Pursuing Health

47-year old Darryl Chajon didn’t start CrossFit until later in life, but once he did, he was hooked.  After several years of regular training, he even set his sights on becoming a competitor.  He started ramping up the volume and intensity of his sessions, dialed in his nutrition, and worked hard to get in better shape than ever.   Then, in March of 2020, just as he was preparing for a competition, he came down with extreme fatigue, a cough, and a fever: classic symptoms of COVID-19.  His symptoms progressed from mild to life-threatening.  He was admitted to the hospital and spent six days alone in the ICU on a ventilator and underwent dialysis when his kidneys began to fail.  When he was discharged, taking even just a short walk would leave him exhausted.   Despite experiencing such severe symptoms, Darryl was able to get back to his regular training within 3 months of leaving the hospital and now, nearly a year after he first became ill, he’s fitter than ever.  He credits his fitness level prior to becoming sick with saving his life and expediting his recovery, living proof of the CrossFit Sickness-Wellness-Fitness continuum.   You can connect with Darryl via Instagram @darrylchajon   Related Episodes: Ep 164 - Boosting Immunity and Reducing COVID Risk with Dr. Aseem Malhotra   Ep 135 - Immune System Strength with Dr. Leonard Calabrese If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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

Dr. David Johnson is a brain and spinal neurosurgeon who has had a pioneering role in the establishment of multidisciplinary spinal practices and holistic care for neurosurgical patients in Brisbane, Australia.  He is also the co-owner of CrossFit Neuro, the first clinical CrossFit affiliate.     By combining his passion for CrossFit, Olympic weightlifting, neurosurgery, and science, Dr. Johnson works to deliver the fundamental message that learning to move proficiently is key to preventing movement dysfunction which can lead to chronic back pain symptoms.   Many of Dr. Johnson’s patients go on to become members of his affiliate as a part of their recovery process to rehabilitate and to avoid future spine surgery.   I first had the opportunity to hear about Dr. Johnson’s work when he presented at the 2018 CrossFit Health Conference, and I was excited to catch up with him to learn how his practice has changed and evolved over the years.  In this episode, we talk about the importance of addressing the root cause of pain rather than just treating the symptoms, and why sleep, nutrition, and stress management also plays an important part in managing and preventing back pain.   You can connect with Dr. Johnson via Instagram @crossfitneuro   Related Episodes: Ep 104 - Physical Therapist and CrossFit Games Athlete Amanda Barnhart   Ep 132 - Healing Through Functional Movement with Dr. Amy West If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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

Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist and 2X New York Times/Wall Street Journal Best-selling author of The Paleo Solution and Wired To Eat. He and co-author Diana Rodgers recently released their book, Sacred Cow, which explains why well-raised meat is good for us and good for the planet.    Robb is a longtime CrossFit enthusiast, and he is the co-founder of the 1st and 4th CrossFit affiliates in the world.   Robb has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world via his podcast, books and seminars. He’s known for his direct approach and ability to distill and synthesize information to make the complicated topics easier to understand.   In this episode, Robb joins myself and Dr. Matt Dawson and Dr. Mike Mallin of Wild Health to discuss a broad range of topics, including the online censorship of health communities, why beef can have a place in a healthy diet, and the importance of regenerative agriculture for the health of our planet.   *Robb’s bio adapted from his website   You can connect with Rob at sacredcow.info and join.thehealthyrebellion.com   Related Episodes: Ep 93 - Debunking Nutrition Myths with Gary Taubes   Ep 123 - Zoë Harcombe on Dissecting Nutrition Research and Dietary Guidelines If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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.

Seemingly healthy and in his late thirties, Robert Oh was shocked when routine blood work showed that he was prediabetic.     He was at a healthy weight, did CrossFit 3-4 times per week, ate mostly healthy foods, and worked as a military family physician.  He had no family history and no risk factors, and he had no intentions of starting the metformin recommended by his colleagues.   The more he researched, the more Dr. Oh began to believe that a statin medication he had been taking for 10 years contributed to his insulin resistance.   Instead of adding another pill to his daily routine, Dr. Oh decided to drop the statin and experiment with his nutrition.  He ultimately adopted a Paleo/low carb diet and saw dramatic improvements in the way he felt, his waist circumference, and his blood markers.   Not only did this approach help Dr. Oh reverse his prediabetes, the changes inspired him to pursue a fellowship in Sports Medicine so that he could help others like himself- in the military and unknowingly having insulin resistance- heal through lifestyle medicine as well. You can connect with Rob via Twitter @RobertOhMD   Related Episodes: Ep 16 - Pete Katz and Dr. Isaacson on Using CrossFit and Paleo to Overcome Chronic Disease Ep 93 - Debunking Nutrition Myths with Gary Taubes   If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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

Alec Smith is a 3-time CrossFit Games competitor who is perhaps best known for his incredible expertise at gymnastics, and for being one of the first openly gay male athletes in the sport.   He started in gymnastics at age 2, and excelled at the sport through middle school when a car accident forced him to retire.  After recovering and dabbling in several other sports, he eventually began training CrossFit alongside his older brother, Ben Smith.   In 2013 Alec qualified for his first Regionals, and by 2017 he was competing at the Games as an individual.  In 2019 Alec joined Team CrossFit Krypton and went on to win first at Wodapalooza and second at the CrossFit Games.   Currently Alec is gearing up for the 2021 season by training alongside Brooke Wells in Nashville, TN.   I was excited to catch up with him to learn more about his experience winning team silver at the Games, to hear what his plans are for 2021, and to learn more about how he found the courage to get outside his comfort zone and share his true self with the world.   You can connect with Alec via Instagram @alecsmith8   Related Episodes: Ep 49 - Ben Smith on Why He Trains and the Evolution of The CrossFit Games Ep 170 - Brooke Wells on What it Takes to be a Top CrossFit Athlete If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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 week’s story features Katie Spilka who shares her story of being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called scleroderma at age 16 and how CrossFit and a positive outlook have helped her put her symptoms into remission.   Katie was an everyday teenager when she first experienced unusual symptoms, including numbness in her fingers.  Because of her family’s medical history, Katie’s mom advocated for her to see a rheumatologist, and conversations with the doctor revealed that symptoms Katie had thought were normal were actually signs of scleroderma.   After 5 years of treatment involving some heavy hitting medications, Katie worked with her doctor to begin weaning off some of her prescriptions.  Says Katie, “At this time I was 20 years old and scared yet relieved that I would be able to feel “normal” again. I knew I needed to do more for myself to keep myself well.”   She made the leap to join a CrossFit affiliate and the workouts and community were instrumental in helping her re-build strength she had lost to her disease, as well as providing an incentive to improve her nutrition.   As an adult, Katie, inspired by her rheumatologist, has gone on to become a nurse so that she can help care for others.  She continues to experience remission from her symptoms and says, “I have now been weaned off all my medications that I was taking for my scleroderma and trying to take it one day at a time taking the best care of myself that I can!”   You can connect with Katie via Instagram @kspilkz   Related Episodes:   Ep 99 - Dr. Axel Pflueger on Fighting Chronic Disease with Fitness Ep 169- Taking Control of Multiple Sclerosis with Jasmine Joy   If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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

At age 18 and finishing high school, Alan Fredendall topped the scales at over 400 pounds.  Climbing a single flight of stairs to attend class on the second story of his school left him wheezing and breathless.   During college, he began a weight loss journey involving body building and lots of cardio, but he hadn’t yet found a way to make sustainable, long term changes.  A stent in the Army gave him the motivation he needed to maintain a healthier weight for several years, but it also left him looking forward to the day when he would get out so that he could “never exercise again.”   Once Alan left the Army and went back to college to finish his exercise science degree, he continued the cycle of inconsistent exercise, yo-yo dieting and huge weight fluctuations.    It wasn’t until a friend introduced him to CrossFit that he finally developed healthy habits that stuck.  Although he was reluctant to start, Alan soon ramped up his attendance and quickly learned that good nutrition outside the gym helped him feel better inside the gym.   He came to love being part of a tribe of individuals looking to improve themselves, and appreciates that training with CrossFit allows him to be better in activities outside the gym.   Not only has Alan used CrossFit to improve his own health, he splits his time between working as a doctor of physical therapy and as a Level 2 trainer using CrossFit methodologies to help others who are in his old shoes.  He often sees his clients transition from being physical therapy patients to affiliate members attending the classes he coaches.   I first connected with Alan via a virtual physical therapy conference for the Institute of Clinical Excellence, and I was excited to learn more about his remarkable transformation story in this episode.  We talk about the approach his friends used to encourage him to make major lifestyle changes, and how he sees CrossFit and physical therapy working together to help individuals stay functionally fit throughout their lives.   You can connect with Alan via Instagram @alan.fred.dpt and the Institute of Clinical Excellence at @icephysio   Related Episodes:   Ep 116 - How Healing Works with Dr. Wayne Jonas   Ep 132 - Healing Through Functional Movement with Dr. Amy West If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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

Despite being the youngest Individual competitor at the 2020 CrossFit Games, Haley Adams brought a wealth of experience to the field, including three CrossFit Games podium finishes as a teen competitor.   In 2019, Haley’s first year participating in the Women’s division, she finished in 6th and earned the title “Rookie of the Year.” In 2020, she continued to climb her way up the leaderboard and left no doubt that even at a young age, she’s ready to be one of the top CrossFit athletes in the world.   Despite a tumultuous and uncertain training season, she gave a strong performance and finished 4th, just a few points out of podium contention. The 2021 season finds her back hard at work in Cookeville, Tennessee where she balances studying at Tennessee Tech with training alongside the likes of Rich Froning and Tascia Percevecz at CrossFit Mayhem. Haley last joined me on the podcast shortly before she won the title of Fittest Teen on Earth in 2017, so I was excited to catch up with her again and hear how her training has evolved as she’s grown up in the sport, what her 2020 training season looked like, and what’s in store for 2021. You can connect with Haley via Instagram @haleyadamssss   Related Episodes: Ep 64 - Haley Adams: A CrossFit Teen with Talent Ep 79 - Sam Briggs on Going Back to Basics and Training for Longevity   If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating or share your feedback on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every 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

Maddie Tretter was an accomplished Division 1 swimmer at Cleveland State, preparing for the Olympic Trials, when she she started coming down with a laundry list of seemingly unrelated symptoms: panic attacks, nausea, migraines, swollen joints and more. After trying several treatments with no success, Maddie was encouraged when she finally tested positive for Lyme disease - she figured now that she had a diagnosis, she’d complete a course of antibiotics and be back in the pool. Despite treatment, her symptoms continued to worsen to the point where she could barely keep down food or walk to the mailbox.  At the encouragement of a family friend, she began working with a functional medicine practitioner who used an array of traditional, alternative, and integrative therapies, and slowly her symptoms began to improve. Says Maddie, “Treating my whole body and not just trying to cover it up with a pill changed my life.” After nearly two years of treatment, Maddie was finally able to re-join her collegiate swim team and finish out her senior year. These days Maddie credits prioritizing her nutrition and active lifestyle with helping her remain symptom-free.  “I know to stay healthy and functioning I can’t sacrifice the little easy things. Advice I would give to other people going through my experience are not to give up and to always always advocate for yourself.” You can connect with Maddie via Instagram @maddietretter Related Episodes: Ep 73 - Caroline Burckle & Rebecca Soni: Olympic Swimmers RISEing to the Occasion Ep 104 - Physical Therapist & CrossFit Games Athlete Amanda Barnhart

“If a woman can understand how she feels on different days her cycle, then she can start dialing and being more personalized with her training. When the hormones are low, this is where women have more power, more speed, recover better, have more “mojo” because they have less central nervous system fatigue. Around ovulation, with that boost of estrogen, some women feel bulletproof and other women feel a little bit flat, and then a couple days later they’ll feel bulletproof, so, understanding that as well. And then when you get into the high hormone phase, with estrogen and progesterone being the highest, this is where we want women to deload more, where they’re working functional technique and they’re not doing too much high intensity, they’re not trying to do top-end VO2 work because physiologically you’re fighting your body because there’s so many different metabolic and thermoregulatory and metabolic shifts that happen with the hormones. It’s really hard to do that high, high intensity in the high hormone phase.” - Dr. Stacy Sims In the words of Stacy Sims, Ph.D, women are not small men.  Dr. Sims is an applied researcher, innovator, and entrepreneur in human performance, specifically sex differences in training, nutrition, and environmental conditions.   She is dedicated to educating women so that they can use their natural cycle to their advantage and train with their physiology, not against it. Dr. Sims earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Exercise Physiology and Sports Nutrition from the University of Otago in New Zealand.  From there, she began work as an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist at Stanford University, where she specialized women's health and performance. During her tenure at Stanford, she had the opportunity to translate earlier research into a science-based layperson's book, ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life.   In the book, she provides insights into how women can adapt their nutrition, hydration, and training to optimize their performance across the lifespan. Dr. Sims's contributions to the international research environment and the sports nutrition industry have established a new niche in sports nutrition and established her reputation as an expert in sex differences in training, nutrition, and health. She is a regularly featured speaker at professional and academic conferences, including those hosted by US Olympic Committee, High-Performance Sport NZ, and USA Cycling, and is a Senior Research Associate at AUT University. I was first introduced to Dr. Sims's work by Dr. Matt Dawson and today's co-host, Dr. Mike Mallin of Wild Health, and since then, it's seems like I've heard her name everywhere!  So many Pursuing Health listeners have suggested an episode with Dr. Sims, so I was excited to have a chance to chat with her to learn more about her work.  We discuss the general differences between male and female physiology, how women can tailor their nutrition, fitness, and hydration to optimize their performance at different times in their cycle, and considerations for peri- and post-menopausal as well as pre- and post-partum athletes. *Dr. Sim's bio adapted from her website     In this episode we discuss: Dr. Sims's background and how she became interested in women's health and performance The general physiological differences between men and women and the female hormone phases Ways women can adapt their training around their cycle Methods Dr. Sims's likes for tracking the female cycle How macronutrient consumption should be adjusted for different times in the cycle How hormones can affect thirst, and considerations for hydration The importance of adjusting training intensity at different times during the cycle Tips to help female CrossFit athletes optimize their training Changes women experience during peri- and post-menopause and exercise changes that should be considered Pregnancy and post-partum training and nutrition considerations for athletes Why fasting is not ideal for female athletes Lessons Dr. Sims would share with her younger self     You can connect with Dr. Sims on her website, Instagram, and Facebook. Links: Women are Not Small Men: a paradigm shift in the science of nutrition | Stacy Sims | TEDxTauranga Research publications by Dr. Sims Wild.ai FitrWoman Clue Flo Related episodes: Ep 83 - Pelvic Floor Health for Athletes with Julie Wiebe, PT Ep 126b - Nicole Christensen on Coaching Pregnant Athletes Ep 155 - FACTS about Fertility with Dr. Marguerite Duane Ep 172 - Optimal Health through Genomics Based Personalized Medicine   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 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.