Hi team, I'm Fitz Kohler, your very soggy fitness pro and author from Fitsness.com and welcome to the Fitsness Show. Today, I am happy to say that Milton did no harm, at least to me. I live in Gainesville, Florida, and boy, did that storm look like a doozy, right? And apparently it was a doozy, but it didn't wreak havoc on my community. And I'm very, very grateful for that. We've been through two big ones, Helene and then Milton.
And apparently there's some girl named Nadine that might be on her way. And all I can say is, Nadine, go away. We're done. We have had enough. Poor Florida. We say no mas. We tap out. We let you win hurricanes. You are the victor. Go elsewhere. And poor North Carolina. My goodness. You know what? As a lifelong Floridian, I can say that I've lived through a bunch of hurricanes. And fortunately, I have not had any serious damage from any.
And what a blessing to me. And Floridians in general, we tend to get dismissive over these storms. And we have the hurricane parties. And, you know, we get silly. There's a lot of comedy around it. But one of the things that really resonated with me after Helene is how much damage it did to North Carolina. I mean, those poor folks where, you know, we had all the warnings,
be careful, Floridians, evacuate Floridians. And since Gainesville is inland, I have at least 45 miles to either side between my town and the coast. I don't really fret too much. I mean, I take the appropriate precautions, but I know if a number three, a category three is going to smack into the coast, by the time it hits us, it'll be a one and we can handle that. But those poor folks in North Carolina, I can't imagine they actually got any
warning, right? It just came to us and they were probably thinking poor Floridians. And then all of a sudden their town is washed away and mudslides And it's just shocking damage. And I promise not to be dismissive of our hurricanes anymore. Again, I always take proper precautions. But to see how much havoc has been wreaked, not only in the predicted places on the coasts of my state, but then halfway through the country, up in the darn mountains, then I'm going to behave, right?
I'm going to do better and be even more grateful when we don't incur damage. For both storms, my house lost power temporarily, and then we got it back. So all's well here. And again, lucky, lucky us. So today we're going to answer some of your questions. And I love the questions you guys have been submitting to me. And Monday's the day. Monday, I put on Instagram a story that says, ask me questions. And boy, have you been sending me some humdingers, which I'm thrilled with.
And then we're going to talk a little about my adventures in Ohio this weekend. And we will be right back. Are you looking for the perfect gift for a loved one battling cancer? The Cancer Comeback Series by Fitz Kohler offers hope, inspiration, and practical guidance. With your healthy cancer comeback, my noisy cancer comeback, and the Healthy Cancer Comeback Journal. These books are a lifeline for all patients and survivors. Right now, you can order autographed copies at a special discount.
Show your support and help a loved one go from sick to strong. Visit Fitzness.com today. That's F-I-T-Z-N-E-S-S.com. Fitzness.com. We're back. Oh, and also my dance instructor, Michael Singleton, who is possibly the greatest dance instructor of all time. That's right. Last year, I wanted to throw him through a window. This year, I adore him. We are having so much fun, and I'm so grateful to be dancing with him once a week. and it really is a highlight for me.
But Michael listens to this show, I think while he's traveling, he travels a lot to teach dance. In fact, he's very embedded in the ballroom community. And I like that he's listening. So hi, Michael. But Michael mentioned the other day, he goes, you don't really talk a lot about exercise, which is not true. I talk a lot about exercise. However, I'm not giving specific exercise tips sometimes. And he's right about that.
So I'm going to start with one for you, Michael Singleton, and anyone else who has arms. So if you have one or two arms or even a third arm, this tip is for you. So we like to do tricep exercises. We like them if you like to have strong arms. This is the back of your arm between your elbow and your armpit. That is where your tricep is. The responsibility of the tricep is to extend your arm. And so if you would like that muscle to be firmer and stronger, you want to train it, right?
And so this is a tip. I do not want you to do the exercise called the kickback while you're standing up. So you put a dumbbell in your hand, standing up, you hold it at your shoulder, and then you press it backwards, kind of towards the ground, a little bit behind your hip. That's a kickback. I do not like that exercise. Why?
Because you're working with gravity. And for strength training, we want to work against resistance on a machine that's pushing back on us, or we want to work against gravity. And so if you're standing up and you have the dumbbell up at your shoulder and you're going to press it towards the floor, well, gravity is helping you out. I don't think that's a very challenging exercise, and I certainly don't believe it's good enough for you.
So what I want you to do instead is to bring your arm directly up over your head with that dumbbell high and then drop the dumbbell behind your head and then extend it up towards the ceiling. That is a proper tricep extension with resistance. You can do that with a dumbbell in your hand. You can do that with a resistance band that's. Anchored to the floor, but do not do kickbacks standing up.
I think they're ridiculous. Even if you bend over and then press backwards, I just, I'm not impressed with that move. I see people doing it at the gym and I think, oh, bless their heart. They, they should be, they should, they should up their game. And then I don't want to be that annoying person at the gym that walks around and says, excuse me, I hope you don't mind, but I'm a fitness expert and I can help you with this. So I watch people do ridiculous exercises sometimes.
In fact, I see a lot of ridiculous exercises. And maybe just for you, Michael Singleton, I will add some of those to this podcast. But there's your exercise tip of the show. Do not do standing kickbacks for triceps. I think they're close to useless. Okay, next question. This one comes from Laurel Adams, our Canadian hottie. That's right. Laurel's from Canada. that. And I love that. She's also one of my ambassadors, a fitness fiend, and she's sweet as pies.
So she says, when you use the exact formula for weight loss and hit your goal, how do you determine how many calories and protein, et cetera, to add when you are working out more? Any advice on what to do that's not a protein shake? So there's a few answers to that question. Number one, your formula is forever if you would like to maintain the size you've achieved. So let's say you want to weigh 150 pounds. You've been using the exact formula for weight loss, 1500 calories a day.
Once you get to 150 pounds, you should stick with that 1500 calorie a day budget. If you, if you bring it up to 1600 calories a day, then you become a 160 pound person eventually. So know that that's the trade-off when your formula works and it will keep you at your weight. It's not only for weight loss, but it's for weight maintenance. If you want to lose weight, then of course, eat more. The caveat for that is if you are doing, big time endurance training. You're training for a marathon.
You're going to put in 13 miles. Okay, fine. Eat more. And I'm not telling you to eat 1300 calories more. What I'm telling you to do is eat enough to fuel your body and refuel your body. And so let's say you run four miles. Maybe you need to have a banana and a few nuts. That might be enough because you're already eating X amount throughout your day, your daily food consumption should be good enough to get you through at least an hour of vigorous exercise.
It's when you go over that, then you probably need to lean on more fuel. And so that could be a kind bar, that could be an apple and hard-boiled egg, but running a half marathon doesn't mean go out and have a Big Mac with french fries or So it should always be modest intake that's healthy for you, nutritious, providing actual fuel, and then the appropriate amount.
And I'll let you decide what that is. But the extra calories come is when you are doing extra endurance training and you need more fuel. Now, protein is important, and it's there to help maintain and build muscle mass. Protein has a bunch of functions within your body, but I think there's a weird obsession with protein. It's very interesting. There's not the same obsession with fiber or healthy fats. Protein is just one of the nutrients we need, but we do need protein.
And so I think it's funny where there's a recommendation that women have 46 grams of protein per day, and men have 56 grams of protein per day. And I think, what moron, what cockamamie. Doofus came up with that, suggesting that Justin Bieber and Shaquille O'Neal should have the same amount of protein because they are guys? Absurd. Absolutely absurd. Who comes up with the standard stuff? Yeah, all men should have 56 grams of protein, and women, we should have 46 grams of protein. Really?
Really? Is that because all women were the exact same model? I mean, it's just, it's foolish. And it goes back to the same thing where I see people suggesting everybody have 2000 calories a day or 1200 calories a day. It's just nonsensical. It means absolutely nothing. So do not fall for the 46 grams or 56 grams of protein per day. Instead, I like the range where it's recommended folks have between 10 and 35% of their daily caloric intake protein.
10% minimum, 35% if you need more, if you're doing more, if you have higher goals for muscle mass or higher needs for muscle mass, right? And that gives you a broad range depending who you are and what you want to accomplish. So for folks who think that more protein equals more muscle, not necessarily. The only way to pack on muscle if you're really trying is by strength training. So if you're a lackadaisical person and you're eating a lot of protein, you're not gonna pack on muscle.
You're not gonna add muscle. You're not gonna get stronger. Protein doesn't just magically poof, turn into muscle. You have to do the work and you have to do very specific work. You have to do the strength training. I recommend you can go back and listen to all of my shows that reference strength training to learn a whole lot more than I'm gonna give you right now. But strength training to gain muscle mass should be challenging.
If you're gonna grab the five pound dumbbell and swing it around 50 times, you are not putting on muscle mass. You're not. And that thing where you say, well, I'm toning. What is toning? What is toning? Toning is not a thing unless you're a hairstylist and you're trying to make somebody's hair less brassy. Toning is not a thing. Either you are getting stronger or you are not.
That's it. When you strength train, the purpose should be to increase your ability to push, pull, lift and press against resistance. If you are doing that, you can grow stronger. You can increase muscle mass. Now, if you would like to increase the size of your muscles, really put on some size, you should be lifting pretty heavy. You should be lifting or pressing the amount of weight where you can only push out four to six repetitions without thinking, I'm going to drop this weight, right?
So six is your max. If you're trying to put on a lot of muscle mass, that's what the bodybuilders do. They do four to six reps of a really high weight. If you're someone who just wants to put on to increase strength and increase muscle mass, okay, three sets of 10, but make sure by number nine and number 10, you're screaming, You're grunting, you're shouting, right? Repetition number nine or 10 should make you curse.
That's how you increase muscle mass. So that five pound dumbbell, if you can only lift the five. Nine to 10 times and great. But if you're swinging around that little dumbbell and you're doing 50 reps, you're thinking, I'm so cool. I'm going to have Jennifer Aniston arms. No, you're not. No, you're not. You have to work hard. That's how you increase muscle mass. Protein will not do that for you. Protein is important to support your efforts when you're strength training,
but protein itself will not increase your muscle mass. And that's a big myth. Now, if you have excess protein, it'll just go to weights because your body can only use so much of it, right? Your body's going to use what it needs and then the rest will be used for energy or it will be stored as fat.
So be reasonable, be reasonable. You don't have to wake up and have a raw egg smoothie and then eat a gallon of nuts and have a steak and a shrimp and a lobster and a chicken and all the animals that are lined up, wishing you wouldn't eat them. They're like, stop it, leave me alone, right? You're not gonna get more muscular because of me. So just don't overdo it.
You don't need to overdo it. In fact, if you're having so much protein, you're probably not getting enough fiber or vitamin C or potassium or all of these other nutrients and vitamins that you actually need. So 10 to 35% based on your goals. And I think that's a brilliant gauge. Do what works for you. test out a few models to see if 35% is the right amount or 15% is the right amount. You do, you practice a little bit and you'll figure that out. You'll fine tune the amount of protein intake.
Now, where does protein come from? Well, it comes from a lot of sources. It certainly comes from meat. Animal meat provides protein. You can also get protein from eggs. You can get it from beans and lentil and soy and nuts. And yes, I said soy. Some people think soy causes breast cancer. No, it doesn't. That's been debunked a million times too. So you have a variety of options. Low-fat dairy products provide.
Protein, I prefer, well, I'm a vegetarian, but if you're going to eat meat, skinless, white meat, white turkey, white chicken, those are the healthy choices for you. But you can get protein in a variety of ways. And I'm a vegetarian and I get plenty of protein each day. I do a lot of nuts, a lot of seeds, a lot of beans. What else? Some cheese, some low-fat dairy products, maybe milk,
soy milk, oat milk, sometimes cow milk. So a variety of those things work for me, and I have plenty of protein in my day, but that's really up to you how you get it. But those are some of the healthy choices you can lean on. And then when is the best time to consume protein? Interesting to me how many people will have cereal in the morning or toast and fruit in the morning and save the majority of their protein consumption for later in the day.
Well, that's not absolutely wrong. I think you could do a lot better. If you start your day with protein, you will be more likely to be satisfied earlier in the day. And so you can use that protein you're consuming and then it will help you feel full longer. That's what protein does. I mean, well, amongst the other things, protein will help you feel full. The same thing goes for fiber. So protein and fiber are those nutrients that make us feel like we don't need to eat more.
And if you're trying to lose weight, that's a really good thing. So start the day off with some protein and sure it can be eggs. Sure it can be a grilled chicken breast. Sure it can be a handful of nuts. For me, I start each day with a kind bar or a kind bar substitute. So I love kind bars. They're ingredients you can see and say there's nuts and seeds and craisins and chocolate chips, which I like very much.
But there's an alternative. The Sam's Club has a similar bar, which I have some of that too. But anyways, I start my day with nuts and then I don't get hungry. I don't get nuts, right? You don't want a hangry Fitz Kohler. That's never a lovely thing. But yeah, having that kind bar early in my day helps keep me satisfied so I don't need to eat everything in my house before noon. So start off your day with some protein-dense food choices and then sprinkle
it throughout your day. Have some protein in your snacks at lunch, at dinner. Protein's a great option to sprinkle throughout all of your meals and snacks to keep you full. It's one of the nice benefits of that nutrient. And then what if you want to do protein supplements? Well, I'm not a huge fan. I find most people going to a quote unquote nutrition store end up dealing with some minimum wage employee who truly is not an expert. They're no fitness expert. They're no nutritionist or dietician.
They're just some guy or some gal who got a job at the nutrition store and their boss said, hey, this one's a hot seller, try to push this guy. And if someone says they're vegan, try to push that. That one's a little more expensive. Sell a little more of that. But know that these manufactured protein powders and products, they are not FDA regulated. They often are loaded with toxins. There is absolutely no evidence that they help you build muscle mass faster or lose weight faster.
So there really is no proven benefit to any of them. And you say, fits. I have a cabinet full of them. I'm right. They're great. Really? I mean, they're wildly expensive. There's never a good price on these things, especially since you rarely know what you're actually getting inside that container. But I'm not a big fan of the protein powder. I find very little value. If you are a bodybuilder and you're trying to gain 40 pounds of muscle, okay, Maybe.
I mean, you could still get enough protein within your regular consumption, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. For me, when I was emaciated from my cancer care, I ended up getting a protein powder just to see if it would help. I don't know if it did help, but I did revert to it. But I was in desperate times reaching for desperate measures. But if you're just a gal or a guy and you're trying to get a little stronger, get a little fitter, protein powders are certainly not a...
Quality choice for you, especially if you're a carnivore. If you're a carnivore, then you don't need that. You don't need that. If you have a doctor who says, oh my gosh, you're so deficient, the things you're eating, there's certainly not protein in them, enough protein in you, are in a deficient place, you need to pile it on. Okay, fine. But I'm guessing none of you are in that category. So I don't really have a lot of use for protein powders, protein supplements.
If you need something that's non-perishable, something that's convenient that you could take with you, I really like Kind Bars. There's a couple of other bars that are fine, especially the nut-based bars are really good choices. But other than that, you don't need it. You don't need it. So protein, 10 to 35% of your daily caloric intake. That is my recommendation. And I know you can handle that. Yes. Well, thank you so much for that wonderful question, Laurel.
All right. And she also has another great question. So Laurel gave me two, and I'm going with both of them this week because I think they're winners. She says that she's been training for the Marine Corps Marathon, which will take place October 27th this year. And her entire fitness routine and her eating habits have been focused on that. She's asking I have any advice on how to pivot to a new goal and she's done. And so, yeah, training for a marathon is a really big deal. It's all consuming.
You wake up early, you go to sleep early, you avoid the alcohol. Hopefully you're eating the right amount. So you're fueled up for your long runs and you're doing all the things based on this big event. And so when you cross that finish line, what do you do when you got some options? Number one, you could rest. You could take some much needed time off. However, I think there's something unique to. Continuing on with the endurance and the training that you have.
So for me, when I trained for Boston, I crossed that finish line and I felt good. I felt satisfied. And people said, well, are you going to run New York now? It's next month. And I thought, nah, maybe one day I will, but nah, I don't need to do that. I feel satisfied with all of this running. And I'm going to take a little break from that. So another marathon didn't suit me, but it might suit you. I mean, Laurel, Well, golly, August 27th, Marine Corps. What if you came to Huntsville, Alabama?
Rudy and I announced the Rocket City Marathon. You could join us there. I mean, because again, you're in marathon running shape. Maybe you want to rest some and then go run another marathon. Maintain that fitness. Maybe you want to run a marathon a month or a half marathon a month. That could be your goal. Maybe you want to be one and done on a marathon, but you really like running. You like the events. You certainly love coming to see Fitz Kohler at a start
and finish line. so you could use that fitness and keep going with running. That's one option. Or you could decide to keep the fitness, but in another way, right? Maybe you can utilize that fitness for some other sort of fun adventure. Maybe you're going to do a sprint triathlon. You're going to add some swimming, add some biking, pull back on the running, but you have this great win. Your heart is strong. Your lungs are strong.
You hire, it takes a long time to wear you out. So, okay, maybe there's another endurance activity. You could participate in and use all that fitness. Maybe you want to do a long cycling race. You want to sign up for one of those 135 mile bike races. That's a fun option. For me, when I finished running Boston, I found that I was losing a lot of weight or I was struggling to keep weight on while I ran Boston.
And so when I finished and I was so proud of myself, I took a moment to be thrilled with Fitz Kohler. And then I leaned heavily into my strength training. That's really where I went to. I got really excited to put more muscle back on. And so strength training, strength, strength, strength. Perhaps you have been slacking on the other three pillars of fitness while you've been running. Now, I believe, Laurel, you probably have been doing strength training.
You have been doing stretches and balance training, but maybe not as much as your body really needs. And so perhaps you pull back on running and you jack up your effort in the other three pillars of fitness, strength, flexibility, balance. You can do that by maybe leaning into some Pilates classes or yoga classes or doing karate. Maybe you want to join me and become a ballroom dancer. That's a heck of a lot of fun.
So you can maintain your fitness, but expand, change the focus, try something new, add variety, right? Make things more interesting, more exciting, or stay the course and be Susie Runner for a while. Actually, you know what I'd love to see? I would love to see you in Canada in January doing something like synchronized swimming. That might be a lot of fun, Laurel. I'm imposing that upon you. Your new assignment is to become a synchronized swimmer.
But yeah, I know I have a lot of marathoners listening to my show, a lot of runners. So keep running if you choose. If not, Enhance the other areas of fitness or pick up a totally new activity that utilizes your endurance. Swimming, biking, karate, kickboxing, boxing, snowshoeing. I know there's a bunch of cool snow sports you could do up in Canada.
Dancing, just make the best of it. Just try not to let your fitness wane because what a shame that would be in to get in one of the best shapes of your life, the best endurance and to just give it up because you cross that finish line. I'm not convinced that's a great idea. So those are my suggestions for you. I hope you can put them to good use. Next question. Chrissy Lyons. This is a fantastic question.
She says, goodness, menopause symptoms, particularly insomnia, are a hot topic in my social groups. How do we work out despite being exhausted from a lack of sleep? Yeah, so I hear menopause is a bear, and I do hear that it can wreak havoc on your sleep. And so this is my suggestion is control what you can. You know, you can't control this thing your body's going through right now.
You couldn't control your body going through puberty back when you were a teenager, but you could control your actions, which can dramatically impact your sleep. And so I understand that being sleepless may deter you from exercising. That makes sense, right? People say, well, I didn't have a good night's sleep, so I'm going to skip the gym.
I want you to do the opposite. I want you to have a sleepless night and then go to the gym anyways, or go play soccer, or go for a run or climb a mountain or do karate, whatever it is, exercise. Exercise intensely. Exhaust yourself because that's the way to set your sleep back on schedule. So let's say you exhaust yourself and then you fall asleep.
Easily, but you wake up at one o'clock and you're feeling a little hot and sweaty, perhaps if you are exhausted, your body is going to be more likely to allow you to get back to sleep. If you did not exercise that day and you actually have some stored energy, your mind's going to start racing and you're not going to be able to go back to sleep. So the thing that you can control is your physical activity. I want you to commit to exercise because of insomnia, not hide from it, not skip it.
I want you to commit to vigorous exercise that exhausts you. The other thing I'd like you to do is avoid caffeine past noon. Some people say past 4 p.m. You can have your coffee in the morning, have your diet Coke if that's what you want in the morning, but once noon comes, no more caffeine. That's a stimulant that could affect your sleep. So you're going to exercise to exhaustion daily. You're going to avoid caffeine in the evening. And then you're going to have
really good sleep habits. You're going to turn off the TV. You're going to make sure your bedroom is a haven for sleep. Maybe you need a white noise machine to block out any distractions or any sounds that might prevent you from going to sleep. Or maybe you don't want white noise because you need silence. Make sure you have a fan, right? If hot flashes are an issue, ceiling fan. Fan posted on your nightstand, whatever it takes, turn up the AC, make sure you have cool bedding, not flannel sheets.
You want to have something that's lightweight and not trapping heat around your body. And then keep going until it works, right? So that may not work on the first night, But if you keep exhausting yourself with exercise and you cut out caffeine and you make your bedtime routine and your sleeping environment the best it could be, you're eventually going to get there.
I believe in that. And the other thing you could do is call your doctor and tell them that you're suffering from insomnia because of menopause and depression. Maybe they'll have a solution for you that your friendly fitness expert can't provide, but yeah, control what you can. And that's the same thing. Think about the teenagers that are. Their skin is breaking out and their, their body is changing and everything's weird.
Okay, well, if they eat healthy and they exercise often, they may not be able to completely control everything that's going on, all the weirdness that happens in puberty, but they might be able to do way better than their peers. And so stay the course, Christy. That's what I'm telling you to do is stay the course, do the things I've been telling you to do forever, but do it more intensely because your body apparently needs it. You're up all night.
Your body is saying, I need, I need to be exhausted to make this eight hours or six hours or whatever it is you need happen. So get to work on those really good habits. Okay, jokies. Great questions. I'm flattering myself. Great answers, Fitz Kohler. Good job, girl. You really nailed those responses. I'm high-fiving myself now. Okay, so now I'm going to tell you the tea. I'm giving you the gossip on me because I think it's worth sharing. I was just in OH.
Here you go. I hear you shouting back IO this weekend. I was there to announce the APP Women's Open. That's right, a professional pickleball tournament in Columbus. Which was wonderful. The APP is an incredible organization. They put on stellar events, absolutely high end with fantastic people from start to finish. We broadcast on ESPN2, we broadcast on CBS. Big deal stuff. And it's, it's fun for me. I like being a part of these events.
This one was the first ever pro pickleball tournament for exclusively women ever, I think, which is nice. It was sponsored by the James, which is the comprehensive cancer center associated with the Ohio State University. And met a whole bunch of women who had been treated for breast cancer at the James, and they were all very satisfied with their treatment. October is breast cancer Awareness Month. And as you know, I had breast cancer five years ago.
I did not enjoy it, but it's gone now thanks to extraordinary medical care. And these women also received the same, which was quite nice, but lots of pink, lots of girly fun, lots of great pickleball outfits. And of course, fantastic athletic performances. It was a wonderful weekend. But the thing that was most exciting for me besides the quality work was the opportunity to hang out with my friends and do fun things.
So my friend, Chris Wilmot, who I worked at the student rec center at the University of Florida with back in the day, he lives in Columbus. Now he moved from Gainesville to Columbia, to Columbus, which breaks my heart, but it was a ton of fun to go have dinner with him. And we actually went shopping together and got me an Ohio state t-shirt. That's right. I had to get my own Buckeye swag because I had plans to go with one of my favorite running besties, Tim Patton to the OSU game.
That's right. The Ohio state played Iowa and Tim got us tickets, which is super cool. I mean, I love college football. In fact, I used to be an NFL girl and then I became a Gator and I realized how much more intense college football is than NFL. So sorry if you're an NFL fan, but I mean, it's just not, they're, they're not on the same playing field when it comes to fanaticism.
Now, of course the NFL has wonderful fans, but the difference between me being a dolphin fan, a doll fan, and me being a Gator is I am a Gator. I don't just root for the Gators. I am a Gator. My education, my money, my life was built around the university of Florida. So when my team scores a point, I scored a point, right? And it's different than when you're cheering for the Browns or the Dallas Cowboys. You're not part of that organization. You're a fan, and that's a great thing.
I'm not dismissing it, but I find college sports to be important. Thousand times more intense. The crowds are absurdly passionate and the volume is incredible. I just love the intensity of collegiate sports. So the only stadiums I've been to for college ball has been the Swamp at the University of Florida, Doak Campbell, Tallahassee. I could make the joke and call it Joke Campbell for those Seminoles, but I'm not going to because I love even my Seminole friends.
That's right. My brother and my best friend are Seminoles. So I'm not going to do the joke Campbell Stadium. I'm not going to do it. But yeah, I've never gone to any other college football stadium for a football game. I would love to. I think that would be cool to make a tour of the country and go just embed myself in the culture of those college towns. I'd love to go to the Army Navy game. I'd love to go to Notre Dame. I mean, there's quite a few.
I'd love to go to Alabama. That would be a lot of fun. Any of the SEC schools, I think, are probably chaotic on game day, which I think is a lot of fun. So Tim got us tickets. And this is one of the things I find very funny about OSU. So fantastic school, big stadium. They seat over 105,000, which is bigger than the swamp. They get extra points for volume in the stadium. But one of the things I think
is so funny is how everybody's so obsessed with the band. And so whenever I talked about going to the Buckeye games, people were, people would say, oh, really? You're going to see the band? Yes, I will see the band. They're in the stadium playing while the game is going. But while I'm so laser focused on watching football, everyone else is saying, what about the band? And Tim Patton, so excited about the band. The band is a very special entity
in his life. He's got this very deep connection with the band through his daughter. And he just loves the band, which is adorable because he's a guy's guy. He's a retired police sergeant. And one would think he'd be all football, football, brah, brah, brah. but instead he was all the band. You got to see the band.
And so he's not the only person because I would say over 50% of the people who interacted with me over my trip to OSU would say, what about the band, which is just adorable and how proud those band people must be. Know that they are one of the main events that perhaps they are the main event at a football game. In fact, they have their own entry and exit ramp at the stadium. They have a ramp that says it's just for the OSU band, which is bonkers.
Right? What other band in the country has some sort of exit ramp? I don't know. I mean, the Pride of the Sunshine, the University of Florida band, I don't think that they have their own special ramp, right? It's almost as if the whole football setup, The whole football game at OSU is just a farce to get people to come in and watch the band, which does very cool formations and plays great songs. And yeah, great, great, great. I've seen them on YouTube. They're wonderful.
But the obsession with the band just killed me. So I have my shirt and... This is how sweet my friends are. Chris, who wasn't even going to the game, came to pick me up at the pickleball tournament and drive me to the stadium so I didn't have to Uber, which I really appreciated that. But poor Chris was trying to get me close to the stadium and all the roads were blocked off. So he had to drop me off a little bit far. So I'm showing up. I really wanted to get there before halftime,
which to see the band there, I admit it. I was also trying to see the band, but I worked too late and I couldn't get there in time for the band. So he drops me off. I'm done a mad dash to the stadium. Let's say I enter. I try to get in on the south side of the stadium. They're no longer allowing people to come in. So I have to run all the way around the stadium to the north side. I get in there and then they say, yeah, welcome.
But your seats are on the south side of the stadium. So then I had to run back across the stadium. I did grab myself and Tim light beers once I entered, though. I thought, okay, this is BS. I'm here if I'm going to have to run all the way back across the stadium or walk real fast. I at least have to have a beer in my hand, which instantly took the edge off. Did that, and then I had to get in the elevator, which is crazy to ride an elevator
in the stadium. But I did to go up to the fourth floor because we were in the dead last row, which was actually awesome. I could see everything from there. But when I got in the elevator, the band was there. So I get in the elevator and there was multiple cats from the band. And so they were very sweet and they gave me some hugs and I had some selfies with the band guys.
And then I felt redeemed. I felt like maybe I didn't even play live in on the field, but I did get to have a hug and a selfie with the band guy, which probably counts for something. So I enjoyed their music as they sat in the bleachers and played. When I was headed to the stadium, OSU was up 7-0, and I thought, okay, well, it'll be a tight game. This will be awesome. I'll get that tight game energy. But by the time I got into the stadium, it was 21-0, and then that lead just grew and grew.
So I didn't get tight game energy, but I did get happy Buckeye fans. And what I really like about the Buckeyes is they're all just really nice. They're what you would expect out of Ohioans, right? There wasn't a jerk or a thug or anything rotten amongst them. They were all just lovely. In fact, their football team is full of really nice guys. They've been in the news recently. And I tell you what, I want to root for them. They are sweethearts. They are do-gooders.
And I like them. I'm pure Gator, but I felt very comfortable cheering for these young men who were scoring all the points in the stadium. Now, the other thing I really liked about the stadium was their tech guys, their video crew because they were very, very funny with their video nonsense. They had, at one point, OSU scored another touchdown and they turned their cameras on a section of Iowa fans dressed in black and yellow. I think they called it the cry baby section.
And so they have these Iowa fan bodies with their black and yellow shirts. And then they superimpose the crying emoji on their heads. It's just hysterical. It was so funny. And of course I'm a nerd and I'm a giggler for all of that type of nonsense. But they had a few different gags up their sleeves that were pretty fun. And they had a timeout competition where people had to run a relay race in these big inflatable balls.
And they not only were trying to win, go the fastest across the field, halfway across the field, but they were knocking into each other. And to watch these people go flying with their legs up in the air, bouncing around in these big plastic inflatable balls was very, very funny. So OSU gets extra credit for the funny football points. And then when the game was over and we did stay till the end, which was cool because I was only there the second half, we got to see the band
as they marched through the tunnels. Very cool. And more importantly, at some point I shouted out a big old go Gators, which confused everybody around me, but they kind of bought off on it. And I got some nice photos chomping with other OSU fans. That's right. They said, we love the Gator chomp. That's really fun. And then they did it with me. And. I don't know. It just made me feel at home. And I really enjoyed that. And then Tim was so kind.
He took me from the game over to a bar called Fenders where the Florida Gator game was being played on the TV. My friend Chris was there with some other Gator alumni. And we watched UF beat the crap out of UCF, which was a lot of fun. And there was a band and it was just quite nice. It was just a perfect weekend. The other real highlight of the weekend is Tim Patton drove all the way over to Grandpa's Cheese Barn.
And if you remember the episode where I talked about the Columbus Zoo, you might remember that we were crushed, devastated when we pulled up to the cheese barn and they had just closed and we were not able to get cheese products. So Tim took the big trip to grandpa's cheese barn and he bought himself and me some quality cheese, flavorful cheese. And I have been gnawing on it since then. So thank you, Tim.
Thank you, Chris, both of you for all of your hospitality and your kindness and your generosity. And I think I need to come back to Columbus every two months to hang out with you guys and have more fun because I don't know, because I adore you. That's why. So I'll be back soon, probably. Okay. The other thing I want to tell you about is this weekend, I did something I haven't done before. It's something I've considered doing, but I've skipped out on.
But I got really hungry this weekend and I tried. There are salad vending machines at airports and I've seen them for a long time. But this is the first weekend I've tried them. There are salads in a jar and they were so good and they were so fresh. So much like you buy a candy bar or soda, You just poke in, I want the Greek salad or I want the quinoa and chickpea bowl. Boom. They come out phenomenal, healthy, low calorie, filling, delicious, so good.
I think it's called like the farmer's range or something like that. I'm going to have to get that information for you, but it was really good stuff. So if you ever pass the salad vending machine in the airport, I say, go for it. And then this is something else I wanted to mention. I've been encouraging one of my friends to get in contact with his friends. And sometimes he fails to make those phone calls. He has some very dear friends and he just doesn't make the phone call.
And all this time goes by. And I think we are all guilty of that. I'm pretty good with keeping in touch with my friends. That's something I'm really proud of. My besties from childhood, my very close friends. I don't let too much time go by between us making the connection, but he does. And I said, you know. Call, you don't have to call your friends.
You get to call your friends. And I want to remind you all of that is these people that are special to you, your family, your friends, that old neighbor you used to love, calling them isn't a burden. Connecting with them isn't a burden. It's something you get to do because maybe one day they won't be there and you'll have some regret over not making that phone call. And so I think that's really important that you love what you have before life teaches you to love what you lost, right?
Love what you have while you have it. Because someday you're going to be recognizing over what you lost. So make those connections today. Love yourself. This is what the Fits in the Show is about, is you taking care of you, you living better and longer, you living your best life.
But, and I tell you a lot to remove the cranky people, those wonderful people, the people that respect you and care for you and make you laugh, reach out to them, make the phone call, get in your car, drive over, knock on the door, show up and say, surprise, I'm here. Send a text, write a letter on paper and put it in the mail, whatever it is. Let those people know you love them and then get together, get together and have some laughs, share some memories, have a cry. I don't care.
But remember, one day, the things you love will become things you lost. And I don't want you to have regrets over that. So start making those calls. Okie dokie. My communication tip of the week. When you ask for advice, or you're being given pointers by someone you respect, what I want you to avoid doing is as they speak, Avoid saying, I know. They're talking, you're going, yeah, I know, I know. Because that really just diminishes what they have to say.
If you've asked for advice and they're talking and you keep saying, I know, I know. Well, that person's probably thinking, okay, if you know, then why did you ask? I should shut up. So try to change, I know, trade it for your rights. And perhaps you could just shut up and listen and smile or, you know, make expressions. I think shutting up is a really good choice. But if it's somebody you respect that's giving you advice, you're right.
That could be a really good response instead. You're right. I haven't thought of that. You're right. Give them the respect they deserve for contributing to you, right? You've asked for help or they're trying to help you. Avoid saying, I know, I know, I know. It's kind of obnoxious. Okay, so instead, you're right. You're right. Or just shut up and not. So that's my communication tip. And my song of the week has changed. It was going to be another really good song I was excited to share with you.
But my daughter had her wisdom teeth out yesterday. That's right. The Ginger Kohler, our fitness show sexpert, got her wisdom teeth out. She is four teeth less intelligent right now because apparently wisdom teeth are very important to your mental game, but they gave her gas, lots of laughing gas. And so apparently she sang and danced through her wisdom tooth removal, which her oral surgeon really enjoyed and his staff really enjoyed.
But as I drove her home, this child of mine, this grown child with her mouth full of gauze put on Sir Mix-a-Lot's song, Rad, and she rapped and it was awesome. And so So what I'm going to suggest for you is that you listen to Sir Mix-A-Lot's song, Ride, and have fun while you work out, right? You can rap along while you do CrossFit or play pickleball or do rock climbing or do some booty dancing.
That's right. You've got a lot of options there. But Sir Mix-A-Lot, he doesn't only sing Baby Got Back. There is another song, and it's called Ride. And I think you're really going to enjoy it. That's it, folks. Thank you so much for sharing your questions. I love you. I love you so much. You just have no idea. Get to work.
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