From Ski Slopes to Tennis Courts: Integrating Sports into Your Wellness Journey

Ever wondered how your weekend tennis match could revolutionize your health? I'm Dr. Jason Littleton, and this time, we're exploring the synergy between the sports you adore and your physical well-being. Straight from the snowy slopes of Tahoe, I'll share how my skiing escapade isn’t just a pastime, it's a cornerstone of my fitness regime, keeping me in top shape year-round. You'll be amazed to find out how gearing your health goals to your favorite activities, from rowing to the trendy game of pickleball, can lead to significant improvements in your weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.

As CEO of Littleton Concierge Medicine, I've developed the M.E.D.S. philosophy—Move, Eat, Drink, Sleep.  In this podcast, we'll talk about its vital role in cultivating a lifestyle that combats the sedentary traps set by our tech-driven world. Get ready to be energized as we discuss the importance of being active, setting health milestones linked to your hobbies, and priming your body for both fun and peak performance. Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or looking for motivation to get moving, this conversation promises to spark a fire in your quest for a healthier, happier life.

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Disclaimer:
Access to the Information and materials contained in this podcast is at your own risk. The information contained is presented for the purpose of educating the consumer on a variety of wellness and health care topics (the “Information”). Nothing contained is intended to be instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. The Information contained is compiled from a variety of sources. The Information should not be considered complete and not exhaustive and should not be in place of a visit or consultation with your own primary care doctor.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

There's no need to go for a walk, because whatever we need can come to us, and so being sedentary is a real problem. Hello, welcome to the concierge doc podcast. I'm your host, dr Jason Littleton, ceo and founder of Littleton concierge medicine. I am so excited to speak with you today. Welcome to the podcast. On today's podcast, we're talking about what your sport or hobby or activity can do for your health care.

Speaker 1: 0:43

I just came back from a fabulous vacation and, like Tahoe skiing, doing one of my favorite hobbies I'm going to tell you how it affects my life on today's podcast. Let's jump into it. I had this fabulous skiing vacation in Tahoe and I'm a skier. I love skiing. Skiing motivates me to work out, and while you can only do that when there's snow on the ground and you can only do that seasonally, I'm motivated to work out throughout the entire year, so that the one or two times I go skiing it's totally on point. So, from the beginning the chairlift starts to the end that the chairlift closes, I'm skiing all day where I'm not tired, my legs are right, my back is right, my wind is right, meaning my cardiovascular health, because I prepared my body. You know, skiing is not the cheapest sport. It can be pretty expensive, and so you could spend thousands of dollars to go out there and not enjoy it because you're not in the shape that you need to be and you get so much more out of your skiing vacation when you're in shape, and I understand that. I mean I've had trips where I bought airline tickets, bought hotel tickets, got my family lessons, all these things spent thousands of dollars and then I could only ski for one or two hours because the altitude got to me or I was tired or my legs got tired, and that's just not fun and you can't do anything in the moment there because you need to ramp up and get your body ready. So whenever I go skiing something I again love to do I am training weeks, months ahead of time, getting my wind right, like I said, my legs right, my back right, so I can enjoy it. But it goes beyond that, you know, because I realize that this motivates me to set goals for my healthy living. It's a reward too, for the hard work that I do, even as a doctor, and it's a stress reliever for me because I'm out there on my own playground.

Speaker 1: 2:41

Now Maybe you want to do skiing or maybe you want to do another sport, but it's something that can motivate you to change your numbers. And when I say numbers, I'm talking about, you know, weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, the things that matter to us. And it's so awesome that when you're motivated to buy a sport, to get out there, work out so you can go have fun, that at the same time you're changing your numbers. Now, for me it's skiing, but for you it could be rowing, it could be swimming, it could be basketball, it could be pickleball. That's the new sport that's really picked up, but it's so important you should do something.

Speaker 1: 3:19

You know, in a previous podcast I've, or in one of my books, energy, on Secrets to Do the Good Life, I've talked about my formula meds movie, drink, sleep. And when we talk about movement, you have to be active. You can't be sedentary. These days it's so easy to be sedentary because we've got. We've got smartphones, we've got TVs, we've got streaming systems, we've got all the things that we could just be at home and we can have whatever art we order brought to us, whether it's food, whether it's an item at the store. There's no need to go out anymore, there's no need to go for a walk, because whatever we need can come to us, and so being sedentary is a real problem.

Speaker 1: 4:01

You know, people are gaining weight, blood sugar is increasing, blood pressure is going up, increases susceptibility to all types of infectious diseases. Because you're not being healthy Gaining weight, heart disease, getting sick. You wanna have your body primed up so that you're healthy, you have good cardiovascular health, your weight is within normal limitations, your blood sugar is controlled, your cholesterol is controlled. You wanna do something and your part is to be active. Your part is to exercise your muscles to increase your metabolism. It's so important. Let's motivate you with something that you like to do. Is it pickleball with your friends? Is it playing a pickup basketball? You know, what are you motivated to do? You have to find out, as people are motivated to do something. We're not designed to just stay on the couch. It's so important.

Speaker 1: 4:52

And why not have fun? Why not have fun with what you wanna do? Why not have a hobby that motivates you to have longevity? That's what I'm talking about and that's what skiing does for me. I mean, I have a goal to ski to. I'm 90. I'm 46 now. I love skiing. I'm a good skier. I want to stay in great shape. I don't wanna get injured. I wanna be flexible, I wanna be strong, I wanna have good heart health. I mean, that's a goal of mine.

Speaker 1: 5:21

I was on a ski trip one time and I was on a bus going to a resort and I was sitting next to an elderly woman and I said, hey, what are you going up to do? That lady looked at me like I was crazy. She said I'm going to go skiing. I'm like, well, yeah, I guess. So right, we're on the same bus. I mean, age doesn't have to stop you. It's so important that you set goals for the long term, that you set goals to be healthy, that you set goals to not have to be in the hospital, that you set goals to do the things that you love. What are you on earth to do? Accomplish it. But you're gonna need lifespan, you're gonna need years. So let's make an impact.

Speaker 1: 6:05

And again, this was part of my discussion in movie Drink Sleep, but I wanted to just share with you that my skiing vacation was awesome. I was in Tahoe with some friends and I was able to really just get at it. There was fresh powder, there was great conditions, beautiful place. If you've not ever been to Lake Tahoe. You got the lake, you got all sorts of ski resorts around there. Your skiing, you're looking at the lake, you're looking at the nature. It was incredible. I felt great.

Speaker 1: 6:31

And so when you do something like that, that motivates you. It carries over the other areas, it carries over to your career you wanna be motivated there. It carries over to even your relationships. You're just pepier, you're happier, you have good mood. So you got those endorphins going. So, and not just that, it's a stress reliever. I did say that and that's important, because when you work hard and when you, if there's a lot of stress in your life because of a lot of responsibility, it's great to go play, and that's what I did.

Speaker 1: 7:08

So I just wanted to share with you. I mean, that is pretty meaningful to me. I think it makes a difference as far as my stress level and my mood and it just motivates me to stay healthy. And I wanted to share that with you because I wanna motivate you to stay healthy. I want you healthy, I want you feeling good, I want you enjoying life. So I wanted to give that personal example today. I hope that motivates you. I you know, look, if you're a skier, I hope to see you out there. If you're a runner, let's get going. Look, there's more to come from my podcast. I hope you enjoyed the things I had to share today. Again, thank you. I want you to follow me on all my handles Instagram, facebook, at the real Dr Jason, subscribe to my podcast. Thank you for joining me today. I can't wait to see you again. Have a good weekend.