What happens when you’ve spent your whole life letting a time or a ranking define you as an athlete, and then Parkinson’s changes the rules?

In this episode of Parkinson’s: An Athlete’s Journey, we talk about performance pressure, athlete identity, and how the “clock” can quietly become your self-worth. Todd breaks down why sports like rowing (and even swimming) can wire your brain to chase tenths of a second, and how that can mess with you when things shift.

We also get real about motivation. Parkinson’s can dull that internal “rocket fuel,” and sometimes you have to brute-force your way into the work. We talk about redefining the metric: effort, consistency, and showing up, even when your best today isn’t your best from ten years ago.

A few takeaways:

• The clock can be a tool, or a trap (especially for lifelong competitors).
• Parkinson’s can change your access to “rocket fuel,” even when your grit is still there.
• Sometimes the hardest lift isn’t the barbell, but walking through the front door.
• Shift the metric: how hard you can go today matters more than how fast the clock says you went.

Medical note: This podcast shares personal experience only. It is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals for medical decisions, including medications and training choices.

Some days you wake up and feel sharp. Other days, you can barely get through the warm-up. In this episode of Parkinson’s: An Athlete’s Journey, we talk about the real day-to-day variability of Parkinson’s, and how we keep training anyway.

We get into what helps most (and what’s just “interesting”): the basics like training and sleep quality, plus recovery tools like foam rolling, massage guns, sauna, cold exposure, and the tradeoffs of time and energy. We also talk about things we’ve personally tried or considered, and why the best plan is usually the one you’ll actually do consistently.

What we cover

• “Good day / bad day” check-in and why the gym can change the whole day
• Training environments: Parkinson’s community and being around serious athletes
• “Cardio fiesta” Zone 2: making long sessions mentally tolerable
• Sleep: broken nights, REM sleep behavior, and why sleep has the biggest payoff
• Personal experience with sleep supports (CBD/THC, magnesium, mouth taping, nasal strips)
• Recovery tools: foam roller, massage gun, hyperbaric naps
• Sauna vs cold plunge vs cold shower (benefit vs effort)

Medical disclaimer

This episode reflects personal experience only and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals for decisions about medications, supplements, and treatment.

What did Parkinson's look like before we knew it was Parkinson's?

In this first episode, Todd and Eric walk through the early signs they noticed, what the diagnostic process looked like, and the strange moment you leave an appointment with a folder of pamphlets and no real game plan.

They talk about the athlete brain and how it helps you push through hard days, but also how Parkinson’s adds a hidden “energy tax” to everything: movement, speech, expression, and even showing up socially as your best self.

What we cover

• Early “canary in the coal mine” signs during training: fatigue, slower splits, feeling off
• Arm swing changes, a small tremor, and realizing it wasn’t just stress
• Bloodwork, neurology, and the dopamine transporter scan that led to diagnosis
• The mental hit of diagnosis (and the weird “I feel fine but now I’m not” effect)
• How losing exercise (injury + life chaos) can change everything fast
• Depression, isolation, and why community/support matters more than most people realize
• A lived-experience conversation about treatments and experimenting, without pretending there’s one answer

Medical disclaimer

This episode reflects personal experience only and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals for decisions about medications, supplements, and treatment.