May 28, 2025
Prioritizing physical health – tips for staying active and well
May is Physical Health Awareness Month, and in this episode of Docs in a Pod, hosts Ron Aaron and Dr. Rajay Seudath are joined by Dr. Robert Streck to explore practical ways to boost physical well-being. From staying active and managing chronic conditions to creating sustainable health habits, this conversation is packed with insights to help listeners take charge of their physical health—no matter their age or fitness level.
Docs in a Pod focuses on health issues affecting adults. Clinicians and partners discuss stories, topics and tips to help you live healthier.
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Show transcript
Podcast transcript
INTRO
Welcome to Docs in a Pod, presented by WellMed. Over the next half hour, Docs in a Pod will educate you about the health and wellness of adults everywhere. Co-hosts Dr. Rajay Seudath and award winning veteran broadcaster Ron Aaron will share information to improve your health and well-being. And now here are Ron Aaron and Dr. Rajay Seudath.
RON AARON
Hello everybody, and welcome to Docs in a Pod, the award winning program and podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. You can also hear us on the radio in a number of cities in Texas and Florida as well. I'm Ron Aaron. We've got a great topic coming up. May is Physical Health Month. We'll be talking about that. We're delighted first to welcome our co-host, Dr. Rajay Seudath. Dr. Seudath is a board certified family medicine physician. He's a Tampa native and a current lead physician for Optum. He's at the University of location in Tampa. Dr. Seudath began his career in medicine, having worked many, many jobs, including teaching English to those in foreign countries. And he decided he likes helping people. He has earned his medical degree from the University of South Florida Morisani college of medicine, and he has a passion for primary care. Dr. Seudath, it's great to see you again.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Thank you so much for having me on again.
RON AARON
May being Physical Health Month, do you talk to your patients at all about doing stuff?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes, all the time. All the time. Physical exercise, having your mobility, keeping your muscles flexible, preventing falls. All of those tie into physical fitness. So, yes, for multiple different diseases, for multiple different reasons, we often talk about physical fitness.
RON AARON
Well, let's welcome our special guest today, Dr. Robert Streck, here to talk about Physical Health Month. Dr. Streck is passionate about helping patients live healthy lives and enjoys supporting patients as they work to overcome or manage their health challenges. He attended medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine. He is a board certified specialist in internal medicine and obesity medicine. Dr. Streck, when not assisting patients, enjoys hiking and fishing, and he also enjoys catching up on the latest nonfiction books and occasionally a Netflix series. Great to talk with you, Dr. Streck. Thanks for joining us on Docs in a Pod.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
Great to be here. Great to be back.
RON AARON
When you talk about physical health, May is physical health month, but of course it ought to be 12 months a year, 24/7, what comes to your mind? What is it you're thinking of?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
Well, basically all health that's not mental health. Physical health I think a lot of times where our mind goes straight to physical activity and exercise and mobility, but I think any other medical conditions that can affect your health can have physical manifestations. So, physical health really is going to be a pretty broad category I think.
RON AARON
For your patients, as Dr. Seudath mentioned a moment ago, is that something you bring up regularly with them? You look at them in their little beady eyes and say, hey, we need to be doing stuff.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
Absolutely. 100%. For a whole host of reasons. But almost every single visit, we'll talk about some kind of aspect of physical health because it can have so many more downstream effects. So, I think just about 15, 16, 50 times a day.
RON AARON
You brought it up. For the patient who is a lifelong couch potato, who says, Dr. Streck, I do get up every once in a while to get a snack from the refrigerator, and before I had this remote, I used to get up to change channels on my TV. Now I don't do anything. How do I start?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
That's a great question. I think giving yourself a really reasonable goal and setting some reasonable expectations is the best place to start. I mean, if you look at guidelines, there's all kinds of published guidelines in terms of what's recommended in terms of physical activity. But that really should be a goal, especially for somebody who's starting out pretty sedentary, not moving around much. So, working your way towards that rather than going from 0 to 60 is going to prevent injuries. It's going to prevent attrition and getting tired and having trouble maintaining these new habits.
RON AARON
One of my doctors, cardiologist Dr. Christopher Thompson, has said to me if he could get patients to regularly exercise, he'd be able to eliminate a lot of the medications that they take.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
I would agree with that in a lot of cases. Physical activity is key to mental health in addition to physical health. It's good for blood pressure, lungs, heart, brain, preventing dementia, helping with joints, preventing falls, preventing bone fractures later in life. A whole host of things benefit from it.
RON AARON
I want to find out from you in just a minute the patient who says to you, oh, man, I'm really out there. I'm doing stuff, but isn't. Can you tell? We'll find out. First, Iâm going to let folks who joined us right now, you're listening to Docs in a Pod. The award-winning podcast and program available wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Ron Aaron along with their co-host, Dr. Rajay Seudath and our special guest today, Dr. Robert Streck. We're talking about physical health in honor of May being Physical Health Month. Dr. Streck, I mentioned earlier the patient who says, I don't do anything versus the patient who says, man, I am in that gym pumping iron day in and day out and he's doing nothing. Can you tell?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
It may be a little harder to tell than you think, but at the same time, I think an important piece of that is people may feel uncomfortable telling us when they have unhealthy lifestyles. When they have things that they think they're deficient in, and there's a lot of guilt that comes along with that. I think it's really important to kind of break through that stigma and say, this is a judgment free zone. You're not here to please me. I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm here to help you. Kind of opening that and saying, well, maybe we need to change these things, and really acknowledging the elephant in the room that there is stigma and that people really do feel embarrassed about being sedentary, embarrassed about struggling with their weight, and that there's really no reason to be.
RON AARON
Except there's a lot of messages out there in the media that really puts down folks who are overweight, puts down folks who don't exercise.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
Absolutely. Weight bias in the media and weight bias in culture is extremely prevalent. It's very, very damaging for physical and mental health. I mean, it can be a deterrent for people to see care. It can be a deterrent for people to start a journey to improving their physical health. All too often I think it's expected that it's just move more, eat less, and your physical health will improve. You're going to lose weight, and it's just a matter of sheer willpower. Quite frankly, it's a lot more complicated than that. There are so many things happening in your hormones, your biology, your brain chemistry that really make it difficult to make some of those changes. A lot of the time the media is full of people who don't share that same experience who have never struggled with weight in their entire life.
RON AARON
Or at least lie about it.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
Yeah, or at least lie about it. It doesn't help, and it perpetuates this narrative that struggling with overweight or obesity is a character flaw or laziness, when really it's a chronic disease like any other.
RON AARON
Dr. Seudath, what is the prescription for a patient who wants to begin physical exercise?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
I think Dr. Streck really touched on it, and that was trying to find what are those barriers first and foremost and coming up with goals. Coming up with very reachable goals in the first few weeks. The first few months. So, one of the things I try to ask them is, what's something you want to be able to do? If we can try and figure out the why behind this behavior change. Because everybody wants to be healthier, but if you can tie it to some sort of goal, some sort of driving motivation, they're far more apt to keep with it when they do get into that adversity. When I'm getting the hunger pangs, when I don't really feel like exercising. There are ways to kind of get around that, so I think before we even started, trying to figure out what are the obstacles that they may encounter and try to remove those obstacles. Oftentimes people who want to get started have tried and failed in the past. So, sometimes talking about, well, what did you do in the past? Oh, I tried to go before four times a week for 30 minutes and it was just too much, and I got discouraged and I didn't want to go anymore. Or, I was going with my brother, and then he moved away, so I stopped doing it. So, kind of figuring out what are those things they've already tried, and then you can kind of build on that. Okay, well, instead of going 30 minutes, let's try doing five minutes at home first. You can do it on commercial breaks. Let's do three five-minute sessions once a day for three days in a row. Let's see how you do with that.
RON AARON
What is something you would be doing during those five minutes?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
It could be as simple as doing arm curls with Zephyrhills bottles for someone who is very, very out of shape. It could be watching a YouTube video and doing chair exercises while they're on their couch. So, you can be a couch potato, but you could be a toned couch potato. Sometimes you have to present very, very small baby steps so they can feel that they're not going to be in pain. They can feel that they're not going to feel unbalanced or that they're going to fall. And then you can try and work with their comfort levels to get them to a place where they can meet their goals.
RON AARON
Dr. Streck, depending on the insurance someone has, many qualify for Silver Sneakers, so they literally get a free gym membership. Is that something folks probably could take more advantage of? Asking for a friend.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
I think people could take more advantage of it. There are sometimes some, I guess, mental blocks that I've got to go and do this at this specific place. And for some people, it helps to have that dedicated environment. It gets you in the headspace. It creates this ritual and perpetuates the habit. For other people, it's another step. It's another barrier. My transportation's not good. It's hard for me to get out of the house. They've got an anxiety disorder and social phobia, and they don't want to leave the house. So, the gym memberships can be great. A lot of the insurance companies that I've seen will also offer some online classes or ClassPass. So, there's a lot of different resources that can be available to be able to workout even at home.
RON AARON
Taking that first step, which can be a challenge, how long does it take, Dr. Streck, to make it a habit? To make that daily routine a habit.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
I've heard all kinds of timelines quoted for this. Four weeks, four months. I don't have a specific timeline for that. I know there's somebody doing research out there, but again, it's going to be different for everybody, and I think really the key for any of these changes is they need to be attainable, they need to be realistic and they need to be sustainable. Sustainability is a big part that I think people overlook. Anybody can do anything for a week. Anybody can do anything for a month. But to change things for years, decades, the rest of your life, those types of changes are very, very hard.
RON AARON
We'll continue the conversation in just a moment. I want to talk a little bit about strength, weight training and cardio. But first, for folks who just joined us, you're listening to the award winning Docs in a Pod. I'm Ron Aaron and along with Dr. Robert Streck and Dr. Rajay Seudath. We're delighted you're with us right here on Docs in a Pod.
AD
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RON AARON
We're so pleased you're with us right here on the award winning Docs in a Pod. Let me share something with you. If you enjoy this program, please don't forget to rate us and leave a review for Docs in a Pod, the award winning podcast. It brings you insightful conversations on health and wellness, along with leading experts like you're hearing today on Docs in a Pod. Feedback helps us grow and reach more listeners like you. Let me also share that we're so delighted that Docs in a Pod has won the prestigious 2025 Communicator Award for the fourth year in a row. Our trusted WellMed radio programs and podcasts bring you expert insights on whatever you can think of when it comes to health and wellness. A special shout-out goes out to a lot of the people behind the scenes who make this happen like Mark Carrion. Mark edits our programs and puts them into shape. Catherine Claunch, who is our technical director and expert on making sure this program actually gets put together. We thank Mark, Catherine and all of you, including Cherese Pendleton, our expert producer. So, thank you for our two guests today, Dr. Robert Streck and our co-host Dr. Rajay Seudath. We're talking about health, fitness, wellness, exercise and Physical Health Month. Dr. Streck, is there a difference and a need to do both cardio exercise, get that heart pumping, and weight strength training. What do you think?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
I think it's really important to do a combination of both. Both give you different benefits. There's some obvious overlap between the two, but each one's really going to have different things that it's targeting and focusing on. Cardio, for instance, is great for depression. It's great for cardiovascular health. It's great for brain health and preventing dementia. It's good for the blood vessels. It's good for the body in a general sense. And it improves endurance. People can generally function a little bit better, move a little bit further and faster if they're doing some cardio exercise. Weight bearing or resistance training or weightlifting, whatever you want to call it, I would argue is equally as important. They can help a lot with things like anxiety. It can improve bone density and bone health. As we age, our muscles shrink. That's just a normal part of aging. Weight-bearing exercise is critical to slow down that process, maintain strength, maintain functionality, prevent falls, and all of these things together really do kind of improve the whole big picture. But it's not one or the other. You really ought to try and fit both into your schedule there.
RON AARON
What about getting a trainer to help you do that if you can afford it?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
I think personal trainers can be really helpful, especially for people who have pretty limited experience in the gym or a limited experience with exercise. So, if you're somebody who's never really done any kind of supervised exercise or had any kind of training in how to do safe techniques and safe exercise, personal trainers are a great resource. They can teach you how to use the equipment at the gym. They can teach you proper technique. They can monitor your technique, and for a lot of people, it's a motivator. You've got the personal trainer who's going to call you. You've got to set appointments with this person. You've got to show up. So, personal trainers can be a resource. They are not a necessity, but for a lot of people they could benefit from the use of them.
RON AARON
What do you do for yourself for physical exercise? I see you on Zoom and you look to be pretty fit.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
I like to do a combination of cardio and strength training. I really enjoy running. I've got a broken ankle at the moment, so that's really out the window, but cardio makes me feel better. I wasn't very good at it when I was younger, so I've gotten more in shape as I've gotten older and I just built my confidence. Strength training for me, I feel relaxed for days afterwards. I may have a little bit of soreness, but that stretch afterwards when you're just a little bit sore, it's just so satisfying.
RON AARON
Dr. Seudath, what do you do for exercise?
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
On a few of these podcasts, again, the videos are not up, it's only audio these days. But you'll see me kind of rocking back and forth. I've got an exercise ball that I'm constantly on for this thing.
RON AARON
Let folks understand what that is because not everybody knows that you are sitting as we talk on a big, round, inflated ball.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes.
RON AARON
And in order to stay upright, you need a lot of core strength.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Not a lot, actually. As it's more inflated or less inflated, you use more or less of those muscles. But you can also use them for other exercises. You can use them to balance yourself with your hands. You can do these other types of exercises here in the office. So, I try to get maybe a good five minutes of different types of exercises using the exercise ball about maybe two or three times during the day. We get a lot of steps. We're always up at these kinds of clinics. Weâre up here, up there. Iâm rarely just sitting at this desk just working away. I wish I could, but oftentimes we're being pulled in 10 different directions. For me, I like to go in person and see the patient. See the person who's talking to me. Of course, I use the phone lines, but I talk about maybe 12,000 steps a day.
RON AARON
It used to be 10,000 steps as a goal, but I read somewhere more than that is what you actually should shoot for.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
I'm going to pass that on to Dr. Streck, because I still tell people 10,000 is the goal.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
There's mixed research on it. Some will say the more the better. And quite frankly, that's probably true. But there are aspirations and then there are realistic expectations. And for somebody who goes from 0 or 100 steps a day to 3,000 steps a day, their physical health improves dramatically. So, even if you're not reaching that recommended place, aim high, follow among the stars. Any exercise is better than no exercise. So again, you have goals in mind, but just getting started is a huge win. It's a huge accomplishment. You can't get to your goals without getting started.
RON AARON
We probably shouldn't talk about physical health without adding lifestyle, health. Alcohol, tobacco, and high-fat, high sugar foods. How do you deal with those issues? I'm sure you have patients who still smoke, which is beyond my personal understanding, but I bet you do.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Oh, yeah.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
Oh, absolutely. Lots of patients still smoke. People are less open about it. We don't see as much of it because it's banned in a lot of public spaces, but people still smoke.
RON AARON
Well, you can smell it. I mean, a patient comes in and says, oh, doctor, I never smoke. Well, then how can you smell like tobacco?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
It happens all the time. Most of the time I don't even ask when I smell the smoke, do you smoke? It's, are you still smoking? How much are you smoking? And I really kind of just jump into the chase there. But healthy lifestyle choices are important as well. This is again, it's not an all or nothing type of situation. Cutting back on alcohol, cutting back on tobacco, reducing the amounts of ultra processed foods and high sugar foods is better than staying the same. Progress is still progress. But your bodies generally feel healthier when you're treating them healthier.
DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
There was one thing I wanted to go back on. Dr. Streck had talked about after a strength training session, and you're a little bit sore, and you do that stretch, you really feel that. That's one of the things that I just wanted to touch on with stretching, because aerobic, anaerobic, toning your muscles and the march of time does short them. So, it is important that we tell people it's important to stretch as well. Because if you can get muscles that are not well stretched out that are stronger on one side versus the other, they can cause posture issues, it can cause worsening of chronic pain. So, I think the stretching is another part of that kind of yin and yang of it. I want my patients to be exercising and toning those muscles so that they're keeping their hearts healthy., they're using their lungs, they're building their strength. But I also want them to maintain as painless, pain free as possible by keeping those muscles nice and lengthened and loose and really getting rid of stiffness.
RON AARON
We know, Dr. Streck, people 65 and over are at great risk of falling, which can be deadly to individuals. Does getting involved in an exercise program and stretching reduce the risk of falls?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
Stretching, weight-bearing exercise are two things that do reduce the risk of falls. Isometric exercises like yoga and tai chi are excellent sources of exercise. They also improve balance, they improve strength, they improve flexibility, and they reduce falls. That's been proven in clinical trials. There's all kinds of ways to get that exercise in.
RON AARON
Well, thank you both. Let me just add, before we let you go, Dr. Streck, it's been very interesting talking with you on this topic, and I hope at some point we can get you back as well. What clinic are you affiliated with?
DR. ROBERT STRECK
I am with WellMed at Plano in North Texas.
RON AARON
Perfect. Not far from Dallas.
DR. ROBERT STRECK
No, very close to Dallas. Stone's throw.
RON AARON
Thank you. Appreciate you for being here, and thank you for your time. On behalf of Dr. Rajay Seudath, our co-host, we're delighted to have you join us today on the award winning Docs in a Pod. I'm Ron Aaron. We'll talk with you soon on Docs in a Pod.
OUTRO
Executive producer for Docs in a Pod is Dan Calderon. The producer is Cherese Pendleton. Thank you for listening to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed. Be sure and listen next week to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed.
OUTRO
Executive producer for Docs in a Pod is Dan Calderon. The producer is Cherese Pendleton, thank you for listening to Docs in a Pod presented by. WellMed, be sure and listen next week to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed.
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