"I don't think I'll ever sleep again!" I sobbed. 3 months of night sweats left me rung out and exhausted in every way possible: mentally, emotionally, and obviously physically. Menopause hormone therapy is first line treatment for night sweats and hot flashes, and for me it was a life saver.
Desk Job Woes – Advice from a PMPT (Post-Menopausal Physical Therapist)
Kim: [00:00:04] Welcome back to the Fitness Simplified podcast, I’m your host Kim Schlag. On today’s episode, I’m joined by my friend, Amy Rudolf. Amy is a PMPT — that’s post-menopausal physical therapist. Now you may have seen last winter I participated in a mobility — I don’t know who I said participated, I was the only one who did it — I held a mobility challenge for myself for 30 days. I did a few exercises each day, it took me less than two minutes each day, and I was doing it because I was having lots of upper back tension. I came from sitting over my desk, working on my computer, working on my phone for hours and hours a day, and I had reached out to Amy to get her advice. And so, she was the impetus behind that mobility challenge.
As you saw, it really helped a lot. And so I’ve brought Amy on today to talk about what we can do if you are a person who sits at your computer a lot, works kind of hunched over your phone a lot, what can you do to feel your best?
Amy also talks to us a lot about two other things that she is very passionate about: her gratitude practice and a good morning routine.
Let’s go!
Hi, Amy. How are you doing?
Amy: [00:01:21] I’m doing great. I’m doing great. How are you?
Kim: [00:01:23] Good. Thanks so much for joining me here today.
Amy: [00:01:26] I am excited to be here. Thank you for asking.
Kim: [00:01:30] So Amy, tell everybody a little bit about you — who you are, what you do.
Amy: [00:01:35] Okay. Sure. Well, my name is Amy Rudolph. I am a physical therapist, I’m a post-menopausal physical therapist.
Kim: [00:01:48] A PMPP.
Amy: [00:01:48] That’s it. I need a T-shirt.
So, I’ve been to physical therapists for a number of years. I’m the mother of two, I guess you could call them adult, children. I have a 19-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son. I have two dogs, so I have, I guess, four kids total. And I am, like I said, I’m a PT, but I’ve also kind of expanded my horizons a little bit over the last couple of years.
I’ve been very interested in working exclusively with oncology rehab, cancer patients, and those with chronic illnesses. That’s been really kind of a passion of mine and I kind of developed it into my own little business.
So, I take care of people in their homes, one on one personal training and wellness type stuff, and it’s just been great. So I’ve just been kind of my own boss for the last couple of years, and still being able to stay in kind of the health/wellness arena and use my skills to help people achieve whatever goals they set their mind to.
Kim: [00:03:05] That’s fantastic. And I know you’ve been posting more on Instagram, are you going to be doing online training in doing PT within oncology? Will you be doing that online?
Amy: [00:03:17] Yep. And I’m really kind of keeping my options open. With COVID-19 hitting, I had a small group of clients that I was working — like, I go to their homes and we would work out in their homes — obviously, that had to change.
So, we made the switch to doing kind of an online, you know, FaceTime/Zoom sessions and it actually worked out really great. It was pretty seamless. So, I’m excited to continue that and not just only offer my local people sessions. I mean, eventually I guess we’ll get back to that, but right now we’re just kind of holding tight on the virtual sessions until everybody’s comfort level and just things get a little bit, I don’t know — I think it’s going to be a little while before we get back to the face to face stuff.
But I’ve enjoyed doing it virtually, so I’m happy to expand out beyond just my hometown and be able to help people across the country.
So that’s my goal.
Kim: [00:04:22] That’s fantastic. And besides your own business, you’re also on team Carter Good, right? So you help, generally, over there as well?
Amy: [00:04:30] Yes! Actually, I was his one-on-one client about two years ago or so, we’d stayed in touch, I’ve always appreciated his message — this whole group that I’m associated with, you included. Everything just makes sense and I’ve appreciated the sensible approach to weight loss and fitness.
And so, we’ve just kept in touch and he invited me to come on board as kind of his “associate coach” in his membership group, and I’ve just been helping him.
He’s really kind of expanding his business over the last few months and he’s asked me to come on board and help them be a part of that too. So, I am just thrilled to keep my hands in all of this good stuff.
Kim: [00:05:14] Fantastic!
So a few months ago, Amy, I had reached out to you because you’re a PT — I have a PT, but I was like, “I’m not going to the doctor for this,” but I was walking a lot, you know I always walk a lot, and randomly my back started hurting during walks.
And I was like, “what is this?” And it was bothering me. And you know, this, I’m just telling everybody else’s story — it was bothering me enough that in the middle of my walks I felt like I needed to stop and stretch and the stretch I really wanted to do, it would be gross to do this, you know, I want it to like lay down on the ground and get into child’s pose and like grab the bottom of a stop sign and really stretch my back, but I’m like “dogs pee here. I know they do!”
But sometimes I would find a fence pole or something and lean over, because my back was just so tight. And I was like, “what is this? Is this what happens with age? You walk in your back hurts?!”
And it wasn’t my lower back, it was up in my mid-back, and I’m like, “what is this?” And so, I DMed you one night and I’m like, “Amy, do I need to go see somebody? Like, what is this?” And you had such great advice.
And so, I want to talk about this because I really do think it was a function of a couple of things.
One of the things Amy said to me, she’s like, “do you have any problems either above or below,” right? Because you’re like, “what’s going on with your shoulders? What’s going on with your hips?” Why did you ask me that question?
Amy: [00:06:33] Well, because really any — long story short — I’ll just say that my little mantra is: “everything is connected” and it’s so true. And I’ll work my way back from that statement.
So, I always kind of visualize from the top of your head, from your neck, basically down to your ankles, everything is connected. It’s like a chain. So if any link in that chain, whether it’s your neck, your shoulders, your mid back, low back, hips, knees, all the way down, if anything is out of alignment, there’s a restriction, there’s something off, there’s a weakness, typically it’s going to affect whatever is above or below the chain because our bodies are so efficient about jumping in and helping us.
So, like you mentioned in your case, if you have a shoulder issue, the body’s going to jump in and try to help through your day, be efficient, not slow you down. So eventually you’re going to feel it someplace else. Typically, not always, but it usually happens. Eventually, there’s a tipping point, you start to feel something in the nearby regions, whether it’s above or below.
So that’s why I asked you that I was like, well, it’s your mid back, so anything with the shoulder that you dealt with and it was kind of like “DING!”
Kim: [00:07:54] Because yeah, I was like, “well, I always have problems with my shoulder,” and my shoulder had been acting up right around then. I was like, “yeah, the front of my shoulder, the side,” just my shoulder in general was bugging me.
And so, then our conversation was around like, alright, “is my back bugging me because my shoulder, or is my shoulder bugging me from my back?”
And look, I didn’t have any big injury. It was just, you know, there was just all this tightness, and nothing felt good. And so, your suggestion was that I started doing some shoulder mobility and I start doing some T-spine mobility.
Amy: [00:08:21] Yup.
Kim: [00:08:22] Which is what launched my 30-day mobility challenge. If any of you were watching that, that was courtesy of Amy — why you got to see me rolling a chair around for 30 days — was because of Amy.
So, and I really do think, you know, shoulder, back, whatever it was. I think a lot of it is caused by what I do.
And people might be surprised to hear this, that as an online personal trainer what I do mostly is sit at my desk or with my phone and no one else is gonna see me, but Amy will see me, like, I sit like this, like I’m always on my phone like this.
So, what I just did was, I’m hunched over my phone or I’m hunched over my keyboard. And I think that’s probably is a big part. And that’s what you had told me of like, why I’m not feeling so great.
So, Amy, what is your advice for people who — and there’s a lot of us, right? And there’s probably even more of us right now than usual because think about all the teachers. I literally just got off another podcast with a teacher, second grade teacher, whose typical norm is, “I walk around the classroom all day and I walk my kids to PE and I’m kneeling down at their desk and I do all the stuff,” and she’s like, “now my norm is I sit in front of a computer the entire school day.” Right? Because she taught from home this entire spring into the summer here and she might be doing it again in the fall.
And there’s a lot of people in that situation, no matter what their old job used to be, they’re all sitting at home in front of their computer right now, right?
So, what are some of the key things that people can be doing to make sure they still are feeling good in that condition?
Amy: [00:09:50] Yep, definitely.
So, I think the first thing, especially like you mentioned for people that maybe aren’t used to sitting as much, like the teachers and stuff like that. I know a lot of people are desk workers, so maybe it’s not as big of a transition, but still for everybody, I think just creating an awareness is important.
How are you sitting at your desk? What is your posture like? Because I’m guilty of it, too. Like, if I get involved with a project, I’m sitting on my laptop or I’m on my phone, it’s like, “Oh my gosh, I am like the hunchback of Notre Dame,” my neck’s all turned this way or that way, and so just creating the awareness is number one.
And then just really thinking about how the positions that we’re in for long periods of time, like what our bodies are doing. Typically, like you mentioned, our shoulders are rounded forward, and our hips are flexed because we’re sitting. So just thinking about those static positions, we’re just kind of stuck there for long periods of time, and we need to kind of do something about that.
So, it doesn’t have to be complicated, it really just depends on what feels good to you. But really basic stuff, get up, get out of your chair. I recommend every 30 minutes, to be honest. I mean, sometimes I know that time can fly by, but if you have to, set a timer on your watch or your phone or something and just take two to three minutes, get up, walk around, see what feels maybe a little bit tight or tense, you know, some of the things that I do: shoulder rolls, scapular squeezes to kind of draw your shoulders back and open up your chest because your shoulders are rounded forward, your chest muscles are getting short. So, it’s kind of like just counterbalancing everything that’s kind of stuck when you’re sitting down.
Just that awareness and doing that on a regular basis, it’s amazing how different you can feel. It doesn’t take a long, complicated routine. Just that consistency, as you know, just make a world of difference.
Kim:
[00:11:57] It really did surprise me, Amy, how fast I started feeling better. I don’t remember anymore how many days it was, but do you remember I posted on my story — because I was posting every day — and it was just days in all of a sudden I’m like, “wow, I’m actually starting to notice a difference in how my back feel.”
Amy: [00:12:10] Oh yeah. Less than a week, for sure. Three to four days, maybe, you were feeling the difference. And I’m the same way. I started doing a morning and evening little 5 to 10-minute stretching routine, and I kind of fell out of it for a little bit. I think we had gone out of town or something happened. I don’t know, just I fell out of it. And I went back to it and it’s just like, “Oh wow.” You can feel how your muscles kind of start to tighten back up again, just from the day to day, but I’ll tell you within two or three days, boom, it felt good again, it was relaxing.
So just think if you’re consistent with that, how good that can feel and how maybe injuries can be avoided, pain can be avoided, and just really take that time. So, mobility is important, yes.
Kim: [00:12:57] Yeah, and I only started with one exercise and then I added a second and then I added a third. And so, we’re not talking a long time.
It was like, less than two minutes that I did this. It might’ve even been less than a minute. I think it was maybe a minute and 30 seconds. A day. I wasn’t doing this multiple times a day.
And so I think people might overestimate it and be like, “gosh, if I’m going to start some kind of stretching program…” it feels like that could be big, like a time commitment, like, “I don’t have time for that.” But who doesn’t have a minute and 30 seconds, right?
Amy: [00:13:26] Right, right.
It’s not like you have to plop down and crank out this 30-minute session of something. It’s not hard to do. Like I said, I do it before I get out of bed, you know?
Kim: [00:13:37] Oh, you do it IN bed?
Amy: [00:13:39] I do. I do mine in bed, actually.
Kim: [00:13:42] You gotta tell us about that. I like that because, you know, I will tell you, I’m like a lot of people, they reach their goal and they like move on and they don’t do that thing and so I have not been stretching as much and I’ll just do it randomly. And I was thinking the other day, I’m like, “I think I need to start doing that again.” Because what’s going to happen is, I’m going to lose the effects, right? And so, I need to start doing it again.
Okay, I like this idea. So that’s part of your morning routine, right? That’s the first thing you do?
Amy: [00:14:06] Yep. So, I do three things. Super easy. Well, maybe four, if you count breath work.
So, let’s talk a little bit about breath work. Diaphragmatic breathing, I feel is super important just for relaxation, for calm. I mean, there’s a ton of studies out there that show that it’s good for mental focus, anxiety, mood and all that stuff.
So, I always start with like three to four good deep breaths. And I used to teach it a certain way. As a physical therapist, I taught it all the time and I’ll tell you, I feel like I’ve kind of upped my game a little bit just doing some research. There’s some changes there. And some people, just to talk about breathing a little bit, a lot of people don’t realize how shallow they breathe.
You know, they’re kind of like chest-breathers — you know, our chest expands, but that’s about as far as it goes, So we really need to push that down a little bit further and go into, you know, really expanding the lungs, let the belly kind of expand, they call it belly-breathing, make sure your belly’s rising when you’re laying in bed, so you’re getting that air flow really deep. And that’s where you’re really going to get those receptors in your nervous system to respond and chill out.
I will say — I’m gonna shout out somebody else on Instagram that I really think is of benefit, she’s a fellow physical therapist and I’ve been following her for a while and she’s really kind of helped me up my game a little bit too, because she’s much younger than me, so she’s got a lot more newer information out there –@docjenfit. I don’t know if you’ve heard of her.
Kim: [00:15:49] Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
Amy: [00:15:52] So she has a breathing routine that really makes sense to me, that kind of branches off that diaphragmatic breathing. And it’s more, not so much your belly kind of expanding and pooching out, but your rib cage.
So she advises — which I’ve been trying this, and I really think it helps — is putting your hands on your lower rib cage instead of in the front, on your stomach, kind of on either side of your rib cage, kind of down low, where it kind of ends, and breathing so that your rib cage is expanding out into your hands.
So, you’re thinking about your body as a cylinder. And I know weightlifting and bracing exercise kind of goes along with that. You want to fill that up front, sides, back. Fill that up with air. So, when you put your hands on your ribs, I think you can tune into it better and just take that breath in and feel the rib cage kind of flair a little bit.
Then you know you’re really getting that full expansion. So, I like that idea. So, I kind of changed that up.
So, I do that, I do three to four deep breaths. You know, don’t get lightheaded. If you’re new to it, sometimes you can get a little lightheaded if you’re really breathing deeply.
So just find what works for you and just like with anything, when you practice it, it gets easier and you can do more. I do that, then I do a real simple hamstring stretch while I’m laying in bed, you know, just grab the back of my knee, behind my knee, and just do some nice stretches of the hamstrings.
Nothing fancy, don’t have to hold it really long, I just kind of mobilize my knee a little bit, maybe a few seconds of hold at the top when you’re feeling that stretch, but you don’t have to sit there for
30 seconds, 60 seconds, anything crazy like that. You’re just trying to get the blood flowing.
So, I’ll do maybe five on each side, then I do one of my favorites — and I actually did an IGTV about this. It’s on my Instagram because I was talking about it in one of my posts, and I’m like, “I’m going to show how to do this. Just so everybody gets to benefit.” But it’s a torso twist.
So, you lay on your side and then you do five on each side. So, like you lay on your right side, you kind of reach across your body with the top hand and then rotate and reach kind of behind you. So, you’re just kind of rotating your torso, kind of like what you did, but only just laying down in the bed.
And that just feels so good. And you just kind of coordinate your breathing with that. So, like you breathe in as you reach across your body and then you breathe out as you twist back, five of those on each side feels amazing.
And then that’s pretty much it, that’s kinda my routine. Sometimes I will throw in the cat-cow stretch.
Kim: [00:18:38] I love that one. That’s one of the ones I was doing.
Amy: [00:18:42] So I’ll do that one, just hands and knees, arching your back and then letting it kind of fall down a little bit. So, you’re just really getting your spine to move. But that’s it. And it just feels amazing even just after I do that and get out of bed and you know, the mornings I’ve done it and then the mornings I’ve forgotten to do it, it’s just different. You just feel good, your blood’s pumping, you just feel loosened up. I don’t know. It feels great.
Kim: [00:19:10] That’s fantastic.
I’ll make sure at the end we give out your Instagram handle so people can go check that stretch out. They might not be able to picture it as well, but for sure they can go and check it out.
Alright. I love this idea. Actually, you’re inspiring me, Amy. I’m going to start stretching every morning. I won’t be able to do it in bed. I get up too early. My husband’s still in bed. I’m sure he’d be like, “what the heck are you doing? It’s 5:30 in the morning. Why are you stretching? Stop moving.”
So, I would actually get out of bed, but I think I might start doing it there on the floor just as soon as I come down to my office. There’s carpet down here in my office, and maybe do it first thing.
I’ve always said I’m going to create a morning routine and I go in fits and starts and I’ve never actually done it. Maybe this could be my anchor thing. Like, I’ll start this and move from there.
Do you have other parts of your morning routine that you do after your stretching? Or is that your biggie?
Amy: [00:20:03] Well, that’s the first thing and then honestly, I guess — again, I’m kind of like talking pre and post COVID here, because I feel like I’ve changed up my routine.
My pre COVID “routine,” I wasn’t doing morning stretching, I’ll guarantee you that because I was getting up earlier than I have been. I was getting up early, I was throwing on my workout clothes, and I was either going to the gym and meeting some friends at the gym at 5:30 in the morning or going for a run.
So that was kind of my morning routine. It was kind of up and out to the gym or going for a run, just alternating that. So that looks completely different now because of everything that’s changed. The gym closed, we weren’t getting together, I’m like, “okay, I’m going to take the opportunity to try something different.”
So, I really slowed everything down. I got more sleep, which was great. I was struggling with that, because I’m not really a night owl, but I would still kind of struggle, like, “I’m going to bed by 10. I’m going to bed by 10,” and it just never happened. So, the alarm was going off at like 4:45 and it was like, “geez.” I didn’t succeed in that eight hours of sleep, you know, maybe I could get seven, but still, so I thought, “well, I’m going to try to get more sleep.”
So, I was just getting up later and the whole morning routine kicked in. So I was doing the morning stretches in bed and then after that, grabbing a cup of coffee and doing kind of a journaling quiet time, you know, just to kind of gather my thoughts, journal a little bit, set some goals for the day, set some intentions for the day.
And then I’ve been doing a gratitude practice for years, so I definitely kept up with that, but it’s actually putting it pen to paper in the morning and just kind of doing that. So that’s, I would say, has been my consistent morning routine is probably like the past three, four months now, just slower mornings and then the workouts would come after that. But it’s just nice to be able to sit in the quiet and not be up and outgoing. It’s been a nice change. I’ve enjoyed it.
Kim: [00:22:18] That’s fantastic. I think a lot of people are experiencing that same thing with Corona, that they’re getting more sleep because maybe their morning commute is knocked off or, just like you, they used to get up early and exercise, but you’re not going anywhere. And so, you know, maybe they can squeeze their workout in later. So yeah, I think more sleep is something a lot of us are experiencing with Corona.
You know, you mentioned something that I definitely want to hit on here, so Amy is known for her gratitude practice. Amy and I actually know each other from the Syatt Fitness Inner Circle. And Amy, I don’t know, it’s been a while. How long have you been posting this gratitude?
Amy: [00:22:53] I don’t know it’s been awhile.
Kim: [00:22:56] Maybe a year? I don’t know. It’s been a long time.
Amy’s posted daily gratitude post in the Syatt Fitness Inner Circle Facebook group every day. She posts something with three things she’s grateful for it and then lots of other people add on to things that they’re grateful for.
And so, it sounds like this has naturally sprung from what you do in your own life, that you have had a gratitude practice.
Tell us how that started and why you do it, how it benefits you, all of those kinds of things.
Amy: [00:23:24] So, the first time I can remember thinking about gratitude practice or keeping a gratitude journal was like the days of the Oprah Winfrey Show. I’m dating myself for that, but I remember my kids were little and I considered myself a super hero if I could get both my children to take a nap at the same time in the afternoon, because they’re just a year apart.
And I would fold laundry and watch Oprah while my kids slept. Like, that was my thing, you know? But I just remember her talking about gratitude and I had a quote here, but it was something along the lines of — and I truly believe this — it’s like, “if you focus on what you have, you’ll always end up having more. But if you focus on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”
And I just think it’s true and so I just kind of, I dabbled in it a little bit years ago, but then I just kind of circled back around to it probably about two or three years ago. I just was kind of going through some bumpy things personally and I’m like, “you know, I just need to get back to this.”
Because there is so much to be thankful for. Even if you’re having a crappy day, there’s still a ton to be thankful for. So I just started a journal, I just started writing things down and it’s pretty fantastic how, when you actually, not just thinking in your head, you know, because that’s one thing, but if you actually write it down, I think it just makes that connection.
So, writing it down day in and day out, it would just create an awareness. And then when I would be going out and about my day, I would just notice things more. You know, like maybe things that you would totally breeze by and not pay any attention to in the past, but then, because you’re kind of into that gratitude mode, things stick out to you more and you can just really feel more appreciative of things.
And it just, it’s a game changer. It’s a mood changer. I don’t know, it just made my life a lot better and I just felt like my attitude was better and then the people that were around me, their attitudes were better and I just found myself just in a much better place just by that simple practice.
Kim: [00:25:52] I totally agree.
When we’re actively looking for those things, we find them, right? It’s just how it works. If you wake up every day and you are specifically looking for “what can I be grateful for today?” You know? And I’ve done it in the past and like, given myself like a game, like you can’t name the same thing for a certain period of time. Because if you’re like, “Oh, what are the top three things you’re grateful for?” Obviously, it’s gonna be like, “my family,” you know? “My home.”
But if you’re like, “okay, you have to think of something different, you have the think of something different,” then you start looking for all these, what might feel like minor things, but are actually the things that just really — and because the things you post and things that people share in the group, they’re very minor things, you know, like, I could write down like, “I’m super grateful for these beautiful sunflowers today” and tomorrow it could be whatever — you know, just all these little things.
But they’re the kinds of things that they end up impacting our lives in a big way over time, all these little tiny things.
Amy: [00:26:46] Yep. And I think that’s the challenge because it’s very easy to say, “I’m grateful for my kids, I’m grateful for my family, I’m grateful for my health,” which, obviously yes, we are. But it’s like, some of the things that, you know, like I’ve just not too long ago, I was like, “I’m grateful that it stopped raining so I could get into the grocery store and it wasn’t downpouring,” you know? Or “I’m thankful that my daughter picked up the coffee creamer when we were out, and she brought it home.”
It’s just those little things that you’re just like, “Oh, that was so nice.” “Oh, that just made me feel happy.” Just that little burst of happiness, you know? And it’s just those little things that you really start to pay attention to.
Kim: [00:27:27] Absolutely. So Amy, whenever I have a woman on, I always like to hear about what she does for fitness, because I want the women who listen to be inspired by other women who are pursuing fitness and see what is possible and what are other people’s goals.
So, tell us what you have going on right now in your life for fitness. What do you do and what are your main fitness goals?
Amy: [00:27:48] So right now I’ve kind of just been dabbling. Really, I’ve been taking a lot of walks. That’s just been kind of like my comfort zone, just walking is huge. And I always appreciate you hollering at us to get up and get our steps in, but I think it’s important.
I think it’s important to have that awareness, again, just like everything else, of getting up and moving because it’s easy to, you know, I do work out, I lift weights. I enjoy doing that usually about three times a week, sometimes four, if I’m really getting after it. But outside of that too, it’s important to get your activity level up just in general.
So, I definitely get my steps in, working on that. I love to lift weights. I think it’s amazing, it feels great. Our gym actually did open last week. I haven’t been back yet, but I’m hoping to maybe kind of peek in there and see if there’s, you know, again, I was in an early bird group and it was usually pretty crowded, so I’m kind of curious to see what might work out best as far as time goes.
Kim: [00:28:49] Did you say it WAS crowded? The early bird time was crowded? I
Amy: [00:28:52] It was crowded, yeah.
Kim: [00:28:53] When you were at that gym at five in the morning, it was crowded? Wow.
Amy: [00:28:56] Yeah, it was busy.
Kim: [00:28:57] I was always so impressed; you’d post your nighttime picture outside Planet Fitness every day. I’m like, “she’s crazy.”
Amy: [00:29:03] Yep. “I’m here in the dark, everyone.”
No, but it was actually pretty darn busy. I mean, there was just kind of a pretty solid group of people that you would see every day. I felt like it was kind of like my gym family, because it was like kind of the same group that were just there and so many of them would be walking out in their work clothes, showered and off to work, you know?
So, we’ll see. I have some flexibility in my schedule now, so I might be able to get in there a little bit later in the morning. Maybe it won’t be as crowded. We’ll see. I’m still just a little bit hesitant, but I’m actually anxious to go check it out and see how they’re handling everything. And it sounds like they really put a lot of good practices in place to keep everybody safe. I’m sure they have.
But while I’ve been at home, I have some adjustable dumbbells. I’ve just been kind of making the most of that. I’ve got some bands. Carter has been working on some programs through the summer, kind of some challenges. So, I’ve been kind of following along with those, just to kind of stay in the group and answer questions as kind of the assistant coaching role.
I thought, “well, I’m just going to follow along with everybody else and do this.” So I’ve just been working on that, you know, just full body workouts, lifting as much as I can with what I have and just trying to maintain the strength and then hopefully get back into the gym and start lifting heavier again when I have more access.
Kim: [00:30:26] That’ll be fun. That’ll be a good day.
Well, thanks so much for joining me here today and talking about these things. So many important topics we’ve covered here in such a short period of time. Tell everybody where they can find you.
Amy: [00:30:38] Okay. I’m basically just on Instagram. It’s @amyrudolph832fitness and that’s where I pretty much post on the regular and that’s it.
Kim: [00:30:59] All right. Well, thanks so much! It was good talking with you and catching up and talking about these important things. You really did help me so much with my back. It was incredible. That was a life changer for me right then.
It’s hard to think about other things when you’re in pain, you know? And it wasn’t like shooting pain, like, I knew I hadn’t injured myself, so I’m like, “what the heck is this?” And I’d be trying to walk and either relax or do some work while I was walking. And all I could think about the fact that my back hurt. So, kudos to you for helping me get that under control.
Amy: [00:31:27] You’re very welcome.
Kim: [00:31:28] All right, my dear, we’ll talk soon.
Amy: [00:31:30] Okay. Take care, Kim. Thank you!
Kim: [00:31:32] Okay, bye.
Thanks so much for being here and listening in to Fitness Simplified podcast today. I hope you found it educational, motivational, inspirational, all the kinds of -ational.
If you enjoyed it, if you found value in it, it would mean so much to me if you would go ahead and leave a rating and review on whatever platform you are listening to this on. It really does help to get this podcast to other people.
Thanks so much.
As you saw, it really helped a lot. And so I’ve brought Amy on today to talk about what we can do if you are a person who sits at your computer a lot, works kind of hunched over your phone a lot, what can you do to feel your best?
Amy also talks to us a lot about two other things that she is very passionate about: her gratitude practice and a good morning routine.
Let’s go!
Hi, Amy. How are you doing?
Amy: [00:01:21] I’m doing great. I’m doing great. How are you?
Kim: [00:01:23] Good. Thanks so much for joining me here today.
Amy: [00:01:26] I am excited to be here. Thank you for asking.
Kim: [00:01:30] So Amy, tell everybody a little bit about you — who you are, what you do.
Amy: [00:01:35] Okay. Sure. Well, my name is Amy Rudolph. I am a physical therapist, I’m a post-menopausal physical therapist.
Kim: [00:01:48] A PMPP.
Amy: [00:01:48] That’s it. I need a T-shirt.
So, I’ve been to physical therapists for a number of years. I’m the mother of two, I guess you could call them adult, children. I have a 19-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son. I have two dogs, so I have, I guess, four kids total. And I am, like I said, I’m a PT, but I’ve also kind of expanded my horizons a little bit over the last couple of years.
I’ve been very interested in working exclusively with oncology rehab, cancer patients, and those with chronic illnesses. That’s been really kind of a passion of mine and I kind of developed it into my own little business.
So, I take care of people in their homes, one on one personal training and wellness type stuff, and it’s just been great. So I’ve just been kind of my own boss for the last couple of years, and still being able to stay in kind of the health/wellness arena and use my skills to help people achieve whatever goals they set their mind to.
Kim: [00:03:05] That’s fantastic. And I know you’ve been posting more on Instagram, are you going to be doing online training in doing PT within oncology? Will you be doing that online?
Amy: [00:03:17] Yep. And I’m really kind of keeping my options open. With COVID-19 hitting, I had a small group of clients that I was working — like, I go to their homes and we would work out in their homes — obviously, that had to change.
So, we made the switch to doing kind of an online, you know, FaceTime/Zoom sessions and it actually worked out really great. It was pretty seamless. So, I’m excited to continue that and not just only offer my local people sessions. I mean, eventually I guess we’ll get back to that, but right now we’re just kind of holding tight on the virtual sessions until everybody’s comfort level and just things get a little bit, I don’t know — I think it’s going to be a little while before we get back to the face to face stuff.
But I’ve enjoyed doing it virtually, so I’m happy to expand out beyond just my hometown and be able to help people across the country.
So that’s my goal.
Kim: [00:04:22] That’s fantastic. And besides your own business, you’re also on team Carter Good, right? So you help, generally, over there as well?
Amy: [00:04:30] Yes! Actually, I was his one-on-one client about two years ago or so, we’d stayed in touch, I’ve always appreciated his message — this whole group that I’m associated with, you included. Everything just makes sense and I’ve appreciated the sensible approach to weight loss and fitness.
And so, we’ve just kept in touch and he invited me to come on board as kind of his “associate coach” in his membership group, and I’ve just been helping him.
He’s really kind of expanding his business over the last few months and he’s asked me to come on board and help them be a part of that too. So, I am just thrilled to keep my hands in all of this good stuff.
Kim: [00:05:14] Fantastic!
So a few months ago, Amy, I had reached out to you because you’re a PT — I have a PT, but I was like, “I’m not going to the doctor for this,” but I was walking a lot, you know I always walk a lot, and randomly my back started hurting during walks.
And I was like, “what is this?” And it was bothering me. And you know, this, I’m just telling everybody else’s story — it was bothering me enough that in the middle of my walks I felt like I needed to stop and stretch and the stretch I really wanted to do, it would be gross to do this, you know, I want it to like lay down on the ground and get into child’s pose and like grab the bottom of a stop sign and really stretch my back, but I’m like “dogs pee here. I know they do!”
But sometimes I would find a fence pole or something and lean over, because my back was just so tight. And I was like, “what is this? Is this what happens with age? You walk in your back hurts?!”
And it wasn’t my lower back, it was up in my mid-back, and I’m like, “what is this?” And so, I DMed you one night and I’m like, “Amy, do I need to go see somebody? Like, what is this?” And you had such great advice.
And so, I want to talk about this because I really do think it was a function of a couple of things.
One of the things Amy said to me, she’s like, “do you have any problems either above or below,” right? Because you’re like, “what’s going on with your shoulders? What’s going on with your hips?” Why did you ask me that question?
Amy: [00:06:33] Well, because really any — long story short — I’ll just say that my little mantra is: “everything is connected” and it’s so true. And I’ll work my way back from that statement.
So, I always kind of visualize from the top of your head, from your neck, basically down to your ankles, everything is connected. It’s like a chain. So if any link in that chain, whether it’s your neck, your shoulders, your mid back, low back, hips, knees, all the way down, if anything is out of alignment, there’s a restriction, there’s something off, there’s a weakness, typically it’s going to affect whatever is above or below the chain because our bodies are so efficient about jumping in and helping us.
So, like you mentioned in your case, if you have a shoulder issue, the body’s going to jump in and try to help through your day, be efficient, not slow you down. So eventually you’re going to feel it someplace else. Typically, not always, but it usually happens. Eventually, there’s a tipping point, you start to feel something in the nearby regions, whether it’s above or below.
So that’s why I asked you that I was like, well, it’s your mid back, so anything with the shoulder that you dealt with and it was kind of like “DING!”
Kim: [00:07:54] Because yeah, I was like, “well, I always have problems with my shoulder,” and my shoulder had been acting up right around then. I was like, “yeah, the front of my shoulder, the side,” just my shoulder in general was bugging me.
And so, then our conversation was around like, alright, “is my back bugging me because my shoulder, or is my shoulder bugging me from my back?”
And look, I didn’t have any big injury. It was just, you know, there was just all this tightness, and nothing felt good. And so, your suggestion was that I started doing some shoulder mobility and I start doing some T-spine mobility.
Amy: [00:08:21] Yup.
Kim: [00:08:22] Which is what launched my 30-day mobility challenge. If any of you were watching that, that was courtesy of Amy — why you got to see me rolling a chair around for 30 days — was because of Amy.
So, and I really do think, you know, shoulder, back, whatever it was. I think a lot of it is caused by what I do.
And people might be surprised to hear this, that as an online personal trainer what I do mostly is sit at my desk or with my phone and no one else is gonna see me, but Amy will see me, like, I sit like this, like I’m always on my phone like this.
So, what I just did was, I’m hunched over my phone or I’m hunched over my keyboard. And I think that’s probably is a big part. And that’s what you had told me of like, why I’m not feeling so great.
So, Amy, what is your advice for people who — and there’s a lot of us, right? And there’s probably even more of us right now than usual because think about all the teachers. I literally just got off another podcast with a teacher, second grade teacher, whose typical norm is, “I walk around the classroom all day and I walk my kids to PE and I’m kneeling down at their desk and I do all the stuff,” and she’s like, “now my norm is I sit in front of a computer the entire school day.” Right? Because she taught from home this entire spring into the summer here and she might be doing it again in the fall.
And there’s a lot of people in that situation, no matter what their old job used to be, they’re all sitting at home in front of their computer right now, right?
So, what are some of the key things that people can be doing to make sure they still are feeling good in that condition?
Amy: [00:09:50] Yep, definitely.
So, I think the first thing, especially like you mentioned for people that maybe aren’t used to sitting as much, like the teachers and stuff like that. I know a lot of people are desk workers, so maybe it’s not as big of a transition, but still for everybody, I think just creating an awareness is important.
How are you sitting at your desk? What is your posture like? Because I’m guilty of it, too. Like, if I get involved with a project, I’m sitting on my laptop or I’m on my phone, it’s like, “Oh my gosh, I am like the hunchback of Notre Dame,” my neck’s all turned this way or that way, and so just creating the awareness is number one.
And then just really thinking about how the positions that we’re in for long periods of time, like what our bodies are doing. Typically, like you mentioned, our shoulders are rounded forward, and our hips are flexed because we’re sitting. So just thinking about those static positions, we’re just kind of stuck there for long periods of time, and we need to kind of do something about that.
So, it doesn’t have to be complicated, it really just depends on what feels good to you. But really basic stuff, get up, get out of your chair. I recommend every 30 minutes, to be honest. I mean, sometimes I know that time can fly by, but if you have to, set a timer on your watch or your phone or something and just take two to three minutes, get up, walk around, see what feels maybe a little bit tight or tense, you know, some of the things that I do: shoulder rolls, scapular squeezes to kind of draw your shoulders back and open up your chest because your shoulders are rounded forward, your chest muscles are getting short. So, it’s kind of like just counterbalancing everything that’s kind of stuck when you’re sitting down.
Just that awareness and doing that on a regular basis, it’s amazing how different you can feel. It doesn’t take a long, complicated routine. Just that consistency, as you know, just make a world of difference.
Kim:
[00:11:57] It really did surprise me, Amy, how fast I started feeling better. I don’t remember anymore how many days it was, but do you remember I posted on my story — because I was posting every day — and it was just days in all of a sudden I’m like, “wow, I’m actually starting to notice a difference in how my back feel.”
Amy: [00:12:10] Oh yeah. Less than a week, for sure. Three to four days, maybe, you were feeling the difference. And I’m the same way. I started doing a morning and evening little 5 to 10-minute stretching routine, and I kind of fell out of it for a little bit. I think we had gone out of town or something happened. I don’t know, just I fell out of it. And I went back to it and it’s just like, “Oh wow.” You can feel how your muscles kind of start to tighten back up again, just from the day to day, but I’ll tell you within two or three days, boom, it felt good again, it was relaxing.
So just think if you’re consistent with that, how good that can feel and how maybe injuries can be avoided, pain can be avoided, and just really take that time. So, mobility is important, yes.
Kim: [00:12:57] Yeah, and I only started with one exercise and then I added a second and then I added a third. And so, we’re not talking a long time.
It was like, less than two minutes that I did this. It might’ve even been less than a minute. I think it was maybe a minute and 30 seconds. A day. I wasn’t doing this multiple times a day.
And so I think people might overestimate it and be like, “gosh, if I’m going to start some kind of stretching program…” it feels like that could be big, like a time commitment, like, “I don’t have time for that.” But who doesn’t have a minute and 30 seconds, right?
Amy: [00:13:26] Right, right.
It’s not like you have to plop down and crank out this 30-minute session of something. It’s not hard to do. Like I said, I do it before I get out of bed, you know?
Kim: [00:13:37] Oh, you do it IN bed?
Amy: [00:13:39] I do. I do mine in bed, actually.
Kim: [00:13:42] You gotta tell us about that. I like that because, you know, I will tell you, I’m like a lot of people, they reach their goal and they like move on and they don’t do that thing and so I have not been stretching as much and I’ll just do it randomly. And I was thinking the other day, I’m like, “I think I need to start doing that again.” Because what’s going to happen is, I’m going to lose the effects, right? And so, I need to start doing it again.
Okay, I like this idea. So that’s part of your morning routine, right? That’s the first thing you do?
Amy: [00:14:06] Yep. So, I do three things. Super easy. Well, maybe four, if you count breath work.
So, let’s talk a little bit about breath work. Diaphragmatic breathing, I feel is super important just for relaxation, for calm. I mean, there’s a ton of studies out there that show that it’s good for mental focus, anxiety, mood and all that stuff.
So, I always start with like three to four good deep breaths. And I used to teach it a certain way. As a physical therapist, I taught it all the time and I’ll tell you, I feel like I’ve kind of upped my game a little bit just doing some research. There’s some changes there. And some people, just to talk about breathing a little bit, a lot of people don’t realize how shallow they breathe.
You know, they’re kind of like chest-breathers — you know, our chest expands, but that’s about as far as it goes, So we really need to push that down a little bit further and go into, you know, really expanding the lungs, let the belly kind of expand, they call it belly-breathing, make sure your belly’s rising when you’re laying in bed, so you’re getting that air flow really deep. And that’s where you’re really going to get those receptors in your nervous system to respond and chill out.
I will say — I’m gonna shout out somebody else on Instagram that I really think is of benefit, she’s a fellow physical therapist and I’ve been following her for a while and she’s really kind of helped me up my game a little bit too, because she’s much younger than me, so she’s got a lot more newer information out there –@docjenfit. I don’t know if you’ve heard of her.
Kim: [00:15:49] Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
Amy: [00:15:52] So she has a breathing routine that really makes sense to me, that kind of branches off that diaphragmatic breathing. And it’s more, not so much your belly kind of expanding and pooching out, but your rib cage.
So she advises — which I’ve been trying this, and I really think it helps — is putting your hands on your lower rib cage instead of in the front, on your stomach, kind of on either side of your rib cage, kind of down low, where it kind of ends, and breathing so that your rib cage is expanding out into your hands.
So, you’re thinking about your body as a cylinder. And I know weightlifting and bracing exercise kind of goes along with that. You want to fill that up front, sides, back. Fill that up with air. So, when you put your hands on your ribs, I think you can tune into it better and just take that breath in and feel the rib cage kind of flair a little bit.
Then you know you’re really getting that full expansion. So, I like that idea. So, I kind of changed that up.
So, I do that, I do three to four deep breaths. You know, don’t get lightheaded. If you’re new to it, sometimes you can get a little lightheaded if you’re really breathing deeply.
So just find what works for you and just like with anything, when you practice it, it gets easier and you can do more. I do that, then I do a real simple hamstring stretch while I’m laying in bed, you know, just grab the back of my knee, behind my knee, and just do some nice stretches of the hamstrings.
Nothing fancy, don’t have to hold it really long, I just kind of mobilize my knee a little bit, maybe a few seconds of hold at the top when you’re feeling that stretch, but you don’t have to sit there for
30 seconds, 60 seconds, anything crazy like that. You’re just trying to get the blood flowing.
So, I’ll do maybe five on each side, then I do one of my favorites — and I actually did an IGTV about this. It’s on my Instagram because I was talking about it in one of my posts, and I’m like, “I’m going to show how to do this. Just so everybody gets to benefit.” But it’s a torso twist.
So, you lay on your side and then you do five on each side. So, like you lay on your right side, you kind of reach across your body with the top hand and then rotate and reach kind of behind you. So, you’re just kind of rotating your torso, kind of like what you did, but only just laying down in the bed.
And that just feels so good. And you just kind of coordinate your breathing with that. So, like you breathe in as you reach across your body and then you breathe out as you twist back, five of those on each side feels amazing.
And then that’s pretty much it, that’s kinda my routine. Sometimes I will throw in the cat-cow stretch.
Kim: [00:18:38] I love that one. That’s one of the ones I was doing.
Amy: [00:18:42] So I’ll do that one, just hands and knees, arching your back and then letting it kind of fall down a little bit. So, you’re just really getting your spine to move. But that’s it. And it just feels amazing even just after I do that and get out of bed and you know, the mornings I’ve done it and then the mornings I’ve forgotten to do it, it’s just different. You just feel good, your blood’s pumping, you just feel loosened up. I don’t know. It feels great.
Kim: [00:19:10] That’s fantastic.
I’ll make sure at the end we give out your Instagram handle so people can go check that stretch out. They might not be able to picture it as well, but for sure they can go and check it out.
Alright. I love this idea. Actually, you’re inspiring me, Amy. I’m going to start stretching every morning. I won’t be able to do it in bed. I get up too early. My husband’s still in bed. I’m sure he’d be like, “what the heck are you doing? It’s 5:30 in the morning. Why are you stretching? Stop moving.”
So, I would actually get out of bed, but I think I might start doing it there on the floor just as soon as I come down to my office. There’s carpet down here in my office, and maybe do it first thing.
I’ve always said I’m going to create a morning routine and I go in fits and starts and I’ve never actually done it. Maybe this could be my anchor thing. Like, I’ll start this and move from there.
Do you have other parts of your morning routine that you do after your stretching? Or is that your biggie?
Amy: [00:20:03] Well, that’s the first thing and then honestly, I guess — again, I’m kind of like talking pre and post COVID here, because I feel like I’ve changed up my routine.
My pre COVID “routine,” I wasn’t doing morning stretching, I’ll guarantee you that because I was getting up earlier than I have been. I was getting up early, I was throwing on my workout clothes, and I was either going to the gym and meeting some friends at the gym at 5:30 in the morning or going for a run.
So that was kind of my morning routine. It was kind of up and out to the gym or going for a run, just alternating that. So that looks completely different now because of everything that’s changed. The gym closed, we weren’t getting together, I’m like, “okay, I’m going to take the opportunity to try something different.”
So, I really slowed everything down. I got more sleep, which was great. I was struggling with that, because I’m not really a night owl, but I would still kind of struggle, like, “I’m going to bed by 10. I’m going to bed by 10,” and it just never happened. So, the alarm was going off at like 4:45 and it was like, “geez.” I didn’t succeed in that eight hours of sleep, you know, maybe I could get seven, but still, so I thought, “well, I’m going to try to get more sleep.”
So, I was just getting up later and the whole morning routine kicked in. So I was doing the morning stretches in bed and then after that, grabbing a cup of coffee and doing kind of a journaling quiet time, you know, just to kind of gather my thoughts, journal a little bit, set some goals for the day, set some intentions for the day.
And then I’ve been doing a gratitude practice for years, so I definitely kept up with that, but it’s actually putting it pen to paper in the morning and just kind of doing that. So that’s, I would say, has been my consistent morning routine is probably like the past three, four months now, just slower mornings and then the workouts would come after that. But it’s just nice to be able to sit in the quiet and not be up and outgoing. It’s been a nice change. I’ve enjoyed it.
Kim: [00:22:18] That’s fantastic. I think a lot of people are experiencing that same thing with Corona, that they’re getting more sleep because maybe their morning commute is knocked off or, just like you, they used to get up early and exercise, but you’re not going anywhere. And so, you know, maybe they can squeeze their workout in later. So yeah, I think more sleep is something a lot of us are experiencing with Corona.
You know, you mentioned something that I definitely want to hit on here, so Amy is known for her gratitude practice. Amy and I actually know each other from the Syatt Fitness Inner Circle. And Amy, I don’t know, it’s been a while. How long have you been posting this gratitude?
Amy: [00:22:53] I don’t know it’s been awhile.
Kim: [00:22:56] Maybe a year? I don’t know. It’s been a long time.
Amy’s posted daily gratitude post in the Syatt Fitness Inner Circle Facebook group every day. She posts something with three things she’s grateful for it and then lots of other people add on to things that they’re grateful for.
And so, it sounds like this has naturally sprung from what you do in your own life, that you have had a gratitude practice.
Tell us how that started and why you do it, how it benefits you, all of those kinds of things.
Amy: [00:23:24] So, the first time I can remember thinking about gratitude practice or keeping a gratitude journal was like the days of the Oprah Winfrey Show. I’m dating myself for that, but I remember my kids were little and I considered myself a super hero if I could get both my children to take a nap at the same time in the afternoon, because they’re just a year apart.
And I would fold laundry and watch Oprah while my kids slept. Like, that was my thing, you know? But I just remember her talking about gratitude and I had a quote here, but it was something along the lines of — and I truly believe this — it’s like, “if you focus on what you have, you’ll always end up having more. But if you focus on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”
And I just think it’s true and so I just kind of, I dabbled in it a little bit years ago, but then I just kind of circled back around to it probably about two or three years ago. I just was kind of going through some bumpy things personally and I’m like, “you know, I just need to get back to this.”
Because there is so much to be thankful for. Even if you’re having a crappy day, there’s still a ton to be thankful for. So I just started a journal, I just started writing things down and it’s pretty fantastic how, when you actually, not just thinking in your head, you know, because that’s one thing, but if you actually write it down, I think it just makes that connection.
So, writing it down day in and day out, it would just create an awareness. And then when I would be going out and about my day, I would just notice things more. You know, like maybe things that you would totally breeze by and not pay any attention to in the past, but then, because you’re kind of into that gratitude mode, things stick out to you more and you can just really feel more appreciative of things.
And it just, it’s a game changer. It’s a mood changer. I don’t know, it just made my life a lot better and I just felt like my attitude was better and then the people that were around me, their attitudes were better and I just found myself just in a much better place just by that simple practice.
Kim: [00:25:52] I totally agree.
When we’re actively looking for those things, we find them, right? It’s just how it works. If you wake up every day and you are specifically looking for “what can I be grateful for today?” You know? And I’ve done it in the past and like, given myself like a game, like you can’t name the same thing for a certain period of time. Because if you’re like, “Oh, what are the top three things you’re grateful for?” Obviously, it’s gonna be like, “my family,” you know? “My home.”
But if you’re like, “okay, you have to think of something different, you have the think of something different,” then you start looking for all these, what might feel like minor things, but are actually the things that just really — and because the things you post and things that people share in the group, they’re very minor things, you know, like, I could write down like, “I’m super grateful for these beautiful sunflowers today” and tomorrow it could be whatever — you know, just all these little things.
But they’re the kinds of things that they end up impacting our lives in a big way over time, all these little tiny things.
Amy: [00:26:46] Yep. And I think that’s the challenge because it’s very easy to say, “I’m grateful for my kids, I’m grateful for my family, I’m grateful for my health,” which, obviously yes, we are. But it’s like, some of the things that, you know, like I’ve just not too long ago, I was like, “I’m grateful that it stopped raining so I could get into the grocery store and it wasn’t downpouring,” you know? Or “I’m thankful that my daughter picked up the coffee creamer when we were out, and she brought it home.”
It’s just those little things that you’re just like, “Oh, that was so nice.” “Oh, that just made me feel happy.” Just that little burst of happiness, you know? And it’s just those little things that you really start to pay attention to.
Kim: [00:27:27] Absolutely. So Amy, whenever I have a woman on, I always like to hear about what she does for fitness, because I want the women who listen to be inspired by other women who are pursuing fitness and see what is possible and what are other people’s goals.
So, tell us what you have going on right now in your life for fitness. What do you do and what are your main fitness goals?
Amy: [00:27:48] So right now I’ve kind of just been dabbling. Really, I’ve been taking a lot of walks. That’s just been kind of like my comfort zone, just walking is huge. And I always appreciate you hollering at us to get up and get our steps in, but I think it’s important.
I think it’s important to have that awareness, again, just like everything else, of getting up and moving because it’s easy to, you know, I do work out, I lift weights. I enjoy doing that usually about three times a week, sometimes four, if I’m really getting after it. But outside of that too, it’s important to get your activity level up just in general.
So, I definitely get my steps in, working on that. I love to lift weights. I think it’s amazing, it feels great. Our gym actually did open last week. I haven’t been back yet, but I’m hoping to maybe kind of peek in there and see if there’s, you know, again, I was in an early bird group and it was usually pretty crowded, so I’m kind of curious to see what might work out best as far as time goes.
Kim: [00:28:49] Did you say it WAS crowded? The early bird time was crowded? I
Amy: [00:28:52] It was crowded, yeah.
Kim: [00:28:53] When you were at that gym at five in the morning, it was crowded? Wow.
Amy: [00:28:56] Yeah, it was busy.
Kim: [00:28:57] I was always so impressed; you’d post your nighttime picture outside Planet Fitness every day. I’m like, “she’s crazy.”
Amy: [00:29:03] Yep. “I’m here in the dark, everyone.”
No, but it was actually pretty darn busy. I mean, there was just kind of a pretty solid group of people that you would see every day. I felt like it was kind of like my gym family, because it was like kind of the same group that were just there and so many of them would be walking out in their work clothes, showered and off to work, you know?
So, we’ll see. I have some flexibility in my schedule now, so I might be able to get in there a little bit later in the morning. Maybe it won’t be as crowded. We’ll see. I’m still just a little bit hesitant, but I’m actually anxious to go check it out and see how they’re handling everything. And it sounds like they really put a lot of good practices in place to keep everybody safe. I’m sure they have.
But while I’ve been at home, I have some adjustable dumbbells. I’ve just been kind of making the most of that. I’ve got some bands. Carter has been working on some programs through the summer, kind of some challenges. So, I’ve been kind of following along with those, just to kind of stay in the group and answer questions as kind of the assistant coaching role.
I thought, “well, I’m just going to follow along with everybody else and do this.” So I’ve just been working on that, you know, just full body workouts, lifting as much as I can with what I have and just trying to maintain the strength and then hopefully get back into the gym and start lifting heavier again when I have more access.
Kim: [00:30:26] That’ll be fun. That’ll be a good day.
Well, thanks so much for joining me here today and talking about these things. So many important topics we’ve covered here in such a short period of time. Tell everybody where they can find you.
Amy: [00:30:38] Okay. I’m basically just on Instagram. It’s @amyrudolph832fitness and that’s where I pretty much post on the regular and that’s it.
Kim: [00:30:59] All right. Well, thanks so much! It was good talking with you and catching up and talking about these important things. You really did help me so much with my back. It was incredible. That was a life changer for me right then.
It’s hard to think about other things when you’re in pain, you know? And it wasn’t like shooting pain, like, I knew I hadn’t injured myself, so I’m like, “what the heck is this?” And I’d be trying to walk and either relax or do some work while I was walking. And all I could think about the fact that my back hurt. So, kudos to you for helping me get that under control.
Amy: [00:31:27] You’re very welcome.
Kim: [00:31:28] All right, my dear, we’ll talk soon.
Amy: [00:31:30] Okay. Take care, Kim. Thank you!
Kim: [00:31:32] Okay, bye.
Thanks so much for being here and listening in to Fitness Simplified podcast today. I hope you found it educational, motivational, inspirational, all the kinds of -ational.
If you enjoyed it, if you found value in it, it would mean so much to me if you would go ahead and leave a rating and review on whatever platform you are listening to this on. It really does help to get this podcast to other people.
Thanks so much.
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