The Flipping 50 Show

Got a bucket list? Today’s guest went up Mt Kilimanjaro, for the second time in January, having had 3 joint replacements at 70.  I feel like I should just stop talking at this point and get you right to the show, so it’s exactly what I’m going to do.  Just this first…  Watch Irv's Mt Kilimanjaro Adventure:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C-xNwUEj7J7Dt2mYfYbmPTXvaLFIooYg/view My Guest:  Dr. Irv Rubenstein, exercise physiologist and personal trainer (NSCA-CSCS, CPT, Certified with Distinction; ACSM-EP; FAI-Functional Aging Specialist), is president of STEPS Fitness, Nashville’s first personal training center. He has been an educator for fitness professionals with Exercise ETC; a contributor to online articles on fitness myths, functional training, and proper exercise technique; and has also contributed to books and articles for and about personal training. He was a founding member of the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (now Renewed Support) and served on its Executive and Education Committees. Dr. Irv has presented nationally and regionally on exercise and anorexia, arthritis and exercise, exercise and weight management, and several other exercise-related topics. He currently is an advisory board member for the MFN, has provided webinars for the MFEF, and is co-author of its Orthopedic Fitness Specialist course. Questions We Answer in this Episode:  Why? How did you train? How did it go? Problems, pitfalls, challenges? Recommendations for others considering a challenge of this sort? How did it change you?  Connect with Irv:  https://stepsfitness.com Resources:  What, When & Why to Exercise for Women 40+: https://www.flippingfifty.com/womensexercise   

Today’s episode reads like a Facebook status: Fatigued and want to be fit! So if it feels like you’re married to tired, in a relationship with recovery from exercise, virus, or life, then stay tuned.  If your level of fatigue is squashing hopes of starting and sticking to an exercise routine, my guest and I have some hope - and practical tips - for you.  This episode is all about how to build exercise back when dealing with chronic fatigue, mental exhaustion, or Long Haulers.   MyGuest:  Dr. Jenny Tufenkian is a Naturopathic Physician and functional medicine educator who is on a mission to get people who are struggling with low energy back up in the world rocking there mission. Chronic Fatigue/ME and Long Haulers has been a professional and personal journey for her. She truly believes good things come out of hard times and embracing your healing journey and getting empowered with your own self care is the key to creating the life you want to live. Fatigued and want to be fit Questions we cover in this episode:  -how to tell if this pain/fatigue message is: NO don’t exercise, or I am stiff, or just stagnant? -how you can use your body as biofeedback tool to be smart and proactive with your workout routines -power of mind impacting physiology -what is post exertional malaise? -mitochondria and PEM -what to do if you are tired ( have long haulers/CFS/ME) AND you want to get fit?? -things to be careful of /watch out for if you have long haulers and are starting up a routine to work out If you are fatigued and want to be fit, I hope that this has given you tangible, actionable items to change the way you and exercise relate to each other! Don’t miss Dr. Jenny on the What, When & Why to Exercise for Women 40+, May 1-7. Click here for details: https://www.flippingfifty.com/womensexercise  Connect with Dr. Jenny: http://drjennytufenkian.com On Social: linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-tufenkian/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.jennytufenkian/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennyTufenkianND/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NaturalHealingwithDrJennyND TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.jennytufenkian Resources: Bruce Lipton - Biology of Belief   

My guest today beat breast cancer and wants to share - just 7 weeks after surgery - her story. We record this at the end of March and after appointments in December revealed a problem, her life changed.  We have a real and raw discussion about life, boobs, healing and emotions on this journey. Whether you’re there, were there, you know someone who is, or wonder what it would be like, this is for every woman.  In the show notes today I’ll add resources for you and you’ll find ways to connect to Amy VanLiew.  Let me introduce you, but first… My Guest Beat Breast Cancer:  Amy Van Liew helps women over 50 get moving through online workouts designed for just what we need - strength, low impact cardio, Pilates, balance, posture and more. When her clients experience aches and pains associated with the way they’re aging, Amy focuses on getting them moving again.  What differentiates Amy’s workouts from traditional workouts (that she says are often geared toward people in their 30s) is that hers will leave clients feeling good, not beat up. That way, they can “be healthy…enough” to do all the things they love to do in life! In This Beat Breast Cancer Episode: You’ve recently gone through a Breast cancer diagnosis and you’re here to share that. Your reaction was likely one of disbelief, given you're so healthy?  What have you learned that has helped you get through this? What would you like other women to take away from your experience? I noticed that in your notes about our discussion here you referred to it as your journey a couple times, and you’re not alone. It’s often referenced as a breast cancer journey, Why do you think that is, that this word is so commonly used?  Beat breast cancer before you have it with strength, endurance and diet changes. Test regularly.  Connect with Amy: https://behealthyenough.com/ Amy on Social: Facebook: https://facebook.com/behealthyenough Instagram: https://instagram.com/behealthyenough Other Episodes You Might Like: Hormones After Breast Cancer: https://www.flippingfifty.com/hormones-2/ Risk of Breast Cancer and Your Hormones: https://www.flippingfifty.com/breast-cancer/ Resources:  Veronique DeSaulniers: https://breastcancerconqueror.com/ Carol Lourie: https://www.naturalhealthcarehealingcenter.com Andrea Leonard: https://www.thecancerspecialist.com/andrea-leonard/

You potentially  haven’t even thought about Urolithin A yet today! Ha! Well, I hadn’t either. In fact, I want to put an r in the word, it’s so unfamiliar I struggled with it in the interview! But it can have a positive impact on healthy aging and we’re going to tell you just how.  What you have thought about today is your energy. Or you’ve taken it for granted because it’s already great. Nearly 80% of our community deal with lower energy than they’d like and cope with it quietly or resort to quick fixes that not only don’t last but prolong fatigue.  Warning if you’re sensitive to supplements or feel my talking about them becomes too salesy, this may not be your episode. While this is not meant to sell you, persuade you or entice you it is intended to make you aware of discoveries that can boost your nutrition when you’re not able to eat enough, or don’t get enough of the right foods for whatever reason.  A supplement won’t do the heavy lifting if you aren’t trying. If you don’t eat well, a supplement is really a ridiculous effort. Drinking Boost or Ensure-like products is not life sustaining. Real food recently grown by sun and rain is necessary. But when you can’t, or when you can and depleted soil and quality of food means low energy and absorption, then science discoveries can help.  We can agree to disagree. And I think we can co-exist happily doing so. Vegans live in the same household as carnivores for crying out loud!  My Guest:  Jennifer Scheinman, MS, RDN, LDN, completed her dietetic internship at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and went on to complete her master's degree in Integrative and Functional Nutrition at Saybrook University. Over the past 20 years she has worked at some of the country’s leading institutions for health and wellness, including Hospital for Special Surgery and Optum, where she led the creation of nutrition and health education programs that positively impacted thousands of people's lives. Jen is currently the Senior Manager of Nutrition Affairs at Timeline Nutrition, educating healthcare practitioners and consumers on the latest scientific breakthroughs in healthy aging. Questions We Answer in This Episode: What are mitochondria and why should we care about them? What are things I can do to keep my mitochondria happy and healthy? What is Urolithin A/Mitopure, and how does it work? What does the research around Urolithin A show? How does it promote longevity and health? Try it? https://www.flippingfifty.com/mitopure  Code: Flipping50 on Social: Instagram: https://instagram.com/timelinenutrition Other Resources You Might Like: https://www.flippingfifty.com/C60 https://www.flippingfifty.com/EnergyBits https://www.flippingfifty.com/aminos  

Time for your brain workout. Back in 2008, I was traveling all over the midwest by car to do keynotes on stages for healthcare forums for continuing education. My signature story ended with this statement: “train your brain.” How full circle for me that I’m hosting guest and brain expert Dr Titus Chiu, not for the first time on Flipping50®, and we’re literally talking about how to train your brain.  If you’re forgetting the keys, seeing your mother repeat stories to you, or rewrite them, watching parents slip away this becomes a much more urgent thing than learning about Alzheimer’s as a student in health 101 when it seemed a distant and far off thing that happened to other.. Much older people, but it was something you didn’t have to worry about.  Well, today isn’t meant to instill worry, and instead to relieve it. We will talk about the severity and prevalence but we’re giving answers.  And look…. Before you go one step further if you’re walking… be sure that you register for the free online event I’m hosting. And please share it. On that event, Dr Chui speaks into brain health in a way  you have never considered. If you’re a health and fitness professional, you’ll also find take-aways to help boost your services benefits for your clients or students. And that’s just Dr Titus’s talk. There are 38 others that you will want to hear.  Insert image for the summit and the link: https://www.flippingfifty.com/womensexercise  Please share it with a friend. Right now you can get access for free. Just save your spot. If you want to listen and have the recordings conveniently for you… for hours of walking or commuting companionship, that’s an option. We need this information, and need our daughters, moms, trainers and health coaches to have it too. My Guest:  Dr. Titus Chiu is a #1 bestselling author, award-winning international speaker, and Functional Neurologist that specializes in healing the brain, naturally. Dr. Chiu empowers health-conscious women with the natural tools, tips, and cutting-edge resources needed to supercharge their brains TODAY and avoid brain problems TOMORROW. Learn more about Dr. Chiu's unique approach to brain health at www.brainsave.com. Questions We Answer In this Episode: How prone are women to brain-related decline/dementia/Alzheimer’s?  Isn't the brain hard-wired? What are the 3 pillars of brain health? What is experience-dependent neuroplasticity? What can you do now to avoid brain disease in the future? How can you train your brain? Connect with Dr. Titus and the 5-Week Brain Health Program:  https://www.flippingfifty.com/brainsave  Dr Titus on Social: https://www.instagram.com/drtituschiu https://www.facebook.com/drtituschiu Other Episodes You May Like:  Get and Keep Your Brain Health, Fit and Strong: https://www.flippingfifty.com/leaky-brain/ 3 Brain Supplements Worth the Extra Pill: https://www.flippingfifty.com/brain-health-3/ Brain Health Fundamentals: https://www.flippingfifty.com/brain-health-2/

“I wonder if it’s my thyroid.” Sound familiar?  If you too are wondering,  Is it my thyroid, or adrenals, or it’s stress… and don’t know how you’d know, this is your episode. My guest is a long time resource for our community and a well-respected expert in thyroid, as well as Hashimoto’s.  Are you started?  If not, here’s an easy way to get started. Flipping 50® 5 Day Flip. My Guest:  Dr. Izabella Wentz is a compassionate, innovative, solution-focused integrative pharmacist dedicated to finding the root causes of chronic health conditions. Her passion stems from her own diagnosis with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in 2009, following a decade of debilitating symptoms. As an accomplished author, Dr. Wentz has written several best-selling books, including the New York Times best seller Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause, the protocol-based #1 New York Times best seller Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back, and the Wall Street Journal best seller Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols and Healing Recipes to Take Charge of Your Thyroid Health. Her latest book, Adrenal Transformation Protocol, is set to be released on April 18th, 2023. The book focuses on resetting the body’s stress response through targeted safety signals and features a 4-week program that has already helped over 3,500 individuals. The program has an impressive success rate, with over 80% of participants improving their brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, sleep issues, and libido. Questions We Answer in This Episode: You have been known as the Thyroid Pharmacist. Have you always been interested in thyroid health? Your new book, Adrenal Transformation Protocol, seems like a bit of a departure from your previous work to someone that may not realize that there’s a big connection between adrenal health and thyroid health. Can you talk about that connection? What exactly is adrenal dysfunction, how does it develop, and how would someone know they have it?  In the book, you mention that conventional doctors consider adrenal fatigue a “bogus” diagnosis. Can you talk more about this? Most integrative doctors say that if you have adrenal fatigue, you need to test your adrenals, quit caffeine, sleep more, and take certain hormones, like DHEA. Is this the approach you recommend as well? Why do you think so many women have thyroid, adrenal, and autoimmune issues? You talk a lot about helping your body “feel safe” in order to heal, and how to send “safety signals” to your body – what exactly do you mean by “safety signals”? Can you provide some specific examples of safety signals? What are the results people have seen with your protocol? How long does it take to see benefits? How many people have gone through the program? Where can people learn more about your work? Connect with Izabella: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/ABC/ On Social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/izabellawentzpharmd/ Other Episodes You Might Like: Adrenal Fatigue Talk with the Hip Hop Energy Doc: https://www.flippingfifty.com/adrenal-fatigue-talk/ Strength Training Enough for Energy, Not Adrenal Fatigue: https://www.flippingfifty.com/strength-training-enough/  

For some it’s coffee, for others wine time, and still others, it’s both. If you have less control over how you feel and rely on … anything but your natural energy, the question is… do you want it that way?  This episode asks, whether you choose it or it’s got you.  Feel like it’s wine o’clock or some other wine time affectionately known as? Do your friends, relatives, and trainer expect and know that you’ll smell of alcohol when they see you? (P.S. Did you know they do?)  Today's guest has been through many relationships with alcohol.  My Guest:  Jenn Kautsch is the founder and creator of the SoberSis community and leader in the “Sober Curious” movement. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her hubby of 27 years and has 2 20-something kids. SoberSis was “born” on Christmas Day of 2017 and since then more than 200K women have downloaded her free “Happy Hour Survival Guide” and over 30K have participated in the 21 Day Reset Challenge. Those numbers are growing every month as she works hard to get the message out to more women!  It’s her passion and life’s calling to create a space where women can renegotiate their relationship with alcohol without labels, judgment or shame. She coaches women who feel stuck in the “gray area” on the drinking spectrum and helps women get off of “auto-pilot” and mindless sipping through the habit of wine o’clock. She is all about holistic health and promotes freedom from the “detox-to-retox” cycle. Sharing through her personal faith, understanding of science and ability to facilitate connection, lives are being changed. Everyday women are becoming more fully alive through sober-minded living and more present in their own amazing lives. Here’s to conscious thoughts about wine time.  Questions We Answer in This Episode: Where did we fall into this "detox to retox" loop - not unlike binge and purge - a potentially more familiar term for our audience members. 6 years ago I began a 28-Day Kickstart program, and day 1 I gave all the info about how this was going to go… and the question was, “So what kind of alcohol is allowed? Is vodka the best?”  There’s a significant "wine o'clock" habit...especially in our 50's and beyond. What’s the premise behind the Happy Hour Survival Guide? Is it about how to survive when everyone else is drinking and you want to but are trying not to? What’s the concept of “dry January” say to you? This seems like the ultimate tox and detox … like, I’m going to binge my way through holiday parties and then I’ll make up for it.  Let's talk about purpose, passion, and presence in our lives...especially in new life seasons!  What’s New for Jenn?  New book coming out Spring of 2023 called, Look Alive, Sis! 40 Days to Awaken Your Sobermind. Free Guide Reveals 5 Secrets...To Skip The Wine Tonight And Feel Great In The Morning! https://www.sobersis.com/free-guide27260540 Thoughts about wine time - or evening cocktails that have turned into more than a choice? What’s your personal relationship with wine or alcohol in general?  Connect with Jenn: https://www.sobersis.com/ Jenn on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sobermindedsister/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sobersis/ Other Episodes You Might Like: If You Were My Coaching Client, I’d Ask:  https://www.flippingfifty.com/my-coaching-client/ Stop the Health Band-Aids: https://www.flippingfifty.com/crutches/

Let’s have the talk, the adrenal fatigue talk. It’s not a new topic but I’ve got a new boss in town to share her story and some solutions. Adrenal fatigue is something many of our community members deal with, or it surfaces while they’re in a program and they haven’t ever stopped to realize that they don’t actually want to continue pushing if they ever want to stop the fatigue. So, real quick, if you’re tired after exercise, you’re feeling like doing less, you rally to workout but then are cooked the rest of the day… you’re not doing good. Fitness can’t actually happen under duress. We do in fact create stress during exercise, but if it’s controlled and monitored with your signs and symptoms it can be positive.  You’ll hear my guest echo “exercise less, eat more” philosophy in this episode. And it begins with you. Not following a blind plan but listening in between exercise sessions to the feedback your body suggests to you  FLIPPING50 Menopause Fitness Specialist  My Guest:  Tricia Pingel, Naturopathic Physician and Energy Expert Dr. Tricia Pingel, aka The Hip Hop Energy Doc  Dr. Pingel has helped hundreds of people restore their health by showing them how to identify the stress causing their symptoms, restoring their nutrition depleted by stress and assisting in changing their mindset to repel incoming stressors so that they can return to their happy, vibrant and energetic selves. She is the author of Total Health Turnaround, which has sold over 60,000 copies. In addition to being the CEO of Pingel Progressive Medicine, a Naturopathic Concierge Medical Practice, Tricia is a Health Blogger, providing the public with reliable, honest and evidence based information. She also hosts a weekly Live “Ask Dr. Pingel” on Facebook and Instagram, where she answers questions on naturopathic approaches and therapies to common conditions.  Questions We Answer in This Episode: Tell your story behind the scenes of The Hip Hop Energy Doc and where that title came from What does hip hop or dance in general do for you?  The listeners on this podcast are no strangers to the topic of stress and adrenals but.. We continue to need it… because we ignore it as if we don’t have any other tools in our bag beyond pushing through… and there’s some kind of hidden fear if we give up the getting from one day to the next in the way we’ve always done it that our world will fall apart.  Stress is directly, not indirectly, tied to more than 80 diseases.. Can you Describe how does stress cause all aspects of disease? How can we interpret incoming stress and put ourselves back in control? How you guide people to embrace the moment, listen to their bodies (rather than assign blame to it) and take back control of their health?  Connect with Tricia: https://drpingel.com/ Tricia’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/Total-Health-Turnaround-All-Natural-Reverse/ Tricia on Social: Facebook: https://facebook.com/drtriciapingel Instagram: https://instagram.com/drpingel YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrTriciaPingelNMD/ Other Episodes You Might Like: Strength Train for Bones & Muscle, Not Adrenal Fatigue: https://www.flippingfifty.com/strength-training-enough/ How to Exercise During Adrenal Fatigue Recovery: https://www.flippingfifty.com/adrenal-fatigue-and-exercise/ SAVE YOUR SPOT:

Is your exercise working against your hormones? Could that be making you more tired, or prone to injury? Is your routine limiting your performance results?  It’s widely accepted that exercise is a pillar of good health. For women, though, there’s a gap in exercise recommendations designed based on their unique hormone profile.  In a 2021 British Journal of Sports Medicine study, 86% of exercising women experience tiredness/fatigue and or other menstrual cycle symptoms that have a greater likelihood of missing exercise or competition (or work).  TEDx Talk: https://www.flippingfifty.com/TEDx Only 39% of all exercise science and sports medicine research features females.  Females go through an average of 7 phases of hormone changes… Save Your Spot Unless you knew to ask, was this made for me, based on science about me, there is a strong chance you have been doing a workout proven for a young athletic man or a mouse…Hormones that can mean you use more fat for fuel at certain times, may be more prone to injury at others, and be primed for strength gains during certain windows too.  This post is an excerpt from a recently written article for a third party. It explores the science of women’s menstrual cycles and exercise protocols to support better results with reduced risk of injury or unnecessary fatigue.  If you’re in post menopause without a cycle, stay with me, there’s valuable information for you here too. A Review of the Menstrual Cycle During a normal menstrual cycle, estrogen and progesterone take turns driving the process of maturing and releasing an egg and preparing the uterus for possible pregnancy. Estrogen rises in the first half of the cycle, peaks at ovulation, then falls in the second half as progesterone rises. Progesterone is released by the rupturing of the egg follicle during ovulation. Testosterone too is secreted in “surges” around the time of ovulation, and again before your period.  Let’s explore each phase of the female cycles..  Menstruation/Early Follicular Phase During the bleed, the beginning of the Follicular phase, and for the first few days women often still feel fatigue. Estrogen and progesterone are both at their lowest point just before your period.  If this is true it can be intuitive to cut back and go for walks or do a restorative yoga session instead of more vigorous exercise. More gentle exercise is a proven method of relieving cramps and menstrual symptoms. If you’re prone to pushing yourself hard through days you’re not feeling it and finding your fitness level doesn’t benefit, try backing off. Gradually rising estrogen levels will kick in and a return to a regular strength and HIIT routine, if that’s a part of a woman’s exercise routine, by about day 7 is expected.  Say, you like to workout and find it hard to take time off. Your period can be a good time to do more functional workouts that involve unilateral (single limbed) exercises. This allows you to reach muscle fatigue at lighter loads less likely to tax your adrenal system already dealing with menstruation. If pushing through tough workouts leaves you more exhausted, frame your period as an active recovery period that enables harder work when it’s over. Mid and Late Follicular As estrogen rises from the start of your period and progesterone remains low you have a window where you may more easily make strength gains. Generally, within a week of their period starting women feel able to do more volume and recover faster. This may be the most powerful you feel during the month. Even though you may tolerate more volume, don’t skip recovery (it’s when fitness happens, after all). Find volume in the addition of weight, sets, or repetitions, rather than more frequency. That will prevent forfeit the recovery needed to reap the rewards.  You want to continue to reduce impact and rapid change of direction. Your rigid tendons (as a result of high estrogen) support strength gains since they afford the ability to lift heavier but estrogen also causes laxity of ligaments along with reduced neuromuscular control and means easy injury. So, while you can do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), focus on bicycling, swimming, or elliptical rather than multidirectional or high impact options.  You could also still be tired and need additional recovery because your hormones were at an all-time low just before your period. This is no time for comparisons. (See Note) Whatever you’re feeling, honor it with an appropriate training and recovery response. Note: The State of Women’s Exercise Science Science is still relying on women’s diaries or apps to collect information. Women often report feeling their strongest and most energetic during days 7-14. This may have to do with better insulin sensitivity during this phase as compared to the luteal phase. The female body is primed to burn fat and gain muscle during this time.  Ovulation Ovulation occurs in the middle of follicular and luteal phases. According to women’s hormone expert, Dr. Jolene Brighton,  it’s a one-day event with still peaking estrogen levels, when progesterone is cued to start rising.  Luteal Phase  This is the last two weeks of your cycle when many women begin to feel more tired or less motivated to exercise. As progesterone rises, because of its anti-estrogenic effects, performance is lower than usual. It’s when estrogen is high in comparison to progesterone in the cycle that performance increases. So, there is a dramatic difference for some women in the strength and energy they have in the first two weeks of their cycle compared to the luteal, or last two weeks. Many women also begin to have cravings related to Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)... Each woman responds uniquely…[Includes tips on nutrition for blood sugar stabilization] What About Testosterone…. No Cycle? Periodization Still Reigns in Postmenopausal  The concept of periodization doesn’t pertain just to women, nor only to women having a period. It’s been a longtime tool of strength & conditioning coaches and personal trainers used to produce optimal benefits with reduced injury risk. Exercise benefits require a level of overload beyond daily activities of life. In order for (reasonable) overload to be beneficial and not damaging, there needs to be conscious planning of the overload and adequate rest.  Both male and female athletes benefit from exercise periodization, males minus the actual period, of course. Cycles of periodization (10) exist within weeks, months and a year. Female cycles will do best honored outside of periodization.  It’s Not Time to Slow Down For post menopausal women, there’s both more latitude and reduced obstacles of fluctuating energy and safety due to hormonal change.  With reduced levels of estrogen, adequate intensity is needed more than ever to offset menopause symptoms and increase muscle, bone and brain health. The best partner of adequate intensity is adequate recovery. So, cycling times of work with times of recovery will always be the key to optimizing women’s fitness.  Four Week Post Menopause Cycling  Week 1: Functional Strength (unilateral, multi directional) Week 2: Strength w Power (moderately heavy with speed on lift) Week 3: Hypertrophy (heavy with fewer repetitions) Week 4: Endurance (lighter with higher repetitions)  Female cycles for exercise don't have to be complex, but it should not be by accident. Exercise with just a little more thought can give you the optimal energy and results you want and deserve. Period.  Other Episodes You May Like:  Holding Onto Metabolism in Menopause: https://www.flippingfifty.com/muscle-in-menopause/ What’s the Best Exercise Schedule at Midlife: https://www.flippingfifty.com/best-exercise-schedule/ Resources:  The What, When & Why to Exercise for Women 40+: https://www.flippingfifty.com/womensexercise [May 1-7 FREE online event]

How do you know if you need a coach vs a trainer or a consultant?  What’s the difference? How do they work? How do I know when I need which?  There’s a difference in what each does. And you may need more than one. Or an expert who has both skills, and (dare I say), not just titles. In this episode, I’ll describe for you what each does, when it may be the best tool for you and how to combine them if you are a health and fitness coach.  In case you’re wondering where this episode comes from…I recently shared a CEU course with our Flipping50 Menopause Fitness Specialists on Essential Coaching Skills and in it I broke this down for them. I suspect that you too could use this information so you know what you’re looking for. I’ll give you a hint here. It’s not easy. The word coach has been used so loosely that if I say coach, it means something different to anyone hearing it. It could mean sports coach, strength and conditioning coach (specific to a sport), health coach, business coach, life coach, and even within all of those you may need clarification because many of those are not governed by an association and titles are immediately accessible. The skills required are not. Personal trainers have also used the term coach, but not potentially actually been coaching.  Let me explain so you have a better understanding.  Coach, Trainer or Consultant: What They Do A coach asks you to answer your own questions. A coach doesn’t create an exercise prescription or meal plans. They hold you accountable and I like describing it best as me helping you move at an accelerated pace toward something you are capable of doing on your own.  A Coach  ...asks. Doesn’t act as expert or offer any “should do” suggestions.  A Trainer  ... shows you how. (not necessarily is this only a personal trainer in the fitness context), but any trainer in a business setting too, shows someone what to do. The trainer has an area and level of expertise to share. It is so that the individual can then do it independently.  Interestingly enough, some trainers actually fear or are encouraged not to allow the client to get too comfortable doing it themselves because the training then ends. This actually may be what you want - entertainment, being shown exactly what to do and how to do it - so that you can take this off your decision-making plate.  Or you may want to be shown so that you can then assume the responsibility to follow through on your own or with some accountability.  A Consultant ... tells you what to do. They’re often hired to come in and assess what’s happening, and based on goals, tell someone exactly what to do. In the 90-minute consultations I do, for instance, a high percentage of women will use these to learn exactly what I’d suggest based on where they are, signs & symptoms they’re experiencing, and believe they have the discipline to follow through and do it. They just want to know the right steps to take after the confusion of hormone changes has left them unsure what’s right now. That’s consulting.  One of the fitness centers I consulted with had a staff, and wanted an assessment of their new member onboarding process, the personal training process, and support for marketing and sales. There either could have been no coaching or as we did, a year long commitment to following through step-by-step with what needed to happen by the leadership to see the changes through. This might be when you go to a workshop, sometimes a masterclass which tells you what to do, but there’s not showing you the exercises or sequence you need or making modifications. You walk away with “this is what I need to do” and may know or need the “how do I do it”.  Which Do You Need? Do You Need a Coach?  Often more than one, right. Here’s where in midlife this can go astray. Coaching a midlife client who says, “I know what to do, I just don’t do it,” knowing what she believes is the “what to do” puts an expert in a field who also coaches in place where she needs to have more than one hat.  There is a time to teach… or to learn, or unlearn… and there’s a time to coach, or be coached about making those changes or resistance that might come up for you. For many of my midlife clients that calories in, calories out and exercise more/eat less model are so deeply engrained, it’s hard to apply more recent science and endocrine exercise knowledge about women’s bodies.  So, this statement “I know what to do, I just don’t do it” or “I eat healthy” are often red flags for me. They mean two different things to any two different people.  What It Looks Like One example of integration of both is our STRONGER programs. So the program gives you the what to do, shows you how in terms of the exercise, the sequence, the appropriate rest between exercises, and between sessions. The coaching in the community is about accountability for follow through, when someone is stuck or at a plateau, and when it’s working and they’ve been successful, we don’t cheerlead. A coach helps you identify why it worked and how you made it happen, because although the tools are there, you did it and there is importance in you knowing how you did it so you can repeat. Since there are all kinds of exercise programs you’ve probably started and stopped, when you’ve been successful.. You know the saying, success leaves clues, a coach brings your reason behind your success to your awareness.  A coach helps you identify where you are in this continuum of:  Unconscious incompetence  Conscious incompetence  Unconscious competence  Conscious competence  Either a consultant or a trainer might move you forward toward conscious competence.  Let’s say we’re talking about lunges. [Need help? FREE & Easy way to doing them better or ditching them: https://www.flippingfifty.com/lunges]  You may be in a class doing lunges and be completely unaware your form is terrible. As a trainer and instructor I could see you making mistakes that will eventually bother your knees and not give you the results you want from the lunge. As a coach I might ask you how you would benefit from confirming you’re properly doing exercise or if you have questions about lunges that you need answers to, and what those questions are.  The Next Step If you agree…  I would begin to teach how to get better results from a lunge, how to prevent injuries, how women’s hip and knee width can be problematic for them and how the traditional way of doing lunges can be the most harmful.  I’d teach you what good form looks and feels like. I’d put you in a good position, bad position, then good again so you experience it. I’m acting as a trainer.  I observe you in class more and your form is good more of the time. You’re not yet consistent and you don’t quite know how to be consistent every time.  You continue to listen to the right cues, practice the movement, and it clicks. Now, you go to classes and recognize when you are and aren’t in good form in a warrior pose in yoga, in a lunge while strength training, and you see poor form in others. If someone mentions they can’t do lunges because they hurt their knees, you offer a suggestion based on what worked for you.  That example is very tangible. Here’s one that’s less so.  Client: “I eat healthy.”  Coach: Tell me more about that. What does healthy mean for you? As a client describes that, I often hear the sequence of food, or the “everything in moderation” of certain foods that are likely, or the gut disturbance that could be interfering.  From there it’s a series of questions that I’d ask again. The answers of that would likely mean some consulting for what to do, then returning to coaching for the steps to change. Because change is one of the hardest things we do. Often in our community someone will say, “I’m having a hard time getting the protein in.”  Most often this isn’t a matter of not knowing what the right amount of protein looks like, it’s an incongruence with a belief about eating less being best for weight loss, or fear of eating more resulting in weight gain. So, coaching can answer what it is and talk you through the right way to make improvements.  Just to recap, there is value in having a coach, a trainer, and a consultant at the right time. You can’t turn a screw in with a hammer, so it's important first to define why you may not be where you want to be if you’re seeking support.  3 Questions that may help you identify if you need a coach (or something else) Are you 100% sure you know what is the right thing to do right now? (a Trainer, possibly a consultant)  Could you have some limiting beliefs or lingering beliefs about what’s “healthy”? (a coach)  Do you most need to know what to do so that you can apply your motivation and discipline to do them? (a consultant)  Are you a coach, trainer, or consultant, or want to be? Feeling called to work with midlife women as a coach, trainer, or consultant? The Flipping50® Menopause Fitness Specialist is designed to help you understand how to design exercise programs for women in menopause. It teaches you the endocrine and exercise relationship and how to take signs and symptoms and turn them into immediate modifications that improve client results immediately.  You can stop struggling knowing what to do and confidently create strategies for each client uniquely whether you see them in person or you work online. Plus, you can identify new revenue streams in the program so you’re the authority for women in midlife. They’re actively seeking support and someone who understands that isn’t just using guidelines and position statements or programs based on mice, men or no one in particular.  You can either keep guessing, mimicking other programs, or you can start creating with confidence the exercise prescriptions that support a woman’s hormones now and make a difference for her future muscle, bone and brain health.  I’ll add that link in the show notes. We open just a few times a year. We’re remodeling this program and this is the last time you’ll enjoy this current rate, but you will enjoy all the perks of the new model… like a fast way to increase your revenue, support coaching women, and a network of experts in areas you are not.  For some of the health and nutrition coaches we work with, it’s been a great alliance. They can refer, and even earn affiliate revenue from referrals if they choose. [Here’s how to apply be an affiliate: https://www.flippingfifty.com/affiliate-program]