Firefighter Mom Heals L1 Spinal Fracture + 2 Disc Herniations (L3-L4, L5-S1) Without Surgery | 95% Pain-Free in 2 Months of Limitless

Whitney’s Briggs:

”A back injury put my career as a firefighter and mom of 3 in jeopardy, but staying in pain wasn’t an option. I joined Limitless to get my life back.

When I injured my back in March (L1 compression fracture, L3-L4 +L5-S1 disc herniations, nerve root impingement) I couldn’t pick up my toddler, sneeze without collapsing, or lift a patient at work.

I realized I could not perform the tasks associated with my job and was placed on light duty (every firefighter’s worst nightmare).

Thankfully, my department had the option, and it gave me time to figure things out.

I tried everything: ER visits, specialists, injections, chiropractors, red light, sauna, acupuncture, DNS - you name it. Some things helped a little, but nothing truly moved the needle.

After seeing multiple providers who focused on pain-masking treatments or rushed me toward surgery, I realized I had to take ownership of my healing. That’s when things finally started to shift.

By the time I found @whealth, I couldn’t imagine ever doing a burpee or a squat again.

Fast forward to today… less than two months later and I’m 95% pain free. I’m lifting again, doing CrossFit again, and back to life.

And within just one month of the program, I returned to full-duty firefighting. A few of my coworkers couldn’t believe how fast I recovered.

This program isn’t about quick fixes. It teaches you how to rebuild your entire body - not just your back, but your core, ribs, pelvis, feet, breath, and mindset.

The movements aren’t flashy, but they’re powerful. They taught me how to slow down, be patient, and actually listen to what my body needs.

I’m stronger now, not just physically, but in how I show up for my family, my job, and myself.

I truly believe more firefighters and first responders should do this. And honestly, anyone dealing with back, shoulder, or hip pain who wants to fix the cause needs this work too.

If you’re on the fence, take the leap. I’m so grateful I did.”

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Whitney (00:00)

I had gone to multiple different providers, specialists.

osteopaths, chiropractors. And in certain instances, there were little tidbits that did support me. And then there were others where it was like the most contradicting, frustrating situation, like I had said earlier, where I would be like, okay, well, this person is a spine specialist. They specialize in the area I have the injury in. Surely they will have some sort of course of action. And I just wasn't getting that.

Yeah, if I could tell every injured person, which I did when I was on light duty. There was an individual who has a shoulder injury. And it's funny, because I brought up wealth to this individual, and then they were like, yeah, yeah, I know all about it. I follow them on Instagram, and once I get to a certain point in my PT, then I'm gonna do it. And I was like, no, no, do it now. It will serve you in what you're trying to achieve.

I will never do a burpee again. Like physically I'll never be able to. And so today to do them, and it was the workout where it's like the 15 second sprint with the goblet style lunges mixed with the burpees. And so you're like pushing it. You know, and I was smart with my weight with the goblet squats, but like in the moment I'm like, for as much as I dislike burpees when I'm fatigued, I'm like, I was like so grateful.

to be able to throw my body on the ground and get myself back up again.

Cam (01:46)

Whitney, welcome to the Wealth Podcast. You and I chatted about two months ago. ⁓

You're a firefighter, a mother of three, and at the time that we spoke, mid-April, you were on light duty for, I believe you had an L1 compression fracture and then also an L3, L4 disc herniation, bulge with some sort of nerve entrapment, and then you were having back pain sciatica, and you can kind of correct some of the symptoms, but where are we now as well two months later?

Whitney (02:14)

Yeah.

Yeah, so yes, it was an ⁓ L1 compression fracture as well as ⁓ L3, L4 herniation with nerve root impingement. ⁓ My MRI also shows like I have older herniations at L5S1, ⁓ but it was a new herniation at L3, L4 with that ⁓ nerve root impingement and then the compression fracture was acute. It was new. ⁓ So I mean, when you spoke to me two months ago, it had been about a month post

injury. So the injury happened in early March. I remember telling you, like, I can't sneeze without going like from a standing position to like on my knees. I can't pick up my toddler. My kids are aged almost two and then seven and nine. And I'm, you know, capable normally when I'm not injured of picking up all of them without an issue.

So just like day to day life and then mixed with the fact that I couldn't perform what's generally required of me as a firefighter. It was not in a great place, like mentally or physically. ⁓ Now, if you had told me then that I would be able to lift and like move from the limitless programming into the strength programming and I've integrated kind of both simultaneously. ⁓

now where I still do the limitless but I've like slowly integrated the strength. If you had told me that I was gonna be lifting now, I would have been like no way. Like there's no way based on how I feel that I'll be able to recover to that point. So like I sneeze now with no pain, ⁓ which is huge. Again, I was like, I would like hold back sneezes in an attempt to like save myself, ⁓ though it never seemed to work out and then I would end up on the...

Cam (04:03)

No,

it doesn't.

Whitney (04:04)

And

the kids are like, mommy, what are you doing? ⁓ But yeah, and now, you know, I'm able to perform. I wanted to make sure before I got into the strength portion that I was able to actually perform all the movements. knew that my, you know, what I would have been lifting six months ago is not a possibility. And I was like totally at peace with that. But I was like, you know, I don't want to get into this portion of the programming if like I see deadlifts and I have to omit them.

you know, or I see front squats and I have to omit them because I'm not there yet. ⁓ Which that's a challenge for me. ⁓ But yeah, like lo and beholds, ⁓ I think it was mid, mid May, moving into June, like towards the end of May is when I just like slowly started integrating it. And I knew I wasn't in a place where if I did like a five rep max that it would be anywhere near.

you know, six months ago, five rep max, but I wanted to just like, if I could physically do it, kind of get an idea of where my foundation was at now, and then, you know, build on my strength from there. So, yeah, it's pretty astonishing, like, where I was at compared to, you know, what I'm doing now. And there are times I get my own way and in my own head where I'm like, ⁓ I should be doing X, Y, Z, I should be lifting more, I should be whatever, and then.

I checked myself and I'm like, I've made huge leaps and bounds. So I'm just like grateful in general for the progress made.

Cam (05:38)

Yeah, we're not even I was checking the order history you signed up for the bundle on April 15th, I believe. So at this time, it's not even June 15th. So you are under two months and I saw that you left in our Google review. 95 % pain free in under two months. You know, it's kind of I was laughing because you're like, if you were to have told me I would be feeling this much better. I wouldn't have believed it.

I'm pretty sure I don't even think I told you that because I don't want to set false expectations with people, right? Do you remember what, how that conversation went two months ago or kind of like the expectations that you felt starting the program? Cause again, I know as a mother of three, you love CrossFit, you love weightlifting, you're a firefighter. I believe that following week you were going to be going into light duty ⁓ or off of, guess, kind of your normal job. So what were your expectations?

Whitney (06:05)

Thank you.

Cam (06:30)

starting.

Whitney (06:32)

⁓

I don't want to say like I was hopeful, but I also like I did have resistance and that was specifically because of the lead up to that point. Like anytime I went to a specialist, you know, I'd build it up in my mind that I would, I just wanted like some sort of course of action to see some sort of progress. And I had been doing a lot of stuff on my own. ⁓ My husband and I run a gym on our property.

We've got backgrounds, like you said, and things like CrossFit, and I worked for a company called BirthFit. So I was very aware of dynamic neuromuscular stabilization and interabdominal pressure and diaphragmatic breathing and that sort of thing. And initially I kind of made up in my head, I'm like, can PT my way through this myself. And in some facets I did, feel like I got, I think when I talked to you, was like, I'm like 60 to 65 % better.

But I'm like, but I still can't pick up my toddler or put her in her crib without extreme pain. can't perform. Like if someone were to ask me to go throw a ladder right now, like I cannot perform that task. ⁓ Lifting heavy patients, all of that. Like on a day-to-day basis, the things that are expected of me, I was like, I remember saying to my husband, like, if I go back to work, like, I am going to be a liability to myself. Like, I'm going to do a disservice to the patients.

I'm doing a disservice to the guys I work with. So that's when the light duty piece came to fruition. But I think for you, when I had that conversation with you, I was hopeful, resistant. I think it was maybe one or two days after I talked to you where I had told you I almost talked myself out of it. And then my husband was the one that was like, no, you need this outside support. You're doing all this on your own.

Cam (08:16)

Yeah

Whitney (08:25)

And you you've gotten to a point, but you got to get yourself like over that hump. And he's like, if this can help in any sort of way, then, you know, let's have at it. So, ⁓ yeah, I think I was resistant, but also open and being optimistic because like talking to you and hearing other people's stories. And before I had spoken to you, I had listened to that podcast of another firefighter who had been who had been injured and utilized the program and had like great success. So

⁓ you know, that stuff was sitting in my head too, ⁓ of other people's success and specifically somebody that does the same job as me. Cause you know, that was a huge part of the mental scares. Like I, not only obviously my job provides an income for me and my family, but like, I actually really love my job. And so to think of the possibility of not being able to do it because of this injury, ⁓ that was terrifying, but to see that there are.

you know, was the potential of making progress and getting back in the field by utilizing this program. was like, I'll do whatever, like, give me whatever and I will give it 110 % because that's where I'm at right now.

Cam (09:40)

Yeah, I remember just chatting with you. mean, I really did feel at that time. mean, you'll all connect with people and I'm like, all right, that person's mindset is incredible. And that's how I felt about yours. But I'm curious from a firefighter's perspective for someone who's going through pain and injury, it seems like when you're injured, you get put on light duty. And that seems like a logical way to kind of mitigate the problem at least like, Hey, Whitney's injured her back's injured.

We can't really go throw her out in the field because that might be dangerous. So we can temporarily kind of solve this problem by putting Whitney on light duty. But aside from that, I mean, what are firefighters to do who are dealing with, you know, chronic back injuries or shoulder injuries or hip injuries aside from going on light duty?

Whitney (10:30)

That's a good question. mean, so if the injury happens at work and you go through workers comp, ⁓ you're then assigned set PTs, set doctors, ⁓ that has its pros and cons, not being able to utilize your, you know, chosen providers, technically. ⁓ So that's an option. But in my case,

It's not like they put you on light duty and then have, you know, some sort of like PT from the department assigned to the department checking in on you. It may be different in other other departments throughout the states. ⁓ But in this case, it was like going from in the streets to light duty to back in the field. The guys were like, I don't understand. Like, how did you?

didn't use fracture vertebrae in your back? Like didn't you ever hurt your back? And they're like, and you're good. Like you're good to be here. I was like, yeah. ⁓ But I mean, it was like a huge toolbox of things that I was doing. And I'm not somebody that like in a situation like this, my mentality is like, I'm gonna throw everything at this and see what sticks. ⁓ And wealth was like one of the most consistent things that I did. ⁓

And so, I mean, I've said to the guys, I'm like, this wealth program, I'm like, everybody needs this. Whether you're injured, whether you're not, whether you're somebody that's an avid CrossFitter that knows fitness, knows nutrition, or the guy at work that's been on for 30 years and rolls his eyes when we have to go to training. I'm like, everybody needs this. ⁓ If I could scream it from the rooftops and pull everybody.

at work into some sort of training room and be like, here, here's why. But obviously you need to have guys that are like, you know, ready to receive it. And there are some that are open-minded to it, but ⁓ yeah, unfortunately you're kind of just left to the care of, you know, the providers that you're either given to you if it's a workers' comp situation or in my case, like when I spoke to you,

I had gone to multiple different providers, specialists.

osteopaths, chiropractors. And in certain instances, there were little tidbits that did support me. And then there were others where it was like the most contradicting, frustrating situation, like I had said earlier, where I would be like, okay, well, this person is a spine specialist. They specialize in the area I have the injury in. Surely they will have some sort of course of action. And I just wasn't getting that.

Yeah, if I could tell every injured person, which I did when I was on light duty. There was an individual who has a shoulder injury. And it's funny, because I brought up wealth to this individual, and then they were like, yeah, yeah, I know all about it. I follow them on Instagram, and once I get to a certain point in my PT, then I'm gonna do it. And I was like, no, no, do it now. It will serve you in what you're trying to achieve.

But again, as you know, you can lead a horse to water, but in order to take that leap, they have to be the ones that are all in for it. And sometimes people have to get to they're, yeah, in order to take that step.

Cam (14:00)

for our column.

Yeah, what was some of the advice that you were getting from the spine specialist or physical therapist for that L1 compression fracture, the 3-4 herniation, the sciatica? I mean, because you were going to spine specialists thinking, hey, the problem is in my spine. It's the L1, it's the L3-L4, it's the sciatica. Clearly, they're going to be able to help me out, right? I'm getting diagnostics. Okay, there's the problem.

Whitney (14:30)

That was my hope.

Cam (14:33)

Hoping,

right? Hoping. And I think most people who get ⁓ an MRI or X-ray and then they, they're hoping that now that I'm labeled with such and such diagnosis, I found the problem. And now that I'm aware of the problem, I can solve the problem. But that doesn't seem to be the case a lot of times. It just seems to fall very short. And here's the problem. The problem.

Whitney (14:49)

Right.

Cam (15:00)

is the three, four herniation or it's the compression fracture. And then you ask what the solution is. And I guess what was the solution that they were painting or how did you feel that looked?

Whitney (15:13)

So to touch on what you were saying as far as getting the diagnosis, ⁓ for me that's all I wanted because then from there I'm like, okay, now I will go down a rabbit hole, I'll do all the research, I will figure out a way to make this better. ⁓ Because initially this pain started when I got super sick. My kids had some GI stuff and then I got it. ⁓

And so all of this started out as just what I thought was like a flu type situation with excruciating back pain mixed in the mix that started after some pretty excessive vomiting. And so to begin the journey, it was a weird situation because it landed me in the hospital, which for anyone that knows me personally, like I've birthed all three children at home.

I'm not against hospitals, but ⁓ I think there's a time and a place. And so, you know, for me to wake up my husband at three in the morning, three days into the sickness, being like, something is wrong, we need to go to the ER. ⁓ I was clearly like in a lot of pain. So I went there expecting an answer. ⁓ And just to make a very, very long story short, because I was this like medical anomaly with fevers and

like because I was had chills and vomiting mixed with extreme back pain like I was I didn't I was in I fell in a gray area it wasn't like ⁓ she you know got into a car accident and this is why she has back pain but nobody was listening to me about the back pain they wanted to give me like Zofran for the nausea and pepsin for my stomach and I was like I don't need any of that like I just need someone to to give me an answer on this back pain.

So anyway, three weeks later after like hard advocating for myself, because at that point I'd been to three different hospitals and still had no MRI of my back. It got to the point where they did an MRI of my abdomen because they wanted to rule out an appendicitis. ⁓ I finally got a diagnosis three weeks in of the compression fracture and then the L3, L4 herniation. ⁓ So with that, like I still had pain and it

And up to that point, now that I had a diagnosis, I'm like, okay, at least I know what this is now. ⁓ And so I went to a few different spine specialists. The initial one ⁓ wanted me to rule out a slew of things, ⁓ everything from osteomyelitis because of having had fevers, which I understand that. However, at that point, all my labs had normalized.

So, know, I being told to go to an infectious disease specialist and I'm sitting there like showing that my blood cultures are normal. My white blood cell count is within normal limits. ⁓ And basically I said to her, you know, like at the end of the day, I go, my main pain is actually at the L3, L4 herniation site. L1, it'll bother me like at the end of the day, you know, from moving around with the kids and everything, but L1 is where the compression fracture was. ⁓

And the conversation was, you've already done a brace. ⁓ You've already done pain management. At that point, I'm not somebody that does ⁓ meds for much at all. But it had gotten to the point where I was so desperate, I ended up doing ⁓ steroid injections. And all that ended up doing was mask the pain slightly, and then I just re-inflamed. So she said, you've already done pain management. That didn't work.

I tried to brace briefly, which really made the pain worse for me personally. ⁓ She was like, so the next step is ⁓ to go in there with the medical grade cement and just ⁓ do a kyphoplasty. And I told her, like, you know, if the pain was at L1 for me and I wasn't seeing progress, then I would be open to the conversation of, you know, going the route of this kyphoplasty.

if we've exhausted all options. ⁓ But I was like, but I have pain at the herniation site. So, you know, what do you what do you think that is? Because they were hyper focused on the fracture. ⁓ And, you know, she just.

Cam (19:47)

What

is the intricacy of a kyphophlasty?

Whitney (19:51)

So from what I understand, when I went down a rabbit hole with that, ⁓ they can either do it with a pretty high gauge needle, I think it's 14 gauge needle, they'll use like x-ray as they're going in and they go into the site of the compression fracture with the 14 gauge needle ⁓ and basically just push a syringe full of medical grade ⁓ concrete or cement, I'm sorry, into the site ⁓ because if you have a compression fracture,

It's not going to necessarily, I don't think, change via the cement going in in terms of building that vertebrae back up, but it should solidify into the space where the fracture is. I could be wrong on that. It could build it up. But you can either do it that way or you can do it where they go in with a scalpel and they basically inject it in instead of using the 14 gauge needle. ⁓ there were moments in the pain that I was in

Even though I said to her, I'm like, well, is the herniation, does that have the pain there? Does that have to do with L1? Because if it gets to the point where you say yes to me, I'm like, I might get to the point where I can't take this pain anymore and I tell you to inject me with cement. But they couldn't give me the answer if they were two completely separate injuries or if possibly doing that procedure would help me with the L3, L4.

That mixed with the fact that like I wasn't really comfortable with, you know, a foreign body of medical grade cement going into my vertebrae. was like, it wasn't really something that I was open to doing unless I was like a last ditch effort kind of thing. ⁓ And then I had another provider who was not of the mindset that it was the compression fracture causing the problem, but that it was the

Cam (21:36)

Sure.

Whitney (21:47)

herniation. And even though I went in there and I would tell them that I was feeling like I was making progress, it was just slow, you know, and I was like, and I understand that, that it's going to take time. I was told that they thought I was in denial. And I was kind of like, well, no, I get that I'm injured and I get that this is going to take time. And then there was just a big push like to get an epidural done. And I remember saying,

Okay, so say I get this epidural and then things like feel better on the surface, I go back to work and then I'm asked to do any sort of my responsibilities at work, lifting a patient, getting in and out of a truck, pulling a ladder off a truck, pulling a hose line and I kind of have this false sense of security with my back and then I, what? And the doctor was just like, well then, you you blow your back out and you end up in the ER and then the OR and I was kind of like, oh.

Cam (22:45)

⁓

my...

Whitney (22:47)

I was like, I think I'm going to just keep doing what I'm doing then, because I get that it's a slow process. And trust me, I'm like the Amazon prime generation. I understand immediacy is awesome. And initially, I made up that because of past, not even injuries, but past ailments that I've had from lifting or from something at work, not knock on wood, I've been very fortunate to quickly recover.

Initially I was like, that's how this is gonna be. And then very quickly I realized that's not the case. yeah, and then that conversation with that individual turned into, well, then we can talk about the microdiscectomy where they go in at the herniation site, basically clip off what's being pinched out. ⁓ And so again, was like, there were definitely moments of desperation where I would come home to my husband and be like, maybe I should just get the epidural.

I don't know what else to do. ⁓ And then slowly but surely that like 65 % turned into like 67.5 % progress and then, you know, a little bit closer to 70. ⁓ And then like before I knew it with a ton of consistency, I was like, my gosh, like, did I just sneeze? And there was no crazy pain. Like I didn't land on my knees. This is amazing. So progress was definitely being made. ⁓

Cam (24:10)

That's awesome.

Yeah, so did you?

You mentioned, you know, your background with CrossFit. said, think birth fit DNS, you're aware of the body and in multiple regards. And so you were going through. Deliberating maybe I need to get the injection because you have a lot of responsibilities. You have a family. know being in pain just absolutely sucks. And I think a lot of times people just, everyone reaches their own breaking point. And then what you do with that breaking point a lot of times is going to be individual, but, ⁓

For you, you got yourself into like that 65, 70 % by just doing your own exercises. Or mean, how did you get there? How did you get from really deliberating, being at rock bottom to 65, 70 % and then that's when you called us and then you signed up for wealth and then that's what you're saying kind of got you from 65 up to 95 or wherever you want to, where do you say you are now too, by the way?

Whitney (24:58)

Yeah, it

say, like, when I'm not putting a barbell on my body, like 95 % 95 97 % better, like, I haven't felt it lifting patients, ⁓ doing like my day to day ⁓ movements at work. ⁓ Like moving into the strength programming, I know like if I set myself up for a back squat, and I'm for me, again, I'm trying to figure out where my body's at right now and like respect that.

So, you know, starting out, might do 75 % of what I normally do and I get to like the fifth set of those five reps. And I'm like, okay, I'm going to do four sets today. You know what I mean? Like, cause I can just start if I don't, I don't even feel the herniation site anymore. It's just right where the fracture is. It's almost like this little gentle reminder, but that again, it's a bone. So it's like, that's totally to be expected. And I need to like respect that cause that, that is just time. Like,

Cam (26:11)

Sure.

Whitney (26:16)

Enter.

Cam (26:16)

Did

you have to get cleared off of light duty to get back into work or do you just make that judgment yourself, I'm good?

Whitney (26:21)

Yeah. No,

no, I had to get cleared to do that. So ⁓ that was with an osteopath that was with somebody that I had been working with from like the beginning from like way before I found wealth, but they were the ones that initially did the steroid injections. So they did the steroid injections and then they were also doing like osteo manipulation kind of ⁓ it's like not chiropractic.

⁓ But that was the person that initially signed the documents because I told them, I'm like, can't be on duty anymore. And I can't just go tell my chief, I can't be on duty anymore. I need an actual doctor to sign that paperwork. ⁓ But it was just interesting because I initially, when I saw the spine specialist, I was like, well, okay, I'll have this person fill this out for me.

And then I met that individual and they started talking about the kyphoplasty and everything else. And I was like, okay, nevermind. Like I'm gonna take these papers. And then I reached out to, she's like our family doctor. She's my kid's pediatrician, but she's known me for a decade. So she knows me, she knows my job, she knows my physicality. She knew that I was going through something, but I just, hadn't, she didn't have any appointments available and she couldn't fill the paperwork out. So I'm like, well, I guess, you know.

I'm going back to this individual that I saw before. ⁓ But I mean, I'm happy to say like from the point that I started wealth, like I was just like, I'm not doing anymore. Like injections, whatever. Like I think I had done them twice, the trigger point injections. And what I was finding again, is I would go in there and it was like, I just, got to the point where I was like, I just need relief, whatever you can do. I've heard like trigger point injections can help. And I was still so inflamed and it was still so acute that I don't even

I don't think they made a difference. anything, maybe they masked things a little bit, ⁓ but everything very quickly like reignited. ⁓ So yeah, it was the osteopath that I had seen before. But in general, was like, it was a difficult process. Because I remember scrambling, like I needed to go on duty that Monday. And I was like, I just need a medical professional to handle this paperwork for me. ⁓ But yeah.

It got done and handled. But as far as the sort of like rehab up until the point when I called you guys, so it would have been March 9th was when everything happened. I was like sick for a solid week or so and everything was like so acute when it happened that like, like I remember trying to turn from my left side in the bed over to my right side and like my husband would have to like reach under my hips to physically lift me to turn. was, it was.

It was crazy initially with that pain. ⁓ And so as far as movement and rehab would go, I would say probably seven to 10 days after that happened. And again, I didn't have a medical diagnosis yet. I just knew something was very wrong with my back. ⁓ I made up, I'm like, okay, I've got a tight psoas maybe. I had gone to my acupuncturist. ⁓

had gone to the chiropractor. But again, at that point, I didn't have a diagnosis. This is a chiropractor I've been to for years. Like she sees my children, she's seen me throughout my pregnancies, but I also didn't know they had a compression fracture. So to be adjusted under those circumstances, like I ended up feeling not so great after, but that's because I didn't know what I was really dealing with. And so, mean, I had

massage therapists who again I know personally and they were like, I think it's your psoas. And then, you know, another person in acupuncture, acupuncturist would be like, I think, you know, this is in spasm or that is in spasm. So I'm down around the whole Googling and YouTubing like movements to release X, Y or Z and doing all those things. Cause I'm like an all or nothing person. So I'm sure in some of those instances, I probably re-inflamed things and I really just needed to take a solid amount of time to like,

stop everything, you know? But as soon as I semi-recovered from the illness, even though my back was still a mess, I'm like, okay, I'm a doer. Like, I'm gonna do all the things to make this better. I did a lot of red light therapy. I had, right before the injury, I had bought like a red light therapy mask for my face to try to not age. And then very quickly, I don't even think I used it on my face. The injury happened.

And I was like, I'm putting this on my back. I don't need to do anything to my face. So I was doing red light therapy. We do have an ice bath. So I'm the type of person, my husband's avid every day at 6 a.m. he's in the ice bath. I'm one of those people living in Florida where I'm like, I'm gonna get in after like a tough workout. I'm not gonna do that at 6 a.m. but when the injury happened, it was like every day I was ice bathing.

Cam (31:05)

Yeah.

⁓ gosh.

Whitney (31:30)

⁓ We have a sauna behind me. And so I was in the sauna as well. But it was like to the point that's like a sauna that you sit up right in and everything hurt so badly to just sit in a sauna with like no support that I just like laid on my back with my feet up the wall ⁓ trying to do anything and everything. I did tens units, ⁓ topical CBD. ⁓

Like anything you could read about back pain. I did read Stu McGill's book and started doing a lot of like the McGill big three. ⁓ And I do think it was helpful to a point. ⁓ But like I said, I think I got to that 65 % point. I had been about four and a half, five weeks out from the injury and I'm like, okay, I need something.

more at this point because I'm at a plateau. I remember saying that to you like I'm I got to a point and now I'm just here so.

Cam (32:31)

Sure.

So

what do you think your firefighters, men and women around you ⁓ thought, it seems like they thought that you got off of light duty and healed quite quickly. ⁓ To me, the success that you've had over the past two months is incredible. But again, also too, like you were in there consistently doing the program. What do you think separated

Whitney (33:03)

Yeah.

Cam (33:06)

the program or what you've learned with wealth compared to what you knew before, what you were doing before. Because again, it's the essence of it. People are listening right now. know there's plenty of people listening right now and they're like, my gosh, I identify with Whitney. I'm in pain. I've tried this. I've tried that. And now here you are two months later, you're telling this, it's not magic, but you're telling this magical story. I'm so much better. And people start to...

not be able to even believe or comprehend that. And they're like, all right, what's this special, you know, wealth program? So what was it? What was special about the program that you learned that actually got you now to 95 % pain free, almost entirely pain free under two months of the program?

Whitney (33:39)

Right.

Yeah. I mean, I think the fact that I was prior to wealth, like very hyper-focused on just my back, like what movements can I do? PT style movements, McGill big three, what can I do? And when I say my back, like that's integrating my core as well. ⁓ And I knew that based on like, you know, previous training, I was like, okay, I got to strengthen my core as well to fix this. ⁓

But I remember in the beginning, like watching the videos and yes, like the firefighter prior to me coming, I think it was him. I listened to a couple of the podcasts, but somebody was like, it's just really unsexy stuff that you're doing. And that is true because it's just like full, you're utilizing every little stabilizer muscle in your body.

And like everything is interconnected, right? And there's emphasis in that in the videos when you're learning about wealth. And like I knew that to a point, right? Like there would be people in my gym and it's like, oh, I've got hip pain. And then even my 10 year old who does competitive gymnastics, like she gets knee issues. I'm looking at her walk and I'm like, well, baby, you gotta put your heel down. Your right heel's not going all the way down. And I'm like, you your ankle's connected to your knee.

You would think I'd able to apply that to my own life, but then I just was so hyper-focused on the back that I wasn't putting emphasis on, you know, building up my entire body. Like, to know now what, you know, a hip car is and a knee car, shoulder car, and watching the videos in the beginning. And to be honest, like in the beginning, I'm like, is this, you know, the first maybe three or four days, I'm like, am I even doing anything? Is this even doing anything for me?

Cam (35:45)

Yeah.

Whitney (35:46)

I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing like every morning with my little morning routine before I head down to the office. ⁓ And I would say like 10 days into it, I was like, like, I'm feeling some physical changes. Like, I'm feeling significantly better. Something is working here. So I think it's the fact that it's like an all encompassing approach, right? Where I was, you know, I'm trying to tell the individuals at work who ⁓ were on like duty who were injured, I'm like,

Cam (36:01)

I

Whitney (36:15)

They're like, well, you know, my shoulder's still recovering from the surgery. So I, you know, I'm going to wait. And I'm like, it's, it's an everything. It's like rebuilding your entire foundation. and I feel like unless they're going to like put themselves out there and do it when they're on the fence, it's like until you do it and you start to actually feel those results, ⁓ I can understand like people's resistance, ⁓ in trying something new like that.

⁓ and you know, they don't want false hope, but I'm like, you gotta just like dip your toe in and then like keep dipping your toe in because you will feel the results whether it's, you know, four weeks out, six, eight weeks out, depending on your injury and where you're at. ⁓ But there were times like before I officially signed on to it and again, I said like the initial few days where I'm like, am I gonna learn something like more than what I already know? And that's not.

that's not out of like conceit by any means. It's just like having dabbled in what my husband and I have dabbled in with, you know, the CrossFit world and other certifications and everything and coaching in the gym and functional fitness. ⁓ I was like, you know, can I just, maybe I can just continue to take this into my own hands. And like I said, that was where my husband was like, just do this. Like I think at that point he was probably so tired of me crying about it and whining about it that he's like,

Just do anything.

Cam (37:42)

Yeah, I remember we had that conversation and I was like, Whitney's going to sign up today or tomorrow for sure. And then I think it took you a few days and I followed up with you and you're like, yeah, you know, I was having some second, some second thoughts and you know, maybe I thought I could do it again. And then finally my husband was like, just do the program. So I thought, I thought that was cool. You know, sometimes you do need a little partner or family member to kick you in the butt to do what you know, you have to, but you were already so close to knowing.

that you wanted to do it. I knew you were going to sign up within a few days or a week just because the way that you were talking about your goals. I want to ask you just kind of a piece about mindset, what you think is important if you want to overcome pain and injury. But before that, I want to point out one thing that I was listening to that you said. I think this is important that kind of relates to it. When you were asking the spine

specialist about the injection with the cement and you asked that like second order question. Okay, after I do this, what if my pain feels better and I do X, Y, Z what and you know, I hurt my back. What's going to happen? The logic that the spine specialist had was like, well, you'll just end back up in the ER, the OR.

That mismatch of thinking is absurd to me that like you're really looking for a solution and then so nonchalantly the specialist is like, well, of course, like you're just gonna end up back here again and that's just what we see. So I see why there's so many people who stay in pain, who never solve it because they think that that is the avenue that you go down, but you were asking the right questions. And I think what I'm hearing when you're asking those questions is,

you're looking for that fix not to mask it. So I think that's one thing that I noticed with you just chatting with you on the podcast, but on the phone, that was like always your angle. were thinking about what accountability can I take in? What ownership can I take over the situation so I can solve the problem? That's what I picked up on you, why you've been so successful. What do you think is important mindset wise for people to have who are dealing with injury if they want to get out?

of pain and injury.

Whitney (40:06)

Yeah, it's funny that you say that about like accountability because when you were talking about mindset, I'm like, the first thing that came to mind is like having a growth mindset. And then the next one was like having personal accountability and being your own advocate. That's not to say that these medical professionals, you know, are extremely intelligent and highly trained and very good at what they do. And for the most part, you know, keeping in mind that a lot of what they do has to do with the scalpel. So they're

They're very good at that. ⁓ But knowing that... ⁓

I did a lot of research and really informed myself on the fact that a lot of the times these surgeries end up, okay, it's a quick fix for a year, and then you're back in the OR a couple years later. given kind of my history with having the children at home and my mindset was like really, my husband and I are very much like take your health into your own hands. We're very aware of like,

the risks, he's a firefighter as well, so the risks involved with the job, in terms of what we're exposed to, in terms of sleep deprivation, in terms of ⁓ being up all night, how that can mess with your hormones, and so we're very proactive, hence the sauna and the ice bath, ⁓ with our health. And so, no one's gonna get up in the morning and do the unsexy stuff for you. ⁓ You have to like,

I really had to shift my mindset. I'm a very go, go, go person because feeling productive for me, it just serves me and my psyche. And so this was like a huge lesson for me of like stepping back, being in the pain, reminding myself that once I'm out of this, like what gratitude I will have for my body and its ability to heal. Like I had said earlier of like getting to do burpees today, ⁓ just being able to like,

go out in the sunshine with my children and like jump on the trampoline with them if they want me to. ⁓ That wasn't something that was on my radar and it was really terrifying, you know, a few months ago. having the mindset of like shifting your perspective of what you can learn from this injury, like what can you gain from this? ⁓ How can this contribute to your character in general ⁓ of making you ⁓ like face adversity?

and step into it and it's discomfort. And I also, with being like wanting to be a productive person, I like to have like a set plan and prepare for things and know what's coming next. And there was like a lot of letting go with this. Like I signed up for wealth and I was like, I don't know if this is gonna take me six months just to finish the limitless portion and then maybe in a year get on with the lifting. ⁓ But I had to.

myself that like whatever the outcome just like keep chipping away at it with like a sense of fortitude. ⁓ But it also I'm a pretty empathetic person in general but it's also I think I told you like back a couple months ago like the empathy that this has given me as well for you know patients that I have in the back of my truck because we work as firefighter paramedics where I'm at. ⁓

Not that I ever discredited them before, but to have actually walked in their shoes in some capacity and to be able to be compassionate. And I literally just had a guy, like probably two shifts ago, that called us for back pain. He was 29 years old. He had just been at the hospital the day before. They basically told him to take a Tylenol and go home. They said there was nothing on his CT scan. ⁓

and I was like, hey, there's this program called Wealth. I'm like, I'm gonna write it down for you. like, I you have your phone on you? He's like, yeah, I go, Google this, this wealth program. But again, it's like they have to have the right mindset to want to receive it. Because he was like, he was really emphasizing like he wanted paintments. And I was like, I hear you, and you can get that and then we'll mask it. But I'm like, you got to get to the root of what's going on, ⁓ So yeah, I think.

Being accountable in your own physical health and wellness, that takes investing financially and with time and something like this. Going into it with a growth mindset of what can I learn from this experience that's going to serve me in the future. For me with that of learning what's gonna serve me, I was always that person if I was following any sort of programming.

I would always be like, ⁓ I'm gonna just jump on the assault bike and I'll get right into it. And then I would do the programming and then there'd be some sort of cool down. And I'm like, I gotta go like, you know, take care of my chickens and my kids. And now it's like, I gotta carve that time out to do all of the, again, like not super fun things. ⁓ But so that I can take that like all encompassing approach to my health and wellness. It's like my perception now of it.

And from my perspective, I should say now is different in that for me, if I got that workout in and I'm sweating and I feel exhausted, I'm like, okay, I did it. Great. Like I got the therapy I needed for my mental health. ⁓ I feel good physically. And I was just like grinding that way and just kind of knocking on wood that I hadn't been injured. And so I think, you know, whatever you believe in, God, the universe, whatever, it was like put into my place to be like, yeah, you can't live like that forever.

Like as a mom of three and a firefighter and someone that is very physical, like you need to do those little subtleties that like really, really add up to the full picture.

Cam (46:03)

Yeah, going back to what you were saying the first few days of the program, you're like, what did I just drop a K on? know, like what I'm doing these 10 exercises, because sometimes people will hit me up and they'll be like, the first module is easy. Like, I don't really feel anything. And I'm like, it's not supposed to kill you in module one. It's supposed to be a stepping stone to a stepping stone to a stepping stone to a stepping stone. But what I notice is actually, it's funny.

I tell people in many ways, especially if you come in with a higher level of fitness, the program is not hard, especially at the beginning. But conversely, it's actually very difficult. The start of the program was very difficult for me. And I think it kind of sounds like potentially it was for you in the sense that you are forced to slow down. I have a background in endurance sports. So a lot of my working out over my life has been

Whitney (46:41)

Yeah.

Cam (47:00)

I feel great when I kind of do more volume. So a lot of my lifting rep ranges always tend to be 10 to 15 plus. I don't really feel like I got as much of a workout from three to five reps. I know that's not necessarily true, but it's just my propensity that I like the volume. was a distance swimmer. I got into CrossFit. I love endurance running. I love that feeling of finishing a workout and feeling like I didn't stop for 60 minutes or 90 minutes or 120 minutes.

I feel like I got a good workout. If you come in with that mindset, but you're injured, that is what's difficult about pain and injury is you need to learn to appreciate potentially a new side of what training is, which is slowing down, connecting ⁓ to your body, working on different drills that might not cause a massive muscular pump or fatigue or cardiovascular burn, but that doesn't mean that they're not important.

And then once you start to feel that your pain is reducing because of the not so sexy stuff, and then you can actually jump back into endurance or hypertrophy or however you wanna train because you're doing that not so sexy stuff, it makes a lot more sense and you have that buy-in. But initially for people who are go, go, go like yourself, the startup program can be difficult because you're like, my gosh, I'm forced to slow down, this is BS.

Whitney (48:27)

Yeah, it was like, instead of viewing it as like, I have to do this, right? Like I have to get up and do this today. I was like, I get to do this. I get to learn these movements. Because that was another thing is there's a lot of, given like my fitness background, there was a lot of stuff in there where I was like, I think I know what this is. And then I would watch the video and I was like, I.

did not know that movement existed. ⁓ So kind of looking at it from a space of like, okay, I was extremely injured. I didn't even know what movement would look like, you know, a month ago. Okay, so I'm getting up 30 minutes earlier. Okay, before bed, maybe I'll review the videos while the kids are down, right? I get to learn something new. ⁓ And then I get to go ⁓ do these movements in the morning and like,

see where my body's gonna go. just gonna, again, slowly stack those blocks, not have any expectations, day one, okay? Did I feel anything? I don't really know. I'm not really gonna have expectations on day two either, or day three. I'm gonna keep going. And then before I knew it, I was like, wait, I just walked up the stairs and didn't have pain. I just hinged over and picked up the baby out of her crib and didn't have pain. So yeah, it's like, slow is fast.

situation and I'm not wired like that so it's been like a blessing to do because it has you know shifted my my perspective on things and how to approach you know what a good workout is you know.

Cam (50:01)

You just hit on going back to the growth mindset theme saying, reframing, I get to do something versus I have to do something. It sounds so silly until you actually implement it. But if there's one takeaway for listeners right now, there should be a lot of takeaways. I think that's a really important topic. I just chatted about this yesterday with another gentleman who went to the program. He said the exact same thing. He was bedridden, sciatica, back pain.

but he started to shift his mindset into, get to do this, I get to do that. And then we were starting to chat about that. Now that I'm out of pain and I look at my workouts and I have the ability to go and train my legs really hard or go deadlift or squat or do whatever I want. It's like, man, it's leg day again. It's like, no, I get to do that because there was a point in my life when I did not get to do that because I was in bed. So I think you can...

You can take that mindset for any challenge, anything in life. It just so happens that we're talking about rehab right now on the podcast, but I think it's a really special way to have, to just, to see the challenge that you have as something that is gonna bless you and that you'll be able to grow from regardless. Because why not try to have a better mindset? Like if you've decided you want to fix your injury or your pain and get out of it,

Why not try to make it the best possible experience that you can have?

Whitney (51:27)

Yeah,

you really get to that point where, you know, I completely feel for and empathize anyone that lives in chronic pain. ⁓ And then it brings to mind people that I've met that have chronic pain, but then you're like, you look at those individuals and you're like, how is that person so positive when they're walking around with, know, X, Y, or Z in terms of pain? And so much of it has to do with, you know, your mental health. And I will say like the first,

Two and a half, three weeks, like I was not in a good place at all mentally. And it was hard to step out of it because it was like all encompassing and affected, you know, every aspect of my life. So to be able to shift that just a little bit. And that's again, the beauty of like the wealth program is like it's like the little building blocks over time where you, you know, you move an inch in terms of progress, but it like feels like a mile when you've been in those dark, dark places.

⁓ And so like that's enough there where you've made a little bit of growth and you're like, okay, it's enough to like do it again and then do it again and then do it again and before you know it it's You're looking back on where you were you know with gratitude and a mindset of like just deep deep empathy and I'm still in awe of like my body's ability when you you know, put something together and apply it but again, it's like

You just have to go into it knowing, like start out with no expectations. And then when you do see that little bit of progress, even if it's the teeniest, tiniest thing, like that is a celebration. And then just keep ⁓ inching forward because before you know it, you know, you're going to be where I'm at lifting weights. Cause I, I remember like watching some of the videos, like I don't have Instagram or anything like that. So it was like YouTube and then the podcast and ⁓

I was just, I would see people moving. I would see my kids in the gym and like other gymnasts moving around. And I'm like, one day, my gosh, like that would be amazing. Just to able to move again, like move like that. And these people with their stories, I'm like, okay, these wealth people have made progress. Like, I think this is, this is something that's palpable. I think that this can happen, but until you like move forward with the steps, like it's not going to happen. The pain's not going to go away for somebody that's just sitting on the couch.

living into the fact that they're in chronic pain, like you have to take the steps forward. And as said before, it's like accountability when it comes to your physical mental health. Like you have to take the bull by the horns. Like no doctor is going to just like put a bandaid on it and fix it for you. You need to get the root of the problem. You need to take the necessary steps forward because nobody's going to advocate harder for you than yourself, in my opinion. Like unless you are someone's family member that can't advocate for themselves.

or you know it's for your child, it's like, you need to take the bull by the horns. It's your unique experience, it's your unique injury. ⁓ That was one of the things I felt like when I would explain these things to some of these specialists, it felt like I'm the only one that knows my body best. I'm the only one that knows what my body has been through. ⁓ Like I did gymnastics through my teens, I played rugby, I do combat challenge, which is like a firefighter obstacle course. ⁓

And so trying to piece the injury together to these providers that don't know my backstory, that don't know what I do for a living or the physical toll it takes on my body. ⁓ Because a lot of these people couldn't understand how like a herniation just happened or the compression fracture just happened. ⁓ And then it's like, no, but if you knew what I did for a living building up to this point, ⁓ but they're not gonna know it unless you sit there and advocate your story and push for a different outcome. And what I will say is,

If you're moving into a space with a provider and you intuitively are like, I don't think they're really hearing me or I don't really think that this is the solution for me. Like I will just say, take that little voice and like start your journey towards your health. Like I'm not saying don't utilize professionals, but like you have to be the conductor, you know, or the driver of, you know, the journey.

Cam (55:49)

I think that's really cool to hear that you listened to some of the podcasts prior as well. And I think that's been my goal with interviewing people of all different walks of life. It really is, what's the youngest person that I've had on the podcast? Maybe 20, you know, and we have some 16, 17 year olds in the program. ⁓ And then the eldest we have in the program 74, but as of right now, the eldest I've

actually interviewed on the podcast is 54. Some have kids, some don't, some have different jobs, some don't. And my goal with this is just to make people feel like healing and getting out of these chronic aches and pains and injuries is accessible. But I think continually the one thing that I try to hammer home, we try to hammer home is like, yeah, as you said, you have to take the bull by the horns. have to.

make this your own. No one else is really going to advocate for you as much as you will or should like truly no one else really cares about your body and your health as much as you do. And if you don't, I can guarantee you no one else is going to make pushes for you to get better. Right. So it can be done. And also to you know, because sometimes people like I'll share my story and I had a disc herniation when I was 21 and they're like, well, you're so young. Of course you

you healed from that because you're younger, but I'm older and I can't do that. And then I'll talk to, you know, someone who was 18, like this guy Austin yesterday, he was like, you know, it was super tough being young, laying in my bed, freshman year, sophomore year at college. No one understood me. I'm looking out at 18, 19 year olds and everyone else out there is having fun. And I just have like this invisible disease, this invisible pain. So that's where it's harder being young. And then for me, like,

I didn't have any kids going through this. So now I'm hearing your story and you're like, I have three kids, I have a job, I'm married, I have to wake up, I get to wake up 30 minutes early and do this. It's hard and easier in so many different facets. And so the comparison game that people play, like some people are gonna listen to your story and they're gonna negatively compare and be like, well, it's easier for her. But then I think some people are gonna be really inspired by.

the constraints that you had, that you had a job, you wanted to get back to it, you're a mother of three, you were super busy and yet you still did it. So I think that's where too, just that topic of comparing yourself to others, there's a healthy level of comparison I think that we can take inspiration into. But at the end of the day, it literally doesn't matter what someone else's circumstances are with their pain and injury and if it was easier or harder, because if you want to get better, you are the only one that really can do that.

It's not to say that coaches, guides, doctors, professionals can't help you, but there's so much work that you have to do. And I feel like you're just nailing it perfectly with the mindset stuff that you're talking about.

Whitney (58:51)

Yeah, it's, I think like at this point being 36 and having gone through this and having the three children, the job that I have, everything else, was like, I don't know how it would have been if I was super young when this took place. ⁓ I honestly, for me personally, like may have been more complacent about it or been like, ⁓ it's gonna take care of itself. But at this point I was like, okay.

I'm 36, my body's trying to tell me something. I just have, I don't want say you have so much more to lose, but having had my kids and this job and as mentioned before, like I don't, know, it's a bonus for me that I get paid for my job. I love it and I've been doing it since I was 19. And so it's a huge part of my life. And the thought of like this injury potentially pulling the rib cord on everything, like our ability to have this home.

our ability to, you take care of ourselves financially, but then mixed with the fact that it's just, like, what would I do? Like, I love the fire service. I love serving the community. And so that was probably like part of the fire that was lit under my butt. ⁓ But again, also I'm, I am kind of wired that way. ⁓

It's not to say that it takes like a super, ⁓ super accountable individual or go getter to like get this program done. I think for somebody that is not used to being physical or ⁓ is maybe intimidated by the program if they don't know it or they're unfamiliar with the movements or ⁓ fitness in general, ⁓ for those people I just say like take that plunge. Because this could be the segue. ⁓

with the whole program, not just like the physical side of it, but the nutrition, the exposure to cold therapy, having your bedroom dark. Fortunately, that was a lot of things that, again, because my husband and I are nerds and go down rabbit holes on biohacking and everything else. And again, we believe personal accountability is a huge piece of our lives, given that we wanna be able to take care of our future grandchildren and not be riddled with...

cardiac issues or cancer, God forbid, because of the jobs that we're exposed to. It was important to me that I made this a priority, no matter what, and just took it day by day with zero expectations and just saw how it made me evolve physically and mentally.

I mean, another thing I will say, if there's anybody that's like resistant to the program because of the financial investment, like I was one of those people that was like, I don't know, it's a lot of money to put down. I've got these mouths to feed. Like, I don't know what other things I could be doing to make my back better that could potentially ⁓ be another endeavor financially for me. Like when I sit down and like look at the medical bills from, you know, the initial,

going to the hospital, three different hospital visits and then specialists and everything. mean, thank God for insurance, but it's at $55,000 right now. that, thank God for insurance. I think I had to pay like $2,500 out of pocket or something, but just taking that 2,500, right? Mixed with certain specialists that are not included in that because they only take, you know, they don't take insurance or whatever. It's like the wealth program investment is like such a small,

contribution to your health and wellness overall. Like it seems big in the moment, but then if you look at what these medical bills would be over time, if you didn't invest this way with wealth, you're end up paying so much more for trigger point injections, this, that, or the other, epidural surgeries, ⁓ versus something that could literally like shape you mentally and physically for the rest of your life. Like the little pearls of wisdom that you guys

give to people. I feel like every person in the population needs to just have access to this information because there aren't enough podcasts in the world. For me, I'm a huge podcast listener, but okay, here's a podcast on red light therapy. Here's a podcast on cold plunging. Here's a podcast on whatever, but you guys are like, here's your package of all these really essential things that can support you in your life. Here you go. Do with it.

as you want and do this limitless program and hopefully apply these other little pearls throughout your life so that you've got like longevity and wellness. ⁓ So it might for those people that have resistance, it might feel like a lot, but it's going to serve you in the long run. If you actually apply all of those things to your life, it's like it's only going to do you better and it's only going to put money in your pockets that you're not having to go to all of these specialists and doctors and

⁓ yeah, it's, it was well, well worth it for me.

Cam (1:04:18)

Yeah, it sounds like ⁓ you've gotten more than what I would have expected in this time period, but also I'm not surprised. Again, I mean it. When we had that conversation, I knew you were going to crush it. It's just cool to be able to schedule the podcast under two months later and having you come and share your story. but just one last question. What do you think?

dove too much into the firefighting aspect of the injuries and that sort of thing, but that would be a long conversation. I'm just curious, what are some of the big injuries that firefighters are currently dealing with and how have you seen specifically like what you learned from the Limitless program apply, help you? I don't know the firefighting terms, throw the ladder, pull the...

Whitney (1:04:49)

whole

Cam (1:05:09)

the rope, pull the hose, what, I hear all that jargon tossed around.

Whitney (1:05:15)

So, a lot of knee injuries. You end up on calls at three in the morning where you're getting in and out of the truck and then climbing multiple stories with a lot of weight. So lot of knee stuff, a lot of torn biceps, a lot of shoulder stuff, and then backs. I mean, I can't even tell you the amount of people that when I was on light duty, a lot of the assignments that I had,

be going to stations to do X, Y, or Z, like inventory on something, or check a truck out for something. And, you know, they're always curious, like, what do you want my duty for? Or the conversation is, are you pregnant? ⁓ And so, you know, we start talking, it's my back and this is the injury. And then they're like, ⁓ I had X, or Z. ⁓ So a lot of it is back injuries in the fire service. ⁓ But I think as far as wealth goes, like I had said earlier,

If I could somehow put this into the back pocket of every firefighter and have them apply it to their lives, ⁓ I just feel like functional movement and functional fitness and working on all those stabilizer muscles so that functionally as a full body, we are able to perform, whether it's firefighting or lifting our children, ⁓ it's only gonna support us in not being injury prone.

That's not to say that like accidents aren't gonna happen and that sort of thing. ⁓ But moving and moving in like a primitive way and moving in a functional way where like everything is being utilized properly. ⁓ When it comes to the 3 a.m. like pulling of a hose line when you're half asleep or throwing a ladder or even like lifting, you know, we've had like extremely heavy patients.

Right? And sometimes it's late in the night, you know, you think your buddy beside you has a good grip or whatever. And before you know it, ⁓ you know, someone's like, man, I tweaked my back on that. having wealth is like a foundational baseline. ⁓ I feel like it could only serve us in like such a huge way with injury prevention. And then God forbid if an injury did happen.

you've already built your body up so well that the hope would be that recovery would be relatively streamlined instead of somebody that hurts their back, severely hurts their back, and they've already got a beer belly going on. It's hard to rehabilitate that when you've got no core to begin with. And that's where I'm like, if we could get this out to everybody, and again, everyone has to be willing to receive it.

of like eating whole foods and you know, doing X, Y, and Z. It could, it would be like, you know, such a game changer. But again, you have to be willing and you have to like want it. So.

Cam (1:08:22)

Yeah, I'm excited to see how many firefighters, is this right question? Ask how many firefighters are in your unit, your station?

Whitney (1:08:31)

Yeah, ⁓

my station has six firefighters, so three on the rescue, three on the engine. And when I say rescue, it's like a souped up ambulance. So basically we have everything on that truck to also fight fire minus the hose. So like, if we got dispatched to a structure fire, we would be going with the engine, all of our gears on that truck. And then if there's nobody there that needs medical attention, we just kind of marry up with the engine company.

Cam (1:08:39)

Okay.

Whitney (1:09:02)

Normally they do fire attacks, so they're the ones pulling the hose lines. Sometimes we'll back them up, but our job generally for a second due with them is to search the building for victims. So that's what I mean when I say engine and rescue, but it's generally six. It depends on the station. My husband's got seven at his station, but on average, like six to eight.

Cam (1:09:24)

Okay, so does that mean six to eight working at one time?

Whitney (1:09:28)

that station yeah for 24 hours and then I mean within the city we have you know 250 employees there's normally I believe it's like 90 per shift that are on duty so we have eight stations within my city but then again like my husband's got 1,500 people in his department so it's much bigger so it just depends on where you go here

Cam (1:09:29)

Thank you.

Well, hopefully you will be an inspiration to some more firefighters. I am, it makes me feel good knowing what we do. Just even if you weren't a firefighter, know, Bryson, back when he was doing the program and starting to feel good, he was sending me some texts and he sent me a picture of a fire that he responded to.

And he was like, let's go. I responded to this fire and I kicked the door down and rushed in and all this stuff. And then he said the ceiling fell on him and he was fine. And I was like, damn, I didn't even think about a ceiling falling on you with sciatica, but you're good. You know, just those things that I don't even make that connection with until you share that. So everyone has a really unique story. It's really cool to hear how. ⁓

Whitney (1:10:23)

haha

Yeah.

Cam (1:10:44)

Being out of pain just enhances your life no matter what you do. So yeah, Whitney, it's been a pleasure. I'm really happy. It sounds like you're kind of leading by example within the firefighting community. And hopefully some people, maybe one or two firefighters hear this story and are inspired by that. ⁓ That being said, if you're listening and you are interested in getting out of pain, check out the link below. We have the Limitless program there for you. We also have the Hypermobility program.

And if you are a firefighter, first responder, military, we have a discount as well on there. do 20 % off for you guys. So ⁓ Whitney, any last words? Thank you so much for joining. It's been incredible.

Whitney (1:11:26)

No, I mean, thank you so much for having me on. like I said, if you're that person that's like been on the fence, just do it. Just dip your toe in it. Take the full dive because it'll be worth it.

Cam (1:11:35)

Yeah.

Awesome. Hey, we'll go attend to your family. I know they're probably waiting. late for you. It's eight o'clock, huh? my gosh. All right. Hey, well, Whitney, we'll catch you next time. Thank you so much. All right.

Whitney (1:11:45)

Yeah, it's their bedtime. I'm gonna go help my

Thanks, have a good one. Bye.