The Optimal Body

Stretching and strengthening may not be enough for Foot Health. Dr. Emily Splichal ⁠⁠⁠ dives into the missing piece: sensory awareness! Describing the 4 pillars of foot health, she provides insight into the importance of sensory input through the feet, potential causes of neuropathy, and tools you can use to gain awareness in the feet. With a simple test to gauge your risk of falls, she provides s...

Your one-stop shop to addressing your posture! DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into all things posture and how you can change your movement game to address your posture. Tapping into mobility, strength through range, and core control, they hone in on their best tips! Let's dive in! Jen Health Discount: Try something different. If you’ve been told to “stay away,” “stop [x],” “try [x] and it has not worked,...

Itching to exercise post-partum but have been told to wait? Or, wanting to exercise as a beginner and pregnant? We dive into how Brianna found passion in helping new mothers post-partum and through pregnancy with their fitness journeys. We dive into whether exercise is harmful during oreganacy and post-partum, post-partum expectations related to return to exercise, whether you need to avoid core e...

Do you cool-down? At times, cool-downs feel unimportant or a waste of time, however, DocJen & Dr. Dom break the confusion in this episode. With a high emphasis on specificity, they explain the importance of strategically cooling down the body to prepare the body for optimal recovery, addressing how to appropriately use breath and movement after exercise to kickstart that rest, digest, and recovery...

Struggling to navigate your kid's fever, eczema, or poop concerns? “If you’re putting that steroid cream on, that is just a bandaid.” We have Dr Elana Roumell, a doctor and naturopath specializing in paediatric, to address when to conventional and herbal medicine for fevers, specifically Tyenol and Ibuprofen, and her top herbal medicine recommendations. Then, she dives into the world of excema, di...

Do you warm-up? At times, warm-ups feel unimportant or a waste of time, however, DocJen & Dr. Dom break the confusion in this episode. With a high emphasis on specificity, they explain the importance of strategically warming up the body to prepare for the upcoming movement, how to appropriately activate the body before exercise sessions, whether stretching is really that bad before movement, and h...

#womenarenotsmallmen Wondering how to optimize your nutrition & training as a female? Lost a period? Struggling to figure out nutrition and exercise around menopause? Dr. Stacy Sims dives deep into hormones, nutritional, and training considerations during the menstruating phase of life, perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. Dr. Stacy explains Amenorrhea, nutritional considerations during a...

In this episode, we delve into essential exercises and tips tailored to each trimester of pregnancy to support optimal mobility, stability, and overall well-being for expectant mothers. In the first trimester, we empower you with the hallmarks of mobility, as well as the importance of breathwork with pelvic floor awareness. In the second trimester, we address how you can work around the new sensat...

Welcome to our re-introduction. We're diving into where it all started, describing DocJen and Dr. Dom's paths to physical therapy and how they met! With fun facts, they expand beyond the initial dates and how their relationship flourished. Speaking into the impact of COVID, they hone in on how they navigated their business and how they paved the path towards creating their app - Jen Health. Let's...

Have you tried TENs? DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. They dive into how it affects the body to reduce pain in the short-term, potential contraindications, and critically analyze the research that has been done on TENs. Finally, they discuss its use during labour and how it can facilitate pain management temporarily. Let's dive into all things TENs! VivoBar...

Struggling with anxiety? Feeling overwhelmed?  - What if something as simple as breathwork self-healed? A tool constantly overlooked, but within us, is our breath. Samantha dives into her story about breathwork and how her first experiences changed her mental and bodily state. In addition to diving into the science of how breathwork can be a primary determinant of the state your nervous system is...

Tune into optimal health where DocJen and Dr Dom dive into all things wrist health! DocJen and Dr Dom dive into the potential causes of wrist pain, the role of the elbow in wrist health and the best exercises to help optimize that wrist-elbow complex, considering compensation, the nervous system, and the range of motion. By providing your solution with exercises, they discuss the relevance of mobi...

Here's a different date idea - What if you and your partner got together to optimize your physiology? Join us as we explore Dr. Jonathan's career and how he birthed the world's first social health club. We dive into the concept of integrative wellbeing and shed light on the Social Wellness Club. We confront the question of why healthy activities often carry a stigma, and what it means to challenge...

Tune into optimal health where DocJen and Dr Dom dive into the Foot and Ankle! DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the potential causes of foot and ankle pain, the role of footwear in foot health and the best exercises to help optimize that foot-ankle complex. By providing your solution with exercises, they discuss the relevance of mobility and strength to build awareness and resilience.  VivoBarefoot Di...

Here’s a full debrief on the science behind metabolism, weight loss, and conflictive function from the perspective of food and nutrient consumption. In this episode, Thomas DeLauer breaks down the science behind how to eat for optimal cognitive function and between stressed and relaxed states. Then, DeLauer explains the science behind fast and slow metabolism, the principle of energy flux and how...

Tune into optimal health where DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the knees! DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the potential causes of knee pain, the role of posture with regard to knee health, as well as the best exercises! By providing your solution with exercises, they discuss the relevance of mobility and strength to build awareness and resilience in the knees! Low Back Challenge: Let's help your Lower B...

Is Whole30 for you? In this episode with Melissa Urban, Co-Founder of Whole 30, we embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, exploring the intricate details of the Whole30 diet and beyond. We engage in a thought-provoking conversation on the self-experimentation versus elimination mindset, as well as the re-introduction phase of the diet taking centre stage. We dissect this crucial as...

Tune into optimal health where DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the shoulders! DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the potential causes of shoulder pain, the role of posture with regards to shoulder health and the the best exercises to help optimize that shoulder-shoulder blade-upper back complex. By providing your solution with exercises, they discuss the relevance of mobility and strength to build awarenes...

"When you realize anatomy is a limitation, it becomes a liberation." We have invited Brett Larkin onto The Optimal Body Podcast to discuss her evolution with the Yoga practice and to share what Yoga means for her. From setting the path with how she started Yoga, she speaks about how the principles of Yoga apply to everyday life and uses the history of Yoga to explain what Yoga intended to be and h...

Tune into optimal health where DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the hips! DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the potential causes of hip pain and how compensatory or coordination defects play a role in the risk of the pain experience. By providing your solution with exercises, they discuss the relevance of mobility and strength to build awareness and resilience.  JEN HEALTH SALE: ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP @ 50% OFF...

Is sitting the new smoking? Is standing better for us? We have Dr. Ashley Williams, the sitting expert, on to discuss all things sitting, standing, chairs and posture. We're getting to the root of the truths behind article claims on sitting, standing desks, treadmill desks, and how posture relates to it all. Dr. Ashley dives into how you can become good at sitting and how to support sitting to pre...

Tune into part 3 of our back pain series where DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the neck! DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the anatomy of the upper back and what may be contributing to upper back pain. They explain the mobility-stability continuum and what it means to develop control over the body. By providing your solution with exercises, they discuss the relevance of mobility above and below the upper...

“There’s a very fine line between bodybuilding and just complete neglect of health," says Justin Mihaly. In this episode, Bodybuilder, Justin Mihaly dives into where his interest in bodybuilding stemmed from. By mapping out the toxic culture around body-building and mental health, Justin hones in on the benefits of bodybuilding principles that can be carried over into normal life. He touches base...

Tune into part 2 of our back pain series where DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the neck! DocJen and Dr. Dom dive into the anatomy of the neck, what may be contributing to neck pain, as well as the current research on degeneration around the neck. They explain the mobility-stability continuum and what it means to develop control over the body. By providing your solution with exercises, they discuss th...

Feel like you’ve tried everything, from working out to eating healthy, and still have little to no results? Listen to the interview with Julia Glanz – registered dietician, strength and conditioning coach, speed and agility coach, and former D1 athlete for soccer – as she enlightens us on what might be the true cause and what it means to balance hormones.  Tune in as Julia explains how stress leve...