How 'Fit For Task' Is Essential For Midlife And Beyond With Coach Allan Misner

Coach Allan is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer, a Precision Nutrition Level II Master Health Coach, and a Functional Aging Institute (FAI) Certified Functional Aging Specialist. He has earned specialties in Fitness Nutrition, Corrective Exercise, Behavior Change, Performance Enhancement, and Online Personal Training.

He provides online one-on-one and group nutrition and fitness coaching for clients over the age of 40. He is the host of the 40+ Fitness Podcast, the largest and longest running health and fitness podcast for people over 40.

He is also the author of the award-winning book, The Wellness Roadmap: a Straightforward Guide to Health and Fitness After 40.He and his wife also run Lula’s Bed and Breakfast in Bocas del Toro, Panama. 

In this episode Allan talks about: 

• His own journey to addressing the problem of why the fitness industry was not being looked at. 
• How he created his own podcast
• How people can get motivated to workout
• His own personal story on why exercise is so important as we age - fit for task
• External/Internal/Social motivation
• Get out of your comfort zone
• Why fitness is so important for women going through perimenopause and menopause and the best approach.

And so much more…

How to reach out to Allan: 

• Website: https://www.40plusfitness.com
• Podcast Website: https://www.40plusfitnesspodcast.com
• Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allan.misner.CPT
• Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/40plusfitnesspodcast
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/40plusfitnesspodcast
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/40plusfitnessP
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachallan/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3hTAx0L62wT6JL04aQWu6Q

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Transcript

The Root Of Our Health Podcast Interview with Allan Misner 

Elizabeth

[00.00.01]

 Welcome, Alan. It is such a great pleasure to have you here on the show. I cannot wait to get to know you a little bit more and find out more about you. 

Allan

[00.00.11]

 Thank you. Elizabeth. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you. 

Elizabeth

[00.00.14]

 You are very welcome. So let's just start right in with the loaded question. Why focus on fitness for those over 40? 

Allan

[00.00.25]

 Well, when I was struggling, I was in my 40s and I was way overweight, I was unhealthy, I was unfit, and, uh, quite frankly, miserable. Just miserable. And I had that inner dialogue, you know, I could I would say this you can bleep it if you need to. So just call myself the fat. I was the fat bastard. That was that was who I was. But I felt okay. Was it who I really was. But it was what I was telling myself is, you know, inside an inner voice, that inner think he's he's terrible. Okay. But I was I was living a miserable life, and I and I understood it, but I didn't know how to fix it. So I was looking for answers and there were no podcasts at all talking about it. There was bodybuilding podcasts or CrossFit podcasts, and there were just some things like that, but there really weren't. And no one was talking about this and why it was so hard for us to lose weight and why we were struggling. And when I started looking for books, which makes sense, we learned something. Chair yoga and stretching. That was it. And that was not going to solve my problems. Okay, reading another diet book was not going to solve my problems. And so I was like, no one's talking about this now. I was traveling a lot for work. You know, when people say, like, I was traveling 90%, to put that in context, I'm home one week in a month, so I can't hire a personal trainer or anything. I look for online trainers. Okay. There were a few. If you were into powerlifting and bodybuilding, you're covered. Otherwise none. No one was doing general population. No one was talking over 40. So I was like, okay, this is insane that there's so many of us because you just had the whole boomer generation coming through, and now you had the next generation or generation X coming through. And I was like, okay, a whole bunch of people are overweight, unfit, unhappy, unhealthy, and no one's helping. So I am someone who, when I really get pushed on, I come up with an answer. I don't do the victim thing, you know? So I was like, okay, solve this problem. What do I need to solve this problem? I need a trainer. Okay, can't find one B1 so I went in and took all the certifications. Most of the ones that you probably talked about on the intro, um, I took those uh, to, to train myself, only to train myself. I had no intention of being a personal trainer or a health coach or anything else. So I did the training and I figured, okay, this is why I keep breaking myself when I do exercise. I need to do it this way. And I was studying nutrition, like, okay, this is what I need to do to make sure that I have a sustainable nutrition program, not just some diet that I do. And then came it back and do and then getting it back. So I figured the things out. It took me eight years, uh, actually closer to nine to figure it all out. And I'm like, okay, now the problem is, which sometimes when you solve a problem, the answer is not there. You're doing little things, little things, little things, figuring out what doesn't work. And then now you figured out a few things that do work and it starts to roll in your favor. So where we have the vortex is going down. We can turn it upside down. And then when we start doing a few things right, and they stick and we do a few more things right, and they stick and then a few more things right. And they say suddenly everything just gets easier and better. Okay, so it appeared to the world that I lost a ton of weight in a short period of time. It was true. That's how it worked. But it wasn't just that one period of time that got me there, and it was all the mistakes and failures and just all the luck that happened for the eight years before that, you know? So this wasn't just I solved a problem and I was there. This was like working with it, you know, like they talk about people are saying, oh, we're not success. No. It was all the years of learning what doesn't work to figure out what did. And then once I did have a few of those key things in place, it just got easier and easier for me. So I lost £66 of fat, gained £11 of muscle in roughly 11 months. And obviously when someone sees that a friend sees that on Facebook because he was it was actually eight months since I'd seen him. But we did a we did a little five k little thing obstacle course called The Warriors. And you saw me there and I was already working on all this, and all this stuff was sort of in place. It was starting to happen. And then he sees me in November, another picture, and he's like, what did you do? Who are you and how did you do this? And so I was like, yeah, there's still no podcast, there's still no books. There's still nobody talking about this. So I send myself I have to solve this problem. I mean, I can't solve it for everybody's billions of people, but I have some answers and I want to share them. So I started the podcast and with that friend, and I said, I can help you too. If you and your wife will train with me for ten weeks, I'll do it for free as long as you let me record you our training sessions and use it for my podcasts. And so back then I had five episodes a week. Don't do this at home kits. Um, it was crazy, but one of those episodes was a client episode where I took one of the calls from a coaching call with him and his wife, Tammy, and, uh, John and Tammy to create. John lost £39 in ten weeks. Tammy was like 28 if you go way back. I don't like those episodes because I wasn't quite as good of a podcaster that time, but I was pretty minimal. I was proving the model, I proving that I could be a coach, um, for others. So the goal was to just do that hard time. And then I got laid off and I said, okay, what am I going to do now? I didn't want to go back to corporate. So I wrote a book called The Wellness Roadmap, which kind of chronicled my journey and some lessons learned during that period of time. Uh, and then I started coaching online full time. And I've been doing that since. So I've been an online coach for nine years. You probably find anybody else who's been coaching online for nine years or more, and I was the first original person to really start talking about how we, as people over 40, have to look at health and fitness differently at a point in time when it is the most important thing you can do for yourself. Yes, 

Elizabeth

[00.06.53]

 that is amazing. That is amazing. Thank you for sharing. And yes, it does take our own journey to do things. And that's what I talk about a lot, is taking ownership and taking it into your own hands. Because obviously, you know, like you said, there's nothing there wasn't anything out there for you. So there were no teachers, there were no books or anything that you could grab on to. So 

Allan

[00.07.23]

 are we going to, you know, say, oh, well, I guess that I can't do anything. No. You're like, okay, I need to do this for myself because this is important. And it was very important for you. So that's that's a great message to, you know, first start out with. Right. And then you said it was just kept snowballing. And that's consistency. That's the consistency. Kind of like keep going. Um failures. That's your lessons. So those failures are your lessons. And then you just keep going. Um, because again, when you find that. 

Elizabeth

[00.07.58]

 Purpose then that that is what goes into okay, that is my thing. This is what I'm here for and here to do. Yeah. And you are pioneering, you know, the podcast and and everything else in this, this space. So awesome. I, I'm glad that you, you know, obviously told us in my audience and me your background and how how you got into everything. So kind of going into a little bit more of so I, I coach many people of course and fitness is, is one of them. It's not the thing, but it is one of the many things I get this well I just don't have motivation. I just I can't do it. Um, you know, there's just so many pushbacks and so many things that they can say, but it's a lot of I don't have motivation. So how do you handle those who, just, for whatever reason, does not like to work out? 

Allan

[00.09.05]

 Okay, so you asked two actually two important questions because here's here's the concept. Okay. When people say I want to lose weight, you'll hear some trainers say, okay, that's all in the kitchen, you know? But that's all done in the kitchen. So they'll say, okay, it's 90% nutrition and 10% movement or something like that. Well, here's the reality. It's 90% mindset and 10% the other stuff. And you ask, nutrition gets 90% of that 10%. So 9% okay. We're going to do the math okay. But that's the point. If you don't get your head straight then you'll never get because you'll keep banging your head against the ground or the floor of a wall or the desk doing the same thing over and over again and wondering why it's not working. Okay. And that's what was five years. Wasn't until I had your mind set breakthroughs. That really got me to the other side of that. So the first one I want to talk about is about the movement or saying, okay, I don't like to exercise. I don't want to do this. Okay, well, here's a concept. Okay, here's the thing. My grandfather was 80 years old and he looked all the way up to 80. He loved, loved, loved golf. Okay, the most important thing in his life. Even more important than the rain. Um, but he he he loved golf. He lived on the golf course. He played golf practically every day. He was a salesman. So back then, that's what they did. The deals were done on the golf. Uh, every day he's playing golf, and he loved it. But at age 80, he couldn't play anymore because he didn't have the strength and the balance and the core and the mobility to be able to continue to hit the golf ball, even swing the club. So a lot of people say, well, he's 80, okay. That's when you cut your clubs away and you go on with your retirement. They lived until he was 95, which means he didn't get to do the thing he loved the most for over 15 years of his life. Okay. That's a big chunk. Mhm. Okay. So imagine giving up every things that you love the things that you truly love. Before you're really done with them. That's on its terms, not yours. Now, the thing is, my grandfather lived until he was 95. But when he was 90, he couldn't make it from his chair to the bathroom. So he would have to call down to the desk because he lived in this, you know, Chair Hartman, his own apartment. But there was a care desk. And so he'd call the chair. Desk because he couldn't clean himself up. Mhm. He lived like that the last five years of his life. And he was so embarrassed they would let anybody come over. So I didn't even get to see my grandfather in the last five years of his life. Wow. Okay. So I want you to stop thinking of it as exercising and working out. And I want you to think about it as training to be fit for tasks. So maybe right now you're a mother and you're saying, okay, my kids are pretty much doing their sports and things and they don't really need me as much. I'm just gonna show first. Like, yeah, I'm in good enough shape to be a chauffeur, but later they're gonna be grandkids. Do you have the energy to be the grandmother that you want to be for them? Are you going to be able to sit on the floor and watch their shows with them? Are you going to be able to keep up with them at the zoo? Are you going to be able to have the relationship you want to have with those kids? I may only be born yet, but you know, they're probably going to come at some point. Are you going to be who you need to be for that? And then when you get older, can we start talking about independence issues and things like the kitchen at home? Do you want your kids to be doing that because, well, she can't. She keeps falling. She can't keep up. And I'm afraid. Do we want that to be the last feelings our kids have about us? So if you think about fitness as fit for task, for you to be the human you're meant to be, and it's no longer exercise, it's no longer working out. I'm strength training because I know I'm going to be strong. I know I want my bone density to be there. And I want to live a full life. All the way through. We don't want to give this stuff up. I want to keep it as long as I can keep it. And I'm in control because I can train for it. So that's one side. Find your internal motivation to be the human you're supposed to be throughout your life. Look, 50 years ahead. I want to be able to wipe my own button down and try. Right. Okay. You find it funny, but it's not funny in the moment if you can't. Okay, so that's where I want to be. Okay. Now, from the motivation perspective, that doesn't do it. The other side of it. Yeah. So the dark side. But the motivation is most of us do motivation wrong. We just do it wrong. And the prospect is this we think it's like this force that's going to show up. You know it's New Year's Day. 

[00.14.18]

 Uh I'm ready to go. Let's go do this thing right. Now it's January 21st. The alarm goes off. I don't want to do this. Okay, so we expect it to be there for us. We don't recognize is that you have to do something to earn it. You earn modulation. Okay, so a little bit of a paradox there. But let me explain. Okay. So the motivation there's the accountability which is extrinsic or external framing and their self-efficacy which is inside your intrinsic. Okay. I'll talk about accountability because there's two layers two ways to get accountability. The first and easiest is a hierarchy coach. That's a leader level of accountability and accountability. My goals are I don't want lose weight on those. So they put it on your training program, which includes training four days a week. These are the days on my app and say, hey, Elizabeth. Don't see your spirit anymore. Let's go out and do it. You're going to do it? Yes, sir. Okay. Later. Accountability. Okay. You see, the word auditing? Boss says I want this report by Friday. It's Saturday. It's like crap. No, you're gonna have it ready on Friday. Okay, that's leader accountability. Easy to get, really easy to get. Just hire a coach. But it's it's not deep. It's not deep because it's extrinsic. Go away. Okay. The next one is what I call social. The next level is social. So the social level of accountability. That's groups. That's people. That's peers. A lot of people think peer pressure is a bad thing, but it's only a bad thing if you have bad peers. If you have good peers. Peer pressure is wonderful. So you join a spin class or a water aerobics class. Okay. You join a group that's learning how to cook healthier meals as a class, or a social thing or a community event. You're surrounding yourself with people that are like you, that want to be better, and those peers, they will hold you accountable to be a better person. So you join a run club and you do these other things, even Facebook groups, you know, if you're if you feel connected, you're going to want to do what to do, right? So that's the accountability at a social level. Now accountability is extrinsic. So it's not the strongest thing. You know you can have a I see this a lot. Someone say well I'm going to walk in with my sister after work. Okay. We're going to do that three days a week. Monday, Wednesday Friday. Right. Totally cool. And then Friday, one Friday comes up and they don't do the walk. I'm like, what happened? My sister twisted her ankle. Mhm. So we can't we can't walk right. There's nothing wrong. Her ankle. Yeah. It's just yeah. The ability wasn't there. So you didn't do it okay. And let's just be clear you didn't because you're only relying on that calendar. So it's only so strong. But it's good. It's easy. It's fast and it's there. So there's a lot of value to accountability. And you need it to start. Usually what everyone needs to start because we don't have the self-efficacy. So over on the self-efficacy side which is inside you, which is the most powerful thing when you can turn self-efficacy on. Well magic happens okay. So the leader level of self-efficacy is you being CEO of your own health. Okay. Now what a CEO does in a business is when something breaks. They have the system repaired, so that won't happen again or as often. Okay, so you go in and say, okay, I forgot I made a mistake, I gotta fix it. Well, and so the way I like to teach this is to say we talk about slip to success as the model I teach. And that's first step is to forgive yourself. You're a human. Humans make mistakes. But this mistake is an opportunity if you let it be one like you said, right? So I mess up, I slip up, I forgive myself, and now I've got to come up with a solution. So a perfect example for me is that I wanted to work out from 2 to 3 each day, okay? Because I knew I could take my lunch hour and I could do the workout. No one would be in the gym except for a few students and some retired people. I could do everything I wanted to do quickly and efficiently and get out of the channel. So that was the plan. But I lived about an hour away from work, so I had to pack my gym bag every morning and had it. Now I would get ready for. I would get ready, so I get my gym back. Sometimes I'd be missing socks, shorts, maybe a t shirt, and that became a built in excuse. Now the day it triggered for me was the day that I was missing one shoe. Mhm. This day I do not know how. You only have one shoe in your gym. I still to this day cannot explain the one shoe problem. But it was enough for me to realize that this was, this was self-imposed. Mhm. Okay. I knew it wasn't a mistake. Okay. I knew something mentally was going on a lot and keeping me from being successful. So as the CEO of my business I forgave myself. And I said okay what do I need? So I laminated a list of everything I do, I need it. And so I would sit down while I was brushing my teeth, set the laminated list down, and go one by one from top to bottom. That's in the bag. That's in the bag, that's in the back. Put the list in the bag. ZIP it up. Take it to the door. So when I walked out in the morning, I would have to trip over it or step over it to get to the carport. Okay, I put a process in place, a tactic so that I would be more successful. And that worked. I didn't have an excuse to not go to the gym. Everything was in the bag. I was ready every day. Okay. So at self-efficacy, we start putting strategies and tactics to make it easier to do what we want to do. So we're adding friction to the things we don't do. I don't have bad food in the cupboard. I don't eat bad when I'm driving on craving. I go eat some carrots or celery or something healthy because I don't have that in my house, and I'm not going to get in the car and drive to the grocery store, pickup or convenience store or pick up crap. I'm just going to eat this if I really want it. Okay, so we make it harder. We put friction in the things that are that we don't want to do. We remove friction from the things we do. So fully packed back and going to do the job. Okay. So that's the self-management part okay. And that's at the leader level. Now down at the social level is where things get really fun, is that it has me do those things and we do them consistently. We go habits and habits beget values. Okay, so we were talking before we came on and we were talking about new podcasts and how there's things that people will ask you, can you do this with me, Elizabeth? It's like, no, I gotta get this time, okay? Why? Because your values are around. I want to produce this content. I feel good doing it and I need to have it ready. So I'm doing this. That's that's where that habits and values come in. Is now about that. Right. What that creates is identity. You identify as a pilot class. Okay. Another example is this. So someone says I'm going to start walking 30 minutes a day and you start walking. That gets easier. They're like, okay, I don't really have more time. So I'm just going to add a little jog here. And so there's a signpost on the signpost and and they go a little bit further because they're going a little faster. And so they add the little jab in there. And then at some point they feel confident enough to sign up for A5K with maybe a friend. Or some people are only the five K. They're really excited, little scared. And then they do the five can. So exciting and find people cheering them on and they finish the thing and it's like so cool. And like, this is awesome. So they buy more shoes and they start. And what do they do now? They identify as a runner. Runners. Two runners. You won okay. So run, run. And so it's not weird when the alarm goes off in the morning that they get up, they put on their workout clothes. They do a little bit of stretching and warm up and they go for a run. Don't hit the snooze. They don't do anything else. They don't dread it. In fact, they look forward to it. And most people would identify as a runner if they hurt themselves and can't run. They're frustrated but want to go for the right ankle or whatever. And so you'll see this because they identify as something. When you identify as something that is so powerful, you wouldn't do anything else. So that's motivation is permanent. It's fixed. So sometimes you go on these groups and someone will sit there and say, they'll say, I'm really struggling with my eating and another person will respond. We just need more. Was it discipline? Just need more. Just be just. Well, the word does run on it. I don't I don't want you to punish us, okay? It's not discipline. What, what? This guy that says this doesn't understand is that he did that when he was 14. He walked into a gym and he had accountability. There was probably a guy who saw a 14 year old and started mentoring him. Teach him a few things. There were his friends were there holding him accountable. So he had an accountability model built into it. He walked into the gym and he did it over and over and over again. He learned things, and then he built the identity as a guy who goes to the channel. He probably, if you called him a gym rat, he would take that as a compliment. Yeah. He advises someone who goes to the gym. Okay because he's putting the hours into the gym. He started putting. He put time and effort into his nutrition. So they identifies as someone who does need prep. So it's hard for him to relate this now, four years later, that you don't have what he has, but you can have it if you go through the time and think about I need the accountability at at least one level, if not health over better. So hire a coach. Start joining groups and good peers. Surround yourself with good people who will support you and then over time, work through the slip ups. Get yourself smarter and smarter. Figuring this out for yourself. What works for you is what works for me may not work for you or vice versa. So we figure out what works for us, what we can do. And then over time, you build the values and habits utility of a healthier, happier person. 

Elizabeth

[00.25.23]

 Amazing that you went through that. And it was just. It's funny because people say it's so simple. It is so simple, but it's not. It's it's it does take. So it is definitely, um, hard to do, but it's a simple task. Meaning it is it is a behavior change. Right. So behavior changes are very, um, they're hard. 

Allan

[00.25.52]

 But the hardest thing we can human being, they really are, because we, we are wired to do the same thing over and over because that keeps us safe, right? All our body wants to be safe. So if we can learn pattern that keeps us safe, then that's exactly what our body is going to want to keep doing. We feel good doing this. We feel safe doing this. I'm going to keep doing this. So to break that means you got to take your body outside of its comfort zone to do it. Now, here's here's the magic. Nothing beautiful in your life. Nothing wonderful in your life, nothing great in your life. Ever happened in your comfort zone, right? But if you feel uncomfortable, good. You're in the right place. Okay, now, not so uncomfortable that you hurt yourself, right? And not so uncomfortable that you know you couldn't sustain it for a long, long time. But find the things that make you just a little uncomfortable, that gets you healthier and more fit, and you're in the right place. 

Elizabeth

[00.00.01]

 So I want to kind of ask one thing really. Obviously, um, audience is over 40. A lot of them are women over 40. So why is fitness so important for those over 40? And I'm going to kind of also add to that perimenopause and menopause. What do those, you know, women going through that what can they do to help themselves. 

Allan

[00.00.27]

 Okay. Well again another big question. Thank you. Uh, so here's here's the deal. Okay. After the age of 35, we're all dealing with a thing called sarcopenia and osteopenia. So sarcopenia is the loss of muscle. You know this. If you're over 40, you've heard these words, particularly osteopenia. Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle. And from our 30s until our 60s, we lose about 1% per year of our muscle mass. Okay. And then with osteopenia, we're also losing about 1% of our bone density per year until we reach the age somewhere in the 60s. And then it escalates because a lot faster. And so by not doing the right things for yourself, particularly resistance training, you are inviting frailty. You know, the ones that have to wear the little, you know, you know, the little sweaters and they're like this and they're all okay. They didn't lift weights. I never obviously okay. And again, the generations before us, the exercise wasn't a thing because before there was labor. And now then things got easier in the industrial age. And so there's less of it. And that's part of the problem. We don't move as much as we used to. We can't we don't have the time to do it the way we used to do it. So exercise or training is the way that you're able to maintain muscle mass and maintain bone density. And the more you do that, you slow aging. So the choice is pretty simple. Do resistance training or age faster? Okay. That's that's the math okay. That's why it's so important. Now other things like stamina, you know, doing, uh, doing uh, endurance or cardio work that's important to because you want to keep up with the grandkids. You want to be able to do the things you want to do. Okay. Working other things like agility and power are also kind of important because if there's a car coming, you want to be able to jump out of the way a little harder to do. And we're older because we haven't been training. So training gives you the the way to be the human you want to be, to live the life you want to live. That's why it's so important. Now we start talking about perimenopause and menopause. We're we're dealing with a period of your life that is a little different. You know, it's a lot different. But I'm just going to say a little, okay, guys, go through something. I'm not even going to say close to similar. But we go through andro pores where we're losing testosterone and we're we're, you know, if we're not doing the right things for ourselves, we get moves and we gain weight. And we, you know, we we don't feel like a man anymore. It's just. Okay, so we're both going through some things. Okay. Yours is a thousand fold difference. I'll never say any different and I totally I won't never experience it, but I've done enough reading to know. Okay, you know that. Don't mess with this, okay? It is tough. And so during that period of time, it's really important for you to be kind to yourself. Which is really hard because we get angry, we get frustrated. All the feelings, you know, all of us there. And because of the hormones, it's not always as clean and we're not in control. Okay. And that's cool. That's okay. Be kind to yourself. Okay. So maybe during that period of time, if you were training pretty well for endurance sports or anything like that, maybe slow down a little bit, that's okay. You're still doing enough. And that's the point is so many people will get into this adrenal problem because they're dealing with all this stuff, and then they're adding to the stuff with this other stuff that's going on. So it's like you're just the stress of it is just too much. And so we get in this chronic stress state and that's never going to work out okay. When you're stressed your body doesn't feel safe. So we talked about why change is hard. But the body wants to feel safe. If we are not giving it adequate movement. It wonders why. Why are we not going out of the cave? What's dangerous? What's going on? The body doesn't feel safe, okay? If we're not giving our body good nutrition, our body starts to think, hey, maybe there's not enough food, so maybe I should hold on to this body fat because I don't feel safe. So if we're getting adequate nutrition and the right amount and right kinds of movement, our body feels heard, it feels protected, it feels safe. And a wonderful thing about the human body, no matter what age you are, no matter what stage of your life you're in is, it is the most wonderful gift you've ever been given. I know you might not feel that when you're in menopause all the time, but it is a wonderful, wonderful gift. And here's why. If you treat your body right, it can heal itself. It's a machine we live in that can heal itself if you treat it right. And it can get better. You can improve it by doing the right things. So that's always available to you. Now what I'll say is if you're in perimenopause, try to get yourself to the place you need to be because it's not going to get easier later. Okay. And if you're in really, I must say, if you're in good shape, you've done the right things. You're taking care of your body. It feels heard, it feels safe. It's going to make the whole thing easier. You're more resilient. You're more capable. You're more able to take control of your health. Uh, it's going to make it easier that that's what I know. And in talking to many, many women in that space, many men, many women who are experts in women's health space, it's clear over time, people who are in better shape when they go into perimenopause and menopause are in better shape when they come out of it. Okay, so you have to be kind to your body and realize it's only going to do what it's going to do, but give it what it needs and it will respond in kind. Awesome. And start now. Yes. Start now. Best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. Best time? Sure. Next. Best time is now. It's a Chinese proverb. It's not mine. I borrowed it, but with fitness and health and all of it, it's like. And it's. You don't have to do it all at once. It's just start. Because once you start this process, it just gets easier and the next thing gets easier, the consistency adds up and these little bitty things become a big thing for you. So it doesn't have to be huge. It can be. Okay, I'll give you an example. I had a client and she told me when we first started. She said, I get winded walking to my car in the carport and I said, okay, so that's where she needs to start, right? She needs to start there. So I told her, I said, tomorrow when you walk to your car, just do one lap around the car. So that sounds kind of silly, I said. Just trust me. Just try it, okay? She did one lap around her car. Ask her how it went. She said that was hard. Like, yeah, okay. Do it again tomorrow. Do it again tomorrow. After about three days and everything. She said it's getting easier. I said okay, good. Tomorrow, do two laps. Okay. She started doing that. Within three weeks, she was going on 15 minute walks around her neighborhood. Okay, that's how the body responds. That's how the body gets better. She was telling her body it was safe for her to be outside, moving around. There are no predators. We don't have to hide in the cave. We're good. And her body responded and said, oh, apparently her name is Susie. Apparently Susie needs to be able to move around. Let's give her what she needs. So again, the body will respond in kind if you're kind to your body. 

Elizabeth

[00.08.38]

 Got it. And it also starts up here, as you said before. 

Allan

[00.08.42]

 Yeah, right. Well, you can't do anything without your head. You know you can't. It's 90% of the problem, or it can be 90% of the solution. And the cool thing is you get to get to decide which. That's amazing. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Alan, for for being here. You know, you. The way you describe things and how obviously, it's not just the movement, it is the whole being. Right. So how we could take that. And it is not the end of our lives when we when we turn 40 and then is the beginning. I mean, I chapter exactly when I this is a long book. It's a long book. We are not a novel. We are not a novel. 

Elizabeth

[00.09.44]

 yeah. So it is just a it's just nice to, um, to have you on here and explain the way you did, because it's just it is again, like I said, it's it's easy, but it's not. And you make it seem easy because it is that small step and you're there for your clients, but you're there for, you know, whomever needs help. And speaking of, how can people reach out to you

Allan

Okay, well, my website is 40 plus fitness.com. That's four zero plus fitness, and that's where you can learn about pretty much everything I do. So there's the coaching there. And then you can get a link to the website link to the book. Uh, the podcast is 40 plus fitness podcast. And you can find it right where you're listening to this wonderful podcast. Um, I'm there to just look up 40 plus fitness and, um, yeah, if there's anything I can do for you, go to the website. I have a little chatbot on there. It's not a bot, it's me. So if someone answers other than the initial, please leave your email and name. The rest of it is all typed by me live. I don't outsource, I don't automate much. I do have an email list. Um, so if you do one of my things, you'll end up on an email list and learn a lot more about me, a lot more about training, a lot more about life. But really, I'm just here. I want to help people because this is we are we are in a crisis. There are a billion obese people on this planet. And when you think about a billion obese people. Okay. And obesity is a signal that things are not right. 

Okay. It's people. They want to make it an illness or call it a disease. But the reality is it is a symptom and weight loss is not something you should be working toward. It should be a, uh, a side effect of treating your body well, of moving well, of eating well, of, you know, reducing your stress, sleeping well, treating your body well. Your body will shed that weight. But again, it is it is a symptom. If you're overweight or obese. It's a symptom that things are not right with your lifestyle and your body is protecting itself. And so we've got to get past that. That's why I do what I do, because I recognize that you can try to attack the fat, or you can try to attack the root cause. And I would rather you spend the time on the root cause, which is getting the right mindset. Getting yourself motivated and doing the right things for your body 

Elizabeth

[00.12.20]

 could not have said that any better. So this is a great way to end this. And thank you so much, Alan, for being on here again. 

Allan

[00.12.28]

 Thank you Elizabeth. Thank you. Okay, bye.