1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,600 Welcome to the AdaptX podcast where we have discussions with individuals who are building accessible and inclusive businesses 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,000 advocating for inclusion or excelling in adaptive sports. 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,600 Our intention is never to speak on behalf of those with disabilities, 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:18,840 but rather give them a platform to amplify their voice and ideas and help you make your business more inclusive and accessible. 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,000 Today I'm joined by Bob Mitchell of Inspirations Fitness. Bob, thanks for joining us. 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Hey, thank you very much. 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:33,000 Alright, well maybe start back at the beginning of your fitness journey or your experience as a personal trainer. 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Can you kind of give me some insight into how you got into that? 9 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:43,000 Yeah, sure. So I'll kind of give you a nutshell version because the whole story's got it. It's worth a book, I guess. 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:52,000 I've always been a fitness, I've been either an active athlete myself or training other people for as long as I can remember. 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:59,000 I worked with in substance use disorders for a while, worked with people with alcoholism and addiction issues. 12 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:04,000 And we were using fitness in that medium kind of also to kind of help them through that. 13 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:11,000 And at the time I was recovering from alcoholism myself, so it was a good fit for me to be using fitness because I had that background. 14 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:19,000 So later on in life, you know, in 2021 I became, I came with the choice to become an amputee. 15 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:25,000 And at that point I had been through about five years or so of other surgeries and pain and everything. 16 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 And everything goes along with it and we became an elective amputation. 17 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,000 So I just, you know, I wanted to get the leg off me. 18 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,000 So I did it, you know, and I made the election to have the amputation. 19 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000 So the kind of, that was the catalyst, right? 20 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000 The beginning of that was what I didn't know at the time was the beginning of inspiration fitness. 21 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:50,000 The reason why it all kind of came together was having a background in recovering a background in fitness. 22 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 I knew I was expecting a post amputation. 23 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,000 I knew what to look like, like what the next year would look like and how rehab would go. 24 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:04,000 And I had that insight, you know, for myself and I just felt like there was a gap between rehab and life. 25 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:10,000 There wasn't, there was a step there that did someone needed to step in and provide a little guidance, you know, 26 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,000 just with fitness and stuff because a lot of the fitness things we do are all everyday related. 27 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 You know, it's helping out with your everyday activities. 28 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000 So that was the catalyst for, you know, starting inspiration fitness. 29 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,000 And since then I've been training other people. 30 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:31,000 I've been, I got credentialed myself as a trainer and I just kind of, I'm trying to push the adaptation to fitness, you know, 31 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,000 not just equipment, but just, you know, the way we think about fitness. 32 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:42,000 It's not, you know, as amputees we were flooded with images of those elite style athletes, you know, 33 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000 the number ones in CrossFit and the Judo kickboxers and stuff. 34 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:53,000 But that's not what we're all about all the time, you know, it's just, it's fitness is, so we are more efficient in our life every day. 35 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 We don't have to all be an Olympian, you know. 36 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:03,000 Yeah, that was one of the things that I have in my show notes here was that I wanted to talk about that topic of like the perception of amputee 37 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,000 is a wounded vet or an elite CrossFit athlete. 38 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:16,000 But I think like 90% maybe even more of amputees are people that got there through infections or illness or diabetes. 39 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:22,000 And I think that's not kind of the narrative that's perpetuated in the mainstream quite as much. 40 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:27,000 And those people deserve to access fitness just as much as those that have elite aspirations. 41 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 It doesn't make their goals any less important or novel. 42 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:39,000 So I think creating environments where those people can kind of seamlessly coexist among their peers and have the proper support is essential. 43 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:44,000 You mentioned starting Inspiration Fitness a couple years ago. 44 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:51,000 Are you working exclusively with amputees or do you kind of run the gamut on various populations? 45 00:03:51,000 --> 00:04:01,000 So I do accept both amputee and paralysis and evil body. I'm credentialed across the board so I can train anyone literally. 46 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,000 I prefer to work with lower leg amputees mostly. 47 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:11,000 I'm an above name amputee myself. So those are the ones I really relate to. 48 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:16,000 But I've worked with people who are above elbow people and paralysis. 49 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:23,000 I have a couple clients who are able bodied but have TBIs. So we're still working with accessibility things with them. 50 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:30,000 So yeah, I really tend to cater more to people who just don't feel comfortable in gym on their own. 51 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,000 Yeah, it might be too hard to consolidate into one or two recommendations. 52 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:41,000 But what have you found to be successful strategies when working with lower limb amputees? 53 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Like how does exercise selection change or what specific strength conditioning principles do you think are most prevalent? 54 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,000 So I'll give you the sound like a really political answer. 55 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 But consistency is the best thing ever for anybody, right? 56 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,000 So I mean, just being there every day and working a little bit on something every day. 57 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,000 But I found, I know you're looking for the exercise for your listeners. 58 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,000 Anything balance related really? Anything you're working with balance? 59 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,000 Because balance is the step one for everything we do is lower leg amputees. 60 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,000 And you know, not just lower leg but just leg amputees. 61 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:20,000 You know, we're working on our core balance and we're working on our thrust and our give with our hips. 62 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,000 So it's anything balance related, yeah. 63 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:32,000 Yeah. So if you maybe put yourself in the shoes of a client and you are coming into my gym for the first time as a lower leg amputee, 64 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:39,000 what would you want me as the trainer to ask you or kind of what would you want that first session to look like? 65 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:48,000 I want to talk about, you know, and this is a lot of amputees and friends of mine I've talked to over the years. 66 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:54,000 It's been, you know, our goals aren't always to do American Ninja Warrior or to be triathlete again. 67 00:05:54,000 --> 00:06:00,000 And I was a triathlete prior to my injuries and I don't have a reservation to get back to triathlon. 68 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,000 That wasn't, that wasn't, but it was assumed that I did, you know. 69 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,000 A great first question is what your six months in progress look like? 70 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,000 You know, what's one year look like to you? 71 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:20,000 So keep us, you know, we've all heard the smart goals, you know, we're going to have, keep us expectations whether we should and have, you know, things that are attainable and immeasurable, you know. 72 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Like just start off, let's start with the start with the start, you know, how do you walk? 73 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:35,000 Yeah, yeah, I think that's important and you, you talked about kind of providing an option that bridges the gap between rehab and return to fitness. 74 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:44,000 And I think that's really important because I think a lot of people assume that whenever you're working with disability, it's kind of reserved for a physical therapy setting. 75 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:53,000 But we found that a lot of our clients, I wouldn't say prefer because I don't want to diminish the importance of the rehab setting, 76 00:06:53,000 --> 00:07:05,000 but some of them like being in a general normal environment among their non disabled peers and just trying to get back into a routine of thing that allows them to accomplish what they want to do. 77 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:13,000 So I think providing providing access to just general fitness with the necessary supports is essential. 78 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,000 Right, right. 79 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:26,000 So you mentioned some other sports before we, before we hopped on to this is are there recreational activities that you, that you're gravitating towards? 80 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:36,000 Oh, it's always depends on what season I'm in in my life really, you know, I read out of, you know, prior to my application, I was a triathlete and none of mine, nothing I do is good. 81 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,000 I'm not a very good athlete, anything I do, but I do it just for fitness reasons. 82 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:46,000 I was a triathlete prior to my invitation after that I got gravitated towards powerlifting for a while. 83 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:51,000 I was doing pretty well in that and then now I've gotten back into rock climbing again. 84 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:57,000 So I'm just I'm one of those guys who I see something new new and shiny I want to do I'll dive head first into it. 85 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:06,000 So I'll go on from I've gone from rock climbing just learning how myself to be you know, be adaptive climber and teaching and doing instructions and courses and stuff here in town. 86 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,000 I'm in Nashville. 87 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:15,000 Cool. What are the primary barriers or challenges that you kind of face as an amputee when doing something like rock climbing? 88 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:33,000 You know, it's I've got I don't really pay face the barriers anymore because I've gotten past that barrier and that's that's one of the one of the most important things that I was kind of we talk about today was it's the invitation the accessibility you know it's like for especially rock climbing you know and you if you have a leg 89 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:46,000 amputation or even an upper limit of amputation you know you don't have to wait for someone to invite you to come to the rock climbing gym or wait for an adaptive type day or a clinic or someone special make a special concessions. 90 00:08:46,000 --> 00:09:02,000 I know a lot of rock climbing gyms do this and so do other other outfits you know gyms and fitness classes and whatnot you don't there's no there's no rule that says you can't be there when when it's a non adaptive day you know we as part of what adaptive fitness is it's 91 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:18,000 just learning how to how to improvise overcome and adaptive things you know. Have you ever met any resistance from environments that either didn't feel comfortable accommodating you as an amputee or wasn't willing to kind of take on that that challenge. 92 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:33,000 No not not per se you know in gyms you know sometimes gyms will have stairs you have to get up and down some stairs but as far as sports go is it any kind of sport I've ever tried to get back into like the rock climbing. 93 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:51,000 The powerlifting I've never been shunned or looked at and looked oddly I mean nothing but great accolades people are you know always very you know they hence the name inspiration is fitness people are always saying it's such an inspiration to see us do these things but you know it's to me it just it's just lifting weights you know. 94 00:09:51,000 --> 00:10:05,000 Yeah I think like you say that you don't have to wait for a specific day or to be invited but I think there's got to be something that's holding back people from re engaging in activities like this after an injury. 95 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:23,000 Maybe it's just a concern that they won't be met with that same level of support or that they won't. I think like when you look at the research on barriers and facilitators the physical activity you see that like environments not being accessible is obviously one but also that like the professionals aren't going to have the 96 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:40,000 requisite skills to support them and keep them safe and kind of guard their guard their disability in that regard so that's where I think just like kind of creating more environments that have staff that are better educated is is essential. 97 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:41,000 Right. 98 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:54,000 But I it's it's a tough it's sometimes a tough sell so when I'm trying to convince a gym that their staff should be more knowledgeable on how to accommodate various disabilities there's always like a well what is this going to do for us type of thing. 99 00:10:54,000 --> 00:11:10,000 And that's I mean in my experience running a gym that trains a lot of people with disabilities it's been a essential piece of our model and we some of our longest term clients are the ones with disabilities and so I think it's it can be a part of a profitable business model. 100 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:25,000 And that's where I think it's it's essential to kind of communicate that message but I'd be interested to kind of talk about like maybe what you did prior kind of growing up through university. 101 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:34,000 You mentioned being in substance use counseling and kind of was that always the career you were in or did you start somewhere before that. 102 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:40,000 That actually the substance use counseling was it was a peer substance use counselor. 103 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:48,000 I wasn't doing a master's degree anything I was just peer peer relations and that whole job kind of evolved out of my own recovery. 104 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:54,000 You know I was I was an active active alcoholic for a lot of years and 2014 I got sober. 105 00:11:54,000 --> 00:12:06,000 You know so I started working as a volunteer at 501c3 nonprofit who then trained me up at the state level and I just I fell in love with being able to help other people at that point. 106 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,000 You know but prior to that I was you know I was kind of a blue collar guy. 107 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:22,000 I was you know I was I was a Marine for a number of years and I did a lot of welding and so but I couldn't you know once I got injured I couldn't really carry carry steel anymore so I had to find some kind of an office job. 108 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:27,000 Yeah did were you active duty Marine. 109 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,000 I was from 1984 1998 yeah. 110 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:39,000 Okay and did that was this transition out of the service one was that a challenge kind of that transition. 111 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:50,000 No not really I was you know it was it was all part of the plan it was you know just getting it out for a couple years give my I was I was that generation was getting my GI bill I was getting my college education money. 112 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:56,000 Yeah yeah and I was I was pretty not 11 so 911 it changed everything for one. 113 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,000 Yeah right. 114 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:08,000 You mentioned in some of your social media content that the amputation improved your life greatly and I think that's kind of a sentiment that we hear from some of our guests. 115 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:13,000 Maybe like in what ways has your life been better after your amputation. 116 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:20,000 Oh yeah great I mean that's I say it with a little bit tongue in cheek you know being empty is never really fun right. 117 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:28,000 But I definitely don't have the physical pain I used to have when I was going through infections and bone bone grafts and stuff. 118 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:34,000 That's all kind of the obvious that was that was that all got worked out in the end and has been great for me. 119 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:48,000 But what was better for me what became better for me was this this becoming an advocate and working with other people like me and and creating self confidence to create better lives that I was I was that was a gift that I was given out of this. 120 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,000 You know that's kind of that's been a better transformation for me. 121 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:57,000 I've you know I've become happier with myself and the work that I'm doing rather just kind of floating through life. 122 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,000 Yeah. 123 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,000 Are there any organizations that you found like a lot of value in. 124 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:02,000 Absolutely. 125 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Yeah the challenge athletes Foundation is great obviously. 126 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:13,000 I if you don't know her if you ever get a chance to look her up and check out her foundation is called Kirstie and his foundation. 127 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:18,000 Kirstie was a US Marine who lost her leg in a helicopter accident. 128 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:26,000 Amazing woman she brings brings the amputees and veterans out to Colorado for rock climbing and snowboarding clinics. 129 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:32,000 And she does great work because everything's free for the amputee I went out for one clinic a couple years ago. 130 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,000 But she's a great clinic. 131 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:42,000 Are there specific like support groups or communities that you find value in being involved with or. 132 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,000 Oh yeah. 133 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:44,000 Absolutely. 134 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:51,000 I got it early on from another amputee mentor of mine was amputee coalition. 135 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:56,000 I just I actually just got back from their conference in Orlando about a month ago. 136 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:10,000 It's just it's a great network of people they have you know such a great strong online presence which always transfers over to Instagram friendships you know there's bulletin boards in there and resources it's just a great resource for an amputee. 137 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,000 Yeah absolutely. 138 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:21,000 Maybe a quick digression into like kind of etiquette. 139 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,000 This is a question that we asked some of our guests like how do you feel about the word disabled. 140 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,000 Does that have a positive or negative connotation to you. 141 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:38,000 I think it was just part of America like the con to me it's not it's not a slam or or any kind of designation of the person that I am. 142 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,000 It's just a it's a parking space to me. 143 00:15:41,000 --> 00:16:00,000 Yeah I think like there's a push sometimes for more like politically correct terms like differently abled but a lot of the times that's kind of perpetuated by people who don't have disabilities and then when I talk to someone who does they're like oh no I don't I don't really like that terminology I don't mind disabled at all. 144 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:15,000 So it's it's an interesting kind of juxtaposition like the more people with disabilities that I talked to the more like the term disabled doesn't seem quite as disrespectful as as you might be led to believe. 145 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Yeah and I've sat through sessions and round tables about about about you know about the correct terminology but not nowadays and I just you know I can't help the fact that I had a sense of humor and you know I've kind of dark sense of humor so I don't mind anything. 146 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:37,000 I'd you know you can call me what you want just don't don't call me late for the late dinner. 147 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:57,000 Is there like have there been situations where people maybe it's with like kids or that have like stared at your prosthetic or like if there was a younger kid looking at it and like a situation where a mom's like oh no like don't stare at 148 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:10,000 him or whatever like that sometimes that I see when I'm with someone in like a wheelchair or I take care of a boy with Down syndrome and autism who who visibly looks a little different than his peers so we get a lot of looks. 149 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:17,000 Does that stuff bother you or like how would you want someone to approach that as a parent maybe. 150 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:27,000 It's actually funny because I love little kids I teach them at the rock climbing gym I just I think that some of the most true people in the world. 151 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:36,000 It's it I've never never felt any kind of way about anything with it when a kid approaches me or anybody else really it's usually my wife that's telling me to quit quit telling him so much. 152 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:45,000 She tells me yeah that offered to take my leg off and show the kids and she my wife's always patting me on the back telling me we have to keep going keep moving along. 153 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:53,000 Yeah I think it's like it might just be another one of those things where most people with disabilities are comfortable with that. 154 00:17:53,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Yeah it's it's in the honesty of kids is never you know you can never say no to that so any kid that has a question is fine with me ever. 155 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:14,000 It's a good learning experience and just kind of part of the process I guess of normalizing disability like if you can have an interaction with someone and you make it seem like your prosthetic is just another part of you then that kid might carry forward. 156 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:27,000 That process that like if someone looks different than me that's just a part of them so maybe it kind of is going to like bring forth this lasting narrative that will kind of help change people's perception of disabilities so I think that's important. 157 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:41,000 One of the questions that we one of the questions that we asked all the guests is like what do you think has to be done to make maybe the fitness industry specifically more inclusive and accessible. 158 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:50,000 That's a really broad question and there's a lot of different changes I'd like to see but you know for for one of like to you know for to be not such a weird thing. 159 00:18:50,000 --> 00:19:01,000 You know we don't need to have gyms just for us we don't need to have you know not a lot of special concessions we need in a gym for as far as equipment and whatnot go. 160 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:20,000 I just it's really just accessibility to you know it's it's it's our space as well as your space you know I say yours able by community but but I don't you know me and I'd like to see more people who look like me in the gym around you know I don't know how we have the fitness industry as a whole could do that as far as 161 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:31,000 other rise giving away memberships but you know but just you know making it making it an accessible place but the other other part would be before we get to the gym memberships in the fitness industry. 162 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:40,000 Let's talk about you know the mental health of the people who are just recently amputated and they're giving them the confidence of being able to go out there and do these things because sometimes this first two years. 163 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:50,000 It's a period of people just being down you know they don't get a chance to really feel that kind of self confidence and yeah I can go to plan a fitness and do this workout I can do this. 164 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:56,000 They go play pickleball with my friends or whatever and if I follow my face so did so did Bob I saw a video of him doing it you know. 165 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:04,000 Were there any resources that were provided to you after your amputation that kind of were essential to that thought process. 166 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:15,000 Yeah I had I had a team I had a really good personal team like I had my friends who are professionals but nothing was really prescribed to me now. 167 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:28,000 What I you know what I what I did is I took a little bit from my substance use world and I took a little bit from my athlete world and kind of met and meled them together to kind of have that confidence to fight through this first two years. 168 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:47,000 Yeah yeah you mentioned in response to that previous question that like you don't need gyms that are specific for people with disabilities and that's something that I believe pretty strongly about is like programs that only support people with disabilities are well 169 00:20:47,000 --> 00:21:07,000 intentioned and very important but that's almost like not inclusion when you only put people with disabilities in one environment instead of integrating them into the mainstream so I think it's like at least to me and this is probably my biases because part of the work that we do is trying to educate more 170 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:26,000 fitness professionals but like I think part of the issue is just like knowledge for a lot of new grads and new fitness professionals and like I mentioned before maybe they assume that adaptive fitness is reserved for rehab settings and they think it's beyond their scope to support someone who's an amputee 171 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:42,000 but like if you came to me I'm not a physical therapist I'm just a strength and conditioning coach like you would probably almost be able to guide me just through open communication of like what you can and can't do and then together together we can kind of problem solve so 172 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:52,000 at least in my experience that's one of the most important first steps to working with a new client with a disability is just an open line of communication to figure out what they can and they can't do. 173 00:21:52,000 --> 00:22:07,000 Right and that's standard for the course and it's any therapist or any conditioning coach that's going to want to know a full medical background so and you're right we were saying earlier asking about what the industry could do 174 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:21,000 you know we try as an industry to push our people to get credentialed you know there's no law or requirement for anyone to be personal training qualified to actually be a personal trainer but there are some reputable companies out there who do training 175 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:40,000 and so that's one of our things to include a chapter or two about you know maybe adaptive considerations at least you know that you know just to just where our skin considerations might be what it looks like for our heart rate elevates the kind of thing just so they're a little more aware to kind of open like you said to talk about open the stigma up get it out there. 176 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:55,000 So there's no need for any co occurring maybe not necessarily disabilities but like symptoms that are associated with your amputation that you find that when you're working out are exacerbated in any way. 177 00:22:55,000 --> 00:23:11,000 No I don't feel like not my physiology I feel like it always helps my mood right I mean I've been yeah I went through a little spot of depression but so but my mood you know you get the endorphin release it always helps you be a happier person so yeah. 178 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:16,000 Yeah but anything like phantom limb pain or any of those. 179 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:27,000 No I you know just from my workouts in the way I don't really have anything that results from them other than you know just I feel great. 180 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:33,000 Is there anything that's like off limits from a training perspective that's like not good for you. 181 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:50,000 Yeah for me specifically is jumping I don't do a whole lot of impact I try to stay away from impact movement just because you know I I'll put it out there in the world I'm 47 years old and I've only got one one last one last legs I want to ruin that last knee so I don't try to keep that one last needs good shape. 182 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,000 Absolutely. 183 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000 What's kind of your preferred like cardio modality. 184 00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:04,000 Swim swimmer I love being in the water yeah I just I can put the whole world tune it out for an hour so just one lapse all day long. 185 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:12,000 Yeah that might be a little bit of that travel on background but no interest in getting back on to the bike or anything. 186 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,000 My wife has explicitly told me if I ever try running against you'll kill me. 187 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:37,000 There you go yeah that seems like that's enough to squash that before it even begins so was there anything specific that you thought would be relevant to cover that you want to kind of mention with the goal of this podcast being to kind of share lived experiences of people with disabilities as well as the professionals who are supporting them. 188 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:42,000 Any like key points or things that you like messages that you want to communicate. 189 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:54,000 I just like that for your listeners just keep on researching you know it doesn't it doesn't seem like the exercises and the tutorials and how to use and all those things are really out there for us. 190 00:24:54,000 --> 00:25:05,000 But when you find them there's you know there's a good substantial amount of information out there at least to get you walking well and feeling better and you know that but as we as the demand for it grows will keep on delivering it hopefully. 191 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:23,000 Yeah absolutely well we'll share share in the show notes any links that you want to include to your website or to your page we'll link your Instagram page as well but appreciate the conversation today and kind of the the information and wisdom that you shared. 192 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:33,000 And if there's anything that you recall later on that you want us to include we'll we'll throw it in the show notes but Bob we appreciate you joining us today. 193 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,000 Alright Brandon thank you very much appreciate it was good. 194 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:10,000 .