperperformance and was warmly greeted. She couldn’t wait to return the next day, and she became a regular member for six months, until she needed to move to return to the workforce.

“The next year was profoundly revealing. My position as a cardiovascular technologist in Interventional Cardiac Medicine demanded far too much of my time, and there weren't enough hours in the day to make it to the gym. I gained weight, was tired, and achy. My family needed me.” Realizing she needed to heal physically, mentally, and spiritually, Marti stepped back from her new position and sought to resume her new-found healthier lifestyle.

She joined CrossFit Palm Beach, where her coaches share the idea of fitness being a process of the mind, body and spirit. “The paradigm shift directing me to whole health has taken hold. At 56, I have more energy, and strength, focus, courage, faith, and desire, which enables me to live young, beautiful and strong in mind, body, and spirit.”

Marti is now making the shift to Integrative Medicine to focus on lifestyle changes that improve patient outcomes. She hopes to reach out to those in situations similar to hers to share the message that health, wellness, and fitness must co-exist to produce the changes needed to “Heal Thy Self.”

Says Marti, “The day John proposed to me, he declared his faith, which empowered me 3 years ago, and still does today. ‘Marti,’ he said, ‘I have faith and peace knowing that if either one of us passes, the survivor will not only pick up the pieces and move forward but become stronger because of it.’” To this day, Marti strives to uphold his vision and share her gratitude with those who've provided the means for her to get where she is, and where she is going.

In this episode we discuss:

Her background and the evolution of her health
What prompted Marti to start making changes to improve her health and how she got started
How CrossFit and exercise helped Marti through her grieving process
Recognizing the importance of balancing her caring for own health with a stressful job
Her advice to others who are unhappy with their health and want to make a change
Three things Marti does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on her health
One thing she thinks could have a big impact on her health, but she has a hard time implementing
What a healthy life looks like to Marti

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 48 - Jen Widerstrom: Health, Habits, and Why You Are Enough

Ep 84 - Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron

If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below and on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every other Tuesday.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general information only, and does not provide medical advice. We recommend that you seek assistance from your personal physician for any health conditions or concerns.

This post was originally published on July 9, 2020.

Monday Jul 06, 2020

Mentally Tough: Kristin Holte, Second Fittest Woman on Earth PH151

Monday Jul 06, 2020

“I can say with probably 99% [certainty], I would never be at the Games if it weren’t for my mental coach. I think I would be good but I would’ve gotten fourth place instead of third place at the 2014 Regionals, and who knows what would’ve happened after that, but I think that was the edge that I had in my training. I was not better physically than any of the other girls there, I just performed when I had to and when the pressure was at its highest. And I think that’s what kept me in the game for all these years, too. I perform at Regionals every single year. If you looked on paper, my stats are not super good compared to a lot of the other athletes, but I am able to PR. I’ve PR’d my snatch in every single Regional since I started. I am able to perform when it really, really matters. And that’s the difference, that’s where the mental training comes in.”
- Kristin Holte

Over the last 8 years, Kristin Holte has been quietly climbing her way to the top of the CrossFit Games leaderboard.

A native of Oslo, Norway, Kristin grew up in an active household and competed in a variety of sports, including gymnastics, track and field, soccer, triathlons and cross country skiing. The work capacity and discipline she developed in her youth would help lay the groundwork for her success as a CrossFit Games athlete, where she is known to excel at endurance events and gymnastics movements.

Kristin has competed at last 6 CrossFit Games, never placing outside the top 20. After spending two years in 7th place, Kristin knew she wanted to go from good to great. She doubled down, surrounded herself with a team of coaches, and addressed as many nuances in her training, nutrition, and recovery as possible. The attention to detail paid off with a second place podium finish at the 2019 CrossFit Games in Madison. Her third place finish in the 2020 CrossFit Games Open earned her an invitation to this year's Games, and Kristin is excited to return to the Ranch to continue to put her training to the test.

Since qualifying for her first Regional, Kristin has also put a tremendous amount of focus into training her mind and credits her competitive edge to her mental game. With the help of a mental coach, she has improved her confidence and her ability to perform at her best under pressure by using a variety of exercises including an intensive training camps, visualization, mantras, and more.

Kristin and I first competed alongside each other at the 2014 CrossFit Games, where as a rookie she took an event win in Triple 3. I was excited to catch up with her to learn more about her mental training game, how she continues to improve as a competitor year after year, and why she believes that when it comes to training volume and intensity, sometimes less is more.

In this episode we discuss:

How Kristin’s training and day-to-day life has been impacted by coronavirus
Her thoughts on the CrossFit Games being hosted at the Ranch, and how she’s preparing for the Rogue Invitational
What it was like growing up in Norway
How Kristin found CrossFit
The importance of using a mental coach for her training
Exercises Kristin does with her coach to improve her mental game
Overcoming a lung injury and realizing the impact of her mental training
Her experience making the podium at the Games
Her mindset after placing second at the 2019 CrossFit Games
Where Kristin is at in her recovery process from a wrist surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The factors that have played into her ability to improve every year
The key people on Kristin’s team
Why she uses a nutritionist even though she’s a nutritionist herself
How she’s preserving her longevity in the sport
Her proudest CrossFit accomplishments
What Kristin enjoys when she’s not training
Her outlook for her career and future
Three things Kristin does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on her health
One thing she thinks could have a big impact on her health, but she has a hard time implementing
What a healthy life looks like to Kristin

You can follow Kristin on Instagram and Facebook.

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 08 - Chris Hinshaw on Regaining Functionality and Endurance Coaching and Programming for the CrossFit Community

Ep 79 - Sam Briggs on Going Back to Basics and Training for Longevity

Ep 101 - Building a Champion Mindset with Dr. Joe Janesz

Ep 91 - Mind Over Matter: Improving Performance in Athletics and Beyond with Sports Psychiatrist Dr. MaryEllen Eller

This post was originally published on June 27, 2020.

Monday Jun 22, 2020

The Science of Spontaneous Healing with Dr. Jeffrey Rediger PH149

Monday Jun 22, 2020

“I think spontaneous healing is a lot more common than we realize. I’ve asked a room of doctors before, 'How many of you have seen a case of unexplained recovery that you didn’t think was possible and it happened?' Well, lots of doctors raise their hands. And I asked how many had reported it. No one had reported it. And I was loathe to report things myself, because, first of all, how are you going to get it published if you do all that work, and if you do get it published how are your colleagues going to view it?” - Jeffrey Rediger, MD, MDiv

Jeffrey Rediger, MD, MDiv, has spent over 15 years studying spontaneous healing and pioneering the use of scientific tools to investigate recoveries from incurable illnesses.

He is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, is the Medical Director of McLean SE Adult Psychiatry and Community Affairs at McLean Hospital, and is the Chief of Behavioral Medicine at Good Samaritan Medical Center. Dr. Rediger is a a licensed physician and board-certified psychiatrist, and he also holds a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Dr. Rediger’s research has taken him from America’s top hospitals to healing centers around the world―and along the way he’s uncovered insights into why some people beat the odds.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Rediger, and I was excited to learn more about how he became involved in studying a somewhat controversial field. We talked how he objectively collects data, the factors the play into spontaneous healing, and the lessons he's learned from his patients that have impacted his own life.

*Dr. Rediger's bio adapted from his website.

In this episode we discuss:

How Dr. Rediger became interested in studying spontaneous healing
The three criteria he uses to objectively collect data
The factors that play into spontaneous healing and help to build a strong immune system
Themes Dr. Rediger has identified in nutrition as it relates to spontaneous healing
The importance of building the parasympathetic response and stimulating the vagus nerve
How our identity contributes to healing
Dr. Rediger’s childhood and how his time in seminary shaped his path in medicine
The implications of quantum physics on our mind, body, and medicine
What Dr. Rediger has learned from his patients that has impacted his own life
Why stories of healing can inspire others in their own healing
The Four Pillars of Healing
Three things Dr. Rediger does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on his health
One thing he struggles to implement that could have a big impact on his health
What a healthy life looks like to Dr. Rediger

You can follow Dr. Rediger on his website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 97 - Challenging Conventional Cancer Care with Dr. Thomas Seyfried

Ep 116 - How Healing Works with Dr. Wayne Jonas

Ep 135 - Immune System Strength with Dr. Leonard Calabrese

This post was originally published on June 2, 2020.

Monday Jun 15, 2020

Fighting Back Against Fibromyalgia PH148

Monday Jun 15, 2020

“‘Olivia, you're healthy.’ I held it in in the moment, but when I left the [doctor’s] office that day I cried. I had never had a doctor tell me I was healthy.”
- Olivia Vollmar

Diagnosed with fibromyalgia in July 2016, Olivia Vollmar started CrossFit four months later, despite her doctor’s reservations. “He loved that I was moving, but he thought it was too much. He has friends that are avid CrossFitters and just couldn't see how someone with fibro could manage to do it. Like any good patient, I completely ignored him and continued on in what I was doing.” Olivia decided she would continue with CrossFit for three months, and if the negatives outweighed the positives, she would stop.

One month passed, and Olivia found herself feeling better than ever. Within two months, she was sleeping more regularly, feeling less fatigued, and her joint pain had decreased. She no longer needed to see a psychiatrist from her anxiety and depression. “CrossFit saved your life,” her therapist told her. Within three months, she was completely symptom free, and living a normal life.

Along with her new exercise routine, Olivia made dietary changes, following the general advice to eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. When she returned to her doctor 10 months after her initial fibromyalgia diagnosis and just six months after starting CrossFit, he barely recognized her. She had lost 100 pounds!

Olivia discussed her rheumatologist’s treatment plan with her doctor, and he ran through a series of questions checking on her pain, sleep, mental health and quality of life. Olivia was stunned when, for the first time in her life, he pronounced her healthy.

“When I was first diagnosed I had so many doctors tell me there was no hope in this disease. I would always suffer and always feel awful. I would never be free from medication and I would never live a normal life. One of my doctors told me to not pursue a career in medicine because it wouldn't be possible.”

“Now, I'm completely normal and doing exactly what I want to do. I can confidently say that it [CrossFit] has saved my life. Not only in the physical sense, but also in the emotional sense. Before joining my box, I had suicidal thoughts and was completely ready to end my life. Now I've found health, healing and purpose.”

Olivia's road to maintaining her health has not been without bumps and detours. As she continued her new lifestyle, Olivia felt pressure to please others and anxiety that she might let her coaches down. She realized that her eating had become disordered, and instead of approaching her workouts as an opportunity to be better than she was the day before, she was constantly comparing herself and competing against others at her affiliate. Her "healthy" lifestyle began to take negative toll on her health.

Recognizing that she needed balance, Olivia shifted her focus to make sure she's eating with less restriction and with a greater focus on consuming plenty of nutritious food. She has also recently left her affiliate and started working out solo with guidance from a powerlifting coach. These days, she's finding happiness and confidence in celebrating her own accomplishments without seeking the approval of others.

As she graduates from college this spring, Olivia has big goals on the horizon: she's pursuing her Master's Degree in Nutrition and is excited to use her education and her experiences to help others as she continues her own health journey with a focus on the long-term. Says Olivia, "I am nearly 100% symptom free. I have found freedom from a disease through diet and exercise.”

Olivia shared her story with me many years ago and I was so inspired to hear how she's overcome so many challenges by focusing on what is within her control to change. I was excited to catch up with her recently and hear how her journey has evolved, how she found the courage to get started in the first place, and the advice she gives to help others get started on their own health journey.

In this episode we discuss:

Olivia's childhood and how the passing of her mother impacted her health and her weight
How her father’s health condition and her fibromyalgia diagnosis prompted her to being changing her diet and lifestyle
Starting CrossFit with her roommate and how she overcame the intimidation of attending her first class
Her struggle with suicidal thoughts
How Olivia’s relationship with food changed when she started CrossFit
What led Olivia to leave her local affiliate
How she’s working to find balance in her nutrition and her fitness
What’s she’s most proud of from her journey
Advice she would give to others who are struggling with health and are scared to get started
How to help others who you recognize are struggling
What’s next for Olivia
Three things Olivia does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on her health
One thing she thinks could have a big impact on her health, but she has a hard time implementing
What a healthy life looks like to Olivia

You can follow Olivia on Instagram and Twitter.

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 45 - Dan Baily on Moving West, Training for 2017, and Danny Broflex

Ep 69 - From "Obese to Beast" with John Glaude

Ep 19 - Michelle Mitchell on her Experience with Exercise and CrossFit for Fibromyalgia Syndrome

This post was originally published on June 15, 2020.

Monday Jun 08, 2020

Cancer, Racism, and Speaking Up with Deb Cordner Carson PH147

Monday Jun 08, 2020

“The thing about it, she said, ‘Why are they destroying our city?’ And I said, ‘What if you were trying to get mommy and daddy’s attention and we weren’t paying attention to you? What would you do?’ She was like, ‘Well, I would talk louder.’ I’m like, ‘What if we still didn’t listen to you?’ She was like, ‘I would scream!’ And I was like, ‘What if we STILL didn’t listen?’ She was like, ‘I would be really sad. I would start crying.’ And I was like, ‘I know! And what if we STILL didn’t listen? What if it went on all day long and we just didn’t listen to you?' She was like, ‘I would be so upset. I would… I don’t know.’ And I was like, ‘Would you throw a fit? A tantrum?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, I probably would. I’d probably throw my toys at you.’ And I was like ‘That’s kind of what happened, and then we would notice you because you would be making a mess, and we’d say ‘Sydney, Sydney, what’s wrong?’ And we would stand with you and try to calm you down and listen to you.’ So I said, ‘That’s kind of what happened with black people around the city.’ Definitely the first night. And people I think have realized what was going on, finally, and what black lives matters means and they were like, ‘Alright. You’re right. We stand with you.’”
- Deborah Cordner Carson

The CrossFit community may best recognize and remember Deborah Cordner Carson as the gutsy athlete who gave an inspirational performance at the 2012 CrossFit Games, overcoming a fear of open water swimming in the triathlon event and going on to win the 2012 Spirit of the Games award. Deb could also be distinguished by the compression sleeve she wears on her left leg, and by the color of her skin. Deb is one of the few black competitors in the sport of CrossFit.

Growing up, Deborah was inspired by great athletes in her family. Her father came to America from Trinidad and Tobago on a track and field scholarship and her grandfather was the heavy weight lifting champion of the British Empire. As a young girl she competed in gymnastics, and as a teenager she excelled in track and field, eventually earning a full scholarship to the University of Northern Iowa as a 400-meter sprinter.

When Deb developed lymphedema, a condition where fluid is retained in certain parts of the body and can cause dangerous swelling, she was forced to retire from her track and field career, but in time, she discovered ways to manage her condition- including that recognizable compression sleeve- while still being active. She took up CrossFit and quickly rose to elite status in the sport, placing as high as 5th in the 2013 CrossFit Open and 13th at the 2012 CrossFit Games.

Since retiring, Deborah continues to do CrossFit for health, but she has also struggled with the heartbreak of multiple miscarriages, and most recently, a diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic disease, a type of pregnancy-related cancer.

Throughout her life, Deborah has been aware that the color of her skin means she's had to work harder for opportunities than others. As a mother to two mixed-race little girls and a resident of the Minneapolis area, she also has a unique perspective on the recent events that have highlighted the ongoing systemic racism in our society.

I am grateful to Deb for taking a moment to share her perspective amidst all the other challenges she is currently taking on. These conversations can be uncomfortable, but they're also important as we all strive to stand together and learn from each other. In this episode, we chat about her experiences as a minority CrossFit Games athlete, the mentality she's using to fight her cancer diagnosis, the lessons she strives to teach her daughters, and how we should all speak up to overcome injustice and racial bias.

In this episode we discuss:

Deborah’s struggles with multiple miscarriages
How she is coping with the diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic disease, a type of pregnancy-related cancer
How Deborah’s experience competing in CrossFit helps her focus on the task at hand when it comes to tackling challenges
Her initial reactions to hearing about George Floyd’s death and the outrage in Minneapolis
Explaining the looting and rioting to her daughter
Deborah’s personal experiences with systemic racism and unconscious racism
How Deborah needed to be the best of the best to have the same opportunities as her white classmates
Deborah’s thoughts on why there’s a disconnect in people understanding the additional challenges a black person has to overcome
The lack of sponsorship opportunities available for a black CrossFit athlete
Her disappointment with CrossFit HQ’s silence
What it’s like to be a black athlete in the predominantly white sport of CrossFit
Ways that Deb approaches the topic of racism with her children
The importance of speaking up and making an effort to understand other cultures
Three things Deborah does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on her health
One thing she thinks could have a big impact on her health, but she has a hard time implementing
What a healthy life looks like to Deborah

You can follow Deborah on Instagram

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 10 - Jenny LaBaw on Running 500 Miles for Epilepsy Research and Education

Ep 15 - Lewis Howes on Chasing Greatness

Ep 70 - USA Track & Field Heptathlete Tiffeny Parker on Beating the Odds

Ep 137 - Rich & Hillary Froning on Putting Family First

This post was originally published on June 8, 2020.

Monday May 25, 2020

2019 Third Fittest Woman Jamie (Greene) Simmonds PH145

Monday May 25, 2020

“I love competing and testing. You know what you were like the last time you competed, or the last time you did this sort of training block… and I just like building on trying to get better. So there’s that. I also like… I know growing up what my parents and my sisters put into me to try to help me build something like that, so it’s not just for me, I’m doing it for them. And also when I compete at different places they come see me. So I don't get to see my Mom, Dad, my sister Becky much, so they always travel over to the Games, or they’ve come to Madrid a few times and the motivation to train, to get them to watch me to compete is motivation in itself.”
- Jamie Simmonds

Jamie Simmonds, formerly Jamie Greene, made a huge splash in the CrossFit arena when, as a relatively unknown athlete, when won the 2016 CrossFit Open.

Since then, she's gone on to compete at the CrossFit Games four times, and stood atop the podium twice: first as a member Team CrossFit Yas in 2016, and most recently, as an individual at the 2019 CrossFit Games.

Perhaps even more remarkably, Jamie didn’t even start CrossFit until 2013. Her background as a gymnast and rugby player helped propel her from a novice athlete to a force to be reckoned with.

Jamie’s journey to becoming the third Fittest Woman hasn’t always been easy: along the way she’s been challenged by a ruptured Achilles tendon, a team disqualification, and a dislocated shoulder, but her commitment to constantly improving herself has shaped her into a formidable competitor.

Jamie is a native of New Zealand, but since 2014 has lived in Abu Dhabi where she coaches and trains at CrossFit Yas. She and I recently caught up to chat about her experience at the 2019 CrossFit Games, what her 2020 training season has looked like so far, and how she stays motivated and committed to her training in the face of challenges.

In this episode we discuss:

What the COVID-19 pandemic experience has been like in Abu Dhabi
Jamie’s childhood in New Zealand
How her Mom introduced her to CrossFit
Jamie’s experience with rupturing her Achilles’ tendon
Her move to Abu Dhabi, and what prompted her to become a CrossFit competitor
Jamie’s training environment at CrossFit Yas
Why Jamie believes she excelled at CrossFit so quickly
The transition from team to individual competition
What Jamie does to train her mindset
Her approach to the 2020 CrossFit Games season
How she met her husband, Elliott
What Jamie does to stay motivated in the gym
The inspiration for her Feel Better Friday tips
How she’s grown as a person, athlete, and coach while at CrossFit Yas
Jamie’s plans for the future
Jamie’s approach to nutrition, and why she likes fasting
What her training looks like while self-isolating
Three things Jamie does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on her health
One thing she thinks could have a big impact on her health, but she has a hard time implementing
What a healthy life looks like to Jamie

You can follow Jamie on Instagram

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 104 Physical Therapist & CrossFit Games Athlete Amanda Barnhart

Ep 130 - Kristi O'Connell on Training for Joy and Balance

This post was originally published on May 25, 2020.

Monday May 11, 2020

We Work Until It’s Done: Caity Henniger on Rogue Fitness and its Response to COVID-19 PH143

Monday May 11, 2020

Everybody puts their boots on the same way. And what that means is, it doesn’t matter your title here. It could be the people on our leadership team, Bill and I, or it could be the person coming in their first day on the job on the assembly line...everyone is the same. And everyone is going to be treated the same. And it goes back to that first [value], we work until it’s done. If there are boxes that need to go out the door, or we need to make more barbells, you’re going to see the top leadership down going out and helping right now. We did get overrun before we could hire some people- we have everyone in our office right now, they’re doing shifts on our production floor. And that’s really what this is all about, and you see people getting experiences that you normally wouldn’t have. To go out and build a barbell, and maybe you’re in our IT department, a lot of places you wouldn’t have that opportunity, but we live by that standard. Everybody puts their boots on the same way.”
- Caity Henniger

Caity Henniger has been a lifelong athlete. In high school she led her basketball team to victory in 91 out of 102 games, was voted MVP of the 1998 Junior Olympic AAU circuit, and was a two-time state champion in both shot put and discus. She went on to play collegiate ball at Ohio State where she averaged 15.4 points per game and set the school single-season record for three-pointers, with 106, earning her the Edward S. Steitz Award as the nation's best three-point shooter. In 2005, Caity joined the WNBA as a player for the Charlotte Sting.

After multiple leg surgeries led Caity to retire from basketball, she was drawn to the competitive side of CrossFit. In 2008, with just a few months of CrossFit experience, she took first place at the 2008 CrossFit Games. Caity would go on to become a fixture in the production side of the Games, working as an ESPN commentator and as a representative of Rogue Fitness.

Shortly after Caity's 2008 CrossFit Games victory, she began playing a huge role in helping Rogue Fitness grow from a small e-commerce site to a major powerhouse in the fitness equipment industry. With a focus on manufacturing quality, American-made products from local sources, Rogue now employs over 900 people at their massive 600,000 square foot campus in Columbus, Ohio.

Recently, when Ohio issued a stay-at-home order in response to COVID-19, Rogue quickly pivoted their manufacturing processes to make Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers, a decision that is not only helping to keep healthcare workers safe, but is also helping to keep their local community employed.

I had to opportunity to sit down with Caity to learn more about the mission and values Rogue was founded on, and how those principles are driving their business during this time of uncertainty. We chatted about her days as a competitor, how she balances her role as an executive with her own personal health, and we were even able to steal a few minutes from Rogue's Director of Product Development, Ahmik Jones, to learn more about the processes behind shifting gears from manufacturing fitness equipment to manufacturing PPE.

In this episode we discuss:

Caity’s athletic background
The history behind Rogue Fitness and their partnership with the CrossFit Games
What led Rogue to branch out into manufacturing equipment for other sports
Rogue's new facility and the Industrial Revolution 2.0
Rogue's three core values and how they implement them
The story behind Don’t Weaken
Rogue’s early response to COVID-19
How Rogue came to have a doctor as their Director of Product Development
How Rogue made the decision to manufacture PPE for healthcare workers, and what the development process has been like
Measures Rogue has taken encourage employees to embrace fitness and the positive impact they’ve seen as a result
How Caity manages her time to allow for her own workouts and downtime away from work
The mentors who helped Caity grow into a strong leader
What a typical day looks like for Caity
Stand-out moments where Caity has felt especially proud of the work Rogue is doing
Three things that Caity does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on her health
One thing she thinks could have a big impact on her health but she has a hard time implementing
What a healthy life looks like to Caity

You can follow Caity on Instagram and Twitter.

You can follow Rogue Fitness on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 51 - Dick Costolo on Taking Risks and Finding Fitness

Ep 90 - CrossFit Games GM Justin Bergh: The Man Behind the Magic

Ep 101 - Dr. Joe Janesz on Building a Champion Mindset

This post was originally published on May 11, 2020.

Monday Apr 27, 2020

From the CrossFit Games to Pregnancy with Annie Thorisdottir + Camille Leblanc-Bazinet PH141

Monday Apr 27, 2020

“Being a professional athlete, it’s a really selfish lifestyle that you need to lead. You’re number 1, 2, and 3. You think about yourself - it’s your life. Like Cami said, it’s that extra percent that you put in that people don’t see. It’s the sleeping during the night, the recovery in the evening, the food that you eat, the meal prepping, the training. It is everything, it’s the whole package. So, all of a sudden - my body is my work tool and all of a sudden it’s not mine anymore. I’m sharing this with someone else, and my body isn’t going to come first anymore. She’s going to come first, no matter what, and I’m grateful for that, but it’s definitely something that you… It’s weird. It’s a weird feeling. It’s an incredible feeling, but it’s also really, really strange.”
- Annie Thorisdottir

Known as “Iceland Annie,” Annie Thorisdottir is a two-time Fittest Woman on Earth (2011-2012) and ten-time CrossFit Games veteran. With a background of gymnastics, pole vaulting, and boot camp, Annie made her Games debut in 2009 at 19 years old. Since then, Annie has been a staple in our sport and she is known to train hard and always compete with a smile. After placing second in the world in the 2020 CrossFit Open, Annie declined her invitation to the 2020 CrossFit Games as she prepares for her next big event: she and her long-time partner, Fred Aegidius, are expecting their first child in August of 2020.

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet began her Crossfit Games journey in 2010, and she has competed every year since, ultimately earning the title of “Fittest Woman on Earth” in 2014. In 2019 she made the transition from individual athlete to team competitor and took home silver as a member of Team CrossFit Krypton. A former gymnast and Level 1 Seminar staff member, Camille has also been a member of the Canadian National Olympic weightlifting team and holds a chemical engineering degree. She and her husband, Dave Lipson, recently announced that they are expecting their first child in September of 2020.

Annie, Camille and I recently caught up for a long overdue chat. We compared notes on how their pregnancies are progressing, talked about how their training routines have changed, and discussed how their experiences as competitive athletes are helping prepare them for motherhood. And, of course, we shared lots of laughs along the way!

In this episode we discuss:

Camille’s intention to retire from competition, and Annie’s desire to compete again
Camille’s pregnancy experience vs. Annie’s pregnancy experience so far
How they shared the news with their partners
How Camille and Annie’s training has changed since becoming pregnant
How every woman’s pregnancy is different and the importance of listening to your body
Lessons Annie & Camille have applied from their competition days to support their pregnancies
What it’s been like to experience pregnancy alongside their exceptionally fit and supportive partners
The lessons they hope to instill in their children

You can follow Annie on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

You can follow Camille on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 14 - Camille Leblanc-Bazinet on Moving Forward, Engineering, and Body Image

Ep 57 - Annie Thorisdottir and Fred Aegidius on Team Work and Individual Performance

Ep 81 - Postpartum Training and the Road Back to the CrossFit Games with Lindsey Valenzuela

Ep 82 - Training during Pregnancy and Healing Diastsis Recti with Lisa Ryan

Ep 83 - Pelvic Floor Health for Athletes with Julie Wiebe, PT

Ep 110 - Kara Saunders on CrossFit and Expecting Baby She-Bear

This post was originally published on April 27, 2020.

Tuesday Apr 14, 2020

Stress: The Elephant in the Room with Dr. George Slavich PH139

Tuesday Apr 14, 2020

Dr. George Slavich is a leading expert in the conceptualization, assessment, and management of life stress and it's relationship to poor health. He is the founding Director of the Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research at UCLA whose goal is "to advance the science of stress and health to help prevent disease and improve human health and resilience worldwide."

Since beginning his career as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Slavich has been researching the relationship between stress and health for over 20 years. His area of focus is psychoneuroimmunology, which studies the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease. By integrating tools from psychology, neuroscience, immunology, biology, genetics, and genomics, Dr. Slavich’s research has provided new insights into the inflammatory response to social stress and helped to pioneer a new field of research called human social genomics. He has also developed the first online system for measuring lifetime stress exposure called the Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN), and proposed a new theory called the Social Safety Theory, which hypothesizes that developing and maintaining friendly social bonds is a fundamental organizing principle of human behavior and that threats to social safety are a critical feature of psychological stressors that increase risk for disease.

Dr. Slavich completed undergraduate and graduate coursework in psychology and communication at Stanford University, and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Oregon. After graduate school, he was a clinical psychology intern at McLean Hospital in Boston and a clinical fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He subsequently completed three years of NIMH-supported postdoctoral training in psychoneuroimmunology at UCSF and UCLA. He is presently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA, a Research Scientist at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, and the Founding Director of the UCLA Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research. His research has been covered by many media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Scientific American, TIME Magazine, HBO, NPR, U.S. News & World Report, and others.

In this episode, we talk about the science behind how stress impacts our body down to the level of gene expression and immune system activation, what type of stressors seem to have the biggest impact on our health, some of the things we can do to mitigate the negative impact of stress, and how measuring stress may improve our ability to address it on a large scale. We also talked about how Dr. Slavich's work provides insight into the current coronavirus pandemic including the impact of stress on chronic systemic inflammation, why we should be practicing physical distancing instead of social distancing, and how best to communicate with others during this time to preserve the protective effects of social bonds on our health.

Bio adapted from uclastresslab.org

In this episode we discuss:

How Dr. Slavich got into the field of stress research and what motivates him
Psychoneuroimmunology: what it is, and how it can be used to study health
What happens in our body when we are exposed to an external stressor
Which types of stressors most negatively impact health
Social Safety Theory
Social genomics
Physical distancing vs. social distancing
Whether connecting via technology can have the same impact as connecting in person
The impact of stress on our biology relative to other lifestyle factors, and what we can do to influence our stress response and reduce chronic inflammation
Tools for reducing the impact of stress on the body: mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy
Quantifying and measuring stress
Three things Dr. Slavich does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on his health
One thing he thinks could have a big impact on his health but he has a hard time implementing
What a healthy life looks like to Dr. Slavich

Links:

A Cold Fact: High Stress Can Make You Sick, Sheldon Cohen
The Media Equation, Clifford Nass & Byron Reeves
Social Safety Theory
UCLA Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research
The Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN)
Donate to UCLA Stress Lab Research

Related episodes:

Ep 105 - Sleep, Stress and Brain Health with Dr. Nate Bergman

Ep 116 - How Healing Works with Dr. Wayne Jonas

Ep 135 - Immune System Strength with Dr. Leonard Calabrese

Ep 138 - Pursuing Health Pearls: Our 10 Favorite Ways to Combat Stress and Anxiety

This post was originally published on April 13, 2020.

Tuesday Mar 17, 2020

Immune System Strength with Dr. Leonard Calabrese PH135

Tuesday Mar 17, 2020

“What we’re talking about is systemic, low-grade inflammation where the body’s barometer for this inflammatory response is turned up just modestly. This contributes to a whole host of diseases. Diseases of chronic inflammation that range from type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease with heart disease and stroke, neurodegenerative disease, fatty liver– which is now epidemic in our society– as well as autoimmune disease. So, now these diseases which are non-communicable– you can’t catch them– they are the leading cause of death on our planet right now and they’re being driven by chronic, systemic low-grade inflammation” – Dr. Leonard Calabrese

Dr. Leonard Calabrese, is a rheumatologist, immunologist, and doctor of osteopathic medicine. He is the head of Cleveland Clinic’s Section of Clinical Immunology and manages the Clinical Immunology Clinic. After graduating from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Dr. Calabrese completed his internal medical training at Cleveland Clinic, followed by a fellowship in rheumatic and immunologic disease.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Calabrese has authored more than 300 publications and become an internationally recognized HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C researcher. He is also passionate about utilizing lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, sleep and stress management to reduce inflammation, control disease, and bolster immunologic function. Based on growing scientific evidence that environment and behavior play a large role in immune function and gene expression, Dr. Calabrese is leading the charge in educating physicians and empowering patients so that they can feel confident in using wellness behaviors to help strengthen their immune function and improve their overall health and happiness.

Dr. Calabrese and I recently sat down to chat about the basics of the immune system and what practices we can implement in our day-to-day lives to reduce inflammation and lower our risk of chronic disease.

In this episode we discuss:

Dr. Calabrese’s medical background and what drew him to immunology
How the field of immunology has changed over the years
The role of our immune system: how it interacts with our body and our environment
How the immune system can become overactive
What inflammation is, and what causes contributes to it
What we can do to reduce our inflammation
Diet, intestinal permeability and their effect on the immune system
The role of diet, exercise, sleep and stress on the immune system
Social genomics and how we can influence which genes express themselves
Dr. Calabrese’s thoughts on the impact of gratitude practice
Habits that Dr. Calabrese implements in his own life to manage stress, diet, exercise and sleep
Dr. Calabrese’s vision for the Immune Strength program and how he hopes to help patients on a broader scale
Three things Dr. Calabrese does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on his health
One thing he struggles to implement that could have a big impact on his health
What a healthy life looks like to Dr. Calabrese

You can follow Dr. Calabrese on Twitter and via his CME courses.

Links:

Related episodes:

Ep 22 – Brigid Titgemeir on Functional Nutrition

Ep 42 – Against All Grain’s Danielle Walker on Advocating, Healing and Celebrating

Ep 78 – Lifestyle & Brain Health with Dr. David Perlmutter

Ep 103 – What to Eat When with Dr. Michael Roizen

Ep 105 – Sleep, Stress and Brain Health with Dr. Nate Bergman