December 8, 2014

Interview with Our Patient, Lindsey Hein, Winner of the 2014 Women’s Running Cover Model Contest

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Lindsey Hein IHS Patient Interview

Our patient, Lindsey Hein, winner of the 2014 Women’s Running Cover Model contest, was nice enough to take time out of her busy schedule to share her story with us:

Can you share a little of your story with us, in regard to the BRCA2 gene mutation and the choices you were forced to make?

My Grandmother had breast cancer in her forties, survived and twenty years later was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Once she had the ovarian cancer diagnosis, she was tested for the BRCA2 gene mutation and found out she was positive. The BRCA2 gene mutation puts you at an 86% risk of breast cancer and 27% risk of ovarian cancer. My mom found out she was positive five years ago and immediately underwent preventative surgery —  prophylactic double mastectomy and a hysterectomy.

We have since found out that many other women in my family have the mutation, including myself. If one of your parents has the mutation, you are at a 50% risk of carrying it as well. I put off having the test done for three years after my mom found out she was positive. I was fearful that I was and deep down was scared about having the surgery.

I decided to take the test to find out if I was positive when my son Marshall turned one. We were wanting to have more children, but I felt that it was important to face this fear first. I found out I was positive while I was training for my first half ironman. I remember very clearly swimming laps (something new and intimidating to me!) and clearing my mind and feeling strong about what I might find out.

By sharing your story with others, what is the most important thing you hope they will take from it?

My biggest hope is that my story will encourage someone to face their fears and be proactive. It is easy to let fear cloud your vision, when really the more you know, the more power you have to make sound decisions that can positively effect your life.

What do you think is the most important piece of advice for someone who isn’t into running, but wants to start? How would you advise them to start the training process?

The biggest piece of advice I have for someone who wants to start running is start slow and make short term goals. If you don’t run at all, it is wise to start with a run/walk and slowly build, starting with something along the lines of run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes for 15 minutes. It’s important that you don’t add too much; to avoid injury never add more than 10% to your current weekly mileage. I also encourage every runner to be proactive with post run stretching and don’t ignore basic strength training. Push ups for everyone!

How do you keep people motivated to continue their training? Was there ever a time when you were unmotivated and if so how did you overcome it?

I try to encourage people to think about the end result. Focus on what your hard work is for — what is your ultimate goal? Everyone has a different answer to this question. It could simply be that you want to get healthy and feel good, or it could be that you want to run a Boston Qualifying marathon time. While it’s important to take it one day at a time, I think it’s important to imagine what you want your end result to be and dream on that.

What would you say your most enriching experience as a running coach has been? Why?

The most enriching experience as a coach is definitely seeing athletes achieve big goals and being a small part of that. As the coach, I’m prescribing workouts and giving advice but ultimately it is up to the athlete to execute and put the work in. You can give someone all the tools they need to have a strong season and hit their goal race, but they have to put the work in and the mental game is on them on race day and it’s so fun to see athletes stay tough and do what they set out to do, because you know they are capable!

Would you please explain a typical day and include what you do for exercise, meals, family time and anything else you do on a regular basis?

My typical day starts with a little work before my son Marshall wakes up — once he’s up, we usually hit the gym, head home, he naps, I work some more and we usually head out for the Children’s Museum, errands or anything else I can think of to get us out of the house for some of the afternoon. He goes to pre-school on Tuesdays and Thursdays now for 5 hours, so I have that time to work and get things done.

I’m 8 months pregnant now, so my exercise schedule mostly just consists of easy workouts 4 days a week and staying active on the other days. When I’m not pregnant, I always have a goal race to train for and use that as my motivation to work hard. While I like accomplishing big goals, the biggest reason I stay up on working out and running hard is because it makes me a happier, nicer person. I use the endorphins as my natural anti-depressant and they work.

Because nutrition is such a big part of training do you recommend any type of diet for those that run and are training for marathons? Should you eat this type of way all the time or just leading up to race days?

I really think keeping nutrition simple is where it’s at. Make sure you are eating plenty of vegetables and choose real food over processed foods. I’m personally a vegetarian, but I don’t think that’s for everyone. The best piece of advice you can give someone days leading up to a big race is don’t change anything, stick to what you are used to. No new foods. When we talk about carb loading days leading up to a race, this would mostly be for longer distance races like marathons and even when you do that, you want to make sure you aren’t increasing your calorie intake, just replacing some of the protein and fat with carbohydrates.

And finally, how does it feel to be on the cover of Women’s Running Magazine?

It was a fun experience to do the Women’s Running Cover shoot and I was honored to be on the magazine. Most importantly I was thankful to Women’s Running and Saucony for giving me the platform and opportunity to share my story and hopefully encourage someone else to be brave and face their fears.

Related: Out for a Run

About Integrated Health Solutions

Dr. Charbel Harb is a licensed chiropractic physician and the Medical Director of Integrated Health Solutions. Our core belief is that each patient who walks through the doors is a person, not just a medical record or chart. Our greatest pleasure is bringing joy to our patients and helping them to fully embrace life, allowing them to enjoy each day: active, healthy and pain free.
October 10, 2014

Interview with the CrossFit NapTown Team 2014 Central East Regional Finalists

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CrossFit NapTown Team Interview

At our Indianapolis chiropractic clinic, we encourage our patients to find workout programs that best fit their specific needs. Many have asked us about cross fit  of them ask about CrossFit, how to get started, and what the advantages are. Jared Byczko and Peter Brasovan, CrossFit NapTown co-owners, recently answered questions that we hope will help you as you search for the right exercise program for your needs.

Would you briefly introduce the CrossFit NapTown team?

Jared Byczko

Peter Brasovan

Jared Cantrell

Jen Binkley

Molly Mason

Anna Rode

What is the combined experience of the team with CrossFit? 

I would confidently say our team of six has 35+ years of experience in the world of CrossFit.

How did you guys train? 

For 2014, we used a competitive programming system from a Coach who owns and operates CrossFit Ann Arbor, also known as HyperFit.  It’s a system that focuses on volume, which in the end hits most areas that will be tested at any CrossFit competition.

I know you welcome everyone to try CrossFit. Could you give some examples of the benefits? What do you find most helpful?

It’s a community of like-minded individuals.  We don’t force people to be here.  We want people to be here!  We want fitness to be accessible to everyone (look for a NapTown Fitness near you). Benefits include:

  •     Education in regards to nutrition and diet.
  •     Coaching technique and proper movement mechanics.
  •     Friendships developed.
  •     Networks created leading to job opportunities.
  •     Health, Wellness, and Nutrition
  •     Scalable to all skill levels.  Whether you are a Division 1 athlete or a 75-year old grandmother, you can do CrossFit.  Just make sure you have the right coaches and support staff that understands the industry.

All in all, CrossFitter’s are driven individuals who don’t like to be bad at things, like a challenge, and aren’t afraid to try something new.

Do you log progress?

We ask that our athletes log their scores on our whiteboard, because competition breeds success.  Every person completing that day’s workouts will try to beat the next best person on that whiteboard.  That’s the name of the game… from the competitive aspect of CrossFit that is.

What nutritional program do you guys follow?

At this point in our CF careers there really is no right or wrong answer.  I always tell people to experiment with different options.  Find out what works for you and what doesn’t.  I don’t recommend one diet or one “lifestyle.”  People often talk about Paleo in the world of CrossFit and I think that is fine for many.  It gives people direction and guidelines to follow, which many people need.

However, I do like the Paleo Diet for another reason.  We use it for challenges often at our facility, because it allows you to create a “science experiment” for yourself.  It gives people the opportunity to educate themselves, as well as use their body as a “control” system for this experiment. Simply put, clean up your diet with natural foods, cut out sugars, get rid of all processed items, and sustain for a duration of time.  Once the desired or agreed upon duration of time is complete, start slowly adding in foods you miss or you like.  I guarantee your body will tell you what it likes and doesn’t like.

What do you think the biggest challenge is to going Paleo?

Too many people go “cold turkey” and hate the first week of Paleo. Why? Because you just took one of the most addictive drugs in the world out of your body and guess what… your body doesn’t like that! It’s like taking cocaine away from an addict for a week and hoping they have no side effects. Sugar is evil to our health.

What was your workout schedule like in preparation for the games?

5 days a week, 3-4 hours a day.

Within those 3-4 hours, there were multiple levels to the program; strength, skills, conditioning, cool down, and most importantly MOBILITY!  When you train at such a high volume, your body gets destroyed, so you MUST take care of your body.  I think this is the biggest drawback to competitive CrossFit and why I don’t always recommend for athletes.  We all do CrossFit to be healthier and often times the competitive side does the opposite and tears you a part, mentally and physically.

Why did you choose this particular method of training?

For the purpose of making it to the Games for 2014, we committed ourselves to one another as teammates and friends.  We wanted a platform in which we could all do the same work and train together to bring us together as a team.  It gave each and every one of us something to chase after day in and day out, which is needed when you do high volume training.

How do you try to minimize your risk of injuries? And what does your team do for recovery?

Minimizing the risk of injuries is the name of the game in CrossFit.  Those who can train more without injury, get better. Those who get hurt and are sidelined don’t get better.

You have to be smart about your body.  You need to know how to differentiate between pain and soreness. I know that sounds so similar, but there is a big difference.  Working through soreness can be good.  Working through pain can be bad, and lead to long term injuries.

Any final words?

The accountability that our community builds pushes people harder than they would push themselves on their own.  We have some of the best CrossFit Coaches in the state of Indiana and we stick by that statement.

If you are looking for a CrossFit facility near you, I encourage you to do your due diligence.  Every affiliate is independently owned and operated so you will get a different product everywhere you go.  Find the one that feels like “home” to you and you will be in a good place.

About Integrated Health Solutions

Dr. Charbel Harb is a licensed chiropractic physician and the Medical Director of Integrated Health Solutions. Our core belief is that each patient who walks through the doors is a person, not just a medical record or chart. Our greatest pleasure is bringing joy to our patients and helping them to fully embrace life, allowing them to enjoy each day: active, healthy and pain free.