The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - Find Your Fitness "Why?" and Then Get Moving | PPP #101

Episode Date: January 26, 2022

Originally aired on Nov 30, 2021 as part of my short-lived 'Up In The Morning' podcast and now part of the KEV Talks Podcast library. In the episode, I share regular exercise's physical and mental benefits.

Hey everybody, thanks for coming back to the People Process Progress podcast. You'll notice if you listened to the short-lived up-in-the-morning podcast that I am bringing back to the main show here that this episode already aired called Find Your Fitness Why. I did some editing, brought it back to the People Process Progress feed and want to share it again though. I think it's an important message especially as we round out this first month of 2022 and people are still hopefully holding on to whatever resolutions they made to get in shape. So enjoy this episode. There's some great tips and references to Mayo Clinic articles and other things about the physical and mental benefits of finding your fitness why. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao Tzu, 6th century BC, from chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching. We don't have to go for a thousand miles or do a thousand reps. We need to go for what helps us, what makes the cloud of depression dissipate, what pushes our minds and bodies through the grief of loss, what makes us feel alive. Before we take our first step towards fitness, we need to determine our why. I'm glad you got up in the morning with me. It's time to lace up, chalk up, tie that belt, and get ready to roll with your host, Kevin Pinnell. Hey everyone, thank you for being up in the morning with me, and welcome. I'm your host, Kevin Pinnell.

I'm a 47-year-old husband, father, garage gym athlete, morning exercise enthusiast, and jiu-jitsu advocate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt. So this episode is called Find Your Fitness Why. Finding your why is the subject of a lot of different authors, business, those kind of things. It's really what's your mission? Why should you, one, listen to this podcast and others? And anything that helps you get better, I encourage it.

But what is finding our why? Let me share my why of when I reinstituted fitness, early morning fitness in particular, into my life. It was after I did a MRF challenge in 2017, and I had a horrible performance during a grueling workout. The workout's hard. It's a mile, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats in a mile, so I had some sort of base of fitness, but I knew I wasn't where I needed to be, not just to do well there with my friends and family, but because I felt like crap. I was tired of being tired. I ate like shit. I drank too much beer. I had job stress from being on call for public safety and emergency management. And frankly, I was disappointed in myself.

And I was a bad example for my family and those around me. And I had had enough, like maybe some of you listening to this have. I was very fortunate that a great friend of mine prompted me to listen to the Jocko podcast, which if you Google Jocko Willink, you'll find some great motivational videos, his podcast, all that kind of stuff, some dark areas there. But I finally listened to it. And for me, that was the catalyst, right? That I needed to set an alarm, put in the work and get after it. And since that decision in 2017, I've really made fitness not just a part of my routine, but a part of who I am.

And it's not just something I do. I changed my mind and body, set the example for my family, some friends, people I've never met before. That's one of the good things on social media that can have such negative stuff on it is sharing fitness and motivation and being realistic with goals and things like that. And so for those listening that haven't started yet, let's just early on in this episode say that you can do this, you should do this, and you will be glad you did this. Especially after this past couple years, some folks have shut themselves in, had less activity.

Some folks have taken advantage of it i actually upgraded my garage gym i'll do some reviews on the equipment i've done on the website and on here because it was an opportunity where we couldn't go out as much gyms were closed gosh the prices of home gym equipment skyrocketed but let's talk tangible medical and mental health benefits of regular exercise. Immunity is not a buzzword from the past 2020, 2021 political campaigns or Twitter discussions. It's an element of our existence that we have a very active role in boosting. And so as an example, and again, there's so much of this out there, but I'm going to use an abstract from a PubMed Central article. And PubMed is really a go-to, high-level, really well-respected place for medical articles, journals, things like that. So the article is called Physical Exercise as a Tool to Help the Immune System Against COVID-19,

an Integrative Review of the Current Literature. The first line of this abstract is active viral respiratory infections are the main infectious disease in the world, right? That's pretty telling. So as we know, in 2020, a new disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus, disease 2019 or COVID-19 became a global pandemic, right? No surprise, probably anybody listening to this that's been alive or can read. The immune response to the virus depends on factors such as genetics, age, and physical state, right? So genetics and age, we can't do a lot about that. This physical state piece of the statement though, and this is me talking, we can. And so this is another statement from this abstract. The practice of physical exercises

acts as a modulator of the immune system. During and after physical exercise, pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and cytokines are molecules that aid cell-to-cell communication and immune response and stimulate the movement of cells towards sites of inflammation, infection, and trauma. These are the little guys that help us fight infection and get better, are released, and lymphocytes, so a lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell that's part of the immune system. There are two types of this, B cells and T cells. The B cells produce antibodies that are used to attack invading bacteria, viruses, and toxins. The T cells destroy the body's own cells that have themselves been taken over by virus or become cancerous. So as these things happen, circulation increases as well as cell recruitment. So such

practice has an effect on the lower incidence intensity of symptoms and mortality in viral infections observed in people who practice physical activity regularly, and its correct execution must be considered to avoid damage. So really be careful, we'll get a doctor screening, we'll touch on that here in a little bit, right? Don't jump out of the gate, go crazy, burn out, all that kind of stuff. That's kind of there. It seems like, you know, exercise in the right way, not excessive. The practice of physical activity strengthens the immune system, suggesting a benefit and the response to viral communicable disease. Thus, regular practice of adequate intensity is suggested as an auxiliary tool in strengthening and preparing the immune system for

COVID-19. Further studies are needed to associate physical exercise with SARS COVID infection, right? So that's kind of direct links, those kind of things. The gist of it, and while this is one white paper, I thought it was pretty relevant as it speaks to COVID-19 that is front and center on all of our minds. You know, my hope is the information I just read, maybe information you look up on your own, helps drive those that need to hear it to get more active in building their immunity and resilience as regular exercise will help our resistance to not only COVID,

but many other viral diseases. And this is me. Infections and help prevent or reduce the impact of chronic diseases like stroke, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, many types of cancer, arthritis, falls, and more. And I know exercise can't totally prevent cancer. It can't stop that.

Sometimes it hits the healthiest of us, and that really sucks. But it can help against the types that are spawned from inactivity and all that that does to our systems. You know, take the first steps toward your preventative medicine and you'll spend less time being part of the reactive medical system, right? And the best quote that I've heard, and I shared this in an image on Instagram, was to quote Edward Stanley, who was the 15th Earl of Derby. And he said, those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness. There's no more important time in my mind than now that that is so true, where we find the underlying causes of many folks that have gotten the most sick

are maybe preventable, right? Many of those folks, some with immunocompromised stuff from cancers and other disease that we fight against and we just can't do so much with just exercise against, not a lot we can do there. But the stuff that we can prevent, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and at least hold it off a bit longer or completely is something that we should really take a look at because again it's in our hands we don't have to wait for something else so now that we're boosting our immune system and stealing our body against disease what about our gray matter what about our minds i'll share another example for me so it served as individual and couples therapy it has helped me push past grief when loved ones have died.

I distinctly remember knocking out some deadlifts and cleans and things after I heard someone that I used to work with was killed. And it has given me solace, honestly, as a 47-year-old that I can still jack some steel, as they say. And it has really helped me keep up with folks that are literally half my age, and I don't use the word literally a lot, on the jujitsu mats. So in addition to these mental benefits I've received from regular exercise, let's hear from the Mayo Clinic on how it can ease symptoms. And again, I'll link to this.

And I'm going to read a quote from this article from the Mayo Clinic about and how mental exercise helps depression. And so the links between depression, anxiety, and exercise aren't entirely clear, they say, but working out and other forms of physical activity can definitely ease symptoms of depression or anxiety and make you feel better. Exercise may also help keep depression and anxiety from coming back once you're feeling better. In the past two years, how many people have been depressed? How many people have anxiety from constant barrages from the media and the internet and Twitter and politics and whatever else? So imagine you start walking a little bit more, you do some pushups, you go to yoga, you walk your dog, whatever,

and it helps. It makes a huge difference. So I'm going to touch on some of the big outline points from this Mayo Clinic article. And again, I'll share the link. So how does it help? One, it releases feel-good endorphins. It takes your mind off your worries. So if you're focused on moving a barbell or walking up the hill or looking out at the beautiful world of the trees, or even if you're in the cityscape or something, you're not thinking about whatever other problems you have, or maybe not as much. It increases your confidence.

When you're more fit, you feel stronger, you breathe better, you don't get as winded when you go up one or two flights of steps. That's a big deal. It can increase your social interaction. Maybe if you're in a running group or there's group classes, and these days there's online group classes, right? With all the different online workouts, and I know my wife does those in the garage. It's group classes. And these days, there's online group classes, right with all the different online workouts. And I know my wife does those in the garage, it's pretty awesome.

And you don't need equipment for some of them either. There's gym chitchat, right? Say your gyms open, so you're comfortable going to the gym these days, you'll meet people right now, of course, I'm a home and garage gym guy. So I meet my family. But when we have people over, they work out there. It's a healthy coping mechanism, right? Versus maybe drugs or alcohol that aren't as healthy. If you feel, hey, I'm really feeling depressed.

I have anxiety. I'm going to go knock out some pushups. That's better than knocking out a fifth or a sixth pack of beer. Programs. What are some programs that the Mayo Clinic suggests? And a lot of these are in line with what I think. So physical activity, and they talk about physical activity or exercise. So physical activity is kind of anything where you're moving, right? Your muscles are moving, you're breathing, walking, household work, gardening, those kinds of things. Exercise is more planned and structured. Like that's more of what I do. But sometimes my

workout for the day is chores. If I'm going to shovel my whole driveway of snow, that's a crazy hard workout. And the only structure is me and the shovel. First, I'm going to go do squats and cleans and air, you know, and burpees and those kind of things where I plan that out for a certain number of reps and those kind of things. So how much exercise should we do? So from this Mayo Clinic article, again, you've probably looked if you're trying to start your journey or you're on it or you're a trainer, you have your preference or you've seen different ones. This is from this one article, but it's pretty good. So 30 minutes

or more, three to five days a week. That seems to be a pretty good standard I've heard in other places. And about 10 to 15 minutes at a time is a good start or even total. If you do 100 burpees in 10 minutes, if you do like this morning, my workout was less than 15 minutes, but I did 500 repetitions of things, right? Pushups, air squats, crunches, whatever you're moving your body, you're moving it a lot, but you know what to start out. If you do 20, great. That's 20 more than you did yesterday. So, but the point being, if you're 30 minutes, three to five days a week, and it doesn't have to be a crazy amount of time, 10 to 15 minutes, that's an excellent start. So good tips here, plus my two cents on getting started and staying motivated.

Do what you enjoy. I mentioned gardening. That's one of the things they had here. So if you're out there actively gardening, you're moving, whether you're sitting and gardening, you're still digging. That's hard work, digging holes and digging up plants and moving and carrying them. Going for a jog if you're at that point. If your knees are holding out.

My knees are pretty sore these days. But if you're in shape and you're jogging or you're walking, go for a bike ride with the kids. Walk while the kids ride their bikes if you have little kids. Something, but something that you're going to want to do. Get your mental health professional support, right? So this is another of that tie-in. So talk to your doctor. If you health professional support, right? So this is another that tie in. So talk to your doctor, if you're in therapy, talk to your therapist, they may have suggestions on exercise programs that help, right? Maybe if it's a yoga and a mindfulness thing.

Sometimes you don't want to get back into your own mind when you're having having troubles. And I've gone to therapy for, you know, some traumatic stress and things like that. And I didn't, I didn't really want to talk about it. And surprisingly, I kind of surprised the therapist with some of the things. But to that point, get your doctor, your therapists backing, get their support, and they may be able to give you some guidance and programs and lead you in that direction as well. Set reasonable goals. I love this one.

Gradual increase, right? You're not going to do an Ironman week one. You shouldn't try to. You shouldn't compare yourself to anybody else. Your success and your goals are yours. They are yours to be healthier in your mind, in your body. They can certainly be based off others. You could look at someone's workout if they're a little more advanced and scale it down, but don't compare yourself to them. Don't compare yourself to anybody else, to the picture-perfect Instagram photos and whatever else.

Do what you need to do for yourself. If you're not comfortable going to the gym, do them in your house. All you need is floor space and you can get a crazy good workout. Or like I mentioned, put your walking shoes on or go buy some walking shoes and hit the streets. Don't think of exercise or physical activity as a chore. This is hard when you start because you're not going to be as good as shape. You're going to get tired more. Your muscles will hurt. Your lungs will burn and all that kind of stuff. But think of it, as they suggest in this article, as one of the tools to help get better, like a therapy session. I have posted, I post my workouts regularly every day. I have many times said therapy session complete or something like that. It really is like a therapy

session. You had a rough rough night argued with your spouse, your significant other found out bad news just had a long day. And again, for me, it's in the morning. So I start my day that way. And we'll get into why that is and the benefits of morning workouts and another episode. But it really is a therapy session, you feel way better afterwards, those endorphins, again, your muscles are a little sore certain, you know, like that soreness because your muscles are tightening up, you're getting a little stronger, you're getting a little more fit. And that soreness, you kind of crave it,

you crave that post-workout feeling of, I just put that work in. Another thing from the article is analyze your barriers. Are you not comfortable going to the gym these days? Work out at home. There's tons of home workouts, infinite ones, bodyweight ones. You can start building up. Prices, FYI, for home gym stuff have gone back down a little bit. Last year they were ramped up because everybody was working out at home or a lot of people were. Or if you go to the gym, right?

If you go to a gym, don't look up and look around and don't give a crap about what everybody else is doing. That's, to me, one of the biggest pitfalls that happens at these Globo gym kind of places is folks spend a lot of time standing up and looking around. They're judgy, whatever. When you go in there, go in there, do whatever you want to do, and then get out. That's it. That's all you got to do. Don't give a crap about anybody else. Get a trainer if you want to at one of those places, then you have dedicated someone to do that. And make sure your

trainer is really focused on you and taking care of you. The last one, which is also super important is to prepare for setbacks and obstacles. If you skip a day, don't beat yourself up, but go back. Keep trying, keep pushing, stick with it. You can do it. It's going to get easier. Then as it gets easier for you, you're going to want to ramp up the intensity. You're going to do a little bit more. You're going to prove more to yourself. Your confidence will be better. Your health will be better. All the benefits we talked about. This article from Mayo Clinic, I think does a great job, including many of the benefits and guidance that I also recommend that I found that I've learned over the hundreds of workouts that I've done. And there's other folks that work out way more than me, maybe once or twice a day, but

you know, pretty good. And again, as a reminder, if we're not going to become healthier with a magic pill or a miracle program or any shortcut, we can get up in the morning, we can get moving before as the sun comes up and lead our minds and our bodies down the path to a healthier us with stronger immunity, a more resilient mind, and the confidence that comes with knowing we did this. We set the alarm. We got up. We took the first step of many to a healthier life. I thank you for taking the first step and listening to this show. Please do a review on Apple Podcasts or whatever platform you prefer. Please share this episode and the show itself. And just do your own research.

Figure out a program that works for you. If you haven't started yet, get up, get after it, and Godspeed.