Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
I interact with hundreds of patients each week and get asked a lot of questions. On Fridays I like to share some of the answers I give and hope it has value for you.
Something I wish more people knew? I speak often with people trying to get into better shape and improve their health through diet and exercise. Something I try to impress upon them is the how important each is to the other. If you only exercise but pay no attention to what you’re consuming, your results will be minimal, and you’ll plateau quickly. Likewise, if you’re eating well but not exercising regularly or correctly, you’ll improve but will stall out. It is crucial to both eat and move well. Focusing on both your exercise and nutrition simultaneously will lead to noticeable body improvements, more energy, increased strength and endurance, better sleep, etc.
Something I’ve been using lately that’s helping? I have been using a “Roll Recovery” handheld device daily. If you Google it, you’ll see what it looks like but it’s almost like a handheld, dual foam roller. I use it on my thighs and calves mostly but also on my forearms and wrists. It can sometimes feel very sore, but it does an amazing job of getting tension out of muscles.
A recent observation? My wife is pregnant (it’s a girl!) and when we were at her last OBGYN appointment, her doctor said, “please know, you don’t have to have any tests or do anything that you don’t want.” I found this very refreshing because too often these days, patients feel compelled to do things simply because the doctor or the system tells them so. Ultimately, it is important to receive information from your doctors but never forget that it’s YOUR body and you need to decide what you are or are not comfortable with doing.
Your races sound brutal, do you ever want to quit? Here’s a secret, I want to quit every single time at some point, and I’d bet you anything almost everyone in those events does too. There’s a part of me that even wants to quit before the race starts. Our minds are hard-wired to protect us so when things will be tough or are getting tough, we begin having thoughts of quitting. This is a normal response to stress and thus there is no shame in it. However, the part that you learn is that while quitting may make things feel better in the short term, it can haunt you in the long term psychologically. So yes, there’s always a part of my brain that tells me it would be best to quit but I know how to control my thoughts enough so that I never do.
A quote I love? “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” – Lao Tzu
Want more?
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