July 15, 2025 • 38 mins
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In this raw, revealing episode, I take you behind the scenes of my journey to reclaim my physical and mental health while working in one of medicine's most demanding specialties. After years of neglecting my physical fitness, I'm now chasing two ambitious goals and I also challenge y’all to set a goal completely unrelated to your title as a doctor.
I discuss:
0:00 Introduction.
02:04 My fitness goals of breaking 20 minutes in a 5K and bench pressing 250 pounds.
05:59 My background.
08:20 Why these goals?
18:56 The importance of being healthy both mentally & physically as a doctor.
22:20 How I train.
29:45 How I find time to work out as a trauma surgeon.
FREE DOWNLOAD - 7 Considerations Before Starting Locum Tenens - https://darkos.lpages.co/7-considerations-before-locums
LINKS MENTIONED
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This episode is sponsored by
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
benching 250 pounds, breaking 20 minutes.
A lot of people are doing this.
So I'm not a superhero.
This ain't going to change theworld, but I'm going to be real
with you.
It's going to change me andthat's the most important thing.
Like I'm changing, I see mybody changing.
I see my mentality changing.
I'm reminded that I'm stillgrowing.
I still have goals outside ofmedicine.
I still own my time and my body.
(00:21):
That is me saying like, nomatter how stressful the job is,
I'm still going to engage inactivity.
That just says that my body isvery important, mentally as well
as physically.
If I can challenge you rightnow, set a goal that has nothing
to do with your title Yo,what's good everybody.
This is Dr Nii.
You're listening to DocsOutside the Box.
(00:42):
I don't know if you guysremember to the old heads.
They might remember maybe aboutthree or four years ago we
changed the motto, the logo ofthe show, to money, medicine,
everything kind of in between,and before that it was really
highlighting ordinary doctorsdoing extraordinary things, and
that's when the show was reallyfocused on highlighting just
(01:06):
other doctors, letting themspeak.
I would Q and a with them andwe would just talk about their
stories, and it was what wasneeded for me for several years
for me to gain confidence to one, do a podcast to um, you know,
carry a podcast for like an hour.
That was really tough, and thisis the wild, wild west days of
(01:29):
podcasting.
Right, like this is 2015, 16,17, and so forth, but we've
transitioned off of that.
But sometimes you need that oldthing back.
So listen.
This show used to highlightordinary doctors doing
extraordinary things and today,listen, that includes me.
That's right.
(01:50):
No, no, no.
So here's the deal.
I'm a trauma surgeon, as youall know, I'm a husband, I'm a
dad, I'm a podcaster and also,right now, I'm chasing two
fitness goals.
So on the previous episode, Italked about a new segment
called the vital segment, whereI'm sharing the goals that I
(02:11):
have in life, and the goals thatI want right now are I want to
break 20 minutes in a 5k, 20minutes.
I want to be under 20 minutesin a 5,000 meter run outside on
a cross country um, you know,course, whatever it may be.
And then sometime in that sameperiod of time, like in the same
(02:33):
week, month or what have you Ialso want to be able to bench
250 pounds.
I don't know how many times?
But I want to be able to bench250 pounds.
And some of y'all may bethinking like, yo, man, what are
you trying to?
You trying to train forAmerican Ninja or something,
right, cause you know it's onright now and it's the
summertime and you know how itis on TV TV, particularly on NBC
(02:56):
.
There's nothing else to watch,there's nothing.
There's no really good must seeTV.
So, as a result, like they putthese crazy ass shows on.
So American Ninja Warrior iskind of what I think about when
people probably ask like, yo,what are you training for?
And for me, it's more than justbeing able to like flex muscles,
(03:17):
it's more than just chasinglike an old dream or something
like that.
It really boils down to likediscipline.
Like an old dream or somethinglike that.
It really boils down to likediscipline.
It boils down to like mentalclarity, right, you see, I'm
going somewhere with this peoplelisten to me and then keeping
myself sharp and sane in one ofthe most stressful jobs in
(03:38):
medicine.
Let's be real, right?
So, for example, like I'mrecording this episode solo
because Dr Renee is doing herjob.
She switched off and she'sworking the weekend, but I was
gone for three days working andyou know, literally when I sign
in at seven o'clock in themorning, there's 25 people,
sometimes even 30 people,sometimes even 40 people, on the
(03:59):
patient list that I got to seeby myself.
There are some who are in theintensive care unit, there's
some who are in their emergencyroom who haven't gotten to a bed
yet, there's some that may needan operation, and not to
mention all the trauma alertsthat come through the door.
Right, this is the day before4th of July, so you know there's
people who are just, you know,starting their, you know their,
holiday weekend really early.
(04:20):
So it's extremely hella busyand a lot of times you know
you're going to the operatingroom and then as soon as you get
out or while you're in theoperating room, more traumas are
coming in, so like there's justa queue of patients that you
got to see even afterwards.
So you kind of do this right.
If you're on YouTube, you cansee what I'm going Like your
emotions go up and then down, upand down, up and down.
(04:42):
Right, cortisol levels is goingthrough the roof.
I got this thing, this thing onmy phone that tells me it's a
pixel three and it lets me knowif my heart rate goes past a
certain zone and it wants me tolog it in as am I calm, am I
worried, am I stressed, am Ienergized?
You know?
So it's, it's peeking in intomy vitals and it's constantly
(05:02):
going off and triggering me like, hey, you're going out of the
range in which you really wantyour range to be.
So it's pretty interesting.
So that's the three things thatI really want to focus in on.
Why I'm getting into really goodshape is I really need to be
more disciplined.
I need, to be like, clear withmy mental you know my mental,
(05:24):
mental and then I want to besharp and sane in this job.
Right, for me, that's what Ifeel that I need.
And you know, the big thing forme about discipline is you know
, when I get to this age I'm 47is like, how do I show up for
myself when nobody's watching?
Or, in essence, when nobodycares?
(05:44):
Or another way of putting thisis like yo, you, 47, nobody
really nobody's checking for you, right?
So how do I stay disciplinedand continue to be in shape when
there's no pressure?
So I'll give you a little bitof a background about me.
Is so I used to run in college Iwas an average track and field
(06:07):
runner.
I was mid distance, so I waslike the best way I could
describe it is I was an 800meter runner, but I was
extremely lazy, right.
So I was the 800 meter runnerwho was strong enough to run at
800.
I can run a mile if I wanted to.
I could definitely break fiveminutes in a mile.
You know, I think I was likefour or 30.
I can't remember what my PR wasin the mile and stuff, but I
(06:27):
hated running the mile, I hatedrunning miles and all that stuff
.
But I can run a 400.
And I was one of thosejourneyman type runners where I
probably was a little bit fastto maybe run faster than an 800
consistently, but I reallydidn't know what my race was.
So I think the 800 just endedup being where I spent most of
(06:49):
my time, right.
So that's kind of where I wasin college, just kind of an
average runner.
And then, you know, I appliedto medical school twice and in
between those two years where Iwas applying to school, I was
coaching track and field,coaching college, and in
exchange to coach they would payfor my grad school and that's
(07:12):
where I got my applicationstronger.
That's when I changed mystrategy and then I reapplied to
med school and boom, I got in.
Work happens, you know, andschool happens.
And next, you know, it's a yearI haven't run.
One year turns into residencyand now we're talking about it's
been four or five years sinceI've run.
I'm not eating well, I'm eatingMcDonald's, I'm drinking Pepsi,
(07:34):
I'm just not eating well at all.
And then you fast forward thatto now married.
You know we're literally closeto like 15 years at this point,
since I've really consistentlyrun.
Fatherhood happens, you know,and now we're talking about like
2021, 2022.
(07:56):
We're talking close to 22 yearssince I've really been
consistently exercising, workingout, been consistently
exercising, working out.
But, as I talked about yearsago once I read that book,
atomic Habits, we're gettingclose to three years.
(08:16):
I've been in the gymconsistently, I've been
rebuilding myself and it'sreally been working.
So for me I wrote down why thesegoals?
So breaking 20 minutes in a 5Kfor me, why is that important?
Because it's a time goal thatdemands endurance.
You've got to be fast, right,and you also have to have some
strategy, which is important forme nowadays, right.
(08:38):
It's for me kind of like what'sthe best way I can describe it.
It's like reclaiming part ofwho I used to be right, but
doing it with the wisdom that Ihave now.
And part of that wisdom is bro,you ain't fast anymore.
You can't just go run 800s or400s.
You got to choose a race whereyou got to use your mind.
(09:00):
You got to use whatever youhave left of the speed that you
had back 20 years ago.
So for me that's why that'shella important for me to do
that in a 5k Now, bench pressing250 pounds, that's another
thing.
Like if I were to show youpictures of how I was 20 years
ago, 30 years ago, like I'vealways had a small frame.
I'm a small frame person.
I'm five foot 10.
(09:20):
You know I'm right now I'm like175 to 180 pounds.
So for me it's not really aboutbrute strength.
It's about building like rawpower, like how can I get myself
overall stronger?
And then showing that even inmy mid to late forties that I
can hit a PR if I'm smart aboutthese things.
(09:42):
So overall, the key things isyeah, I'm 47.
I'm a doctor now.
I'm hella busy now, but alsothe same time, I'm smarter.
I got more wisdom.
So yeah, like I think, if I'mable to strategically go about
this, that I can get those twogoals down 5K and 250 pounds.
250 pounds and if you correlateit to what I do as a doctor,
(10:10):
they're relatable.
These are transferable, that'sthe best way I could describe it
.
It's consistency and recovery.
You see a patient who'straumatically injured.
Your heart rate is going up.
You do everything you can.
You got to give them blood.
You may have to put a chesttube in.
You have to make all of thesedecisions really quick, in a
(10:31):
span of maybe 10 to 15 minutes,and then make a decision to go
to the operating room.
Then you operate with thispatient and don't forget, as
you're operating on this patient, other traumas could be coming
through and they're just waitingfor you to take care of them.
But then you finish taking careof this patient.
Hopefully, this patient has agreat outcome.
You make sure you transitionthem either to the floor or to
(10:51):
the intensive care unit.
But now you got to recover,because you don't have time to
like pat yourself on the back oryou don't have time to mope.
You got to recover and you gotto get ready and be able to
produce the same amount of.
You got to get ready and beable to produce the same amount
of, or at least show up the sameamount of energy for this new
patient that you just did forthis patient that you finished
in the operating room.
(11:12):
You see where I'm going withthis, guys.
It all tracks, y'all it alltracks.
So if I, if I were to get moreinto the parallels between
training and trauma surgery, um,you know like it's, I think
it's pretty clear to say, like Ican't control when the cases
come in.
Right, like that's the bestpart about trauma, but I think,
(11:33):
as you get older, sometimes itcould be the worst thing about
trauma, right, so there aretimes where I can go hours
without eating.
Right, like I can go like anentire 12 hours not eating,
which that's not healthy.
Right, and not only that, I'mon my feet.
Right, I got to be on highalert.
Right, because all the patientsthat I have, for the most part,
(11:54):
one small miss, one smallchange from a vital standpoint
and we're talking about youdoing chest compressions Right
In like less than 20 minutes,and not to be like hyper
hyperbolic, but it's the truth,right, like these things happen
very quickly.
Patients go downhill in traumaand critical care very quickly.
So you have to be able toproblem solve, you have to be
(12:16):
able to be on high alert, andyou're on your feet all the time
, and the same thing is going tohappen in the race, right?
There are going to be times,particularly in the 5k, and I
get in and I remember it from an800 where the body wants to
quit, but your mind keeps going.
It's like, yo, you got to keepgoing, but what you know, the
key is well, how can I be ableto match, like stressing my body
(12:37):
to the point where,athletically, I know that I can
still do it?
That's tough.
So when I'm working out, though, I'm choosing the challenge
right, and you know, I chooselike am I going to hit the
weights, or I choose if I'mgoing to run right.
(12:58):
So it's a little bit different,but both the OR and the weight
room really demand like focusunder pressure, right, because
if I'm not focused, and theweight room really demand like
focus under pressure, right,because if I'm not focused in
the weight room, we're talkingabout injury.
If I'm not focused during a run, we're talking about me getting
hit by a car, or maybe nothitting the workout in a way in
which I need to work out and Idon't want to waste time, and
(13:19):
obviously it goes without sayingif I'm not focused in the OR,
Right.
So these are the things thatcan happen.
All right, it is my favoritepart of the show where I get to
talk about locum tenens and whatwe need to have, right?
It allows me to be here to talkto you.
It allows me to be, you know,plugged in with my family, my
(13:55):
kids, my wife and still be hereand talk to you guys for close
to 10 years now.
So listen, let's answer thisquestion from Dr Kevin.
Dr Kevin is a full-time locumtenants emergency medicine
physician and this is what hewrites.
Dr Kevin is a full-time locumtenants emergency medicine
physician and this is what hewrites.
I love the flexibility oflocums, but since I'm not
employed by a hospital, I don'thave benefits.
This is real.
(14:15):
Should I really be thinkingabout disability insurance right
now, dr Kevin?
I appreciate the question.
Thank you very much for writingin this question.
You know I got all the answersand the short answer to this is
a hundred percent yes, yes.
And look, if you're alreadyworking as a locum tenens ER doc
man, you should have haddisability insurance yesterday,
(14:37):
right.
So let's get to the point.
Like, one of the biggestmisconceptions I would say about
disability insurance right nowif you're listening is that you
can worry about it later.
Right, I'm gonna worry about itlater, I'm gonna take care of
it when it comes up and lateryou can put whatever time
reference time interval on it.
But it's a big deal, right,because, especially as a locum
tenens doctor, you are your ownsafety net, right?
(15:00):
Like you don't.
There is no HR department if anissue occurs.
There's no benefits package,right.
Part of the reason why you getpaid so well is you know there's
no benefits, right, so you haveto purchase benefits on your
own right and there definitelyis not any type of
employer-backed disabilitycoverage.
I'm going to be very honestabout that.
And even the employer-backeddisability coverage that you
(15:21):
have is not very good.
Like, even if you are working asan employed doctor, you should
have your own private type ofdisability insurance, and that's
real talk, right?
So if something happens to youan injury, an illness, a burnout
related condition and let's bereal, that happens more often
than you think and let's say youcan't work, your income stops,
(15:43):
that's it.
There's no salary that you getto depend on there's no work,
that means there's no pay, right.
So that is where a privatedisability insurance plan comes
in.
And also, if you're looking fora private disability insurance
plan, you got to make sure thatit's true own occupation policy.
I'm going to say that againMake sure it is true own
(16:05):
occupation policy.
You want to be sure that whenyou're looking at a plan that it
says that lingo in there, right.
And that means that if youcan't work I'm going to be
honest.
If let's say, let's get to thereal, let's say, as an emergency
medicine doctor, or let's sayyou're an anesthesiologist, if
you cannot work in that specificfield, right.
Or even general surgery, right,I'm a general surgeon.
If I can't do general surgeryanymore but I want to do
(16:27):
something else, that means I'mstill going to get paid, right,
and that's a really big deal.
Right, there's a lot of finelanguage out there that is meant
to trip you up, but if you havetrue own occupation disability
insurance, that means that youcan do other things.
If you can't work in yourspecific field, right.
(16:48):
And since you're a 1099contractor, I got a little cheat
code here right, your premiumsmay be tax deductible as a
business expense.
So not only are you protectingyour income, you're being smart
with your taxes also.
Now that last caveat, I'm goingto be honest with you make sure
you talk to your taxprofessional about that.
Make sure you talk to yourfinancial advisor about that.
(17:09):
They may give you someadditional or a different type
of advice.
So it's super important thatyou run that by them first.
Okay, so look, disabilityinsurance, dr Kevin, it's not
about fear, it's about financialresponsibility.
You've worked hella hard.
You've worked way over 10 yearsto protect this career, to
build this career, excuse me.
So protect that income at allcosts, right?
(17:31):
It's super important, right?
So I recommend, if you'relooking to get disability
insurance you listen, I'mtelling you right now I
recommend you work with JamieFleischner with Set for Life
Insurance.
All right, we've been workingwith her personally for over 10
years.
She helped me and Renee get ridof our really expensive
disability insurance and get tosomething that was way more cost
(17:51):
effective and actually hadbetter coverage, and that
actually was the biggest startof us paying off our student
loan debt.
Was us first realizing that,hey, we're paying way too much
to disability insurance as wellas to whole life insurance.
Let's get something that's waymore economical and three years
later we paid off over almost$700,000 of student loan debt.
So we know a thing or two aboutworking with cost-effective
(18:15):
disability insurance Superimportant.
So I recommend Jamie Fleissnerwith SEP for Life Insurance.
She specializes in coverage fordoctors, especially
independents like you and me, sothere's no fluff in what she's
talking about, it's just honestadvice.
And she's got access tomultiple top-tier carriers.
So I want you to take a look atsetforlifeinsurancecom or tap
(18:40):
on the link in the show notes toset up a free, no-pressure
consultation with her.
Super important and rememberthis is docs outside the box,
and outside the box doesn't meanunprotected.
Dr Kevin, thanks for writing in.
I say this to a lot of docs who, I think, miss out on an
opportunity to talk to theirpatients and help their patients
(19:06):
understand certain things.
Right, like, we tell them totake care of themselves, but if
you are walking around exhausted, you know not fit, or you're
like constantly on edge andoverstimulated, like, what
message are you really giving toyour patients?
And for me, it was the samething with my kids.
(19:28):
Right, like, my kids are eightand six right now.
You know, and I don't know ifthey really understand, like,
what being in shape is.
But there are plenty of timeswhen I'm working out and they
work out with me.
But I was very keen on like Iwasn't really happy with my body
three years ago, so like I justwanted to be able to be healthy
(19:50):
enough that I can chase themaround when they're in their
teenage years, or I didn't wantto be that dad.
You know, like I got this thing.
I don't know if it's rationalor not, but I got this thing
where I'm already an older dad,right, I just didn't want to be
that dad who has to move theirkid into college.
And you know how you got tocarry that heavy ass fridge
that's like, was it a microfridge?
(20:10):
Right?
You got to carry that heavy assfridge microwave up the damn
stairs because they ain't gotelevators if it's an old school
and I just I need to be in shape.
I always think that damn, I gotto be that guy who's got to
lift all that stuff up and Idon't want to be the one who's
got to ask a younger dad to helpme up, like that's embarrassing
.
I won't be that guy.
So lifting and running for methat's an act of resistance
(20:34):
against burnout.
I'll be honest with you.
It is.
And it's at the point right nowwhere it is non-negotiable.
Like when I work out, like orexcuse me, working out is
non-negotiable because I knowthat that is my like.
I don't take any phone callsduring that time unless I'm on
call and it's an emergency, butthat rarely occurs.
I only work out when I'm not oncall or if I'm on backup.
(20:57):
So for the most part, I cancontrol that.
I'm not gonna get a call whenI'm at home.
You know, renee knows, you know, hey, I'm working out.
The kids.
They come and you know youcan't really control if the kids
are going to come in and out,but they come in, they work out
with me or you know, it's a funtime for them to see me working
out.
But these things arenon-negotiable to me and I'll be
(21:18):
really honest with you.
Like I feel, like, like that'show I keep everything in check,
right, like when I, when I'm atwork, I'm done, that's it.
Like I still like I don't knowabout you guys, but I want you
to write in, go to the shownotes.
If you're watching us onYouTube, check out the show
description and there's a waythat you can leave us a voice
message or even a text messageand I'd like to know, like, do
(21:39):
you go home in scrubs?
Because I don't.
I don't believe in that at all.
I'm not here to judge you oranything like that, but I hate
the concept of going home in thescrubs that I worked out all
day and bringing home likeviruses and bugs and all that
stuff, and even just just thethe, the stuff that happened
(22:03):
through today, like it's a signthat I'm bringing it home with
me and I just I don't want todeal with it.
So for me, taking my scrubs off, wearing, you know, whatever I
wore, like some regular clothes,some sneakers, what have you
that's how I check out and keepmy mind right.
So that's something that Idon't know what you guys think
about that, but I feel reallystrongly about that.
Now here's my.
I got some notes real quick.
Here's the logistics of how I'mdoing this, how I'm training
(22:26):
super important.
Of how I'm doing this, how I'mtraining super important.
So I got two clear targetsright.
So I'm going to run three daysa week and in those three days
I'm doing anything between temporuns, intervals, right.
So if you guys are familiar,these are things where you're
like repeating like 300 metersor 800 meters, or you're doing
mile repeats and then you take,like you know, three minutes off
(22:49):
and then you go back and youhit another mile or whatever it
may be 400s, whatever it may beand then at the end of the week
I do really long easy runs.
So right now, because I'm slowlygetting back into running, my
longest run right now is sixmiles and it's slow, is six
(23:12):
miles and it's slow and that's Ilove it.
Just go out and just run.
I don't have a pace and I justjog it, maybe a little bit
faster than a jog, and that's it.
Now the other three days arehitting the weights.
So we talk about push, pull,definitely legs you never skip
leg day and I'm focusing onprogressive overload.
That means that every week I'mhitting, I'm increasing the
weights, um, or at least maybeevery two weeks or so, I'm
(23:34):
increasing the weight.
So if I'm doing squats and Idid it at, I'm just going to
make a weight of I'm doing at ahundred pounds.
The next week I'm making sureI'm at 105.
I'm at 110, right, like, I wantto continue to, like, get
stronger, and that's what wecall progressive overload.
You're making sure you'readding more and more weight to
each exercise.
And the biggest part for me isemphasizing bench day, which has
(23:57):
been a problem for me, right?
Like I have noticed that I haveshoulder pain and joint pain,
the orthopedic surgeons who arelistening, the physical
therapists who are listening youknow what I'm talking about and
if you can write it and tell mewhat I can do to help avoid
that.
That's been a major problem forme is, even though I want to
bench 250 pounds, for me it'shella hard to do that because,
(24:19):
like I said, I have a very smallframe I don't know if my form
is off, but I just need toimprove on that and it just
causes a lot of joint pain.
So here's what my split lookslike Monday upper body, and
we're talking about like bench,focused, like push, right.
Tuesday track intervals.
So these are like mile repeats,400 repeats, and these are
(24:41):
usually at 5k pace, right, andjust so y'all know what the pace
is, to break five minutes or tobreak 20 minutes is 626 per
mile, right?
So 626 per mile I got to beable to do.
That's tough.
So we're talking trackintervals on Tuesday.
Wednesday lower body squats,dumbbell, bench press.
(25:06):
Oh yeah, the other thing is Idon't do no Smith machines,
bench press, oh yeah.
The other thing is I don't dono Smith machines, I don't have
like barbells, all I have isjust dumbbells.
So eventually I'm going toinvest in a home gym, but then I
go to Planet Fitness when I'mon the road and if anybody's
familiar with Planet Fitness,they don't really have free
weights except for dumbbells.
So I'm doing lower body onWednesday.
Thursday we're doing a tempo orsteady state run, right, so
(25:29):
we're running, not at race pace,but we're kind of running a
little bit slower than that,just to kind of keep the heart
rate going, get my body kind ofused to running at a certain
speed or a certain pace.
Friday is pull and mobility soright, so like pull workouts,
pull exercises and stretching.
(25:49):
I like to get my hips moving,get my arms moving.
Saturday is a long run, that'sthe six mile run, slow, like
there's no pace or anything likethat.
And Sunday is family andrecovery right, that's just me
chilling, relaxing, meditating,being with kids, you know,
(26:11):
chasing them around.
One of the things that I reallylike to do in this neighborhood
is I like to go out for areally minor jog while my kids
are on the bike, and the reasonI do that is I don't want to get
a bike, because once I get abike, then I can't be on the
sidewalk with them, right, andI'm not ready to have my kids on
the sidewalk with them, right,and I'm not ready to have my
kids on the street, sincethey're eight and six.
(26:31):
I'm just not ready to do thatyet.
So, but yeah, so family andrecovery time on Sunday.
Now, a lot of times this maychange if I'm traveling for
locums.
Sometimes Monday may be afamily and recovery day, but it
all depends.
But basically, this is how itworks Six days a week I'm
exercising in some form offashion, and then one day I'm
off.
But also remember, like, duringthose six days, maybe three to
(26:55):
four of them are intense, theother are kind of chill, not
chill, but they're not asintense I got to remember, like
I'm 47, like my body can'tsustain six hard workouts, like
I'll start breaking down if I'mnot already.
And you know, in keeping thatI'm not really 25 anymore.
Right, I wish I was 25, but I'mnot actually.
(27:15):
No, I don't wish I was 25because my mind was crazy during
that time.
But now that I'm in my lateforties.
Like I stretch, I sleep more.
Maybe I don't sleep more, Ineed to sleep more.
I'll be honest with youno-transcript.
(27:57):
So it's good, but I probablyshould be more in the three and
a half liter to four liter range.
But I got to, I got to listen,I got a job guys I can't be
coming out of OR to go pee.
So I track everything and I usean app.
One of the apps that I use isFuture.
That's what I use for myvirtual private training.
(28:17):
That's mainly for my liftingRight and in those workouts, you
know I'm texting with someoneand they're sending me pictures
and videos of different workoutsthat I can do, and I'll talk
about that more in a differentepisode.
But that's how I track myworkouts.
That's how I get my progressiveoverload and that actually yes,
I have to pay for that, but Iwould be horrible at writing my
(28:38):
own workouts.
That would lead to a lot ofanalysis, paralysis for me.
So for me, rather than justwell, should I do a leg day
today or should I do a push daytoday and then next?
You know I don't do anythingand I just eat some Doritos.
I invested in that program andall of the variation, all of the
things that I don't think aboutis all they're done for me.
(29:00):
All I got to do is show up andI love it.
And then, on the other hand, myrunning workouts.
I reached out to one of mycollege buddies.
She's been running consistentlysince college and she's like
really good and she writesworkouts for me, puts it on
Google drive, and I let both ofthem talk and they've been able
to create a schedule that worksreally well for me, based off of
(29:23):
, you know, not running over 20years and basically making sure
that I don't get hurt.
That's what I do.
Years and basically making surethat I don't get hurt, that's
what I do.
So every run is recorded, everyrep is recorded, and this is
just like what I would do for apost-op patient.
Ah, you see guys, you see guys,ah guys, I'm going somewhere
(29:45):
with this, I'm getting surgicalwith this.
The other thing that I thinkthat some of you may be thinking
is, you know, besides theAmerican Ninja Warrior thing,
think the question is how thehell does a trauma surgeon find
time for this?
And the answer is, like youknow, sometimes you try to be
like real, like, like you know,I'm going to try to be like real
(30:05):
smooth and give people ananswer and like balance and all
like I ain't trying to hit guys,I'm gonna give you all the real
like you got to make time,that's it.
I make time because if I don'tmake time, the system's going to
eat me alive.
And the system is medicine, thesystem is just life, like it's
just going to eat you alive.
(30:26):
If you don't be, if you're notintentional with this, if
there's not like this check andbalance where you say, listen,
guys, like I'm gonna work thisamount of time and then after
that, that's it, and then I'mgonna go work out and I gotta
de-stress and I just I can'tthink about, you know, spleens,
anymore livers.
Or you know what this you knowneurosurgeon said to this
(30:46):
orthopedic surgeon and thisorthopedic surgeon cursed you
like there's got to be a pointwhere I just say, yo, I am out,
I can't deal with this, no more,right?
And um, I've, I just had to getreally ruthless with it, Right,
I got to get really ruthlesswith my time.
So you know, I either trainearly or I train late, right?
So if I'm no-transcript, know Ias much as I like to say hey,
(31:44):
like, yeah, you know, this isall me, I'm doing this, right?
Um, I'm really lucky to have asupport system, like my wife
she's OB, obviously.
She understands all of thestuff she gets it.
And then my kids see me liftingand running and the way how I
look at it for the kids is it'splanting seeds for them that
they see that you know,obviously, you know having fun
(32:09):
and being with mom and dad andyou know, with their brothers
and so forth, and going toschool.
That's fun, but there's alsosomething to be said about
working.
And then there's also somethingto be said about physical
activity and how that has to bevery important.
Right, like your body has to bea temple, has to be a temple.
Those are the things that Ihope my kids are picking up
about.
Is that, like, no matter whatstage you are in life, like
(32:36):
health is wealth?
Right, like it may not beringing that high, but they need
to see me as an old man stilllike hitting the weights.
So, you know, the best way Icould look at this is you know,
if anybody's listening in there,like man, how did he get to
this point?
I want to get to that point, orthese numbers that you're
throwing out.
I just want you to know that,look, like it's not really about
(33:00):
being a superhero, right, it'sabout being a whole person.
And I just knew, like even 10years ago when I, or even over
(33:21):
10 years ago, when I startedworking, like, like being a
whole person is super hellaimportant to me, right.
But a doctor who doesn't justsurvive, right, like I, just I
need to be able to thrive inthis, right, like knowing that
there's all these landmines andyou know the system, quote
unquote is going to get you like, how do I like navigate through
(33:45):
all this and still have mymental, have my health, have my
relationships?
How do I do that?
It ain't going to be perfect,but how do I do that?
And this is how I'm doing it,right?
So you know, when I look at this, like benching 250 pounds,
(34:06):
breaking 20 minutes, like a lotof people are doing this, so
it's not going to change theworld.
I'm just going to be reallyhonest with you.
I'm not a superhero.
This ain't going to change theworld, but I'm going to be real
with you.
It's going to change me andthat's the most important thing.
Like I'm changing.
I see my body changing, I seemy mentality changing.
You know I for 20 years Ireally didn't watch track and
(34:28):
field much, except for theOlympics, but I'm watching track
now, I'm paying attention totrack and field workouts.
I'm enjoying like all of thesedifferent things on YouTube that
wasn't available when I wasrunning.
Maybe you guys can see thatwith yourselves if you decide to
(34:51):
take on some type of athleticor maybe even some type of
mental journey or mental workoutis.
You know, I'm reminded that I'mstill growing, um, I still have
goals outside of medicine.
And it's still like I still ownmy time and my body.
(35:14):
Those are really important.
Like I really want you guys tounderstand.
Like I still own my time and mybody.
I want you guys to think aboutthat.
Like that is me saying like, nomatter how stressful the job is
, like I'm still going to engagein activity.
That just says that my body isvery important mentally as well
as physically.
(35:35):
And you know, if I can challengeyou right now to the docs who
are listening right now, youknow, to anybody who's listening
right now like I would love todo that.
I would love to challenge youguys like set a goal that has
nothing to do with your titleRight, like I know that whatever
you do from a professionalstandpoint or you're attaining
(35:57):
some type of professional status, like there's all those goals,
whether it's getting to thatprofessional status, or if
you're a professional status,then it's like, well, what kind
of goal can I have within mystatus?
Am I going to be director ofthis?
Am I going to be in charge ofthis committee?
Am I going to make this much?
Got you Great?
Now that you have that on theside or you're working towards
that, tell me what goal that youhave.
(36:20):
That has nothing to do withyour title.
That's what I'm talking aboutChase something, personal train
for something.
It could be a triathlon.
You crazy as hell if you do atriathlon, I can't do that.
It could be a dance competitionor it could just be walking
10,000 steps a day.
That's what we're trying to getDr Rene to do.
(36:41):
But the key thing is look, justmake it yours right, just make
it yours and just, you know,enjoy and live in it.
So that's my, that's my updatepost-workout.
I'm in the grind.
I'm on the grind, um, I'mtrying to break 20 minutes in a
5k, trying to bench 250 pounds,and I'll be honest with you If I
(37:03):
hit these goals, it's going tobe great, right, it's going to
be really great, um, but I'll behonest with you guys and let
you guys know how it's going.
But even if I don't, I'm goingto still let y'all know, though,
and the process is still going.
I think the process is just asimportant as hitting the goal.
So, even if I don't hit thegoal, at least I know that I'm
(37:24):
keeping myself centered, I'mkeeping myself sharp and I'm
keeping myself honest.
Right, because I can it.
I can see the workouts on theapp.
I can see, you know, my paceson Google Drive.
So you know.
Last but not least, like, ifyou're listening to this and it
resonates, hit me up.
You know, let me know what youthink, let me know what you're
training for.
Are you pushing yourselfoutside the hospital walls?
(37:48):
Remember, you can always DM meon Instagram.
You can drop us a voicemail.
We might just feature you on afuture episode.
So until next time, yo, I'mgonna catch you guys on the next
one.
You guys are more than justyour white coat, yo.
So you know, just like I alwayssay, and I used to say early on
(38:08):
in the show, like way, way back, you know.
You know we just not just,you're not just a doc, you know,
stay outside the box, and Ijust made that up.
But you know what I'm talkingabout.
All right, y'all, I'll catchyou guys in the next one, y'all,
peace.
benching 250 pounds, breaking 20 minutes.
A lot of people are doing this.
So I'm not a superhero.
This ain't going to change theworld, but I'm going to be real
with you.
It's going to change me andthat's the most important thing.
Like I'm changing, I see mybody changing.
I see my mentality changing.
I'm reminded that I'm stillgrowing.
I still have goals outside ofmedicine.
I still own my time and my body.
(00:21):
That is me saying like, nomatter how stressful the job is,
I'm still going to engage inactivity.
That just says that my body isvery important, mentally as well
as physically.
If I can challenge you rightnow, set a goal that has nothing
to do with your title Yo,what's good everybody.
This is Dr Nii.
You're listening to DocsOutside the Box.
(00:42):
I don't know if you guysremember to the old heads.
They might remember maybe aboutthree or four years ago we
changed the motto, the logo ofthe show, to money, medicine,
everything kind of in between,and before that it was really
highlighting ordinary doctorsdoing extraordinary things, and
that's when the show was reallyfocused on highlighting just
(01:06):
other doctors, letting themspeak.
I would Q and a with them andwe would just talk about their
stories, and it was what wasneeded for me for several years
for me to gain confidence to one, do a podcast to um, you know,
carry a podcast for like an hour.
That was really tough, and thisis the wild, wild west days of
(01:29):
podcasting.
Right, like this is 2015, 16,17, and so forth, but we've
transitioned off of that.
But sometimes you need that oldthing back.
So listen.
This show used to highlightordinary doctors doing
extraordinary things and today,listen, that includes me.
That's right.
(01:50):
No, no, no.
So here's the deal.
I'm a trauma surgeon, as youall know, I'm a husband, I'm a
dad, I'm a podcaster and also,right now, I'm chasing two
fitness goals.
So on the previous episode, Italked about a new segment
called the vital segment, whereI'm sharing the goals that I
(02:11):
have in life, and the goals thatI want right now are I want to
break 20 minutes in a 5k, 20minutes.
I want to be under 20 minutesin a 5,000 meter run outside on
a cross country um, you know,course, whatever it may be.
And then sometime in that sameperiod of time, like in the same
(02:33):
week, month or what have you Ialso want to be able to bench
250 pounds.
I don't know how many times?
But I want to be able to bench250 pounds.
And some of y'all may bethinking like, yo, man, what are
you trying to?
You trying to train forAmerican Ninja or something,
right, cause you know it's onright now and it's the
summertime and you know how itis on TV TV, particularly on NBC
(02:56):
.
There's nothing else to watch,there's nothing.
There's no really good must seeTV.
So, as a result, like they putthese crazy ass shows on.
So American Ninja Warrior iskind of what I think about when
people probably ask like, yo,what are you training for?
And for me, it's more than justbeing able to like flex muscles,
(03:17):
it's more than just chasinglike an old dream or something
like that.
It really boils down to likediscipline.
Like an old dream or somethinglike that.
It really boils down to likediscipline.
It boils down to like mentalclarity, right, you see, I'm
going somewhere with this peoplelisten to me and then keeping
myself sharp and sane in one ofthe most stressful jobs in
(03:38):
medicine.
Let's be real, right?
So, for example, like I'mrecording this episode solo
because Dr Renee is doing herjob.
She switched off and she'sworking the weekend, but I was
gone for three days working andyou know, literally when I sign
in at seven o'clock in themorning, there's 25 people,
sometimes even 30 people,sometimes even 40 people, on the
(03:59):
patient list that I got to seeby myself.
There are some who are in theintensive care unit, there's
some who are in their emergencyroom who haven't gotten to a bed
yet, there's some that may needan operation, and not to
mention all the trauma alertsthat come through the door.
Right, this is the day before4th of July, so you know there's
people who are just, you know,starting their, you know their,
holiday weekend really early.
(04:20):
So it's extremely hella busyand a lot of times you know
you're going to the operatingroom and then as soon as you get
out or while you're in theoperating room, more traumas are
coming in, so like there's justa queue of patients that you
got to see even afterwards.
So you kind of do this right.
If you're on YouTube, you cansee what I'm going Like your
emotions go up and then down, upand down, up and down.
(04:42):
Right, cortisol levels is goingthrough the roof.
I got this thing, this thing onmy phone that tells me it's a
pixel three and it lets me knowif my heart rate goes past a
certain zone and it wants me tolog it in as am I calm, am I
worried, am I stressed, am Ienergized?
You know?
So it's, it's peeking in intomy vitals and it's constantly
(05:02):
going off and triggering me like, hey, you're going out of the
range in which you really wantyour range to be.
So it's pretty interesting.
So that's the three things thatI really want to focus in on.
Why I'm getting into really goodshape is I really need to be
more disciplined.
I need, to be like, clear withmy mental you know my mental,
(05:24):
mental and then I want to besharp and sane in this job.
Right, for me, that's what Ifeel that I need.
And you know, the big thing forme about discipline is you know
, when I get to this age I'm 47is like, how do I show up for
myself when nobody's watching?
Or, in essence, when nobodycares?
(05:44):
Or another way of putting thisis like yo, you, 47, nobody
really nobody's checking for you, right?
So how do I stay disciplinedand continue to be in shape when
there's no pressure?
So I'll give you a little bitof a background about me.
Is so I used to run in college Iwas an average track and field
(06:07):
runner.
I was mid distance, so I waslike the best way I could
describe it is I was an 800meter runner, but I was
extremely lazy, right.
So I was the 800 meter runnerwho was strong enough to run at
800.
I can run a mile if I wanted to.
I could definitely break fiveminutes in a mile.
You know, I think I was likefour or 30.
I can't remember what my PR wasin the mile and stuff, but I
(06:27):
hated running the mile, I hatedrunning miles and all that stuff
.
But I can run a 400.
And I was one of thosejourneyman type runners where I
probably was a little bit fastto maybe run faster than an 800
consistently, but I reallydidn't know what my race was.
So I think the 800 just endedup being where I spent most of
(06:49):
my time, right.
So that's kind of where I wasin college, just kind of an
average runner.
And then, you know, I appliedto medical school twice and in
between those two years where Iwas applying to school, I was
coaching track and field,coaching college, and in
exchange to coach they would payfor my grad school and that's
(07:12):
where I got my applicationstronger.
That's when I changed mystrategy and then I reapplied to
med school and boom, I got in.
Work happens, you know, andschool happens.
And next, you know, it's a yearI haven't run.
One year turns into residencyand now we're talking about it's
been four or five years sinceI've run.
I'm not eating well, I'm eatingMcDonald's, I'm drinking Pepsi,
(07:34):
I'm just not eating well at all.
And then you fast forward thatto now married.
You know we're literally closeto like 15 years at this point,
since I've really consistentlyrun.
Fatherhood happens, you know,and now we're talking about like
2021, 2022.
(07:56):
We're talking close to 22 yearssince I've really been
consistently exercising, workingout, been consistently
exercising, working out.
But, as I talked about yearsago once I read that book,
atomic Habits, we're gettingclose to three years.
(08:16):
I've been in the gymconsistently, I've been
rebuilding myself and it'sreally been working.
So for me I wrote down why thesegoals?
So breaking 20 minutes in a 5Kfor me, why is that important?
Because it's a time goal thatdemands endurance.
You've got to be fast, right,and you also have to have some
strategy, which is important forme nowadays, right.
(08:38):
It's for me kind of like what'sthe best way I can describe it.
It's like reclaiming part ofwho I used to be right, but
doing it with the wisdom that Ihave now.
And part of that wisdom is bro,you ain't fast anymore.
You can't just go run 800s or400s.
You got to choose a race whereyou got to use your mind.
(09:00):
You got to use whatever youhave left of the speed that you
had back 20 years ago.
So for me that's why that'shella important for me to do
that in a 5k Now, bench pressing250 pounds, that's another
thing.
Like if I were to show youpictures of how I was 20 years
ago, 30 years ago, like I'vealways had a small frame.
I'm a small frame person.
I'm five foot 10.
(09:20):
You know I'm right now I'm like175 to 180 pounds.
So for me it's not really aboutbrute strength.
It's about building like rawpower, like how can I get myself
overall stronger?
And then showing that even inmy mid to late forties that I
can hit a PR if I'm smart aboutthese things.
(09:42):
So overall, the key things isyeah, I'm 47.
I'm a doctor now.
I'm hella busy now, but alsothe same time, I'm smarter.
I got more wisdom.
So yeah, like I think, if I'mable to strategically go about
this, that I can get those twogoals down 5K and 250 pounds.
250 pounds and if you correlateit to what I do as a doctor,
(10:10):
they're relatable.
These are transferable, that'sthe best way I could describe it
.
It's consistency and recovery.
You see a patient who'straumatically injured.
Your heart rate is going up.
You do everything you can.
You got to give them blood.
You may have to put a chesttube in.
You have to make all of thesedecisions really quick, in a
(10:31):
span of maybe 10 to 15 minutes,and then make a decision to go
to the operating room.
Then you operate with thispatient and don't forget, as
you're operating on this patient, other traumas could be coming
through and they're just waitingfor you to take care of them.
But then you finish taking careof this patient.
Hopefully, this patient has agreat outcome.
You make sure you transitionthem either to the floor or to
(10:51):
the intensive care unit.
But now you got to recover,because you don't have time to
like pat yourself on the back oryou don't have time to mope.
You got to recover and you gotto get ready and be able to
produce the same amount of.
You got to get ready and beable to produce the same amount
of, or at least show up the sameamount of energy for this new
patient that you just did forthis patient that you finished
in the operating room.
(11:12):
You see where I'm going withthis, guys.
It all tracks, y'all it alltracks.
So if I, if I were to get moreinto the parallels between
training and trauma surgery, um,you know like it's, I think
it's pretty clear to say, like Ican't control when the cases
come in.
Right, like that's the bestpart about trauma, but I think,
(11:33):
as you get older, sometimes itcould be the worst thing about
trauma, right, so there aretimes where I can go hours
without eating.
Right, like I can go like anentire 12 hours not eating,
which that's not healthy.
Right, and not only that, I'mon my feet.
Right, I got to be on highalert.
Right, because all the patientsthat I have, for the most part,
(11:54):
one small miss, one smallchange from a vital standpoint
and we're talking about youdoing chest compressions Right
In like less than 20 minutes,and not to be like hyper
hyperbolic, but it's the truth,right, like these things happen
very quickly.
Patients go downhill in traumaand critical care very quickly.
So you have to be able toproblem solve, you have to be
(12:16):
able to be on high alert, andyou're on your feet all the time
, and the same thing is going tohappen in the race, right?
There are going to be times,particularly in the 5k, and I
get in and I remember it from an800 where the body wants to
quit, but your mind keeps going.
It's like, yo, you got to keepgoing, but what you know, the
key is well, how can I be ableto match, like stressing my body
(12:37):
to the point where,athletically, I know that I can
still do it?
That's tough.
So when I'm working out, though, I'm choosing the challenge
right, and you know, I chooselike am I going to hit the
weights, or I choose if I'mgoing to run right.
(12:58):
So it's a little bit different,but both the OR and the weight
room really demand like focusunder pressure, right, because
if I'm not focused, and theweight room really demand like
focus under pressure, right,because if I'm not focused in
the weight room, we're talkingabout injury.
If I'm not focused during a run, we're talking about me getting
hit by a car, or maybe nothitting the workout in a way in
which I need to work out and Idon't want to waste time, and
(13:19):
obviously it goes without sayingif I'm not focused in the OR,
Right.
So these are the things thatcan happen.
All right, it is my favoritepart of the show where I get to
talk about locum tenens and whatwe need to have, right?
It allows me to be here to talkto you.
It allows me to be, you know,plugged in with my family, my
(13:55):
kids, my wife and still be hereand talk to you guys for close
to 10 years now.
So listen, let's answer thisquestion from Dr Kevin.
Dr Kevin is a full-time locumtenants emergency medicine
physician and this is what hewrites.
Dr Kevin is a full-time locumtenants emergency medicine
physician and this is what hewrites.
I love the flexibility oflocums, but since I'm not
employed by a hospital, I don'thave benefits.
This is real.
(14:15):
Should I really be thinkingabout disability insurance right
now, dr Kevin?
I appreciate the question.
Thank you very much for writingin this question.
You know I got all the answersand the short answer to this is
a hundred percent yes, yes.
And look, if you're alreadyworking as a locum tenens ER doc
man, you should have haddisability insurance yesterday,
(14:37):
right.
So let's get to the point.
Like, one of the biggestmisconceptions I would say about
disability insurance right nowif you're listening is that you
can worry about it later.
Right, I'm gonna worry about itlater, I'm gonna take care of
it when it comes up and lateryou can put whatever time
reference time interval on it.
But it's a big deal, right,because, especially as a locum
tenens doctor, you are your ownsafety net, right?
(15:00):
Like you don't.
There is no HR department if anissue occurs.
There's no benefits package,right.
Part of the reason why you getpaid so well is you know there's
no benefits, right, so you haveto purchase benefits on your
own right and there definitelyis not any type of
employer-backed disabilitycoverage.
I'm going to be very honestabout that.
And even the employer-backeddisability coverage that you
(15:21):
have is not very good.
Like, even if you are working asan employed doctor, you should
have your own private type ofdisability insurance, and that's
real talk, right?
So if something happens to youan injury, an illness, a burnout
related condition and let's bereal, that happens more often
than you think and let's say youcan't work, your income stops,
(15:43):
that's it.
There's no salary that you getto depend on there's no work,
that means there's no pay, right.
So that is where a privatedisability insurance plan comes
in.
And also, if you're looking fora private disability insurance
plan, you got to make sure thatit's true own occupation policy.
I'm going to say that againMake sure it is true own
(16:05):
occupation policy.
You want to be sure that whenyou're looking at a plan that it
says that lingo in there, right.
And that means that if youcan't work I'm going to be
honest.
If let's say, let's get to thereal, let's say, as an emergency
medicine doctor, or let's sayyou're an anesthesiologist, if
you cannot work in that specificfield, right.
Or even general surgery, right,I'm a general surgeon.
If I can't do general surgeryanymore but I want to do
(16:27):
something else, that means I'mstill going to get paid, right,
and that's a really big deal.
Right, there's a lot of finelanguage out there that is meant
to trip you up, but if you havetrue own occupation disability
insurance, that means that youcan do other things.
If you can't work in yourspecific field, right.
(16:48):
And since you're a 1099contractor, I got a little cheat
code here right, your premiumsmay be tax deductible as a
business expense.
So not only are you protectingyour income, you're being smart
with your taxes also.
Now that last caveat, I'm goingto be honest with you make sure
you talk to your taxprofessional about that.
Make sure you talk to yourfinancial advisor about that.
(17:09):
They may give you someadditional or a different type
of advice.
So it's super important thatyou run that by them first.
Okay, so look, disabilityinsurance, dr Kevin, it's not
about fear, it's about financialresponsibility.
You've worked hella hard.
You've worked way over 10 yearsto protect this career, to
build this career, excuse me.
So protect that income at allcosts, right?
(17:31):
It's super important, right?
So I recommend, if you'relooking to get disability
insurance you listen, I'mtelling you right now I
recommend you work with JamieFleischner with Set for Life
Insurance.
All right, we've been workingwith her personally for over 10
years.
She helped me and Renee get ridof our really expensive
disability insurance and get tosomething that was way more cost
(17:51):
effective and actually hadbetter coverage, and that
actually was the biggest startof us paying off our student
loan debt.
Was us first realizing that,hey, we're paying way too much
to disability insurance as wellas to whole life insurance.
Let's get something that's waymore economical and three years
later we paid off over almost$700,000 of student loan debt.
So we know a thing or two aboutworking with cost-effective
(18:15):
disability insurance Superimportant.
So I recommend Jamie Fleissnerwith SEP for Life Insurance.
She specializes in coverage fordoctors, especially
independents like you and me, sothere's no fluff in what she's
talking about, it's just honestadvice.
And she's got access tomultiple top-tier carriers.
So I want you to take a look atsetforlifeinsurancecom or tap
(18:40):
on the link in the show notes toset up a free, no-pressure
consultation with her.
Super important and rememberthis is docs outside the box,
and outside the box doesn't meanunprotected.
Dr Kevin, thanks for writing in.
I say this to a lot of docs who, I think, miss out on an
opportunity to talk to theirpatients and help their patients
(19:06):
understand certain things.
Right, like, we tell them totake care of themselves, but if
you are walking around exhausted, you know not fit, or you're
like constantly on edge andoverstimulated, like, what
message are you really giving toyour patients?
And for me, it was the samething with my kids.
(19:28):
Right, like, my kids are eightand six right now.
You know, and I don't know ifthey really understand, like,
what being in shape is.
But there are plenty of timeswhen I'm working out and they
work out with me.
But I was very keen on like Iwasn't really happy with my body
three years ago, so like I justwanted to be able to be healthy
(19:50):
enough that I can chase themaround when they're in their
teenage years, or I didn't wantto be that dad.
You know, like I got this thing.
I don't know if it's rationalor not, but I got this thing
where I'm already an older dad,right, I just didn't want to be
that dad who has to move theirkid into college.
And you know how you got tocarry that heavy ass fridge
that's like, was it a microfridge?
(20:10):
Right?
You got to carry that heavy assfridge microwave up the damn
stairs because they ain't gotelevators if it's an old school
and I just I need to be in shape.
I always think that damn, I gotto be that guy who's got to
lift all that stuff up and Idon't want to be the one who's
got to ask a younger dad to helpme up, like that's embarrassing
.
I won't be that guy.
So lifting and running for methat's an act of resistance
(20:34):
against burnout.
I'll be honest with you.
It is.
And it's at the point right nowwhere it is non-negotiable.
Like when I work out, like orexcuse me, working out is
non-negotiable because I knowthat that is my like.
I don't take any phone callsduring that time unless I'm on
call and it's an emergency, butthat rarely occurs.
I only work out when I'm not oncall or if I'm on backup.
(20:57):
So for the most part, I cancontrol that.
I'm not gonna get a call whenI'm at home.
You know, renee knows, you know, hey, I'm working out.
The kids.
They come and you know youcan't really control if the kids
are going to come in and out,but they come in, they work out
with me or you know, it's a funtime for them to see me working
out.
But these things arenon-negotiable to me and I'll be
(21:18):
really honest with you.
Like I feel, like, like that'show I keep everything in check,
right, like when I, when I'm atwork, I'm done, that's it.
Like I still like I don't knowabout you guys, but I want you
to write in, go to the shownotes.
If you're watching us onYouTube, check out the show
description and there's a waythat you can leave us a voice
message or even a text messageand I'd like to know, like, do
(21:39):
you go home in scrubs?
Because I don't.
I don't believe in that at all.
I'm not here to judge you oranything like that, but I hate
the concept of going home in thescrubs that I worked out all
day and bringing home likeviruses and bugs and all that
stuff, and even just just thethe, the stuff that happened
(22:03):
through today, like it's a signthat I'm bringing it home with
me and I just I don't want todeal with it.
So for me, taking my scrubs off, wearing, you know, whatever I
wore, like some regular clothes,some sneakers, what have you
that's how I check out and keepmy mind right.
So that's something that Idon't know what you guys think
about that, but I feel reallystrongly about that.
Now here's my.
I got some notes real quick.
Here's the logistics of how I'mdoing this, how I'm training
(22:26):
super important.
Of how I'm doing this, how I'mtraining super important.
So I got two clear targetsright.
So I'm going to run three daysa week and in those three days
I'm doing anything between temporuns, intervals, right.
So if you guys are familiar,these are things where you're
like repeating like 300 metersor 800 meters, or you're doing
mile repeats and then you take,like you know, three minutes off
(22:49):
and then you go back and youhit another mile or whatever it
may be 400s, whatever it may beand then at the end of the week
I do really long easy runs.
So right now, because I'm slowlygetting back into running, my
longest run right now is sixmiles and it's slow, is six
(23:12):
miles and it's slow and that's Ilove it.
Just go out and just run.
I don't have a pace and I justjog it, maybe a little bit
faster than a jog, and that's it.
Now the other three days arehitting the weights.
So we talk about push, pull,definitely legs you never skip
leg day and I'm focusing onprogressive overload.
That means that every week I'mhitting, I'm increasing the
weights, um, or at least maybeevery two weeks or so, I'm
(23:34):
increasing the weight.
So if I'm doing squats and Idid it at, I'm just going to
make a weight of I'm doing at ahundred pounds.
The next week I'm making sureI'm at 105.
I'm at 110, right, like, I wantto continue to, like, get
stronger, and that's what wecall progressive overload.
You're making sure you'readding more and more weight to
each exercise.
And the biggest part for me isemphasizing bench day, which has
(23:57):
been a problem for me, right?
Like I have noticed that I haveshoulder pain and joint pain,
the orthopedic surgeons who arelistening, the physical
therapists who are listening youknow what I'm talking about and
if you can write it and tell mewhat I can do to help avoid
that.
That's been a major problem forme is, even though I want to
bench 250 pounds, for me it'shella hard to do that because,
(24:19):
like I said, I have a very smallframe I don't know if my form
is off, but I just need toimprove on that and it just
causes a lot of joint pain.
So here's what my split lookslike Monday upper body, and
we're talking about like bench,focused, like push, right.
Tuesday track intervals.
So these are like mile repeats,400 repeats, and these are
(24:41):
usually at 5k pace, right, andjust so y'all know what the pace
is, to break five minutes or tobreak 20 minutes is 626 per
mile, right?
So 626 per mile I got to beable to do.
That's tough.
So we're talking trackintervals on Tuesday.
Wednesday lower body squats,dumbbell, bench press.
(25:06):
Oh yeah, the other thing is Idon't do no Smith machines,
bench press, oh yeah.
The other thing is I don't dono Smith machines, I don't have
like barbells, all I have isjust dumbbells.
So eventually I'm going toinvest in a home gym, but then I
go to Planet Fitness when I'mon the road and if anybody's
familiar with Planet Fitness,they don't really have free
weights except for dumbbells.
So I'm doing lower body onWednesday.
Thursday we're doing a tempo orsteady state run, right, so
(25:29):
we're running, not at race pace,but we're kind of running a
little bit slower than that,just to kind of keep the heart
rate going, get my body kind ofused to running at a certain
speed or a certain pace.
Friday is pull and mobility soright, so like pull workouts,
pull exercises and stretching.
(25:49):
I like to get my hips moving,get my arms moving.
Saturday is a long run, that'sthe six mile run, slow, like
there's no pace or anything likethat.
And Sunday is family andrecovery right, that's just me
chilling, relaxing, meditating,being with kids, you know,
(26:11):
chasing them around.
One of the things that I reallylike to do in this neighborhood
is I like to go out for areally minor jog while my kids
are on the bike, and the reasonI do that is I don't want to get
a bike, because once I get abike, then I can't be on the
sidewalk with them, right, andI'm not ready to have my kids on
the sidewalk with them, right,and I'm not ready to have my
kids on the street, sincethey're eight and six.
(26:31):
I'm just not ready to do thatyet.
So, but yeah, so family andrecovery time on Sunday.
Now, a lot of times this maychange if I'm traveling for
locums.
Sometimes Monday may be afamily and recovery day, but it
all depends.
But basically, this is how itworks Six days a week I'm
exercising in some form offashion, and then one day I'm
off.
But also remember, like, duringthose six days, maybe three to
(26:55):
four of them are intense, theother are kind of chill, not
chill, but they're not asintense I got to remember, like
I'm 47, like my body can'tsustain six hard workouts, like
I'll start breaking down if I'mnot already.
And you know, in keeping thatI'm not really 25 anymore.
Right, I wish I was 25, but I'mnot actually.
(27:15):
No, I don't wish I was 25because my mind was crazy during
that time.
But now that I'm in my lateforties.
Like I stretch, I sleep more.
Maybe I don't sleep more, Ineed to sleep more.
I'll be honest with youno-transcript.
(27:57):
So it's good, but I probablyshould be more in the three and
a half liter to four liter range.
But I got to, I got to listen,I got a job guys I can't be
coming out of OR to go pee.
So I track everything and I usean app.
One of the apps that I use isFuture.
That's what I use for myvirtual private training.
(28:17):
That's mainly for my liftingRight and in those workouts, you
know I'm texting with someoneand they're sending me pictures
and videos of different workoutsthat I can do, and I'll talk
about that more in a differentepisode.
But that's how I track myworkouts.
That's how I get my progressiveoverload and that actually yes,
I have to pay for that, but Iwould be horrible at writing my
(28:38):
own workouts.
That would lead to a lot ofanalysis, paralysis for me.
So for me, rather than justwell, should I do a leg day
today or should I do a push daytoday and then next?
You know I don't do anythingand I just eat some Doritos.
I invested in that program andall of the variation, all of the
things that I don't think aboutis all they're done for me.
(29:00):
All I got to do is show up andI love it.
And then, on the other hand, myrunning workouts.
I reached out to one of mycollege buddies.
She's been running consistentlysince college and she's like
really good and she writesworkouts for me, puts it on
Google drive, and I let both ofthem talk and they've been able
to create a schedule that worksreally well for me, based off of
(29:23):
, you know, not running over 20years and basically making sure
that I don't get hurt.
That's what I do.
Years and basically making surethat I don't get hurt, that's
what I do.
So every run is recorded, everyrep is recorded, and this is
just like what I would do for apost-op patient.
Ah, you see guys, you see guys,ah guys, I'm going somewhere
(29:45):
with this, I'm getting surgicalwith this.
The other thing that I thinkthat some of you may be thinking
is, you know, besides theAmerican Ninja Warrior thing,
think the question is how thehell does a trauma surgeon find
time for this?
And the answer is, like youknow, sometimes you try to be
like real, like, like you know,I'm going to try to be like real
(30:05):
smooth and give people ananswer and like balance and all
like I ain't trying to hit guys,I'm gonna give you all the real
like you got to make time,that's it.
I make time because if I don'tmake time, the system's going to
eat me alive.
And the system is medicine, thesystem is just life, like it's
just going to eat you alive.
(30:26):
If you don't be, if you're notintentional with this, if
there's not like this check andbalance where you say, listen,
guys, like I'm gonna work thisamount of time and then after
that, that's it, and then I'mgonna go work out and I gotta
de-stress and I just I can'tthink about, you know, spleens,
anymore livers.
Or you know what this you knowneurosurgeon said to this
(30:46):
orthopedic surgeon and thisorthopedic surgeon cursed you
like there's got to be a pointwhere I just say, yo, I am out,
I can't deal with this, no more,right?
And um, I've, I just had to getreally ruthless with it, Right,
I got to get really ruthlesswith my time.
So you know, I either trainearly or I train late, right?
So if I'm no-transcript, know Ias much as I like to say hey,
(31:44):
like, yeah, you know, this isall me, I'm doing this, right?
Um, I'm really lucky to have asupport system, like my wife
she's OB, obviously.
She understands all of thestuff she gets it.
And then my kids see me liftingand running and the way how I
look at it for the kids is it'splanting seeds for them that
they see that you know,obviously, you know having fun
(32:09):
and being with mom and dad andyou know, with their brothers
and so forth, and going toschool.
That's fun, but there's alsosomething to be said about
working.
And then there's also somethingto be said about physical
activity and how that has to bevery important.
Right, like your body has to bea temple, has to be a temple.
Those are the things that Ihope my kids are picking up
about.
Is that, like, no matter whatstage you are in life, like
(32:36):
health is wealth?
Right, like it may not beringing that high, but they need
to see me as an old man stilllike hitting the weights.
So, you know, the best way Icould look at this is you know,
if anybody's listening in there,like man, how did he get to
this point?
I want to get to that point, orthese numbers that you're
throwing out.
I just want you to know that,look, like it's not really about
(33:00):
being a superhero, right, it'sabout being a whole person.
And I just knew, like even 10years ago when I, or even over
(33:21):
10 years ago, when I startedworking, like, like being a
whole person is super hellaimportant to me, right.
But a doctor who doesn't justsurvive, right, like I, just I
need to be able to thrive inthis, right, like knowing that
there's all these landmines andyou know the system, quote
unquote is going to get you like, how do I like navigate through
(33:45):
all this and still have mymental, have my health, have my
relationships?
How do I do that?
It ain't going to be perfect,but how do I do that?
And this is how I'm doing it,right?
So you know, when I look at this, like benching 250 pounds,
(34:06):
breaking 20 minutes, like a lotof people are doing this, so
it's not going to change theworld.
I'm just going to be reallyhonest with you.
I'm not a superhero.
This ain't going to change theworld, but I'm going to be real
with you.
It's going to change me andthat's the most important thing.
Like I'm changing.
I see my body changing, I seemy mentality changing.
You know I for 20 years Ireally didn't watch track and
(34:28):
field much, except for theOlympics, but I'm watching track
now, I'm paying attention totrack and field workouts.
I'm enjoying like all of thesedifferent things on YouTube that
wasn't available when I wasrunning.
Maybe you guys can see thatwith yourselves if you decide to
(34:51):
take on some type of athleticor maybe even some type of
mental journey or mental workoutis.
You know, I'm reminded that I'mstill growing, um, I still have
goals outside of medicine.
And it's still like I still ownmy time and my body.
(35:14):
Those are really important.
Like I really want you guys tounderstand.
Like I still own my time and mybody.
I want you guys to think aboutthat.
Like that is me saying like, nomatter how stressful the job is
, like I'm still going to engagein activity.
That just says that my body isvery important mentally as well
as physically.
(35:35):
And you know, if I can challengeyou right now to the docs who
are listening right now, youknow, to anybody who's listening
right now like I would love todo that.
I would love to challenge youguys like set a goal that has
nothing to do with your titleRight, like I know that whatever
you do from a professionalstandpoint or you're attaining
(35:57):
some type of professional status, like there's all those goals,
whether it's getting to thatprofessional status, or if
you're a professional status,then it's like, well, what kind
of goal can I have within mystatus?
Am I going to be director ofthis?
Am I going to be in charge ofthis committee?
Am I going to make this much?
Got you Great?
Now that you have that on theside or you're working towards
that, tell me what goal that youhave.
(36:20):
That has nothing to do withyour title.
That's what I'm talking aboutChase something, personal train
for something.
It could be a triathlon.
You crazy as hell if you do atriathlon, I can't do that.
It could be a dance competitionor it could just be walking
10,000 steps a day.
That's what we're trying to getDr Rene to do.
(36:41):
But the key thing is look, justmake it yours right, just make
it yours and just, you know,enjoy and live in it.
So that's my, that's my updatepost-workout.
I'm in the grind.
I'm on the grind, um, I'mtrying to break 20 minutes in a
5k, trying to bench 250 pounds,and I'll be honest with you If I
(37:03):
hit these goals, it's going tobe great, right, it's going to
be really great, um, but I'll behonest with you guys and let
you guys know how it's going.
But even if I don't, I'm goingto still let y'all know, though,
and the process is still going.
I think the process is just asimportant as hitting the goal.
So, even if I don't hit thegoal, at least I know that I'm
(37:24):
keeping myself centered, I'mkeeping myself sharp and I'm
keeping myself honest.
Right, because I can it.
I can see the workouts on theapp.
I can see, you know, my paceson Google Drive.
So you know.
Last but not least, like, ifyou're listening to this and it
resonates, hit me up.
You know, let me know what youthink, let me know what you're
training for.
Are you pushing yourselfoutside the hospital walls?
(37:48):
Remember, you can always DM meon Instagram.
You can drop us a voicemail.
We might just feature you on afuture episode.
So until next time, yo, I'mgonna catch you guys on the next
one.
You guys are more than justyour white coat, yo.
So you know, just like I alwayssay, and I used to say early on
(38:08):
in the show, like way, way back, you know.
You know we just not just,you're not just a doc, you know,
stay outside the box, and Ijust made that up.
But you know what I'm talkingabout.
All right, y'all, I'll catchyou guys in the next one, y'all,
peace.
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