Nutrition

A: My name is Mike Hirthler and I am in love with the pursuit of wellness. I am very fond of the analogy that your body is a car. What fuel you give it, how hard you drive it, and your routine maintenance of it can all influence how long and how well your car will run.

I received my Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from Penn State, and my Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Thomas Jefferson University. Both degrees taught me a lot about caring for our cars. Throughout the past 7 years I have been coaching Functional Training on and off while in school, coaching at a few different gyms all with different populations. My Functional Training experience has, and continues to, heavily influence my opinion of true health and wellness. Conversations on the importance of the low hanging fruit of wellness are often talked about in these gyms; nutrition, mindset, movement, stress and sleep.

Surprisingly, these conversations aren’t as common in the healthcare setting. This past January I began my first job as an RN at Capital Health in Trenton, and recently made my home on the Surgical Trauma unit. I think of myself as a healthcare worker supporting our nation’s health from two sides. The proactive provider (coaching Functional Training and helping members live healthier lifestyles to avoid chronic disease), and the reactive provider (helping patients in the hospital). Functional Training is the yin to my Nursing yang.

Q: What are you seeing at the health center where you work in light of COVID-19.

A: This pandemic has been really interesting to watch unfold. At Capital Health we are in relatively uncharted waters in an underprepared boat. The unit I work on treats post-op surgical and trauma patients. This is a large patient population in the Trenton community, so our unit has been treating our regular patients and overflow patients from the units that had to be transformed to COVID units. Currently, over half of the patients in our hospital are there with COVID. We are running low on essential PPE, policies and procedures are being changed daily, and nurses and doctors are treating different patient populations than they are used to. More and more employees are testing positive and are required to self quarantine, which stresses our staffing abilities. It is an uncomfortable time for most of my colleagues as they have to go home to their children and families with the uncertainty that they could be carrying the virus. On the other side of this storm, I have seen my colleagues come together, support each other, and even volunteer to go to the COVID units so someone else who is hesitant to wouldn’t have to. There has been amazing support from the community, including our Transcend family, and it has been extremely appreciated.

Q: What are the most important things we can do in an effort to stay virus free right now… speaking as a professional on the front lines?

A: It all boils down to a few simple steps you need to follow. Stay home unless going out for essential items. Do not socialize with any new people you haven’t been quarantining with. Wash your hands regularly and do not rub your eyes or bite your nails/fingers. If going into a public place, wear a mask if you have one or anything that adequately covers your mouth and nose. Disposable gloves in public are not necessary, just proper hand hygiene. Your ability to fight a virus depends on your state of health as well. So now more than ever it is important to eat right, get quality sleep, manage your stress and get outside each day.

Q:What is the hardest thing about your job?

A: I know the answer to this question will change over time, for as of now I have only been working as a nurse for about 3 months. The population I treat is one of patients who have experienced a random and traumatic life event. The course of their life may or may not be greatly altered, and their functional capacity is often affected temporarily if not permanently. There is a daily reminder, if not several, that anything can happen to anyone. That being said, it has only made me more grateful for the life I am able to live.

Q: So far, how do you deal with the stress of the traumas that you see weekly… any best practices, hacks for handling the stress of life.

A: My practices haven’t changed much since starting work. Most of my mornings, working or not, start with meditation and movement. I use the app Waking Up by Sam Harris for a 10 minute guided meditation. This ten minutes a day of quiet focus and attention has noticeably influenced my mindset and my reactivity to whatever arises throughout the day. Then I try to move for at least 10 minutes. Yoga, stretching, a run, a body weight workout, anything. If short on time, a few reps are better than none. I find I operate better and have more energy throughout the day if I start it with some movement.

Other ways of clearing my mind have been writing and reading. Trying to read a minimum of 10 pages a day and journal at least 2 pages. These two habits slip by me often, but when I am consistent with them I tend to find my mind at ease. Journaling has been a huge help for me over the past few years. The process of organizing and spilling your thoughts on paper opens up space in your mind and turns down some of the noise. I also eat a lot of Halo Top ice cream, and that makes me happy.

Filed Under: Events, General, MyZone, Nutrition, Personal Training, Transcend Fitness Club, Wellness

Dec 05 2019

Toy Drive Throwdown

Our Toy Drive Throwdown is Back December 12th at 6pm!

We are excited to kick off another year of 12 Days of Fitmas with a Toy Drive Throwdown benefiting Bucks County Children and Youth.

We will be holding the gym-wide Throwdown on December 12 at 6pm. Entry is free but all members must bring a wrapped toy to participate in the throwdown.

There are two ways you can provide toys to the children of BCC&Y:

1. Bring your choice of a toy wrapped and labeled with who it would ideally be for (example: toy for 4-5 year old girl)

2. Choose a tag from our giving tree for children at BCC&Y who have asked for specific items and bring one requested toy wrapped and labeled with the tag we have provided (example: doll for Kayla).

IMPORTANT
There are giving trees in both gyms with children’s names and the items they have requested are 0n the gift tags.

*Members do NOT have to participate in the throwdown if they only wish to gift a toy!*

See you December 12th at 6pm!

Filed Under: Events, General, MyZone, Nutrition, Personal Training, Transcend Fitness Club, Wellness

Oct 26 2019

Build a Life You Don’t Need a Vacation From

Build a life you don’t need a vacation from.

Look, I know that sounds hallmark-esque and idealistic but there ARE ways we can eliminate some unnecessary elements from our lives in the pursuit of building a life we dont need a vacation from.

Suggestion: AUDIT

What are you on about, you say? Audit. Audit your year. Glance back at 2019 thus far and make a list with four categories on it.

1. LOVED IT, need MORE of this

2. Purposeful, enjoyable, fruitful, but dial it back a bit- less is more.

3. NEVER AGAIN will I do this. Waste of time/drain of energy/emotions/resources/fills with dread/takes to long to recover from the impact of.

4. Haven’t done this but I want to so I am going to list. If that’s a day off, plan it. if it’s a needed date, write down TODAY when that is going to happen.

Get your paper and pens, or if you are too techno for that, make some techno list, but I’m serious: Look back and audit the pants off of your last 10 months. Why? Time is not a renewable resource. Your time whether you see it this way or not, is unique to you and a commodity that none of us can afford to waste.

*Still go on vacation* but we do have an element of control of our atmospheres, and if there is something you can shed, add, or re-position, do it today!

Filed Under: General, MyZone, Nutrition, Personal Training, Wellness

Jul 31 2018

Keeping it Whole

Food is MORE Than Calories

I wanted to take a moment today to talk about why I always recommend including whole foods into my clients’ daily food consumption. When we eat, many people focus on the calories going in and out of your body, but food is MORE than calories. The foods we eat all have certain properties and components that all have an effect on our bodies. This is why sometimes you feel bloated when you eat certain foods or feel great when you eat others.

But WHY are Whole Foods Better?

Whole foods and vegetables contain more vitamins and minerals per serving than processed and chemically manufactured foods. The vitamins, minerals, and overall makeup of the food you are consuming CHANGES the way it is absorbed and used in your body. Vitamins and minerals, while not a fuel source or calorie-containing, are essential to carrying out almost all bodily functions. For example, Vitamin B helps your body with energy production and immune function, Vitamin D and Calcium work together to support bone health and strength. The more whole foods you can include, the more vitamins and minerals you are consuming, the better your body is able to function, the better you feel!!

Even though counting calories and macros might help lead you to your goals, filling those calories using whole foods will get you there even faster and feeling better.

How to Incorporate Whole Foods into Your Diet

Whole foods are any foods that have not been processed in any way, or has been minimally altered. An easy way to pick out a whole food is to choose something that doesn’t have any other ingredients than what it is. For example, a carrot doesn’t have any other ingredients other than: carrot. The best way to start incorporating more whole foods into your diet is to shop on the outside aisles of the grocery store. Choose foods like fruits and vegetables in their whole form (or maybe pre-cut if you’re low on time) and meats. There are TONS of quick and easy recipes using just whole foods that you can make a staple of your weekly meal prep. One of my favorites is this Deconstructed Stuffed Pepper from Stupid Easy Paleo.

Give your body the fuel it needs and see how much better you can feel!

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: nutrition, recipe, whole foods