Most medical professionals will agree that both cardio and strength training in water is beneficial for more than just MS patients—anyone with a physical challenge can find tremendous improvement after incorporating aquatic therapy as part of their wellness protocol.
Learn more about the endless benefits of aquatic therapy in this great interview with Wahls Protocol® Sponsor, Endless Pools.
In this interview, you will learn why I decided on using Endless Pools, and how aquatic therapy was part of my recovery. I have had my Endless Pool for about 20 years now and I am forever grateful to be able to have it in my home.
Learn more at https://www.endlesspools.com/
Hit play on the video or read the transcript below:
Endless Pools s a Wahls Protocol® Sponsor. I am grateful for the partnership with this company and sponsorships like this are part of how we are able to produce so many informational resources at no cost to you. I hope that you do find the information shared to be beneficial!
Read the transcript below:
Dr. Wahls:
Hi there everyone, it’s Dr. Wahls, and I am with Brendan Connell, who is the sales manager for Endless Pools. Now that’s a company that I know well because I have an Endless Pool installed in my home. Now, Endless Pools really sets the standards in compact pools and aquatic fitness that you can have in your home, and they have really great technology. The brand was founded in 1988, and has developed into a worldwide, with customers in over a hundred countries.
Now, again, Endless Pool is the pool that I’ve installed in my home, and they are a Wahls Protocol Seminar sponsor. Now these partnerships and sponsorships are a great opportunity to share the products that I use every day in my life, and I want all the Wahls Warriors to know because they always ask me, “What is it that I do?” And they want to know exactly what I do. So sharing these interviews, and letting you have a glimpse into my daily routines, is a great way for you to understand how I’ve used them in my healing journey.
And so, Brendan, let me hand this back over to you. I know you wanted to ask me a bunch of questions about my journey with Endless Pools.
Brendan Connell:
Absolutely. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me this morning, certainly a pleasure on my end. Would you mind starting off by telling us a little bit about your actual background for our audience?
Dr. Wahls:
Okay. So before becoming a physician, I was an athlete. I ran, I skied, I climbed mountains, I did full contact TaeKwonDo, with national competition, by the way. Entered medical school, curtailed a lot of my athletic activities. And then, about 20 years after medical school, I developed weakness in my left leg, and that’s when I was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and they tied together some other neurologic symptoms that I’d been having for about seven years previously.
And unfortunately, within two years, it was very clear that I wasn’t able to jog anymore, my physical limitations were severely limited. And so I started looking at swimming because I had been swimming regularly, but getting to and from the pool was cumbersome, I had kids, and fortunately my mom said, “Terry, this is the best money you’ll ever spend in your life. If this keeps you active, and your kids will enjoy it, for heaven’s sake, spend the money and get the pool.” And man, she was so right. So I got that pool, and it allowed me to continue to exercise as I became progressively more disabled, into a reclined wheelchair, unable to sit up, but I was still doing my aquatic exercises, and that was absolutely instrumental in keeping me as functional as I could be.
Brendan Connell:
That’s fantastic. Thank you. So you said that you were swimming before the Endless Pool, how did you actually get introduced to the Endless Pool itself?
Dr. Wahls:
Well, I started researching. The internet was just beginning to be around, so I was looking for, are there ways to get pools at home? And I found Endless Pool. There was one other company that I looked at, I was not impressed with them, and I was very impressed and had a chance to go swim in an Endless Pool, not far from me. And it was a great swim, lovely pool, and I thought, “Okay, that’s the company to use.”
Brendan Connell:
Thank you, so it’s been about 20 years since you got your pool. I can imagine things have changed a little bit in terms of your actual routine. So tell us a little bit about that progression from when you first got the pool, I’m sure your routine was a little bit different, to now, and how you use the pool today.
Dr. Wahls:
Yeah, when I first got the pool, I swam every day. Now as I got less and less strong, it got to be shorter, and then my physical therapist had me doing aquatic exercises in the pool and shorter swimming. Now I have a rotation where I do strength training with E-Sim, I also have a vibration plate exercise, but I love swimming. I enjoy swimming, I enjoy the aquatic exercises, and so that’s still very much in the rotation of things that I do. And I get into my pool two to three days a week for a lovely swim, and a round of quad exercises, followed by one of my saunas.
Brendan Connell:
That’s fantastic. Now you mentioned to your patients and your followers that setting goals, personal goals, for them, is incredibly important. So tell me a little bit about what your initial goals for your pool workouts are, and again, how they’ve evolved since then.
Dr. Wahls:
Well, at first I had to learn how to get into the pool and get comfortable with that. And one of the things that they suggested was swimming with a snorkel, which I did, and actually I’ll still do part of my workout with the snorkel and part without it. My physical therapist was aware of what I was doing, he kept redesigning the aquatic exercises that I do. And I’ve continued to work with physical therapy, really for the last 20 years, and though I don’t see them every week anymore, I’ll see them every couple of months, and tell them what’s going on, and they will give me a different set of aquatic exercises that I add to my workout.
Brendan Connell:
Now, one of the things that we find incredible is how people look from when they first get in the pool, as you mentioned, just trying out the pool for the very first time, to when they get out of the pool, and how you see the transformation, even just for the first time trying it. Tell me a little bit about how you feel when you get out of the pool.
Dr. Wahls:
Well, I’m going to give you two variations here. I love Wim Hof and cold water training, so for years I did not heat my pool at all. So during the winter, it’s really quite cool there, and so I’m swimming in like 60 degree water. So I get in, I swim, I get out, and I feel like Wonder Woman, absolutely invincible. And so that is just wonderful.
Now during the summer, our pool room heats up, so then I’m swimming in warm water. It feels much more relaxing than that. And so it’s a little bit like being in a spa, but once again, I still feel really great getting out of the pool. It’s a lovely transition. Then I go into my sauna, and I have a 20 to 30 minute sauna where I’m doing my leisurely [inaudible 00:07:47], and then I’ll go on to my day.
Brendan Connell:
And you mentioned the temperature control, and that’s one of the things that many of our MS patients find very useful for them, obviously, because they have the ability to control the temperature of environment. Have you found a temperature that is really ideal for you?
Dr. Wahls:
Well, personally, I most like swimming in really cold water, 60 degree water is my favorite. However, my family has started swimming, and so now I have a conversation with my family. They’d like the pool a little bit warmer, so now we’re swimming at 75 degrees. It’s still cool enough that I really enjoy it. My family feels happier about swimming in a 75 degree pool. I can’t quite get them go down to 72, but we’re all pretty happy at 75.
Brendan Connell:
Good, good. Now, I’m sure for work and for speeches that you do, you travel a lot, I’m sure. Do you find that when you’re traveling, you aren’t able to find pools? And how does that affect your daily life when you’re not at home?
Dr. Wahls:
Well, in the former life, before the pandemic, when we could travel, it was certainly a treat to go somewhere that had a pool where I could get my morning workout in the pool. That was a huge treat, and I would always look forward to that, absolutely.
Brendan Connell:
Good. Now, other than MS, what other physical challenges do you recommend aquatic therapy for?
Dr. Wahls:
Literally, everything. So if you have an arthritic problem, whether it’s osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, swimming in the pool is really very helpful. If you have heart disease, atherosclerosis, we want people to have an exercise program, and so an aquatic exercise, whether it’s just aquatic exercise, walking in the pool or swimming, a great way to do cardiac rehab. Anybody with a neurologic condition, again, the pool is uniquely beneficial for them because of the buoyancy. You’re able to do things in the pool, walking in your pool, doing cross lateral body movements in the pool, because of that buoyancy, that are really hard for you to do on the ground. And so, for anybody with a neurologic problem of any type, the pool is uniquely a wonderful, wonderful form of exercise and form of rehabilitation. I know the University of Iowa has an aquatic therapy program as part of physical therapy, and so, yes, the therapist can work with people there to help them design their aquatic based exercise program.
Brendan Connell:
Now, do you mind sharing some of the exercises you’ve done, in terms of your aquatic therapy?
Dr. Wahls:
Oh, sure. So people who follow me know that recently I broke my wrist. I’m out of the cast, but for range of motion for my wrist, I was doing these big swaying with my wrist. You do it first with the good wrist, then with the bad wrist. And then I also realized my shoulder had become stiff as a result of the wrist injury, so then doing the crawl was incredibly helpful, and doing range of motion around my shoulder. The usual things that I do are running in the pool, that is great hip flexion, extension, ideally combined with flexion extension at the shoulder, and then swinging your leg out, a deduction, and then bringing it in, a deduction. And again, ideally doing that also with the opposite shoulder joint, that gets a little bit more complicated. And then, flexion extension at the elbow with aquatic weights, very helpful, flexion extension at the shoulder, again with aquatic weights, very helpful.
Brendan Connell:
Thank you. I appreciate that. Now swimming is obviously just one part of your overall approach to MS?
Dr. Wahls:
Right.
Brendan Connell:
So do you want to tell us a little bit more about your broader approach to MS management?
Dr. Wahls:
So there’s several key components, the first one is, you’ve got to fix your diet. We have a lot of dietary research studies out for MS, and many different diets are helpful. We know very clearly, always, the usual diet, standard American diet accelerates the disease, so fix your diet. Second one is fix your sleep. If you are sleep deprived, having poor sleep, work with your physician to get your sleep improved. And then the third component is your return to normal walking, hand function, is not going to happen just because you fix your diet or fix your sleep, you have to use the muscles. And so working with a physical therapist to help evaluate your muscle strength, your balance, your coordination, your fine motor skills, your walking skills, and then designing for you an exercise program that who can do, will be so helpful.
And for years, and this was in the very beginning when I was first diagnosed 20 years ago, my physicians then, and literally every neurologist I’ve seen has said, swimming is the best exercise for MS patients, particularly if you can get into a cool pool, because it controls temperature, because for most people with MS, if our core temperature goes up, our neurologic function plummets. And so temperature control, control of body heat, is so important, and swimming does such a nice job for that.
Brendan Connell:
Yeah, you hit on one of my next questions about just what, you’ve obviously done a ton of research for yourself and for your followers, so the idea that that aquatic therapy plays a huge role in management of MS, as well as other things.
Dr. Wahls:
Yeah, for any bit of the neurologic disorder, it really is one of the very best forms of exercise. You can go to a physical therapist, get your program designed based on your needs, and then they may have a pool that you can work out with, or a community pool, or if you have the resources, getting a pool at home reduces the time. Because if you drive to your pool, so at the gym, you have to drive to the pool, change, swim, shower off, change, drive back home. It’s a small fraction of the total time is spent in the pool, and so that is one of the reasons I have, over the years, so preferred doing my workouts at home, so all the time can be spent on my workout, as opposed to commuting.
Brendan Connell:
Yeah. That is one of the huge comments that many of our customers have is just the convenience of working out at home. You can go whatever time you want, you can go whenever you feel like it, and not having to worry about actually getting there and getting back.
Dr. Wahls:
Yeah, it just saves so much time.
Brendan Connell:
Oh yeah.
Dr. Wahls:
And interestingly enough, my kids used to go to the gyms to do all their workouts, and they’re a little older now, a little more mature, and they both now have come to really appreciate the benefits of finding a way to work out at home. And recently, my daughter’s been living with us again, and she’s enjoying the pool now as well.
Brendan Connell:
And that’s amazing, I mean, the fact that your family is using the pool and finding it beneficial to them. Have you heard any feedback from other readers or people outside of your family that have adopted aquatic therapy now? And what their experience might be like?
Dr. Wahls:
Well, certainly in the MS community, there are a lot of swimmers, and it’s a very consistent feedback that swimming has helped their function, their balance, reduce their fatigue, improve their mood, and many of them are commenting on the benefits of swimming in a cool pool. So if they’re in the public pool, they like the pools that are cold, that are at that 72 degrees. And if they have their own pool, that’s like me, they’re negotiating with their family, what is the temperature that we can all be happy with?
Brendan Connell:
Absolutely. So last question for me, honestly, thank you. In the Wahls Protocol you mention the Endless Pool by name. What is it about the Endless Pool that you would recommend to others?
Dr. Wahls:
Well, my experience with the Endless Pool has been very positive. So I got my pool in 2002, so nearly 20 years ago, and we have had regular interactions in terms of the scheduled service, who to find to help me if I have any pool issues. I’ve had great response to the Endless Pool people when I interact with them, and I continue to intimately look at, okay, so what are the swim spas that are out there? I still like the propeller design so you have a full current that I’m swimming against these little swim jets, that’s not such a good swimming experience.
Dr. Wahls:
And you can tell what you’re getting. You can design out the pool that you want, and you understand the price. So in the reviews, and I just checked this morning again, like, okay, so what are the reviews saying? And they’re saying, and the ones that I found, Endless Pool, best pool for the money. So I appreciate that you get great comments on customer service, on transparency, and on quality. And so it’s nice to see that other people agree that you guys are a good company and you have a great product.
Brendan Connell:
Well, an interesting little tidbit for you, the woman that you worked with 20 years ago on your pool still is with Endless Pools, so it’s not just our customers that love it. It’s the employees here, they love the product that we offer and stick around for a while. I thought it was interesting that she’s still here working for Endless Pools.
Dr. Wahls:
Oh, that is lovely. That is lovely. I love my pool. I have so much fun with it. Our kids had lots and lots of fun with it, and I am so grateful to my mom, when I was thinking about, “Okay, I’ve got to put the pool in, and I’m going to put a room around it, so this is going to be more money.” And I’m fussing about the money. My mom sits me down and says, “Terry, what on earth are you thinking? This is your best investment you are going to make, because you’ve got a serious disease here, and we want to keep you working, and function with your family, so of course you should do this.”
Brendan Connell:
Investment in your health, yeah, absolutely.
Dr. Wahls:
Yeah, and she was absolutely so, so wise. And then, unfortunately, we were getting the pool in, the pool was just about done, the room was done. We weren’t quite ready to fill the pool, but we were that close, and my mom unfortunately died with a ruptured aortic aneurysm, so she had never got to see the finished pool, unfortunately.
Brendan Connell:
Very sorry to hear that, but I’m sure that you have gained the benefits of her recommendation though.
Dr. Wahls:
Absolutely, and when we were swimming in it for the first time, my kids and I said, “Grandma Lewis, she’s watching from heaven, she’s enjoying the swim with us.” So, absolutely.
Brendan Connell:
And I’m sure she’s seen the benefits that you’ve gotten over the years, so absolutely.
Dr. Wahls:
Yeah, absolutely, and now realizing that working out at home, that benefit has been translated now to my children. So we very much appreciate that. Well, Brendan, thank you so much-
Brendan Connell:
Thank you.
Dr. Wahls:
For taking the time to chat with me. And all of the Wahls Warriors, please give us your comments down below. What is the one thing that you learned from this interview? We’d love to hear from you. And then, please also go over to my website, at terrywahls.com, we have other videos, other blogs, great information, and also pick up the one page summary of My Diet, which is a diet sheet. You can put on your refrigerator, get you started with this new way of eating, and that’s at terrywahls.com/diet. And again, Brendan, thank you so much, and send my love and gratitude to all of your coworkers at Endless Pools.
Brendan Connell:
Absolutely. Thank you very much. It was a pleasure.
Dr. Wahls:
Okay. That was marvelous, and it really is a wonderful product.
Brendan Connell:
It is. I mean, it’s amazing to see, I mean, every day, the ability to see people get in and out of the pool when they’re coming to try it out, and just how they transform from when they first arrive till after they get out of it. It’s always fun to see, and like I said, with the woman that you worked with 20 years ago, it makes being here and part of what we do just that much better. It’s a great place to work because we get to help people every single day.
Dr. Wahls:
Yeah, it’s a joy. I love it, and I’m thrilled to have you guys as a sponsor. You get lots of visibility from my Instagram because my wife comes out and loves to take videos of me swimming. All right.
Brendan Connell:
Good. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Dr. Wahls:
Much love to you and your team.
About Endless Pools:
Brendan Connell is the Sales Manager for Endless Pools®, a company and product line that I know quite well from owning my own pool for nearly 20 years. Endless Pools sets the standard in compact pools and aquatic fitness technology. The brand was founded in 1988 and has since developed a worldwide following with customers in over 100 countries.
Learn more at https://www.endlesspools.com/
