On today's episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with physical therapist and former strength and conditioning coach Cameron Yuen of Bespoke Treatments. They discuss why Cameron became a physical therapist, what makes his practice unique, and his philosophy on training and PT. Cameron also shares insights about the different energy systems in our bodies and the ways to train each of them in a balanced way.
Episode Highlights:
- 08:15 - Cameron's background growing up is in kickboxing and martial arts.
- 09:10 - Cameron started the lifting team at UC San Diego, but ultimately found powerlifting to be too one-dimensional for him.
- 09:56 - His highest deadlift was 485lbs and about 580lbs benching.
- 10:45 - Cameron found that his body was developing some imbalances due to the training required for powerlifting, and shifted to training almost exclusively with kettlebells.
- 12:10 - Cameron learned techniques in training with kettlebells to control his breath, relaxation, and turning off tension quickly.
- 12:53 - Cameron points out that powerlifting only trains one energy system, but he recognizes that some people need low-intensity training as well.
- 14:40 - The three energy systems are anaerobic alactic, anaerobic lactic, and aerobic.
- 16:25 - Most people will want to stay between the alactic and aerobic zones, but some high-intensity training will go into the lactic zone.
- 16:55 - Cameron structures training with the recognition that all the energy systems affect each other.
- 19:53 - Cameron encourages using wearables to track heart rate and your energy zones.
- 21:28 - They share thoughts on the idea that anything over 5 reps is cardio.
- 24:15 - Cameron decided to get his doctorate in physical therapy because he wanted to be able to work with clients at every part of the spectrum—people with injuries, beginners, post-op clients, etc.
- 26:25 - Cameron found that his background in strength training helped him immensely in PT school.
- 27:45 - When physical therapists and trainers don't meet clients where they're at to challenge them appropriately, they can end up in the "rehab black hole."
- 30:30 - Cameron's practice does a comprehensive evaluation of every patient's strength, joints, and injuries.
- 30:53 - A lot of PT practices send you off to an aide who isn't a trainer to do your exercises, so Cameron's practice is set up more like a small gym and they see themselves as a strength training center.
- 33:40 - Part of meeting people where they're at is understanding what they'll actually do at home between sessions. This will result in better compliance from your patients.
- 35:40 - Sometimes patients' injuries could be alleviated if they lost weight or addressed some other bigger issue that should come first before addressing smaller issues.
- 36:35 - There has to be a relationship and rapport with the client before you can have a conversation about lifestyle.
- 42:45 - They discuss their thoughts about the Active Release gun to break up scar tissue.
- 44:20 - Different types of sensory information affect patients differently once contextualized in their brains.
- 45:47 - They discuss their thoughts on foam rolling. Cameron thinks it's great if it helps you and makes you feel better, but he doesn't especially care if someone does it.
- 49:20 - It's important to decide what your goal is with therapies and tissue work because that will impact what you do and when you do it.
- 53:00 - Bespoke switched to virtual appointments when COVID hit and now they're back to about 50/50 virtual and in person visits.
- 55:55 - Cameron thinks most people are probably too one-dimensional in their exercise because they gravitate towards what they're good at when you should really focus on your weaknesses.
3 Key Points:
- Work to make your training plan less one-dimensional.
- Meet clients where they are and be realistic about what they will do on their own.
- A lot of therapeutic treatments work differently for different people.
Tweetable Quotes:
- "Some people never want to get better, necessarily, and they want to have their hand held, but I think the goal should be to make yourself better than you were prior to the surgery." –James Wheeler
- "I don't care what you do in your treatment session so long as you are taking care of what is actually important." –Cameron Yuen
- "If you really care about your health, your physical expression, you should explore all the different types of exercise and movement that are offered." –Cameron Yuen
Resources Mentioned:
