Sept. 23, 2024
Sage Insights from Surgeon and Swimmer Dr. Peter Yu, EP 257
Could a pediatric surgeon's sage advice revolutionize your swimming performance? Join us for a captivating episode of Champion's Mojo, where we sit poolside with Dr. Peter Yu at the US Masters Long Course Nationals in Mission Viejo, CA. As both a skilled surgeon and masters swimmer for Novaquatics Masters (NOVA), Dr. Yu offers a treasure trove of insights into the latest trends he sees in Olympic and master swimming.
Discover the critical role of dry land training, the surprising benefits of engaging in other sports, and how personalized nutrition strategies, including creatine and salt supplementation, has enhanced Pete's performance in the water. Hear firsthand how Dr. Yu draws fascinating parallels between the mental preparation needed in surgery and swimming, providing a balanced approach to training and mental resilience.
Wrapping up the episode, hosts Kelly Palace and Maria Parker give their key takeaways on the profound wisdom shared by Dr. Yu. Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your swimming game and be inspired by leaders in the sport!
We kindly ask you to leave a five-star review on iTunes to help others discover the Champion's Mojo Podcast. Stay connected with us on social media or visit championsmojo.com for more inspiring content and updates.
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
Chapters
00:01 - Master Swimmers' Wellness and Success
11:43 - Champions Mojo Podcast Review Request
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:01.421 --> 00:00:06.232
Welcome to the award-winning Champions Mojo hosted by two world record-holding athletes.
00:00:06.232 --> 00:00:13.771
Be inspired as you listen to conversations with champions and now your hosts, kelly Pallas and Maria Parker.
00:00:16.201 --> 00:00:19.571
Hello friends, Welcome to the Champions Mojo podcast.
00:00:19.571 --> 00:00:25.751
I am your host, Kelly Pallas, and, as usual, I am with my co-host, Maria Parker.
00:00:25.751 --> 00:00:28.666
Hey Maria, hey Kelly, it's great to be with you here today.
00:00:28.666 --> 00:00:41.079
Yes, and Maria, this is a special edition of Champions Mojo from the Pool Deck and we have a great interview for you today.
00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:44.951
It's brief, it's short, but it's powerful.
00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:47.640
Yeah, interview for you today.
00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:48.563
It's brief, it's short, but it's powerful.
00:00:48.563 --> 00:00:51.048
Yeah, I wasn't there, but I was able to listen to the interview and some great takeaways.
00:00:51.549 --> 00:00:54.723
Yeah, we hope you'll stick around and catch the takeaways.
00:00:54.723 --> 00:00:56.006
And here we go.
00:00:56.006 --> 00:01:13.962
I'm doing an on-deck interview at US Masters Long Course Nationals in Michimiejo and I am with Dr Peter Yu, who is a pediatric surgeon and a very, very serious master swimmer and fitness and just a kind of an overall general wellness expert.
00:01:13.962 --> 00:01:16.647
Pete, welcome to Champions Mojo.
00:01:16.828 --> 00:01:17.751
Oh, thanks for having me.
00:01:17.751 --> 00:01:18.733
Kelly Glad to be here.
00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:31.528
So we are friends just from master swimming and champions mojo and a lot of things that we share the love of this passion of the sport of swimming, and we love talking about Olympic swimming and master swimming.
00:01:31.528 --> 00:01:37.192
So one of the things that you tend to do a lot of research and you study the sport.
00:01:37.192 --> 00:01:41.131
What do you think right now is going on with swimming in general?
00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:44.429
I mean, that question can be answered so many ways.
00:01:44.429 --> 00:01:49.549
I just really really enjoyed watching the Olympics this year.
00:01:49.549 --> 00:02:06.579
I know there's a lot of chatter about how maybe we could have won more golds or not, and the pool depth and all that stuff, but I will say, as a master swimmer, it was just such an exciting nine days of swimming with a lot of great swims.
00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:11.850
I'm thinking about Bobby Fink, I'm thinking about Pan Zhan Li in his 100 free.
00:02:11.850 --> 00:02:14.729
I'm thinking about Kate Douglas and her 200 breast.
00:02:14.729 --> 00:02:16.324
It was an amazing period.
00:02:17.108 --> 00:02:17.348
Yes.
00:02:17.348 --> 00:02:19.306
So what have you learned?
00:02:19.306 --> 00:02:24.151
Because I know you personally and you've experimented with a lot of great techniques.
00:02:24.151 --> 00:02:29.391
We've talked offline about some things that we, as master swimmers, can do to get better.
00:02:29.391 --> 00:02:31.627
What are some of those things you think we can do?
00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:35.169
Yeah, that's a complex question to answer.
00:02:35.169 --> 00:02:38.210
I think several principles.
00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:51.668
Number one they interviewed Coach David Marsh a while back and he gets a question a lot about you know what is the thing that it takes to put you over the top, and his response was really good.
00:02:51.668 --> 00:02:52.669
It was.
00:02:52.669 --> 00:03:10.530
It's not one thing, it's a combination of nutrition and eating healthy and it's a combination of mindset, and I'm happy to expand on that a little bit.
00:03:10.941 --> 00:03:16.073
Okay, so let's start with dry land, because I know that's something we were just talking about.
00:03:16.901 --> 00:03:43.469
Swimming now, much more than when we were growing up, is about being a good athlete, and so I think it's really important to incorporate lifting, and I think that the lifting has to be appropriate for swimming, which is not just lightweight, not just heavy squats, but something in between, with variations that kind of match your training.
00:03:43.469 --> 00:03:52.370
I think it's also important to play other sports, because they provide a reflex mobility component that you don't always get in swimming.
00:03:52.370 --> 00:04:00.322
So for me that's basketball, for other people it might be tennis or golf or pickleball, but I think playing other sports is really important too.
00:04:00.984 --> 00:04:07.721
I love that and I think sometimes, as master swimmers, we get so comfortable in the water that we don't think about another sport.
00:04:07.721 --> 00:04:09.806
But I love that, so what about?
00:04:09.866 --> 00:04:10.307
nutrition.
00:04:10.307 --> 00:04:13.461
It just kind of depends on your body type.
00:04:13.461 --> 00:04:31.257
I don't think there's one prescription for everybody, but I do know that there are formulas for if you're happy with your body weight, if you're trying to lose weight, if you're trying to gain weight in terms of macros and carbs and things.
00:04:31.257 --> 00:04:33.023
That's a whole other conversation.
00:04:33.023 --> 00:04:38.262
But I think the nutrition part is really important and it takes trial and error For me.
00:04:38.262 --> 00:04:41.555
I take two supplements that I think are critical.
00:04:41.555 --> 00:04:46.545
One is creatine and the other is salt replacement.
00:04:46.545 --> 00:04:49.029
That has really really helped me.
00:04:49.029 --> 00:04:55.026
You can buy prepackaged stuff like LMNT, which is very salty.
00:04:55.026 --> 00:04:57.379
Since I've been taking it, I have less cramps.
00:04:57.379 --> 00:05:00.536
My body feels better, everything feels better.
00:05:00.536 --> 00:05:06.266
If the LMNT is too expensive, you can make your own at home for pennies.
00:05:06.266 --> 00:05:12.146
But I do think that that salt supplementation, since I started it, has been game-changing.
00:05:13.149 --> 00:05:13.711
I love that.
00:05:13.711 --> 00:05:32.887
So one thing I want to touch on it's my own thought that you being a pediatric surgeon carries a lot of mental preparation and a lot of stress, a lot of mental toughness to stand and do hours of surgery and to know the importance of what you're doing.
00:05:32.887 --> 00:05:38.127
How do you match that up with swimming mental performance, or is there a match?
00:05:38.975 --> 00:05:40.177
There very much is a match.
00:05:40.358 --> 00:06:05.060
I mean, I think, first of all, no matter what you do, work generally provides stress, and that's just a part of being a master swimmer, and you just have to understand that there's going to be seasons where work is more stressful and seasons where it's less, and seasons where your swimming is on fire and seasons where it has to take a backseat, and that's okay, because we get, hopefully, 50 years of master swimming, so it shouldn't matter.
00:06:06.055 --> 00:06:19.271
One thing that also has been game changing for me is understanding that lifting and basketball and swim practice there's really two components to it.
00:06:19.271 --> 00:06:22.714
Oftentimes we focus on the physical, which is just training our body Basketball and swim practice there's really two components to it.
00:06:22.714 --> 00:06:33.459
Oftentimes we focus on the physical, which is just training our body, but it's a huge opportunity to train, to build confidence.
00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:43.918
If you walk out of practice, every practice, thinking I did not do enough and something was not good enough, that's one mindset that I think is maybe not conducive to lightning fast swimming.
00:06:43.918 --> 00:06:58.879
But if you walk out of every practice with a mindset of I improved today, I did this, I've got this, if you build that confidence which is something that I learned in my work environment to do.
00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:06.588
The synergy between doing the physical work and then training the brain is absolutely essential.
00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:08.252
That is gold.
00:07:08.252 --> 00:07:09.553
That is really gold.
00:07:09.553 --> 00:07:14.923
So how do you, with the busy surgery schedule, fit swimming?
00:07:15.184 --> 00:07:15.264
in.
00:07:15.264 --> 00:07:31.204
You know, for me and for everybody listening, most of us have our schedules somewhat figured out in life, although obviously there are weeks where everything goes crazy and you just have to kind of be flexible.
00:07:31.204 --> 00:07:38.153
Crazy and you just have to kind of be flexible.
00:07:38.153 --> 00:07:39.737
I'm always trying to get six of something physical in the week.
00:07:39.737 --> 00:07:52.100
For me that typically is maybe two to three swims, two lifts in a basketball or a sport in, and that doesn't mean that all six have to be the hardest workout I've ever done.
00:07:52.100 --> 00:08:03.442
Of my swims, one or two will be hard and one might be a recovery swim and one of the lifts might be moderate and one might be a mobility recovery lift.
00:08:03.442 --> 00:08:06.639
But I'm always trying to get six per week in.
00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:08.396
That number seems to work for me.
00:08:08.396 --> 00:08:13.971
It doesn't mean it'll work for everybody, and so I kind of navigate the week that way.
00:08:13.971 --> 00:08:29.779
I will say that recovery is every bit as important as working out, and the addition of that LMNT salt has helped me to recover so much faster than I was before.
00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:31.060
That is great.
00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:40.892
So in the interest of just a quick interview here, is there anything that I have not asked you that you think might be fun to share with the Masters listeners?
00:08:41.634 --> 00:08:45.100
No, I'm just so grateful to be part of this amazing community.
00:08:45.100 --> 00:09:39.149
I just really think that you know, the number one paradigm in swimming today whether it's a sprint revolution concept or what have you is that it's okay to think outside the box and to do what works right for you no-transcript.
00:09:42.278 --> 00:09:43.403
Thank you for having me.
00:09:43.403 --> 00:09:48.910
Stay tuned for the takeaways.
00:09:48.910 --> 00:09:49.672
Want to succeed like a champion?
00:09:49.672 --> 00:10:02.365
Five-time Olympic coach Bob Bowman, coach of Olympic legend Michael Phelps, says Kelly's book Take your Mark Lead is a powerful addition to your personal improvement library, and learners from all walks of life will gain key insights and enjoy this inspiring book.
00:10:02.365 --> 00:10:09.784
Take your Mark Lead debuted as an Amazon number one bestseller in five categories and is available online.
00:10:09.784 --> 00:10:12.289
And now the takeaways five categories.
00:10:12.289 --> 00:10:14.131
And is available online and now the takeaways.
00:10:14.152 --> 00:10:14.613
All right.
00:10:14.613 --> 00:10:17.936
So Peter Yu MD, pediatric surgeon.
00:10:17.936 --> 00:10:22.120
He just has so much wisdom and, like we said, he's so articulate.
00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:23.681
We love to listen to Pete talk.
00:10:23.681 --> 00:10:26.082
So what was your first takeaway, maria?
00:10:26.744 --> 00:10:28.245
Everything he said was a gem.
00:10:28.245 --> 00:10:39.703
But one of the things that I loved was his it's not one thing, it's everything, and I think this is another common theme we're seeing in champions You're not just focused on one aspect, especially the older champions master's champions.
00:10:39.703 --> 00:10:45.581
So he said I swim three days a week, I do dry land and weight room stuff and I also play basketball.
00:10:45.581 --> 00:10:52.663
That just seems like an entirely doable way to live my life as a master's athlete and I love that.
00:10:53.450 --> 00:10:55.214
Yeah, it's fun, you have more fun.
00:10:55.214 --> 00:10:57.519
So Pete seems like he's having fun.
00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:59.530
So we're just doing one takeaway on each.
00:10:59.530 --> 00:11:10.823
My takeaway is Pete is a student of the sport of swimming, his passion for swimming, talking about his favorite Olympic races that I know he follows.
00:11:10.823 --> 00:11:17.099
You know great swimmers in all levels of the sport, from USA to NCAA to Olympics, to master swimmers.
00:11:17.099 --> 00:11:28.662
He's studying the sport and I think if we all can take away that you know we may not be those Olympic swimmers, but we can certainly learn from them and think about the sport and watch the sport and enjoy the sport.
00:11:28.662 --> 00:11:41.057
So I love that so much about Pete and I think that it really helps reflect in his own swimming, where he's doing amazing dolphin kicks off the wall and he's really emulating the things that he's watching.
00:11:41.057 --> 00:11:43.894
And the more that we study a sport, the better we're going to get at it.
00:11:43.894 --> 00:11:48.212
So there we have it, our quick on-deck interview with Pete and Maria.
00:11:48.212 --> 00:11:49.979
Thanks, another great one in the books.
00:11:49.979 --> 00:11:50.900
Thank you, kelly.
00:11:52.750 --> 00:11:55.740
Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo podcast.
00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:57.054
Did you enjoy the show?
00:11:57.054 --> 00:12:03.917
We'd be grateful if you would leave us a five-star review on iTunes to help others find us, and we'd also love to hear from you.
00:12:03.917 --> 00:12:08.480
We're on all social media platforms or you can reach us at championsmojocom.
00:00:01.421 --> 00:00:06.232
00:00:06.232 --> 00:00:13.771
00:00:16.201 --> 00:00:19.571
00:00:19.571 --> 00:00:25.751
00:00:25.751 --> 00:00:28.666
00:00:28.666 --> 00:00:41.079
00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:44.951
00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:47.640
00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:48.563
00:00:48.563 --> 00:00:51.048
00:00:51.549 --> 00:00:54.723
00:00:54.723 --> 00:00:56.006
00:00:56.006 --> 00:01:13.962
00:01:13.962 --> 00:01:16.647
00:01:16.828 --> 00:01:17.751
00:01:17.751 --> 00:01:18.733
00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:31.528
00:01:31.528 --> 00:01:37.192
00:01:37.192 --> 00:01:41.131
00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:44.429
00:01:44.429 --> 00:01:49.549
00:01:49.549 --> 00:02:06.579
00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:11.850
00:02:11.850 --> 00:02:14.729
00:02:14.729 --> 00:02:16.324
00:02:17.108 --> 00:02:17.348
00:02:17.348 --> 00:02:19.306
00:02:19.306 --> 00:02:24.151
00:02:24.151 --> 00:02:29.391
00:02:29.391 --> 00:02:31.627
00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:35.169
00:02:35.169 --> 00:02:38.210
00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:51.668
00:02:51.668 --> 00:02:52.669
00:02:52.669 --> 00:03:10.530
00:03:10.941 --> 00:03:16.073
00:03:16.901 --> 00:03:43.469
00:03:43.469 --> 00:03:52.370
00:03:52.370 --> 00:04:00.322
00:04:00.984 --> 00:04:07.721
00:04:07.721 --> 00:04:09.806
00:04:09.866 --> 00:04:10.307
00:04:10.307 --> 00:04:13.461
00:04:13.461 --> 00:04:31.257
00:04:31.257 --> 00:04:33.023
00:04:33.023 --> 00:04:38.262
00:04:38.262 --> 00:04:41.555
00:04:41.555 --> 00:04:46.545
00:04:46.545 --> 00:04:49.029
00:04:49.029 --> 00:04:55.026
00:04:55.026 --> 00:04:57.379
00:04:57.379 --> 00:05:00.536
00:05:00.536 --> 00:05:06.266
00:05:06.266 --> 00:05:12.146
00:05:13.149 --> 00:05:13.711
00:05:13.711 --> 00:05:32.887
00:05:32.887 --> 00:05:38.127
00:05:38.975 --> 00:05:40.177
00:05:40.358 --> 00:06:05.060
00:06:06.055 --> 00:06:19.271
00:06:19.271 --> 00:06:22.714
00:06:22.714 --> 00:06:33.459
00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:43.918
00:06:43.918 --> 00:06:58.879
00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:06.588
00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:08.252
00:07:08.252 --> 00:07:09.553
00:07:09.553 --> 00:07:14.923
00:07:15.184 --> 00:07:15.264
00:07:15.264 --> 00:07:31.204
00:07:31.204 --> 00:07:38.153
00:07:38.153 --> 00:07:39.737
00:07:39.737 --> 00:07:52.100
00:07:52.100 --> 00:08:03.442
00:08:03.442 --> 00:08:06.639
00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:08.396
00:08:08.396 --> 00:08:13.971
00:08:13.971 --> 00:08:29.779
00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:31.060
00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:40.892
00:08:41.634 --> 00:08:45.100
00:08:45.100 --> 00:09:39.149
00:09:42.278 --> 00:09:43.403
00:09:43.403 --> 00:09:48.910
00:09:48.910 --> 00:09:49.672
00:09:49.672 --> 00:10:02.365
00:10:02.365 --> 00:10:09.784
00:10:09.784 --> 00:10:12.289
00:10:12.289 --> 00:10:14.131
00:10:14.152 --> 00:10:14.613
00:10:14.613 --> 00:10:17.936
00:10:17.936 --> 00:10:22.120
00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:23.681
00:10:23.681 --> 00:10:26.082
00:10:26.744 --> 00:10:28.245
00:10:28.245 --> 00:10:39.703
00:10:39.703 --> 00:10:45.581
00:10:45.581 --> 00:10:52.663
00:10:53.450 --> 00:10:55.214
00:10:55.214 --> 00:10:57.519
00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:59.530
00:10:59.530 --> 00:11:10.823
00:11:10.823 --> 00:11:17.099
00:11:17.099 --> 00:11:28.662
00:11:28.662 --> 00:11:41.057
00:11:41.057 --> 00:11:43.894
00:11:43.894 --> 00:11:48.212
00:11:48.212 --> 00:11:49.979
00:11:49.979 --> 00:11:50.900
00:11:52.750 --> 00:11:55.740
00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:57.054
00:11:57.054 --> 00:12:03.917
00:12:03.917 --> 00:12:08.480
