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Techniques for Balancing Work-Life and Exercise
Dr. Fred H. Brennan Jr. shares how to balance work, life, and exercise.
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Dr. Brennan knew from a young age that he wanted to become a physician. All through college and for the first two years of medical school he was determined to become an orthopedic surgeon. After spending two months as a medical student with a family medicine residency program he was so impressed with their breath of knowledge and scope of practice that he changed his mind and decided to pursue family and sports medicine. He has never looked back.
Dr. Brennan is a former Division 1 college football player, a two-time Boston Marathon finisher, and an Ironman Triathlon World Championship finisher. He is a Chief Medical Officer at the Boston Marathon and the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. For ten years he was the Head Team Physician for the University of New Hampshire before moving to Florida in 2017. He served over 20 years in the military and retired as a lieutenant colonel having received a Bronze Star Medal as an ER physician in Baghdad Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned an additional 25 medals while serving his country.
Dr. Brennan is an accomplished author, having contributed numerous peer-reviewed articles in family and sports medicine, for such publications in UpToDate, Current Sports Medicine Reports, and the American Family Physician. Dr. Brennan is certified in advanced cardiac life support, and an instructor in Advanced Trauma Life Support. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine and certified in sports medicine (CAQ) with the American Board of Family Medicine.
He currently serves as a team physician for the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the MLB Toronto Blue Jays. Dr. Brennan enjoys boating with his children and wife, music, skiing, and hiking. He also enjoys running and competing in triathlons.
Learn more about Fred H. Brennan Jr., DO
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM
Dr. Fred Brennan is board certified in family medicine. He completed his undergraduate degree in biochemistry/microbiology from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, Maine. Dr. Brennan continued his medical education by completing a family medicine residency at Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York. He then completed a primary care sports medicine fellowship at The Toledo Hospital’s Northwest Ohio Center for Sports Medicine in Toledo, Ohio.Dr. Brennan knew from a young age that he wanted to become a physician. All through college and for the first two years of medical school he was determined to become an orthopedic surgeon. After spending two months as a medical student with a family medicine residency program he was so impressed with their breath of knowledge and scope of practice that he changed his mind and decided to pursue family and sports medicine. He has never looked back.
Dr. Brennan is a former Division 1 college football player, a two-time Boston Marathon finisher, and an Ironman Triathlon World Championship finisher. He is a Chief Medical Officer at the Boston Marathon and the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. For ten years he was the Head Team Physician for the University of New Hampshire before moving to Florida in 2017. He served over 20 years in the military and retired as a lieutenant colonel having received a Bronze Star Medal as an ER physician in Baghdad Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned an additional 25 medals while serving his country.
Dr. Brennan is an accomplished author, having contributed numerous peer-reviewed articles in family and sports medicine, for such publications in UpToDate, Current Sports Medicine Reports, and the American Family Physician. Dr. Brennan is certified in advanced cardiac life support, and an instructor in Advanced Trauma Life Support. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine and certified in sports medicine (CAQ) with the American Board of Family Medicine.
He currently serves as a team physician for the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the MLB Toronto Blue Jays. Dr. Brennan enjoys boating with his children and wife, music, skiing, and hiking. He also enjoys running and competing in triathlons.
Learn more about Fred H. Brennan Jr., DO
Transcription:
Techniques for Balancing Work-Life and Exercise
Intro: This is BayCare HealthChat, another podcast from BayCare Health System.
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to BayCare HealthChat. I'm Caitlin Whyte. And in this episode, we are talking about techniques for balancing work, life and exercise with Dr. Fred Brennan, Jr., a family medicine and sports medicine physician with BayCare. So, this can be difficult for a lot of people if they don't want to wake up early or workout after a long day. And it could feel like there's just no extra time to be active. So let's first talk about timing. How can we carve out that time for exercise and how much time do we really need in a day?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: So, you know, this is one of those questions and we hear a lot now with COVID that people have gotten sort of out of shape and they've gained weight. And they say, "Well, it's COVID. And I haven't been able to do things" and certainly understand, you know, the gym and being out at a gym where things were really up and COVID was really a force. And you don't want to go into a gym environment.
But I think the key is, you know, for exercise, it's one of those things you really have to make a priority. So you have to really look at your week ahead of time and look at those small gaps of time where you think you might be able to fit in some exercise in your schedule. Bottom line is you really have to make it a priority, because all of us have busy lives. And if you really look at our schedules, a lot of times we're like, "There is nowhere in the entire schedule I'm going to fit in a workout."
But if you look under a microscope and really look at it, like, "Okay. Maybe on the lunch hour, I can go off for a 10-minute walk" or, "Maybe after work, I've got about an hour before I have to pick up my kids from soccer practice. I can go out and again go for a walk or a little bike ride or just even do something in my office." And so you have to look for those little gaps. And really as little as 10 minutes will have some benefit to your health of being active, of increasing your heart rate and being active. And it's cumulative. So if you can do 10 minutes at lunchtime and 10 minutes after you get done from work before you have to go pick up your kids or get home, it will add up. It is cumulative.
You really want to get about at least 10 minutes though of activity. Certainly, the more, the better. But it doesn't have to be going out and running five miles. It doesn't have to be vigorous. It just has to be, you know, moderate. And some people will have a staircase in their office and they can do stairs. So they'll take 10 minutes before they go home from work. They'll bring some shorts and t-shirts and sneakers, and they'll do stairs in their hallway for, you know, 10 minutes. That's pretty vigorous. I mean, that's a pretty good workout. And it only took you 10 minutes to do it, and it will have health benefits.
But you really have to make it a priority. You have to say, "Listen, this is my time. And even though it's only 15 minutes today or Tuesday or Thursday, I'm going to take that time. I'm going to squeeze it in, because I understand the benefit of it for my health is that important that I have to make time for it." If we put it off, there's always something that's going to take its place, right? There's always something else that will come and take its place.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, let's look at the activity itself. What are some good exercises to start out for those who are just trying to get back into the groove?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: I think walking is a tremendous exercise. And I realize there are people that do have health or orthopedic issues that don't allow them to do long distances, and that's okay. But I can tell you, you know, there's a tremendous benefit from just walking. And even if you go to the mall, say it's too hot outside, we just talked about that a little bit. You can go to the mall, right? And you can walk in the mall. The benefits of walking are so underrated. People think, "That's just walking. That's really not going to do much for me," but there's been plenty of studies that show there's a significant benefit to simply just going for a walk. And it's easy, right? You can literally go out your front door. You start off slowly and say, you have an issue with your hip or your knee, and you can go for five minutes and that starts to hurt, you have to take a break. It's okay, you can take a break. Take a five-minute break and then go back to it. And then, you know, take a break again if you have to. It's okay to stop. It's just you want to be active. You want to get out there and do it.
So I think walking is a tremendous exercise and most of us can walk. If you are someone who really walking really hurts a lot their hip or their knee, ankle, you could use a stationary bike or a recumbent bike or a regular bicycle. That's a great, great exercise. Rowing machines, rowing machines are a great, great workout as well. So I think any of those things can be an option for people to get active. You start slow, start easy and take your time and make it fun. It has to be something you enjoy doing. If you don't like it, if it's not enjoyable, you're not going to do it.
The other thing is whether it's your spouse or partner or friend, really try to get someone else involved with you, because there are times where you're just not going to feel like it, right? If you can get a friend to say, "Okay. Listen, I know we're not really in the mood, but let's go, come on, let's go for that walk or let's go for that bike ride." Having a spouse or friend to motivate you on those days where you don't feel like doing it and vice versa can be really helpful to keep each other going.
Caitlin Whyte: What are some misconceptions about exercise that you think people have that we could clear up here?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: Well, I think a lot of people think exercise is just running or just sprinting or just something really vigorous, right? But I think any activity just to get you moving. For example, yard work. I mean, there are people that will spend a good hour or two on a Saturday or Sunday working on the yard, doing yard work. And that's vigorous. I mean, that can be vigorous, but it's at least moderate intensity, so that's fine.
I think the biggest misconception is when we say to folks to exercise is we mean to run or to go hiking, and that's not necessarily what we mean. We just want you to get moving, you know, whether it's again walking in the mall or walking outside or going for a short bike ride or jumping on a rowing machine even for 15 minutes, it's light and easy. You don't have to really push yourself that hard. The key is just to stay active, to move. Don't let yourself become sedentary, because that's where we start getting bad things in our health when we just get sedentary. So anything that involves movement really is exercise.
And I think the biggest misconception is people think, "Well, geez, I hate running. I don't want to have to run." You don't have to run. We just want to get you moving.
Caitlin Whyte: Great. Well, doctor, any other tips or tricks to get us back into this exercise routine, even if we have those busy work and life schedules going on?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: I think it really is important to try to get a teammate, a friend, family member, or someone I think that really does help people to stay motivated. It's okay if there are days where you plan to get out and you don't, don't beat yourself up and don't give up on it, just because maybe the weather wasn't cooperative or you weren't feeling well that day to say, "Well, you know," and then just let it go and don't exercise anymore. There are days you might not feel like it, and don't beat yourself up. But plan on most days of the week, go ahead and do something. Again, whether it's walking your dog, that's great. Dogs love it and it's good for you. And really getting a partner or two that has a similar goal that likes the activity that you're talking about doing. Feel free to mix it up maybe one day for a bike ride, one day for a walk. You don't have to do the same thing over and over again, make it interesting. And again, having a family member, doing it with a family member or a friend, I think really you help each other to keep each other motivated. And hopefully, you get to the point where you really look forward to it and to the point where you almost feel guilty when you don't go out and run or walk or bike ride or something. That's when you know you've sort of made it when you actually get to that point where you feel guilty for not doing it.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you for these tips, doctor. It's so important to make exercise a priority. I mean, it's your health and your life insurance combined into one. Head on over to our website at BayCare.org for more information and to get connected with one of our providers. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all of the other BayCare podcasts. For more health tips and updates, follow us on your social channels. This has been another episode of BayCare HealthChat. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well,
Techniques for Balancing Work-Life and Exercise
Intro: This is BayCare HealthChat, another podcast from BayCare Health System.
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to BayCare HealthChat. I'm Caitlin Whyte. And in this episode, we are talking about techniques for balancing work, life and exercise with Dr. Fred Brennan, Jr., a family medicine and sports medicine physician with BayCare. So, this can be difficult for a lot of people if they don't want to wake up early or workout after a long day. And it could feel like there's just no extra time to be active. So let's first talk about timing. How can we carve out that time for exercise and how much time do we really need in a day?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: So, you know, this is one of those questions and we hear a lot now with COVID that people have gotten sort of out of shape and they've gained weight. And they say, "Well, it's COVID. And I haven't been able to do things" and certainly understand, you know, the gym and being out at a gym where things were really up and COVID was really a force. And you don't want to go into a gym environment.
But I think the key is, you know, for exercise, it's one of those things you really have to make a priority. So you have to really look at your week ahead of time and look at those small gaps of time where you think you might be able to fit in some exercise in your schedule. Bottom line is you really have to make it a priority, because all of us have busy lives. And if you really look at our schedules, a lot of times we're like, "There is nowhere in the entire schedule I'm going to fit in a workout."
But if you look under a microscope and really look at it, like, "Okay. Maybe on the lunch hour, I can go off for a 10-minute walk" or, "Maybe after work, I've got about an hour before I have to pick up my kids from soccer practice. I can go out and again go for a walk or a little bike ride or just even do something in my office." And so you have to look for those little gaps. And really as little as 10 minutes will have some benefit to your health of being active, of increasing your heart rate and being active. And it's cumulative. So if you can do 10 minutes at lunchtime and 10 minutes after you get done from work before you have to go pick up your kids or get home, it will add up. It is cumulative.
You really want to get about at least 10 minutes though of activity. Certainly, the more, the better. But it doesn't have to be going out and running five miles. It doesn't have to be vigorous. It just has to be, you know, moderate. And some people will have a staircase in their office and they can do stairs. So they'll take 10 minutes before they go home from work. They'll bring some shorts and t-shirts and sneakers, and they'll do stairs in their hallway for, you know, 10 minutes. That's pretty vigorous. I mean, that's a pretty good workout. And it only took you 10 minutes to do it, and it will have health benefits.
But you really have to make it a priority. You have to say, "Listen, this is my time. And even though it's only 15 minutes today or Tuesday or Thursday, I'm going to take that time. I'm going to squeeze it in, because I understand the benefit of it for my health is that important that I have to make time for it." If we put it off, there's always something that's going to take its place, right? There's always something else that will come and take its place.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, let's look at the activity itself. What are some good exercises to start out for those who are just trying to get back into the groove?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: I think walking is a tremendous exercise. And I realize there are people that do have health or orthopedic issues that don't allow them to do long distances, and that's okay. But I can tell you, you know, there's a tremendous benefit from just walking. And even if you go to the mall, say it's too hot outside, we just talked about that a little bit. You can go to the mall, right? And you can walk in the mall. The benefits of walking are so underrated. People think, "That's just walking. That's really not going to do much for me," but there's been plenty of studies that show there's a significant benefit to simply just going for a walk. And it's easy, right? You can literally go out your front door. You start off slowly and say, you have an issue with your hip or your knee, and you can go for five minutes and that starts to hurt, you have to take a break. It's okay, you can take a break. Take a five-minute break and then go back to it. And then, you know, take a break again if you have to. It's okay to stop. It's just you want to be active. You want to get out there and do it.
So I think walking is a tremendous exercise and most of us can walk. If you are someone who really walking really hurts a lot their hip or their knee, ankle, you could use a stationary bike or a recumbent bike or a regular bicycle. That's a great, great exercise. Rowing machines, rowing machines are a great, great workout as well. So I think any of those things can be an option for people to get active. You start slow, start easy and take your time and make it fun. It has to be something you enjoy doing. If you don't like it, if it's not enjoyable, you're not going to do it.
The other thing is whether it's your spouse or partner or friend, really try to get someone else involved with you, because there are times where you're just not going to feel like it, right? If you can get a friend to say, "Okay. Listen, I know we're not really in the mood, but let's go, come on, let's go for that walk or let's go for that bike ride." Having a spouse or friend to motivate you on those days where you don't feel like doing it and vice versa can be really helpful to keep each other going.
Caitlin Whyte: What are some misconceptions about exercise that you think people have that we could clear up here?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: Well, I think a lot of people think exercise is just running or just sprinting or just something really vigorous, right? But I think any activity just to get you moving. For example, yard work. I mean, there are people that will spend a good hour or two on a Saturday or Sunday working on the yard, doing yard work. And that's vigorous. I mean, that can be vigorous, but it's at least moderate intensity, so that's fine.
I think the biggest misconception is when we say to folks to exercise is we mean to run or to go hiking, and that's not necessarily what we mean. We just want you to get moving, you know, whether it's again walking in the mall or walking outside or going for a short bike ride or jumping on a rowing machine even for 15 minutes, it's light and easy. You don't have to really push yourself that hard. The key is just to stay active, to move. Don't let yourself become sedentary, because that's where we start getting bad things in our health when we just get sedentary. So anything that involves movement really is exercise.
And I think the biggest misconception is people think, "Well, geez, I hate running. I don't want to have to run." You don't have to run. We just want to get you moving.
Caitlin Whyte: Great. Well, doctor, any other tips or tricks to get us back into this exercise routine, even if we have those busy work and life schedules going on?
Fred H. Brennan Jr. DO, FAOASM, FAAFP, FACSM, FAMSSM: I think it really is important to try to get a teammate, a friend, family member, or someone I think that really does help people to stay motivated. It's okay if there are days where you plan to get out and you don't, don't beat yourself up and don't give up on it, just because maybe the weather wasn't cooperative or you weren't feeling well that day to say, "Well, you know," and then just let it go and don't exercise anymore. There are days you might not feel like it, and don't beat yourself up. But plan on most days of the week, go ahead and do something. Again, whether it's walking your dog, that's great. Dogs love it and it's good for you. And really getting a partner or two that has a similar goal that likes the activity that you're talking about doing. Feel free to mix it up maybe one day for a bike ride, one day for a walk. You don't have to do the same thing over and over again, make it interesting. And again, having a family member, doing it with a family member or a friend, I think really you help each other to keep each other motivated. And hopefully, you get to the point where you really look forward to it and to the point where you almost feel guilty when you don't go out and run or walk or bike ride or something. That's when you know you've sort of made it when you actually get to that point where you feel guilty for not doing it.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you for these tips, doctor. It's so important to make exercise a priority. I mean, it's your health and your life insurance combined into one. Head on over to our website at BayCare.org for more information and to get connected with one of our providers. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all of the other BayCare podcasts. For more health tips and updates, follow us on your social channels. This has been another episode of BayCare HealthChat. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well,