Overcoming Common Obstacles in Your Fitness and Health Journey
Written by 
Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC on
December 5, 2022
Practices that can help you get the vitality you’re looking for with Dr. Joe Mather and Dr. Scott Spiridigliozzi
Fatigue, brain fog, and GI disturbances are symptoms that some of our practitioners have both clinically treated and personally experienced. If you’re wondering how to get better and achieve optimal health, hear it first from me, Dr. Joe Mather, and Dr. Scott Spiridigliozzi that strength training, saunas, cardio, cold exposure therapy, and “supplement holidays” may do more wonders than you can imagine. Learn how to push past limiting beliefs and implement healthy lifestyle behaviors while listening to your body and treating your symptoms.
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Dr. Michael Ruscio is a DC, natural health provider, researcher, and clinician. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Bridgeport and has published numerous papers in scientific journals as well as the book Healthy Gut, Healthy You. He also founded the Ruscio Institute of Functional Health, where he helps patients with a wide range of GI conditions and serves as the Head of Research.
➕ Dr. Ruscio’s, DC Notes
Dr. Ruscio, DC, Dr. Mather, and Dr. Scott’s Weekend Workout
- Friday night:
- Weight training
- Alternating between sauna and cold exposure therapy
- Saturday:
- An hour-long zone 2 training mountain biking session
- Tabata runs
- Running as fast as possible for 30 seconds, recovering for 30 seconds, and repeating for 10 rounds).
How Dr. Joe and Dr. Scott Responded To Weekend Workout
- Dr. Joe:
- While he felt deconditioned at first with doing Romanian deadlifts and experienced some nausea with running, he pushed past this discomfort and ultimately felt better towards the end of his workouts.
- Dr. Scott:
- This weekend marked his first time doing cold exposure therapy. His first session lasted four minutes.
- He reported that spending his weekend doing these vigorous activities with other people helped him push past his limited beliefs and outside of his comfort zone — and paid off for better health.
Dr. Scott’s Personal Story With Mold Exposure
- He has been working with Dr. Joe since September 2021, who ultimately found that mold was causing his symptoms of brain fog and fatigue.
- Prior to working with Dr. Joe, he was tracking how every food made him feel and ultimately got tired of tracking without experiencing much symptom relief.
- After providing his gut with the support he needed, he felt more energized and experienced less brain fog.
- With symptom improvement, he’s now focused on optimizing his health with exercise and sauna therapy.
What a Supplement Holiday Is (And How It’s Helped Dr. Scott’s Patients)
-
- What it is: A “supplement holiday” means discontinuing any supplements that aren’t helping you for a week.
- How it helped Dr. Scott’s patients: After going on a “supplement holiday,” two of his patients reported an improvement in brain fog, GI symptoms, and energy levels.
How To Establish A Healthy Mindset As A Patient
- Work with a healthcare practitioner that provides strategies for reframing negative thoughts.
- Make simple changes at first instead of zero changes.
- Example: If fatigue is interfering with exercise, go for a short walk instead of running for a while or avoiding exercise completely.
- Surround yourself with people who are looking to achieve similar health goals.
The Ideal Fitness Plan For All
- The following structure can be for anyone, but lower intensity of these exercises are recommended for those experiencing symptoms.
- 3 days of strength training
- 3 days of cardio
- 1 active recovery day
➕ Resources & Links
Getting Started
Discussion
I care about answering your questions and sharing my knowledge with you. Leave a comment or connect with me on social media asking any health question you may have and I just might incorporate it into our next listener questions podcast episode just for you!