June 12, 2023

Episode 29: Fitness consistency and the importance of movement for the cancer community with Olympic gymnast and fitness expert Dave Durante

44 minutes

Dave Durante, former USA Gymnastics Olympic team member and co-owner of Power Monkey Fitness, talks about his journey from elite athlete to coach. He details the importance of consistency in movement of the body, and the value of smaller but consistent periods of activity each day. Dave shares tips on how cancer survivors can start to regain some of their strength and mobility back after treatments, and the importance of having support along the way to maintain consistency and achieve fitness goals. He also reminds us to prioritize the process and not the end result.

Key Highlights:

The importance of mental fitness to help improve physical fitness.

Tips for cancer survivors to regain strength and mobility after treatment.

The power of consistency and focusing on the process rather than the end result to achieve goals.

About our guest:

Dave Durante is a multiple time USA gymnastics national champion and a member of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Team as an alternate. Following his retirement from competition, Dave helped coach his alma mater, Stanford University, to an NCAA Team Title in 2009. He remained involved in the sport by serving on the Athlete Advisory Committee with the United States Olympic Committee and the USA Gymnastics Men's Technical Committee until 2018. From 2013-2015, Dave was a lead coach with the CrossFit Gymnastics L1 course, where he developed the CrossFit Gymnastics Advanced Course. Dave is now the co-owner of Power Monkey Fitness and Power Monkey Camp, which host adult fitness events worldwide. They also provide technical education in various training specialties through their social media platforms and their Power Monkey Training app.

Key Moments:

12 minutes: On the importance of mental health to perform - Leading up to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, I just missed out on the Olympic team. I was part of the Olympic selection process team, one of the last ten guys. They took eight to Athens. I was one of the two that they didn't take to Athens. I did everything I could, and I was in the best shape of my life. I was so ready competitively, but I was mentally a mess. Everything that I'm doing well physically, the complete opposite is happening on the mental side. So I found a balance in my teammates and things outside of the sport.

36 minutes: How to ease back into exercise after cancer treatments - Start with bodyweight. Really phase one is about more mobility as we discussed, but also a stronger core. So those are two things that we recommend people doing on a daily basis. You should spend five to ten minutes on core work. You spend five to ten minutes on mobility work on a daily basis.

40 minutes: On the power of consistency - It's imperative on you to wake up every day and put a priority on how important these things are to you. It doesn't need to start massive. And I think that that's the thing that's really important with consistency. It can start as easy as I'm going to walk to the end of the block today and come back and just do that for this week. When we talk about consistency, it needs to start with something attainable, something small, one day at a time, and then allow it to grow from there.
Visit the Manta Cares website

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

...more