The Code: A Guide to Health and Human Performance

66. Begin with the End in Mind

Key Takeaways:
 
• Approach your goals by working backwards. Ask yourself what do you want to accomplish and what steps do you need to take to achieve that?
• Aging is an inevitable part of life, but we can implement habits into our daily routines that can help make this process easier on us. 
• Understand your internal motivations and use them to help motivate you every day to achieve your goals. 
 
How can we maximize not only our life span but our health span? And what can you do now to set yourself up to set yourself up for a life of longevity and health? Those are questions that came to mind when host Dr. Andrew Fix was reading Peter Attia’s latest book, Outlive: The Science of Art and Longevity. In today’s episode, Dr. Andrew explores the phrase “begin with the end in mind,” and what that means for him and his approach to physical therapy. 
 
Unfortunately, aging is an inevitable part of life. And while we cannot avoid it, there are many things we can do to make the process easier on our bodies. So when we approach our health-related goals, it is best to start with an understanding of what the desired outcome is that we are looking for. Dr. Andrew suggests that listeners ask themselves what kinds of things they want to be doing at a certain point in their life. Do you still want to be a runner in your 50’s and 60’s? If that is your goal, then what are you doing now that will help you progress and maintain your body’s physical capacity to get there?
 
By figuring out our internal motivations, we are more likely to find things that motivate us day in and day out. And by approaching our goals with the end goal in mind, we can begin to implement habits that can help put us on the right track to living a healthy and full life. 
 
Quotes
• “Where do you want to be? What is the desired outcome that you are looking for and how can you devise a plan of action for how you're going to get there?” (02:12-02:23 | Dr. Andrew)
• “What is the mental visualization of what you have in mind? That's the first step.” (03:37-03:43 | Dr. Andrew)
• “Maybe there's a very deeply instilled internal motivation of why that person wants to be able to do that thing. And that’s great. We need to know that information in order to help hold that client accountable in the office.” (06:03-06:18 | Dr. Andrew)
• “When you're setting goals for yourself, you need something that's going to motivate you day in and day out and hold you accountable to do the smaller steps that are going to help you reach that outcome. Because it's not just going to happen just because you wrote it down on a piece of paper.” (06:20-06:39 | Dr. Andrew)
• Unfortunately, starting at a relatively young age, like in our thirties, our physical fitness and health begins to decline as we age. We start to lose muscle mass, we lose aerobic capacity, unless you are doing significant training in your early years to try and progress and maintain these things to fight off the effects that aging and time has on all of our bodies.” (08:26-08:59 | Dr. Andrew)
Links
https://peterattiamd.com/outlive/
https://7habitsstore.com/
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

65. Mastering the Marathon: Strategies for Smarter Training | Tristan Mitchell

Key Takeaways
• Use the first half of a marathon as a warm up, race slower than your goal race pace 
• Runners can use strength training to restore damaged body tissue and build a more robust body
• All 3 macronutrients are important for runners, but protein is actually the most important
 
“People talk about hitting a wall. To me the wall just means that you ran dumb. You've been too fast and you have nothing left,” explains Tristan Mitchell, owner, manager, and coach at Lions Den SMP. Tristan has completed 24 marathons and has learned a lot about training for running since his first attempt at age 20. Today, he joins host Dr. Andrew Fix to discuss strategies for smarter marathon training.
 
Running for extended periods of time is very rough on the body because it is incredibly repetitive. In order to master the marathon without harming your body, it is important to train strategically. This means not only learning how to pace yourself properly throughout the race depending on its length, but also knowing how to fuel your body efficiently beforehand. People are quick to think of carbohydrates for runners, but protein is even more important as a building block for your body to function at its best. Additionally, adding in strength training can help restore the body tissues that have been damaged by the repetitive motions of running.
 
If you start off a marathon running your hardest, you will likely hit a wall pretty quickly. That’s why it is imperative to pace yourself and purposefully run slower than your race pace goal for the first half of the marathon before kicking it into high gear for the second half. Be sure to fuel up on lots of protein beforehand and consider adding strength training to your regimen to help your body become more robust. 
 
Quotes
• “Learning how to negative split races was huge, and ever since then it's something I've really worked at in the marathon and prided myself on. (20:20-20:29 | Tristan)
• “The way I always like to think about it is having these things that I can draw upon to elicit an adrenaline response, something that just fires me up. And I save these things for the second half of a marathon.” (21:51-22:05 | Tristan)
• “If you go out too hard, you simply burn up too much of your stored carbohydrates.” (33:00-33:06 | Tristan)
• “People talk about hitting a wall. To me the wall just means that you ran dumb. You've been too fast and you have nothing left.” (33:11-33:19 | Tristan)
• “When it comes to running, strength training builds a more robust body. It builds a body that can tolerate the demands of running training more effectively.” (49:25-49:38 | Tristan) 
• “All three of the macronutrients are highly important aspects of a runner's diet, protein, fat and carbohydrates. But I think that we must get runners to think through the lens of protein first, because it is the building block.” (1:05:41-1:05:59 | Tristan)
 
Links
Connect with Tristan Mitchell:
Website | ​​https://www.lionsdensmp.com/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lionsdensmp/?hl=en
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/LionsDenSMP
 
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

64. Adapt and Overcome: Modifying Your Training with Injury

Key Takeaways
• Having an injury does not automatically translate to stopping all training
• Many exercises can be modified to be safely performed in a way that does not worsen an injury
• Don’t forget to exercise the uninjured parts of your body such as the opposite leg or arm
 
“It doesn't matter if you're an athlete or you're just a normal person competing in the game that we all call life, there's things that you can continue to do to prepare your body for what lies ahead,” explains host Dr. Andrew Fix. Dr. Andrew’s experience with his Achilles repair procedure has taught him firsthand how to modify exercises in order to keep training while healing. Today, he discusses how to adapt and overcome an injury, including how to modify your training regimen.
 
Whether you are an athlete or just a regular person looking to maintain your health, your training needs to be adjusted anytime you have an injury. If you hurt your leg and then are told to not exercise your lower body at all, you will likely suffer muscle atrophy. Instead of completely putting a halt to your training, don’t forget about the rest of your body. You may not be able to do the same exercises that you could do before right away and ones you can do will likely need to be modified, but it is better than doing nothing. Continuing to train even before being cleared for a return to full activity is good for your body’s overall strength and resilience. The longer break you take, the more difficult it will be to return to your old training or sport when you are cleared. 
 
Learning how to adapt and overcome an injury is a vital part of caring for the body that you have been gifted with. An injury is not an automatic reason to take an all out break from training. Instead, it is an opportunity to approach training in a new way and to focus on strengthening other parts of your body. Physical therapy can teach you ways to keep your body strong while healing your injury, so that when you are cleared you can get right back to doing the things you love. 
 
 
Quotes
• “You can see a very noticeable difference in what we call atrophy, or loss of muscle due to not using it, in the size of his one leg compared to the other in areas like his quadriceps, his hamstrings, his calf, not just the ankle.” (7:52-8:05 | Dr. Andrew)
• “I would suggest you continue to train as much as you can with the rest of your body, including your other limb, whether that's your arm, whether that's your leg, don't forget about it.” (16:27-16:38 | Dr. Andrew)
• “When you get injured that does not mean that your training stops or takes a break because life doesn't take a break for us.” (18:10-18:16 | Dr. Andrew) 
• “It doesn't matter if you're an athlete or you're just a normal person competing in the game that we all call life, there's things that you can continue to do to prepare your body for what lies ahead.” (18:46-18:57 | Dr. Andrew)
 
Links
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

63. Using Palmar Cooling to Improve Performance | AVA Cooling Technology (Part 1)

Key Takeaways
• Everyone needs to consider body temperature regulation
• High body temperature causes fatigue
• Temperature can be regulated by dumping heat from the palms
 
“The way it works is your body dumps heat into the aluminum, the aluminum dumps heat into the water, and that allows it to stay as cool as possible for as long as possible,” explains Kyle Sela, physical therapist, strength coach, founder and owner of AVA Cooling Technology, a performance enhancement company focusing on thermoregulation with a current specialization in palmar cooling. Today, Kyle joins host Andrew Fix to talk about using palmar cooling to improve exercise performance and recovery.
 
One of the byproducts of exercise is heat. This increase in body heat causes fatigue at both the cellular level and the motivational level. Whether you are an elite athlete or someone looking to improve their fitness, palm cooling can help take your performance further. Due to the glabrous skin on the palms of our hands, they are a very effective pathway for heat dumping. The AVA Mitt, made of simple materials like aluminum and water, is making palmar cooling more practical and accessible, so that everyone can have a chance to improve their performance.
 
When your body has an outlet for dumping the excess heat during exercise, you are able to reduce fatigue and exercise for longer. Add palm cooling to your training regimen and see how many more reps you do.
Quotes
• “One of those byproducts of exercise is that our body temperature will rise, and a rise in body temperature can become deadly if we get up to that 104 degree range. But until that point, it's also going to begin to cause fatigue in our body.” (13:07-13:21 | Kyle)
• “Underneath the glabrous skin of our palms, face, and soles, we have this circuit that is mainly used for temperature regulation.” (16:33-16:39 | Kyle)
• “This just allows you to work harder for longer in your workout. Then if you extrapolate that over a training cycle, you're going to see incredible benefits.” (32:13-32:30 | Kyle)
• “The way it works is your body dumps heat into the aluminum, the aluminum dumps heat into the water, and that allows it to stay as cool as possible for as long as possible.” (35:30-35:41 | Kyle)
• “Body temperature and the regulation of it is something that we all need to consider as humans and athletes. It's not for the elite, it's for everybody.” (48:52-48:59 | Kyle) 
 
Links
Connect with Kyle Sela:
Website | https://www.avacooling.com/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/avacoolingtechnology/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/kyle_sela/
 
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

62. The Human Body - a Gift & a Responsibility

Key Takeaways
• The human body is a gift.
• It is your responsibility to take care of your body.
• Your health can change in an instant, so remember to appreciate your body for all it can do.
 
“Your life can change in an instant. And you can't take for granted all the things that you're able to do now, because there is no guarantee that you're going to be able to do those things tomorrow or even later tonight,” shares host Dr. Andrew Fix. Today, Dr. Andrew talks about the incredible gift of the human body and the responsibility that comes with it. 
 
It is easy to forget to have gratitude for all of the amazing things your body enables you to do. People have busy lives and often prioritize work, their families, and other responsibilities over their own health. Dr. Andrew explains that being back on crutches for his tendonitis has been a large reminder of the responsibility he has to take care of his body. Each of us has been gifted a body, and by nature of that gift, it is every person’s responsibility to care for their own body. It is not enough to rely on healthcare providers and medical insurance. You have a responsibility to eat right, exercise, get adequate sleep, and maintain your overall health. 
 
The state of your health can change in a second. If you have been gifted with a body that is in generally good health, it is your responsibility to maintain it. Don’t forget to appreciate the things your body is able to do and really prioritize caring for your own health. 
 
Quotes
• “It is so easy to take for granted all that we have the capacity to do with our body.” (5:26-5:33 | Dr. Andrew)
• “Being back on crutches for the last four days has reminded me how much of a responsibility it is to take care of ourselves.” (6:28-6:37 | Dr. Andrew)
• “One other responsibility that we all have and should really prioritize is the responsibility to take care of the one and only body that we were blessed with.” (8:50-9:01 | Dr. Andrew)
• “Your life can change in an instant. And you can't take for granted all the things that you're able to do now, because there is no guarantee that you're going to be able to do those things tomorrow or even later tonight.” (12:53-13:05 | Dr. Andrew)
• “Exercise, particularly the resistance training, is one of, if not the strongest link to longevity and being able to continue to move and use our body late into our life.” (13:08-13:22 | Dr. Andrew)
• “The better we take care of our body, the better we're going to be able to take advantage of this awesome gift that we have been provided.” (14:29-14:39 | Dr. Andrew)
• “We have a great responsibility to take care of our bodies. And it's nobody's responsibility except for your own.” (26:52-26:59 | Dr. Andrew)
 
Links
https://stanmed.stanford.edu/how-health-insurance-changed-from-protecting-patients-to-seeking-profit/
https://www.healthforcalifornia.com/blog/history-of-health-insurance#:~:text=Initially%2C%20health%20insurance%20was%20designed,were%20up%20to%20the%20individual
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

61. The Sport of Life Made Simple | Shaun Cook

Key Takeaways
• Life is about counterbalancing.
• No one can be an island. You need good mentors around you
• Our thoughts are often wrong due to outdated limiting beliefs.
 
“We do things based on feeling and that's a really horrible way to live life because most of the time we actually do a lot of things that we feel like doing that are not in our best interest,” shares Shaun Cook, owner of Crucible Strength, NASM performance and enhancement specialist, USA Powerlifting competitor, and certified nutrition coach. Shaun has been involved in training for almost 20 years and has learned quite a few lessons along his career. Today, he joins host Dr. Andrew Fix to talk about the sport of life made simple.
 
People often make life more complicated than it needs to be. They believe all sorts of lies from limiting beliefs created in childhood to the popular myth of needing to create a balanced life. Instead of choosing their actions through careful consideration, most people act based purely on feelings. It would be much simpler if people took the time to sit with themselves and really figure out their purpose. Without being very clear on their purpose, people can quickly become distracted and get in their own way. 
 
Success requires intentionality, and intentionality comes from knowing your purpose. Once you know your purpose, it will be easier to stay motivated, organize your priorities, and shut out limiting beliefs and distractions.
 
Quotes
• “You can't be an island. That's one of the big things is you need good people, good mentors around you.” (25:58-26:05 | Shaun)
• “It's so much easier to see someone else's problems than it is your own.” (42:30-42:33 | Shaun)
• “We do things based on feeling and that's a really horrible way to live life because most of the time we actually do a lot of things that we feel like doing that are not in our best interest.” (44:31-44:43 | Shaun)
• “A lot of our thoughts are primed the wrong way. They're lying to us. Once you can crack that, you unlock a lot of potential in what you can do.” (50:21-50:31 | Shaun)
• “What a lot of people are lacking is intentionality. And intentionality comes from having a purpose.” (1:16:34-1:16:41 | Shaun) 
 
Links
Connect with Shaun Cook:
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/crucible_strength/
 
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

60. Unlocking the Benefits of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis: The Power of Small Movements

Key Takeaways
• NEAT refers to all of the activities that happen in our day and the energy expended in doing so
• Knowing your BMR, basal metabolic rate, is important for weight loss or weight gain
• Small movements can make a big impact on both physical and mental health
 
“This is a super simple way to cheat activity into your day. And by cheating activity into your day, you can increase the amount of calories that you burn, the amount of activity that you get, and more than likely, make your body feel better,” explains host Dr. Andrew Fix. Today, Andrew talks about NEAT, non-exercise activity thermogenesis, and how it impacts weight loss, physical fitness, and overall wellness.
 
NEAT is the energy expended to do all of your daily activities. It includes things like walking to your car, preparing food, going to the bathroom, and even tapping your feet at your desk. It is an easy way to cheat more activity into your day without having to set aside time specifically for exercise. Andrew shares that much of the reason why many people in America gained weight during the pandemic is because of a reduction in NEAT. Even though people tried to keep up with their usual exercise routine when they could, they were likely not doing as many of the incidental activities like walking to the office from the parking lot. 
 
Small movements may not seem like much, but they really do make a large difference in your overall activity level. By adding more small movements to your day, you can get the benefits of being more active without having to add more formal exercise. Even just parking farther away from your destination and walking a bit will help to increase your activity level, burn more calories, and just make your body feel better overall. 
 
Quotes
• “That's a particularly important number to know, your total daily energy expenditure, for somebody who is interested in gaining weight or losing weight.” (3:49-3:57 | Andrew)
• “This is a super simple way to cheat activity into your day. And by cheating activity into your day, you can increase the amount of calories that you burn, the amount of activity that you get, and more than likely, make your body feel better.” (5:00-5:16 | Andrew) 
• “It was a year or a year and a half into the Coronavirus pandemic that the average weight gain in America was 29 pounds. And I think a lot of that has to do with lack of activity.” (6:23-6:34 | Andrew)
• “Even if people were trying to maintain their exercise and doing exercise around their home, their apartment, their driveway, whatever that looks like, we weren't getting the same activity throughout the rest of our day that we're accustomed to.” (6:40-6:55 | Andrew)
 
Links
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/problem-with-calorie-counting-calories-out
 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12468415/#:~:text=Non%2Dexercise%20activity%20thermogenesis%20(NEAT)%20is%20the%20energy%20expended,undertaking%20agricultural%20tasks%20and%20fidgeting
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

59. The Healthcare Solution | Jerry Durham

Key Takeaways
• Everyone involved in wellness can have greater success by putting the patient/client first
• Flip the script and ask the right questions to take back control over your healthcare
• Stop deciding your healthcare solutions based solely on who takes your insurance
 
“You owe yourself the same questions, the same process, whether you're calling the chiro office, a massage therapist, or a personal trainer. Any of these things can be a solution for you if you take the reins back from them,” explains Jerry Durham, physical therapist and owner of The Client Experience Company. Today, Jerry joins host Andrew to talk about the healthcare solution and the importance of putting the focus back on finding out the patient’s actual needs.
 
Everyone has different needs and there can be multiple potential solutions for similar health concerns. Unfortunately, the healthcare industry has the wrong focus most of the time, and when a patient calls the focus is entirely on scheduling, asking for insurance information, or selling something. In order to actually get to a true solution, you have to ask the right questions. Otherwise, you will end up wasting your time, money, and energy going to providers who cannot actually help. Asking the right questions to qualify a potential patient is also important on the provider’s side otherwise you will end up scheduling someone who is a bad fit when that time could have been better spent on someone else. 
 
Many healthcare workers are suffering from burnout, but this should not be an excuse for them to be unhelpful. If you call someone looking for a healthcare solution, you owe it to yourself to advocate for your health by asking the right questions. Ideally, the people answering the phone would ask the right questions of you, but if that does not happen then it is up to you to take back control.  
 
Quotes
• “We can have greater success in healthcare, in physiotherapy, in wellness, by focusing on the people we serve.” (3:40-3:48 | Jerry)
• “Where this journey should really start for you is what you're looking at online, what you're reading, what questions you're asking, and what questions are asked of you from this so-called solution.” (11:34-11:48 | Jerry)
• “You owe yourself the same questions, the same process, whether you're calling the chiro office, a massage therapist, or a personal trainer. Any of these things can be a solution for you if you take the reins back from them.” (31:13-31:29 | Jerry)
• “Quit basing your health and wellness on if they take your insurance.” (47:06-47:09 | Jerry) Social Media
 
Links
Connect with Jerry Durham:
Website | https://www.clientexperiencecompany.com/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/jerrydurhampt/?hl=en
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/JerryDurhamPT/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/Jerry_DurhamPT?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-durham-5383711/
 
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

58. Take Control of Your Care

“You have to be the advocate for yourself or for your family member, and ask the challenging questions and not just take the answer that is given to you,” explains host Dr. Andrew Fix. Today, Dr. Andrew shares why it is so important to advocate for yourself and your family members in regards to healthcare. 
 
You know your body better than anyone else, so you need to be taking control over your own care and advocating for yourself and your loved ones in healthcare settings. Many providers will choose whatever method of care is easiest for them or best for the insurance company, rather than taking into consideration what is actually the best path for the patient’s quality of life. If a doctor tells you that surgery is the only option or that you can no longer do the activities you enjoy due to your health condition, push back and find additional solutions or even get a second opinion from another provider. Don’t just take their word for it and assume that your doctor is always right or is telling you the whole truth. 
 
Be willing to advocate for yourself and ask the hard questions, even if that means challenging your doctor’s advice. You know best what is best for your own body and for your physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. 
 
Quotes
• “What our lifestyle is can drastically impact how our body feels when we're talking about arthritis, because it's not just damage from use.” (7:00-7:09 | Dr. Andrew)
• “Talk about the fact that how we eat, how we sleep, how we manage our stress, and how we manage our activity level have just as much, if not more, to do with our pain level than just having a meniscus tear.” (14:18-14:30 | Dr. Andrew)
• “You have to be the advocate for yourself or for your family member, and ask the challenging questions and be willing to push back and not just take the answer that is given to you.” (16:37-16:50 | Dr. Andrew) 
• “Nobody knows your body better than you do.” (18:03-18:06 | Dr. Andrew) 
 
Links
 
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

57. The Science Behind Blood Flow Restriction | Dr. Ben Weatherford

“Blood flow restriction or BFR from the simplest stance is a strategy for exercise to try to replicate what happens when we lift heavy or do high intensity,” explains Dr. Ben Weatherford, PT, DPT. Today, Dr. Ben talks with host Dr. Andrew about the science behind Blood Flow Restriction and how it can be applied in rehab settings.
 
People in physical therapy for injuries, chronic conditions, and post-surgical rehab are typically unable to do the higher intensity exercises that are needed for making muscles adapt. They may have restrictions to the types of exercises they are allowed to do or simply be in too much pain for things like heavy lifting. BFR provides a safer alternative for these patients that simulates the effect of high intensity exercise on the body by use of a tourniquet or blood pressure cuff. In order to avoid any potential complications, aim to use a wider cuff with lower pressure for short intervals. 
 
BFR can help rehab patients to rebuild their muscles when other forms of exercise are not recommended for their recovery. Instead of having to lift progressively heavier weights, patients can wear a cuff that restricts their blood flow and lift less weight to reach the same level of impact on the body.
 
Quotes
• “Blood flow restriction or BFR from the simplest stance is a strategy for exercise that tries to replicate what happens when we lift heavy or do high intensity.” (10:10-10:22 | Dr. Ben)
• “It's potentially easier to put a tourniquet on someone and recreate an anaerobic limb than making them lift really hard.” (14:20-14:27 | Dr. Ben) 
• “The wider the cuff, typically the lower the pressure you can use to restrict blood flow.” (18:09-18:15 | Dr. Ben)
• “The dose necessary depends on the individual. What is their training history? If they're a lesser trained individual, then you can probably get away with an even lower intensity and a lower cuff pressure because any stimulus is going to be significant for them.” (26:21-26:36 | Dr. Ben)
 
Links
 
Connect with Dr. Ben Weatherford:
Website | www.owensrecoveryscience.com
Instagram | owensrecoveryscience 
Twitter | Owens_Recovery 
Facebook | Owens Recovery Science
 
Connect with Physio Room: 
Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/ 
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco
Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/ 
Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm