Resilience, Reality & Redefining EnoughPodcast

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Dominic Shultz to discuss his work empowering his clients and creating relationships to scale the impact and outcomes of his patients. Dom is a father of 3 who played college football for the University of Minnesota from 2011 through 2015 and is a Doctor of Chiropractic. He has worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach since 2020 and opened his clinic, Charge Health and Chiropractic, in 2023.

Dom's journey from preferred walk-on at the University of Minnesota to successful chiropractor and business owner offers invaluable insights for coaches navigating the intersection of clinical practice, training, and entrepreneurship. What makes this conversation particularly powerful is Dom's refreshing honesty about the realities of running a high-touch practice while maintaining a fulfilling personal life as a father of three. His hybrid approach—blending manual therapy with exercise-focused rehabilitation—challenges traditional models and provides a blueprint for coaches looking to elevate their impact.

The 10 Key Takeaways from Resilience, Reality & Redefining Enough

Mental Armour Built Through Adversity

Dom's experience as a preferred walk-on taught him resilience that directly translates to business ownership. The mental fortitude developed through being at "the bottom of the totem pole" and constantly having to prove himself created an internal drive that serves him daily. While he wasn't always conscious of these lessons in the moment, looking back, he recognizes that the ability to handle adversity became his greatest asset.

Validation Before Education

When working with clients who've had previous experiences—good or bad—Dom emphasizes the importance of validating those experiences rather than dismissing them. He never talks down to someone about where they came from or what they tried before. This approach immediately positions him as an ally rather than a know-it-all, creating the psychological safety necessary for real progress.

Time Investment Creates Buy-In

Dom's model involves spending significant time with patients during sessions—conducting thorough assessments, providing hands-on treatment, and immediately integrating movement. This comprehensive approach in a single visit creates an experience most clients have never had, generating immediate buy-in without needing to convince them of his methods.

Seamless Progression from Rehab to Training

One of Dom's most sophisticated strategies is making the transition from rehabilitation to training completely seamless. He intentionally blurs the line between the two, allowing clients to move from "patient" to "athlete" without even realizing when the shift occurred. This mental reframing boosts confidence and creates long-term adherence.

Contact Points Trump Credentials

A pivotal realization for Dom was recognizing that coaches often have more opportunities to positively impact someone's life than doctors do. While a doctor might see someone quarterly, a coach can have multiple touchpoints per week. This understanding led him to expand his online coaching component, recognizing that frequency of contact often matters more than the intensity of any single intervention.

Permission to Experiment

Dom gives himself freedom to try different approaches within reasonable guidelines, test responses, and adjust accordingly. This experimental mindset—recording results, recognizing patterns, and understanding that there's no single "optimal" way—has driven his clinical evolution more than any certification or advanced course.

Isometrics as a Game-Changer

Dom highlights the underutilized power of isometric contractions, particularly low-intensity, long-duration holds in compromised ranges of motion. He uses isometrics extensively both for patients and himself, finding them to be one of the most effective tools for reducing pain, improving mobility, and creating awareness of proper positioning.

Practice What You Preach

Dom remains an active athlete himself, dealing with his own injuries and compensation patterns. This makes him a "guinea pig" for his own interventions, allowing him to speak from experience rather than theory. He holds himself to a higher standard than those he treats, which gives him credibility and allows him to regress intense training variables appropriately for different populations.

Define "Enough" for Yourself

In a powerful exchange about business growth and life balance, Dom wrestles with the question of what constitutes "enough"—enough revenue, enough clients, enough success. He acknowledges the tension between wanting to grow and recognizing that he's already in "a really nice spot." Working five days a week (with Friday half-days), maintaining three to four vacations per year, and being present for his three kids represents success on his terms.

Control What You Can Control

The core mission at Charge—and what Dom would put on a billboard—is taking charge of factors under your control. He challenges the victim mentality of patients who complain about things they can't change while neglecting the levers they can actually pull. This philosophy extends beyond treatment to encompass lifestyle choices, mindset, and personal accountability.

What makes Dom's approach so valuable for strength and conditioning coaches is his refusal to separate the clinical from the practical, the business from the personal, or the treatment from the training. He's built a model that serves his clients exceptionally well while also protecting his time and energy for what matters most—his family. His emphasis on rapport-building, experimentation, and honest conversations about accountability offers a refreshing counter-narrative to both the detached clinical model and the guru-driven fitness industry.

Find Dominic

Website:www.chargehc.com

Instagram: @dr.domschultz

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