WEBVTT
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My name is Jared Maynard.
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I'm a physical therapist, strength coach, and in 2023 I was lying in an ICU bed on a ventilator with a 50-50 chance of making it out alive.
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I made it out.
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And what I learned on the other side of that changed everything about how I live, how I coach, and what I believe is possible for the people who keep showing up.
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This show is for the coaches and clinicians, the people who give their all to everybody else and don't have much left over for themselves.
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On this show we talk about training and rehab, as well as mental health, identity, and what it costs to be the kind of person who keeps showing up when the gun gets tough.
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This show is meant to be your companion on the gun.
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So come along.
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This is Unbreakable.
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Welcome back to episode six of Unbreakable with yours truly, Jared Maynard.
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Just me holding it down solo on the mic in my bald, bearded glory.
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I have one goal today.
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This might be a short, quick hitter.
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Here's my goal by the end of it.
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I want to free you of the lie that I know that I believed early in my career that cost me time that I'll never get back.
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Before I do that, I have a question.
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Why did you get into this profession?
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Now I'm especially talking to you if you are a clinician, especially an MSK or rehab clinician, or if you are a coach of any kind, strength coach, personal trainer.
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But this can hit home even if you're not those things.
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I became a physical therapist because I couldn't hack it as a doctor.
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I say that it's it's mostly true.
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I don't know if I could hack it or not, but in high school, I knew that I wanted to work with people in healthcare.
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I wanted to work with people and not be in an office by myself.
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Uh and medicine was very appealing, right?
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I liked learning about the human body.
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I really loved science.
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So doctors seemed like the natural course.
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And then I started to understand how much schooling and time was actually required to become a doctor.
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And I started thinking, I don't know if I like it that much.
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So the alternative paths included physical therapists or chiropractic, actually.
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The third option was being a high school teacher, mostly because I had a handful of high school teachers that changed my life.
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I'll talk more about them and why they changed my life very likely in future episodes.
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But why did you, listener, uh choose to get into this profession?
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Was it similar to my reasons?
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Was it because you had an experience with a physical therapist or a doctor or a chiropractor or a coach that changed your life for the better?
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My guess is that whatever the details were or are, you got into this field because you care about people.
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You want to help people.
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I haven't met anybody who got into this field as a rehab provider, especially, or a strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer to get rich quick.
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Because if that is the goal, you chose wrong.
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The people that I know, by and large, got into this because they give a damn and they want to help people.
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And you have to, by nature of the demands of the job, go through quite a bit of schooling/slash training to even qualify.
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You have to go through years of school, undergrad, graduate degrees, maybe more.
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And then there's postgrad training.
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There's ongoing continuing education that you need to maintain your licenses and your certifications.
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There's a lot of effort and time that goes into it.
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So you are learned.
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You know these things so that you can go out into the field and help people get stronger, overcome injury, get back to their lives, have hope again.
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Here's where the lie starts to creep in, though.
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It's insidious.
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And most of us don't see it coming until we're really neck deep and it's trap.
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Because since we care, since we have put so much time and effort into learning our craft, learning best evidence and best practices to help people, spending our time on the gym floor in the clinic, doing the things, when we get hurt or we have a problem, the logical conclusion that we reach is that we should be able to fix this ourselves because we have the knowledge, and this is within our purview because we do this every day.
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Perfectly logical conclusion.
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It also happens to be totally wrong.
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How do I know this?
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Firsthand experience on both sides of the ball, so to speak.
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I'm going to tell you about Dan first.
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Dan is one of the smartest strength coaches I've ever met.
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Um, he's also handsome as a son of a gun.
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That's beside the point, but I had to sneak that in there.
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Because if you ever, if you ever meet Dan, you will agree there is no other opinion that is valid.
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He is a handsome dude.
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Dan, if you're listening to this, shout out, dude.
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Um has a sterling reputation, both in his community and far and wide, from his clients and the people who know him for a really good reason.
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He gets results.
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He cares about his people.
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He is the one who helps them train through some pretty extenuating injuries and like medical circumstances and life circumstances.
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I've had the pleasure of speaking to a couple of his clients who came to follow me after uh, in particular, a podcast episode that I did, the host of which is one of Dan's clients, who has a remarkable story all on his own.
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And it just goes to show that Dan is the guy that you go to if you want results and you want to get stronger and do it for the long haul.
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So he's got all the accolades, just like you do.
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And then he herniated a disc in his back.
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It was debilitating, man.
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It dominated his day.
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And I remember when he reached out, because Dan and I have been friends for a long time.
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We actually met at a personal training certification course back in 2012, I want to say.
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Uh, it was great because Dan was trying a particular supplement that made him have to use the washroom a bunch.
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Because if you know about bodybuildingslash performance supplements, well, one, hopefully you know about them back in like the early to mid-2000s, because that was the wild west of supplements, bro.
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Kids today will never understand.
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Anyway, uh, that's just one anecdote that comes to mind from when Dan and I met.
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But he reached out and he was not in a good way.
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He was dealing with this back pain.
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It was dominating his day as he sat at his computer, as he tried to go through his sessions for his in-person clients.
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And Dan is someone who is fully present with you.
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In my opinion, of the guy, when you're with him and he has or you have his attention, you feel like the only dude in the world or doet, right?
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You're the only person that matters for that point in time, which is amazing.
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You can't maintain that presence when you are in significant pain consistently, and when you're scared of whether your back is going to hurt all the more, or the pain is going to radiate when you move like this, or if you can you even demonstrate that exercise?
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Is any of that hitting home?
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Because if you've been injured, you've probably thought these thoughts.
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You've probably had to navigate this uncertainty through the day.
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Dan absolutely did.
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And he had tried to navigate it himself.
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There's a little asterisk at the end there, because he he's also somebody who, to his credit, he's not prideful.
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He will ask for help when he feels like he needs it.
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Uh, but with the help that he got from another physiotherapist and from some other folks, and then his own efforts, it wasn't really budging the pain.
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And it wasn't because he didn't know enough.
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Remember, I started the story by saying he is one of the most knowledgeable strength coaches and personal trainers that I know.
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The reason why I can confidently tell you is it's not a knowledge issue, is because he has the evidence in spades.
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He helps people, including dealing with back pain and disc herniations on the regular.
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He knows the place.
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So why didn't it work here?
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He told me why it didn't work, actually, as it so happens.
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Later, he told me that what he needed and what was previously missing was the objective perspective that you can't really give yourself when you're the one in the midst of the battle.
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When it's your body, when it's your pain.
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And really, if we peel back the layers, the onions, onion layers, just like Shrek and Ogres, uh, it's identity.
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Because, I mean, check this with me.
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You care, and what gets you up out of bed in the morning and gets you to go to the hospital to work, or go to the clinic to work, or go to the gym to work, or the studio is that you care.
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You have an identity and a reputation that you are building and maintaining of somebody who knows the things, somebody who cares about your people, somebody who walks the walk or cares about walking the walk, and through words and actions, making sure other people have better quality of life through training, through improving their health, all of that.
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Any of that sound accurate for you?
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If it does, and you can't suddenly do that because of pain or because of some other circumstance, that is not just a physical affront to you.
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That's an identity-level insult or injury.
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Because now who am I?
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If I can't train, if I can't move, if I'm scared to move, what does that mean for me?
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What does that mean for my patients or my clients?
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What does that mean for my family, especially if you're self-employed?
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If these are hidden for you, I just need you to know that you're not alone.
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Because Dan felt all of these.
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As did I.
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In 2015, just after graduating PT school, I strained my hamstring on a deadlift in the gym.
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It wasn't even a particularly heavy deadlift.
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That one deadlift has caused me grief for years.
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I thought, after the initial panic in the gym, when I dropped the bar and did a quick assessment on myself to see how bad is this, is this swelling, is there bruising, what movements aggravate it.
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When I got a baseline, I realized or I believed that okay, I know what I have to do because I am a newly minted physical therapist, and as such, I will conduct my own rehab.
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I don't know why that accent emerged, but we're going with it.
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So what I did was used all the tools and knowledge that I had, which I will say was not wrong.
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The issue that emerged was that I would improve in terms of symptoms, but as I went back to train, as I tried to return to training as quote unquote normal, the symptoms would flare up.
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And I spent a year in this place of stuckness.
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And at the end of that year, I really was not any better than I was after the initial pain started to settle to baseline.
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I still had the variability where as I walked to the gym, I didn't know whether it was going to be a good day or a bad day.
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I couldn't trust my body.
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That lack of safety really screwed with my head.
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I couldn't train or lift as heavy or with as much volume as I wanted to.
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So I felt like I was falling behind and I was losing progress while everybody else was making it.
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And this is early into my focus on powerlifting, where I wanted to compete.
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So then that desire to step on the platform, which was already being gatekeeped by my belief that I needed to be strong enough to compete, seemed all the further away because now I couldn't train to get stronger the way I wanted to.
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Even with my coach at the time, my powerlifting coach at the time.
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He did his best, credit to him, where it's due.
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And we still had the same issue.
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And the most distressing part was the thing I didn't really say out loud, but it was that I felt like a total fraud.
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Because not only was I a new grad, not only was I freshly gaining experience out of school working with people and navigating the nihilistic valley, which comes from thinking that I knew a lot and I was hot shit coming out of PT school.
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And then finding out that based on the research, oh, maybe the mechanisms of manual therapy aren't so straightforward.
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Maybe pain is not so neat and tidy.
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That was a whole lot to navigate.
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Plus the pressures of having real people coming in to see me every day of the week at the clinic, expecting me to have the answers.
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And now I did not feel strong.
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I did not feel safe.
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I was frustrated because it wasn't through a lack of caring.
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Um, and yet I was still no further.
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I was still not where I wanted to be.
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I actually want to change one element here or update one thing I'm saying.
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Earlier I said that for Dan, and maybe for you, if any of this is hitting home, whether you're dealing with an injury or you've got some other circumstance that are that's keeping you held back, I said it's not a knowledge problem.
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I will stand by that 85% of the time if I'm pulling a stat out of the air.
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For me and my hamstring, at the beginning, there was an element of needing to learn how to better navigate those situations.
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And by those situations, I mean a hamstring strain or an injury for a lifter, and how to use training itself as the vehicle for rehab.
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As I experienced that by working with Dr.
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Quinn Henneck, the co-founder of Clinical Athlete, a good friend of mine.
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That first consult appointment, that single session, it's about an hour, hour 15, changed my life, changed the trajectory of my life as a clinician and coach.
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And certainly the rest of the experience that followed changed it.
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It's why I do what I do now and work entirely digitally with people.
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So I will acknowledge, certainly, that sometimes there is an element of you don't know what you don't know, and you need to learn because your tools are great.
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And what about having other tools?
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I almost cringe saying it, other tools to put in your toolbox.
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Because we hear that a lot in the rehab world, right?
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There's some merit to it.
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But I'll also say this.
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If you've been practicing for more than a couple of years, and more importantly, if you have a track record of the people who come to see you wherever you work, typically getting better, getting closer to their goals, having less pain, having more function, having more freedom, returning back to their lives either fully or in large part how they want to.
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You probably don't have a knowledge problem.
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Or at least knowledge is not necessarily your biggest rate limiter.
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I would argue that your biggest rate limiter is the same one that I had and that Dan had.
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And that is that it is always different when it's you.
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You can't be objective with yourself.
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When you are working with a patient and they're dealing with even the same exact injury or pain or problem as you are, you have the ability to be higher up.
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You can take the 10,000-foot view, you can hear what they're saying, you can see the patterns in speech, in actions, in timelines, you can start to form a hypothesis.
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Most importantly, I think you can stay emotionally grounded.
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Because it's not you.
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You clearly care.
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Like that's how I open this conversation.
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That's a given.
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Let's also be real.
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Whatever happens to that patient, it will have an effect on you because you care.
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Because you are not a cold callus machine.
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T100, T1000, sorry, uh, from Terminator.
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But it also won't have massive bearing on your life.
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Probably.
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Right?
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That's not true when it's you.
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That's not true when your whole day is marked by pain and fear of the pain and wrestling with who you are.
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And can you actually hold it down for your family?
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Can you work the way you need to?
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Can you pick up your kids?
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Can you be present and fun?
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Can you be you?
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It is again an attack, an assault on your identity.
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Which hurts all the worse because you are telling yourself, probably, that you should know better.
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You know all this stuff, and you help other people do this, so why the hell can't you do it for yourself?
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What an imposter.
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What right do you have to rehab or guide other people or train them?
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You can't even do it for yourself.
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That's how I was thinking.
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Again, it seems logical.
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From an emotional standpoint, it makes a shit ton of sense.
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It's also wrong.
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And it will keep you stuck.
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It will make you burn time like I did.
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And you will never get that time back.
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One of my strengths as a coach and clinician is that I have done a lot of the stupid shit.
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And I want to save you and others from doing the same.
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So, in service of that, especially if this is hitting home on any level, here's what I would suggest to you.
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How can you break out of this place where you feel stuck, you're not making progress, you are hurting physically and also mentally and emotionally because of the identity attack, because it's not a lack of caring.
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It's probably not a lack of knowledge, although that can factor in to some degree.
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Again, I would still argue it's probably not your biggest gatekeeper.
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There are three or four things I'd suggest to you and offer here.
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And these things I was not open to immediately.
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I wish I had been, because Would have saved me a lot of time and a lot of grief.
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But if I couldn't do it, maybe you can.
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So there's still that silver lining.
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When I did come around to accepting these, they changed my life.
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Without a word of a lie.
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Number one is you have to stop blaming yourself.
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You have to let go of the guilt and shame that's there.
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It's the inner dialogue of why can't I do this myself?
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I should be able to.
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Let me make more progress first before I open, I go ask for help.
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It's it really does come down to guilt, shame, a lot of I should type statements.
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If you notice those, it's probably part of the picture for you.
00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:05.279
And I'm here to tell you that this is not your fault.
00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:12.160
I mean, sure, if you did something stupid, I mean, I I kind of did with the deadlift.
00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:13.119
It wasn't that bad.
00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:15.039
The technique wasn't great.
00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:19.440
Again, lots of things I recognize in hindsight that I would have done differently.
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:23.039
But regardless, you probably didn't try to hurt yourself.
00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:26.960
You probably didn't try to have this illness or injury come up.
00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:28.160
Alright?
00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:31.519
It's not your fault.
00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:37.119
It is, however, your responsibility to decide what happens next.
00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:40.079
Because nobody can do that for you.
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.480
The client's waiting for you tomorrow or on Monday.
00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:46.559
They need you.
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.279
Your family.
00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:51.839
Your spouse or your partner.
00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:54.640
I know you care about them.
00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:57.279
They know you care about them.
00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:13.119
You and they deserve to have the version of you back or the next version of you that can show up as well as possible.
00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:17.839
And life is hard enough as it is.
00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:30.480
Don't make it harder by piling on the blame and the narratives that keep you stuck and burn more time than have already has already been lost.
00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:33.519
I needed somebody to tell me that.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.240
So I'm offering it here.
00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:40.240
Because maybe it'll help you.
00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:48.799
The second step that you need to take is stop trying to do it all your damn self.
00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.160
Perfectionist.
00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:51.519
High achiever.
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:57.119
I'm talking to myself as well as you, because that's another trend.
00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:02.640
Most of us who get into the healthcare and rehab spaces, we are type A personalities.
00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:18.960
We have to be high achievers because by nature of graduate programs for PT and Cairo, by the nature of the competitive, the competitive nature of the industry in personal training and coaching, you gotta be at the top of the of your game.
00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:22.559
That can be a double-edged sword.
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:43.039
Because in cases like this, if any of what we're talking about resonates, then you are probably in a spot where you have tried to outwork the problem or tried to work and apply effort to the point where you are free and it's not working.
00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:51.200
You want to talk about another identity crisis for an overachiever, someone who lives and dies by their own effort?
00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.039
There you go.
00:25:55.759 --> 00:26:08.720
I encourage you to put down the belief that you need to do it all yourself and allow yourself to accept the same kind of help that you offer to everybody else every day.
00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:24.640
If you want examples, if you're in the power lifting powerlifting space like I am, the best power lifters in the world who also coach others have their own coaches.
00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:25.839
Why?
00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:29.440
Because it's always different when it's you.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:43.119
You can look in almost any sector, any industry, people who are at the top of their game, people who are crushing it, people who succeed, they go and receive coaching.
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:51.119
They receive help from others to help solve problems because one, it's always different when it's you.
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:58.880
And sometimes, sometimes there is a knowledge gap and you don't know what you don't know.
00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:07.599
But others who have been through it, who have screwed up and made the mistakes, they do have that knowledge.
00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:14.880
And they can guide you forward, or they can at least help steer you around the potholes that they hit.
00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:24.000
I'd say the third thing is changing the metrics that you're measuring.
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.559
We want to track weight lifted.
00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:31.440
We want to have pain-free days.
00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:53.039
We want to see our PRs and our total volume go up or our total mileage go up when you're dealing with an injury, when you're in a place where you are trying to get steady, trying to get back to a place where you feel okay, and then when you feel strong, you're not going to be able to track those metrics and feel happy.
00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:56.720
Because again, high achiever, perfectionists over here.
00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:06.559
So when you're when your loads, when the weights on the bar are at 60% of what you usually use, it doesn't feel good.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.319
I'm not saying don't track the weight on the bar.
00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:12.799
I'm not saying don't track your mileage.
00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:16.400
I'm not saying don't track or be mindful of your pain levels.
00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:19.119
I would actually argue you probably need to be.
00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:24.559
But track metrics like, did I show up this week?
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:30.000
If you're like me, you hear that a lot, and you're like, what does even what does show up even mean?
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:34.640
It means if you had four workouts planned, did you hit all four?
00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:35.920
Or at least three?
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:37.599
Were you physically in the gym?
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.599
Or were you physically out on the run?
00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:48.799
Even if you didn't finish them exactly as written, did you at least do two or three of those exercises?
00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:59.119
On the days where you feel crappy and you really don't want to show up, and believe me, I still have my fair share, probably more than my fair share.
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:02.480
Did you not count yourself out?
00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:09.440
And did you show up, start warming up, and not pre-decide that this is going to be a shitty day?
00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:16.160
But rather give yourself the chance to do what you have or to do what you can and give what you have.
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:20.640
And did you also make realistic decisions?
00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:30.240
If your pain shot up or your fatigue skyrocketed, did you decide to stop or move on?
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:33.920
Those should be counted as wins.
00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:48.079
The more ways that you have to track and see progress, to derive some level of knowledge that you are doing the things, the better.
00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:54.400
And you need more options when the ones you usually lean on aren't available to you, at least not in the same way.
00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:03.119
The fourth one is giving yourself fewer decisions to make.
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:20.640
By the nature of the job that you do, and even if you're not a coach or clinician, if you care for people, if you're a parent, if you've got other people in your life that you're taking care of, decision fatigue and compassion fatigue are real documented phenomena.
00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:23.759
They deplete your resources and your energy.
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:32.880
When you are exhausted, when you are building your business and you're going through a slow month, relatable, uh, there's less in the tank.
00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:45.039
When your kids need you and you have an unexpectedly difficult night because your kid's sick or not sleeping, or because there's an emotional situation you got to deal with or a crisis, there's less in the tank that's left for you.
00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:58.799
If you are trying to figure out what do I need to change about my training and rehab program, how do I need to modify it today and in this exercise and for this particular set and rep.
00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:07.039
And especially if you're figuring it out on the fly without any previously established plan.
00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:09.519
And let's be real.
00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:13.359
You and I are both knowledgeable enough to be dangerous.
00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:18.400
We're knowledgeable enough to rationalize why that one hurts, or I don't think I want to do that.
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:20.400
I'm going to do this thing instead.
00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:23.759
And this thing is probably not what you need to be doing.
00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:38.640
What you need to be doing is stay consistent with the movements, the challenges, the loads, the dosages that create the adaptations you really need.
00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.680
And that stuff is hard, dude.
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:48.240
It's especially hard if you are making it up as you go, which let's be real, you probably are.
00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:57.039
And if you are, I again need you to not blame yourself or feel guilty or ashamed of this.
00:31:57.359 --> 00:31:58.960
You are not alone.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:03.279
This is not, however, the path that's going to serve you.
00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:07.920
This is something that you do get to change.
00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:21.759
And I would say is your responsibility to change if for yourself you want to be in a better place, and certainly if you want to be in a better place to serve the people around you.
00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:30.720
Those four things again are one, release yourself of the lie that you need to do it all yourself.
00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.880
Stop guilting and shaming yourself for not being there.
00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:44.079
Two, stop trying to do it all by yourself and allow yourself to receive the same help you give to everybody else.
00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:51.359
Three, reduce the number of things that you need to make decisions on.
00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:52.960
Actually, that was number four.
00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:58.079
Number three was change the metrics that you measure success by.
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:03.599
When Dan and I worked together, we applied all of those.
00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.559
And it was not a quick and easy process.
00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:16.160
However, he is now back to lifting how he wants, playing golf, being fully present for his clients and for his family.
00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:21.119
For me, my hamstring is still something that I manage.
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:35.200
The reason I'm talking about this now is because I had several days in the last couple of weeks where I, myself, yes, the guy who's banging on about, oh, you know, it's always different when it's you, and stop guilting yourself.
00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:39.279
I was in my head, like, holy shit, dude, is this ever going to get better?
00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:42.079
I can't believe I'm here again.
00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:44.400
Will I feel strong again?
00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:52.720
These thoughts keep coming, which is why I'm firmly rooted in the belief that it is always different when it's you.
00:33:54.400 --> 00:34:08.239
And when I opened myself up to that help, back working with Quinn, still working with my coach John, that allowed me to find a version of myself that felt strong and safe again.
00:34:09.920 --> 00:34:12.559
Which in turn bought me time in the ICU.
00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:22.800
And it allowed me to give my family back the strong husband and father that they had lost, and that I had lost too.
00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:34.639
When you open yourself up to receiving help, I'm willing to say and to bet that your life will change for the better, too.
00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:38.719
And so will the lives of everybody around you that you care about.
00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.280
If any of this hit home.
00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:48.800
You are who we help.
00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:57.119
If you're looking for help, if you want help getting out of this place of stuckness, links are in the show notes.
00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:58.159
Reach out.
00:34:58.320 --> 00:35:01.119
I'll be honest about if Unbreakable Strength can help you.
00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:07.280
And if I'm not, or we're not the people for you, I happen to know some really amazing folks who are pretty great.
00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:12.880
And I'd be happy to point you in their direction or the direction of any resources that are a better fit for you.
00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:17.760
My friend, keep going.
00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:20.880
Every day won't be easy.
00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:22.559
Every day won't be fun.
00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:26.000
But all you need to do is take one step at a time.
00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:29.199
You're in this for the right reasons.
00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:32.880
And I believe that you are not done yet.
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:38.480
Thanks so much for listening to another episode of Unbreakable with me, your host, Jared Maynard.
00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:46.000
If you found what we talked about today to be useful, if it served you, please consider leaving a five-star review wherever you get your podcasts.
00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:49.360
Hit that follow or subscribe button to keep up with the show.
00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:58.320
And if you are a coach or clinician, if you're running on MT, you're giving everything to everybody else, you are exactly who I built Unbreakable Strength to serve.
00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:01.440
The link to Book A Call with Me is in the show notes.
00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:06.079
I'd love to hear where you are and see how we can help you get where you want to go.
00:36:06.239 --> 00:36:10.159
Go check that link out in the show notes, as well as the links to a few other goodies.
00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:11.679
You can follow me on socials.
00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:15.199
And until next time, my friend, you're not done yet.
00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:06.320
My name is Jared Maynard.
00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:19.120
I'm a physical therapist, strength coach, and in 2023 I was lying in an ICU bed on a ventilator with a 50-50 chance of making it out alive.
00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:21.760
I made it out.
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:32.240
And what I learned on the other side of that changed everything about how I live, how I coach, and what I believe is possible for the people who keep showing up.
00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:41.200
This show is for the coaches and clinicians, the people who give their all to everybody else and don't have much left over for themselves.
00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:54.079
On this show we talk about training and rehab, as well as mental health, identity, and what it costs to be the kind of person who keeps showing up when the gun gets tough.
00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:57.600
This show is meant to be your companion on the gun.
00:00:58.640 --> 00:00:59.920
So come along.
00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:02.960
This is Unbreakable.
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:08.480
Welcome back to episode six of Unbreakable with yours truly, Jared Maynard.
00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:13.280
Just me holding it down solo on the mic in my bald, bearded glory.
00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:14.879
I have one goal today.
00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.040
This might be a short, quick hitter.
00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.359
Here's my goal by the end of it.
00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:27.040
I want to free you of the lie that I know that I believed early in my career that cost me time that I'll never get back.
00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.879
Before I do that, I have a question.
00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:33.840
Why did you get into this profession?
00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:46.079
Now I'm especially talking to you if you are a clinician, especially an MSK or rehab clinician, or if you are a coach of any kind, strength coach, personal trainer.
00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.840
But this can hit home even if you're not those things.
00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:57.280
I became a physical therapist because I couldn't hack it as a doctor.
00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:00.239
I say that it's it's mostly true.
00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:06.799
I don't know if I could hack it or not, but in high school, I knew that I wanted to work with people in healthcare.
00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:11.280
I wanted to work with people and not be in an office by myself.
00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:13.759
Uh and medicine was very appealing, right?
00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.479
I liked learning about the human body.
00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:18.000
I really loved science.
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:20.479
So doctors seemed like the natural course.
00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:26.319
And then I started to understand how much schooling and time was actually required to become a doctor.
00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:30.639
And I started thinking, I don't know if I like it that much.
00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:37.599
So the alternative paths included physical therapists or chiropractic, actually.
00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:46.400
The third option was being a high school teacher, mostly because I had a handful of high school teachers that changed my life.
00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:52.800
I'll talk more about them and why they changed my life very likely in future episodes.
00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:59.759
But why did you, listener, uh choose to get into this profession?
00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:02.639
Was it similar to my reasons?
00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:11.919
Was it because you had an experience with a physical therapist or a doctor or a chiropractor or a coach that changed your life for the better?
00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:21.199
My guess is that whatever the details were or are, you got into this field because you care about people.
00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.759
You want to help people.
00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:34.879
I haven't met anybody who got into this field as a rehab provider, especially, or a strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer to get rich quick.
00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:38.400
Because if that is the goal, you chose wrong.
00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:45.360
The people that I know, by and large, got into this because they give a damn and they want to help people.
00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:58.319
And you have to, by nature of the demands of the job, go through quite a bit of schooling/slash training to even qualify.
00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:05.039
You have to go through years of school, undergrad, graduate degrees, maybe more.
00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:06.960
And then there's postgrad training.
00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:13.439
There's ongoing continuing education that you need to maintain your licenses and your certifications.
00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:16.480
There's a lot of effort and time that goes into it.
00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:18.240
So you are learned.
00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:26.720
You know these things so that you can go out into the field and help people get stronger, overcome injury, get back to their lives, have hope again.
00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:32.160
Here's where the lie starts to creep in, though.
00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:33.839
It's insidious.
00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:39.360
And most of us don't see it coming until we're really neck deep and it's trap.
00:04:40.639 --> 00:05:14.480
Because since we care, since we have put so much time and effort into learning our craft, learning best evidence and best practices to help people, spending our time on the gym floor in the clinic, doing the things, when we get hurt or we have a problem, the logical conclusion that we reach is that we should be able to fix this ourselves because we have the knowledge, and this is within our purview because we do this every day.
00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:17.600
Perfectly logical conclusion.
00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.279
It also happens to be totally wrong.
00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:23.439
How do I know this?
00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:30.720
Firsthand experience on both sides of the ball, so to speak.
00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.199
I'm going to tell you about Dan first.
00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:39.279
Dan is one of the smartest strength coaches I've ever met.
00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:43.360
Um, he's also handsome as a son of a gun.
00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:45.360
That's beside the point, but I had to sneak that in there.
00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:51.199
Because if you ever, if you ever meet Dan, you will agree there is no other opinion that is valid.
00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:53.279
He is a handsome dude.
00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.399
Dan, if you're listening to this, shout out, dude.
00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:10.480
Um has a sterling reputation, both in his community and far and wide, from his clients and the people who know him for a really good reason.
00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:12.000
He gets results.
00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:13.759
He cares about his people.
00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:22.560
He is the one who helps them train through some pretty extenuating injuries and like medical circumstances and life circumstances.
00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:37.680
I've had the pleasure of speaking to a couple of his clients who came to follow me after uh, in particular, a podcast episode that I did, the host of which is one of Dan's clients, who has a remarkable story all on his own.
00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:45.439
And it just goes to show that Dan is the guy that you go to if you want results and you want to get stronger and do it for the long haul.
00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.240
So he's got all the accolades, just like you do.
00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.160
And then he herniated a disc in his back.
00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:55.279
It was debilitating, man.
00:06:56.879 --> 00:06:58.879
It dominated his day.
00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:02.079
And I remember when he reached out, because Dan and I have been friends for a long time.
00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:07.680
We actually met at a personal training certification course back in 2012, I want to say.
00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:14.720
Uh, it was great because Dan was trying a particular supplement that made him have to use the washroom a bunch.
00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:25.839
Because if you know about bodybuildingslash performance supplements, well, one, hopefully you know about them back in like the early to mid-2000s, because that was the wild west of supplements, bro.
00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:28.240
Kids today will never understand.
00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:33.199
Anyway, uh, that's just one anecdote that comes to mind from when Dan and I met.
00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:37.439
But he reached out and he was not in a good way.
00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:40.399
He was dealing with this back pain.
00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:47.680
It was dominating his day as he sat at his computer, as he tried to go through his sessions for his in-person clients.
00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:52.800
And Dan is someone who is fully present with you.
00:07:52.959 --> 00:08:02.079
In my opinion, of the guy, when you're with him and he has or you have his attention, you feel like the only dude in the world or doet, right?
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:07.680
You're the only person that matters for that point in time, which is amazing.
00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:23.439
You can't maintain that presence when you are in significant pain consistently, and when you're scared of whether your back is going to hurt all the more, or the pain is going to radiate when you move like this, or if you can you even demonstrate that exercise?
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:25.519
Is any of that hitting home?
00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:30.240
Because if you've been injured, you've probably thought these thoughts.
00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.840
You've probably had to navigate this uncertainty through the day.
00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:36.320
Dan absolutely did.
00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:42.559
And he had tried to navigate it himself.
00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:50.080
There's a little asterisk at the end there, because he he's also somebody who, to his credit, he's not prideful.
00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.240
He will ask for help when he feels like he needs it.
00:08:54.639 --> 00:09:04.320
Uh, but with the help that he got from another physiotherapist and from some other folks, and then his own efforts, it wasn't really budging the pain.
00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:08.320
And it wasn't because he didn't know enough.
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:14.480
Remember, I started the story by saying he is one of the most knowledgeable strength coaches and personal trainers that I know.
00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:24.240
The reason why I can confidently tell you is it's not a knowledge issue, is because he has the evidence in spades.
00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:31.360
He helps people, including dealing with back pain and disc herniations on the regular.
00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.519
He knows the place.
00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.559
So why didn't it work here?
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:42.000
He told me why it didn't work, actually, as it so happens.
00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:56.320
Later, he told me that what he needed and what was previously missing was the objective perspective that you can't really give yourself when you're the one in the midst of the battle.
00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:00.879
When it's your body, when it's your pain.
00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:10.559
And really, if we peel back the layers, the onions, onion layers, just like Shrek and Ogres, uh, it's identity.
00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:14.559
Because, I mean, check this with me.
00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:30.399
You care, and what gets you up out of bed in the morning and gets you to go to the hospital to work, or go to the clinic to work, or go to the gym to work, or the studio is that you care.
00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:53.840
You have an identity and a reputation that you are building and maintaining of somebody who knows the things, somebody who cares about your people, somebody who walks the walk or cares about walking the walk, and through words and actions, making sure other people have better quality of life through training, through improving their health, all of that.
00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:57.440
Any of that sound accurate for you?
00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:10.559
If it does, and you can't suddenly do that because of pain or because of some other circumstance, that is not just a physical affront to you.
00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:15.039
That's an identity-level insult or injury.
00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.960
Because now who am I?
00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:24.320
If I can't train, if I can't move, if I'm scared to move, what does that mean for me?
00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.039
What does that mean for my patients or my clients?
00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:30.559
What does that mean for my family, especially if you're self-employed?
00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:35.840
If these are hidden for you, I just need you to know that you're not alone.
00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:38.480
Because Dan felt all of these.
00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:40.639
As did I.
00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:53.600
In 2015, just after graduating PT school, I strained my hamstring on a deadlift in the gym.
00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.799
It wasn't even a particularly heavy deadlift.
00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:01.440
That one deadlift has caused me grief for years.
00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:16.879
I thought, after the initial panic in the gym, when I dropped the bar and did a quick assessment on myself to see how bad is this, is this swelling, is there bruising, what movements aggravate it.
00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:35.120
When I got a baseline, I realized or I believed that okay, I know what I have to do because I am a newly minted physical therapist, and as such, I will conduct my own rehab.
00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:39.600
I don't know why that accent emerged, but we're going with it.
00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:52.240
So what I did was used all the tools and knowledge that I had, which I will say was not wrong.
00:12:53.919 --> 00:13:13.279
The issue that emerged was that I would improve in terms of symptoms, but as I went back to train, as I tried to return to training as quote unquote normal, the symptoms would flare up.
00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:20.559
And I spent a year in this place of stuckness.
00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:31.679
And at the end of that year, I really was not any better than I was after the initial pain started to settle to baseline.
00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:37.840
I still had the variability where as I walked to the gym, I didn't know whether it was going to be a good day or a bad day.
00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:39.679
I couldn't trust my body.
00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:42.960
That lack of safety really screwed with my head.
00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:47.279
I couldn't train or lift as heavy or with as much volume as I wanted to.
00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:52.879
So I felt like I was falling behind and I was losing progress while everybody else was making it.
00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:59.919
And this is early into my focus on powerlifting, where I wanted to compete.
00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:16.559
So then that desire to step on the platform, which was already being gatekeeped by my belief that I needed to be strong enough to compete, seemed all the further away because now I couldn't train to get stronger the way I wanted to.
00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:20.399
Even with my coach at the time, my powerlifting coach at the time.
00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:23.200
He did his best, credit to him, where it's due.
00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:25.600
And we still had the same issue.
00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:38.000
And the most distressing part was the thing I didn't really say out loud, but it was that I felt like a total fraud.
00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:55.759
Because not only was I a new grad, not only was I freshly gaining experience out of school working with people and navigating the nihilistic valley, which comes from thinking that I knew a lot and I was hot shit coming out of PT school.
00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:02.960
And then finding out that based on the research, oh, maybe the mechanisms of manual therapy aren't so straightforward.
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.679
Maybe pain is not so neat and tidy.
00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:08.159
That was a whole lot to navigate.
00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:15.759
Plus the pressures of having real people coming in to see me every day of the week at the clinic, expecting me to have the answers.
00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.879
And now I did not feel strong.
00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:20.639
I did not feel safe.
00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:24.720
I was frustrated because it wasn't through a lack of caring.
00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:29.120
Um, and yet I was still no further.
00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.440
I was still not where I wanted to be.
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:38.960
I actually want to change one element here or update one thing I'm saying.
00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:53.120
Earlier I said that for Dan, and maybe for you, if any of this is hitting home, whether you're dealing with an injury or you've got some other circumstance that are that's keeping you held back, I said it's not a knowledge problem.
00:15:54.000 --> 00:16:01.600
I will stand by that 85% of the time if I'm pulling a stat out of the air.
00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:14.320
For me and my hamstring, at the beginning, there was an element of needing to learn how to better navigate those situations.
00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:24.480
And by those situations, I mean a hamstring strain or an injury for a lifter, and how to use training itself as the vehicle for rehab.
00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.399
As I experienced that by working with Dr.
00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:32.960
Quinn Henneck, the co-founder of Clinical Athlete, a good friend of mine.
00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:47.519
That first consult appointment, that single session, it's about an hour, hour 15, changed my life, changed the trajectory of my life as a clinician and coach.
00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:51.039
And certainly the rest of the experience that followed changed it.
00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:54.960
It's why I do what I do now and work entirely digitally with people.
00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:10.000
So I will acknowledge, certainly, that sometimes there is an element of you don't know what you don't know, and you need to learn because your tools are great.
00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:13.279
And what about having other tools?
00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:17.279
I almost cringe saying it, other tools to put in your toolbox.
00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:20.160
Because we hear that a lot in the rehab world, right?
00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.240
There's some merit to it.
00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.119
But I'll also say this.
00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:54.240
If you've been practicing for more than a couple of years, and more importantly, if you have a track record of the people who come to see you wherever you work, typically getting better, getting closer to their goals, having less pain, having more function, having more freedom, returning back to their lives either fully or in large part how they want to.
00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:58.160
You probably don't have a knowledge problem.
00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:04.640
Or at least knowledge is not necessarily your biggest rate limiter.
00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:14.720
I would argue that your biggest rate limiter is the same one that I had and that Dan had.
00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:21.200
And that is that it is always different when it's you.
00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.839
You can't be objective with yourself.
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:38.720
When you are working with a patient and they're dealing with even the same exact injury or pain or problem as you are, you have the ability to be higher up.
00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:50.960
You can take the 10,000-foot view, you can hear what they're saying, you can see the patterns in speech, in actions, in timelines, you can start to form a hypothesis.
00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:55.359
Most importantly, I think you can stay emotionally grounded.
00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:57.359
Because it's not you.
00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:00.000
You clearly care.
00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:02.400
Like that's how I open this conversation.
00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.160
That's a given.
00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:06.319
Let's also be real.
00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:14.720
Whatever happens to that patient, it will have an effect on you because you care.
00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:18.160
Because you are not a cold callus machine.
00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:22.720
T100, T1000, sorry, uh, from Terminator.
00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.839
But it also won't have massive bearing on your life.
00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:29.119
Probably.
00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:30.240
Right?
00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:33.359
That's not true when it's you.
00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:42.880
That's not true when your whole day is marked by pain and fear of the pain and wrestling with who you are.
00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:45.440
And can you actually hold it down for your family?
00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:47.359
Can you work the way you need to?
00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:48.799
Can you pick up your kids?
00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:50.880
Can you be present and fun?
00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:52.880
Can you be you?
00:19:54.319 --> 00:20:00.240
It is again an attack, an assault on your identity.
00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:09.680
Which hurts all the worse because you are telling yourself, probably, that you should know better.
00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:17.519
You know all this stuff, and you help other people do this, so why the hell can't you do it for yourself?
00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:20.079
What an imposter.
00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:27.759
What right do you have to rehab or guide other people or train them?
00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:30.079
You can't even do it for yourself.
00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:33.039
That's how I was thinking.
00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:37.279
Again, it seems logical.
00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:41.920
From an emotional standpoint, it makes a shit ton of sense.
00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:44.720
It's also wrong.
00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:47.200
And it will keep you stuck.
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.319
It will make you burn time like I did.
00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:52.960
And you will never get that time back.
00:20:55.359 --> 00:21:03.119
One of my strengths as a coach and clinician is that I have done a lot of the stupid shit.
00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:08.799
And I want to save you and others from doing the same.
00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:20.640
So, in service of that, especially if this is hitting home on any level, here's what I would suggest to you.
00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:36.880
How can you break out of this place where you feel stuck, you're not making progress, you are hurting physically and also mentally and emotionally because of the identity attack, because it's not a lack of caring.
00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:41.039
It's probably not a lack of knowledge, although that can factor in to some degree.
00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:44.400
Again, I would still argue it's probably not your biggest gatekeeper.
00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:50.960
There are three or four things I'd suggest to you and offer here.
00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:57.440
And these things I was not open to immediately.
00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:02.319
I wish I had been, because Would have saved me a lot of time and a lot of grief.
00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:07.200
But if I couldn't do it, maybe you can.
00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:10.160
So there's still that silver lining.
00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:18.799
When I did come around to accepting these, they changed my life.
00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:20.720
Without a word of a lie.
00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:28.319
Number one is you have to stop blaming yourself.
00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:33.680
You have to let go of the guilt and shame that's there.
00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:38.960
It's the inner dialogue of why can't I do this myself?
00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:40.799
I should be able to.
00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:46.160
Let me make more progress first before I open, I go ask for help.
00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:55.200
It's it really does come down to guilt, shame, a lot of I should type statements.
00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:01.119
If you notice those, it's probably part of the picture for you.
00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:05.279
And I'm here to tell you that this is not your fault.
00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:12.160
I mean, sure, if you did something stupid, I mean, I I kind of did with the deadlift.
00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:13.119
It wasn't that bad.
00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:15.039
The technique wasn't great.
00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:19.440
Again, lots of things I recognize in hindsight that I would have done differently.
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:23.039
But regardless, you probably didn't try to hurt yourself.
00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:26.960
You probably didn't try to have this illness or injury come up.
00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:28.160
Alright?
00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:31.519
It's not your fault.
00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:37.119
It is, however, your responsibility to decide what happens next.
00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:40.079
Because nobody can do that for you.
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.480
The client's waiting for you tomorrow or on Monday.
00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:46.559
They need you.
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.279
Your family.
00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:51.839
Your spouse or your partner.
00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:54.640
I know you care about them.
00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:57.279
They know you care about them.
00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:13.119
You and they deserve to have the version of you back or the next version of you that can show up as well as possible.
00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:17.839
And life is hard enough as it is.
00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:30.480
Don't make it harder by piling on the blame and the narratives that keep you stuck and burn more time than have already has already been lost.
00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:33.519
I needed somebody to tell me that.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.240
So I'm offering it here.
00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:40.240
Because maybe it'll help you.
00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:48.799
The second step that you need to take is stop trying to do it all your damn self.
00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.160
Perfectionist.
00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:51.519
High achiever.
00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:57.119
I'm talking to myself as well as you, because that's another trend.
00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:02.640
Most of us who get into the healthcare and rehab spaces, we are type A personalities.
00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:18.960
We have to be high achievers because by nature of graduate programs for PT and Cairo, by the nature of the competitive, the competitive nature of the industry in personal training and coaching, you gotta be at the top of the of your game.
00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:22.559
That can be a double-edged sword.
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:43.039
Because in cases like this, if any of what we're talking about resonates, then you are probably in a spot where you have tried to outwork the problem or tried to work and apply effort to the point where you are free and it's not working.
00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:51.200
You want to talk about another identity crisis for an overachiever, someone who lives and dies by their own effort?
00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.039
There you go.
00:25:55.759 --> 00:26:08.720
I encourage you to put down the belief that you need to do it all yourself and allow yourself to accept the same kind of help that you offer to everybody else every day.
00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:24.640
If you want examples, if you're in the power lifting powerlifting space like I am, the best power lifters in the world who also coach others have their own coaches.
00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:25.839
Why?
00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:29.440
Because it's always different when it's you.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:43.119
You can look in almost any sector, any industry, people who are at the top of their game, people who are crushing it, people who succeed, they go and receive coaching.
00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:51.119
They receive help from others to help solve problems because one, it's always different when it's you.
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:58.880
And sometimes, sometimes there is a knowledge gap and you don't know what you don't know.
00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:07.599
But others who have been through it, who have screwed up and made the mistakes, they do have that knowledge.
00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:14.880
And they can guide you forward, or they can at least help steer you around the potholes that they hit.
00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:24.000
I'd say the third thing is changing the metrics that you're measuring.
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.559
We want to track weight lifted.
00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:31.440
We want to have pain-free days.
00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:53.039
We want to see our PRs and our total volume go up or our total mileage go up when you're dealing with an injury, when you're in a place where you are trying to get steady, trying to get back to a place where you feel okay, and then when you feel strong, you're not going to be able to track those metrics and feel happy.
00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:56.720
Because again, high achiever, perfectionists over here.
00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:06.559
So when you're when your loads, when the weights on the bar are at 60% of what you usually use, it doesn't feel good.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.319
I'm not saying don't track the weight on the bar.
00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:12.799
I'm not saying don't track your mileage.
00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:16.400
I'm not saying don't track or be mindful of your pain levels.
00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:19.119
I would actually argue you probably need to be.
00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:24.559
But track metrics like, did I show up this week?
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:30.000
If you're like me, you hear that a lot, and you're like, what does even what does show up even mean?
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:34.640
It means if you had four workouts planned, did you hit all four?
00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:35.920
Or at least three?
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:37.599
Were you physically in the gym?
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.599
Or were you physically out on the run?
00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:48.799
Even if you didn't finish them exactly as written, did you at least do two or three of those exercises?
00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:59.119
On the days where you feel crappy and you really don't want to show up, and believe me, I still have my fair share, probably more than my fair share.
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:02.480
Did you not count yourself out?
00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:09.440
And did you show up, start warming up, and not pre-decide that this is going to be a shitty day?
00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:16.160
But rather give yourself the chance to do what you have or to do what you can and give what you have.
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:20.640
And did you also make realistic decisions?
00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:30.240
If your pain shot up or your fatigue skyrocketed, did you decide to stop or move on?
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:33.920
Those should be counted as wins.
00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:48.079
The more ways that you have to track and see progress, to derive some level of knowledge that you are doing the things, the better.
00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:54.400
And you need more options when the ones you usually lean on aren't available to you, at least not in the same way.
00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:03.119
The fourth one is giving yourself fewer decisions to make.
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:20.640
By the nature of the job that you do, and even if you're not a coach or clinician, if you care for people, if you're a parent, if you've got other people in your life that you're taking care of, decision fatigue and compassion fatigue are real documented phenomena.
00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:23.759
They deplete your resources and your energy.
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:32.880
When you are exhausted, when you are building your business and you're going through a slow month, relatable, uh, there's less in the tank.
00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:45.039
When your kids need you and you have an unexpectedly difficult night because your kid's sick or not sleeping, or because there's an emotional situation you got to deal with or a crisis, there's less in the tank that's left for you.
00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:58.799
If you are trying to figure out what do I need to change about my training and rehab program, how do I need to modify it today and in this exercise and for this particular set and rep.
00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:07.039
And especially if you're figuring it out on the fly without any previously established plan.
00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:09.519
And let's be real.
00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:13.359
You and I are both knowledgeable enough to be dangerous.
00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:18.400
We're knowledgeable enough to rationalize why that one hurts, or I don't think I want to do that.
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:20.400
I'm going to do this thing instead.
00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:23.759
And this thing is probably not what you need to be doing.
00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:38.640
What you need to be doing is stay consistent with the movements, the challenges, the loads, the dosages that create the adaptations you really need.
00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.680
And that stuff is hard, dude.
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:48.240
It's especially hard if you are making it up as you go, which let's be real, you probably are.
00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:57.039
And if you are, I again need you to not blame yourself or feel guilty or ashamed of this.
00:31:57.359 --> 00:31:58.960
You are not alone.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:03.279
This is not, however, the path that's going to serve you.
00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:07.920
This is something that you do get to change.
00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:21.759
And I would say is your responsibility to change if for yourself you want to be in a better place, and certainly if you want to be in a better place to serve the people around you.
00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:30.720
Those four things again are one, release yourself of the lie that you need to do it all yourself.
00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.880
Stop guilting and shaming yourself for not being there.
00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:44.079
Two, stop trying to do it all by yourself and allow yourself to receive the same help you give to everybody else.
00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:51.359
Three, reduce the number of things that you need to make decisions on.
00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:52.960
Actually, that was number four.
00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:58.079
Number three was change the metrics that you measure success by.
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:03.599
When Dan and I worked together, we applied all of those.
00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.559
And it was not a quick and easy process.
00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:16.160
However, he is now back to lifting how he wants, playing golf, being fully present for his clients and for his family.
00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:21.119
For me, my hamstring is still something that I manage.
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:35.200
The reason I'm talking about this now is because I had several days in the last couple of weeks where I, myself, yes, the guy who's banging on about, oh, you know, it's always different when it's you, and stop guilting yourself.
00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:39.279
I was in my head, like, holy shit, dude, is this ever going to get better?
00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:42.079
I can't believe I'm here again.
00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:44.400
Will I feel strong again?
00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:52.720
These thoughts keep coming, which is why I'm firmly rooted in the belief that it is always different when it's you.
00:33:54.400 --> 00:34:08.239
And when I opened myself up to that help, back working with Quinn, still working with my coach John, that allowed me to find a version of myself that felt strong and safe again.
00:34:09.920 --> 00:34:12.559
Which in turn bought me time in the ICU.
00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:22.800
And it allowed me to give my family back the strong husband and father that they had lost, and that I had lost too.
00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:34.639
When you open yourself up to receiving help, I'm willing to say and to bet that your life will change for the better, too.
00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:38.719
And so will the lives of everybody around you that you care about.
00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.280
If any of this hit home.
00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:48.800
You are who we help.
00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:57.119
If you're looking for help, if you want help getting out of this place of stuckness, links are in the show notes.
00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:58.159
Reach out.
00:34:58.320 --> 00:35:01.119
I'll be honest about if Unbreakable Strength can help you.
00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:07.280
And if I'm not, or we're not the people for you, I happen to know some really amazing folks who are pretty great.
00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:12.880
And I'd be happy to point you in their direction or the direction of any resources that are a better fit for you.
00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:17.760
My friend, keep going.
00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:20.880
Every day won't be easy.
00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:22.559
Every day won't be fun.
00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:26.000
But all you need to do is take one step at a time.
00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:29.199
You're in this for the right reasons.
00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:32.880
And I believe that you are not done yet.
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:38.480
Thanks so much for listening to another episode of Unbreakable with me, your host, Jared Maynard.
00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:46.000
If you found what we talked about today to be useful, if it served you, please consider leaving a five-star review wherever you get your podcasts.
00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:49.360
Hit that follow or subscribe button to keep up with the show.
00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:58.320
And if you are a coach or clinician, if you're running on MT, you're giving everything to everybody else, you are exactly who I built Unbreakable Strength to serve.
00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:01.440
The link to Book A Call with Me is in the show notes.
00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:06.079
I'd love to hear where you are and see how we can help you get where you want to go.
00:36:06.239 --> 00:36:10.159
Go check that link out in the show notes, as well as the links to a few other goodies.
00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:11.679
You can follow me on socials.
00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:15.199
And until next time, my friend, you're not done yet.
