“ The biggest change that I've had to make in myself is, you don't always have to be progressing. I feel like there's this huge push to be able to run faster, run farther, lift heavier, just do more all the time. But it doesn't necessarily have to be that way to reap all the benefits of health and fitness that come along with cardio and with strength training.”
Physical therapist and strength coach Dr. Susie Spirlock has always been a healthy, active person. But after she got sick with COVID in the fall of 2020, everything changed; her resting heart rate soared, she lost fitness and muscle mass, and her missing sense of smell and taste made it difficult to eat.
Some—but not all—of those symptoms faded as she recovered, and she had to work her way through the complex medical system before getting a startling new set of diagnoses. At the same time, she was starting her own virtual physical therapy and rehab practice, Move Your Bones, and posting educational content on social media.
All this made for a lot of cognitive dissonance and self-doubt. But step by step, with flexibility and grace, she rebuilt her fitness routine to meet her biggest goals: Training for life. Although the physical and psychological challenges aren’t over for her, she’s learned to adapt and thrive, and her practice teaches others with injuries and illnesses to do the same.
Resources/links:
- Dr. Susie’s Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
- The website for her practice, Move Your Bones
- How to Safely Exercise With POTS, According to Experts: an article Cindy wrote, quoting Dr. Susie, for SELF
- Navigating the Medical System webinar
A huge thank you to LEVER Movement, the exclusive sponsor of season 8 of The Injured Athletes Club podcast! The LEVER system is an innovative way to reduce your body weight, and the impact on your joints, while exercising on a treadmill. Use the code “TIAC20” to get 20% off your purchase.
You can subscribe to The Injured Athletes Club on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or a review in Apple podcasts. That helps other injured athletes find the show.
To access more resources for injured athletes:
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.