Have you ever wondered what regular steps a doctor takes at the gym in order to stay healthy and fit? After all, who would know better than a medical professional how to best take care of their body? We were curious to find out more about the exercises a real doctor does every day to stay healthy, so we spoke with Mike Bohl, MD, MPH, ALM, Director of Medical Content & Education at Ro, and a member of our Medical Expert Board. Read on to find out more about his fitness routine and how he stays in shape.
Dr. Bohl hits the gym (almost) every day.
Dr. Bohl definitely practices what he preaches to his patients and takes great care of himself. He hits up the gym six to seven days each week, placing a primary focus on resistance training. Every workout session begins by warming up for 10 minutes with dynamic stretches. The bulk of his workout consists of one and a half hours of lifting weights. The forms of exercise Dr. Bohl does not include on a regular basis? Plyometrics, balance training and quickness, agility, and speed training.
“When I lift weights, I follow a split routine, meaning I work out different muscle groups on different days,” Dr. Bohl explains, adding, “On one day, I do ‘push’—these are my push muscles, including the chest, shoulders, and triceps. On the next day, I do ‘pull’—these are my pull muscles, including the lats, upper back, and biceps. The day after that, I do my lower body, including my abs, obliques, lower back, and legs. Then, I either repeat the three-day cycle or take a day off.”
A split routine is beneficial in that it provides every muscle group with a minimum of two days’ recovery before you work on them again.
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He tops his workout off with a chocolate protein shake.
Every gym day, Dr. Bohl chooses 15 to 20 exercises to work that day’s muscle group, performing three to six sets of six to 12 reps of each move. To finish up his routine, he runs on the treadmill for 10 minutes, followed by static stretching for 10 minutes to loosen up his muscles.
“(I) top it all off with a chocolate shake that has 75 grams of protein … The protein shake tastes great and gives my body the nutrients it needs to recover,” he says. Sounds like a win-win to us!
Dr. Bohl recommends blending four workout categories into your routine.
This doctor’s advice? These exercises are effective, doable, and recommended for older adults, because they involve four main exercise categories: flexibility, resistance training, core, and cardio. Flexibility is key when it comes to boosting your range of motion and maintaining it; cardio is king for burning up calories, delivering oxygen, and blood flow; core workouts are beneficial to maintain overall functioning; and resistance training is necessary for building muscles, making your bones stronger, and torching calories.
Consider tweaking Dr. Bohl’s workout to suit your needs. “This routine is definitely doable by older adults, although it isn’t necessary to spend as long on resistance training—even just 30 minutes can be beneficial. Older adults should also add balance training (such as standing on one leg) into their routine at least three days a week,” Dr. Bohl recommends.
Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa
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