5 Interesting Facts from SWIS Conference 2022

Hi everyone,

I recently attended the SWIS conference in Columbus, Ohio. SWIS stands for the Society of Weight Training Injury Specialists, and it is a true interdisciplinary conference. There were over 50 presenters from around the world, including medical doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, professional bodybuilders, world-record holding powerlifters, nutritionists, personal trainers, and more. The conference included four concurrent tracks for lectures: rehabilitation, training, nutrition, and business.

Although I could list a hundred things I learned a the SWIS conference, I just want to briefly list five majors lessons for now.

Big Idea #1: Being Overly Fat is Awful for Your Circulatory System

Dr. Bob Rakowski gave a talk on nutrition and supplementation for healthy blood vessels, and he mentioned that a single pound of fat add 18.79 miles of vasculature! Now, our circulatory system is incredibly strong and resilient; however, every system in our body has a breaking point after being chronically overworked. Get rid of as much excess fat that you can if you are overweight or obese.

Big Idea #2: Bill Kazmaier Is a Real-Life Superhero

Bill Kazmaier gave a brief talk about his history in powerlifting, World’s Strongest Man contests, and playing in the NFL. Some people consider Bill the strongest human being ever, and some of the stories he told about the peak of his career make me think that might be true.

Kaz was once challenged to do max weight bicep curls; he was reluctant because he had not really been training curls at all. Nevertheless, under the encouragement from a large crowd, Kaz bicep curled 315 pounds for 15 reps! And then did 365 and 400 pounds for two reps. That is absolutely unreal. Kaz said that early in his career, he prayed and asked God for strength and talent, and promised that he would use them for God. He now travels the world giving talks to kids on the power of belief, work ethic, and hope in the future. I spoke briefly with Kaz and he was incredibly friendly, down-to-earth, and personable.

Big Idea #3: Backward Walking Ability Predicts Fall Risk in Older Adults

Joe DeFranco gave a good presentation on sled dragging for strength and conditioning. Unfortunately for Joe, several audience members interrupted Joe’s talk to ask (mostly) stupid questions. Joe said he has about 12 variations of sled dragging to discuss, but he ended up only having time to talk about four. One of the most important takeaways for me, given that my average client is 63 years old, was that backward walking (without a sled) is a good predictor of fall risk in older adults. Thus, Joe suggested using backward sled drags to strengthen those muscles to reduce clients’ risk of falls.

Big Idea #4: Brain Fog is “Pain” in the Brain and Gas is “Pain” in the Gut

Dr. Rob Silverman gave a great talk on supplements and how to best use them with clients and patients. Rob said that ALL disease begins in the gut. The gut and liver are bidirectional, and the gut and the brain share a strong connection. We do not have pain receptors in the gut nor the brain. Thus, when we eat crappy food, too much food, or simply foods that we may be sensitive to, the distress caused by those foods is not felt as pain in the gut or brain, as opposed to other areas of the body when distressed. Instead, the stress we place on our gut typically manifests as gas and/or bloating, and the stress we place on our brain from the food we eat often manifests as brain fog. Those are not good! And they should be taken just as seriously as you would take pain in other areas of the body.

Big Idea #5: Vitamin D is Still Underappreciated

Although vitamin D has received a lot of attention in the past five years or so, I realized at the SWIS conference that vitamin D is still underappreciated by most people. Dr. Eric Serrano gave a nice talk on interpreting blood work results and adjusting nurition and supplementation to fix blood work issues. He said that those people with vitamin D levels of 60 or more tend to recover faster and have less severe complications from the common cold, flu, and other viral infections. Furthermore, he has had patients with multiple sclerosis who have almost full cessation of symptoms when keeping their vitamin D levels extremely high. And