Making fitness a lifelong habit with Kathleen Trotter

Kathleen Trotter is a personal trainer and the author of Finding Your Fit, a great new book that encourages people to find their own unique recipe to sustain long-term success with health and fitness.

Kathleen explains that becoming fit is an active, lifelong process. She details seven strategies that will help set you up for success:

1. Stop aiming for perfection – Something is always better than nothing. Forget the all or nothing approach to health.
2. Convenience and consistency is key – Find ways to make your workouts convenient, which will contribute to long-term consistency and success.
3. Find your exercise bliss – Adopt fitness activities that you enjoy and will want to do consistently.
4. Find your why – Tie a deeper meaning to why you are committing to your fitness lifestyle.
5. Find your inner athlete – This helps in working toward your long-term goal.
6. Flip your negative thoughts – Moving is a privilege. Think positively and be grateful for the ability to move.
7. Mindfulness and preparation equals success –Determine your priorities and plan for the week ahead.

Kathleen also speaks about the concept of goals versus wishes. Your goals may not be connected to your life and reality. To adjust this, follow these six steps:

1. Stop using a “too busy” excuse – Pair your fitness activities with other non-negotiable activities.
2. Gradual progression – Don’t try to tackle everything at one time. Try adding one good habit and removing one bad habit per week.
3. Establish a WWWH plan – Be realistic about what you’ll do, where you’ll do it, when and how.
4. Respecting your genetics and the realities of your life – Be the best version of you possible.
5. Form goals that are relevant and important to you – This may include engaging in activities with family members.
6. Learn from yourself and others – Determine what was successful/unsuccessful and learn from that.

To connect with Kathleen Trotter or learn more about Finding Your Fit, find her on Twitter at @ktrotterfitness or visit her website at http://www.kathleentrotter.com/.

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Is coffee good for you?

It’s important to be informed about what you put in your body. As such, I decided to research the pros and cons of consuming coffee.

In terms of the pros, coffee helps make you more alert, can assist in waking you up, and can help with memory.

Additionally, many studies have shown that coffee has some anti-cancer properties similar to other plant-based foods. This means it could have some beneficial effects in protecting against or recovery from some types of cancers. While the studies show some correlation, there is nothing definitive at this point.

The caffeine does also stimulate your metabolism, which could assist in weight loss efforts. Coffee’s great taste is another undeniable pro.

However, coffee does have some cons. It can elicit a cortisol effect. Your cortisol level is highest when you wake up, then settles down over time. If you’re worried about your cortisol level, wait 30 to 45 minutes to have that first cup of coffee.

Coffee can also disrupt your sleep, especially if you consume it too close to bedtime. People do metabolize caffeine at different rates, so test it on yourself and see what works for you. Make sure you are getting quality sleep regardless of your coffee intake, as it is so important for health and wellness.

The brown, acidic liquid can also stain your teeth, especially if you’re not brushing regularly. Also, be conscious of the sugar, creamer, and other flavorings added to your coffee. Powdered additives are not healthy. Avoid these if possible.

Not all coffee is created equally. Coffee beans are sourced from different places around the world and can mold and spoil if not handled properly. A good quality bean is important, so be choosy.

The research shows that consuming coffee is not good or bad for you, so decide what works best for you!

 

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Great health and fitness gifts

With the holidays upon us, consider giving the gift of health and fitness. If you’re looking for a few ideas, here are several great health and fitness gifts:

Note: The links below are affiliate links at Amazon. It doesn't cost you any more, but does give the podcast a small commission. Thank you for your support!

Yoga Mat

Used not only for yoga, this mat makes it easy to get down on the floor and perform mobility and stretching work.

Food scale

Getting your portion sizes right can be difficult in the beginning. A food scale can help you get a better grip on how much you should be eating.

Resistance bands

These bands allow you to work out anywhere, doing any type of resistance exercise to build muscle, strength, and endurance.

Once you've gotten your bands, you can use this free mini-course to help you get started – Get Started on Strength.

Fitbit

A Fitbit with a heartrate monitor is a great tool for assessing your activity level. I prefer the fitbit because it just seems a little more fashionable and holds up very well (I've taken one on a tough mudder).

Foam Roller

As you know, I'm a big fan of mobility training and a foam roller is an essential tool.

Bands

Unlike resistance bands, these bands are multi-purpose. You can use them in your mobility work, use them for resistance work, or use them as an assist in your pull ups. These are the most effective way ot build pull up strength using progressively weaker bands.

Workout gloves

Ok, I'll admit it… I'm a bit old school in my lifting and I don't wear gloves. But I see where you may. Who wants hands that look like you workout? Well, if you body says it, maybe your hands don't have to.

Adjustable Kettlebell

If you try to buy a full set of kettlebells, they can get quite expensive and they'll take up a lot of space. I own two of these adjustable kettlebells.

Running belt

Keeping your phone, money and emergency contact details on you when you run is the smart way. This belt can help you do just that.

Adjustable desk

Sitting is being called the new smoking. Having an adjustable desk can help eliminate too much sitting.

Desk treadmill

If you're looking to buy me a gift, this is what I want! Set on a low speed, you'll be able to get your work done and get some exercise. Win-win!

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What I’ve learned this year

The 40+ Fitness Podcast began one year ago on December 7, 2015. After one year of podcasting, it’s time to reflect on what I’ve learned.

Thousands of new podcasts launch every month. It’s hard to find an audience and resonate with folks unless you have a solid message that brings value with each episode. In the last year, we’ve done 190 episodes with hundreds of hours of content designed to educate, encourage, and entertain you.

The results are clear, as I receive many heartwarming messages from people who have benefitted from the various episodes. Our audience has grown, showing more than 340,000 downloads over all episodes. This proves that listeners are committing time to focusing on health and fitness. This creates a huge opportunity to be a much healthier, better person.

I still believe commitment is the key. If you’re not committed, you won’t succeed. You must have a substantial why and passion for what you want to accomplish. The three Ps—persistence, progression, and patience—play a major role in building the foundation that helps us keep moving forward in our journeys. There is not one best way to approach health and fitness. You must determine what that looks like for you.

Be sure to check out the new SureFire Results for Weight Loss program launching today. This program focuses on cutting down on sugar, walking, and increasing water intake. It’s a 28-day program and only costs about $1 per day. If you’re looking to lose about 8 to 10 pounds, this program is a great fit. Visit https://40plusfitnesspodcast.com/surefire for more information.

I’ve learned a lot this past year and I hope you have learned something along the way, too. Thank you again for your support!

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Health and Fitness Foundations

11 Health and fitness enemies

Health and fitness enemies can prevent us from maximizing our progression unless we develop strategies to deal with them. Here are a few examples:

Happy Miserables – Stress

These people always look at the negative aspects of life and can bring you down, adding stress to your life. Recognize their negativity doesn’t have to impact you.

Drinking buddies

These are friends who want you to join them in their lifestyle of drinking and eating unhealthy foods. Find ways to join in socially without indulging, such as eating a clean dinner before you go out.

Potluck Planners

Potlucks are usually full of unhealthy foods. Bring a healthy item to share as well as additional healthy sides for yourself.

School fundraisers

Candy in the break room is a big threat. Instead, keep healthy snacks in your desk so you won’t be tempted.

Competitors

Some people may want to compete at the gym. Stick to your plan and don’t fall into their trap.

Loiterers – Hogging equipment

These people will hog the gym equipment, texting, etc. Don't be shy, ask if you can step in between their sets.

Sick but pushing through

Germs can spread easily in the gym. If you’re sick, do your workout at home. Keep your distance from those who work out while sick.

Bad Personal Trainer

Ask around for a good personal trainer, one who will listen to you and help you reach your goals in a safe, effective way.

Well meaning friends and family

They may try to convince you that their way is best. Make health and fitness choices for yourself and don’t let them derail your progress.

Back stabbers

These people want you to fail, so stay away.

Nonparticipants in the home

You don’t have to prepare two meals if your family is not eating the same foods as you. Cook meals with meat, vegetables, and sides that allow everyone to pick and choose.

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11 Best mobility tips

Mobility

As we age, mobility becomes an even more important.  Before we go through my best tips, I think it is worth going back and defining what mobility is all about.

Mobility is the ability to move naturally through a full range of motion.  This can be impaired by either a tightness of a muscle or damage to a joint.

Every Day

To have an effective mobility training program, it should be something you do every day.  This not only includes doing mobility training, but also undoing the things we do to reduce mobility, such as sitting all day.

Warm up

Before you do any stretching or self-myofascial release, it is important to warm up the muscles.  This can be done simply by moving the muscle to get good blood flow.

Do SMR right

Most people do self-myofascial release wrong.  When you roll the muscle, you are stimulating it.  What you should do is to roll lightly on the muscle until you find a sore spot.  Then you should apply pressure until the muscle releases.  This is more about spot pressure than rolling.

Purpose of static stretch

A static stretch is for the muscles you aren't planning to train.  When you do static stretches, the muscle loses strength.

Purpose of dynamic stretch

On the contrary, dynamic stretches do not reduce strength.  You should use dynamic stretching to warm up and loosen up the muscles you plan on training.

Hydrate

It is very important that you're properly hydrated.  Muscles and joints need fluid to function properly.

Move

Staying in one position for long periods of time causes muscles to tighten up and joints to lose function.  This damages your mobility.

Time of stretch/age

When we are older, we need to hold stretches and self-myofascial release for longer.  I recommend you hold the positions for a minute or more.

Breathe

Don't forget to breathe when you're stretching or doing self-myofascial release.  This helps with release/stretch.

Partner

Finding a partner to stretch with can make the stretching more enjoyable and can help you get a better stretch.  Just be aware of your form to avoid injury as more pressure is applied than you'd be able to apply yourself.

Mindfulness

Stretching is a great time to practice mindfulness.  Don't zone out.  Stay in the moment to help build the mind-muscle connection.

 

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