Making Midlife Fitness Fun for Women Over 40, with Erika Shannon

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We know that we should exercise.

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We know that we should move our bodies.

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And did you catch that little word should in there?

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Sometimes it becomes an obligation, a thing that we that we sort of think about as I have to do it.

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I don't have time.

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I'm tired.

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I know I should.

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I want us to look at movement with almost the opposite perspective.

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And my guest today is going to help us do exactly that.

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Let's talk about it.

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Welcome to Mind Your Midlife, your go-to resource for confidence and success, one thought at a time.

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Unlike most advice out there, we believe that simply telling you to believe in yourself or change your habits isn't enough to wake up excited about life or feel truly confident in your body.

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Each week, you'll gain actionable strategies and oh my goodness, powerful insights to stop feeling stuck and start loving your midlife.

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This is the Mind Your Midlife podcast.

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Growing up, I did not play any sports.

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And I always think back and wonder, should I have tried?

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I almost I almost tried out for volleyball in ninth grade.

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I had moved to a new state, actually, and I decided I was going to reinvent myself.

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But in the end, I just was not I just was not into being athletic.

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And I was, though, kind of into movement and I would walk and I would do some active things.

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It wasn't until I got to college and I uh gained a lot of weight one year that I decided I better start exercising a little bit more.

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And it's gone up and down over the years.

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What has made me really think about this during my 50s, where I am now, is watching someone from the older generation of my family go through a chronic disease for which they told her the best thing you can do for yourself is exercise because you need to move your body and keep your muscles moving, toned, working, or you will lose them even faster.

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And while I don't have that chronic disease, and you probably don't either, that still applies to us, kind of a move it or lose it perspective.

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We might lose our muscle tone or our strength faster if we don't use it.

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And again, I'm headed down this path of you need to do it, you should do it, aren't I?

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I feel like we kind of we we sometimes resist things that feel like an obligation in that way.

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So luckily, Erica Shannon is joining me today.

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She is a fitness and wellness industry expert and has been for two decades.

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She helps women on the menopause journey to optimize their lives, reduce those menopause symptoms, and do that with exercise, nutrition, sleep regulation, stress management, self-care.

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So we're gonna talk exercise in midlife.

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Welcome, Erica.

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Thank you so much.

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It's so nice to be here.

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Thanks for having me.

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Absolutely.

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I am excited to talk to you about this because it's something that is uh is a question, these are questions I'm always asking myself.

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Let me let me put it that way.

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So I know that the the topic of midlife fitness is really a powerful one for you.

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So tell us how you decided to to focus quite a bit on that area.

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A couple reasons.

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The first reason was I'm going through it myself.

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I'm 49 and perimenopausal, and um it, you know, my body started to change, the way I moved started to change, started to feel different.

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And so that was the first thing that made me want to kind of focus on this.

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But the second thing was I noticed in my work in the fitness industry and streaming fitness a few years ago that there really wasn't a lot of targeted fitness content for women of a certain age.

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And um, it kind of jumps from the hyper, you know, impact high impact, hit, aggressive, you know, really, really hard cardio and you know, boot camps and all that to chair yoga.

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Like there's nothing in between.

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And and I was like, wait a second, this doesn't make any sense.

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And so I um every two years for my fitness certification, I have to get continued education credits.

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And I started a few years ago just amassing certifications.

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One was in understanding hormones, one was programming for the female client.

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I'm a heart rate performance specialist, and I got just kind of like fell into it.

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And there was a certification that I read about.

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It was a menopause, um, a certified menopause specialist certification.

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And I was like, I want to do that.

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And I kind of I had it, it was in my periphery for about six months, and it was it was an expensive certification, and it was very involved.

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And I was like, well, do I really want to go into this?

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Is this really what I want to do next?

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Like, and then I just kept thinking about it and thinking about it, and it was honestly the best certification I've ever done in my 20 years in the fitness industry.

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It taught me so much, not just about what happens to our bodies when we lose our hormones, but but how to safely usher women like us into this next phase of life, because there's so much prevention that we have to deal with now.

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And there are so many things that we can prevent to make us have a longer health span.

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Um, we already have a longer lifespan than men, but our health span tends to be shorter.

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So as I watch my parents and my husband's mother go through um aging and osteoporosis and dementia and all those things, I'm reading and realizing and studying that so many of these things can be prevented, uh, and lots of them through movement and fitness.

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And so that's kind of where we're at now, and it's really fulfilling to work in this field.

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Fascinating.

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And I have about 17 questions from what you just said.

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So let's see where we go.

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Let's go.

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I'm interested that you said that women tend to have a longer lifespan, which we all I think know that's statistic, yeah, but a shorter health span.

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I never really thought about that.

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Is that really statistically a pattern?

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Yes.

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So if you look at women who have dementia or Alzheimer's, the percentage of women versus men that have that neurodegenerative disease, it's like 70% are women.

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Um, osteoporosis and osteopenia or two other things.

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I there's a ridiculous statistic, and I don't want to say the wrong thing.

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I can't remember exactly what it is, but it's it's something along the lines of one in three women will have a an osteoporotic bone fracture in the later part of their life.

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And that just opens the door to so many other risks because you have to end up in the hospital, you have to have surgery, it opens you to sepsis and and infection and so many other things that can end up killing you.

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So, um, or it completely rendering you immobile.

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So if you can't move and you have, you know, and and your brain is deteriorating, then then your health span is shorter.

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And so we also die of cardiovascular disease.

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Number one killer of women is cardiovascular disease.

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And that I did know, and I don't think most people know that actually, because you hear about men having heart attacks from the stress of their job or whatever.

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But you don't hear about women so much.

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Yeah.

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I know, I know, but what happens is when we lose our estrogen, it affects every organ system in our body and it it makes our cholesterol go higher.

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Um, the protection estradiol is a very protective hormone.

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And so when we lose it, we lose the benefits of it.

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It's very protective of our heart health, of our skin, of our brain health.

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And so without that, the LDL just goes up, the HDL goes down, triglycerides go up, our sugar tolerance is all over the place, and it can really affect us in a bad way.

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Cholesterol.

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Oh my goodness.

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My cholesterol is so high right now.

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My doctor, and and I I'm a certified fitness professional and menopause coach specialist, and I color inside the lines.

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I'll tell you that right now.

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And my doctor's like, have you been eating really badly lately or something?

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And I'm like, No, I haven't changed anything.

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And I hear this from a lot of clients all the time.

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They're like, I have changed nothing.

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Yeah, you two.

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I've changed nothing about my diet, and yet my cholesterol's through the roof and I'm pre-diabetic.

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I'm like, what?

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Doesn't make any sense.

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So that's where hormone therapy comes in, but that's another conversation.

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It is another conversation, but I did not know the cholesterol thing because yeah, my doctor, I don't think, believes me that I'm a healthy eater and I'm a really healthy eater because my cholesterol is getting a little bit higher.

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Wow.

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Okay, let me focus.

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So the other thing is I kind of chuckled when you said chair yoga, and I feel like I have to just say, you know, if you're listening, I'm not making fun of chair yoga.

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It's important.

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My mom did it when she was dealing with mobility issues, but I see your point that there's got to be something between that and high intensity somewhere in the middle.

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Just because we're aging doesn't mean we have to sit down.

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We we have so there's so much we can do and should do because we have to protect our lean muscle mass and our bone density, both of which go down during menopause.

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Yeah.

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So, and and we have to take care of our cardiovascular health as well.

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And we have to take care of our stress levels.

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And so, how do we do that?

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Fitness and movement.

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So I want you to list those again because what I was about to ask you is what are the key goals?

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If we're gonna talk about exercising, we know we're supposed to exercise.

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What is it that we really need to exercise for?

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And so I I want you to just list those again because I think you just said that.

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Yeah, well, we want to exercise for bone density, we want to exercise for lean muscle mass, we want to exercise for a healthy heart.

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Um, and the way to do that is through functional movement training, uh, moderate intensity cardiovascular training.

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And yeah, go high cardio a couple times a week for a little bit of time, but don't spend most of your time there.

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We have a mentality as women of this age, I think, where more is more, and we have to go as hard as we possibly can to get results.

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That is not true.

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And at our age, we need to be selective about when we push really hard because our stress response is thrown off by our hormones as well.

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So if we are constantly in an anaerobic state, it's very stressful on the body, and that is going to actually hinder us from weight loss and hinder us from feeling calm and refreshed and rested.

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You know what I mean?

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So, what we focus on is functional movement for sure.

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Thinking about health span again.

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The things that we need to do to function in this world are push, pull, squat, hinge, carry, and rotate.

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Okay.

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And so those are the three, those are the six things that we need to be able to do to live life as an active human being in this world.

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Yeah.

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And so when I work with my clients, I make sure that they are getting that form of movement as well, and then integrating healthy cardio.

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And if you are trying to lose weight and menopause, then you want to do, you want to err on the side of more cardio and you know, with a lot of strength training in there.

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But again, calories in, calories out, yada, yada, yada.

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You gotta do.

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Yeah.

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Now, what happens if someone is really?

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I mean, I talk about walking all the time.

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Walking is very good, but what if they're only walking or they're only doing whatever cardio they like?

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Are I'm sure they're getting some benefit, but not for sure.

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Walking is amazing.

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I would say if you're walking a lot, walk as fast as you possibly can.

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Walk brisk is better always.

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So push yourself, push your heart rate, and the the impact of walking is really good for bone density as well.

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So that's great.

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Okay, but there are a ton of exercises that you can do that are body weight only that you can integrate into a warm-up before you walk, for example.

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Okay.

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And the squat thing I definitely agree with you on.

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I've been working on knee pain, so I'm realizing that I better in my mid-50s now, I better get on this and I better make sure I can do it because I know if I don't do it, I'm probably gonna lose it, right?

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You don't use it, you lose it.

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That's the truth.

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Yeah.

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So you said push, pull, rotate, squat, and I what are the other two?

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Hinge and carry.

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So hinging at your hips.

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Yes, yes, and carrying.

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Grip strength is very important.

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Okay, yeah.

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And there are a lot of articles out there um talking about how grip strength is an indicator of mortality, which is crazy, which makes me nervous because I have really poor grip strength.

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I'm always I'm working on it.

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But you know, it's when you think about carrying groceries or carrying something from one place to another, a suitcase or a duffel bag, pick up a weight or a kettlebell and just walk around with it for a little while.

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It doesn't have to be, you don't have to have fancy equipment for this kind of stuff, you know.

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Okay, okay.

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Yeah, and my husband used to do CrossFit, and they used to do what was maybe called a farmer's carry or something, and they would carry heavy stuff and walk around.

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That's exactly right.

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Yes, that's it.

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Okay, okay.

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Farmers picking up big jugs of cow's milk and stuff.

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That's exactly what we're talking about.

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Functional movement.

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Yeah.

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And rotate, of course, is anything where you're rotating your spine.

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Yeah, I'm not sure I practice that one either.

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It does feel like these things would be easy to do in kind of our own little routine.

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I like that.

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On the topic of walking, you did mention the impact.

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I have heard people say that that's not enough impact, and we should be stomping around or jumping or running if we can.

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I mean, it really depends on you and what your body is doing.

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Um, if you do have osteoporosis, I would talk to your doctor between uh before starting any super high impact exercise.

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But jumping, like jumping jacks or jumping rope, it's so good for bone density.

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Uh, and you need it.

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So putting a little impact into your workout, even if you if you walk for a minute and run for 20 seconds or just integrate skipping, even skipping has impact to it.

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Oh, I love skipping.

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I think I might feel a bit silly in the neighborhood, but I love skipping.

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But isn't it fun to be playful too?

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Yeah.

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You know, we're we're in our midlife, but we're not dead.

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We might as well.

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I'll tell you, this morning, I just so I just moved to a new house in a new neighborhood in a new city, and I joined the rec center, um, which is in our community, and it's really amazing.

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And this morning I was like, oh, my muscles hurt.

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I've been doing a lot of power washing and unpacking.

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And so I was like, there's a hot tub at the rec center.

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I'm gonna go to the rec center.

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I'm gonna sit in the hot tub.

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So I went to the hot tub, I felt so great, and then they don't have a cold plunge, but they do have an indoor pool.

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So I went into the indoor pool, and there is a lazy river in the indoor pool.

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And I just like went around and around floating and kicking and doggy paddling and swimming and sidestroking, and it was so much fun, it was just like very playful for me.

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And I think that we need to integrate more playful movement into our lives because it does bring us joy.

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So um that's my Q2 for you is like do something that you like, do something that's fun or adventurous.

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If you like to hike, if you like nature, get outside, you know.

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Um, there's just it's fun and and do it with your kids and and and play.

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And and who cares what people are thinking about you?

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Like, I was by myself a 49-year-old woman, and there was like a little guppies class going on in the other end of the pool.

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I was like, we like it.

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I love it.

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I love it.

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That's such a powerful mindset message, really, because even even doing this podcast, and I've done I've done episodes about laughter, fun is really important.

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I totally agree with you on that.

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But sometimes we get so serious, we're like, now we have to do this and we have to think this way, you know?

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I just read an article about the importance of having hobbies at our age and doing things that are just creative and fun with no payback, just to give ourselves a little escape.

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And I just love that idea.

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And I think that we can incorporate movement in so many fun ways in that way.

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I love that.

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It's also great to build relationships and community, which is also so important at our age.

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Yeah, and just brings us joy.

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Yes.

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Now, if you're listening and you're willing to skip around your neighborhood, get somebody to take a picture or a video of you and share it with me on social media.

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I'm gonna give you a challenge.

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I love this.

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I love this.

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And when this comes out, I'm gonna challenge my community to do it too.

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Yeah, I I mean it's hilarious.

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I will do it, I will feel silly, but I will do it.

00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:40.160
So, yes, perfect.

00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:41.519
We're all skipping.

00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:46.799
Um feeling silly is the best part because when you're done, you're like, oh, that wasn't so bad.

00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:48.240
And I laughed at myself.

00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:49.200
Yeah, exactly.

00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:50.880
And then you get braver.

00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:52.400
Exactly.

00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:53.599
Exactly.

00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:54.799
I love it.

00:18:54.799 --> 00:19:05.200
Okay, so so related to this, I put out to my Patreon community that I was gonna be talking to you and asked them what they would ask.

00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:10.240
And Jill came up with a good question that I'm not sure I would have thought of.

00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.119
And that is okay, so we're gonna work out.

00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:17.440
Do we need to fuel differently before or after?

00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:22.079
I'm gonna say, now than when we were younger when we work up.

00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:24.480
The answer, the short answer is no.

00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:25.119
Okay.

00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:32.160
Um, there's a lot of talk right now about creatine and high protein this and that.

00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:38.079
And and I just had, I do these things called menow parties where I'll have a guest expert on.

00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:55.920
And I had a nutritionist and dietitian on a couple weeks ago, and she I asked her about creatine, and she's like, listen, unless you're training for the Olympics or a marathon, or you're a professional bodybuilder, you don't need creatine to like put on a weighted vest and walk around the park.

00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:57.440
Like you just you don't.

00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:08.880
It's great for recovery, it does help you with muscle recovery, but like just think about what you're doing, you know, and and honestly, a balanced diet that makes you feel energized is great.

00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:23.279
I would say there have been some studies coming out about fasted cardio and how there's really not a lot of evidence, like scientifically backed evidence against the benefits of fasting uh before working out.

00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:28.240
If you don't feel good working out after eating breakfast, then just don't.

00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.839
But the most important thing is to listen to yourself.

00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:37.519
But to answer Jill's question, no, you don't need to do anything different in midlife.

00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:48.319
Just I think in midlife, what you really want to focus on overall and unrelated to fitness is increasing your protein fiber and hydration.

00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:50.880
When you eat more fiber, you need more water.

00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.920
So you want to make sure that that goes hand in hand.

00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:58.319
And fiber really is kind of your best friend in this situation, as well as protein.

00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:03.920
So that's a I'm glad you're bringing up fiber because protein, I definitely know and agree.

00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:08.400
Obviously, fiber is good, but I hadn't thought of it in exactly this way.

00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:15.359
And I will link to an episode I did on hydration because I agree that's a big deal.

00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:17.440
And we talked on that episode.

00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:19.200
I had a guest for that as well.

00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:24.799
She talked about making sure we had electrolytes so we could actually absorb the water and the power of hydration.

00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:28.400
So, yes, go find that in the show notes and listen to that one too.

00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:33.279
Okay, I like that's kind of the true the three protein, fiber, and hydration.

00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:33.839
Yeah.

00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:52.079
Okay, so this is a two-part question, sort of, because I don't want to stress anyone out who's listening, but what is, in your opinion, because I know there'd be varying opinions about this, the ideal amount of exercise for someone in their 40s and 50s to do maybe in a week.

00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:54.319
And what if that's daunting?

00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:57.200
What do you suggest someone do who just wants to get started?

00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:00.799
The goal is 150 minutes of exercise a week.

00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:03.359
So it's like, you know, 30 minutes a day.

00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:12.720
And you want to incorporate both strength training, cardiovascular training, and recovery in that 150 minutes.

00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:20.960
Recovery can be Tai Chi, it can be stretching, mobility work, um, active recovery.

00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:32.160
So there's passive recovery like massage, cold plunge, acupuncture, and then there's active recovery, which is your stretching and gentle yoga.

00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.519
Regular yoga, like power yoga, is not recovery.

00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:41.599
Yoga is very difficult, and it is very it is very good for strengthening your body.

00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:54.640
It's the perfect body weight strength workout if you're doing certain kinds of yoga, but like yin yoga or yoga that is um recovery-based or um low intensity, that is a great recovery as well.

00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:56.799
Okay, I like that that goes into it.

00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:58.160
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:11.920
So again, based on what your goals are and based on what you enjoy, I would start with what you like because, and this is this is to answer the second part of your question.

00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:18.960
Start with what you like because you are more likely to continue if you do.

00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:37.279
So if you like to do Zumba or you like to dance, or you like nature, or you like to go swimming, start there and do something that you like, and then you can incorporate maybe making that longer or doing it two days instead of one day.

00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:39.839
Work with yourself and be nice to yourself.

00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:47.359
Something that I always tell my clients is it's not an all or nothing situation, it's all or something.

00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:49.440
All or something.

00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:53.519
I will tell you completely confession time.

00:23:53.519 --> 00:24:00.720
Yesterday was the first day that I have set foot in the gym for probably a month.

00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:10.720
But I have just moved into this house and cannot tell you how physically exhausted I am from walking up and downstairs, carrying heavy boxes.

00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:14.160
Yesterday I was, I was like, why are my forearms so sore?

00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:15.759
I was power washing.

00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:22.000
Like, there are a lot of things, gardening, those things can they count as movement.

00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:27.440
They count, and if you get your heart rate up while doing something like that, it counts.

00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:34.240
So don't underestimate your everyday movement and then incorporate other stuff.

00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:42.000
So if you are um doing laundry and you're like right now, my my dryer is up high.

00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:45.359
So I'm doing I'm gonna do a squat and then lift it up.

00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:57.839
And instead of maybe put trying to get it all in one thing, I'll do one article of clothing at a time, and then all of a sudden I've got 20 squats in, you know, psych yourself out, like completely psych yourself out.

00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:00.160
Don't like play a game with it.

00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:06.000
We are meant to, we are meant to live life fully in our bodies, and so why not just play?

00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.400
And you know, we're all busy at this age.

00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:13.599
We're taking care of our kids, we're taking care of our parents, we're working full-time, we're insane.

00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:21.519
So sometimes those movement snacks and those little, you know, habit stacking things are the way that we get our workout in that week.

00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:22.720
I love that.

00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:30.079
I don't think I would have thought to add squats into something I'm doing during the day, and that's a great idea.

00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:34.240
Yeah, and you can even alternate squatting and hinging with that, right?

00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:40.720
Because you can squat with your legs or you can soften your knees, hinge at your hips, and pick something up, right?

00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:46.880
So now you're getting two functional movements in by changing the laundry.

00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:54.640
Love it, kind of nice, love it, yes, and if you put it to the side, then you can get rotation in.

00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:56.160
Oh my goodness.

00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.559
If you want me to come and live with you, I'll just tell you all day long.

00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:05.839
Yes, you have to you have to come and follow me around and tell me how to add movement.

00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:09.119
Yeah, we overthink it.

00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:10.880
We overthink it.

00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.000
Yeah, it's really so much simpler than we think.

00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:19.039
What would you say to someone who is sitting in a chair all day working on the computer?

00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.279
How could they add in some movement?

00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:31.200
I would definitely say set a timer to get up every hour and do 10 squats or 20 squats, um, or take a walk up and down some stairs.

00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:40.960
There was a study done recently that standing up and doing 10 squats once an hour lowers your blood sugar as much as taking a full walk after a meal.

00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:41.279
Yeah.

00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:42.000
Wow.

00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:42.880
Yeah.

00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.000
So it really does make a difference.

00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:51.519
So I know that the Apple Watch has one of those like time to stand notifications.

00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:52.000
Yes.

00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:53.279
Get one of those.

00:26:53.279 --> 00:27:00.559
Um, and or there are so many free things, movement, and they also have hydration reminder apps and stuff like that.

00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:01.920
And again, stack it.

00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:12.880
Like for me, I like to uh every hour I'll get up, I'll go downstairs, I'll get a drink, I will play with my dog for a couple minutes, and then I'll come back up, or I'll take her for a walk and come back up.

00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:17.279
I'm I'm learning in my new space how to how to manage that.

00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:19.119
But you just have to trick yourself into it.

00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:26.400
And and even someone who's at the office could certainly get up, walk down the hall, go up and down the stairs, something like that.

00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:28.559
Maybe not squats at your desk, I guess.

00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.079
But I mean, no.

00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:36.799
But you could, you know, you could stand by the wall and just give yourself a stretch and a calf stretch.

00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:42.240
You could do some wall push-ups if you're, you know, if you're in a quiet space and nobody's looking.

00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:46.319
I mean, or you can see if you can take walking meetings.

00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:52.640
So many people work from home, and I don't think people necessarily take advantage of the walking meeting.

00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:54.079
I love a walking meeting.

00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.960
Because we don't need to be on Zoom all the time.

00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:59.920
Sometimes if we have a call, we can be like, hey, can we do this on the phone?

00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:01.200
I would love to do a walking meeting.

00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:03.119
Why don't we take a walk while we do this together?

00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:03.759
Huh.

00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:04.640
I like it.

00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:05.440
Easy.

00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:10.480
And my my professional hardworking self is thinking, well, how would I take notes?

00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:14.640
Well, maybe you record the meeting and then you go back out later if you need it.

00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:15.519
Huh.

00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:16.880
I like it.

00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:19.440
You can totally record.

00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:20.240
Interesting.

00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:22.880
It just depends on how you work.

00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:24.319
You can always figure it out.

00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:30.720
Everything is so figure outable with trying to incorporate this kind of stuff into your everyday life, which is wonderful.

00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:31.119
Yeah.

00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:32.319
Which is wonderful.

00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:37.039
And it does go against our beliefs, our old school beliefs.

00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:42.000
That, like, if I'm not in a cycling class for 45 minutes, it doesn't count.

00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:48.319
Or if I'm not breaking a sweat and huffing and puffing, it wasn't good enough.

00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:50.000
No, that's not true.

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:53.599
I will say, pick up some heavy stuff.

00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:56.559
Pick up heavy weights when you can.

00:28:56.559 --> 00:28:58.240
Do heavy weights.

00:28:58.240 --> 00:28:59.680
It is so good for you.

00:28:59.680 --> 00:28:59.920
Wow.

00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:02.720
And you're not gonna bulk up like we all thought in the 90s.

00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:04.240
It's not gonna happen.

00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:06.319
Again, unless you're training for the Olympics.

00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:07.279
It's not gonna happen.

00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:07.759
Right.

00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:08.400
Okay.

00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:10.559
Great, great, great tips.

00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:18.319
And and I asked that question because I know how I think, and I know there must be other people who think this way for sure.

00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:23.759
And that is that sometimes I'm like, uh, you know, 150 minutes, like, no way.

00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:24.880
So whatever.

00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:26.079
I just am not gonna do it.

00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:28.240
I it's not gonna make a difference, whatever I do.

00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:29.839
And clearly that's not true.

00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:35.119
Yeah, because if you think of 150 minutes, that's a lot of minutes.

00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:40.480
But if you think of I want, you know, I want to work out four days.

00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:46.160
Okay, so four days at 30 minutes, yeah, that's good.

00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:47.680
It is right, yeah.

00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:59.119
120 minutes, or four days at 25 minutes, or start just start somewhere if you're not doing anything right now, four days at 10 minutes, start there, yeah.

00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:02.480
Because The more you move, the more you're gonna want to.

00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:07.279
I always tell my clients when they don't feel like working out, and I don't feel like I never feel like working out.

00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:14.160
It's like just start, just get on the mat, just start doing some your warm up.

00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:18.960
Just press play on one of my workouts on my platform and do the warmup.

00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:24.400
And I guarantee you that once you're through the warm-up, you're gonna be like, well, I'm already here, I'm already on the mat.

00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:27.519
I might as well pick up my weights and finish this 30-minute workout.

00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:32.799
I used to play games with myself working out from home on my own.

00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:35.039
That I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go to 10 minutes.

00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:39.680
And then I get to 10 minutes and like, okay, I'm gonna make it to 13 minutes, you know?

00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:41.920
And then a good song comes on.

00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:44.000
I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go to the end of this song.

00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:47.680
And before you know it, I've worked out longer than I would have.

00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:48.319
Yeah.

00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:50.960
And I'll tell you the game I play with myself.

00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:53.440
I don't like to wear shoes at home.

00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:56.880
I not, I mean, I guess it's partly a cleanliness thing.

00:30:56.880 --> 00:30:58.240
I just don't like to wear shoes.

00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:04.640
And so putting on the shoes to work out became this big thing.

00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:06.880
I didn't want to put my shoes on.

00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:07.680
Yes.

00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:11.920
And so I found things I could do without putting my shoes on.

00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:14.400
And there was that barrier gone.

00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:16.319
So yeah, I got creative.

00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:18.880
I really like working out without shoes on.

00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:25.440
You see a lot of people doing heavy lifting and kettlebell workouts and barbell workouts with socks on.

00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:36.160
Because you can really use the muscles in your feet to balance and feel the floor and distribute your weight, it's really grounding.

00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:42.559
If you're lifting something super heavy and you're afraid you're gonna drop it on your foot, I would suggest shoes.

00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:52.240
But if you are doing, you know, I do a lot of my workouts on my platform move and win in socks or barefoot because it just feels good.

00:31:52.240 --> 00:32:04.319
And and I encourage if and if we're going to be doing some high impact or jumping, I always say, like, I have shoes on today for this workout because we're jumping a little bit, but use your judgment, you can totally do what you want.

00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:04.960
Yeah.

00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:09.519
Just kind of take away the the physical or the mental barriers, absolutely.

00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:15.519
I think the overarching theme is give yourself more credit for what you can do.

00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:16.160
Yeah.

00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:20.400
And that's why this podcast is mindset-oriented.

00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:37.680
We're talking about all these things that make a difference in midlife, but so much of it comes from what we're telling ourselves about what anything we do or don't do means and whether we're worthy of whatever we should be doing, and just all that kind of stuff is directing us so much.

00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:46.079
Yeah, I had a I used to be a member of Weight Watchers back in the day, and I had a leader that would say, Stop shooting all over yourself.

00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:46.880
Mm-hmm.

00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:48.079
Yep.

00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:49.599
It keeps you stuck.

00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:52.799
And I was like, shoulding all over yourself, that's really good.

00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:54.000
And it's so true.

00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:55.759
I think about that all the time.

00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:56.960
Yeah, yeah.

00:32:56.960 --> 00:33:01.839
And so it helps then to kind of switch it to well, what would I actually enjoy?

00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:03.039
And start there.

00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:04.160
I like that idea.

00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:09.519
Movement should not be a punishment, yeah, it should be an adventure or a self-discovery.

00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:10.319
Yes.

00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:12.240
And it's great for your confidence.

00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:22.640
Yeah, that's a great point because our bodies are changing in some more than others, some more stressed about it than others, and confidence.

00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:24.960
Wow, yeah, that's a big deal.

00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:26.400
Really big deal.

00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:34.720
Let me just pause here and ask you to tell us where can people find you, learn more about what you do, and connect with you.

00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:37.200
My website is ericashannon.com.

00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:38.640
It's Erica with a K.

00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:42.960
And on my website, I have a few different options.

00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:45.599
So option number one is to work out with me.

00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:52.000
I have a platform called Move and Win because my tagline is if you're moving, you're winning.

00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:52.640
Love it.

00:33:52.799 --> 00:33:55.839
So my so my platform is called Move and Win.

00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:58.240
I drop a new workout every single week.

00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:06.480
Um, and I have workouts that are focused in cardio, strength, recovery, menopause specific, which is really great.

00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:12.880
The menopause workouts, I will add a little bit more breath work or pelvic activation at the beginning.

00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:15.280
We do a longer warm-up, for example.

00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:21.360
There's just some slight differences, and that is an option to work out with me.

00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:26.639
I also have an online community that is not on social media, it's members only.

00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:32.719
And we share resources, I do flash coaching and things like that.

00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:37.519
And then I also have a group and private coaching options for menopause coach.

00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:38.400
Awesome.

00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:43.920
And then on Instagram, Erica Shannon Movement is where I am everywhere.

00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:48.079
So Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Erica Shannon Movement.

00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:59.920
On my YouTube channel, I do post videos of past meno parties with experts and stuff like that, and any links to anything else that I do out in the world.

00:34:59.920 --> 00:35:00.559
Yeah.

00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:01.360
Awesome.

00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:03.440
I will make sure that all that is in the show notes.

00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:06.159
So if you're listening right now, just scroll down, go find it.

00:35:06.159 --> 00:35:07.039
Thanks.

00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:14.000
Part of it is just making this easy uh because again, it takes away a barrier that we talk ourselves out of doing it.

00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:15.599
So I love that you're doing that.

00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:16.159
For sure.

00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:31.599
I send a weekly email out to my subscribers, and basically it's just I talk a little bit about what's going on in the world of menopause and fitness, and I drop whatever the workout is for the week there.

00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:32.239
Perfect.

00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:33.760
I will mention one more thing.

00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:34.000
Yeah.

00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:45.679
If people go to my website, there is a pop-up that will show up to get a free 10-day email course, um, menopause crash course, where it just links to videos of me talking about all the different things about menopause.

00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:46.639
It's totally free.

00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:48.960
Grab it, just join my mailing list to get it.

00:35:48.960 --> 00:35:49.679
Excellent.

00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:59.840
Okay, so as we sort of get to the wrap-up here, I always say, I'm sure people are listening and they're, you know, doing their laundry.

00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:06.159
Maybe they're squatting while doing it, or they're driving the car, walking around the neighborhood, whatever they're doing.

00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:09.199
And it's hard to remember everything from what we talked about.

00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:14.079
So if somebody is listening and is thinking, what do I need to remember?

00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:17.039
What's your kind of overarching OMG?

00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:19.760
This is the key thing to remember from this episode.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:21.199
If you're moving, you're winning.

00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:21.599
Yeah.

00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:23.599
If you're moving, you're winning.

00:36:23.599 --> 00:36:27.280
Every single thing you do in movement is good for your health, period.

00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:36.400
And we're so tempted to be stuck on our phones and probably not moving or sitting in front of the TV and binge watching something.

00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:42.880
Not that any of those things are inherently bad, but it's it's so easy not to move at all.

00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:43.840
It is.

00:36:43.840 --> 00:36:44.639
Yeah.

00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:46.559
It is, yes.

00:36:46.559 --> 00:36:49.679
Okay, well, Erica, I've learned a ton from you.

00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:53.360
So I know that anybody listening will have as well.

00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:57.599
Movement.

00:36:57.599 --> 00:36:59.519
Just movement.

00:36:59.519 --> 00:37:11.199
And I have to tell you, prior to having this discussion that we've just had with Erica, I did not foresee us going in the direction of having fun.

00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:14.719
And isn't that just flipping amazing?

00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:18.639
Number one, everybody needs more fun in their lives.

00:37:18.639 --> 00:37:22.639
Everybody, probably everybody.

00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:29.519
And number two, we have enough obligations at this point in life.

00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:38.960
And we have that little voice in our heads telling us all about the difficulties and the mistakes and the things that might happen that wouldn't be great.

00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:45.679
Let's let's let movement and exercise be a completely separate thing that is fun.

00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:50.480
Find something that is fun for you.

00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:53.599
Now, for me, that lately has been Zumba.

00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:56.239
I've been trying Zumba on an app at home.

00:37:56.239 --> 00:38:05.920
You might have already heard me say that I go to bar class and I walk, but in the summer, which is at the time I'm recording this, I don't love walking outside because it's hot.

00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:08.639
So I've been trying Zumba and I love to dance.

00:38:08.639 --> 00:38:11.840
For you, it might be something completely different.

00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:15.760
I love her perspective that we should just have fun.

00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:18.719
And I was serious about the skipping challenge.

00:38:18.719 --> 00:38:20.480
Go outside.

00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:23.199
It can be in a public street in your neighborhood.

00:38:23.199 --> 00:38:25.280
I guess it could be in your garage.

00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:26.239
I don't know.

00:38:26.239 --> 00:38:35.760
I want you to do a video of yourself skipping and send it to me on social media.

00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:36.960
Find me at Cheryl P.

00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:46.880
Fisher on Instagram, on TikTok, on Facebook, find Mind Your Midlife podcast, and send me a video, and I will make a little reel out of them.

00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:48.320
I will share them.

00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:51.679
I think, hey, let's start a skipping movement.00:38:51.679 --> 00:38:52.960


Why not?00:38:52.960 --> 00:39:01.760


And here's a fun piece of news for our Patreon and Substack subscribers.00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:06.239


Erica created a free functional workout.00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:12.800


Remember the push-pull six items that we need to work on in menopause?00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:16.079


She created a free workout just for us.00:39:16.079 --> 00:39:21.679


So make sure you grab that on Patreon or Substack when you subscribe.00:39:21.679 --> 00:39:24.639


And in the meantime, slow down.00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:27.440


Maybe take a deep breath.00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:31.440


Notice what's going on in your head, what's going on around you.00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:35.119


And let's create something amazing.