Fitness tips from local orthopedic specialists
Fact checked by Derick Wilder
Whether you’re a serious weekend warrior or count a stroll around the block as exercise (no judgment — it is!), chances are your fitness routine could use some tweaking. And there are few better sources for advice than the doctors who help professional athletes stay fit, strong, and resilient.
We checked in with two local orthopedic specialists: Jason Koh, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Endeavor Health and chief medical officer for the Chicago Fire; and Brian J. Cole, MD, managing partner of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush and team physician for the Chicago Bulls, White Sox, Chicago Dogs, and Red Stars. Here, they share fitness tips that both professional athletes and everyday exercisers can use.
Evolving fitness approaches
Fitness isn’t as simple as being strong or fast; it’s about resilience — being able to train hard and perform well, day after day.
“Fitness is basically a metric as to how our bodies tolerate load and how we recover our ability to meet physical demands,” Cole says. “It’s not a singular entity, but rather includes strength, endurance, mobility, balance, coordination, recovery, and sustainability.”
In the past, trainers may have focused more narrowly on how athletes performed on the field, court, rink, or pitch. Today, that focus has expanded.
“There’s very much a team approach to the care of professional athletes that involves strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists, and athletic trainers,” Koh says. Teams track and evaluate a wide variety of data, including baseline nutrition, sleep, and body fat percentage, in addition to athletic performance.
Fitness trackers
Technology has made it easier to gather relevant performance data. Chicago Fire players, for example, wear individual GPS trackers on their undershirts. The trackers record distance, speed, lateral movement, and acceleration, helping the team track performance and reduce injury risk.
“There’s a careful balance between overtraining and maintaining a sufficient amount of training,” Koh says.
Wearable tools such as the Oura ring and Apple Watch enable everyday exercisers to recognize trends in activity levels and track metrics like resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and sleep. “Think of them as awareness tools to modify behavior,” Cole says. “They’re not meant to be prescriptive or diagnostic, but they are a good monitoring tool that can lead to intentional, positive behavioral changes.”
For example, a persistently elevated heart rate over several days may signal the need to ease back on training.
Interval training
In fitness, you get what you train for, Koh says. “If you want to get stronger, lift heavier weights. To get faster, interval training can be very valuable.”
Interval training involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by periods of recovery — think sprinting on a treadmill for one minute, then jogging for five. “Even short bursts of high-intensity activity can increase your heart rate, improve your VO2 max [a measure of how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise], and improve your cardiovascular fitness, overall strength, and speed — without beating up your body,” Koh says.
Data also suggests that interval training can be more effective at helping people reach higher levels of conditioning.
Zzzz
When Chicago Fire athletes arrive at the facility, they immediately report on the quality and quantity of their sleep. “Quality of sleep has a huge impact on recovery and on performance,” Koh says. “Sleep is a priority for the professional athletes in our organization. Decreased sleep affects so many different parts of the body — cognition, performance, recovery, and ability to prevent or minimize injury.”
The takeaway? Make rest an integral part of your fitness program.
Nutrition
Both professional athletes and everyday exercisers need adequate nutrition, including sufficient protein and vitamin D. Current federal recommendations are 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For vitamin D, the daily value is 600 to 800 IU.
“Nutritional parameters are important, and so is making sure your level of vitamin D is adequate for your performance and function,” Koh says.
Make it a habit
Remember that professional athletes differ from the rest of us. “The difference between highly active people and professional athletes is that [the pros] function within a system, and this is their full-time job,” Koh says.
Cole recommends making exercise a priority — and a habit. “Carve out specific time that someone can’t take away from you, and do everything to protect that time,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be painful.”
If you’re new to exercise, start slowly; even a modest goal, such as walking for 20 minutes a day, can create a positive feedback loop and a habit you can sustain.
Already a regular exerciser? Try something new or amp up your workout intensity. Both can provide a fresh challenge and boost your fitness level — even if staying fit isn’t your full-time career.
