Making Exercise Necessary and Rewarding [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Dan Lieberman

  • Dr. Lieberman is Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.

  • He is also the author of Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding. 

• [1:19] Journey from a reluctant exerciser to author and researcher

  • “And then I realized that there was a lot to learn about, not just the evolution of physical activity, but also about how and why it's relevant to health and disease. Because, you know, I was teaching my classes and students were just bored out of their mind when I would talk about Australopithecus this and Australopithecus that, but when you start to talk about heart disease and diabetes and other chronic illnesses and cancer and shin splints, and snoring and whatever, right, they get super interested.  So I ended up writing a book called The Story of the Human Body, which is really about mismatched diseases, and here I am.”

• [4:41] Motivation for the book

  • “The reason the book is called Exercised is that I think the more I've studied exercise, the more I've studied the evolution of human physical activity, the more I realized that people are really confused about physical activity and about exercise. And there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about it.”

  • “And it's just very obvious to me, that what we're doing isn't working very well. I mean, the fact that 80% of Americans don't meet basic levels of minimal recommendations, which are 150 minutes a week, that's of moderate to vigorous physical activity, that's 21 minutes a day.  The fact that 80% of Americans don't do that means that we're not doing a very good job, right?”

• [8:20] Debunking myths about exercise

  • “I mean, just equating that with smoking is, to me, part of the problem. And I understand why it's, good-intentioned people wrote that, with all the right intentions, but it just makes people skeptical of the science. Because exercise is not a magic bullet. And a chair is not a cigarette.  And so we need to kind of tell people the truth, which is that sitting is kind of normal, but if you sit too much, it's a problem.”

• [11:38] Physical activity and living healthier for longer

  • “Natural selection doesn’t care about you if you're a 75 year old hunter gatherer who can't forage and hunt, right?  You need to be healthy in order to have a selective benefit to be that old. And so what we were selected for is not so much lifespan, but actually for health span, how long we could live in order to be vigorous and active and healthy. And lifespan follows from health span.”

• [16:11] Book cover

  • “Because, to me, the treadmill is the apotheosis of exercise, which is how strange and weird it is right? You know, to pay money to either buy or go to a gym to go on a machine that makes you work really hard and gets you nowhere, right, is to me the perfect example of how weird we've made exercise.”

• [17:34] Making exercise necessary and rewarding

  • “And, and for the most part, the efforts that people have gone to get people to be more physically active, just aren't working very well. I mean, sometimes it does, but on average, it just doesn't seem to work very well. And so, we evolved to be physically active for two reasons and two reasons only, right? One is when it's necessary. And the other is when it's socially rewarding in some way or other, right, when it's fun. “And so I think that the trick is to make it both, right, recognizing that it is an abnormal behavior, that doing discretionary, voluntary physical activity for the sake of health and fitness, although it's good, isn't normal, it's, and we shouldn't make people feel bad for that. And so let's find ways to make it necessary and rewarding.”

  • “And I think what we need to do as a field is to get away from the usual prescriptive, medicalized, commodified way of getting people to exercise. And try some much more anthropologically normal, social ways to get people to be physically active.”

• [20:28] Requiring students to exercise

  • “And we know, and I'm sure you know this from your work, that the habits you develop in college are really, really important as lifelong habits. This is the time when people sort of settle into the kind of way they're going to be as an adult. And so I don't see any problem whatsoever with requiring college students to exercise. We did it for hundreds of years.”

• [21:48] Exercise and education

  • “So what we do is we make it necessary and rewarding going to school. And I don't see why we should treat exercise any different from education. It's the same. It's exactly the same model.”

• [23:00] Exercise and academic performance

  • “I mean, the data are clear. People who are more physically active do better cognitively. They do better at memorization. They do better at performance on tests. I mean, this is not like a hypothesis. It's actually, like a fact.”

• [23:29] Moving outdoors

  • “But, you know, I like being outside.  And so that's for me the number one problem. So I've, for example, I've done some outdoor kind of like CrossFit workouts, and those are way more fun than doing something in a gym. So have an outdoor, turn a parking lot into a kind of a more, maybe, I don't know, I mean, but so that's for me, that's part of the issue is just the indoor nature of them or just I find off putting.”

• [24:58] Trainers making exercise fun

  • “And they, you know the trainer there did a fantastic job making that workout really fun. It was very social, it was like, because it was a company, and they were trying to build, you know, camaraderie among people. And they were doing all kinds of really charming things that also involved exercise.”

• [26:34] Requiring employees to exercise

  • “I've never heard of any other company that actually requires all its employees to exercise. I think it's the only one. If there are others, I'd be curious to find out. But so far, it's the only one I know about.”

• [27:10] Physical activity as a right

  • “And so, I hope that this is a wake up call that we need to not only promote physical activity more, but also we need to promote it differently. Expecting people to get physical activity by paying for it is, I think, immoral. And it's unacceptable. I mean, if healthcare is a right, which I think it is, and education is a right, which I think we now all agree on. Why isn't the opportunity to be physically active a right?”

Bridging the Gap Between Medical and Fitness - MedFit [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Lisa Dougherty

  • Lisa is the Founder of the MedFit Network and the Founder and President of the MedFit Education Foundation.

  • Lisa has been the Owner of Whole Body Fitness for 21 years.

• [1:21] Building a medical fitness network

  • “And so I started to reach out to people in the fitness industry primarily, even though, MedFit Network, you could be an acupuncturist and joint massage, physical therapist, as long as you have services for people that have Alzheimer's, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, MS.”

• [6:00] Integrating health & fitness with healthcare

  • “And so I think this is a perfect storm for the fitness industry to uplevel their education and be part of the healthcare continuum. I don't think it's going to be about glutes and abs anymore. I think it's going to be about prevention, wellness and rehabilitation. Living as long as you can in a state of wellness. You know, recovering from an injury, I think that's what's really important. And that's where we could serve our highest good in the fitness industry.”

• [9:05] Fitness professionals becoming trusted partners in the healthcare continuum

  • “Right now, there's no barrier to entry to the fitness industry. Anyone can call themselves a personal trainer or fitness instructor if they have some muscles, or they look fit. And that puts an unfair burden on the consumer and the physician to seek out someone who's qualified and educated. There's no licensing for our industry like massage therapy and physical therapy, where there's a certain required schooling and criteria met on a state level, I think it is for a lot of these industries. So that is not in place for the fitness industry.”

• [13:37] Fitness professional education and continuing education

  • “As a fitness professional, you can't just study one thing, you have to know it all because people are everything. So I think you need a very well rounded education to be in the medical fitness space.”

• [19:01] Fitness industry standards

  • “Well, right now, in order to get this off the ground and make it acceptable, I'm trying to start with the standards of the fitness industry.  If I make the bar too high, my concern is that no one's gonna want to jump to it or cross it, unfortunately. So I'm hoping to kind of get people into that with 20 hours of con ed, 10 hours to be a specialist.”

• [20:36] Medical fitness movement 

  • “I would like to see it as its own separate industry from mainstream fitness. Because again, I think that the standards, to your point, education, continuing education, needs to be greater.  And sure, there's people that are going to still want to do group fitness or help someone lose five pounds for, to fit in a wedding, that stuff will still be there. But I mean, really, for us to be part of the healthcare continuum, there has to be greater standards, and there has to be kind of a new industry born.” 

• [21:32] Post-pandemic fitness industry

  • “I think a lot of people who weren't part of gyms—I think they said only like 15% of America were part of gyms prior to COVID anyway. So, there was 85% of people that weren't, but these 85% of people who didn't want to go to gyms started virtual training or virtual apps. So these people right now are exercising who weren’t before, okay. And we're human beings, we like contact. So once people get vaccines or they're not home sheltering, they're not going to want to do virtual training, because that's no fun. They did it during COVID.”

• [25:51] Medical fitness success stories

  • “There's been a lot of people that have helped, I want to say special populations. Because right now, I think the healthy people are special populations  But they've helped connect with people and helped them stay well, stay fit during this pandemic. And I see these relationships growing stronger in the future. We've been saying exercise is medicine for so long. I really want it to be that. But I want, the real public to understand that, not just us talking about it within our industry.”

• [27:28] Play span

  • “Right now, there's not one pharmaceutical drug that cures anything.  They all just treat right now. There isn't a pill that cures and it's often said if they could put exercise in a pill, every doctor would prescribe it.  We talk about a lifespan, and it should be like a play span, how long can you play as you age, and keep that youthful attitude.” 

Accessible, Equitable, Activity-Friendly Communities - America Walks [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Mike McGinn

  • Mike is the Executive Director of America Walks.  

  • He also served a term as the Mayor of Seattle, and is a longtime environmental and climate advocate.

• [1:14] History with walking advocacy

  • “So I guess that’s a warning to everybody.  Be careful! If you start working on sidewalks in your neighborhood, you might end up running for mayor of your city. It’s always been at the core of it, is this idea that we need to create places that aren't just safe, but that are really welcoming, inviting, inclusive, accessible, equitable, you know, where people can live full lives.” 

• [4:14] Role elected officials can play in creating safe, walkable communities

  • “So the biggest thing is, elected officials have power, undeniably, but the necessity for public demand. You need the public demand. You need people organizing out in the community pushing the Mayor further.  It's very hard for a Mayor to get out further than the political demand. And then it also really helps to hire a good traffic engineer.”

• [8:57] America Walks mission

  • “But the ultimate goal of America Walks is bigger than just you should get out and walk more. It's really taking an approach of places should be, you know, should have activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations.   We should have great places, we should have walkable places. That's a slightly different type of message and mission than simply, you know, safety while biking.”

  • “It's really about building, as I said, these inclusive, accessible, equitable places. That draws people from different places to it, right?  People might come in from a public health perspective, people might come in from a climate perspective, people might come in from a land use and economic vitality perspective, an affordable housing perspective. So we have a little bit more of a challenge, trying to figure out how to really support everybody and knit together a movement.”

• [12:35] Changing culture from car-centric to walkable

  • “Somerville was a town that was built up, you know, back when people walked more, and you can feel it, because there's so much more within walking reach. And so changing the culture of America to think that, let's go back to the old ways and invest in that again, it'd be good for all of us.”

• [14:18] Creating public demand

  • “One thing a city could do or town could do is actually get out there with clipboards and ask everybody who's arriving, where are they coming from? where are they shopping, and how did they arrive? It'll vary by neighborhood but you'll find that a lot of neighborhoods most of a large number of people are there on foot or arrive via transit, you know, and they're shopping on their way home. So actually answering that question is helpful.”

• [16:26] Walkability movement future

  • “I like to think of this walkable community thing as on one side of it, how can we make a place that is not terribly walkable, more walkable.  We could also make the walkable places accommodate more people, which by itself would make it more walkable. But we could probably do that a lot quicker than we could repair horribly auto centric places and turn them into walkable places.”

• [20:15] Community organizing

  • “So we've got a host of great arguments why we should make these changes, right? Whether it's climate, your personal health, the safety of your community, the vitality, the economic vitality of your small businesses. We have no shortage of arguments. What we don't have yet is sufficient public demand and political will from elected leaders to implement the changes that would really work for us on so many different levels.”

• [24:07] Finding allies

  • “But if you can get yourself to start sitting down and reach out to somebody who's not like you, who's not in your demographic trouble or your neighborhood bubble. And just ask them, you know, what do you care about? What are you working on?” 

• [27:58] Moving the walkability movement

  • “I am working to talk to the leaders of all of our state organizations or big city organizations. I really want to talk to people who shared some characteristics with me when I started, which were, you know, hey, I'm a volunteer in my neighborhood, and I just want to make it better. I want to hear from them, too, about what they care about, and what gets them engaged.”

Creating Opportunities for Youth to Thrive Through Sport [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Shellie Pfohl

  • Shellie Pfohl is a Special Advisor to the Sport Integrity Global Alliance.  

  • She also served as the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition in the Obama Administration.

• [1:16] COVID-related school closures and childhood obesity

  • “I'm first and foremost, quite honestly concerned about how kids are getting fed, how families are being supported in terms of food insecurity. And then, in addition to that, from a movement standpoint, from a physical activity standpoint, from a social and emotional standpoint, we know that the ability of kids to interact at school, whether it's on a playground, or in the hallway, or in a gymnasium, that those things now are not taking place.”

• [3:43] Learning conflict resolution and leadership skills through sports and recess

  • “All the things we know that we learned on the playground at recess or in after school programs. Conflict resolution, right?  Just, you know, how do we interact with people, leadership skills. All those things that we learn by participating with each other, whether it's just a game, a made up game at recess, or if it's, you know, formalized after school sports. That is a huge void right now.”

• [5:53] Playworks and PeacePlayers teaching conflict resolution and leadership skills

  • “I got to travel around to inner cities and see Playworks programs, and to rural communities and see how organizations came together to support the most vulnerable within their communities. And organizations like PeacePlayers as well, who are working in cities to do just that, that are teaching skills, conflict resolution skills, leadership skills, community building skills.  And creating those opportunities for young people to thrive.”

• [7:58] Long-term solutions to enhance health and well-being

  • “But if you listen and you empower them, and inspire them, and encourage them and break down a few barriers where you can, and let them come up with the solutions that will last, you know, that are long term solutions for their families, for their communities, for their schools, for you know, you name it, that is the best and most lasting legacy, if you will, that anyone or any organization can do to enhance the health and well being of Americans.”

• [10:49] Building successful partnerships to address physical inactivity

  • “You don't want homogenous people or organizations necessarily. I think it's very healthy to have organizations that come together that maybe don't agree on everything, that, you know, maybe have this like-minded principles and values, and maybe their ultimate outcome is compatible. But how you get there, that journey together and being able to, again, listen to each other and the constituents within those organizations is what creates true impact.”

• [12:58] FitnessGram and win-win public-private partnerships

  • “And if our ultimate goal is to enhance the health and well-being of young people throughout our country, then what is the best path forward? And that best path forward was truly to combine forces, to have one assessment, and then to figure out how to get those resources out to schools across the country.”

• [16:20] Link between movement and joy and learning

  • “I think the hope was that there was a reawakening to really how the brain works and how important movement is to learning. And, as you said, really helping, I'll say teach, but really just offer the opportunity for kids to experience the love and the joy of movement.”  

• [18:15] U.S. Center for SafeSport

  • “It has dedicated people that truly are working to uphold all that is good about sport, and making sure that we're rooting out the bad players, if you will, within the sport. Whether that's coaches or other athletes or physicians or trainers or what have you. They come in all walks of life. But that we're truly, again, creating a culture where respect is key. And then if we truly integrate respect and champion respect in sport, that abuse will have no place.”

• [22:27] Post-COVID youth sport activities

  • “As we come out the other side and kids are allowed to engage again with each other and be on the field of play together, I think there's going to be a huge demand for youth sport activities. And the question is, who will be there to fill that demand?”

• [26:51] Youth development through sport

  • “It's about developing young people, it's about developing those leadership skills and those conflict resolution and how kids can and will and are truly becoming the leaders in our communities. They have a voice, they will continue to have a voice. And if we can create those opportunities for young people to come together, give them a few resources, and use some evidence-based programming along the way, in order to do that. That's how we change culture, right?  So I truly see myself at my core, it's about youth development, and creating those opportunities for young people to thrive.”

A Call to Action to the Health & Fitness Industry to Reach the 80% - Exercise is Medicine® [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Bob Sallis

  • Dr. Bob Sallis is a family medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente.  

  • He is also Past-President of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and current chair of Exercise is Medicine® Advisory Board. 

• [1:26] Exercise is Medicine® evolution

  • “And once I began attending the ACSM annual meeting each year, I really came to appreciate the depth and the breadth of the knowledge we had around the health benefits of physical activity, and I just became fascinated by the powerful effect that exercise has on our health. And as someone who comes to work every day trying to treat and prevent disease as a family medicine physician as well, it just occurred to me why were we not listening to all this data?”

• [3:01] Exercise is Medicine® mission

  • “So that was sort of the mission of Exercise is Medicine® since the beginning, was simply to just make physical activity assessment, you know, asking patients were they exercising and if they aren’t, to make a formal exercise prescription to them.  That's been the goal from the beginning.  And then along with that, the longer range goal was how do we merge the fitness industry with the healthcare industry? And that certainly is another frustration. Why can I refer my obese patients to a bariatric surgeon, and that gets covered, but I can't refer them to a fitness professional?  Again, something that just makes no sense to me and continues to this day, that I can refer them for all these expensive pills and procedures, but not something so basic and simple of just getting and moving.“

• [3:46] Engaging the health & fitness industry around reimbursement

  • “We have no problems getting reimbursement for that, but nobody knows how to do it in the fitness world. How do we get the fitness industry reimbursed? How do I as a family physician send a referral and have it covered by insurance? It just doesn't happen. And that's been the biggest battle that I encountered through this whole evolution of Exercise is Medicine®. And even quite beyond that the fitness industry, in my estimation, they've actually been the most difficult to engage. Just really a lack of interest from the fitness industry on sort of working with the healthcare industry on how to get these reimbursements to happen.”

• [5:10] COVID and physical activity

  • “And there was no discussion about that. How important was exercise to trying to prevent COVID and mitigate the harmful effects of it. Nobody seems to care and continues not to care. You never hear those coming out of the lips of Anthony Fauci that maybe we ought to go out and exercise every day. Try to be as fit and healthy as we can. It's no, just wait for the vaccine, hide in the house. Why is that?”

• [12:40] Physical activity vital sign

  • “And then at Kaiser Permanente, I knew that that we would be the perfect test place for this and that was one of my biggest battles was getting us to begin using a physical activity vital sign—we call it an exercise vital sign—where every patient at every visit gets asked about their exercise habits. And so right along with blood pressure, pulse, they weigh you and your height. So you have your BMI calculated, whether or not you smoke, we have two questions about your exercise habits. So we have exercise data on all of our patients that are asked it at each outpatient visit.”

• [14:43] Referring patients to strength training programs

  • “But clearly, I need more than just having my patients go walk. I'm missing out on the benefits of strength training, which is probably more important than cardiovascular training, if you're going to pick one.  And then flexibility as well, I'm not really leveraging those health benefits that are particularly important as we age. And so I need more help than just telling people to go walk. That's a fine starting point. But we need to figure out how to take it to the next level…”

• [18:06] Finding trusted fitness professionals

  • “But honestly, I struggle with how do we figure out who we can trust and who we can go to. And I also think sometimes there's maybe too much emphasis put on, being so restrictive.  Maybe you don't need a doctoral degree to work with my patients, you know, or even a bachelor's degree for that matter. I mean, I just need somebody that can be motivating. And obviously, I don't want them to hurt my patient, they got to make sure they know what they're doing in terms of what works for certain patients. But I'm not convinced they need such an in-depth medical knowledge.” 

• [20:25] Fitness professional standards

  • “But we have a standard that we sort of use, and it seems to me so easy to be able to apply the same sort of approach for fitness professionals.  Yet, we seem to make it so confusing and hard to follow that I think it's an easily solvable problem if there was some real motivation to do so.”

• [22:15] Patient exercise behavior change

  • “It's often tying into those kinds of things that the patients are afraid of, they're worried about, or they're in for symptoms that I know can be helped if they just get exercising. That's where you often see the behavior change, when I can tie it to those things they're worried about, or they're currently dealing with. And that's what I really look for opportunities to do, to explain to them how this is what you really, if you would just exercise if you would just walk every day, I guarantee you this will be it will go away or be much better, you'll be able to deal with it much easier.”

• [24:50] Reaching the 80%

  • “Yet the health club industry just continues to try to steal away that 18%. They have never seemed to be interested in growing it. And I just don't understand that. And as a physician, I can tell you that my patients who belong to a health club, I'm not worried about. They're going to be fine. They'll keep doing it, they'll find a way to do it. But it's the patients who have never belonged to a health club, that 82% of the population. That's the ones that cause all the problems. Those are the ones I'm worried about. Those are the ones costing us all the money. They're the ones filling up nursing homes at a young age, you know, that is who is getting disability and can't work at a young age. That's who is costing us. Health care costs are primarily driven by that group. Figuring out a way to get them into a health club is key.”

  • “I think that the fitness industry has got to fundamentally change how they try to service the public in the United States. What their mission is and what their role is has got to change if they're going to be relevant.”

• [27:41] Call to action

  • “And I just think we can't do it without the health and fitness industry.  Somebody in that industry has got to take a leadership role, to really step up and say, we're going to look beyond what we've been. Because that's needed, I need that expertise, I can't sit with a patient and put them on a proper resistance program, They need somebody to work with them. And it needs to be readily accessible. And but until you build it, no one's gonna come until there's interest on the part of the health club industry to make these clubs something more than they've been.”

Impact of Employers on Employee and Community Health and Well-being - HERO [Podcast Series]

• [:57] Dr. Bantham introduces her guests, Karen Moseley and Dr. Mary Imboden

  • Karen Moseley is the President of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO).

  • Dr. Mary Imboden is the Director of Research.

• [1:19]  Cross-sector collaboration and innovation in worksite health and well-being

  • “And it's related to physical activity in the workplace, or specifically, they've identified the worksite sector needing to develop consistent criteria for physical activity, physical fitness, sedentary behavior assessment, in worksite health promotion. And some of those policies that we are seeing in the worksite related to physical activity include things like encouraging short activity breaks, walking meetings, allowing employees to meet for 15 minutes for a movement break throughout the day at a specific location so there is some social connection as well.”

• [5:53]  HERO mission and vision 

  • “So yes, HERO has been around for more than 20 years now, established to bring to light best practices for improving the health of employees and elevating those best practices, sharing the evidence, helping employers to see how to apply the evidence to their workforce.”

  • “And then about, so about 10 years ago, we had expanded the HERO vision to include or to emphasize the positive influence that employers can have on the health and well-being of not just their employees, but also families and communities.” 

• [9:21]  The role of employers in addressing social determinants of health

  • “Earlier this year, we released a report on the employer’s priority in addressing social determinants of health. And it asked employers to ask the question, is our community thriving, healthy, inspiring, attractive to talent? Or, is it perceived as deteriorating, sick and unsafe? And it gives a call to action to identify one thing your organization can do in the next 12 months to address the social determinants impacting your employees. And then it goes on to give you multiple examples of ways that you can do that.”

• [13:24] The impact of culture on workplace health and well-being

  • “We saw that cultural support and leadership support have critical roles in developing these high performing well-being initiatives.”

• [17:33] Critique of workplace wellness program research

  • “And the intervention elements included implementation of health promoting policies, workplace environmental changes. And we saw things like, components like smoking cessation, physical activity, a lot of ones that we know help to improve blood pressure, and that's what the study was mainly looking at was hypertension. And so we did see that this worked.  And the key elements that I think stood out to the study was the comprehensive approach, the longer timeline, and the individual plans.”

  • “The importance of an organizational culture that surrounds the comprehensiveness of a well-being approach, of an organizational culture of health—leadership support, top down, bottom up—all of those factors are often missing from some of these studies that are showing less than desirable outcomes.”

• [23:30] The impact of workplace wellness programs on health outcomes and costs

  • “And the conclusion was that employers may achieve cost savings in the short run by implementing comprehensive health promotion programs that focus on decreasing multiple health risks.”

• [23:43] Reimagining the impact of employers on health and well-being post-COVID 

  • “I'll highlight a few key areas that COVID really has shined a light on—mental health, social determinants of health, and employee policies around parental leave and caregiving. So the COVID pandemic offers a singular teachable moment for employers who are still intent on protecting the health and well-being of their workforce and of their communities.”

Building Your Positivity Muscle with Sports, Fitness, and Coaching [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Christopher J. Wirth

  • Christopher J. Wirth, Founder and President of No Quit Living, a speaking, coaching and training company

  • Chris is also the author of The Positivity Tribe: "The Power of Positivity" One Person at a Time

• [1:11]  Comeback stories

  • “I think ironically—I didn't know it at the time—but I learned everything as far as the foundation from sports in the sense of perseverance, determination, discipline, but also in regards to that whole idea of what eventually became our company, the name, no quit living. And I think for me, it was all about that comeback story.  It was all about that team that couldn't come back or couldn't win, that player in an individual sport, such as maybe tennis or golf, when everyone said, there's no way that he or she can win.”

• [3:14]  Positive mental advantage

  • “Some of the best of the best, they have that positive mental advantage, they have that positive mindset, they prepare themselves, they quote, unquote, control the controllables as much as they can. So if and when they're challenged, they're pushed to that level, they bend, but they don't break.”

  • “It's not always the best talented person or the smartest person, a lot of times it comes down to somebody that's just willing to persevere, and somebody that really has that mental advantage and say, okay, when everything's on the table, you know, my one advantage over that person or that team or that company is the fact that I have that mental perspective of really utilizing positivity and understanding how important it is in, I think, all areas of life.”

• [6:11]  Building the positivity muscle 

  • “And I, I think it's almost the same as a muscle, you know, you train a muscle, you strengthen it, you train it to that level where in some ways you break down muscle, and it builds up and repairs stronger. But that's the same thing from positivity, and the idea of, you have to work on it.”

• [8:48] Facing adversity

  • “I think what people don't realize is, some of the most positive people out there, they still face adversity every single day.  They have challenges, they have obstacles. And one of the things I've been focusing on is not having a bad day, but having a bad moment, or having a rough moment.  And not allowing that moment or that experience or that obstacle or that challenge to ruin an entire day.”

• [12:23] Creativity and positivity

  • “And he said, You know, there are going to be companies that go out of business, there are going to be entities that completely go under. And he said, there are going to be companies and entities and people that really step up and find creative ways to do things and creative ways to stay relevant.”

• [16:24] Coaching different people differently

  • “And what I had to understand, and it's the same, it's the same thing, working with businesses and even college coaches, you have to understand that you need to connect with different people in a different way. So, for example, a kid that or a business person that is highly driven, he or she might be able to, you might be able to go to them with goals and objectives, like alright, can you, you did this, can you get to here where somebody else who's not as goal driven, might, you might have to or they might want you to have a different conversation with them explaining them the process and what you're trying to do.”

• [20:59] Communication and responding versus reacting

  • “I would challenge anybody listening to this. In a personal or professional setting, think about next time you're in a situation. Are you responding? Or are you reacting? Are you listening just to listen and wait your turn? Or are you listening because you really and truly want to understand that other person's perspective?”

• [24:49] Getting the right people on your bus

  • “And I think if you go about doing the right things for the right reasons, and more often than not with zero expectations and return, things are going to come to you, the right people are going to come in your bus, the right opportunities, personally, professionally. And I really try to live my life by that each and every day.”

• [27:38] Prioritizing physical activity

  • “That’s a huge challenge for not only the United States, but the world, is how do we continue to adapt and change and rely on technology more and more every year? But how do we stay active?”

Helping People Find Their Motivation to Start and Continue Exercising [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Michelle Segar

  • Dr. Michelle Segar is Director of the Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy (SHARP) Center at the University of Michigan.  

  • Dr. Segar is also the author of No Sweat! How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness.

• [1:21]  Language and motivation for exercising

  •  “And so embedded in this language is our experiences that many of us have had that just don't feel good, are painful, are shame producing, make us feel self conscious and, more generally, create a negative feeling that make many people disdain exercise and want to avoid it at all costs.”

  • “But really, if we could reframe the term, the language ‘active living,’ to reflect how we live our lives, we look for opportunities to move. Another term we can use for exercise, take an opportunity to move. Who doesn't want an opportunity, right? Inherent in that concept is something positive.”

• [5:15]  Helping people find their motivation

  •  “And I'm asking people if being active or exercising feels like a chore from one (a chore) to a five (a gift). And through that answer, we find out whether people's reason or why for exercising is based on motives or reasons for exercising that research has found actually make it into a chore or are based on logical or should-based reasons, which we know from research and years of promoting exercise for these reasons are actually, they may get people to start exercising, but they don't get people to to continue.”

• “I think I come at it in a sideways way, and, through helping people understand that their whys have actually been getting in their way and then helping them identify what I call the right whys. And it's not that they are right because I say they are right.  The right why is inherent to the individual, which I think is what you're doing with your clients as you're helping them identify what type of why for exercise is actually going to help them both stay motivated, and want to do it but experience positive feelings, all of which the research show will promote sustainable motivation.”

• [8:50]  Moving from a chore to a gift

  • “So if we can use this explicit dichotomy, then it gives us a point of conversation, a point of entry, to convert someone from a chore to a gift.”

• [10:20] Health is not a motivator for exercise

  • “The challenge is that in theory, we care about our health, in theory, we want to exercise for health, but in reality, we have too many other more urgent compelling things to do. So that's why health as a primary motivator for exercise, whether, again, it's right now or in 20 years, may not be the greatest motivator for people who aren't super, super, super, super motivated to prioritize their health.”

• [12:42] Focusing on the short-term reasons for exercising

  • “So we need to align what we really want to achieve with the way it's going to get there. And ironically—I think there's something super ironic about this—that the way to achieve the long term benefits from exercise is actually to focus on the short term reasons for doing it.”

• [14:10] COVID-19 and exercise

  • “So anecdotally, I've heard that some people are exercising more because they have more flexibility in their lives. And on the other hand, a lot of the people who are regular, regularly active before COVID are less active because they can't do what they love doing or what their regimen, their exercise regimens were.”

• [19:16] Making lasting behavior change

  • “I believe we've got to get people focused on the experiences in the now that they are going to achieve from their quote unquote health related choices. So I believe that the beginning is what do you need? What's missing from your life? What's missing from your day? Is it energy? Is it a spark, you know, verve? What is it? And then well what could help you achieve that?”

• [23:47] The health & fitness industry communicating to reach the 80%

  • “And if, when the fitness industry understands—which I think they do—that the 80% that is not coming to their doors looks different than the 20% that is coming to their doors, has had different experiences than the 20% that is coming to their doors. And then addressing those things and showing images of people of all sizes and shapes and colors doing different types of activities and offering different types of classes.”

5 Steps to Making a Health Club an Essential Community Resource [Podcast Series]

• [:53] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Tom Richards

  • Tom Richards is the Founder and Managing Editor of the Activist in Motion and Principal of the Activist in Motion Advisory Services.  

  • Tom is a long time part part of the health & fitness industry through roles at IHRSA and ACE

• [1:13]  Communicating a club’s value proposition to the community

  • “The health and fitness community is really good at marketing to a certain segment of the community, who are in the right frame of mind at the right time to commit to exercise. I think most clubs struggle, however, to communicate their value to the wider community. And I'm thinking of the county council, public health officials, school boards, large employers, libraries, civic organizations, certainly the media, and really all the people who could benefit from the services provided by the club, but who don't really consider themselves to be health club type people.”

• [3:28]  COVID-19 and “essential” businesses

  • “And I think what we're seeing is that the health & fitness community is chronically undervalued, misunderstood, and really isolated from the broader community. And so now, when a crisis hits, we have public health officials and policymakers who are good people, they're not trying to do harm to any particular industry, but they are also in a crisis trying to make quick decisions based on the information that they already know.” 

• [6:17]  Moving away from “non essential” toward “essential”

  • “But I don't think that, broadly, what's happening inside the club—the professionalism and the credibility—is being communicated or translated outside the club. And that's put us in this position where we are now being ‘non essential,’ lumped together with bars and restaurants and casinos, when we should be lumped together with healthcare providers, allied health professionals, and people who are doing the best work in the community.”

• [9:40]  Understanding the needs of the community

  • “And my sense, my belief, is that many clubs are already set up to address those issues and to partner with those groups. They just haven't made the connections yet.  And they haven't made the outreach with the approach or with the language that resonates with the broader community.  And what that means for clubs is more members in the club, more guests in the club, more activities, more events, making the club more essential as part of a vibrant community.”

• [11:36] The Activist in Motion vision

  • “So I named my website and the advisory business the Activist in Motion not really in reference to me, but in honor of all the people who I've come across and who inspire me, who make a positive difference in their community by motivating others to move more and sit less.” 

• [15:58] Transforming the health & fitness industry

  • “There are so many, like you and I are sort of kindred spirits in this work. I also know that there are hundreds of thousands of exercise professionals, physiologists, PhDs, club owners, managers who feel the same way. They're just looking for a place or an idea to put their energy behind. And I think the club industry could be transformed and elevated significantly, both in stature and in revenue, if it can become that community hub that transforms communities.”

• [19:55] 5 steps to becoming an essential community resource

  • “The essential resource plan—the five components that we've discussed—starts with the essential resource scorecard or assessment. The purpose of that assessment is to establish what the club is currently doing that has great value to the community.”

  • “And then, from there, we would move into a community health needs assessment. And that's a review of what are the public health concerns or what are the health concerns in general in that location, in the club’s community. That can be a high rate of diabetes, high rate of obesity, it could be isolation, depression, a range of mental health issues, what's going on in the community that the club could address.”

  • “Clubs need to understand their stakeholders and what their needs are, what their initiatives are, what their goals are, what they hope to accomplish for the next 12 months. And then when you take those three components—the essential resource scorecard, a community health needs assessment, and a community stakeholder scan—you can start connecting those three pieces to the resources in the club and start making recommendations for how the club can better serve the community.”

  • “And then I think the fifth piece is just developing that outreach plan. So you know who your stakeholders are.  You see what, how you could add value to them in the club. How are you going to reach out to them and who is going to do it in your club. How are you going to do it effectively. How are you going to do it in a way that presents the club in the best light and brings forth the credibility of the club.  And you use the word trusted, which is probably the most important asset that a club can have in the communities, that it's trusted. And that trust leads ultimately to a feeling of indispensable, where the club is just an indispensable member of the community, valued and trusted.”

• [26:24] Connecting health clubs to healthcare

  • “And what the essential resource project can do is help clubs connect more effectively, more directly, and more quickly with health care systems and other stakeholders in their community.”

Fixing a Broken Health & Fitness Industry [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Darian Parker

  • Dr. Parker is the Co-Owner of Epic Leisure Management, a longtime fitness professional and part of the health & fitness industry.

• [1:53]  Dr. D’s Social Network Podcast

  • “Yeah, so my podcast, Dr. D’s Social Network, it's all about creating my own network of very like minded people doing very different things in the world. And generally storytelling that is action based, so not only telling stories, but ways that you can get involved with those people on the podcast to make a difference and whatever topic that is for that. So I focus primarily not on one area of life that people are living, but on a wide variety of topics that there's no limitations, pretty much. I will talk about anything that is engaging and exciting.”

• [4:32]  Connection to the health & fitness industry

  • “And I remember my dad saying, make sure you do something that...make your hobby your job, do something that you just really love like that you'll actually enjoy your work as an adult. And I thought that's good, that's good advice, you know. And so, I always loved to exercise. But more than anything, I loved creating meaningful relationships with other people. And I felt that exercise was a great way to accomplish that.”

• [7:43]  Exercise and habit formation

  • “And that hopefully, that you're creating good habits and systems that help you to be accountable to those things. And if that system is a person, like myself, a trainer. Hopefully you have a good personal trainer, or someone who is an authority in that field, who is a good human being, is showing up regularly with you, bringing a positive light to the environment and cheering you on. But when it gets down to it, the actual work part is just not that fun.”

• [10:58] Accountability in exercise

  • “I think in exercise, you should have an exercise companion.  Whether they're working with you or not working out with you or not. Someone who is keeping you on the straight and narrow, being accountable.”

• [14:18]  Improving fitness performance.

  • “But if you want to get better or walk faster.  You want to actually improve your cardiovascular endurance to a higher level.  That walk has to get harder. It just has to.”

• [19:22] Goal setting

  • “A lot of clients or people, they're in it for weight loss. Like, I want to lose weight. I'm like, why do you want to lose weight? If you can't explain that to me, then you have no idea why you're doing this. And why weight loss? There's something deeper, if it's just weight loss.  There's a huge psychological component to that.”

• [22:00] Getting to the why

  • “Explain it to me, tell me why. If you can't explain your own reasoning for doing something, it's not a good reason. What's the reason if you can't define the reason why you're doing something? Why are you doing it?”

• [22:22] The benefits of online personal training

  • “So how I convey things, demonstrate them my words, my feelings, is totally accomplishable through a live online format, which is what I do for that. You're also providing a huge amount of positivity for clients, consumers, because you're taking away drive times, you're decreasing their...they don't have to get childcare generally anymore because they can be at home. Much more efficient, time wise, for the service provider, you can stack clients, one on top of each other, you don't have to drive to other places if you're not working at a facility. So time is the great equalizer...” 

• [23:58] Fitness and technology

  • “If you alleviate as many friction points for both sides of the equation, then you're going to be much happier doing those things. That's what technology does, in general, it tries to solve problems of the human condition. How can we schedule better? How could we be more efficient at work? How can we communicate quicker and all these things. And I think fitness and technology can work together to be very powerful.” 

• [25:36] Fixing a broken health & fitness industry

  • “I think the industry was broken before COVID. I think it was extremely broken. And I mean, you got to think about an industry where 15 to 18% of the population exercises regularly and that hasn't changed in 30 years. What are we doing that that hasn't changed? So to say that the fitness industry was amazing before that, is a huge lie. The industry has been broken.”

  • “But as long as the people who run our industry are not willing to consolidate and become one larger body and have more rigorous standards, the industry will continue to not provide a way that 30,40, 50% of people start becoming more active.”

• [28:53] Connecting with others

  • “Connection is what you make of it.  If your connection version is to just get your point across and try to be right and push your agenda on very controversial things, you may get a lot of attention, but you're going to feel very lonely. Question is, do you want to be famous and recognized and controversial? Or do you want to have a good life connected to a lot of people that probably will get you no viral activity online, you will not be popular, you will not be trending, but you'll be rich in quality relationships. What do you want? You make the choice.”

Moving Toward Happiness - Move Happy®[Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Erin Nicole

  • Erin Nicole is the CEO and Founder of Move Happy® and host of the Move Happy® Movement podcast.

• [1:07]  Helping patients improve their fitness and happiness

  • “I didn't know if it would work or not, I didn't know if it would help my patients be happier and improve their fitness or not. I believed in my capacity as a fitness educator and seeing previous experiences of people's fitness levels being improved.”

• [4:57]  Quantifying program success

  • “So I designed a one page questionnaire for their happiness, self-perceived, we did include some Likert style questions, which is like a one to five scale, one to 10. And, and then included some open ended questions to get some quality based feedback from the patients. And asked them.  How do you feel this program went?  We did a pre, mid, and post for all three rounds of the program. And I started implementing their feedback from those that felt safe enough to actually share feedback.”

• [10:09]  Naming Move Happy® 

  • “What's an inclusive word? Because my goal.  I said, Go back to your goal. Well, my goal was to get the patients interested in moving because I knew how beneficial movement and exercise is to my own mental health, to my own healing with losing my dad and just struggling with my own personal issues with depression....” 

• [15:09] Adapting programs for different settings and populations

  • “My background is in exercise and sport psychology, I know what motivates and helps to actually make someone believe that they can replicate a movement. The best form would be live version, of course. Second best would be video, but we didn't have a bunch of computers or TV screens to hit play for them to see during our station day. So I used picture.”

• [19:56]  Mental health in the workplace

  • “Businesses are starting to realize that they should care about their employees, but we've got a lot of work to do.  A lot of growth in that area, a lot of professionals needing to take responsibility for their teams. If your employee works a third of their life for your organization or work, then a lot of their time is spent there. So you should care about their mental health, their mental well being....”

• [22:00] Chief Happiness Officers

  • “If businesses could have Chief Happiness Officers or Chief Heart Officer—I've heard it termed as well—I think that that would be beneficial, but a title without implementation isn't going to do anybody any good.”

• [25:28] Creating brand ambassadors

  • “If you focus as an organization on your employees or interns—whoever works for you and adds value to your brand, whether it's sales, marketing, operations, finance, whatever departments are working for you. If you focus on making sure that they're set up for success, that you leave an open door policy so that your company feels that they can come talk to you as leaders at any point, they're going to cover your customers.  They're going to take care of your organization because they will feel valued. And they will then become ambassadors for your brand, which is essentially free marketing.”

• [27:00] Moving toward happiness

  • “Get yourself In a place of gratitude, no matter how small it can be, whether you're running a company or you're working for a company. Take responsibility for what you can, you will never know how big opportunities come your way, or how many opportunities can come through focusing on what you can control, which is being grateful, which is showing others by example that you can focus on things that are positive and going on, you know, happy in your life, and adding value.”

Community Is Medicine - Open Source Wellness [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guests, Dr. Elizabeth Markle and Dr. Ben Emmert-Aronson

  • Dr. Markle is a psychologist, speaker, writer, researcher, and Associate Professor of Community Mental Health at California Institute of Integral Studies.  

  • Dr. Emmert-Aronson is a psychologist, researcher, advocate and statistics consultant.

  • Together, they founded Open Source Wellness, a “behavioral pharmacy” operating at the intersection of healthcare and communities.

• [1:28]  Community Is Medicine

  • “So we set out to create the behavioral equivalent of a pharmacy, or an experiential delivery system for one universal prescription, which we abbreviate to be move, nourish, connect, be. So physical activity, healthy food, social connection and stress reduction.”

  • “There's nothing rocket science about physical movement, eating some vegetables, practicing some mindfulness.  Really, in our experience, the active ingredient, the thing that helps people get traction and transformation in their health, their well being, in their lives, is about community.”

• [4:57]  Creating a trusted referral pathway

  • “Providers were desperate to have some referral source. They were desperate for the resources to help their patients make these changes. And they just weren't out there. And so to be able to partner with them in this way, and really spend a little time building that initial relationship so that they could trust the referral was crucial.”

• [7:17]  Integrating programs with group medical visits

  • “What we've learned is that even when a doctor refers a patient somewhere else, about a third of them don't make it for one reason or another. They don't feel safe, they don't feel comfortable, they don't have the social capital to show up or join a new group. And really a breakthrough for us was learning to deliver our program as a group medical visit in partnership with one clinical provider who could then bill for it.”

• [8:23] Delivering programs in clinical- and community-based settings

  • “And we see almost identical outcomes, whether we're looking in the clinical setting or in the community setting. And so we know both of these programs are highly effective. And, arguably more important, both of them are a lot of fun. Both of them set up a really great system where patients don't want to leave at the end of it.”

• [11:13]  Transitioning from a clinical- to a community-based setting

  • “They complete their dose, and they graduate and they don't want to be done. And in some cases, we can offer them a transition to a community-based site, which starts to expand their comfort and their capacity to then go out into the community and get some of those needs for movement, connection, support, etc., filled.”

• [13:01] The role of health coaches in behavior change

  • “And I think really connecting with patients on a one-to-one basis, connecting with patients in a really close manner, and then finding out the goals that matter most to patients is one of those things that our doctors are just not trained to do and don't have the time for. So it's a place where our use of health coaches is vital. So our health coaches sit down with our participants. They hear from the participants what it is that matters most to them, what are the goals that they want to change?”

• [16:00] Integrating healthcare and communities

  • “I think there will be a world where there's a whole clinic community continuum and integration that that we just don't have as a system quite yet.”

• [18:31] Sustainable, scalable models

  • “Our clinical provider, on average, given no shows, was seeing around eight and a half individuals in a clinical shift. And then when we ran the Open Source Wellness program, they were seeing 16 point something on average per four hour shift. And when you look at the FQHC billing rate, what that does is it just generates a lot of extra revenue that more than covers the cost of Open Source Wellness.”

• [21:50] Evaluating program outcomes

  • “We want folks to know that this works. We've talked a little bit before about doctors not having the necessary training around behavioral prescriptions and helping folks to make these behavioral changes. I think so much of that is because the pharmaceutical lobby is much better funded than the exercise lobby or the broccoli lobby. So they're able to come in and share a lot more data. And it's incumbent on us to then gather these data and to share that in and to say, look, this really is an effective method of behavior change.  This improves patient health.”

• [24:55] Role of social support and structures

  • “And so I think we really need to have the courage to look not just at clinical structures, but also at social structures that make it possible, or really impossible, for people to do the things that our bodies and our psyches need to be happy, healthy and well. And that giving somebody a prescription that it's impossible for them to fill. They live in a food desert, the streets aren't safe, they don't have childcare, etc. It's actually not a service, right, we actually just potentiate shame and a feeling of powerlessness. So to go one step further than behavioral prescribing, I think we need to actually embed the social structures and conditions to make it possible for people to carry that forward and into their lives.”

Shifting to a Long-term, Systems Approach to Improving Community Health - Wellville [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Rick Brush

  • Rick Brush is the CEO of Wellville, the national nonprofit sponsor of a 10-year initiative to improve equitable wellbeing in five U.S. communities.  

  • He is also the Founder & CEO of Collective Health, a consultancy focused on innovative health and financial models.

• [1:20]  Measuring short- and long-term success

  • “So what we're looking at is overall equitable wellbeing in five places, somewhat determined by what they think is important. And when we say equitable wellbeing, we are talking about measuring not only the overall outcomes, but also the gaps. So are people at the very highest levels achieving far greater wellbeing in measures like health outcomes, education outcomes, quality of life than people who are not experiencing as strong outcomes?”

• [3:13]  The role of community engagement and collaboration

  • “We started out with five communities, five years and five metrics, and quickly realized that five years was barely enough time to get these collaboratives working together effectively and differently, in such a way that they would produce different outcomes. So Esther, in her generosity said, ‘Well, let's extend this to 10 years.’  By 10 years, we think we can have a good base of strong collaboration, some early indicators of results, and more importantly, the kind of capacity that's going to be needed for these communities to continue the work well beyond the decade.”

• [5:39]  Collective impact 

  • “There are many, many, there are hundreds of communities that are doing this kind of work around the country, this kind of multi-sector collaborative—it's often called collective impact kind of work. And there's a reason for that. Institutions, and individuals are realizing that they can't accomplish the kind of change that they want alone.”

• [7:52] Community-led initiatives

  • “Another way of thinking about community-driven is truly driven by the individuals, the residents who live in those communities. And what we're discovering is that the priorities shift, sometimes pretty significantly, depending upon the level of involvement of individual residents in the work. So I would say across the board in all five places, there is more intention to bring community members and residents more front and center in the work, so that the work of the institutions and the funders and community members working together really makes a difference in people's lives, who live in the communities.”

• [10:51]  Having the right people at the table for collaboration

  • “There were priorities that the community identified that didn't match the interests and capacity of the people who were at the table. So a lot of this is forming, sometimes disbanding, sometimes reforming collaboratives.  And I would say, Amy, to your point, becoming more inclusive of, as you call them, the right people. It becomes evident when you're doing the work, that important people are missing.”

• [12:42] Healthcare addressing social determinants of health to improve health outcomes

  • “So you've got these social determinants of health screenings. Now, health systems are implementing these platforms to partner with and make referrals to social services organizations. So it's about food security, it's about jobs, it's about housing security, all things that healthcare systems are not equipped to deal with. But, they are actually making inroads and seeing the kind of outcomes at a population level that they wouldn't see if they were only focused on clinical.” 

• [16:34] Healthy weight initiatives

  • “...we would need a 10 year window to make a significant change in doing this. And that if we did that, then we could look upstream.  And one of the focuses is on healthy weight.  So it's not only managing weight at the point of care, or at the point of intervention, it's saying, ‘Well, what are the systems that are causing higher obesity rates, and you can start looking at food systems and incentives, and barriers to access.  So it really changes the kinds of interventions that communities can do.” 

• [19:48] Addressing health inequities

  • “So, I think, there is a commonality that has emerged in our communities, is a focus on, we can do all the health improvement and well being improvement work and shift systems. But until we get to some of these root causes that are driving inequities, we will never be successful in ensuring that every single individual has that fair and just opportunity for a life well lived, and also that every individual can contribute.”

• [23:04] Shifting from short-term to long-term thinking about investing in community health 

  • “If we know that we can make smarter investments and get better outcomes, maybe at less cost, Why aren't we doing it?...Because we're addicted to short-term thinking as a nation, as individuals, as institutions.  It's about political cycles, it's about quarterly earnings.  It's a path, what do I need to do to take care of me versus the greater good? But that's not inevitable.” 

  • “And I come out on the side that we're really at our heart as human beings about kindness and generosity and collaboration. And that we're stuck in structures that incentivize short-term thinking and self interest. So how do you break free from that? That's really what our communities are doing.”

• [28:22] Moving upstream

  • “If we want the kind of outcomes that we say we want, the only way to achieve those is to collaborate and to do it with a longer-term focus.  The short-term fix for an illness might be writing a prescription, the long-term strategy for greater wellbeing improvement is about reshaping communities. A lot of what we're doing with our collaboratives is really pointing further upstream and pointing further into the future. And having those communities come together around what they care about and what they want to achieve over the long haul.”

• [28:53] Integrating healthcare and communities

  • “Our theory of change is based on the belief that we all are built to be good collaborators. And that when given the chance to work together toward a shared goal or outcome, and given the support and the incentives to do so.  Every great thing that humankind has achieved, has resulted from that.”

Creating Community Within and Beyond a Health Club [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Mike Alpert

  • Mike Alpert is the former President and CEO of the Claremont Club.

  • He is also the current COO of Smart Health Clubs.

• [1:16]  Creating community within and beyond the four walls of the club

  • “Part of your culture really should be that if we're surviving and making money, and we're profitable, some of that profit should go back into the community. And you should be welcoming to all populations. And in my opinion, especially those people that struggle with disabilities, with chronic illness, chronic injury.”

• [2:24]  Making community connection part of the culture and DNA of the club

  • “We created it by creating and maintaining meaningful purpose in the work that people did, and how did we do that? We started helping people that were desperate, that were in need of hope, acceptance and possibilities. And we focused on people that were struggling with these terrible, chronic injuries, paralysis, these chronic illnesses, long term cancer, Parkinson's, and a host of things. And we really used exercise as medicine.” 

• [4:33]  Sharing programs and best practices among clubs

  • “I had taken my wellness director to a seminar that Julie Main put on back in 2005 at an IHRSA convention, and it was on a program she had started and was running very successfully in Santa Barbara with a hospital there, called Cancer Wellfit program. And we were so impressed with her talk and what she had done that I went up after that talk and I asked her if she would share her template with me and let me develop a program like that in Claremont. And if you knew Julie, she was such an amazing human being, truly an amazing person that she said, ‘Sure.’ And we took it.”

• [9:43] Becoming totally vested in a community

  • “I'm willing to give these programs to any club that wants to implement them, complimentary. I mean, it's not about money here. It's about helping people. And building a culture around your brand that says ‘We're here to do that. And we're the club of choice and we're the employer of choice in our neighborhood. And we are totally vested in the community.’”

• [13:16]  Building relationships with physicians

  • “'So, you know, you can't go to doctors to build your bottom line.  They'll shut you down before you even get past two minutes with them. And you have to convince them that you're there to make a difference in people's lives and in their patients lives.”

• [16:27] The impact of programs on staff and member retention

  • “Let me tell you how easy it is to make money by doing the right thing for people in need. It resonates with your members, your staff, the community. I will tell you that our attrition rate dropped 8% after we started these programs a couple years after we were running them. They dropped from roughly 23 and a half percent to 15 and a half percent a year.”

• [21:17] Socialization and social support

  • “And the other thing I want to say is the social aspect of all these programs cannot be emphasized enough. I think they're as important or more important than the physical fitness part. So I use a term that I think that socialization is more important than perspiration. It's powerful, it helps with depression, anxiety, mental problems that people go through. To get them out instead of going to a clinic or a hospital, having their treatment and going home, getting them around like people in a support group setting with electric excitement going on. And then injecting the fitness part is powerful. It's powerful, powerful medicine.”

• [22:01] The role of health clubs in a post-COVID world

  • “Well, let me respond to the COVID issue. It will be over. And although virtual, live streaming, on demand, all that is not going to go away. It's going to be important. But people are going to yearn and want to get back and interact with people.”

• [24:30] The purpose of a health club

  • “I think those that focus on doing the right things and having the right blend of social activities and physical activities in their club are going to reap rewards like they never thought they would when this is over. You have to have it in your blood that your club is more than a place to just come and sweat.”

• [25:10] Integrating healthcare and health & fitness

  • “I think if ever there was a time for the experts in fitness, and the experts in health care, to come together to start working together instead of so independently, now is the time.  And especially when we know the powerful effect that exercise has on overall health.”

• [26:22] Health clubs as essential

  • “During the pandemic that we're in right now and, God forbid, if there are future pandemics, we should be an essential business. You shouldn't be able to go to Walmart, and be in with 6 million people picking up produce and putting it back on the shelf or waiting around the block at Costco to get in for 45 minutes and not be able to come to a health club, with certain restrictions, to stay healthy. It just makes no sense.”

• [26:50] First steps to connecting medical and fitness communities

  • “There's power in numbers and you've got to get all, all the barriers down and you’ve got to bring everybody in the fitness end together moving in one direction with the, towards the medical community.”

Inspiring Women to Be Active and Healthy - Black Girls RUN!

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Jay Ell Alexander

  • Jay Ell Alexander is the CEO and Owner of Black Girls RUN! and a running, health & fitness enthusiast herself.   

• [1:24]  Carrying on the Black Girls RUN! legacy

  • “So the organization, we've done some beautiful things over the last two and a half years in terms of forging new partnerships out in the community, our membership base has grown about 30%, we have expanded our footprint to about seven new groups across the country.”

• [3:55]  Amplifying voices in the community with a 501(c)(3)

  • “We couldn't tangibly say over the last decade, how much we have moved the needle...So the 501(c)(3) has allowed us to put some strategy and some processes in place to really track our progress, how many members we have, what type of physical activity minutes our members are doing, how much weight is being lost, blood pressure, how much money is being—not in terms of being spent in the community, but how much—is going towards helping to support our members.”

• [5:46]  Building a supportive community

  • “We are building a community, a community that is quite supportive….[w]e make sure that if you come out to a weekly run for the first time or for the fifth time, you feel like you are a part of a group of women that are supporting you, encouraging you, and holding you accountable for your health and fitness journey.”

• [8:44]  Addressing health disparities

  • “We're showing women—I think visually it means a lot to show a woman, again, no age discrimination, no shape discrimination—showing that women can do it, and that black women are out here running and that we can we can definitely be a part of that community.”

• [9:09]  Physicians as role models and advocates for physical activity

  • “But I had a doctor, an OB, that was definitely, she was a runner as well, she was a black woman. And so she was an advocate for my health, and she was not quick to put me on medication. And she was like, you need to change your diet, you need to change your physical activity. And so that's probably one thing, is just, how do you interact with your healthcare provider, making sure, understanding that medication doesn't have to be the first resort, in terms of getting your weight down or getting your health stats in order.”

• [13:42]  Addressing barriers to physical activity

  •  “And it is conversations like this, that if people are aware that those things exist, then we can really help to find some solutions to make sure everyone feels able to just, you know, be able to hit the pavement and feel like they're absolutely welcome and able to do so.”

• [13:57] Creating an inclusive fitness movement

  • “But as long as you're a woman, and that you are in support of what we're doing on the pavement, you are absolutely 100% welcome. And so that's a part of our inclusive message that it does not matter your skin color, that you can definitely join us on the pavement.”

• [16:59] The role of social support 

  • “But that social support is definitely a component about it, that we we want you to fit again, that inclusive message we want you to feel included, we want you to feel encouraged, and those relationships are happening organically, as you start to get more involved with BGR and start getting more healthy and active. So it's definitely a sisterhood.”

• [20:25] Bringing new members into the community

  • “They see us just loud and very vibrant at races and out in events and out in the community. And they see our logo, which is very prominent, and they want to find out ‘Well, what is that all about?’ Or they see us on social media, and they see all these women just having a great time out on the pavement and they're like, ‘Hey, I just want to be a part of that.’ ”

• [23:16] The impact of COVID-19

  • “And then we offered online virtual classes for about three months, in terms of where people could log in, and attend these free classes just to stay active. And then we kind of lifted the suspension, if you will, in mid July, and probably about a third of our groups have resumed to some type of group run, small group run or something. But in terms of races and larger events that we're participating in, the rest of 2020 is completely canceled.”

• [25:27] eRACE Racism 

  • “You know, I've heard of stories of women talking, you know, white women and black women talking, some black women that may be in law enforcement, or you know, some women that may stay in a part of the nation that may be underserved. And so what are those conversations like? What can we do to kind of help, you know, bridge this gap, and create just a, just a better, a better country for us all.”

Removing Barriers to Fitness Programming, Education and Jobs For Homeless Youth - Bootcamps for Change [Podcast Series]

• [:56] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Katie Heggtveit

  • Katie Heggtveit is the Founder of Bootcamps for Change (#SweatierForTheBetter).

• [1:23]  Encouraging systems-wide solutions for chronic disease and physical inactivity

  • “But at Bootcamps for Change, we really do view poverty as a cause and consequence of ill health. So we address the alarming prevalence of A) ill health as well as B) unemployment within the homeless youth population.”

• [5:03]  Empowering homeless youth to become physically active

  • “So we provide critical education and employment training and opportunities, as well as accessible fitness programming helps them to develop these life skills. And this launches them on a positive path towards independence and self sufficiency as contributing members of society.”

• [6:23]  Prioritizing funding for physical activity

  • “I believe we really need to hone in on measuring the success of our programs, of these physical activity programs.  So that includes not only the health impacts for youth, but also like the return on investment from a preventative standpoint.”

• [8:11]  Meeting basic needs

  • “And you touched on something in my field or in my work that we like to call the emergency response side of homelessness.  So those are things you touched on like shelter, food and clothing. How can I think about implementing healthy dietary changes when I don't even know where my next meal is coming from?”

• [11:21] The beginning of the Bootcamps for Change journey

  • “I taught weekly for a year. And then in August of 2018 is when Bootcamps for changes was born since I couldn't continue that time commitment. So I didn't want the program to end. And then since then, we've mobilized over 250 fitness professionals to work with this population, and we've put six kids through our scholarship program.” 

• [13:12] Advice for young social entrepreneurs

  • “But then, in terms of actual advice for young social entrepreneurs, I'd say be in love with the problem. So you said that right. Identify a problem, not your solution. So I never imagined that Bootcamps for Change would be what it is today. But I was open to pivoting and changing along the way.”

• [15:05]  Physical activity as part of the social determinants of health conversation

  • “So in addition to really honing in on that return on investment, I think we really have to look at what physical activity does either than just making you feel good.  There has been a lot of really great research on drug addiction and health issues related to homeless activities. And how physical activity can actually alleviate some of these problems.” 

• [17:22] Tapping into the fitness community to make physical activity accessible

  • “And by cultivating relationships between the fitness professional and the youth experiencing homelessness, this creates, it almost ignites a passion in the fitness professionals that we work with, especially fitness professionals that have friends that have friends that have experienced homelessness or mental health issues, or maybe even they experienced some sort of poverty growing up, that really resonates with them.”

• [20:27] The importance of mentoring

  • “So mentoring, which I would characterize as sustained support, guidance, concern and encouragement of a youth also promotes that healthy relationships, resiliency and positive social development.  So self advocacy and resilience, like you mentioned, are really themes of our work.” 

• [22:04] Fitness as a stepping stone

  • “So I wouldn't say that every single youth that is going to go through our program will be a career fitness professional, remain in the fitness industry until they retire, but I really do think fitness can act as a great stepping stone. Whether It's fitness as their calling or now they have enough income that they have the ability to find their calling, or to work on gaining that skill or pursuing that education.” 

• [23:56] Stopping youth from falling through the cracks

  • “I don't have the exact stat in front of me, but Canada is higher percentage wise in terms of youth poverty compared to like 25 other developed nations, I believe we're at 13%. And to me, that's, that's unacceptable. There's always going to be inequality and inequities but to have youth fall through the cracks, is signifying that they weren't adequately supported in the beginning.”

• [25:34] Removing the stigma of homelessness

  • “If they let us and we're able to propel their stories and show that youth experiencing homelessness do want to work and they do want to overcome the challenges that they're experiencing, this will help debunk those harmful stereotypes that actually perpetrate that self stigmatization in the population that we serve.”

• [28:43] The impact of COVID-19

  • “The changes have kind of allowed us to be really creative and just take a look at our whole mentorship and employment program specifically, and accept the fact that in the future youth may only be hired by us. Who knows with the economy with the gyms, the studio gyms we are working with, they may not be able to get hired there.”

Working on the Frontlines of the Physical Inactivity Epidemic - Fitness Warriors [Podcast Series]

• [:58] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Jacki Quinlan

  • Jacki Quinlan is the Director of Community Outreach at Sports Backers.

  • The Sports Backers’ Fitness Warriors program serves communities with the highest rates of physical inactivity with fitness classes that are free of cost.  

• [1:46]  Report from the frontlines of the physical inactivity epidemic

  • “If you really want to talk about frontlines, that’s what it is. It’s life or death.”

  • “Our warriors that are out there recruiting folks to get moving and leading these free fitness classes. They are literally on the front lines. We have classes in Gilpin Court, where no one else is out leading classes. There's no gyms. There's no, you know, healthy place to go get food. That's where our warriors are.  We go where really no one else has gone to bring physical activity right to the communities that need them the most.”

• [4:51]  Reaching people where they are

  • “For us, we offer classes in places where people are already comfortable going in their communities. So that is churches, community centers, libraries, apartment complexes, that is where the people already frequent those places. They're centered in their communities so we're not saying, hey, come to us, we're coming to you. We're stepping onto your turf, where you're comfortable. And we're bringing what we have to offer to you.”

• [7:14]  Drawing fitness warriors from the community

  • “So we recruit folks that are from the community, average people, they're not people who have already gone through a certification. They are folks that have a passion for fitness, and have a passion for giving back to their community.”

• [10:26]  The role of social support

  • “So from our survey that we do with our warrior instructors, 75% attribute friendships and connections that they have built to our program. So it's way more than just physical activity. It's connecting them to this active living network of people who think like them, believe like them, and serve like them. And so there's this connection between the warriors that, it's deep, it's a deep connection and that filters down into their classes that they lead in the community.”

• [14:32]  Fitness warriors making a difference in the community

  • “That is what I think, to our warriors, makes it all worth it. And so it's really like knowing that they're making a difference in the community is, you know, making a difference in someone's life is what really impacts our warriors the most.”

• [16:01] Implementing the fitness warrior train-the-trainer model in other communities

  • “And so when you're going to recruit new people for the program or mentors for the program, you need someone who's well versed in the landscape of the fitness industry in your region.”. 

• [17:29]  Diversifying fitness

  • “So I think that for people to feel more comfortable and for people to feel like physical activity and fitness is for them, they need to be able to see people that look like them doing what we're asking them to do. And so I think that's another piece that, you know, as a whole, the industry has to address and has to do a better job of diversifying the face of fitness.”

• [19:56] Bringing about sustainable behavior change

  • “But when you have a warrior checking in on you, when you are, you know, starting to get to know the people in your class and they're also holding you accountable, and then they're challenging you to do the next thing.”

• [24:44] The fitness journey

  • “And so there's that progression too. And of course, as you are going through that, that's just furthering your own fitness journey. And now, it's this ripple effect. It's like you started out as a participant. Now you're going to go through the training to become a warrior, and then you're going to reach a whole other group of people that we wouldn't have reached before.”

• [26:35] Scaling up affordable programs

  • “There's lots of ways that we have gone about making this affordable and sustainable. And I think a crucial piece is being really creative, and being willing to go out and tell your story and ask people to help support in the ways that they can.”

• [29:05] Evaluating the impact of the Fitness Warriors program

  • “One of my favorite data points is that 97% of our class participants would recommend a fitness warriors class. That ripple effect that we talked about, that's crucial. That's how that happens, is people talking, that word of mouth.” 

  • “78% of our class participants are overweight or obese. And so, I am proud of that number, not because, because you might be hearing that a different way than I hear, what I hear is that we're reaching the right people. Our classes are open to anyone, anyone can come to the class, but we're really trying to reach those people who need the class the most, who are either living sedentary lifestyles, or are overweight or obese and need a place to feel comfortable coming to work out.”

Motivating Communities to Move - Walk with a Doc [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. David Sabgir

  • Dr. David Sabgir is a cardiologist and the CEO and Founder of Walk with a Doc.

• [1:09]  Inspiration for Walk with a Doc

  • “I started my residency and did my fellowship from 97-03 and during that time, realized how critical physical activity was. And we hear it described as the miracle drug. And I feel like every day that's hammered home more and more. So that had to be really at the forefront of our discussions.”

  • “And I thought I was doing actually a really good job until, you know, I stepped back and looked and realized that I was doing actually a very, very inadequate job. I wasn't getting my patients to be active or pursue it despite what they said in the office. So one day I really wanted this person to have to say no to my face.”

• [3:13]  Naming Walk with a Doc 

  • “I was meeting with a TV anchor in the first few weeks, very well respected in Columbus, Ohio, and she, like I'll never forget, I was walking out the door and she said, David go with Walk with a Doc that's a better name. It keeps the medical in it.” 

• [6:15]  Support for Walk with a Doc

  • “It's grown. It's been a beautiful, organic, viral, grassroots thing.”

• [6:28]  Reach of Walk with a Doc

  • “There's about 9 million doctors in the world and then obviously, so many more healthcare providers than that... nurse practitioners, nurses, etc. So we had 10,000 last year, ballpark, lead events, so that's less than 0.1%. So thanks to CDC, WHO, CNN, some others, that huge net is pulling in a very small percentage, but it's a small percentage of a big number.”

• [9:01]  Physicians as trusted providers

  • “I think when our participants and the people that come out to the walk, when they read about it in their paper, maybe the doc is, maybe they're interested in, you know, learning from the doctor, or sharing. And that's really great. But I really think the secret ingredient is...are the other walkers that are there. And it's that camaraderie, that social connectedness that you've spoken so well about in your previous podcast that really is the, those are the ties that bind.”

• [10:49] Physicians walking the walk and investing the time

  • “So you may put in an hour a week, an hour a month, an hour a year, but you get, I think about tenfold back of what you put into it.”

• [12:43]  Evaluating Walk with a Doc

  • “The coefficient is not near as high as I want and, but that is counterbalanced by the number of chapters growing and the interest and the spread. And I've been really surprised at the staying power of the docs.”

• [14:08] Focusing on social connectedness

  • “We also stumbled into the social connectedness and the importance. I just wanted people to get more active. So we got these miracle drug, you know, got it in motion, everything we could get to the 150 minutes a week and then the social connection is what our focus is going to be for 2021.” 

• [20:27] Adapting Walk with a Doc during COVID-19

  • “We have had virtual walks. Those are Saturday mornings, as well, and they allow us to feature our docs from all over the world. It's a great way to pull others in, make the family closer, even though it's on Zoom, or, you know, pre recorded.

• [21:47] Decreased physical activity during COVID-19

  • “I'm surprised how many people haven't really thought of going outside alone for a walk or with their spouse or partner. And often, you know, a little nudge from our team can make a difference.”

• [24:09] Growth of Walk with a Doc

  • “We, we’re guesstimating about 200,000 people last year, but that was up from 145,000 the year before. So we're really fortunate. We have currently 562 chapters, 451 in the US, and it needs to be so much more. And I think it will because the healthcare providers that have come to us they're so incredible. And their experience, thank goodness, has been, they feel as good about it as I do.”

Expanding Opportunities for Children and Families to Be Active Outdoors [Podcast Series]

• [:54] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Jackie Ostfeld

  • Jackie Ostfeld is the Director of the Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All Campaign.  She is also the Founder of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids.  

• [1:10]  Engaging children in outdoor physical activity

  • “And living through a pandemic, I have become even more acutely aware of just how important nearby nature access is for my own family's mental and physical health….And it's also really shone a spotlight on how access to parks is not a ‘nice to have’ but really an absolutely essential for all of our well being.”

  • “I've seen nature change us.  I've seen nature heal us.  And I just I believe every child deserves to benefit from the outdoors, whether that's physically, emotionally, socially or academically.”

• [3:39]  Outdoors for All Campaign vision

  • “Our work is to envision a just equitable and sustainable future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. And so, we're striving for a world where all people can breathe fresh air, drink clean water and safely and regularly spend time outdoors.” 

• [8:18]  Addressing transportation barriers

  • “So a lot of our work has been educational. In some places, there are public transportation lines, and people just don't know about it. And all that's needed is better signage and better communication. And in some places there needs to be new bus lines created or other transportation solutions.”

• [12:00]  Addressing access and inclusivity issues

  • “And so I think understanding how people engage, how people want to engage is one part of helping to make sure that the outdoor community is more welcoming, inclusive.”

• [14:45]  Founding Outdoors Alliance for Kids 

  • “I am so grateful to have been able to co-develop with many partners the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, which we're celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year. And we have worked together, we started as seven organizations, groups like the YMCA and Sierra Club and REI. And we've expanded to over 100 organizations working to advocate for equitable access to the outdoors for children, youth and families specifically, and we've had a lot of success at the national level.” 

• [18:19] Evidence linking outdoor physical activity and mental and physical health

  • “There is evidence about the need for the nearby nature and that kids, families who have that neighborhood level access to green trees have better overall health outcomes, whether it's about obesity and mental health, but also the mortality rates are lower when you have access to nature. And then there's evidence that suggests that all you really need to gain many of those health benefits is about 120 minutes a week.” 

• [22:37]  Nature prescriptions and integration with healthcare

  • “I think it's critical that people are hearing from their doctors and trusted professionals in their lives that they should get outdoors.”

• [24:58] Making outdoor physical activity more affordable

  • “ We are working to reduce and remove fees as much as possible, working to expand transportation lines. But it's more than that. We need to have programs that invite and welcome and create opportunities for kids, for families to get outdoors.”

• [28:18] Healing through nature

  • “I am hopeful that this pandemic and also the uprising for Black Lives that we have seen all at the same time in the last couple months have woken us up as a society to the systemic racism and inequities that impact our society and our culture, including who has access to clean air, clean water, parks and play spaces, and that we move forward as a society to address through nature and all the other ways in which communities are needing to heal right now.” 

Tomorrow’s Health & Fitness Leadership Today [Podcast Series]

• [:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Lynne Brick

  • Lynne Brick is Co-owner, President, and Founder of Brick Bodies, Co-owner of Planet Fitness Growth Partners, and Co-Founder of the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation.  

• [1:14]  Bringing the healthcare and health & fitness sectors closer together

  • “It's always been my vision, my dream, to merge the medical world with the movement world....However, we need to get more people to believe [exercise is medicine], to live it, to prescribe it, to create an organic means to help prevent disease.”

• [2:35]  Changing the perception of the health & fitness industry

  • “The first step is to change the conversation and remove the fact that the health club industry or recreation centers are considered just that, recreation. Like, just for fun. And once we change that conversation, that perception, we're able to sit at the table with docs and physical therapists and other essential industries.  The bottom-line is that we do help save people's lives and in essence help them to improve their health and well-being, help improve their longevity, help improve their resilience.” 

• [3:44]  Changing the self-perception of the health & fitness industry

  • “I think that the whole industry must unite and focus on collective intelligence of incredibly smart people in the industry and also in other industries to help collaborate on how we can help shift the conversation, shift the whole movement toward movement.”

• [4:57]  Building confidence of healthcare in the health & fitness industry

  • “If we can somehow incorporate organic movement as part of a care plan, part of protocols the medical world prescribes, then we are at the table, we can help shift the conversation there. But there has to be the confidence and the evidence-based research to back up what we say, what we believe. And again, making sure that everyone in our industry does believe that exercise is medicine.”

• [8:22]  Reaching the other 80%

  • “We have successfully as an entire company reached out to what we call the other 80%, people who have never been in a health club before, have overcome the Big Five Fears of joining a health club or being involved in a community that is surrounded by health, and the more information we can gather from those folks, the people that are changing their lives and losing not just 50 pounds, but 100 or 200 or more pounds and getting off their blood pressure medication, the data that we can gather from those folks will help shift the medical community and make them more trusting, as you mention.”  

• [11:04] Leading during a disruptive time

  • “The most important thing about being a leader in this disruptive time is that you're not alone. And I do lean on our entire team, leans on each other, to help learn more, and create these collaborative conversations so that we can learn more and how to utilize best practices.”

  • “One of the things about trying to be a better leader every day is trying to pull out the greatness in other people, and that is what we really tried to do, is to pull out the greatness in other people.”

• [14:54]  Female leaders in the health & fitness industry

  • “I think that’s one of the things women bring to the table is this concept of mutual respect, and of course, empathy. We lead a lot of times, not just from our head and our gut, but from our heart. And I think that that has been a great asset to the industry.”

• [20:04] Family leadership lessons

  • “The things I hoped that I was able to pass on to Vicki is, lead by example. And be willing to do whatever it takes to get your hands dirty too, so that you are in the trenches with your team so that they know that you're on their side.” 

• [21:37] Building evidence-based research connecting physical activity and mental health

  • “But our focus is to create a collaborative club and work with organizations and other researchers like yourself to help make people much more aware of the mental health issues.”

• [28:04] The future of the health & fitness industry

  • “How will health and fitness change for the better? It's a great way to end this incredible conversation and of course, sanitation and respect and empathy are going to be key elements to success for the future for the health & fitness industry. But what I think is also evolved out of this is the need for incredible leaders, more—much more—diversified leaders.”

  • “It's just the nature of what we are going to see, not just from our industry, but every single industry, the strong will survive.  But we need to help to cultivate the best of the best, the Top Gun of our industry. So through diversification, through education and financial backing, and the future is bright, and I think that we all need to keep our positively positive attitudes to help create the new world.”