Eat Half, Walk Double Chris J. Dunn

Krissy St. Jean is my guest this week.  After spending more than a decade as a nurse in traditional healthcare settings she started her own functional medicine nurse consulting business, St. Jean Functional Health, in January of 2024.  Now as a holistic integrative nurse, she offers a conventional and complementary approach to healthcare that cares for the whole person rather than an organ system.  And it’s her specific approach to optimizing sleep, nutrition, and stress that our conversation focuses on today. As athletes and coaches ourselves, we agree that excellent health is a pre-requisite for optimal fitness.  And these three areas are part of the foundation of that excellent health.       
Guest Provided Link:
St. Jean Functional Health, PLLC
Recommended Reading
Why We Sleep: Unlocking The Power Of Sleep And Dreams, Matthew Walker, PhD

Scott Gordon is my guest this week.  The wild places here in the northeast are a soul soothing escape for many from near and far.  And perhaps because of their unassuming nature, these inviting mountain tops can sometimes lull the experienced and inexperienced alike into situations that quickly go from “wonderful day in the woods” to “tragic day in the wilderness”.  And few understand this better than Scott.  As a member of the New Hampshire Outdoor Council and an avid hiker, he takes his role in promoting the safe and responsible enjoyment of the backcountry through education and information sharing quite seriously.  If you enjoy hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, or frankly any other wilderness, this will be valuable information.  It might actually save your life.



Guest Provided Resources


HikeSafe 10 Essentials:

● Pocket Knife

● Rain Jacket & Pants

● Fire starter

● First Aid Kit

● Whistle

● Headlamp or flashlight

● Water & Food

● Warm Clothing

● Compass

● Map



Hike Plan

● Keep the goal reasonable within the scope of your ability.

● Avalanche terrain, climbing terrain, winter hiking require a different perspective, gear, and skill set.

● Communication: Leave plans with someone which includes start and estimated finish times, trails, bailout options, plan B, gear, food, water carried, and people in the group. Specify a person designated to call S&R at a designated time with enough flexibility to not be calling out prematurely. This is the ideal.

● If you leave a plan and a time, you commit to a plan and a time unless your safety deems otherwise.

● If you start in a group, it's best to stay in a group. Conditions may require otherwise. A group of four allows an injured person, nurse, and two runners.

● Groups are not necessarily safer than solo. Group dynamics really matter.

● When to turn back: when the weakest person in the party should turn back (hard to gauge sometimes). Bad weather, fatigue, changes in trail conditions, water crossings, animal encounters, snow conditions, and of course, unexpected complications (forgot food or needed gear), when your instinct says to turn around, and time of day (!) are all reasons to turn around.



New Hampshire Outdoor Council: https://nhoutdoorcouncil.org/

New Hampshire Fish & Game Hikesafe Card: https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/get-outside/hiking-safety



Mount Washington Observatory Weather Forecasts (Higher Summits, MWV, Regional) https://mountwashington.org/weather/



Northeast River Forecast Center (River

https://www.weather.gov/nerfc/



Mountain Forecast (Mountain Specific Weather Forecasts) https://www.mountain-forecast.com/



Hikesafe 10 Essentials and The Code: https://hikesafe.com/the-code



WMNF Closures and Alerts https://www.fs.usda.gov/whitemountain



New England Trail Conditions (crowd sourced, but valuable info) https://newenglandtrailconditions.com/



Recommended Reading:

Where You’ll Find Me by Ty Gagne

The Last Traverse by Ty Gagne

Critical Hours by Sandy Stott

Not Without Peril by Nicholas Howe

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

Bushcraft 101 by Dave Canterbury

I’m Chris Dunn and I am an exercise physiologist and owner of Ascend Human Performance Coaching.  Today’s episode is the first in a series about endurance sports-related injuries, specifically conditions known as tendinopathies.  The special expert guest for this series is Dwight Hartman.  Dwight is a physical therapist with four decades of experience in the field.  He is presently the owner of Hartman Physical Therapy in Hingham, MA where he offers among other things therapeutic exercise instruction, shockwave therapy, dry needling, cold laser and infrared light therapy, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, and balance and proprioceptive training.  It’s truly an honor and a pleasure to not only call him a colleague, but also a great friend.



Guest Provided Link:

Hartman Physical Therapy

I’m Chris Dunn and I am, by profession, an exercise physiologist and human performance coach.  I am the founder, owner, and operator of Ascend Human Performance Coaching.  I am driven every day by the knowledge that each of us possesses the capability to give more, to do more, and to be more than just the ordinary.  This special Human Performance Workshop series will provide science-based actionable tools to help you elevate your performance to the next level. 

The Loon Mountain Race is one of the premier mountain races in the United States.  Located in Lincoln, NH the event regularly draws hundreds of participants from across the US and around the world.  The race has hosted numerous national championships, and as such, is one of the greatest physical tests in the sport today.  While nearly six miles and 3000 feet of vertical gain is a challenge in anyone’s book, the final kilometer of the course on the double black diamond ski slope known as Upper Walking Boss averages a soul crushing 40% grade with short sections in excess of 50% grade.  The mixture of exhaustion and exhilaration as you stand on top of North Peak at the finish is something you must experience to fully understand.  Today, in part one of a three part series, we are going to talk about how to prepare for this epic race at this time of year.  I’ll draw upon my knowledge as an exercise physiologist and human performance specialist, my years of past experience as the race director of the event, and what I learned as a participant of the race.

Ascend Human Performance Coaching, LLC

Synergy Stack®
Core Essentials®Pull-Ups (5-10) [may be assisted]Push-Ups (Pull (primary)Chest Press, DB or machine (10)Seated Row (10)Leg Press, Squats, or Deadlifts (10)Lunges (10/side)Shoulder Press, DB or machine (10)Pull-Downs (10)Core Essentials®Pull-Ups (5-10) [may be assisted]Push-Ups (Pull (secondary) [no rest]Chest Flyes, DB or machine (10)Reverse Flyes, DB or machine (10)Leg Press, Squats, or Deadlifts (10)Lunges (10/side)Shoulder Press, DB or machine (10)Pull-Downs (10)ArmsTricep exercise (10)Bicep exercise (10)NOTE: Additional arm volume may be added.


Rotary Mobility®

No Cost Resources (AHPC)

Today’s episode is the first in a series about mindset.  The special expert guest for this series is Holly Blais.  Holly is a board certified behavior analyst and licensed applied behavior analyst with more than 20 years of experience in education, applied behavior analysis, and leadership.  She is one of the behavior analysts at Exeter High School in Exeter, NH with a specific professional focus on educators and leadership.  She is also the founder of Projectlife Services and the cofounder of Behavior Solutions Collaborative where she also works as a behavior analyst.

Consistency is perhaps the most powerful force in nature. It is most certainly the most significant variable in exercise prescription. But how do we attain unbending unwavering consistency? More specifically, how do we find the will to do the things we need to do when we don't feel like doing them? It's my personal and professional belief that those among us with a deep understand and emotional connection to their purpose (their WHY), their vision (their WHERE IS THIS LEADING), and their mission (their HOW) consistently outwork and outperform their peers. Our conversation today covers valuable insights into tapping into the bountiful potential of discovering our purpose, our vision, and our mission.

Projectlife Services
https://www.projectlifeservices.com/

Behavior Solutions Collaborative
https://www.behaviorsc.com/

Ascend Human Performance Coaching, LLC
https://www.ascendendurancecoaching.com/

Patty Higgins rejoins the show this week.  In December of 2022, as we were all working on our goals for the upcoming year, I challenged her to “Think Big”.  What she same up with was audacious even by “big thinking” standards.  In the course of the 2023 calendar year her goals were to qualify for three unbelievably significant events; the Boston Marathon, Ironman 70.3 World Championship, and Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, the mecca of triathlon.  As we crafted the plan it quickly became apparent that as undoubtedly important as the long runs and the big bricks would be, her commitment to the “little things”, her “small acts”, would ultimately be the key to her success.  What happened next is the stuff of legend.