Make You or Break You: Why Environment Matters

As the holidays rapidly approach, we’re often put in a position to reflect on the people and circumstances surrounding our lives. We reflect on who or what we are thankful for or we reflect on the areas we wish to change in the coming year. But lately, I’ve been thinking about how my environment has impacted my health and fitness.

Five years ago, I was in the thick of my last clinical rotation of physical therapy school. It must have been an unseasonably warm day in Minnesota (or maybe the anxiety), but I decided to go for a jog. I couldn’t have made it fifty feet before I stopped due to significant knee pain. No rhyme or reason, no specific tissue injury, just intolerant to the activity of running. At that time, I would not have categorized myself as someone who runs, nor was I running with any regularity. I knew I wanted to improve my cardiovascular fitness but what I was really looking for was an outlet. What I couldn’t see is how my social and physical environment was negatively impacting a simple bout of knee pain.

If I could provide some context for this time in my life, it would be summarized as follows:

Every morning, I would walk three miles in the dark to the hospital (typically below freezing), and every evening I would also walk home in the dark. I would describe my learning environment as contentious, and let’s just say my clinical instructor and I did not see eye-to-eye. The effects of living without my family and girlfriend (now wife) were starting to take its toll, and most of my friends were spread out across the country on their own rotations. I can easily say the best part of my day was listening to a book on tape while walking home in the snow.

While my knee pain started with running, it quickly blead into all aspects of my physical activity and life. Strength training became more difficult and eventually walking became painful most days. Running was out of the question, but it became a barometer for my overall fitness. I couldn’t figure out how this seemingly minor injury had deteriorated my mental and physical health the point I barely recognized myself.

But oddly enough, once I made it to my next rotation (and the sun started to come out), my knee pain seemed to slowly improve.

Fast forward a few years, I’m working at a boutique gym and clinic in Denver, CO. I was excited about new opportunities in my career, and eager to push my physical limits in a new environment. I loved the idea of starting to trail run but I struggled to progress beyond jogging and walking intervals. As time went on, an arduous, chaotic work environment gradually impacted my stress and sleep health. I suffered repeated setbacks and struggled with consistency. There seemed to be a ceiling on my ability to progress and improve.

When I zoom out and look at these times in my life, it’s easy to see how social, cultural, and environmental factors were negatively influencing not just my injury outlook, but my overall health.

Factors like sleep, social support, and stress can turn the volume up on our negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs surrounding our circumstances. They can stifle our ability to adhere to a rehab program or workout routine. And they can even deteriorate our metabolic and cardiovascular health. In turn, this can alter our perception of competence, self-efficacy, and even enjoyment.

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Fast forward to July 2024. I’m two months into my new role at Empowered Physical Therapy, and I find myself trail running at Swope Park. I’m still running intervals, but something feels different this time around.

Since that point I’ve noticed steady progress in all aspects of my health and fitness. I’ve found ways to run even when my time is thin, and I’ve tackled the rehab and strength work I know will push me forward. In the last month, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, running a half marathon at Lake Jacomo and participating in my first trail race. But it didn’t just magically happen. It was the accumulation of healthy habits brought on by an environment that supported consistent effort and the ability to withstand adversity.

And I can’t help but think about my environment over the last year.

I think about my stable work environment and incredible coworkers that improved my stress and sleep health.

I think about clients and patients that choose to spend their time with me and pursue hard things despite injury and hardship.

And I think about my friends and family that support my endeavors and make life more enjoyable.

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Your environment has real impacts on your health and fitness. People with strong social wellness and support have been found to have better cardiovascular health and immune systems, demonstrate healthier behaviors, and tend to live longer lives. People with supportive environments have higher perceived self-efficacy, develop healthier lifestyles, and tend to stay physically active longer into their lives.

Your environment matters. It can make you, or it can break you.