Venita Currie (Host): Wanting to get fit, but you don't know where to start. You are not alone. Let's talk about creating a fitness routine that works for you.

 Welcome to First Health and Wellness Podcast, connecting you to the people and medical services that make your life healthier. I'm Venita Curry. Joining me today to discuss how can you make health and wellness a permanent part of your life, is Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist, Mark Landry. He holds a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology and focuses on overall health and wellness, functional training, and corrective exercises. Mark, I'm so glad you were able to join us today. Welcome.

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: Thank you for having me.

Host: Mark, it can really be a struggle to figure out what's best for our bodies when it comes to working out. For someone new to fitness or for those who just jumped in without any preparation, what are some of the key questions we should be asking ourselves and our healthcare provider?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: When somebody is at the point where they're ready to start a fitness routine, usually I would ask them what are their main goals because when it boils down to it, if you don't have goals set in mind, or written down on paper, then you don't really know how to navigate through your program.

So goals is what I would say very important, then another thing is, are there any limitations, whether physical, or mental even, sometimes that's a big role as well. So talking to their providers about if they are physically ready for a program, if there are any limitations and that way they'll know how to overcome some of that.

Host: Excellent. I know that there's a lot of folks with lower back problems, with knee problems, but that doesn't mean they can't work out, right?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: You're correct. So what I meant by going through finding out what those limitations are. Once you identify maybe some of your limitations, all that does is help you understand how you can better help yourself. So for instance, like you said, if somebody has lower back pain, that's a very common issue.

So going to maybe a health professional, maybe it is a personal trainer or maybe it's somebody else; they will be able to navigate what you can do to make sure that you're not making the problem worse or anything like that. You want to try to figure out what is maybe an issue physically, so that way you can overcome that. That's a good point.

Host: One of the things I struggle with is trying to understand what the difference is when you do work out. So is there a difference between strength training or cardio training? And what do each of those things do for our bodies?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: Well, that's a great question. Cause I feel like that's been a debate among the fitness industry for a long time. So I will just tell you based on my experience and based on my education; there is a big difference between strength training and cardiovascular training. The way it affects our body, specifically our metabolism, is definitely different. So, for instance, when you're doing cardio, specifically steady state cardio, like if you're running for maybe 30 minutes or more, your body is going to try to get into this mode of burning calories slowly, but you're going to be doing it for a longer period of time. So, in other words, your body is going to be prepared to maintain that energy expenditure, but it's not a whole lot, compared to when you're doing strength training. So metabolically speaking, you're going to technically burn more calories doing strength training, which a lot of people don't understand, I guess, because it's a misconception. Usually people go straight to cardio, including my clients.

I try to explain it to them this way. Think of your metabolism like an oven. When you're doing cardio, it's like you turn the oven on low, but when you do strength training, it's like you turn the oven on high, because your body is now thinking, okay, we have to maintain this level of intensity for however long that is. So does that kind of make sense between the difference?

Host: It does. It really does. And one of the questions as a woman, most women are afraid of weight training because they think they're going to bulk up and not look the way they want. Is that true? Or should women have a special concern about that?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: So yes, I've heard that myself from multiple women in the fitness industry. So anyway, that is also a misconception, unfortunately that's just kind of been around for a while. It's not impossible for women to bulk up, but in order for that to happen, it would take a lot of training and a very strict diet.

In other words, it can't happen by accident, if that makes sense. So, the fact that some women are afraid that that's going to happen, it's not like it's going to happen by accident. In other words, if you do weight training, you might get more tone, but you're not going to get more bulk necessarily.

Host: Excellent. One of the other things that I think concerned a lot of folks is not seeing the results that they want to see, that they plateau and then they give up. What are some ways that we can avoid being in that scenario?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: Yeah, when it comes to plateau, you gotta just keep in mind, going back to what I said earlier, when you have goals set in mind, I usually recommend having a short term goal and a long term goal, at least. And it's good to have goals in between. But when you have those goals set in mind, you have to understand it takes time in order for you to progress and reach those goals.

So for instance, if you're working out for maybe a month or so, and you don't see a whole lot of difference, that's okay, because you weren't expecting to see that difference that quickly. So if you have these goals set in mind, you need to mentally be prepared for the long term, not just the short term.

So that's one thing that I think would be helpful. Another thing is accountability. If you have maybe like a friend or a coworker or something that is working out with you, having that accountability will kind of help you keep going, even when you feel like you're not making a lot of progress.

Host: Is it true that when you are working out that your body gets used to it? If you are doing the same thing over and over again, and that that's why you should have a variety of workout programs?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: Yes. So that is very true. Our bodies do adapt to what we do, which is pretty amazing when you think about it, just the way it was designed. So, when you are doing the same routine, if you're doing, let's say like a full body routine every single day or something like that, your body will get used to it eventually.

And so like you were suggesting, that's why we always recommend to have a variety. So I usually recommend doing a split routine where people do upper body one day and then lower body the next day they work out. And then if they get to the point where they do get used to it or their bodies don't seem to be hitting much difference, then you can kind of switch it up and maybe do a full body routine or vice versa, something like that.

Host: So I know a lot about working out is your mental perspective of how you're working out. Is there an approach I've heard called exercise is medicine and what does that look like? What does that mean? How does that change how you begin your journey?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: So exercise is medicine is definitely the mindset we have here at First Health. Just in case people haven't heard, we actually have a whole department, dedicated to that whole program. So exercise is medicine is the mindset, like you were saying, that we believe you can actually use exercise as a dosage as if it were prescribed by a doctor.

And if you use it effectively with the right amount of dosage, then it technically, acts like a medicine. Now here's the flip side of that. The difference between medicine and poison is the dosage. So it's possible to have too much of a good thing, right? So we want to make sure that our clients or the members that we're working with have the right amount of exercise to make sure that they get the benefits that they're looking for.

Host: So go into that, what kind of services and support can First Health Fitness offer patients to help them start and to stay on a fitness routine?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: Some of the things that we offer here at First Health as fitness professionals, two things to be exact. One thing is every member is entitled to a fitness assessment. And what we usually do for that is actually look at their body weight, their fat percentage if they want to look at that. We do circumference measurements, bicep strength, and flexibility. We do all these different assessments so we get kind of a snapshot of their fitness level at the time. And then what we'll do is schedule at least one or two follow up assessments so that way they can see the difference between maybe a month or two.

And then another thing that we offer that is complimentary as well is called an Equipment Orientation. So, I'll just be honest, I've worked at multiple gyms. This is the first gym that I've ever worked at that actually has a free complimentary equipment orientation. And I think it's great because a lot of the members, they've even told me specifically, you know, I haven't been to a place where they actually take me through the equipment. Usually just, as soon as you become a member, they're like, all right, do your own thing. So, here at First Health, we want to make sure the members know what to do. So with that equipment orientation, that allows you to your feet wet with a trainer. So, it's almost like a personal training session, but, it helps you get started.

Host: You know, one of the things I've seen is when people have poor form and understanding how to use the equipment properly is so critical to avoid injuries, would you say?

Mark Landry, CPT, CES: Absolutely, yeah. That is something that I see a lot doing my job. I usually recommend, politely that people maybe readjust certain things or, think about their posture, their breathing, their core activation. All those little things do make a huge difference instead of just trying to lift weight.

Host: Thanks so much, Mark. It's been a great discussion and I really hope our listeners feel inspired to make positive changes to reach their fitness goals. To learn more about how First Health Fitness can help you take control of your health and wellness journey, visit Firsthealth.org/fitness. That's firsthealth.org/fitness.

Thank you for listening to First Health and Wellness Podcast, brought to you by First Health of the Carolinas.