Judd Van Sickle, MS, MBA, Director of UC Davis Sports Medicine Performance Center, answered audience questions following his 2023 Wellness Academy presentation.
His Q&A. found below, covers a range of topics, from the impact of genetics on health to how to navigate exercise with injuries.
Q&A with Judd Van Sickle, MS, MBA
Transcript has been edited for clarity.
Q: How much does genetics come into play when it comes to function and healthspan?
Mr. Van Sickle: By far the most important part is what’s called your epigenetics, or the expression of your genetic code that’s influenced by things like what you do, what you eat, and how you move. And those factors are going to be far more important than the lot you were given at birth.
Maybe you’re not going to be a two hour marathoner but that doesn’t me you can’t be the healthiest version of yourself. And for me and for most people out their, it’s probably a little healthier than they are now.
Q: It sounds like it’s the value of start wherever you are. Does committing to exercise really make a difference at any age, or is it only for young people?
Mr. Van Sickle: I could argue either way. When you’re young you’re setting yourself up to have a higher baseline fitness, which automatically is going to give you better fitness as you age, but you could make just as strong of an argument that starting an exercise program at 75 is going to make massive increases in your ability to function on a day to day basis.
I think it’s critical at every age, and obviously you’re going to have ebbs and flows throughout the years. But you know, we just got to do our best the whole time.
Q: So how should one view developing an exercise plan based on their age?
Mr. Van Sickle: Well the first thing is meeting yourself where you are. Right? If you are already pretty active, you can start off with a little bit more vigor. If you’re relatively sedentary, you just need to start with the basics. You know, start getting up and walking more.
But it really is just meeting yourself where you are regardless of age. The only thing I can really add with respect to age is the older you are, the more you really need to pay attention to your ability to recover, because it is going to be the different from when you were younger.
Be patient with yourself, give yourself a little bit of extra time to recover between your activities and you’ll be fine. But you can start anywhere, at any age. Exercise is still the same exercise that we may have done 100 years ago, but the one big difference is that we have a lot of bio-metrics now and people are monitoring themselves.
Q: What is the most important thing to focus on first or prioritize like getting enough steps, sleep, calories, or even glucose?
Mr. Van Sickle: I may have a different answer than what they’re looking for here. And my first answer is all of these things you can measure are wonderful and it’s amazing we can do all of this. But the end result, hopefully, is that you’ll be touch with your body.
You should learn how to feel how your body is reacting to the various changes, and if there are tools to help you along the way and help you measure, and help you progress, then great!
You know, have a pedometer on your wrist, whether it’s your Apple Watch or your Fitbit or whatever it is, to help you gradually build up your steps during the day. Although, for the most part, I am just old school, It’s less important the specifics and more important that you’re just doing something.
You’re getting up and moving. You’re picking up something heavy. Every once in awhile you’re moving quickly. I really feel like if it helps you to achieve your goals, then you know, use the step counter, use the fitness watch, and use the heart rate monitor. But I don’t think we need to chain ourselves to those in order to be physically active or fit.
Q: What should I do if I begin exercising and I experience soreness or even pain? Should I push through or does that mean I should stop?
Mr. Van Sickle: If you’re a little sore the next day, that’s pretty normal when you’re getting started. But if it’s actual pain, slow down a little bit and focus on your movement quality, the mobility piece. Don’t go crazy with it when you’re just beginning, be patient with yourself.
Really work on your mobility, your stability, your balance. You know, your ability to move well before you worry about loading it and doing all the hard core stuff. Move well first, that’s what I stress the most.
I also want to emphasize that no matter what is going on, you can most likely find a way to be physically active and work around whatever those restrictions are. And I don’t want people to think, oh, I have to fill in the blank, therefore I can’t move at all. For example I see people in the weight room like, oh, I hurt my knee, and then they just stop lifting. But what about your other muscles and the rest of the body? You can always find a way to move, to be physically active. And you may need help and some guidance to get there through your doctor or physical therapist, but don’t let it stop you.
Q: What are the benefits of exercise for chronic illness or our immunity?
Mr. Van Sickle: So absolutely it will improve your immune system by being more physically fit. Whether it is, you know, simply just condition your mitochondria to produce more energy, it’s going to help feed your immune system to function better. When you have physical fitness, you better have immunity if you go too far overboard.
Like tomorrow, we’ve got the Sacramento Ironman. I bet there is a lot of people, myself included, that might classify that as maybe a little bit overboard, but if you do that too hard and too often you may end up on the other side of the health slope. But for the most part, just about every disease risk we can think of gets improved as you get fitter, as you are more physically active.
Q:What’s the best time to exercise? In the morning, mid day, or the evening?
Mr. Van Sickle: Number one, whatever works best with your schedule, right. Where does it fit in? Where are you most motivated to exercise? Because that is going to be a major determinant on whether or not you’re able to stick with it. If I can tell you the best time to exercise is at 4:00 in the morning, it’s probably not going to work out for a lot of people.
When you get into the literature, they’ll show for higher level athletes, you’ll get a better response for cardiovascular stuff in the morning and a better power strength in sprinting in the evening. But honestly, it’s what works best for your schedule. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
Q: How do you get around a injury that keeps someone from getting started exercising, like a knee injury or aches and pains?
Mr. Van Sickle: Again, consult your physicians and if there is something that they can help you with to fix that up then great. For example, maybe we start working with knee mobility and stability and then strength around the knee to stabilize it better, you may find it starts to function better. And then you’re able to move around and do those activities better.
But if you can’t, maybe you find something different. Maybe you’re doing exercise with your upper body, maybe you find a modality such as riding a bike, or something else that doesn’t bother your knee, that allows you to do those things. But again, starting with, function first and addressing the injury. I think that is the best way to go, rather than say my knee hurts, so I can’t do this. Well, let’s work on making the knee better, and maybe strengthening it and the rest of your body along the way.
Watch Judd Van Sickle’s full presentation for more expert advice on movement and wellness.
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