Smarter Strength w/ Dr. David Skolnik, DPT

Our guest this week is Valentina LeQueux.

Our partner this week is STRONG Coffee - use the code ESSENTIAL at checkout to save 15%

Remember - If you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re subscribed, and that you’re sharing these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis!

On today’s episode, Valentina and I talk about her recovery from crippling anxiety and the steps she took to learn to love herself more than ever. We talk about the importance of being open about your feelings, seeking help when its needed and the unfortunate judgement most people fear when discussing mental health. Valentina and I also both share how physical health has helped solidify our mental health and we chat about the All Vibes Welcome project, whose aim it is is to normalize the full spectrum of emotions reduce the pressure to feel “good vibes only”.

Connect with Valentina:  @valentinalequeux
Connect with David: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show: @essential.strength.podcast
Connect with the ALL VIBES PROJECT: @all_vibes_project

Action Plan

This week’s action plan is to honor your mental health. What does that mean? It means that I want you to take stock of what you’re feeling, without judgement and without fear of outside expectations - and I want you to do what’s best for your mental health. If you are in a place of contentment, low anxiety and your happiness quote is being met - appreciate that and assess the conditions that are impacting this state of mind. If you are in a place where your primary emotion is sadness or grief, respect that and assess the conditions that are impacting this state. If you feel the way that Valentina and I have felt in the past - like you don’t have control of your thoughts, like your anxiety or depression is crippling you - accept that and seek the help you need. Contentment, anxiety, grief, frustration, joy —- no one feeling is more “normal” than any other. They all have their time and place, and more often then not they are rooted in our recent life experiences. Please, don’t feel like you have to paint a smile on for the sake of making other people more comfortable. All Vibes truly are Welcome.

That’s it for this week’s episode. Make sure you’re subscribed so that you don’t miss next week’s episode with Julie Shiller and a conversation about courage, doing things that scare you and the importance of being strong for the greater good!

Until then - we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH.

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Brandon Whitehead.

Our Partner on Today's Episode is FNXFit - use the code ESSENTIAL and save 25% on all your sports nutrition needs!

Remember - If you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re subscribed, and that you’re sharing these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis!

In today’s conversation, Brandon and I talk about the roll of being open to change as it relates to coaching and to being coached. We discuss the links between gut health and brain health and mindset shift from thinking only about what you’re eating but also about what your body is able to digest and Brandon breaks down his four keys to restoring a healthy gut - remove, replace, repair and repopulate.

Connect with Brandon - @bwlegend_tcm
Connect with David - @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show - @sessential.strength.podcast 

Action Plan - Your action plan for the week is this - I want to combine two pieces of the the conversation with Brandon today to forge what I believe is a very powerful action plan - mindset and nutrition:

I want you to be open and accepting of chance, and the discomfort that comes with it. Specifically, I want you to be open to the idea of making changes to your diet. I know from personal experience that I am resistant to these changes. I talk to nutrition coaches like Brandon and I read book and articles on nutrition and all the negative impacts of processed food… and then somewhere in my subconscious I justify continuing to eat mostly the same as I always have. I make small changes but… at what cost? At the cost of my gut health? My brain health? My executive function and my risk of dementia? It’s time for some hard change. Some change that initially, might not taste great - because lets be honest, vegetables will never taste as good as potato chips - but its a change that you will be proud of and feel the effects of because don’t kid yourself - even though they’re delicious, you’ve never felt great after binge eating chips or cookies. So accept the challenge to eat foods that make your body and brain happy, even though initially it will be hard.

That’s it for this week. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss next week’s episode with Valentina LeQueue and a conversation about the depths of anxiety and depression, the pursuit of self-love and the importance of being open about your feelings.

Until then - we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH!

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Dr. Carolyn Stone.

Check out our partner on today's episode - STRONG Coffee - and use the code ESSENTIAL to save 15% off every purchase of organic coffee!

Remember - if you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re SUBSCRIBED, and that you’re SHARING these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis!

Highlights - In today’s Conversation, Dr. Stone defines Hashimoto’s Disease, why it is increasingly common and why it is such a primary focus of her practice. I ask Dr. Stone what’s behind the silent epidemic of low testosterone in young men and why Testosterone is something every guy should care about. We also discuss how strength training can directly effect our hormonal health.

Connect with Dr. Stone: @drstoneaz
Connect with David: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show: @essential.strength.podcast

Action Plan - it’s simple. Get your damn blood drawn and establish a baseline level of hormonal health. We talked about this on Ep. 60 with Dr. Kyle Gillett - you don’t have to wait until something hurts or your feel sick to benefit from blood testing. That’s the trap of modern healthcare - we all wait until we’re sick and then try and figure out how to treat our symptoms. What we should be doing is figuring out why we feel good and how to keep feeling that way!

That’s it for this week - make sure you’re subscribed so that you don’t miss next week’s episode with Tailored Nutrition Coach Brandon Whitehead and a conversation about all things gut health, gut-friendly food and gut-friendly lifestyle choices.

Until then - we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH!

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Dr. Kristin Phillips, DPT.

Check out our partner on today's episode - Barbell Rehab - and use the code "stronger25" to save $25 off any online continuing education course!

Remember - if you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re subscribed, and that you’re sharing these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis!

Highlights - In today’s Conversation, Dr. Phillips and I discuss the pros and cons of the term “Women’s Health” in light of the fact that both men and women both have pelvic floor anatomy that can benefits from assessment and treatment. We talk about the link between pelvic health and sexual function as it relates to both men and women and we talk about some of the common misconceptions that people have about the day to day job of a pelvic health therapist.

Connect with Dr. Phillips: @kristinphillips_dpt
Connect with David: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show: @essential.strength.podcast

Action Plan - Your action plan this week is two fold:

First - your very practical action plan is simply to hop on the good old google machine and find your local women’s health physical therapist. You might not need their services now, but maybe you know someone who recently had a child and doesn’t even know pelvic floor rehab is available, and maybe at some point in the future this will be important for you personally. It’s always good to know where the healthcare specialists are in your area.

Second - your more broad action plan is to expand your professional knowledge base. Don’t assume that because you’ve been in an industry for 5 years, 10 years or longer that you have “seen it all” or that you know everything there is to know. This is part fo why I love having guests on who are fellow Physical Therapists specializing in treatment approaches I’m only peripherally familiar with, or has one lecture on in school. The best time to learn is now, and the next best time to learn is every day for the rest of your life.

That’s it for this week, be sure to tune in next time for my conversation with Dr. Carolyn Stone where you’ll learn about common causes of Thyroid Disorders, Hashimoto's disease risk and treatment, and the incredible connections between strength training and your hormones!

Until then - we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH!

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Mark Bell.

Our partner this week is STRONG Coffee - save 15% on every purchase with the code ESSENTIAL! A portion of every purchase helps support this show.

REMEMBER - if you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re subscribed, and that you’re sharing these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis!

HIGHLIGHTS - Mark is back for his second appearance on The Essential Strength Podcast, and today we are talking all about DIETS. For anyone who follow’s mark on social media, you know that he is ALWAYS pursuing some sort of dietary goal and experimenting with different diet principles and approaches to goal-oriented nutrition. In today’s conversation, Mark pulls back the curtain on all the things he’s learned from the last 18 months of dieting in one form or another, and provides some incredible take-home messages for anyone committed to living a stronger, healthier life.

Connect with Mark: @marksmellybell
Listen to Mark's Podcast: Mark Bell's Power Project
Connect with David: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with The Show: @essential.strength.podcast

ACTION PLAN - Your action plan this week, and perhaps for the next few months, is to pick a dietary framework, commit to it and learn from the experience. That could mean you try intermittent fasting, eating Paleo, investing in the Vertical Diet… as you learned today it’s not a matter of figuring out the ONE DIET TO RULE THEM ALL, it’s about picking something and sticking too it, and then moving on to something else and sticking to that, rinse, repeat and figure out what works best for you - the current version of you with your current goals and lifestyle. And if that feels a bit too nebulous well - maybe you can start by subscribing to Mark’s PROTEIN MANDATE and prioritizing 0.8-1 grams of protein per pound of body weight every single day, as many days as you can for as many weeks and months as you can. You’ll end up with a daily food intake that looks pretty similar to some of these “named” diets just by subscribing to a high protein intake.

That’s it for this week, be sure to tune in next time for my conversation with Dr. Kristin Phillips about all things pelvic floor, pelvic health and why “more keggles” is not the answer to your problems.

Until then - we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH.

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Pat Darby.

Our partner on this week's episode is STRONG Coffee - save 15% on every purchase with the code ESSENTIAL at checkout! A portion of every purchase helps support this show.

REMEMBER - if you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re subscribed, and that you’re sharing these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis!

HIGHLIGHTS - In today’s conversation, Pat and I talk about the benefits of hiring a money coach and why so many people think they need to make money before they hire someone to help them make and manage their money. Pat tells me why there is no simple answer to the question - ‘what’s the best investment’, and we discuss how to approach the conflict of paying yourself vs. re-investing in your business.

Connect with Pat: @patdarbybiz
Connect with David: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show: @essential.strength.podcast
 
Action Plan

Whether you own a business that requires book keeping, or have personal financial goals that require accurate budgeting, I want you to take Pat’s advice and make sure you aren’t “loosing your expenses”. For a business owner, this means ensuring that everything you spend on the business is accounted for so that when tax season rolls around, you are able to accurately calculate your gains and losses. For the individuals who don’t own a business, this means being more objective and more specific about where and what your money is being spent on, and where you could save more for that goal you say is so important.

Think of it like taking the first steps towards achieving a fitness goal - until you define your starting line - by taking actions such as tracking what you eat, how you train and how you feel - you can’t map the route to the finish line.

That’s in for this week - until next time, we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH!

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Hayden Bowe.

Today's Partner is Pain Free Performance - use the code "essential" to save 15% on any in -person course. 

Remember - if you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re subscribed, and that you’re sharing these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis! Tag the show on Instagram too - @essential.strength.podcast - and tag me - @dr.davidskolnik.dpt - its super fun to see whose listening!

Hayden Bowe is Co-Owner of Hybrid Performance Method, Co-Host of the Hybrid Unlimited Podcast, Gold Medal Winning Powerlifter and Champion Weight Lifter. In today’s conversation, Hayden and I talk about the Sport of Powerlifting - the origins, the future, how to improve the athlete experience and the fan experience and how to “professionalize” the sport. From powerlifting, we shift to business - how Hybrid has evolved, the bumps along the way, the apparel and coaching elements and how to let success and data dictate growth.

Connect with Hayden: @hayden.bowe
Connect with David: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show: @essential.strength.podcast

Action Plan

Your Action Plan for this week is going to particularly applicable to those of you who own a business - but can be applied to any other area of your life as well - I want you to take stock of the actions, products or habits that are garnering the most robust response and make a plan to put more energy into them. If there is an element of your business, like the online coaching element of Hybrid, that is consistently garnering the most attention from your clients or audience - are you putting the equivalent amount of energy into that element to make it the BEST it can be? Or are you spreading yourself too thin, investing time, energy and money disproportionately into activities that don’t really need it? Like Hayden said - allow growth to happen when it’s OBVIOUSLY necessary, and until then pour yourself into the actions and activities that are your bread and butter. This goes to family activities, physical training, you name it!

That’s it for this week. Until next time, we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH.

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest today is Natalie Newhart.

Our Partner on Today's Show - FNX Fitness - Use code "essential" for 25% off every purchase

In today’s conversation, Natalie and I walk at length about her definition of strength and how it has changed in the last 3 years, why learning to manage stress is just as important as the food we eat and the weights we lift, and strategies for overcoming the compulsive desire to always train harder.

Connect with Natalie - @natalie.newhart
Connect with David - @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show - @essential.strength.podcast

Remember - if you are enjoying this podcast, be sure you’re subscribed, and that you’re sharing these episodes with your friends and family who would appreciate what we’re talking about on a week to week basis! Tag the show on Instagram too - @essential.strength.podcast - and tag me - @dr.davidskolnik.dpt - its super fun to see whose listening!

Today’s action plan centers around something Natalie said about the difference between knowledge and action. We all have that one thing that we want to do, that we’ve read about, talked about, planned for … and never taken action on. We live in a time when information is perhaps the single most abundant resource and at the same time, the sheer volume of that information can cripple us. It can leave us feeling like there is so much to know that we will never know enough. But, I challenge you, Natalie challenges you, to prove to yourself that you have the CAPACITY TO TAKE ACTION. You can still keep learning, you can still gather more information as you go, but whatever that “one thing” is that you thought about when I said “we all have that one thing…” - don’t let it die on the vine.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH!

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Frank Benedetto.

On today’s episode, Frank and I talk about why so many healthcare professionals are finding themselves burned out but scared to leave their jobs, when and how to find your niche as a practitioner and I ask Frank if it is ever too early or too late to start a side hustle. Frank is also gracious enough to offer two free tools to help everyone listening design a life they will love and to help them discover their niche - both resources typically reserved for members of The Honey Badger Project - so be sure to check today’s show notes for links!

Check Out Pain Free Performance - our partner on today's show is THE BEST educational resource for trainers, coaches and allied health professionals looking to advance their skills and ensure their clients will train PAIN FREE while improving their performance!
!! USE THE CODE "ESSENTIAL"  AT CHECKOUT FOR 15% OFF !!

• Download the Life Design Worksheet
• Download the Find My Niche Worksheet

Connect with Frank - @frank_benedetto
Connect with David - @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show - @essential.strength.podcast

Action Plan

Your action plan for the week is this - Block out the time needed to fill out the Life Design Worksheet, which is linked in the show notes for this episode. I can tell you from personal experience - the first time I did this exercise it was eye opening in a lot of ways. It gave me clarity as to what I really want my life to look like in a way I’d never experienced before, and it highlighted how my current work, income, and time management was not necessarily in alignment with what I said I wanted. And, spoiler alert - it still isn’t. I’m moving in the right direction - albeit slowly - but it’s high time I sat down and completed the Life Design Worksheet again, this time with my wife, and started taking more concrete steps towards living out my ideals. I hope you gain some valuable insight from this exercise… in fact I’m quite sure that you will.

That’s it for this week - until next time, we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH.

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt

Our guest this week is Dr. Kyle Gillett.

In today’s conversation, Dr. Gillett and I talk about the concerning health trends he sees in men and women between the ages of 25 and 45 as well as the health trends that those over 50 should be aware of. We talk about the continuum of diet, exercise and pharmaceutical interventions in addressing obesity and the many downstream risk factors associated with excessively high body fat percentages. We also go deep on the topic on infertility - why rates are climbing and what we can do about it.

You can LEARN MORE about Dr. Gillett's work with Marek Health - HERE

Our Partner Today is Stronger In Motion - Whether it's 1:1 Strength Coaching, Nutrition Consultation or our new Enduring Strength Program - we can take take the guess work out of training and nutrition and guide you towards the STRONGEST version of yourself!

Connect with Dr. Gillett - @kylegillettmd
Connect with David - @dr.davidskolnik.dpt
Connect with the Show - @essential.strength.podcast

Action Plan

My biggest takeaway - the the inspiration for your ACTION PLAN this week is this: while there are trends towards higher rates of certain diseases right now, especially metabolic conditions and declining fertility rates - there is also SO MUCH WE CAN DO ABOUT IT! Lifestyle changes, pharmaceutical support, dietary interventions… there is almost no problem that we cannot solve with the right team around us and the necessary tests to identify our personal risk factors.

So, your action plan this week is simply to go check out Marek Health - learn more about what they do and also, if you haven’t seen a doctor in 5 years - make a freakin appointment! If you feel amazing - GREAT - go get some labs done and figure out what your internal environment looks like when you feel awesome - that way in the future you and your medical team will know what to do in the inevitable event that one day you don’t feel so awesome whether because of age, environment, stress or illness. Be an active agent of your own health!

That’s it for this week. Until next time, we wish you STRENGTH and GOOD HEALTH.

Want more content? Follow Dr. David on Instagram: @dr.davidskolnik.dpt